Truths

1

Darkness.

I felt grass beneath my feet where I landed. I didn’t hit any trees or rocks on my way down and Allen was still on my shoulder.

But I couldn’t see anything. It felt suffocating. I could breathe but I felt like I was getting boxed in. Trapped.

Calm down, calm down, calm down.

To my surprise I still had a bit of dark energy inside my body, like a candle barely clinging to that final pool of wax. I let it flow to my left arm so I wouldn’t drop Allen.

“Jennifer?” I tried to say, but there was no sound. I could barely open my mouth. It felt like I was underwater. “Jennifer!”

I took a step. And then another. And another.

I wanted to cry. We were so close. Why couldn’t we leave? How far did we need to go to escape? I looked at the time limit on the upper right corner of my vision, the only thing still visible to me, and it told me that I still had a few days left.

I walked forward some more, completely aimless. My dark energy would run out soon and then I’d have to carry Allen with my own strength. As if I had any left remaining in me.

I breathed. I breathed harder. Calm down.

Why was it so dark?

I cried.

Silence.

And then, I felt a pull. It was faint, but it was as if there was a tug at my armor. I looked up, saw nothing, but I followed it.

I knew what it was. My mind, my memories, were a mess but somehow, I knew what it was. It led me to her.

Eventually I bumped into someone, the only other person who could be here. She held my face and wiped my tears.

Light flickered ever so slightly between us, and I saw Jennifer’s crying face smiling at me. “You were always bad with directions,” she said with the faintest whisper. “Let’s get as far away from here as we can.”

I nodded just as the last of her magic went out. She held my hand, and we walked together, with Allen still draped over my left shoulder. It was difficult given the rough terrain, but eventually we got far enough that fate deemed our mission complete.

2

I was suddenly transported back in the middle of space. Light, color, sound, and openness flooded my sensations.

My mind was overwhelmed, more so than the other times I was brought to this place. I could finally see. There were galaxies and stars and—

Jennifer and I floated next to each other hand in hand. We looked at one another, dressed in our original clothes more than a month ago, her in her leather jacket and pink shirt, me in my grey hoodie.

We couldn’t believe we really made it back.

“Ryota?”

A voice called out. A voice I had not heard in a very long time. When I turned to look, I saw Clare flying towards me. “Guys, they’re back too! We’re all here!” Behind Clare were three other people. Julio, Maya, and Virgilia.

My heart swelled with joy.

The faces that greeted us were familiar, but they also looked… different. Their faces were the same, but their eyes… they looked older somehow. As if the time we spent in other worlds didn’t last for two months or less. It was as if we were out there for years.

“I’m guessing you guys finished your mission as well?” Clare asked.

“I guess so…” I said. “I—”

“Ryota,” Jennifer said, tugging at my arm. “Where’s Allen?”

My eyes widened. I looked around. I spun and spun but did not find the man I was carrying in the Everdark.

“Allen?” Julio said. “Didn’t he leave? He wasn’t part of the missions, right?”

“No, we—did any of you see Allen at all?”

The others all looked at each other but they all shook their heads and shrugged. Jennifer and I floated around to search for the man, but he wasn’t anywhere.

“What’s going on?” Clare asked. “What happened to Allen?”

“He came with us,” Jennifer said. “He was part of our mission, but—”

Before Jennifer could finish her words, a bright light shone from above us, and the green-haired, golden-eyed arbiter appeared as if coming down with a welcoming embrace, her white robes fluttering.

“My champions!” she cried. “You’ve all returned! I can’t believe it! All six of you accomplished your missions and came back strong!”

The arbiter had tears in her eyes, looking genuinely happy. I remembered her expressions slowly become more natural, more human, the last time I saw her. Now she perfected the look.

But that didn’t matter.

“Where’s Allen!” I demanded. “I was carrying him with me! Why isn’t he here!”

“Allen?” The arbiter said, tilting her head to the side. “Ah, you mean Allen Fitzgerald? The—”

“Yes, Allen Fitzgerald!” Jennifer interjected. “Where is he?”

“Well…” the arbiter started. She tapped her cheek as if to think, then flew towards Jennifer and myself, circling around us until finally stopping to meet me eye to eye. “…he died, didn’t he?”

My heart sank.

“What?” Jennifer said. “When did it happen?”

“Well… I’d say… after he got stabbed in the chest?” the arbiter shrugged. “That might’ve done it, yes. Truly, it’s… heartbreaking.”

I clenched my teeth and balled my fists, but it was Jennifer who landed a direct punch straight into the arbiter’s face.

The sound rang across the universe, followed by everyone else’s shock and surprise.

Jennifer did not have any of her powers from the world we came out of, but she put everything she had in that punch. When she retracted her hand, tears rolling down her cheeks, the arbiter remained the same, as if nothing had happened.

The golden-eyed woman blinked several times, then floated away slightly, looking as if she didn’t know how to react.

I moved towards Jennifer and put a hand in her shoulder. “I understand how you feel, but it might be a bad idea if we—”

Jennifer turned around and held me in a tight embrace. Next thing I knew, she was crying on my shoulder. In the end, I couldn’t hold my tears back either.

Everyone else just let us be for a while. Nobody said a word and the arbiter didn’t move or interrupted us either.

After some time, Jennifer let go of me and said she wanted time to think. I nodded, then decided to check up on the others. I first went to Julio and Maya who were closest to me.

“How are you doing?” Maya asked. “We didn’t know Allen went with you guys.”

I explained what happened to them, which garnered the attention of Clare and Virgilia. I didn’t go over everything we went through, but I explained how it ended with Allen’s death. I really thought we could end it fast enough so he could be healed in here, but perhaps we should’ve tried healing him back in Yunha instead.

“You wouldn’t have known if they’d help you,” Julio said. “You did announce your theft and destroyed their treasure. You may not have made it back in time, but I think you made the right call there.”

I did not agree. Tori would’ve helped regardless of our circumstances, I was sure of it. But I didn’t press the issue.

Julio explained what happened to her and Maya. He didn’t go in detail either but mentioned that Maya was turned into an immortal. That allowed them to have a proper dialogue with the residents of the castle they were taken into. After some negotiating, they convinced the immortals to prevent war from breaking out between two nations near their territory.

“How do you feel?” Clare asked, turning to Maya. “Did you retain your abilities?”

Maya shook her head. “I felt it go away as soon as I arrived here. It might’ve been the same as the healing process we get, but… I don’t know. I’m just sure I’m back to normal.”

Out of curiosity, I asked them more about the world they were sent to. They described the snow mountain, the city close to it, as well as the two nations at the brink of war. It made me curious, but I’d save it for later.

Clare surprised me with the fact that the person they were tasked to protect was the Mage Queen I met on my previous world. “We probably had the easiest mission,” she said. “We faced against assassins and different political forces who wanted to capture her, but the Queen herself was powerful enough to take care of all of it. We were nothing more than assistants to her.”

“Did you ask about me? About what I did?”

Clare nodded. “She didn’t know your name of course, but she remembered the fact that you destroyed her ship.”

“She offered us a lot of money to bring you to her,” Virgilia added. “Of course that wasn’t possible.”

Of course.

“Something struck me as odd though,” Clare said. “When the Queen described her encounter with you, she described you as having long, curly hair.”

“Me? Long hair?”

“Odd, right? But she was sure of it.”

That was odd indeed. I always kept my hair short.

I wanted to ask more about it, but then we saw Jennifer fly towards the arbiter. We all tensed up, then joined her.

“You promised us a reward,” Jennifer said to the arbiter. “When are we getting it?”

The arbiter, who’d been floating silently in place, suddenly beamed in delight. She clapped her hands together, then gestured for us all to come closer. “I’m glad you remembered!” she said. “The reward is perhaps the most important part of the mission as far as you champions are concerned!”

Three portals appeared above the arbiter, displaying the worlds we went to. They were all as I remembered them, including our world. The Everdark did not disappear despite our destruction of Yunha’s treasure, but it did not expand either from what I could tell. I could probably ask the arbiter about what happened in that world, or if we got the conditions of our win correctly, but I didn’t want to risk my reward.

The arbiter raised her arms and gestured towards the portals with a big smile on her face, her white robes swaying from an unseen wind.

“Behold, champions! All three worlds remain! You’re all successful in accomplishing your goal and saving the universe!”

None of us seemed particularly impressed, relieved perhaps, but no one spoke or made any comment. I looked over at Jennifer and she made a short nod to me. We accomplished our goal because Allen was there to help us. He was the hero of that world.

“As for our MVP, that honor goes to Clarinet Li and Virgilia Armetta!” The arbiter clapped her hands as she slowly descended. She spun and did a graceful bow towards the two women. “It took them the full two months, but the work they did was perfect! Done in the most efficient way possible!”

Again, nobody said a thing.

The arbiter sat down on her imaginary chair, crossed her legs, then spread her arms open. “And now… for the reward you all deserve. As you may all recall, the prize for completing your mission is truth. You may ask me one question, no matter what it is, be it personal, universal, anything, and I will give you the absolute truth.”

“I’ll go first,” Jennifer said, floating forward.

“Very well,” the arbiter replied. “You may ask loudly or whisper it in my ear. I will answer in a similar manner.”

“Bring Allen back to life,” Jennifer said. “Use your powers as arbiter or fate and bring us our friend back.”

The arbiter smiled but did not answer. We all waited for some time, but no answer came. Eventually the arbiter tilted her head to one side. “That wasn’t a question,” she said. “I cannot give you a truth if you do not ask a question. I would very much like to give you a reward.”

Jennifer looked back at me with a bitter expression, then looked back at the arbiter. “Is there any way to save our friend Allen Fitzgerald with your powers?”

“No,” the arbiter answered.

Jennifer turned back, then hovered close to me. “I tried,” she whispered.

“You did more than that,” I whispered back.

The next to come forward was Clare. “Is there a way for us to leave our role as your champion and return to our lives back on earth without getting hurt?”

“Yes,” the arbiter answered, and it made me realize something. These types of questions would only get a yes or no.

But that’s when the arbiter shifted on her seat and gestured with her hands. “As MVP, I can provide another truth if you allow me.”

“I do,” Clare said.

“There will be moments when you champions are offered the chance to leave. If you take the offer, then you are done with your work here. If you continue, you will do more missions, get your rewards, then get other chances to continue or leave.”

Interesting. Just like a gameshow.

That ‘truth’ actually answered many questions of a similar topic. So we do have a way out of this.

Virgilia was next. She talked with Clare for some time, then left to ask her question. She whispered it in the arbiter’s ear, and the arbiter whispered the answer back. Secretive as ever.

Maya’s turn came. The woman floated about as if undecided what she wanted to ask, clenched her fists, then said it in a loud voice. “Where is my father?”

“In a town called Oakville,” the arbiter answered. “Somewhere in the state of Oregon, United States of America. It is of course, on earth.”

It was a personal question. I suppose Maya had nothing to hide. Perhaps I will ask her about it later.

Julio was next and much like Virgilia, he asked his question in secret. This came as a surprise to me, but it was everyone’s right to ask whatever question they wanted, however they wanted to.

Finally, the arbiter’s gaze fell on me.

I considered asking the lottery numbers for Jennifer’s sake. She didn’t ask me to do it, but I didn’t necessarily have a question prepared. Of course, asking about my future relationship with Ilyana would simply be a waste. That was something I had to do for myself.

As I hovered close to the arbiter, I remembered a few things that nagged at me. Something that I’ve wondered ever since I heard about the ascension legend from Jennifer, or when I heard about what was happening north of the Everdark from Hesina. And there were other things I’ve noticed while exploring the village as well, like the mountains seen from the upper canopies, or the ceiling of the recreation block. This question would ultimately result in a yes or no answer, but… I had to ask it.

The arbiter smiled expectantly at me.

My question…

“Are we champions all sent to the same world?”

Unlike with the others, the arbiter didn’t answer right away. Her eyes widened as if surprised. As if she was… elated.

“Yes,” she said, then rose from her seat and laughed.

“What?” I heard Clare say behind me in surprise.

“What does this mean?” Julio echoed.

The arbiter’s laugh reverberated across the vast expanse of outer space. “I knew I was right to bet on you, Ryota Rutherford! Testing you on that first mission proved me right, but now..!” She flew around us champions, then up towards the portals. With a grand gesture, she made it so the portals combined, creating a larger disk.

The giant portal showed the snow mountain of Curios in the middle. Slightly above it showed the border of a large nation, and to its left was a large island archipelago. Those were probably the countries at the brink of war.

But in the far distance below Curios was a wide swath of land covered in shadow. It was of course the Everdark. Below it showed a fan-shaped continent with lines separating multiple nations. The northmost country closest to the Everdark was of course, Shusui, where the town of Yorutei was situated.

And then, far to the north of Curios, floating above the map, was the flying continents of Elesia and Joren, held together by a large bridge.

“What about… what about the other worlds from the previous mission?” Jennifer asked. “Are they also in the same world?”

The arbiter did not answer that question. After showing us what we needed to see, she made the portal disappear and then descended to meet us back at eye level.

“I’m sure there are more you’d all like to learn, my beloved champions. My dear, courageous champions.” The arbiter hugged herself and feigned a look of melancholy. “But alas, our time together is almost over.”

“Not only must I send you back, but as fate deemed it, you are to face a new dilemma of whether you’d wish to continue with your role as champion and fight another day… or if you wish to sever your ties with us… and live your life as you normally would back on earth.”

So that freebie answer she gave Clare earlier was something she was close to revealing anyway. But that meant… that meant we can leave… we could actually end this here.

We all looked at each other, surprise and relief clear in our faces.

“You have one earth month to think whether you’d like to continue as a champion of fate or not. Of course, it would only be proper of me to remind you that the universe still needs saving. It still needs its heroes!”

“But before I send you back to ponder this choice, let me again announce to you the next reward if you decide to continue with the next mission. That reward… is the ability to bring with you whatever you wish from your next world back to earth! And I do mean anything. It will function the same way it does in every world no matter how different the so-called ‘laws of physics’ may be.”

“Once you’ve decided your answer, and you choose to continue with us, you will be prompted as to when the mission will start. Until next time, my brave champions.”

And with that, everyone was sent back where they originally came from.

Everyone…

…but me.