Akwan hurled a surge of blue brilliance toward Paxon, the light crackling like bottled lightning between them.
Pellets exploded against the blue strings Akwan conjured, which he manipulated to snake around the creature like living chains. The creature, standing on a battle-scarred plateau surrounded by jagged rocks and cratered earth, unfurled its tail to expose raw, sinewy flesh. It tore at the ground with its claws, using its shadowy form to barrel toward the wanderers. Around the plateau, residual energy shimmered, casting eerie reflections onto the cracked earth.
"If I can't keep these two trapped here," he said, " maybe THIS thing will!"
The creature slammed onto all fours, its jaws gaping hungrily at its prey. Before their eyes, Paxon's form liquefied and warped into a sinewy, clawed beast with glistening limbs. Asahi and the others struck back, landing desperate blows, but the monster simply reknit itself, relentless and unyielding. Caught between awe and terror, Asahi scrambled to help by searching for anything useful.
"RUN!"
They sprinted, weaving between snapping tendrils and slashing claws. Asahi lunged for The Forbidden Book, quickly flipping it open to pages aglow with illustrations: he saw an alligator with razor claws, mirroring Paxon's monstrous shape. Tearing out a sheet of silk paper, Asahi watched in disbelief as the alligator illustration morphed into a hulking black bear. In that moment, Asahi realized the book's secret—the illustrations were manifestations of a latent magic that could bring creations to life, shaped by the illustrator's imagination and intent. He vividly remembered Aletha tinkering with the library's old tomes, quietly developing her art beyond mere drawings. She would spend hours perfecting sketches, once transforming a tiger into a gentle lamb with just her imagination.
The danger escalated, but the revelation brought a glimmer of hope, marking a sudden shift in their battle.
"Transformation magic. If we can change it..." he said, tearing a page into a dragon.
Suddenly, memories of Aletha's drawings flooded Asahi's mind. He recalled how, in the library, her eyes would light up at every picture book and illustration she found. As the creature transformed into a black-and-white kitsune, he remembered Aletha's gifts. She had always been a good illustrator, with a power to illustrate things into being, though it was faint.
Asahi tossed the Forbidden Book to Aletha. She dodged the kraken's strikes, confusion clear on her face. "Why are you giving me this?"
"We can't shred it, but we can try something. Aletha, draw him as something else!"
"Draw?" Aletha said with clueless eyes. "Me?"
Asahi nodded his head. "Yes."
"With what?"
In that instant, both realized what had been missing, clarity replacing confusion like a tidal wave.
Though their hands were empty, the air shimmered with the promise of possibility, hovering just beyond reach. The atmosphere shifted once again as they were reminded of the power hidden in the Forbidden Book.
Although the original text was lost to oblivion, the copy of it still remained in full view, in Aletha's hands. This book wasn't just an ordinary tome; it held incredible powers and knowledge that were crucial for the wanderers. Its pages harbored the magic to transform thoughts into reality, making it a key to escape the strange realm. But having nothing to draw it with, they then found out…
"The ingredients!" Landon screamed as Paxon's shapeless form transformed into several dangerous creatures. "I made it."
The coveted purple bottle toppled, spilling its contents across a page of the book.
As chaos tore at the world, Asahi leapt up, snatching a feather from the wild flurry of birds overhead. The ground shook, reality twisting and turning beneath him. In the blur of motion, Asahi hurled the feather to Aletha and called out to her.
"Sis, draw!"
As the city shimmered and warped between worlds, Aletha seized the feather, dipped it into the swirling ink from the spilled bottle, and raced to sketch even as chaos erupted around her—first rough lines of a lilypad, then something more.seamlessly merging the magic of the book with their desperate circumstances.
"There!"
At the very moment the morphing figure lunged to consume them, Aletha's drawing triggered an astonishing event…
"Ribbit!"
A tiny frog leapt from the page, disappearing into the swirling chaos as Asahi and Aletha grabbed both copies of The Forbidden Book.
"Did we... do it?" Asahi whispered, voice shaky as he stared at Aletha's drawing of the frog, unable to hide his disbelief.
Inside, the Ruler of The Forgotten howled in silent fury. Never had he imagined defeat at their hands.
Against all odds, Asahi's wild, impossible theory had become reality.
In this strange realm, every word and image from the Forbidden Book sprang to life. The mysterious drawings, the glimpses of fate, even the vital ingredients—all made sense now. Escape was the secret wish binding them all.
"Perhaps the Ruler of the Forgotten just didn't want us to leave," Aletha said as she slammed the book shut, hearing the frog croak in the background.
"No, he wanted us trapped," Asahi said with rapid succession. "If he ever showed empathy, we could have spared him. But there's no mercy for the wicked."
As Asahi and Aletha rose, joined by Akwan, Belial, and Drimi, something changed. The suspension of battle faded, and the wanderers drifted like dream-birds through the sky to the next unexplored horizon. Quiet replaced chaos, and in reality, there were no miraculous leaps or shifting worlds—only the endless pages of the Forbidden Book, cradling them all.
With the threat vanished, Drimi and Belial waved goodbye, relief bright in their eyes. The frog hopped onto Asahi just as a blinding white flash engulfed them, the world melting into pure light. Perhaps, Asahi wondered, this was why Liora had given them the book—to heed its strange demands and discover a way home.
"Thank you, Asahi," Akwan said, his voice heavy with gratitude and relief. "You too, Aletha. Even if memories fade, a warmth will linger, a proof of what you saved us from. My thanks for freeing us from this endless nightmare."
As Landon, Drimi, and Belial drifted upward into the white abyss, their forms fading like brushstrokes on an unfinished canvas, Aletha spoke softly.
"Will YOU remember what we did?"
Akwan gave a light chuckle.
Akwan gave a light chuckle, though an undercurrent of sadness lingered in his eyes. 'I can try, but likely, it will be erased from me,' he said with a frown that deepened the lines etched by countless memories. 'And Drimi, and Belial, and Narcissa, and Landon. All of them will resume as if nothing were wrong. While you two… You might have a gift waiting on the other side.'
He paused, letting his gaze drift between Asahi and Aletha. "It hurts to know that all we've shared could fade away. The bond we've formed, the trials we've endured—each moment feels like a part of my very being. Yet, the imminent loss looms over me like a shadow, haunting me with the question of what will remain when the memories fade."
Akwan's eyes glistened faintly now, as if the sadness was beginning to overwhelm the weight of his laughter. 'Treasure every precious memory you hold dear, for they are the truest part of who we are. Even if I forget, know that you have imprinted on my soul.'
Asahi and Aletha gazed at The Forbidden Book, their thoughts swirling in a tempest of unanswered questions.
How did this space come into being?
How did illustrations affect everything?
Are there even more people trapped?
Instead of discarding the book, Asahi tossed it to Aletha. "Take this. I'll see you on the other side."
Asahi, keeping a confident smile on his face, looked up to the void and gave a thumbs up before finally…
"You."
Suddenly, as the last echoes of light faded, a silver-haired young woman materialized before them, shifting the world once more to a tense state. Memories shimmered and flickered, dancing at the edge of his mind.
Just as he could clutch the girl's hands, she slowly stepped back, turning her face away from him.
"Aiyana!" He cried.
But she only stared, her eyes locked on both him and Aletha, silent and unreadable.
Pink motes of light shimmered in the blazing white expanse. Her dress fluttered in the unseen wind as she muttered softly to herself.
"If only you knew," she said as she raised her hands and grabbed two glittering stars, and then she grabbed what looked to be a shimmering brown scarf that fluctuated in the empty breeze. As it flew in hypnotically accurate patterns, memories of the burning world came into view.
Fissures spiderwebbed through every corner of reality.
A floating kingdom of Rulers, cast out by a sickly, devouring light. Then, as Aiyana's presence settled over the scene, fissures began to spiderweb through every corner of reality, signaling an imminent unraveling. The silent figure who drifted behind them now emerged from the haze.
She possessed eyes the color of midnight seas, hair as black as ink, and skin as smooth as porcelain. Though she wore a human shape, something otherworldly clung to her. She hovered in the air, motionless as a statue.
"The Establisher?"
Asahi and Aletha had seen this countless times.
The vision had always haunted them, but now its presence felt truly chilling.
The woman behind her, The Establisher, had not worn a face of shock or surprise… just a deathly stare. She had many rings, with each of them coiling over her wrists. She had a blue luminance on her hands. As Asahi and Aletha stared at the vast space ahead of them, the dark-haired woman, The Establisher, spoke. Within her gaze lay an unfathomable history, an ambition whispered among the stars, a yearning for the worlds to bend to her will. Her purpose, though veiled, seemed intertwined with the very fabric of existence, seeking a singular vision known only to her.
"Shall Plados depart from me as well?" She said as a toddler's form appeared in her hands. "Or shall he join that wretched white-haired maiden's side? Nonetheless, I shall hear it from your ripples… Oh wait…"
Just as much could be said, the vision flickered back to a dark void, with the soothing words of The Establisher echoing across the expanse.
"Your mother has succumbed to the radiance. Sigh, how sad. Such a beauty like her deserves nothing, not even this world." The Establisher snapped her fingers as the sight of a girl came into their narrowing vision. "Shall my daughter surrender to my own fate? Or shall she prosper in oblivion? Hmm, so many questions but few answers."
As the girl's form transformed into that of a young woman, the Establisher formed an infinity sign on her pale hands and placed it inside the young infant, mumbling as Asahi and Aletha's vision blackened.
"Ah, Aedline. My favorite being in the whole universe," She said as the void darkens more and more. "Shall she join the factions as well? Or shall she be on my side? My perfection shall not waver."
After holding onto the infant, she cast it off to the world, leaving her to…
"Asahi." Said a half-pitched voice. "Asahi, wake up!"
As the voice pulled him from the depths of the void, Asahi blinked into the light of a new reality. The experience, vivid and surreal, left a lingering question on his mind: Was it all just a dream, or had they truly uncovered the secrets of The Forbidden Book? His heart pounded in his chest, each beat a reminder of the trials they had faced. Relief and disbelief intertwined as he glanced around, finding Aletha at his side.
Asahi reached out, his fingers brushing against Aletha's arm. "Aletha, did we really do it?" he asked, his voice still tinged with uncertainty. The weight of their journey settled over him, a mixture of gratitude and exhaustion. Aletha met his gaze, her eyes wide, reflecting a similar turmoil of emotions.
"I don't know," she whispered, her voice barely audible. "But whatever it was, we did it together." She gave a small, shaky laugh that caught in her throat, a sound both nervous and liberating. Her expression softened, a sense of calm washing over her as they both absorbed the reality of their survival.
They sat there in silence for a moment, the past slowly settling like dust carried on the wind. "I guess.." Asahi spoke, "This isn't just the end of our adventure. It's a new beginning."
The statement hung between them, both poignant and promising, as they contemplated what awaited them now in a world that seemed both familiar yet subtly changed.
Perhaps, the awakening was just the beginning, a second chance to rewrite the stories they told themselves and the world they lived in.
Reality had come flooding in.