Believe in Yourself and Your Heart: Part 1

“Now who could that be?” Aria wondered aloud. “I can’t imagine many people would be able to make it out here of all places.”

A faint mana signature pulled her from her exploration of the Gila border gate, but as she ventured back into the snow, she sensed a second, more faint, signature. While distinct, Aria wasn’t sure where they’d come from or what they were doing so far north. The blizzard had reduced visibility so much she could barely see her hand in front of her face. Combined with the lack of sunlight, it was dangerous just to be outside.

She shivered as the wind tore through the wintry hellscape, etching a semi-permanent chill into her bones. She wanted to turn around and explore the border gate some more; she’d found piles of firewood, neatly stacked against the wall, but whoever was approaching knew what they were doing; no one in their right mind would venture this far for nothing. The only reason she’d made it as far as she had, with Lacia in tow, was because of her own magic, but overestimating what mana she currently had left made for an unorthodox solution: drag Lacia inside the border gate with her and close the door.

Log by log, she’d arranged the firewood into a small pile. The plan was to drag Lacia inside and out of the cold; the tent and sleeping bags were only a temporary fix, and they needed something to prepare food with, too. Cold, mushy meals sounded about as appealing as standing barefoot in the snow.

Dimly lit and bitter cold, the border gate wasn’t an ideal shelter, but it beat the tent by miles, flapping in the howling wind, threatening to blow away with every gust. Besides, there was no wind inside the gate, and the only snow was piled near the entrance; it would melt once she lit the fire, something to warm both her and Lacia. Hopefully, it would ease the strain on Lacia’s body as she healed, but even that would take months, at the very least.

“But before I do any of that, Let’s figure out who was dumb enough to come all the way out here. Although,” she posed, “they might actually know what they’re doing… Still, my mana levels are super low and so are Lacia’s. I can barely feel her mana myself…”

Regardless, she wasn’t taking any chances. She spent the next several minutes casting a low-level warding, something to throw any potential pursuers off, but it was a chore. Under normal circumstances, it only took around an hour for Earth’s leylines to restore even the most depleted magic levels in humans. For Aria, It had taken several hours just to restore a small fraction of her own mana.

“The problem is that I can’t restore my mana fast enough,” she gritted. “If I’m struggling, how in the world are you faring, even this well?” Aria stared at the tent for another minute. “Whatever. The warding is up. Weak, but it should be enough to fool most people.”

Out of her peripherals, she watched as a dark shadow broke through the wall of blowing snow, followed by a second moments later. She closed her eyes, temporarily eliminating each of her five senses one by one as she entered a heightened state of consciousness. She could feel the crunching of snow underfoot two sets of feet, the moisture on their breath as it froze upon exhalation—even the beating of their hearts. What she didn’t sense surprised her more than what she did: there was no malicious intent.

“There’s definitely two people. One male, one female, but their mana levels are also super low. Who would decide to waste all of their magic just to make the trip out here?” An idea sprang into Aria’s head. “The cool thing about telepathy is that its mana-usage is pretty low,” she mumbled. “Sadly, this really isn’t the time to learn something new. Still, if I can connect to whoever’s out there, this could be huge.”

She took a deep breath, inhaling the freezing air as it filled her lungs. The cold air helped her concentrate, focusing her thoughts on the female; she wasn’t fond of poking around inside of a guy’s head. While telepathy was intermediate-level magic at best, for someone with no practice, it might as well have been an undecipherable spell meant only for the highest-skilled mages. If she missed her target, her consciousness would slingshot back at her like a rubber band; she’d be struck by debilitating migraines, rolling blackouts— She even ran the risk of permanent, irreparable, brain damage, and that was if she was lucky. The worst-case scenario: unpredictable seizures and possible death by stroke. Despite the risks, she concluded the potential reward outweighed the dangers of novice spellcasting.

“My luck has been awful recently, so please let this work,” she panted. “If there’s a God out there, or some higher power, I beg of you to lend me your help just this once.”

A growing ache etched its way across Mana’s forehead as her nerves tingled with numbness. She felt trapped between wake and sleep, consumed by fleeting moments of both. The border gate wasn’t far, but if her mana levels didn’t rebound, and soon, she’d be as lost in the snow as the absent daylight.

“Brendan,” Licht warned, “her mana levels are not improving despite her not using any magic. The leylines around you should be working to replenish them but they just keep falling. She has used ninety-five percent of her mana since you started out.”

Brendan cursed. “And I don’t have enough to get us back, either. Sure hope whoever is out here with us is friendly,” he joked.

Mana lifted her head from Brendan’s shoulder; he’d joined her on the ground. “It’s ok,” she said woozily, “I’m good now.” She attempted to stand, squarely focused on the snowy ground. Her face was confronted in concentration.

“Hey, before you get any further, look me in the eyes. Can you see me? Is your vision clear?”

“Uh, yeah. I can see you,” she lied.

“You’re staring straight past me, Mana. We can’t go any further with you like this. We’ll have to wait for my mana to replenish itself before we can make the trek back to Buunit.” She began to sway as the ensuing headache filled her ears with a static hum. “Yeah, this is not what I was hoping for,” Brendan admitted.

“Am I going blind? Can’t think straight…” Her thoughts were muddled; anxiety crept into her veins like a neurotoxin. Unexpectedly, a voice shoved its way through the jumble of haywire thoughts and chaotic emotions.

“No, but your mana levels are dangerously low,” a female voice replied.

“There’s a voice in my head,” Mana giggled. “Huh? I laughed?” She felt her grip on reality loosen. With what coherency she still had left, she impulsively reached out, clutching Brendan’s pant leg before she lost consciousness.

“Licht, did you hear anything? She just passed out but said something about a voice in her head.” He looked down at Mana, moving her face away from the snow.

“No. I didn’t hear any—”

Brendan held a hand up to the Leyliner. “Hold on. There is someone else here. I wasn’t sure at first,” he said softly, “but there’s definitely someone about a few hundred feet from us.” He tensed his muscles, consolidating what mana he could conjure. “This might be a stupid idea, but I’m going to send a quick mana pulse out.”

“Like magical sonar?” Licht replied. “If you die, I’ll construct a shrine in my future apartment for you two.”

Brendan chuckled. “Maybe don’t be so hasty there, pal.” He sent a weak pulse of mana through the air as the outline of a person revealed itself through the snowstorm. Staggering through the snow, a grainy outline revealed itself to him. “I think it’s a woman,” he said, noting the slim figure and what he assumed was long hair, “and it seems there’s a small mana-disruption field nearby, too.”

“You don’t think they’re lost, do you?” Licht questioned. “If there’s a mana-disruption field, even a small one, then we know there’s another magic-user nearby, but when you say the field is weak, it makes me think they could be just as low on mana as you are. But why are the leylines not replenishing anyone’s mana?”

“Good question, and one I wish I knew the answer to. Still, the way they’re walking doesn’t seem threatening. In fact, I’d almost say they look… hurt.” A small tug at his pant leg returned his attention to Mana. “She’s awake again?”

“Go to her,” Mana groaned, one hand pressed against her forehead, the other clutching Brendan’s pant leg.

“If you’re slipping between states of consciousness like this, we’re in more danger than I thought,” Brendan affirmed. “If you can sleep, just—”

“That woman— Lacia—” She passed out again before she could finish.

His expression changed to an aslant frown. “Alright, so who are you?” he muttered, staring into the snowy void. The outline had faded.

Aria tightened the laces on her boots as they compacted the snow beneath them with every step, uncertainty laid out before her.

“Hang tight, Lacia,” she gritted. “We’re all going to make it out of here. Alive.” She stared into the indomitable, wintry void. “I’m not doing this for myself,” she paused, “I’m doing this for you.” She threw the hood of her coat over her head and stepped out of the tent. “Black tights and a white coat. God, I look like a walking snowman.”

Brendan was bent over Mana, shielding her from the wind. “Man, this sucks,” he said through chattering teeth. “It’s so damn cold out here, and it won’t stop snowing!”

The Leyliner floated around to face Brendan. “The leylines that flow through here are rich in mana,” Licht explained. “You should have enough to get to the border gate before long, but I still can’t figure out why your Mana’s levels aren’t being replenished yet…”

Riding the wind, a strong magical presence roared through the encroaching darkness; there was no masking its powerful presence. The Leyliner chirped and spun as Brendan’s mana collided with the approaching stranger’s. Snow whipped into whirlwinds. The hair on Brendan’s arms resembled needles. The two mana fields were distinct but uniquely complimentary, like the sun and the moon.

“Did you just sense that through the Leyliner? Seriously? Now that’s wild.”

“Uhh, yeah,” Licht replied, shocked. “Wow! I was saving the mana-detection feature for version 1.1. There must be a bug in the programming that inadvertently added the feature early.”

“As comedic as ever,” Brendan said, rolling his eyes.

He picked Mana up from the ground, holding her in his arms. They’d come this far; it was the least he could do while she was in such a vulnerable state. Math wasn’t his strong suit, but he calculated there was a fifty-fifty chance that whoever was approaching was friendly.

“Who are you?” Brendan demanded. “Are you a snow…woman?” He looked away, trying to hide his laughter.

A girl, about Brendan’s age, emerged from the darkness as she threw the hood of her coat off, revealing snow-covered eyebrows and red, flushed cheeks. Her choice of waterproof gloves, and thick coat acted as makeshift camouflage; her black tights juxtaposed the wall of white behind her.

“What a way to greet the girl who saved your friend from being consumed by a devil,” she said, hurt. “Whatever… That girl you’re holding, let me see her.”

“Excuse me? You want me to just… hand her over?” He shook his head. “Better question. You know Lacia? Wait, wait, wait. How do you know who we are?”

“I don’t know who you are, but what other reason would you have for coming all the way out here? Besides, I dug around in your friend’s head a little which is how I actually know what you’re after,” she grumbled. “I’d say you can trust me, but literally every villain ever says that, so—” She walked over to Brendan as he took a step back. “You pinged me with your magic earlier, did you not? If you still don’t trust me, you can check my mana levels for yourself.” She winced as she moved a hand to her stomach. “And I’m still not fully healed yet, either…”

Brendan halted his backwards approach. “What do you mean you’re not fully healed, though? I can’t get all three of us out of here myself, so please don’t need my help. We’re tapped, as is.”

“Will you just let me see her?” the girl asked, impatient. “She’s ill. That’s why her mana can’t restore itself. You let her overexert herself.”

“How do you know all of that, and what are you doing out here?” A million-and-one more questions poured into his mind. “Can you at least tell me your name, and how did you find us?”

“I’ll explain on the way.”

“The way to where?!”

“The Gila Border Gate first, then the person you’ve been looking for this whole time.” She turned her back to Brendan, motioning for him to follow. “Oh, and I guess I can give you my name. It’s Aria. Nice to, uh, meet you, I guess.”

“Uh, yeah. Likewise. Name’s Brendan.”

“I know,” Aria said, nonchalant.

“But you just said you didn’t—”

“Correct.”

Brendan sighed. “Let’s just the hell out of the snow.”

A large pile of tattered clothing, wooden torch hilts, and broken twigs littered the entryway to the Gila border gate, all separated into neat piles. It was almost as if someone had been foraging for materials before abruptly leaving the job unfinished. Had Aria been trying to build a fire?

“Doubt whoever was here was looking for a real thrilling camping experience,” Brendan mumbled. “What is this place?”

“Some of those piles are my doing. We need warmth, and I think I have enough mana enough to start one. More importantly,” Aria answered, “this is the inside of the Gila Border Gate.” She brushed her fingers through her hair, the white snow reminding Brendan of marshmallows in a cup of hot chocolate. “Leave your friend here for a moment and help me gather this junk into a big pile so I can light it. I promise, she’ll be safer anywhere than out there.” She stared into the howling snowstorm.

“Uh, yeah,” Brendan said, leaning Mana against the wall. “So, explain to me: where is Lacia, exactly? And how did you get so far in this storm?”

“She’s in our tent, a few hundred feet from the border gate. Before the freeze overtook the ship, she managed to break her foot, but she needs a doctor. I can’t heal her,” Aria explained, adding a handful of twigs to the growing pile of kindling. “The sooner we can make this fire, the sooner I can go and grab her.”

A loud snap bounced off the concrete walls as a quick burst of heat and light melted the cold darkness from Brendan and Aria’s bones. The flickering firelight chased the shadows away, clambering back into their musky corners. Dark circles cast their own shadows beneath Aria’s eyes, an unintended consequence of the now hearty fire. Her skin looked clammy, and dried blood lined the corners of her mouth.

“You’re in no shape to go back out there,” Brendan declared. “If the tent is the bright orange thing I saw from way out, I’ll get her. Not to rain on your parade or any moral code you’re operating under, but you look like hell. Stay here, rest, and I’ll be back with Lacia.”

Aria sighed. “If you wouldn’t mind. Fighting devils takes a lot out of a girl, you know? When you get back, I’ll explain more, including about your friend.” She gave a weary smile.

“You’re injured, too. Give me a few hours and I might be able to patch you up some,” Brendan said as he stood up. “Alright. I’ll be right back with Lacia. Just try to keep warm, and don’t murder my friend or something weird.”

She frowned.

“She has Mana-Contraction Syndrome, or MCS for short,” Aria explained. “I can help her, but it’ll have to wait until morning. I haven’t slept, well, in days. Oh, and speaking of sleeping,” she inquired, “why hasn’t the sun risen? Is it not, like, midday?”

Brendan scratched his head. “I was hoping you’d have the answer to that one,” he said. “Look, there’s a lot going on out there right now. This is way bigger than you or me, but you already know that, don't you?”

Aria stared into the fire. “I’m going to go slow for you, then. How familiar are you with devils?

“…Huh? Are you being genuine or is this, like, a joke or something? I’m not the religious type, if that’s what you’re asking. Angels, gods, devils— I have no reason to believe any of it.” Brendan returned to his place by the fire. “When you first mentioned fighting a devil, I legit thought you were joking. You are just kidding, right?”

She leaned back until she was level with the floor, arms at her sides. “I wish I was joking, Brendan. These things—devils—are real, and I won’t be able to defeat another one. Not alone.” She lifted her head up, catching his gaze. “This is me asking you for help. I’m spent, Lacia is critically wounded, and your friend is going to be out of commission for a while, too.”

Brendan folded his arms. “If what you’re saying is true, I have a friend who just might have a little more information. Assuming I believe you, what is it you’re wanting from me?”

She stretched her hands toward the ceiling. “When I first met Lacia… err, met her for the second time, she was like a stranger to me. I didn’t know who she was, I didn’t recognize her face—nothing about her was familiar. Why?” She recalled the early days of their technical reunion. “After I walked into her nightmare and met Lucifero, something happened—some kind of weird reaction. After I defeated him, I remembered my past, and some of the most precious times I’d spent with Lacia.”

“Okay. Stop there. You ‘walked’ into a nightmare?” Brendan shook his head. “More to the point, you and Lacia have a history? Now that’s—”

“I’m not proud of what I did, Brendan. Don’t call it interesting. It makes me sick to my stomach to think about how I treated her the last couple of weeks or however long it’s been— God! I don’t even know anymore! Does it matter?”

He threw up his hands. “Hey, now. It’s okay! Look, the fact of the matter is, everything you just told me changes things. If you’re not my enemy but friends with Lacia, I think that makes us allies.” He scratched his head. “At least, I think that’s how most war novels go, anyways.”

Aria chuckled. “There’s no reason you should trust me, though. I treated her like dirt, stuck her with a tracker—I even hit her, but that last one was a freebie since she elbowed me in the head,” she mumbled. “Like, I don’t know how to explain it, but it didn’t feel like me.”

Brendan walked over to Aria, sitting a few feet in front of her. “I appreciate your honesty, but you obviously feel some kind of guilt and regret, right? You saved her from a, uh, devil, and brought her all the way out here, coincidence or not that we all met.” He held out a hand. “So, are we good? I think we could make for a pretty good team, you know?”

She struggled to find the words to say. “I— Yeah… I think this is the right thing to do,” she said, grabbing Brendan’s hand. “I’d be happy to ally with you and, uhh… What’s your friend’s name…? Sorry. I only poked around enough to figure yours out.”

Brendan grinned. “That’s Mana. She’s known Lacia since they were kids. Without her, this journey would have been impossible. Still, she put herself in danger to get us this far. I think that should give you a pretty good feel for her determination.” He pulled Aria into a sitting position. “By the way, there’s one more person I want to introduce you to. Licht, you still chilling?”

The Leyliner suddenly whirred to life, revealing itself to Aria as it hovered next to Brendan. Aria raised an eyebrow, unsure what to make of the strange, cube-shaped device. She wondered if she’d just allied herself with a technological genius or some kind of super nerd. Either way, she was both confused and thoroughly intrigued.

“I presume you’re Aria,” the Leyliner chimed. Aria quickly distanced herself from the device. “My name is Licht, and this thing I’m talking through is called a Leyliner. I promise I’m not some kind of advanced artificially intelligent program from centuries in the future,” he laughed. “I guess I could have worked on my introduction first, though,” he said, pensively.

“Okay then… Well, it’s nice to meet you, Licht, but if I may, might I ask why you aren’t here now? In person?” She crawled back to her place near the fire, examining the Leyliner like a child’s toy.

“I’m not magically adept in offense or defense, but the little magic I can use I’m able to infuse into this device I’m speaking through. I’d only be a liability, otherwise. This is the best way for me to support Brendan and Mana, and, of course, you and Lacia as well, now.”

Brendan added onto Licht’s introduction. “You see, he’s also a history buff. Not only that, as you can see, he’s also really good with technology and programming. As for myself,” he said, “should I let you do the honors, buddy?”

“Don’t mind if I do!” Licht said. “Brendan and I have known each other since at least high school, but we might go further back than that, even. My brain’s a bit cooked at the moment. Anyways,” he continued, “Brendan also has a huge heart, and he’s good with magic. Uhh… He likes night drives, his favorite ice cream flavor is peanut butter, when he’s not—”

“O~kay,” Brendan said, cutting Licht off, “I think that’s enough. I don’t think she particularly cares what kind of ice cream I like,” he laughed. “Well, with introductions out of the way now, there’s something I’d like to ask you.”

Aria pointed at herself. “Me? What is it you want to know? If it has anything to do with your poor fashion sense, I’m afraid you’re too far gone for my help,” she teased.

“Hurtful, but no. That’s not what I wanted to ask.” He gestured with his hand, opening his palm. “I don’t suppose you’ve heard of a certain Alurian myth, have you?”

“There are a few I was told as a little girl, but— Wait…Considering what I just told you, you’re not referring to the one about the Reverse World, are you?”

“Think about it, Aria,” Licht said. “Lucifero attacked Lacia in her dreams because he was after something. From what Mana and Brendan have both told me, she was taken by some strange man who just appeared out of nowhere.” The Leyliner whirred over to Aria. “If we connect the dots, all three things are related in some way. In fact, the involvement of the devil, Lucifero, adds weight to another ancient Alurian story.”

“There’s more to all of this, including the second story Licht just mentioned. I think I may be able to offer a few more bits and pieces to the puzzle, but did Lucifero tell you anything else? Anything at all?”

Aria shifted her eyes to the side wall and back. “I don’t like where this is going so far,” she pouted, “but he did tell me he was the third ranked of the Reverse Royalty. Before you ask, yes, I’m absolutely certain I defeated him.”

“Ok,” Brendan said. “At this point, the rest of the Reverse Royalty probably knows of Lucifero’s defeat. Like you said, you can’t fight another devil alone and we wouldn’t let you, anyway,” he added. “The next fights won’t be so simple—especially against any devils of similar or higher rank to Lucifero. So, the question begs: how do we deal with something that powerful?”

“There’s more to that second story that I think will help, like Brendan said, “Licht offered, “but I also think it would be best if we waited for Lacia and Mana to regain consciousness first, seeing as this involves them, too. The way I see it, you’re both exhausted and your mana levels are about as barren as my alcohol cabinet,” he joked. “I need to make some software updates anyways, and conversation will distract me from my work, so why don’t you two try to get some sleep?”

“Licht’s right,” Brendan said. “I can heal your stomach wounds once I get some mana back, then we can focus on fixing Mana up. We’ll plan our next move after that. Besides, it’s not like there’s an on-demand movie streaming service out here.”

Aria was hesitant to agree, but she didn’t argue. She was exhausted; in her current state, she wasn’t of much use to anyone, much less herself. With the addition of Licht, Brendan, and Mana, she felt like the hope she’d abandoned had been rekindled, but life wasn’t so simple, and she knew that. Hope would be the one thing that got her killed if she wasn’t careful.

“Alright, fine,” she caved. “Don’t let me sleep too long, and if you have any weird dreams, tell me.”

“Weird dreams?” Licht and Brendan echoed.

“You’ll know if you have any,” Aria said, closing her eyes.

Sleep would be a welcome relief, but Lucifero’s interference with Lacia’s unconscious mind wasn’t something she’d been able to wrap her mind around yet. What was it that he wanted, and why?

“Perhaps it has something to do with that other world her mind subconsciously escaped to, but that doesn’t explain why our wounds are following us between realms,” she puzzled. “This feels way too much like some kind of twisted alter-fiction…”

Brendan was the first to stir, stretching out across the concrete floor. He felt strangely rested. He looked over to the fire, now a pile of ashes and smoldering embers, then at Aria, several feet from the edge of their makeshift fire pit. The dimly lit coals embellished the border gate in a warm, orange glow. Thankfully, the smoke had managed to find a way to filter out.

“She must’ve gotten too warm laying by the fire and all,” Brendan mumbled. Her breathing was ragged and inconsistent before it steadied itself a moment later. He heaved a sigh of relief. “I’m just glad she’s hanging in there… This whole journey has been rough on everyone. That being said, I guess I better check on the Leyliner, too.”

The device gave a low hum as he approached. It reminded him of an oversized plastic building block, like the ones he used to play with as a child. He tapped the top of the device with his finger, initiating a holographic text box that popped out in front of his face: Software Update Commenced.

“Software update, huh? He must’ve been busy.” He rubbed the back of his head. “Can’t say I blame ya, buddy. Trying to find your own ways to support us out here…” He looked towards the far wall where Lacia and Mana rested. “Huh? Now I know she wasn’t like that before I fell asleep,” he chuckled. Mana’s head must have fallen into Lacia’s lap at some point. “Maybe she woke up and saw Lacia was here, too. Hmm.”

“Their resolve is strong. They will be just fine,” a disembodied voice came. “You, however, I am quite curious about. “What is it that motivates you, Brendan Greyriter?” The voice was strangely… comforting.

“Apparently, it’s my turn to hear voices in my head. That’s wild.”

“Ahh. You have a sense of humor. I like that,” the voice said. “I have already paid Mana multiple visits. Her heart has been battered and bruised, but her motivations are clear. However, I have yet to determine what drives you. What is it you seek to gain?”

Brendan wracked his brain. “A strange voice, and one that claims to have visited Mana several times already… Are you who she’s been calling Omnis?”

The embers suddenly began to smoke, smothering the room in thick, white smoke. “What—? Where is this coming from? We didn’t burn anything that would turn the smoke white, and the fire isn’t even lit!” he coughed, eyes watering.

He took a deep breath, expecting to inhale a plume of smoke, only to find the air was clear. Opening his eyes, he couldn’t believe what he saw. The border gate was nowhere to be seen. Instead, an ethereal, white room had taken its place. No… it was more akin to that of a large hall, nestled inside an alternate plane of reality: time didn’t flow, and space was stagnant. He was hesitant to even call it a room as the space expanded into infinity. Aside from the trickle of water that fell from the vaulted ceiling, everything was still. Only the reverberations of the water droplets seemed to obey the laws of physics.

“Or maybe not,” he said, watching as the water droplets dripped in reverse, splashing onto the ceiling rather than the floor. “Where in the world am I?”

“Allow me to show you something,” the voice said.

A bubble of shifting colors drifted into the palms of his hands. “If emotions could take corporeal form, this bubble would definitely be the manifestation of it. Man, this place just gets weirder and weirder. What a trip!”

“That bubble is the culmination of the heart of someone who cares for you very deeply. It yearns for the one thing that can fill that which consumes it. Can you feel the tears that have been shed? The uncertainty and fear that comprise every drop?” The room began to shift in color before rectifying into a fiery, sunset-orange. The voice ebbed with a heavenly aura. “Now, let those emotions imbue themselves into your heart, Brendan Greyriter.”

The colors shifted again, this time into a mixture of orange, silver, and blue. Brendan felt as if he were being transported through space-time itself. Colors congealed into a whirlwind of emotions he never even knew existed. Tears began to form in the corners of his eyes until they streamed down his face in torrents as his heart paraded in his chest. Every heartbeat brought about a new flood of emotions that tore through him like a meteor blazing through the atmosphere. The emotional scars that had hidden themselves away in his heart began to resurface; he had forced them into submission before locking them away, afraid to face the past he’d chosen to forget.

“Brendan?” a female voice called. “Brendan, are you ok?” He opened his eyes to find a girl standing before him. “It took you long enough,” she said, voice quivering.

The sun had reemerged as it began to set. Grass sprouted through the rocks that littered the ground, eroding as time passed, back into the Earth’s loamy soil. An expanse laid out before him: an open field. Wet blades of grass grazed his fingers as he balled his fists into the cool earth. His tears turned the soil into dark shades of brown, dirt smearing his shirt as he clutched his chest. A warm breeze transformed his hair into streams of gold in the setting sun.

Brendan lifted his head up to find a younger version of himself standing before him. The girl from earlier had suddenly disappeared. He dried his eyes, new emotions lining up one by one as if they were preparing an assault on his heart. Steadying his breathing, he watched as a scene from his childhood played out before him.

“Young master, please come back inside,” a weary voice called out. “You’ll catch cold!”

Brendan hadn’t noticed the downpour at first, but he also hadn’t felt the rain on his skin until now. The exchange between his younger self and what looked to be a well-dressed, older gentleman resumed, but something about the exchange felt vaguely familiar. Regardless, he surmised that the scene playing out before him had to have taken place at least a decade earlier.

“I told her I would wait for her to come back home like she promised she would. This is something I have to do,” Brendan’s younger self shouted through the pouring rain.

He stared down an empty road as if he were expecting the arrival of someone important at any moment. The rain had turned the pavement to glass, reflecting the canvas of solid gray clouds overhead—a reflection of the turmoil in his heart.

“Your mother and father would have my head if you caught cold on my watch. Come inside. I’ll draw you a hot bath and—”

“No. I told her I would wait. I’ll stand here like I promised I would. They can’t take her away…” He balled his fists in frustration as he turned to face the man before falling to his knees, slamming the ground. “Tell me they can’t take her, Hobson! Tell me!”

“What is this?” Brendan questioned as he watched the dramatics unfold before his eyes. “Why don’t I remember any of this? And who was I talking about?”

“Young master, I understand your frustrations, but there’s nothing we will be able to do if you continue to stand in this rainstorm. Aria will be alright. She is going to be with her new family now, and we have to accept that. Someday you, too, will find the perfect home, but until then,” Hobson crouched beside Brendan, holding an umbrella over the two, “please come back inside.”

A thick mist began to crawl across the ground, raindrops quickly cooling the sun-scorched pavement. Brendan felt as uncertain as the growing haze, unable to establish what he was feeling, where he was, or what he was witnessing. The little boy was definitely him, but he didn’t recognize the man he had called Hobson. To make matters worse, the way he’d name-dropped Aria… It was as if he’d known her all his life even though they had only met for the first time less than a day ago. Before he could manifest even the semblance of an explanation, the scene shimmered and melted away like chalk in the summer rain.

Emotions were his friend, and he made sure everyone knew, but these emotions… They were more than just everyday feelings; these were far stronger and more volatile. He felt as if someone had unleashed a torrent of unregulated emotions, forcing him to submit to the very same forces he’d tried so hard to imprison. They consumed him as colors pulsated and morphed into new images. For a moment, Brendan thought he’d caught a glimpse of the border gate, but it was well-lit and bustling with life—a complete one-eighty. It must have been his imagination.

The scene transformed again, shimmering like ripples in water. To his surprise, he did find himself back at the Gila border gate. Aria was where he had left her, and Mana was still curled up next to Lacia, asleep. He smiled. Lacia’s return was a welcome surprise, but her abduction had blindsided him. Everything had happened so quickly: the weird weather, Lacia’s strange wounds and subsequent disappearance, and Mana’s meetings with the so-called Omnis. He was glad to have her back. With the group being as jumbled as it was, her return was a highly welcome commodity. Even so, her disappearance still didn’t explain all of the crazy things that had happened since. He cared for her—for all of his friends—but he felt like a pawn in a game of chess. Where would he be moved to next, and how would it affect the outcome of the match?

“There is one more thing you need to see,” the voice came again as the image of the border gate rippled away.

“Wait,” Brendan shouted, “what is it you’re trying to tell me? And what are these emotions?”

“You will understand in time.”

Colors congealed into a messy blur, kaleidoscopic patterns swirling through the void. Random memory bubbles whisked by him as a set of translucent stairs manifested themselves before him, spiraling into eternity. He placed a foot on the first step. The tap of the sole of his shoe pierced the silence as visible sound waves emanated outwards from the impact.

Clearly, something was waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs, but what? He placed another foot on the step, illuminating the entire staircase in a flood of yellow light. Each subsequent step reverberated through the emptiness, but instead of dissipating, their unique waveforms seemed to resonate with one another.

“I feel so light… I should be able to just… kind of hop down there.” He took a small hop where he stood. “So that’s it, huh? I thought gravity seemed a little broken when I saw the water droplets earlier, but this definitely confirms it. Guess I’d better go see what’s waiting for me now.”

He leapt down the stairs, sailing through the low-gravity emptiness as memories continued to fly past him. Some, he genuinely remembered. Others, he questioned their origin. Regardless, they seemed to attach themselves to an invisible wall as if they were pinning themselves to an art board. He turned around, fascinated by the changing scenery as he continued to fly down the stairs.

A minute later, his feet hit the final step, a melodic ping concluding the minor symphony. What seemed to be the last of the memory bubbles sorted themselves into the makeshift wall, completing the composition. The sound of large, metal gears bounded through the strange void as a red door appeared in front of him. Something compelled him to enter.

Turning the knob, he walked through the entryway, finding himself in the same earthy plane as before. The sun hadn’t moved from its earlier position in the sky, and the dirt had retained the impressions from his fists—even the tear stains were still visible. Time wasn’t flowing, after all—a frozen spacetime where he could spend eternity in a single moment.

Suddenly, a sweet scent wafted into his nose. It was familiar, but he couldn’t place why he knew the aroma. A brief gust of wind carried the scent into his nose again, stronger this time, as it triggered a series of long-forgotten memories, but one in particular stood out: