Their footsteps rang out in the shadowy corridor. With every stride, the hallway seemed to stretch and deepen. As they pressed on, Belial's words painted the darkness with stories.
"Alaunus was a mighty dragon." He said as he looked over to the glowing inscription emblazoned on the wall. "A beautiful and glorious creature. A prophecy maker and an artist. She was… everything."
Asahi and Aletha studied Belial's eyes, captivated by the strange dance of his lips as he spoke, each word twisting his mouth in unexpected ways.
"But then, her size became too much," he said, his tone unwavering. "She couldn't make prophecies as before; her size was too grand. So, she had to rest beneath the waves."
Before Belial could finish, Asahi sprang into action, flinging aside boxes to carve a path forward. Aletha slipped behind him, eyes sharp for lurking dangers.
Beneath tangled vines and crumbling ruins, an entire city slumbered, forgotten by time.
Churches and houses rose in ghostly outlines, while taverns and graveyards lay half-swallowed by stone and creeping green. Pressing on, they slipped into the round cathedral, drifting through shadowy hallways that wound from chamber to chamber.
"All those rulers couldn't all be slain." He said as memories of the floating citadel and towns came into view. "There can't possibly be only two of them alive."
A sudden vision flickered before him: the father who had raised Asahi. Though the image was fading, the memory of those strong, sheltering arms lingered—broad and sturdy, the very shape of protection. But now, they belonged only to the past.
They paused in a corridor that spiraled down into the heart of the underground city.
Aletha stepped forward, dodging traps in the entwined hallways. Sadiki's shadow divided into rooms and vanished into darkness. Sorrowful echoes lingered. Confused, Asahi leaned toward Aletha and whispered.
"Where is he going?"
Confused by Sadiki's actions, Asahi and Aletha dashed up the hallway. They recalled their father, standing proud before the world, unleashing his trident on challengers.
A single question began to gnaw at their hearts, growing sharper with every passing second.
"How can father possibly get killed?" Asahi asked as The Engulfing Light swallowed the image altogether. "It doesn't make sense. He had all the power in the world, and yet…"
Bewildered, Belial scratched his head, then drew his cloak tight and melted into the shadows. Aletha's reply trembled on her lips.
"He. No. I… I refuse to believe it. How can a powerful Sovereign such as him suddenly vanish without saying goodbye?"
Then, remembrances of him opening a hole in the castle with his black trident filled their peripherals. Aletha stopped to grit her teeth. Asahi took deep breaths and shut his eyes, remembering Akwan saying that his parents might be alive.
A tempest of rage overtook Aletha, and her scream tore through the silence.
"Stupid! Why were you so silent, father? Why didn't you say goodbye to the ones who have loved you very much?" Her words started to spill like vomit. "Where is mother? What happened to her? Do you know anything? WE loved you, can't you understand that?"
Aletha hammered her fist against the cold stone, her voice choked with grief. Tears carved paths down her cheeks as she crumpled to her knees, her scream reverberating through the hollow ruins.
"Stupid! Stupid. You are all so…" She took another sigh, dropping her shoulders and yelling. "Stupid."
Asahi held his tongue, afraid that any word might fan the flames. His anger had faded, replaced by a quiet ache of disappointment. No farewell, only silence. Even a single goodbye would have been enough.
Belial and Sadiki tried to stop her, but that made her angrier.
"Come on," Belial said as his cloak covered his head. "Let's go find Akwan."
As he mentioned the name, Aletha's fury ebbed away. In that instant, they remembered their true purpose in these ancient ruins. They were not searching for their parents or for Aiyana, but for Akwan—the one who had guided them to this world.
If it weren't for Akwan, Asahi, and Aletha, they wouldn't have ever returned.
If it wasn't for him, the two would continue exploring other worlds, not knowing that their world was safe.
After wandering in heavy silence, they turned left into a ruined corridor. To their right, a gaping hole yawned in the stone wall. Aletha wiped away her tears and began to clear the loose blocks, her movements steady and deliberate.
Aletha staggered into the hallway, her steps faltering as a flickering cyan glow shimmered in the distance.
"It's just another light," Aletha mumbled as she shrugged her shoulders.
"That's no ordinary light," Asahi replied. "We need to turn around… now!"
As the three crept toward the end of the hallway, the cyan glow swelled, bathing the stones in eerie light.
The wanderers turned their heads left, peering into a vast chamber where strange devices and ghastly, misshapen creatures sprawled along the outer walls.
At the center of the room, a glowing ancient device, and a tall man blanketed in shadow, kneeling in front of it. There was a pile of crops next to the corner, while the remnants were scattered on the floor. The wanderers' eyes widened in realization as they recognized the man's appearance.
He was the one who met the two back underneath The Fountain, the dark-haired man who had asked them about the second incarnation of the world. The same being that saved them from Lyssa.
"Telos." Asahi and Aletha said in unison.
The man remained noiseless, and he continued to kneel at the statue. He was clad in steel armor with a hint of turquoise trimmed on the inner side of his clothing. A floating blue orb rested at the center. Then, the man heard a snap from a twig Aletha stepped on. Quickly, the man asked the three of them with his deep, masculine voice.
"Huh? Who dares trespass against this ancient territory?" He said with a funnel of wind pushing them. " Be gone!"
Suddenly, an inner wind blew the two back, but they were unaffected. After arriving, Telos yelled.
"This will be the last time I reiterate myself. Trespassers, show yourselves!"
The wanderers and Sadiki froze, caught in plain sight before the imposing figure. His long, dark hair cascaded to his upper back, framing crystal blue eyes and pale skin. His face was ashen, his armor gleaming with cyan light.
"Oh… It's just you two." Telos said as he lowered his blade. As the ambiance of the device sounded from behind the man, he slowly stood up and asked.
"Does this device belong to you?"
Aletha shut her eyes in fear, slowly parting away from him. But a powerful gust pushed her back, forming a small dark blue particle below his hips.
"Speak!" His dark blue eyes stared at the wanderers. "Reveal thyself or be punished under the power of the cosmos."
"No!" Asahi said as Telos lowered his blade. "This device doesn't belong to us."
After a brief pause,
"Was it really that hard to answer?" Telos said as he seized his magic away. "All you had to do was say something, and I would have recognized your voices. Tsk. So…"
As the tense situation faded, after pushing himself up, seeing Sadiki cower in fear, he began asking.
"What are you two doing here this far down? Shouldn't you two reside on the surface? Where is it safe?"
A silence bounced over.
"We're looking for Akwan," Aletha said, clearing her throat.
"Akwan?" Telos said with genuine curiosity. After he looked down, gazing at the blue and cyan luminance that flickered in one foul swoop, he resumed.
"One of the four Creators of this universe? How can he possibly reside in this world?"
"Creator?" Asahi and Aletha said in unison.
"Indeed." Telos shook his head, grasping onto the blue orb. "Akwan is one of the four Great Creators of this universe. He possesses... great power. The ability to summon objects or even humans into thin air… a fairly noteworthy skill. Not to mention the others, like Plados, Katara, and a third that I won't get into a discussion about."
As the wanderers stare at him, clueless about what the Great Creators were, they start to question.
"Who are you?"
After giving them valuable information, Telos bowed down and introduced himself.
"My name is Telos," He answered, fixing his hair. "And my title, Harvester of Destiny, is engraved into my heart. I am in pursuit of this sacred artifact as The Prism."
"The Prism?" The wanderers retraced his words.
"In short, when a powerful one goes and explores this world, beyond Pladtioa, they resort to the power that encompasses and defeats the method of enchanted soil, which is called The Prism, or Hand Magic for short. If one were to fulfill a contract, they would be able to use a fragment of its true power and create blessings or bind others with terrible curses."
Telos approached the two, placing his cold hands on their backs.
"Have you two heard of the calamitous event known as The War of the Wish?"
Both of them shook their heads silently. Telos continued.
"Remember how I spoke of The Prism and its mighty power? In the past, The Prism would wander from nation to nation, granting people three wishes."
As the wanderers fall witness to these shocking revelations, he continued.
"One wished for peace and prosperity for this world. Another wanted happiness, and the third one, death to ALL kings."
The last one stood out like a sore thumb. They remained silent.
"Since then, no other wish has been granted," Telos said as he kicked the blue orb. "I won't go into further detail. But that is the sole reason how Pladtioa was shaped. It was part of a greater continent. An interchangeable place called Vehemat."
As he backed away and summoned a cyan luminance to his hand, he began to reveal.
"Now, wanderers, consider yourselves lucky. I detect Akwan residing within these walls."