Lady Lysandra, Dame of Tales

Asta awoke, his head spinning from the pain that had just left his body. Where was he?

"Sylbia!" Asta yelled out. "Sylbia, where are you? Sylbia!" He desperately scanned for his younger sister, but he could not see anything in the pitch black dark.

No - pitch black dark would imply there was something that was not being seen. There simply was nothing to see at all. It was neither light nor dark - merely the absence of anything. Sight had no more meaning - he simply was.

He called for Sylbia again, but nothing came out. Though he had clearly made the sound, his ears could not pick up on the sound from his throat. 

Time passed - or maybe it didn't, until Asta spotted a door. Plain, ordinary, and yet quite grandiose at the same time. Asta ran for the door, and opened it.

He stepped into a white veranda, a lake spreading out below. Well cultivated vines with abundant fruits wrapped around the neoclassic pillars that overlooked the grand balcony. Asta looked at the fruits. Though they looked familiar at first, the more he looked at them, the more he realized - he didn't recognize these fruits at all. As a matter of fact, he couldn't actually tell what they looked like.

"So you're the one that was chosen, yes?" A strikingly beautiful woman gazed at Asta, seemingly from everywhere at once - in front of him, behind him, above him, and below him. The table she sat by was so clearly located right in front of him, and yet her gaze penetrated deep into his soul from everywhere at once. "You're finally here." 

Asta felt his body becoming weightless as the woman lifted him up, drawing him closer, then to a kneel as he felt his body involuntarily bow before her. He looked up at the ethereal eyes, those eyes that bore into his soul.

"Who...who are you?" Asta stepped back, both afraid, and intrigued. The panic of the events moments prior faded from his mind as he looked around the room.

"The better question is, who are you, my dear child?"

"I - I'm Asta." Asta looked around, dazed. "I'm not quite sure where I am, but I need to find my sister."

"So you are." The woman said, undisturbed. "I wished for something a little more...substantial, but perhaps I should have known better than to ask a mortal soul who has lived but ten short years." She gracefully leapt off of her chair, and walked towards another door. "I presume you will follow me? I may have information that may be of use to you."

"Where is Sylbia?" Asta asked, still hesitant. "I'm not following you until you tell me." Asta looked at the beautiful woman, his mind burning with suspicion. "Who are you anyways?" The woman smiled.

"You can call me Lysandra, I suppose. I'm in a similar predicament to you, young man. I've lost my brothers and sisters, and I need to find them." She held out her hand. "Do you want to find them with me? Both your sister and mine."

Though he tried to protest, no words came out. Seeing that his best bet of getting anywhere would just be to follow her, Asta tenderly grabbed her hand and followed her inside.

~~*~~

Void. That was all Asta could see upon the inside of the house. It wasn't like before of course, there was actual substance to the void...in a way. Asta couldn't quite explain.

"What...what is this?"

"The embryo to your new world, Asta." The goddess approached Asta, and handed him a strange amulet. On it was engraved an odd shape that he could not quite recognize. "The mark of a celestial. Take it." 

"I don't know about that." Asta said, pocketing the amulet anyways, for reasons he himself did not know. "Where is my sister?" The woman chuckled.

"Your sister is already in the new world Asta." She gazed skywards, or whatever direction appeared to be 'up.' "You want to meet her again, do you not?"

"Who are you 'Lysandra'? What have you done to her?" The woman smiled gently, not an ounce of malice or hatred on her face. "Where's Sylbia?"

"Oh, it hurts to see you distrust me so. I'm a friend of people who loves stories."

"S-stories?" Asta shook his head. "What do you-"

"There are many thrones of reality that inhabit this world. My throne, if you will, lets me witness all its beautiful tales including that of Sylbia. She's waiting for you amidst a sea of calamity."

Calamity? New world? Asta was getting tired of all this. He had no idea what this woman was bumbling on about, but he wasn't sure how to comprehend all this cryptic bullshit.

"I don't know what you're talking about, and I don't know what this all is. Just tell me what you want me to do. Whatever it takes to see my sister again." The woman knelt down and looked at Asta in the eyes.

"Simply put, I ask of you to fight on my behalf. Sylbia is in a new world, a new universe, and I want you to join her."

"A...new world?" The woman nodded.

"The usurper's power grows." The amulet began to glow. "But that is not something to fear. In due time, you will find your own powers, both those you inherit from your new parents, and the ones every one who enters the new world recieve. I believe you are being summoned. It's time for you to go."

"Wait, you still haven't told me anything." A usurper? "I still haven't found Sylbia yet-" 

"This was never about her, young Asta. You have yet to understand, but you will meet your sister in due time." She gave Asta a sweet, disarming smile. Then, he felt his body fading away. "Sylbia is safe and sound, Asta. Now, embrace your new world."

"Wait, what?" Asta futilely struggled. "Where is Sylbia! Tell me!"

"I am afraid I cannot follow you. Their power is too strong. I must remain in hiding. But, I will tell you this one more thing - if you wish to defeat the usurper, you must first understand, who you are. It's about you, hero. Who are you, precisely?"