Chapter 3: The Adtraic Verity

Nothing.

A void of utter emptiness.

Disillusionment crashed over them as they gazed into the endless white, swallowed by silence. The sudden leap from the sprawling underground city to this blinding white abyss had left them reeling. They recognized the light, yet never imagined it belonged to their own world. While Asahi remained composed, panic had undoubtedly seized Aletha. Fear iced her veins as she darted through the void, her shadow and footsteps hovering over the white walls.

This couldn't be right. An endless void?

"This... can't be our world." Aletha said, "Akwan isn't even here!"

Crushed by terror, she dropped to her knees, teeth clenched, and pounded her fist against the empty white expanse in desperate anger.

"Where did that thing take us?! Was Akwan lying to us?"

Each hit sent echoes rippling through the endless white chasm.

"Asahi, answer me!"

Yet no one answered. Asahi shrugged. Although the device specifically said it's their world, it doesn't seem to be.

(Just a flat abyss.)

Memories clawed their way into Asahi's mind the more they gazed into the white abyss.

"Why is this… white glow, so familiar? Have I seen it before?"

Suddenly, before another word could be uttered, a croaking, mysterious voice slithered out from the emptiness.

"Ah, so it appears that one has forgotten about their past, what a pity."

After a long, heavy silence, Asahi and Aletha frantically searched for the source of the voice.

"Could that voice be Akwan? We haven't seen him since we have been in that cavern." Aletha whispered.

"No," Asahi mumbled. "The voice is too crooked to be Akwan. Just keep moving–"

Abruptly, from a misty veil of white was a strange, monstrous figure wearing a dark cloak with glowing magenta lines climbing on its chest. From every centimeter of his form, the figure radiated a twisted, overwhelming energy.

"Hey, are you responsible for this… void?" Aletha asked unwaveringly. "Wait a minute, I don't remember seeing your face. Who are you?!"

As Aletha's words faded, the figure fixed them with a chilling stare and unleashed a sinister laugh.

Dark tendrils unfurled from his head, rising like rigid arms.

"Of course you would say that!"

While he spoke, he clenched his nasty fists and slid them against his crumpled and disjointed face.

"I am The Ruler of The Forgotten. And you two. Those who dare call themselves 'Owners'... have abandoned the very world that made you who you were."

Aletha drew her lower lip between her teeth and clenched her fists.

"But… we never abandoned the world," She said, not catching her own lie. "We HAD to leave." She said with redirection.

"We had no choice!" Asahi said, slowly reaching for his blade.

At Asahi's outburst, the Ruler of the Forgotten folded his arms and let out a mocking chuckle, his bizarre, stringy legs shifting beneath him.

"Oh, really? I sense liars." He took another step, morphing his hands. "Then, let me clarify something for you."

The creature plunged its dark tendrils into the white ground, laughter twisting into a shrill, ear-splitting scream. His five limbs fanned out above him, then stabbed into the void. As Asahi and Aletha recoiled, hands flying to their blades, the Ruler of The Forgotten revealed his intent.

"You two did! And to make matters worse, I erased the memories of your family's very existence from everyone in Gincad. Yes!"

He took a breath, sharpening his jaw as it stared into the blinding abyss.

"The Adtraic Family! The supposed Owners of Gincad fell onto their knees by a SIMPLE light. Go ahead, TRY to make them remember."

With every step they took, the world around them flickered between black and white, as if reality itself was stuttering.

Asahi had doubts, and Aletha could see through his lie. The Ruler of the Forgotten had only wanted to scare them. Nonetheless, the revelation crashed over Asahi and Aletha, too immense for their minds to grasp.

"The Adtraic Family's existence, removed from our world?" Asahi pondered aloud. "That… shouldn't be possible."

"That's because it's a lie!" Aletha retorted.

The Ruler of the Forgotten forced his lips into a devious smile.

"Oh, but it is not," He said, clenching his skin. "...and now you two will now be recognized as nothing but ordinary, fleshy, powerless humans."

Putting his hand to his forehead, the Ruler of the Forgotten looked heavenward and asked once more.

"Now tell me. Do you two know who I am?"

In the heavy silence, they searched their memories for any clue about the being, but not a single spark of recognition flickered in their minds.

They could see from the creature's eight sharp magenta eyes that it wanted to correct them. However, confusion and memory loss tangled their thoughts, making it nearly impossible to form an answer.

Because of his proximity, Asahi and Aletha had no choice but to answer.

"No, we don't."

Rage surged through the creature's twisted, goopy form. Purple energy crackled along his veins, and his five magenta eyes blazed with a light that could blind the living.

"Oh? Really? Are you sure…?"

In reaction, Asahi gulped and stepped back from the Ruler of The Forgotten. He knew that answering him would only infuriate it further. Yet Aletha, ever impulsive and unafraid, dared to answer the creature.

"Yes."

A hollow laugh burst from the Ruler of the Forgotten. He puffed his cheeks, mocking her answer, but the menace in his elliptical eyes warned Aletha to run.

"Keep your heart beating," the Ruler of the Forgotten warned. His face darkened as he leaned toward Aletha, watching her tremble in fear. "...because not even the warmth of your own blood will save you from what you said."

A violent blast hurled Aletha across the void, smashing a crater into the unyielding white wall.

Without hesitation, Asahi lunged toward the Ruler, sword flashing from its sheath.

His gleaming blade pierced the Ruler of the Forgotten's flesh, tearing away a strip of skin as easily as peeling fruit. Screaming in agony, the Ruler of the Forgotten fell prone onto the white void, feeling a white burning sensation consume his skin.

His contorted face skewed up into an expression of absolute wrath as he spoke.

"Nothing more a blade can do."

Without warning, the creature launched up and mauled straight toward Asahi.

Layers of his skin pulsated and squirmed like bubbles as he struck the boy with their screaming, goopy tendrils, landing several hits. Time slowed as Asahi's eyes caught the same piece of The Ruler of The Forgotten's scaly skin scraping and landing against his body.

His vision, along with the others, flashed in white soon after.

. . .

A colossal wave of white light crashed over the land, swallowing the earth and leaving only molten ruin in its wake. A second, deadlier wave of light surged forth, burying the first and shattering kingdoms into pure, blinding white.

. . .

Before the memory could unfold further, darkness enveloped them once again, plunging them back into the white void.

"What… was that?!" Asahi muttered as he felt the flow of time speeding up to its original state.

The Ruler of The Forgotten turned his attention to Aletha, watching her scream and cry in pain. He began muttering under his breath as if something had gone wrong.

"Calm down. Calm down! It's just a shred of my skin. I'm sure nothing will be remembered, right? It's only one chunk."

Aletha's body trembled, covered in wounds, her pain-stricken screams swallowed by the endless white walls.

"I'll kill you!" She shrieked at the creature, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, those same tears from your tragic memories. Look how broken you are," the creature sneered, driving sharp, goopy tendrils into Aletha's skin. "Whoever gave you the right to call yourself an Owner?"

"Don't you dare touch my sister!" Asahi shouted with fury boiling down his neck.

"You think you have a say in this? You're nothing more than a mortal to your world's eyes now. Keep your mouth shut." The Ruler of The Forgotten replied.

Immediately, his voice turned razor-sharp as he glared at Asahi, who stood defiant, dark sword raised high.

"You don't understand anything. What can you possibly know about your world?"

Asahi's gray eyes narrowed, locking onto the creature towering above him.

He longed to shout that he knew his world's pain and blessings, its suffering and fleeting virtues, better than anyone.

But his memories were shrouded in fog, forcing him to answer with magic instead. While the creature gathered a sphere of destruction, Asahi intercepted the blast and soared into the air.

Twisting midair, he unleashed black beams of darkness at the Ruler of the Forgotten, tearing away more fragments of goopy skin.

Shock widened his eyes as he spotted the brown scarf lying gently in Aletha's trembling, bruised hand.

His gaze drifted to the two pieces of the Ruler's skin, watching them drift down onto the scarf like autumn leaves.

Before more could be said, time froze still.

Asahi, Aletha, and even the Ruler of The Forgotten's bodies were paralyzed, allowing another memory to invade their minds.

. . .

A tall black door stood with quiet elegance in the hallway. Flames raged behind the windows, ceilings and stone collapsed, and the door was wrenched open. Beyond the forced-open door, only heaps of dust and ruin remained. The bed lay overturned, blue-glowing holes riddled the walls, and shattered furniture sparkled with dust. Every corner bore the scars of struggle.

"N…No…" a boy said.

A young white-haired boy fell to his knees, tears glimmering as he wept, unable to comprehend the devastation before him. The sight of the sparkling brown scarf, lying silent on the tiled floor, told him all he needed to know about what had happened.

Although the white-haired boy told them to wait, the silver-haired girl entered the room and darted a glance at the brown scarf; her expression shone with confusion and sorrow.

"What… happened?"

With every moment of silence, realization stabbed deeper into the boy's heart. He collapsed, knowing he had failed to shield them from this truth.

"Asahi, what's wrong?" The white-haired girl asked.

His body shook with raw terror, tears streaking down his pale cheeks. He clutched the silken brown scarf in trembling hands, remorse flooding through him.

As the silver-haired girl and Aletha bent toward them, worried about what made Asahi so upset, the parents' room wall collapsed, revealing the burning kingdom they once knew. But despite that, the two girls ignored it, worried about what Asahi had to say.

The white-haired girl pushed the silver-haired girl aside and leaned over to Asahi, asking.

"Asahi, why are you crying?"

In a quiet, trembling, and horrified voice, Asahi turned his pale face toward his sisters and quakingly replied.

"We lost… our parents."

. . .

A ghostly pallor crept across his cheek as the memory faded.

Hearing the Ruler of the Forgotten chuckle menacingly, Asahi stepped forward, straightened his posture, and interrupted him.

"That's our mother's scarf."

Seizing a breath, Asahi clenched the brown scarf in his fingers and gritted his teeth, his face consumed in pure wrath.

"I will commit my life to finding whoever was responsible for destroying our world."

Voice echoing, Asahi cut off his own words and stalked toward the Ruler of the Forgotten. He sheathed his blade and conjured a white flame burning in his hands. Then he unleashed a decisive blow to the Ruler of Forgotten, screaming.

"And it all starts... with you!"

(SWING)

. . .

A dark intelligible voice called from the deep.

All of a sudden, time came to a complete standstill.

Black mist enveloped the white void. Then appeared delusions. Worlds, consumed in destruction. Cars crashed. Spaceships slaughtered. Towers crumbled. Civilization vanished—dragons of titanic sizes eating worlds.

Chaos.

One formidable figure appeared beyond the black veil of the night sky, tearing things and rending them apart. It had two jet-black, pointy feet, five silver arms, and a long, writhing tail. Scales consumed its beating chest. The being looked nothing like the monsters Asahi had seen before.

(Who is that creature?) Asahi thought while he saw Aletha freeze in space.

The void flashed and flickered, pushing Asahi, drowning him in visions. Worlds, gone. Destroyed and reduced to nothing but space dust. When the monster lifted its jagged hand, all stars of the dark veil dimmed. Civilization and worlds crumbled before Asahi's eyes, giving way to glowing runes that eclipsed his vision.

[World Destroyers Asahi and Aletha will return to the Central Planet.]

"World destroyers? Central planet?" Asahi thought.

Suddenly, another vision flashed in his head. Colorful worlds fractured in his hands like blood. Lava and chaos, screams and heartbreak.

"Just... just how much of a threat were we?" Asahi felt troubled, scratching the back of his head. "I can't... remember."

As if that wasn't enough for him, another ancient text stirred.

[At the edge of reality, an abomination arises from ash.]

[Disaster ends in tragedy.]

[The world shall fight again.]

With all these writings, Asahi brushed them aside and, after careful thought, punched the eldritch creature. But to no avail, the beast moved seven steps more than his normal hit, leaving behind special runes that deflected the impact.

[The Adtraic Verity]

Asahi hadn't a clue about his own past.

Only past memories came in shreds. And even then, it wasn't major.

Long before Asahi knew it, another revelation was unveiled.

[Arising from the central world, Asahi and Aletha will embark on a journey to save the mortal universe.]

"Mortal universe?" Asahi felt his whole body being controlled.

The creature's grotesque, black fingers pointed directly at the words, trying to lay out the sequence of events as clearly as it could. Even after all of that, Asahi tried to swing at the monster again, but dust rushed to his nose.

When he picked up his sword, he darted to fight and swing at the impenetrable creature. But the moment the hilt hit, a golden light flooded the space, shielding the creature momentarily. The black veil lifted, revealing eight important floating writings to Asahi.

[Insurgency Against Aversion.]

[Blossoming Arrogation of the Sealed Beatific.]

[A Parting with Despondency]

[The Insuperable Element of Love]

[Wonder of Desolate Stupefaction]

[Defiant Dread of Distorted Credence.]

[Promise from Virtuous Wrath]

[???]

Yet, all but one were revealed.

"What?" Asahi mumbled as the text dissipated, clearly confused. "What is going on? Why is the last one crossed out? Who are you?"

Before he got a good look at the creature, it vanished.

Black mist retreated, and time came back. Asahi's soul was cast back into the white void, with Aletha standing by his side. Although it was a short occurrence, Asahi felt as if this fate was not supposed to be revealed this early.

And that monster, who had shown him all of it, seemed to be a creeping enemy he might have to meet in the future. Asahi struggled to find meaning in any of the text, only coming up with a few predictions and implications of what the seven texts meant.

(What was all that about?)

When the black mist faded, and all text dissipated quickly, Asahi was thrust right back into battle, fighting the Ruler of The Forgotten with a deep, feminine voice, uttering in the white abyss.

"Journey Begins: Insurgency Against Aversion."