"You are the Seal Keeper. And your time has come."
Those words... hung in the air. Heavy, yet sounding like something that had waited a long time to be spoken.
"I could only stare, my mouth still frozen, my heart pounding like it was trying to remember something I didn't even know."
"Seal Keeper...? What does that even mean...?"
The sky above still had no color. A dead gray. No wind, no sound. Just the beating of my heart and Lyss's slow footsteps as she walked away, stopping at the edge of a large stone circle in the center.
"Stand up slowly. Don't push yourself your body is still adjusting" Lyss said, glancing back at me.
I swallowed. My throat was stiff, but I forced myself to move. My hands pressed against the cold stone floor. My knees shook. But in the end, I managed to stand barely.
"Where... am I?" I asked, voice hoarse.
Lyss didn't answer right away. Her eyes lifted to the ruins above, as if looking at something far beyond my reach.
"This world is called Althea," she said, still gazing at the broken ceiling.
That name... strange, yet oddly familiar. Like something I once heard in a dream… or maybe in a life before this one?
"Althea was once a land full of Light. But everything began to fade when the seals lost their Keepers." Lyss gently embraced me.
I instinctively pulled away.
"You keep talking about seals. What do you even mean? And why me?"
Lyss turned and looked straight at me. Her eyes held no doubt, like every question I had was just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.
"Because your name has been written since hundreds of years ago," she said, eyes locked on mine.
I almost laughed, not because it was funny, but because my brain couldn't accept it.
"My name? I don't even remember who I am. If you hadn't said it earlier, I might still believe I was trapped in a nightmare."
"That's exactly it," Lyss replied softly. "You were reborn without memories. That's part of the contract... and the punishment."
I frowned.
"Contract? Punishment? I don't remember agreeing to any of that."
"Because the one who made that deal... wasn't the 'you' standing here now."
My head throbbed. That sentence felt like falling into a deeper pit than I thought existed.
"Then... what exactly is a Seal Keeper?" I asked, walking toward Lyss.
Lyss walked to the symbols in the center of the room, then knelt down and touched one of them. A faint blue light rippled through the floor like electricity sinking into the earth.
"A Seal Keeper is someone who guards the foundation of this world. There are seven seals. And all of them are weakening... the world is slowly losing its color. You've seen it yourself."
I looked around again.
The sky was pale. The stones had faded. Even the shadows lacked contrast.
"Everything... feels dead," I murmured.
"Because the first seal... has broken."
Lyss stood, then looked at me with a gaze sharper than before. Not angry, not hateful, just serious. Like she was about to hand me a burden I couldn't refuse.
"You have to start with that one. This is where everything will begin again."
I took a deep breath. Even though I didn't understand everything, even though my memory was empty and this world felt like a nightmare… one thing was becoming clear.
"I'm not here by accident."
It felt like something inside me... once knew this place. Once made a promise to return.
"If that really is my role... if I am the Seal Keeper... Then-" I looked at Lyss.
"Then tell me. What should i do?"
Lyss didn't answer right away. She simply pointed at the glowing symbol beneath her.
"Touch it. Then everything will begin."
My hand reached out. Still hesitant. But there was something in that light, a warmth, like a gentle yet firm invitation. As my fingers brushed against it-
"Reian."
That voice returned. In my head. The same one I heard in the darkness before.
My body trembled. My vision blurred. But not from fear.
"I remembered something. Not everything. But enough to make my chest ache."
"Someone... once called out to me with such hope."
"And I... once promised to return."
Suddenly, the light burst open. Not violently—but like a window that had finally been opened after years. The air shifted. The world pulsed. And for the first time-
"The sky… bled color."
Lyss smiled softly, as if to say: "Thank you for keeping your promise."
"Welcome back, Reian Hinoda. This world... can finally breathe again." she whispered, a tear sliding down her cheek.
Her voice was soft, but loud enough to shake my ears still ringing from the burst of light. I slowly opened my eyes, and the first thing I saw was her face. A face I felt I'd seen in countless blurry dreams.
"...You again..." I whispered.
"Kind of sad that you'd call your savior 'you again', you know?"
She crossed her arms, standing with her silhouette outlined by a sky that now looked... more alive. Still gloomy, but no longer the dead gray from before. Like the world had taken its first breath.
"Wait... who even are you? Why do I feel like we've met befor-"
"Lysandra Elara. Call me Lyss. And no, we haven't met before. But I've been waiting for you... for a hundred years."
"One hundred... years?"
I sat up slowly. My head still heavy. My body felt like it had just sprinted through a storm. And maybe... metaphorically, it had.
"Wait. One hundred years are you serious!? Since when?"
"Since the world lost its color. Since you, the Seal Keeper disappeared from the wheel of time. I was tasked to guide you when you woke."
She said it so casually. Like she was just a mail carrier dropping off a package. But her eyes... her eyes weren't casual. Sharp, tired eyes. Eyes of someone who had lived through too many sleepless nights.
"Then why don't I remember anything? Not even my name until you said it."
Lyss lowered her head slightly and stepped closer.
"Because that's the price... or the cost. Reincarnation in the same body. But with a sealed soul. The seal is part of the world's system. And only you can unlock it."
She held up a small crystal, clear, like frozen water that would never melt. A strange shimmer glowed from within.
"Every time a seal is broken, a piece of your memory will return... slowly. This crystal will record everything."
"What if I refuse to remember?"
"Then this world will stay drowned in lost color. And eventually... it'll collapse."
I frowned. The fate of a world riding on my memories? It felt ridiculous. Heavy. Unreal. But also... too real to ignore.
"So I don't have a choice?"
Lyss smiled faintly.
"Of course you do. You always have a choice. But the consequences can't be undone."
I stared at the crystal for a long time. In the reflection of its glow, I saw something-a brief glimpse. A sword. A crying little girl. A laugh... one that felt too familiar.
"Who... am I, really?"
"That's what you have to find out."
She sat beside me. And for the first time, the space between us felt like two humans simply trying not to feel alone. A small campfire flickered in front of us. She poured water into a metal kettle, making tea that—from the smell—definitely wasn't made for taste.
"This... is this tea or wound disinfectant?"
"Both," Lyss said with a tired smile.
I rolled my eyes. But when I brought the cup to my lips, the warmth spreading through my body helped me relax. For a moment, the world didn't feel like a giant trap.
"If it's been a hundred years, why are you still here? I mean... why didn't you just leave? Forget about me. Start a new life or something…"
"...Because you made a promise. When the world began to fall apart, you said you'd come back. And I... believed you," Lyss whispered, voice shaky, holding back tears.
I went silent.
Did I really say that? If I did, why can't I remember? And... why does part of me want to believe her?
The night breeze picked up. Dust lifted from the cracked ground. Suddenly, Lyss stood up quickly.
"Quiet."
"Eh? Why-"
"They're coming," she said, her expression flat.
From behind a massive stone, a shadow appeared shapeless, dark, with glowing white eyes. I don't know how, but my body reacted on its own. My right hand lifted into the air, and in a flash, a sword appeared.
Silver light. Light and sharp. But... familiar.
"...I know this sword."
"It's yours. Its name is Astrifer Caligo. Even if your mind forgets, your body remembers."
"Cool... but kinda creepy."
Lyss said nothing, but somehow, my body moved on its own. Swings, thrusts, dodges, it all felt like instinct buried deep inside me.
One by one, the shadows turned to black dust.
"I'm starting to think I wasn't a normal person before."
Lyss stood behind me, raising her own blade.
"You are my Seal Keeper."
"...If all of this is real... then I guess I can't run, huh?"
"You can. But you won't."
I turned to her slowly.
"You sure about that?"
"Because I believe in the Reian you used to be. And... I want to believe in the Reian standing here now," Lyss said, eyes filled with quiet hope.
Silence.
And for the first time since waking in this strange world, I nodded with certainty. My hand reached for the memory crystal, still glowing faintly.
"Lyss, you waited a hundred years for me. Let me repay that wait... let's finish the six remaining seals. Together."
Lyss looked at Reian with a soft glimmer in her eyes.
"Be careful with promises, Reian. This world loves twisting words."
"If it twists them, we'll straighten them out. Deal?"
Lyss held out her pinky like a child asking for a promise.
"If you lie, I'll poke your eyes out with my staff."
"Haha, sounds fair, Lyss," I said with a soft laugh.
Lyss paused a beat, then offered her pinky. A pure gesture that clashed with her wise aura. I gave a nervous smile, then linked my pinky with hers.
"Promise," we said together with a smile.
My first promise with Lyss... and somehow, the sky above us looked a little more colorful than before.