Lady Lysandra, Dame of Tales

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

"Sylbia!" Asta yelled out. "Sylbia, where are you? Sylbia!" He yelled at the top of his lungs, desperately scanning 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. Though perfectly aware of his surroundings, Asta could not see anything at all. It was not black - it was not white - it was not anything. It was not light or dark, it was merely the absence of anything. Sight had no more meaning - he simply was.

Asta yelled out for his sister a second time, but nothing could be heard. Though he had clearly made the sound, his ears could not pick up on the sound from his throat - only from his own body. 

As moments of unknown time passed, Asta drifted throughout the void, until eventually, eventually, he spotted a door. It was a very plain, ordinary door, and yet quite rather grandiose at the same time. Asta ran for the door, and opened it.

A beautiful white veranda overlooking a large lake greeted Asta as he entered. 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?"

"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'm looking for 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 began to walk into another room. "I presume you will follow me? I may have information that may be of use to you."

"Where is Sylbia?" Asta said, 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?"

Reluctantly, Asta 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 strode up to 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 looked up into the sky, 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.

"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. I suppose you can say my throne helps me see all the beautiful tales of this world. Including that of your sister, Asta. 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.

"The usurper's power grows." The amulet began to glow. "I believe you are being summoned. It's time for you to go. The empire wants your power."

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

"This was never about her, young Asta. You have yet to understand, but you will meet your sister in a short, due amount of time." The woman gave him a sweet smile that almost disarmed Asta. As he did, he realized that his body was fading away. 

"Wait, what?"

"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?"