Silence.
No light shone around her, only empty darkness ahead, with planets endlessly spinning on every side of this pitch-black space. Noruva remained unconscious, the remnants of his wounds etched deep across his entire body. These scars would never completely heal.
She was still trapped on a dense, green planet—its slippery surface pressing against her knees—held in place by thick, unyielding roots. They were so strong he couldn't move at all.
"Such misfortune…"
A voice spoke in front of him. Noruva realized someone was there. He wanted to wake up, to become aware faster. What she saw ahead was a strange light like a fantasy knight coming to take her back to the world where she truly belonged. That figure reached out a hand toward Noruva, who lay weak and injured, desperate to be freed from the dead planet that was trying to pull her into its core.
Almost by instinct, Noruva also stretched out his hand toward the figure, their fingers finally locking together in a firm grip.
"Return to your duty… O, guide of the stars."
Suddenly, an explosion erupted as they clasped hands—light burst across the void around them. But this explosion was unlike anything before.
Six weeks passed in the world.
Thareon swung his newly sharpened sword again and again at Gheo, who dodged flawlessly each time. In fact, Gheo countered with the wooden sword Thareon himself had once given him. Still, Thareon evaded every blow with an almost mocking smile, which irritated Gheo and made him fight harder.
One particularly fierce strike from Gheo nearly nicked Thareon's neck. The unexpected attack had slipped past Thareon's certainty—Gheo had won this round.
"Hah… you've gotten much stronger, haven't you?"
"Well, you kept dodging, and you have a real sword while I've only got wood. That's not fair, you know."
"Yeah, yeah, say what you want. But in just six weeks, you've grown so much. Two weeks for the ministry, then four weeks of physical training—so short, yet you've improved immensely."
Thareon smiled warmly. Gheo dropped his wooden sword to rest, gazing toward the horizon, but Thareon stepped closer and patted his shoulder roughly.
"What you see ahead is what you must fight for. I know what you're looking at—three suns. That's not normal. It's the law of Airuna, which changes everything… and I don't know why. But there's only one way to set it back, piece by piece… you must split them."
"Split… the suns?"
"Yes. Split the suns."
"…What do you mean?"
Thareon exhaled heavily, lifting his hand from Gheo's shoulder. His thoughts were heavy, making the words hard to speak.
"My wife… she passed away not long after you were born. She was tasked with maintaining the ecosystems of both this world and the wider universe. But she died from the radiation of those three suns. She burned endlessly—her wounds never healing—because these suns are unlike any other."
Gheo was stunned. If Thareon's wife had been gone all this time… then who was the woman living in Thareon's home? Had he remarried?
"Then… who's the woman at your house?"
Thareon's chest tightened painfully at the question, but he gripped Gheo's shoulder again, harder this time.
"She is still my wife. I didn't bring her back to life—but I brought her back in another way. She became a robot. I should have made an assistant robot, but… I couldn't stop myself from making her exactly like my wife."
"You must really love her, huh?"
"You little shorty—of course I do."
Thareon roughly ruffled Gheo's hair, so hard it made Gheo's head ache.
"E-ehh…"
"Oh, I hear you like books? The library is in the same building as Raphiel and his little brother, so if it's noisy, just bear with it, alright?"
"Ehh… alright."
Gheo knew exactly what that meant—Raphiel and his brother were always loud, constantly arguing about whatever they were doing. Those two could never get along.
That night, under a quiet sky, Gheo slipped into the building Thareon had mentioned. He loved books—they were gateways to knowledge and imagination.
He climbed to the top floor of the tower, where countless books lined the walls, and a telescope sat beside an open window. This was the place he had longed to see for months.
He wandered among the shelves until a figure waved at him. This tower was public, but only those with true purpose could enter—so visitors were rare.
Gheo picked out a few books on Aphotemi and outer space, settling by the window where starlight poured in. The view of the constellations outside created the perfect atmosphere for deep reading.
Just as he opened his first book, something fell and hit his head.
"Ow…"
He rubbed the sore spot, glancing up.
"Ah, sorry, kid!"
The voice came from above—a man immersed in his own reading and stargazing. He hadn't noticed his book had fallen.
"Just leave it on the table next to you—no need to bring it back up to me. You're too far away; don't trouble yourself."
Still rubbing his head, Gheo picked up the fallen book. But when he saw the title, he froze.
Airuna.
That was the very word Thareon had mentioned earlier. Without hesitation, he opened it, unsure whether it would contain magic, dark secrets, or something else entirely. But as soon as he read the first page, a wave of dizziness hit him.
"What… does this mean?"
The explanations were brief, and some illustrations had been torn out. Still…
"Airuna is the law of space? No… the law of the universe? Wait—does that mean the entire universe?"
Flipping further, he confirmed it. Airuna governed the laws of all existence—including Earth.
"There are four Airunas… Will of End, Of the Rune… and… why is this last one so long?"
The final name sprawled endlessly across the pagean unending string of syllables, like an irrational number without end. On the opposite page was a map of the last Airuna's universe but parts of the page had been eaten away, either by insects or vandals.
Still, Gheo was fascinated. The universe was vast, with countless stars, constellations, and planets to explore. The Airunas themselves were mysteries waiting to be unraveled. He found another cosmic map, this one shaped like a lotus—titled Unilotus. Strangely, it appeared upside-down. And again, the pages were torn and damaged.
"Why are all these pages ripped or full of holes? Didn't anyone take care of this book?"
Frustrated, Gheo stopped reading. He hated missing even a single paragraph it felt like a waste of time. Night had deepened—it was close to midnight. Looking up, he saw the man from earlier had fallen asleep. Gheo decided to sleep there too, comforted by the stars above.
"I have to sleep now… but I hope I can learn more about what I read tonight…"
He set the Airuna book on the table beside him and lay down on a soft cushion. Gazing up at the ornate ceiling, he slowly closed his eyes and drifted into a deep sleep.
In the dead of night, far below the library tower, a scream rang out—but only within one sealed room, so no one else could hear it. The cry belonged to a girl. Tools clattered in the background, accompanied by murmurs from others in the shadows.
"Leon… I'm scared…"
"I am too, Vivid…"
"But they said this is how we'll get stronger… it looks painful… I don't want to go…"
"Don't worry, Vivid. We're still too early for that. So… let's fight together."
They embraced each other. The girl who had been screaming earlier was taken away by black-robed figures.
"Aphotemi 112 is almost a failure. I need something more perfect… Now… let's see which one of you has the greatest potential."
The voice was soft yet manipulative. A robed figure opened the cage and yanked Leon out by the collar.
"Wait—Leon… LEON!!!"
Vivid's cry echoed in the room, but Leon didn't resist. He accepted whatever fate awaited him, while Vivid could only watch, unable to stop what was about to happen.
"There's no need to be afraid… This is only the beginning of your game. Now… just sleep, Leon Voidan."
The voice curled into Leon's ears like smoke, sweet yet suffocating. Somewhere in the dark, metal scraped against metal—slow, deliberate—followed by the low hum of machinery waking from a long slumber. A cold, sterile light flickered once, casting jagged shadows across the walls.
Leon's eyes met Vivid's for the last time. He didn't speak. The black-robed figures dragged him away, their movements too silent, too practiced.
"Leon!!"
Vivid's voice cracked into a scream—but it was swallowed instantly by the heavy slam of the iron door.
Above, in the tower, Gheo shifted slightly in his sleep, his fingers brushing against the Airuna book unaware that deep beneath him, a fate had just been sealed. And somewhere… in the pitch-black hall beyond that door… something began to move.