Rion braced himself for the attack. A split second later, he heard the roar of an explosion. With his eyes tightly shut, he had no way of knowing when it would hit—until—BAM. A sudden force struck his chest, sending him flying backward. His body slammed into the ground, and everything faded to black.
When Rion came to, he found himself in a vast, white expanse. Slowly, he pushed himself up, his gaze darting around. "This is..." He hesitated, then recalled something from what he had read. "The innate space where you can converse with your magic..."
Then that means... I have to find my magic. He thought to himself
Determined, Rion pressed forward. He walked for a while, seeing nothing he finally found something in the distance—a pitch-black dog. Beside it laid a peg, its leash snapped clean off.
"Is that my...?"
Cautiously, Rion approached. He inched closer and closer, then once within range he crouched down and reached out, gently running his fingers through its dark fur. He continued petting it for a moment until, to his shock, the dog backed up and spoke.
"You've certainly changed," it said bluntly, its voice calm yet firm, neither distinctly male nor female.
"What—" Rion's voice faltered. It must be talking about who I was before I lost my memories... His hands clenched into fists. After a pause, he found his voice again. "Um, Mr.—or, uh, Mrs. Magic, could you tell me what I was like before?"
The dog was silent for a moment before replying. "For one, just call me Eru, like you used to. As for before... you were annoying and pushy, but that's about all I remember. Sorry."
"N-no, it's fine," Rion replied, forcing a smile. Any information is better than nothing... Ah, even if it's mostly negative.
"Now then." Eru's body began to shift, morphing before Rion's eyes. The small black dog dissolved into a floating tree, its shadowy branches twisting and reaching up into the endless white void.
"Whoa!" Rion gasped.
"Whoa, indeed. I bet you never imagined I could change form," Eru boasted.
"N-no, I didn't," Rion admitted, still in awe.
"So, boy, what have you come here for?"
Rion hesitated. "I... don't really know. All I remember is that you were sealed away, and I had to perform some kind of procedure to free you. After the procedure well, I woke up here."
"I see," Eru murmured. Their gaze shifted behind them, the restraint anchoring them had changed—what was once a broken leash and peg became a thick chain embedded deep into the ground. Then, Eru morphed again, transforming into a human woman. The restraints changed once more, this time becoming iron shackles.
Rion watched, his mind racing. Then, he finally spoke.
"Again… I don't know what's going on exactly, but I know if I'm going on an adventure... I'll need you."
"An adventure, huh?" Eru's expression darkened for a brief moment as they thought of Noir. "Why should I help you when your past self was such a pain?"
"Because... I'm not him," Rion answered firmly.
Eru went silent. Then, without warning, they burst into laughter. "Haha!" As the sound faded, their form shifted once more—this time, they became an exact replica of Rion, albeit a shadowy silhouette.
"Very well," Eru said at last. "However, if you treat me like he did, I will abandon you."
"Of course!" Rion nodded without hesitation.
With that, Eru stepped forward, placing a hand over Rion's face. Darkness swallowed him whole.