Adtraic Verity: Journey For The Truth
Chapter 86

In the past…

. . .

“Erase.”

Akwan’s pale lavender eyes anchored at a tall veil-covered woman, feeling the flow of time slowing down and his body transforming into dust. He jerked his hand but immediately felt an invisible force paralyzing him.

“What… this power… it’s so… strong.”

Standing in front of him were Asahi and Aletha. He caught his breath and tried to call them.

“Asahi! Aletha!”

However, no one answered. The wanderers didn’t even bat an eye at Akwan. He swiftly turned his head to the left and saw the stream of water standing eerily still in the air. With this in mind, Akwan gradually drew a conclusion.

“Time… is frozen.”

He tried to lift his arms and legs and free himself from the force. But nothing worked. The eerie silence trembled Akwan even more. Despite time freezing, Akwan still heard footsteps approach him.

“Huh?”

Then, standing in front of him was a tall girl wearing a dark cloak covering her face and body. The only thing seen from the girl was her dark, piercing, magenta eyes. Akwan instantly recognized her attire and questioned how she was moving while the world around him was still.

“How are you….”

But then, as Akwan struggled to free himself, The Princess stared straight into his lavender eyes and sneered at him with pity.

“H-Huh?”

Akwan’s breathing quickened. The Princess neared closer to him, touching his face and hair. Her cold… fearful touch shivered Akwan to the core.

And then… as soon as his fingers could touch their skin, Akwan was accompanied by the old chill of death creeping up his back.

“Hmm, what a surprising encounter….”

At a glance, the veiled woman stood in front, the one who proclaimed herself as The Princess of The Ending.

Akwan caught his breath and sneered at her.

“Why are you doing this?!”

The Princess’ locks of silver hair flew up in the air. She stepped forward and peered straight through Akwan’s eyes, whispering with a tone of doubt.

“Your existence couldn’t be erased. I don’t know what, but SOMETHING is stopping me from doing that. You’re the second force they have mentioned… aren’t you?”

Akwan’s legs flailed in the air. He tried to move but was stopped by the forces pushing up to him. In all his years of living, he had never expected to oppose such a compelling force. A familiar aura resonated within The Princess that he simply couldn’t ignore.

He clenched his fists and screamed with his voice rupturing.

“What… d-do you mean by ‘they?’ Do you even know what you’re doing?”

The Princess pulled her veil over her eyes and made a slight grin.

“I guess… the most viable option of executing you is to make it seem as if you vanish into dust.”

Akwan gasped.

“No, don’t do that. Your curse can’t be fixed. You HAVE to make Asahi and Aletha go on this journey, even if it means waiting… forever…”

The Princess sneered at Akwan with her dark magenta eyes. Her cold, pale lips drew out a heartless voice as her cloak fluctuated from the frozen time.

“I guess you really DON’T understand, do you, Akwan? This curse is too unpredictable. If only you were there before the end of The Second Incarnation….”

Akwan forced himself off his paralyzed state and pushed himself upwards. He sneered his lavender eyes at The Princess and sighed.

“The Second Incarnation. No… The thing you possessed; It’s NOT a curse… it’s–

The Princess interrupted and clenched her fists.

“IT IS… A curse. A d-destructive… and powerful curse. The Adlement.”

The Princess nodded and rubbed her hands together. Akwan closed his eyes and made a small frown; gritting his teeth while speaking in a tone of frustration.

“The Adlement isn’t natural. All of our memories had deteriorated after the end of The First Incarnation when The Prism of Creation ruptured. I do not know of the happenings of the previous incarnations, nor do I remember why I was promoted to become The Happener for this world. But if it is to seal the fate of THIS universe, I could not ignore it.”

Akwan closed his eyes and took a deep sigh.

“There is much left forgotten in the past… it’s all sealed away with The Sky….”

The body of Akwan slowly dissipated, revealing a shimmering blue light hovering over the ground. The Princess muttered while time slowly forwarded.

“The Happener… the one who takes responsibility for the actions of everything in this world. Every human, every creature, every disaster, every event is all sustained by you. Nonetheless, it seems that you go by a different name… Akwan. Tell me… before you get placed into a different time… what is your true goal as The Happener?”

At first, Akwan refused to reply to the cold lunar gaze coming from The Princess’ eyes. However, despite his memories eating away, he could sense one familiar element that led Akwan to trust The Princess. A feeling that felt as if he was connected to her.

And so, as he sees the world fading away from his sight, Akwan replies to The Princess with a deep narrative.

“The only true goal I have… is to keep this world from perishing. To make it live forever, no matter the costs, something dangerous lurking here, and I can’t remember what it was. Nonetheless, until that anomaly has been banished… this world shall live on.”

He stomped his foot, brushed the dust off his shoulder, and raised his voice.

“Even if it is in the means of tearing The Strings of Time that controls the functions of this universe… or using one of The Forbidden Angel Factors; I will do whatever I possibly can to ENSURE that The Wanderer’s Dream will go in the right direction.”

“And… who is The Wanderer?”

Without resistance, Akwan answered The Princess with a face of pure seriousness.

“They… are The Adtraic Family.”

Before The Princess could ask for any more information from The Happener/Akwan, he swiftly vanished into dust, with time accelerating back to its normal state.

“YOU MONSTER!”

Telos, in pure anger, swiftly struck The Princess with all the power he had, emitting a powerful cyan shockwave.

However, before anything was made, all flashed to black.

The next thing he knew, Akwan saw himself standing atop a roof; somewhere in Pladtioa city.

---

Meanwhile, presently in The Palace…

Asahi muttered as he fiddled with his thumbs and stared at the moonlight.

“So, all I have to do is just go on this date, tell a secret, and then all the problems in this nation will be solved? I say that’s kind of suspicious, but if it’s enough to stop this mess, I’m all for it.”

The door finally opened after what felt like forever, revealing Narcissa wearing a beautiful, dazzling light gray dress stretching down to her ankles.

Asahi’s eyes widened in awe, seeing her beautiful long dark mocha hair extend to her bottom, with the two horn-shaped things dangling perfectly on her head. Now looking at himself, Asahi realized he looked ‘unfit’ to go on a date with such an elegant partner.

Luckily enough, just as he was about to flee toward the hallway, the same blond-haired maid raced to Asahi and asked with a look of shock.

“Mr… I believe your attire… doesn’t look suitable to lady Narcissa’s standards….”

She turned to the woman herself, bowed her head, and asked politely while holding a knit.

“Please, lady Narcissa, must you give some more time for that boy over there for preparation?”

Narcissa gave an elegant nod, smiled, and replied kindly.

“Of course, Maid Golla. Now that I think of it, even though Mr. Asahi’s attire is already neat, I’m okay using my precious resources on developing a suitable suit for you.”

She clapped her hands, alerting all the other maids and butlers to her location. One by one, they arrive with either brooms in their hands or plates. They line up and bow down to Narcissa with dignity in an orderly fashion.

“Yes, lady Narcissa?” They all said profoundly.

Narcissa batted her eyes at Asahi and ordered.

“Could you please make my suitable interest a formal suit? We’re going on… a date.”

“A date?! Well, that’s utterly surprising to say.” Said a butler with dark hair.

The maids, without resisting, grabbed Asahi, raced through the hallways while carrying him, and replied to Narcissa with an ecstatic tone in their voices.

“Understood, your highness!”

Asahi, being so clueless, shouted with confusion.

“H-Hey… what are you all doing?!”

The maids didn’t bother to reply and instead hurried up the stairs and dashed toward the central dressing room.

On the other hand, the butlers resumed their duties and walked toward their kitchen, cleaning dishes and tidying up the place in preparation for the date. Narcissa gave a nervous chuckle and turned to the window, holding a small black vase in the palm of her hand.

“Don’t worry, father, I’m almost there….”

---

Meanwhile, far outside the palace, within the streets of Pladtioa City.

There were a hefty amount of people preparing for the rebellion. Some forged complete steel weapons in blacksmith shops, while others constructed and brought wagons for the steady climb of the hill. The city had never been this active before, especially during the night.

“Hey, what’s wrong?”

Drimi was assisting others by fixing some parts of their mechanisms. She sprinted through a crowd of people, examining a slanted carriage with four other men.

Though three wheels were attached with solid durability, one looked missing from the pair. A man who had a brown beard and blue eyes approached Drimi, scratching his head in frustration.

“We lost a wheel.”

Drimi shook her head and sighed deeply. She swiftly investigated the area and found a round wooden wheel lying on a cobblestone road. She grabbed it and tossed it near the wagon, informing the four men.

“That wheel has a loose bolt. I say you should tighten and add more nails on it if you want it to stay durable.

The men rushed to place the wheel back in its original position; they tilted to Drimi and said with gratitude.

“Thank you… stranger!”

She gave a slight chuckle and raced through the crowd, knowing what she did. Drimi noticed that many people in the city had the same idea on the streets. Some with larger carriages than others, many with actual horses drawn to them.

She advanced further and saw Aletha, speaking to Brich and Phthonus, carrying a pocket-sized map to trace the planned route they were going to take.

“So… are you finished planning now?”

Aletha placed the map into one of her pockets and replied while rushing out the table.

“Y-Yeah… I think we’re almost done.”

Phthonus nodded, stepped toward the crowd, and commented as he stared into the distance.

“Good. It’s been an hour since we started preparations, and I can hardly believe that most people have already constructed their wagons already, let alone forage for new weapons. In less than twenty minutes, I say Aletha… you should travel to the entrance with me, Brich, and Drimi. Grab that microphone and speaker, too. Then, in a little less from now… scream at the microphone to your heart’s content and will wait for whenever you’re ready to send the rebellion up the hill.”

Though it was a lot to settle in, Aletha understood what Phthonus asked and replied as she hastily grabbed the microphone.

“Okay! Thank you, Phthonus! Drimi and Brich, follow me!”

Grabbing the speakers, Drimi and Brich answered while they raced through the streets and up the steep stairs.

“Yes, mam!”

And so… Aletha went through with Phthonus’ plan, rushing through the cheerful crowds and advancing further toward the city’s entrance, leading Drimi and Phthonus.

Aletha would never have thought that she… out of all people, would be the one to lead an entire nation just by using her words. Even though she lost her godly powers, Aletha kept something even better. Accuracy, Leadership, Respect, Dignity. Responsibility and Determination.

With these six specifics, perhaps they could eclipse her weakness and push her closer to the strong goddess she was in the past.

A goddess that led an entire world.

---

Back inside The Palace.

“Okay, Mr. Adtraic, step out of the door…” Hollered a maid as she placed Asahi’s old attire onto the bench.

For a moment, there was complete silence; Nothing out of the ordinary, especially when Asahi was forced to take his clothes off. And when done, the maids’ attitudes… shifted… to a more… submissive approach.

But as they measured his waist and his height, it didn’t take long for them to sew and create a new suit specific to Asahi’s measurements.

A few more minutes later…

“Are you ready… Asahi?~” Said a maid with long, pale green hair.

His silhouette shone behind the elegant curtains, revealing his long hair and surprisingly unique shape. The bells jingled as the maids anticipated the outcome heavily. They worked hard on that suit, hoping that he wouldn’t complain.

But then, as the curtains slowly pushed over, it felt like the room’s entire atmosphere changed.

Followed by the loud taps of his sleek black boots, coupled with the jingles of the small silver bells jingling near his h**s, and the moon’s rays mixed with the warm ceiling lights shone on the boy like a spotlight; was Asahi’s sweet voice.

“D…Does this look good? I hope you have my clothes safe. There’s something important in there….”

And then, presented with such a majestic aura, it looked to the maids that Asahi… right now…

“So handsome!” They cried out with a warm blush.

“Eh? What did you say? Is my attire okay?”

Asahi’s heels glistened over the polished floor, and his long dark pants dappled brightly under the warm yellow light with white stripes stretching from his ankles toward his knees. He wore a handsomely tailored formal suit. The patterns were so precise and accurate that they gave the maids a brief shock.

His suit was thin and neatly strapped, with shiny white buttons placed in the right places, his sharp collar gleamed vividly like a cliff, and his long dark tie swinger back and forth with an S pattern imprinted on it.

One white earring was attached to his right ear, followed by his long, bright white hair neatly tied up and straightened.

When he stepped out and stared directly at the mirror, he saw his eyes, striped in dark black eyeliner, widened in pure awe.

“Oh… my goodness. This… I look like an entirely different person.”

The maids pivoted their feet and turned their heads away, trying to hide their blush.

“I mean, it’s not a mutual date, but… still… you did an amazing job on this.”

“T-Thank you, sir….” The maids thanked nervously, twiddling their thumbs and fidgeting with their hair.

As he tried to step closer to the maids to try and give them a handshake, they swiftly scampered out the hallway with excited noises bursting from their mouths.

“Tee hee hee hee.~.”

Asahi scratched his head, questioning why the maids had acted that way.

(Perhaps it’s the color of my hair?) Asahi thought, examining himself in the mirror. Though the rarity of white hair could be a reason, there could be MANY other things or features that the maids were focused on.

As his footsteps sounded over the walls, peering through the hallway and toward a ballroom, beyond the yellow lights and red carpet, he saw a brown-haired woman drop a plate onto a solid tile floor, with a look of pure shock on her face.

The shattered plate echoed over the walls, with the butler rushing to it to clean it up. Narcissa’s face flushed bright red as Asahi slowly approached her with his boots extending his height. His height towered over Narcissa while wearing the boots, making him look more like a man than a boy.

Narcissa asked as she anxiously turned her head up to Asahi.

“H-Huh… s-suitable interest… i-is that… you?”

Asahi tilted his head down to the flustered Narcissa and slowly nodded, replying with a casual voice.

“Just call me Asahi.”

Quickly, Narcissa jumped up and nodded her head with a trembling smile, covering her mouth and tapping her feet against the floor.

“Y-Yes, sir…~.”

. . .

After a brief silence, Asahi stepped carefully over the glossy tiled floors and tilted his head toward the windows. Narcissa’s eyes followed each movement Asahi made, unable to describe the emotions that were bubbling inside her at this moment.

As the moonlight shone on their faces, Asahi bent his head to her and asked politely.

“So… Narcissa. How should we start this… date?”

Narcissa, being absolutely flustered… tremblingly fiddled with the silk locks of her long brown hair and replied without thinking.

“U-Um… we should s-start… i-in the courtyard.”

“Are you sure…?” Asahi asked while squinting his eyes.

Narcissa closed her eyes and took short, exasperated breaths. Trying to calm herself down, she swiftly wrapped her hands over Asahi’s fingers and clenched them tightly, pulling closer to his shoulder. A heat grew in Asahi as he felt Narcissa’s head rub against his arm. He never thought he would be in a state like this, especially after knowing what Narcissa was in the past.

(She’s… getting awfully close to me. I don’t even know where the ‘courtyard’ is, but I presume it should be outside.) Asahi thought while he began walking next to Narcissa.

Even though this was just one date, Asahi could feel rising emotions burst everywhere in his body. He took a deep breath and calmed down, stepping forward while holding Narcissa’s hands. He closed his eyes, tightened his grip, and walked down the wooden stairs.

As he stared at Narcissa’s makeup, Asahi reminded himself, then looked away toward the walls.

(Remember, even though this might be silly, this date is for the nation of Pladtioa. Don’t forget about Devlin and definitely don’t forget about Aletha.)

After a moment of thought, Asahi and Aletha stepped out the front doors, feeling the cold evening breeze blow on their faces; the ‘date’ that would stop Narcissa’s curse commenced.

---

Aletha scoured across the city, from the long extensive cobblestone streets of the rural apartments, all the way through the busy marketplace. Upon approaching the last five extensive streets, she saw a tall wall extending upward; stretching diagonally for kilometers. As she sprinted across the arching bridge, Aletha turned behind and saw thousands of people cheering and chanting.

“Freedom for Pladtioa!”

“For our reflections!”

“For the lost!”

Aletha’s eyes widened, unable to comprehend the extraordinary amount of individuals. From one direction to the next, each individual varied differently in size; some looked to be children, while others were absolute giants.

(Crank)

She hurriedly turned to her left and saw a group of muscular men heave catapults over the bridge. Carriages emerged from the slope of ramps, and horses neighed as their rock-solid hooves skid across the ground. What truly served as the cherry on top, was the lights and torches that people used. Pladtioa couldn’t have been brighter.

Just as Aletha tried to step forward and continue the march, she gasped and mumbled anxiously.

“My brother is still missing. What could have happened to him? No, d-don’t tell me— did he get tortured?!”

• *

Asahi and Narcissa pushed through the front doors and happily laughed as they held hands and strolled along the courtyard.

“This place looks beautiful.”

• *

Aletha shivered in fear and hyperventilated; guessing and thinking the potential happenings of Asahi.

“Did he get captured?”

• *

Asahi and Narcissa turned their heads to the cold glow of the moonlight sky and smiled.

They placed their hands on the precious railing and stared at the fluttering fireflies passing by in front of their faces. They strengthened their grip and skipped across the garden, with their eyes meeting each other.

• *

Aletha fretted from her speech and bit her fingernails; hoping the possibilities were not true. Anxious about Asahi, she froze still and screamed.

“Did… h-he get killed?”

• *

Narcissa bent down toward a patch of beautiful flowers and sniffed all of them. They were in a garden, filled with colorful flora everywhere.

Despite being only the first date, using his knowledge from the past, Asahi insisted on grabbing one of them and placed it softly on Narcissa’s head.

As the wind blew silently through their long, shiny hair; Asahi stared deep into Narcissa’s creamy brown eyes and whispered to her with enthusiasm.

“You look… gorgeous… Narcissa.”

Narcissa’s face flushed red, she fidgeted with her hair, and tilted her head away from Asahi, trying to hide her blush. Though she knew this was to relieve her curse, everytime Asahi speaks or does something kind to her; she grows more and more attached.

The beautiful toffee-haired woman tremblingly replied as she stood on her tippy toes and stared deep through Asahi; flocking her magnificent sparkling dress upward.

“Do you really think s-so… Asahi?”

Asahi nodded his head and grabbed her arm gently; showing a straight, pretty smile on his face.

“Of course… You look like a beautiful lone dove swimming in a clear, timid lake of blue.”

Narcissa fluttered in joy and neared closer to Asahi, stepping up the stairs one by one.

As they reached the last bit of the stairs, they took a moment and sat down; with Narcissa’s head relaxing and lying on Asahi’s shoulders. As they dangled their feet over and looked back to the clear starry sky,

“Oh, Asahi… you’re so poetic.~ Say, do you want to dance in the ballroom?”

Asahi knew of the ballroom, but never thought that Narcissa would offer a dance to him. Looking back at the reminder of Devlin and Aletha, he shook his daydreaming thoughts off, and bowed his head to her, smiling with pride.

“Absolutely…”

“…”

Narcissa blushed even more and smiled with light giggles.

“Such a gentleman…”

She covered her mouth and took one step while holding Asahi’s hand. Though she insisted on opening the door… abruptly, Asahi’s fingers wrapped over the knob…

“No, allow me…”

Narcissa nodded and stepped back; seeing Asahi grab the fine door handle. In a gentle manner, he turned it gently, and opened the door for Narcissa. As they advanced toward the narrow hallways, Asahi thought silently in his head.

(Just how long shall this date last? What is Aletha doing right now?)

• *

She was paranoid, frightened and anxious about the fate of her brother. She almost resorted to speeding up the preparation process, but was immediately stopped by Phthonus— who paced forcefully through the crowd, and pulled her away from the gate. As chattering continued, Phthonus turned his head to Aletha, raised his eyebrow, and whispered with confusion; breathing heavily.

“Aletha, what… are you doing?”

Consumed with overwhelming anxiety, she answered speedily while trying to escape Phthonus’ grip.

“I need to get Asahi, now. H-He might be in danger, h-he could be hurt…”

Phthonus gripped onto Aletha’s arm tightly, and avoided her to escape his grasp. He hurriedly approached Aletha’s ears and whispered to her, trying to calm her down.

“Hey, hey… calm down, Aletha. Asahi… is going to be okay, I know how The Queen acts during the night, and just so you know… your brother is safe… for now. Hey, pushing all of that aside… you might not know it, but THIS right here…”

Phthonus forced Aletha to see. He pointed to the massive group of individuals varying in size, shape, and color. Aletha examined for a moment and her head was forced back to Phthonus’ face. He continued.

“…It’s rare. The citizens waited so long for a rebellion to erupt. I know you might have not been here from the start, but they didn’t have the power or strength to command and unite everyone together back in the past. They were sick and tired of how Narcissa treats this nation, and that’s why they always celebrated Fountain a day; because it was the holiday for the original ruler of this nation. The people could be driven insane sometimes…”

At a glance, Phthonus pulled his dark scarf over his mouth and peered directly through Aletha’s beaming dark silver eyes.

“But you… Aletha; you’re different. You spoke to them as if they were your friends, you didn’t hesitate to release your truthful words, and persuade everyone to join you. I don’t know how you did it. But, it’s amazing…”

Aletha slowly nodded her head and took two deep breaths. Phthonus’ words awakened her realization of what she just did. In a matter of seconds, Aletha was able to persuade the entire city to join and listen to her. That should be enough to encourage her… and so… her adrenaline sparked. Her eyes widened, she stood proudly, and posed in front of the crowd; about to announce…

But then….

“Hey! Whatcha doin’ over there?!”

Drimi emerged from the crowd. She dashed through the streets and pushed her nosy head in-between Phthonus and Aletha– prying upon their business.

“What are you guys talking about here?”

Phthonus stepped away and crossed his arms, making a pout face and an intolerable attitude.

“I just calmed Aletha down. The poor girl was still thinking about her brother.”

“Oh, really?” Drimi replied while raising her eyebrow.

She pulled her mask over her mouth and slapped Aletha’s back with a loud, hoarse chuckle.

“Heh heh!”

It was clear that she was back to her masculine act; reflecting on how her father acted to her a long time ago.

As Phthonus stepped away from the crowd, Drimi erupted with adrenaline.

“Asahi and you will be FINE, sweetheart! Just look at everyone as if they were friends! Look at all their smiles and not their eyes. If you don’t look at their eyes and instead see their smiles, maybe that will persuade you and make you feel confident. Haha! That’s what my father said to me when I was little! And I’m sure you could take the advice too!”

Aletha nodded her head slowly and gave a weak grin.

“O-Okay… I will jot it down. But, now’s not the best time; okay, Drimi? There are thousands of people waiting for their redemption…”

“Oh, yeah I forgot! I’m sorry…”

Drimi nodded her head, and followed Aletha’s duties, holding heavy weaponry with her bare hands.

. . .

Approaching the massive steel gate that lied at the epicenter of the wall, a vivid cold evening breeze blew through the opening crevices of the gateway. Aletha saw two guards covered in metal armor, standing at each end of the gate; both held a long, intimidating spear. She tried to ask them…

“Hey, excuse me… could you–

Suddenly, without resistance the guards immediately answered as they paced toward the lever.

“Allow us…”

(Click)

In just a short amount of time, the two guards forced the large, gold-coated lever down, and soon the gateway creaked upward; lifting and unveiling the sight of an open cliff. The group cheered.

“Hooray!”

Despite opening the gate so suddenly, Aletha questioned herself.

“The guards didn’t even resist?”

(Tap)

(Tap)

(Tap)

The guards hastily leaned back against the sides of the gateway, bowing to Aletha, and asking her.

“Please, be successful in this. Our families went missing after we were promoted to the guard. If you could be so kind as to scavenge the castle for them, it would be an honor to serve this insurgency as well.”

Aletha quivered her fingers, nodded her head, and gave a long handshake to both the guards with a smile of pride.

“I appreciate your acknowledgement…”

The guards gave Aletha their families’ physical description. After a moment of silence, Aletha scratched her chin, perked her head up and answered with a formal tone.

“If I can find the rest of your families, I will ensure that I will return them to you as soon as possible.”

The guards knelt down and nodded their heads, showing strong gratitude.

“Thank you, and may the heavens bless you… er… um…”

The guards tried to say her name. Aletha revealed herself.

“It’s Aletha…”

The guards nervously nodded their heads and pointed their spears outside the gateway.

“A…letha… you and the rest may proceed. We will greatly be patient for your awaited-return.”

As Aletha and the others advanced through the gate, pressing their feet, wheels, and hooves against the soft tender ground; she gave a salute gesture to the guards and shouted to them with a proud grin.

“Don’t worry, it won’t be long…”

She cocked her head toward the massive group of people, lifted her arm into the air with confidence, and screamed with all her might.

” NOW, INSURGENCY, MARCH ONWARD!”

The Insurgency cheered and jumped in the air, clapping and chanting.

“For Pladtioa! For Pladtioa! For Pladtioa!”

“WOO HOO!”

---

Meanwhile, far from Pladtioa city, happening near the forest and ruins of The Great Fountain.

“GET BACK HERE!”

Two silhouettes battled above— piercing through the forests, flailing their fists at each other, and erupting potent magic blasts. They soared above a massive forest like two planes in a dogfight.

Purple and Cyan lights flew and spun across the air from random directions. Cyclones and lightning bolts scattered around the dense forests, forming trails of ash behind. Thick clouds formed as a dark-haired, lavender-eyed man sprung up into the air and prospered himself, unleashing massive cyan beams of light toward a dark silhouette.

His attacks coated the plants in celestial-pattern stains, with cyan and white-spotted essences purifying flora. The silhouette quickly bolted away from the lights, turning over and unleashing bursts of magenta beams from his mechanical blasters.

(Boom!)

(Boom!)

(Boom!)

While the craters from the lightning strikes faded from the forest’s depths, a loud mechanical-sounding scream sounded out as thunder roared over the skies.

“Stay back! Stop doing this! I’m trying to save the World!”

His complaints were not answered. The mechanical individual was bruised from the barrages of magical lightning bolts and was shoved through four trees before getting forced into the hard ground.

The individual struggled tilted his head toward the man and saw a man with long dark hair, glowing lavender/cyan eyes, and pale skin ruthlessly attacking the husk covered in metal and warm purple light.

The man shouted with fury as the metal husk got ruthlessly buried through the solid stone.

“Tear, activating a nation-destroying device IS NOT saving the World! You ruthless creatures who nonchalantly joined The Ending know NOTHING about this World! Stop entrusting your means to The Princess! All of this is a deception… and you don’t even realize it!”

(Thrust)

The metal husk unleashed a gargantuan laser and knocked the dark-haired man into the air. As he blocked the attacks with his shield, the mechanical husk— Tear shouted at the top of his vocals.

“All of you are BLINDED from this emerging discrepancy! This World, along with its people… are all a lie! I don’t even remember who I am. If you PERSIST TO RESIST the truth, it will be at your fault that will start The Last War! The Creationists, should have never meddled with The Orb!”

A cluster of lightning strikes flew across the forest. The ground trembled, forcing Akwan to lose balance and descend to the earth.

“The loss of memories was at the fault of The Ending. Don’t intrude upon my territories and put the blame onto The Creationists. Even though I’m using only a small portion of my power, I could still out-match you….”

Approaching closer toward Tear, as he lifted his arm and shrouded it in blue luminance, just as he was about to unleash another attack to Tear…

All of a sudden, the clouds stopped moving, explosions stained the air, and time slowed down.

Akwan’s eyes met with the visor of Tear, his heart thumping rapidly in fear; each part of his body paralyzed in shock. He grew concerned about the unimaginably powerful aura surrounding Tear. And with that, far in the distance; with a thin luminescent purple string attached to Tear; he saw…

His eyes shrunk in absolute shock.

“That… c-can’t be… The Princess—SHE’S HERE?!”

Before Akwan’s words were drawn from his lips, his vision pierced through Tear’s mask, revealing a familiar face under the mechanical helmet.

“H-HUH?!”

He gasped in shock; the flow of time accelerated, and… an immense surge of power bloomed from Tear’s presence.

Reality itself flashed before Akwan’s eyes as if his existence and soul had been ripped apart and rebuilt again. All sounds were mute, even Akwan’s thoughts.

. . .

. . .

Precipitously, as his presence got ripped apart, a gargantuan magenta beam the size of five skyscrapers struck Akwan and impelled him through the sky.

He could feel each limb in his body crushing and crumbling away.

“What?! N-No… he can’t be—

Akwan clenched his fists, grappled onto a cloud, and closed his eyes, trying to hold on. Immense energy flew and devoured each corner of his limb. Dust flew in the air, tears flew in his eyes, and his voice echoed over space.

“The Princess— She’s helping Tear?!”

As Akwan’s eyes turned toward the glistening bleached moon, his presence was consumed by an insatiable squall of purple light; Akwan’s scream ruptured.

“WHAT IS THIS WORLD HIDING?!”

Sudd—-

---

Instead of Akwan’s feet standing on the tender bristles of grass…

“Where… am I?”

…it was the dry, grainy, coarse texture of sand.

Akwan bent toward the blazing horizon of what looked to be an expanse of sandy dunes, then back to his glowing hand, acknowledging where he was. The sandy dunes, the desert, the barren land… all of it was familiar to him.

As Akwan advanced further into the sweltering desert, he fell down to his knees and muttered breathlessly.

“I… was teleported to… Zomrack?”

He bit his l*p and furiously slammed his fist against the ground, pondering at the thoughts that erupted from his head. Despite being The Happener…

“I failed… Pladtioa. I failed them all….”

A sight of Asahi and Aletha’s faces flashed in his mind. He tried to hold his tears and buried his head in the coarse ground.

“My apologies, Asahi, and Aletha; I wasn’t in my true form when I fought Tear. If only I had all of my power….”

The hot wind blew and pushed the tiny particles of sand. Akwan took a deep sigh and continued.

“I know the potential both of you possess. I know the truth about your family and the World you once owned, but something is stopping me from telling you. But know this… if you can hear me…”

He tilted toward the fleet of white puffy clouds.

“If you two TRULY want to begin to reclaim your world….”

Akwan tightened his fists; the wind blew against his long dark hair. The sky reflected on Akwan’s gleaming lavender eyes. He lifted himself off the ground and wiped the sand off his face. As Akwan glared toward the distant mountain range beyond the tall sand dunes… Akwan urged with a tone of faith.

“Then you MUST deactivate that destructive Device. Not just for the fate of Pladtioa… but for the entire World. Only then— will your journeys TRULY begin.”

He relaxed his arms against the ground.

“But as for me…”

Akwan saw a tumbleweed fly over the sand.

“It will be awhile… until we finally meet again. I’ll try my best to travel to Linuxinia; but that isn’t a promise.”

On the other side of the world, both Asahi and Aletha’s ears ring— implying that they heard Akwan’s message.

Yet, they ignored him, and still continued their duties; as if the device wasn’t there in the first place.

Asahi whispered to Narcissa as he escorted her toward the ballroom.

“Shall we begin?”

At the bottom of the cliff…Aletha asked the group as they began their long, proud march.

“Shall we begin?”

No matter what happened, the future of the nation of Pladtioa; the future of the entire world…

…will all depend on how The Wanderers settle their events.