The wagon pressed onward through the endless forest, its steady rhythm undisturbed. The wanderers watched as brooding rain clouds retreated, unveiling the sun. Each jolt of the carriage sent them bouncing skyward, while wooden wheels rattled over scattered pebbles and sent water dancing from shimmering puddles.
Drimi drew in a weary breath and collapsed beside Sally, her body slumping as she released the last of her magic into Phthonus. Exhausted, she leaned heavily against Sally, who let out a gentle laugh and stroked Drimi's hair with tender, comforting fingers.
Wind whipped past the wagon, playfully tangling the wanderers' hair. Raindrops slipped from emerald leaves, catching the light as they tumbled to the earth.
As the ambient sounds of the forest filled their ears, Phthonus took a deep sigh and whispered to the wanderers.
"I'm sorry for the interruption. Are you two sure you really want to hear this story? I have to give you a warning that this story is..."
The wanderers nodded, a restless curiosity sparking beneath their skin, eager for the secrets yet to be revealed.
"Yes…"
As the wagon creaked along the twisting path, Phthonus gathered his thoughts, drawing a deep breath before weaving his tale into the hush of the forest.
"He... was an amazing individual…"
. . .
… who had the kindest heart, enriched by the divine element of his blessings.
Pladtioa, before his arrival, was covered in mud, slimy forests, and swamplands. Not even the filthiest would dare set foot here, except its dwellers or monsters. The Ruler of Purity is said to have appeared from thin air, a gift from the heavens.
He was given a reward for erecting the Great Fountain in the first place. Though he never asked for it, the people of Pladtioa granted him heavily with rule and fortune.
His voice sounded very soothing, almost… young, but… quite heartened and tame. The Ruler of Purity was somewhat mixed in all aspects.
"I… never asked for this, but I appreciate it."
Another man leaped out and bowed to the Ruler of Purity.
"No, sir, please take these rewards. You deserve it."
The Ruler of Purity accepted the first offer and chose to change the nation for the better. From there, he would be declared the new King of Pladtioa.
With his abilities, he could carve and reshape the nation's landscape only by using his hands. He possessed power like no other, a status that matched a Ruler's level. There was indeed no competition to begin with.
Soon, temples blossomed near Milmoor, their spires reaching skyward. The Ruler of Purity's blessings swept across the land, turning swamplands into emerald meadows and crystal-clear lakes.
Flowers erupted in vibrant hues, wildlife thrived, and lush vegetation unfurled from the freshly purified soil.
However, after a few years had elapsed, the Ruler of Purity's life took a dark, horrifying turn.
The sin of greed started to sweep the people dry, cleansing them with every ounce of currency in sight. The city of Pladtioa grew more stringent, demanding that the citizens make a payment they could hardly afford.
It wasn't The King who was giving the taxes; instead, it was the fault of the people themselves, who corrupted him to an extent. The King's blessings started to drown the land.
Fractions of Pladtioa were given more benefits than others, and forests began to rot from the long drought of greed. Monsters grew angrier and began to mutate. But that wasn't even the end of it...
Before the Ruler of Purity (The King) knew it, the people rushed to his castle and demanded more blessings. His power was milked dry; only his corpse remained. His wife tried to protect him from the citizens' anger, but that only brought more pain.
She was brutally abused and torn apart. Her goods were stolen from the people. The King, seeing her wounds, felt a warm feeling in his heart for the first time. He then sealed himself away, driving the nation into anarchy.
Soon, the taxes rose to drastic amounts. The land began to rot from a lack of blessings. Vandalism spread as discord swept the nation. Monsters slew humans— not out of evil but for self-defense. The citizens were growing restless, disgusted by acts they could not understand.
But the final blow came when he witnessed his entire family struck down before a sea of onlookers. Fury erupted within him, his eyes burning with unbridled wrath.
The wanderers' eyes broadened in shock as they instinctively gripped each other's arms, listening to Phthonus's words. They couldn't understand what the Ruler of Purity felt during that time and almost reached out to stop Phthonus from speaking, but their curiosity kept them attentive.
"What happens next?"
As the wagon edged toward the forest's edge, Phthonus surrendered to the urge to continue, his voice dropping to a trembling whisper.
"If your curiosity is that strong, I guess I will try to give you the full story..."
He looks up to the sky and whispers.
"Forgive me..."
. . .
Rulers were never to be given emotions; their capabilities couldn't handle such a vital principle. The only method of receiving emotions for a Ruler is to have enough energy built up within your heart from the actual feeling you received.
But the Ruler of Purity's emotion wasn't received by this method; it was from the wicked gifts from his own lover, his wife. It appears she was carrying a baby inside her while also feeling joy; the Ruler of Purity wanted to make them the prince or princess. However... that day never came.
During one cold evening, the entire nation revolted against their ruler, begging to receive blessings and gifts from the King; they also drowned in their greed.
Inside the castle was the dead corpse of his wife, with the newborn crawling and crying on a puddle of crimson. They eventually heard the psychotic, broken laughter of The Ruler of Purity as the earth shuddered. Trees toppled and flames raced across the land. Citizens scattered in panic and terror as mountains crumbled into the depths, as mountains sank.
A brown fox swiftly escorted the newborn girl away from the castle and toward safety while the Ruler of Purity unleashed his wrath upon the nation. Little did they know that she would be the new Queen of Pladtioa decades later.
Meanwhile, at the castle, the Ruler of Purity's anger was multiplied by a thousand, forcing him to be unstable with his power. The entire world watched as Pladtioa descended into anarchy.
He unleashed devastation upon the nation, crushing it and dragging the town beneath the earth. Ravines tore open the land, scars of ruin spreading as torrents of debris swept through Pladtioa.
He swung his divine blade and pushed the entire chunk of Pladtioa far from the rest of Gincad. Disturbances splatter throughout the oceans, with the citizens screaming in horror.
Monsters fled as the sky filled with dark pink storms. The Ruler of Purity turned his citizens into monsters. Others he cursed to transform into the land itself, against their will.
Some say his storms were tears that filled the craters of destruction, forming stagnant pools of water like Deepenpond. He buried his temples, hiding them beneath the ground. Ruin fell on the majority of Pladtioa.
After ten long days of his wrath, the old Pladtioa was buried, and nothing but The Fountain, The Child, Him, and the grass remained. His anger died down, and he used all of his power to transform Pladtioa into its purest state.
New life blossomed as green hills unfurled from the ashes, the land reshaping itself in quiet renewal. Then he vanished from Pladtioa, leaving his daughter to finish what he had begun.
. . .
Shadows from the trees draped over Phthonus as he shaped his final words, his lips trembling with the weight of the tale.
"It was then that the Queen of Pladtioa took his place. Only the souls of the cursed citizens were the only ones left to tell the tale..."
The wanderers stood motionless, bodies taut as sunlight pierced their eyes. Phthonus bowed his head, shoulders sagging as he heard the tremor in their voices. Asahi exhaled a heavy sigh, eyes shut, hand pressed to his brow.
"That... can't be possible. Does that make me and Aletha the only Rulers that can handle the power of emotions?"
Phthonus jumped up.
"Hold on, you two are Rulers?!"
Aletha covers her mouth with her hand and turns slightly away, her eyes wide as she imagines the horror that came from the sickening story, before responding in a quiet voice.
"Yes... We had our powers stolen,
As a bird flocked over her head, she touched her heart and softly said to Phthonus.
"I am touched by that tale. I feel that The Ruler of Purity was truly an amazing individual, corrupted only by his own insanity. I never would have guessed that this tame grassland could have experienced so much chaos."
Asahi added, staring at the blue sky.
"Not only that... I never thought it was possible to move an entire chunk of land far into the ocean. Only the most powerful Rulers could do that. I thought Pladtioa was always like this."
Drimi replied while she placed her dark mask over her mouth and kicked Sally's feet.
"Yeah, Pladtioa has by far the most impactful past compared to the rest of Gincad. It's hard to believe that it was the first nation to exist. Perhaps that's the reason why this nation remains pure, even after so many hits it has taken."
Phthonus swept his dark hair aside and pointed ahead. The wagon jolted over the rugged hills, churning onward as the trees swayed and slipped away behind them, marking their exit from the forest.
"Here we are!"
Eagerly, the wanderers scrambled forward, peering out from the wagon. Before them stretched a vast, glimmering lake of bright teal blue, cradled in a sweeping bowl of land with lush greenery scattered along its rim.
The landscape is oddly deep, as if a crater formed here. Small straw buildings were scattered around the bowl, with ancient stone debris buried under the soil. Pathways stretch from top to bottom, some at the side and others circling the rim.
Beyond the glittering horizon, they could see another massive set of forests and mountains. Asahi muttered as the wagon rolled down the hill.
"The forest and mountains look so tiny from here."
Aletha tilted her head and shouted, her face filled with excitement.
"Yeah, and I can hardly see Milmoor, too, and the city of Pladtioa is nowhere to be seen. How far have we traveled?"
Phthonus nervously scratches his head.
"By my observations, we have traveled through both the Cliffthon Expanse and Creation Lake. We are still distant from Dreamtoe cliff, but we are also near The Forest of Plados."
Asahi trembled as he slowly tilted his head toward the seemingly tiny mountains in the distance.
"S-So you are telling me that those mountains over there... I-is our destination?"
Phthonus releases a long sigh and replies.
"Y-Yes. We still have a long way to go, but we will get there. For now, let's just rest here. We still have a lot of time before our deadline. Why not relax for a while? The water down there is drinkable and purified."
The wanderers yell out with a surprised tone.
"Really?!"
Sadiki swiftly replies as the wanderers, Drimi, and Sally jump out of the carriage.
"Yes. Oh, and it seems I forgot to give you the name."
Asahi bluntly replied as he dried off the droplets on his attire.
"What name?"
As the flourishing breezes blew through Phthonus's silky, dark hair, he pointed up to the sky and replied, his dark skin shimmering in the sunlight.
"The Ruler of Purity! He sometimes goes by the name."
Just as he could finish, the wanderers and the wagon had arrived at their destination.