This chapter contains World Building and power structure.
There is no need to memorize it as I will be repeating them later on. There Images that would help out.
(There are many images on discord for reference. I can not upload here)
As the sword was striking down. Smiley jumped back a little and spoke out in a loud voice which turned into confusion 'What— are you doing?'
Smiley looked to his side to find the string was slashed and disappeared into thin air. The string that was out of grasp of his now was easily cut down by a wooden sword of the man who stood before him.
Ananke was no longer smiling as he asked 'Do not ever follow the string.'
'Huh? How did—?'
Ananke asked 'Do you know anyone who wants you dead? Especially someone who is a "Puppterer"'
Smiley responded 'Huh what now?'
'These Strings are known as "String Of Puppterer" but those ones you saw were "Strings of Death" comes from "Strings of Fate"— Actually, never mind all that. The String of Death leads you to the closest and surest way to death. Even if you do not follow, they will try to outsmart you another way and once it gains your trust then you will surely die.'
Ananke continued as he stealthed his sword 'You were lucky I was here. If you had followed it, you would have died'
'But I already did that…' responded Smiley.
…
Ananke chuckled 'Haha… You would have died if you—' and it struck him as his eyes widened… 'Wait by some chance, is that the reason why you went to void…'
'Maybe?' replied Smiley, smiling shyly admitting his fault.
Ananke thought 'Something off about all this'
Smiley asked him with a different question 'So how did you cut the string? I was not even able to touch it.'
Ananke just smirked and proudly responded 'Someone tries to kill me with the string of hers. I just have gotten used to them.'
Smiley said pitying him 'Poor you, fate really must want you dead.'
'Haha…' Ananke laughed nervously 'yea something like that'
Ananke instantly averted the topic and asked him about his injuries once again.
'I feel pretty much fine. It is weird how I am almost fine after all those injuries.'
'Ahhh about that… Do you know about the ring you are wearing?'
Smiley took it out 'This one?'
'Yea that. It had some healing ability in it, that is why you were able to survive those injuries. Normally it takes much longer and even permanent damage.'
'I see…' as smiley thought 'I guess this was not just a random ring to keep me going…'
Ananke continued 'But its healing effects have dried out. I am not quite sure myself as it looks like an ordinary ring but something is still off about it. We can probably get it inspected back at town if you have decided to come with me.'
'Why do you want me to go with you?' Smiley asked suspiciously 'Is this due to the 2nd stage?'
Ananke simply nodded.
Smiley asked confused 'What even is a second stage about? I don`t remember signing up for the first one?'
Ananke blurted out 'Basically you awakened?'
Smiley said 'I— Wait, awakened?'
Ananke sighed 'I should really stop saying it like that. They both did not leave me for hours. Awakening… Do you like have some vague memories of a cold transparent like rock or drowning in your dreams'
'I know what Ice looks like…'
'Ahem— for now the important question is: Did you accept the calming and gentle voice that was saying something like Join me and I will ease the suffering?'
Smiley stared at him in confusion 'Who are you talking of?'
Ananke replied 'It can be anything, it`s different for everyone but it is usually asking you to join them when you are drowning in exchange to ease your suffering.'
Smiley, still confused, said 'No… Not a thing like that. All I heard was some weird Pssss sound that kept on repeating and something at end asking me why have I not given up.'
It was not that he was ignoring the odd voice but rather the voice could not reach him and turned into a simple noisy "Psss" that kept on repeating itself.
Ananke said 'It is possible you might have passed out before it— wait? at the end?'
Smiley replied 'You were supposed to pass out?'
Ananke asked suspiciously 'Smiley, are you sure you are sane?'
Smiley looked at Ananke in the eyes 'Are you making fun of me now?'
'No no… remain calm' as he raised his hands asking 'and tell me how many fingers I am holding' As he held up some fingers and used his other arm to point at them as if he was treating him like a child.
Smiley thought 'He totally is messing with me.' and scoffed 'I am more sane than someone who struck down his sword without warning'
Ananke responded 'Haha sorry about that. I had to cut it down without warning you or else it might run away as I can not see it myself.'
Smiley sighed 'So what even is awakening?'
Ananke seemed confused but continued 'You probably have heard of it from the popular story book known as "Eye Of Roses" in which a hero awakens and saves the world. The Awakening is called "Rose of Awakening" or "Eye of Rose" as a flower blooms for you when you awaken. The name is based on that book.'
Smiley nodded in response but he had no idea what this "Book" was even about.
Ananke took out a chair and sat backwards on it as he continued explaining:
'I guess then it will be easier to explain that way. There are 4 stages of Awakening. First stage, known as Initial Stage, creates a sparkle in your eyes. It`s so faint that it is possible to go unnoticed their entire life.'
'This stage alone could take multiple years or even possible one might never get past this their entire life as they might lack originality.'
Ananke pulled down on his eye lid and his Iris veins started to glow faintly as wind gushed out around him. His eyes flashed bright red and just after a moment, his whole Iris started to glow crimson red.
'What you saw was me igniting the rose.This is the Second stage, known as Awakening where a flower blooms for you as the World Tree acknowledges your existence. In this stage, your eye faintly glows.'
'Normally it`s not a big deal but on some rare chance your eye can turn into a different color and may~ cause permanent changes due to sudden energy explosion. It is uncommon but people with darker hair or eyes such as yours are commonly affected— It is, This is the stage you are at.'
Ananke's eyes color slowly turned back to usual red color 'As for Third stage, Known as "True Awakening". It is the same as the Second stage but this time your hair might glow.'
'Think of it accumulating such power that your body starts to leak excess of it but that energy may come in exchange of your life energy. That is why this stage is dangerous as you might lose your sanity as your emotion becomes unstable. One can even die if they lack originality to handle it.'
Ananke grabbed his hanging hair and said 'I would have shown you but it`s hard even for me.'
'And If you make a mistake while awakening it then best case scenario is you losing your sight since most die instantly as their Originality can not keep up with this third stage. That is why you should take your time and never rush an awakening into a premature stage.'
He said all of this with a smile across his face which made it look wholesome despite being scary.
Ananke pointed out 'Last one is~ well it`s more of a myth known as "Rose Awakening", no one has been able to reach that stage in any records found. I only know of it from old stories about beings that were able to control the laws of reality but I personally doubt anyone had that much Originality to be able to awaken such power and stay sane enough to use it but that is what they say in the stories.'
{This is just a rough graph for quick reference for quick explanation.}
Smiley asked 'But why is the 4th stage called Rose of awakening when you awaken a rose at 2nd stage'.
Ananke responded with complete confidence 'I don`t know. I did not write that book.' seemingly to be mocking the writer of that book— in an attempt to lighten up the mood.
Smiley thought to himself 'This whole thing seems sketchy.' doubting if what he said was even real or a made up "fairy tale".
Ananke continued 'But that being said, one can not tell which stage someone else is at as the indication I told you are not reliable at all.'
Basically he said all of that for nothing…
Ananke continued 'There are only two main indicators. Awakened whose eyes are of unusual color which glows when they are pushed to a corner and None Awakened who just don`t do any of that so in the end, no one can tell if others are awakened or not.'
Smiley said unaesthetic 'Woah… That`s all good but what can Awakening even do?'
Ananke responded 'Oh yea about that… But before I continue, I should tell you about Originality. There are things in this world that are beyond one`s knowledge. Originality is one of them and how it works remains unknown till this day. OG is weird. Finding out it works is like asking a person with dementia how they defeated the dragon. They don`t exist but you will keep on hearing a new story each time. Hmm let's see.'
Ananke recalled the words of the great sage 'First comes The Cosmic Ruler who rules above all— Maker of Thee Primordial Powers, Universe and Originality. The Universe is the space where all existence dwells and beneath it lies the World which is the space around us. Originality is the Ruling power where the laws flow. Each world has its own Laws and Shadows, Angels and Death. While Primordial Powers are neutral, the same can not be said for the world we all live in as each world has its own distinct laws and elements but their laws come after the laws of the Universe.'
{Image: Blue orb is Universe, White orb is OG. This is just a silly thing I made in 3… few minutes.}
Ananke lifted a finger from where a kindling flame came out 'Magic is said to be casted by saying a spell but in reality Magic is just a tool made by a Celestial which makes it easier to control Mana. A spell is made up and when multiple people truly believe in it, giving life to that spell, making it a reality for that is how OG works and uses your Mana core as fuel.'
^ (Note: When many people who have low OG believe in something, that thing is given power to make that thing into reality.)
Ananke showed a kindling flame increasing and decreasing in power as he continued 'But this comes at the cost of flexibility.'
The flame took shape by splitting into two, going their own direction like the character Y. 'While If you know how to use mana— You can do things that are impossible with just magic alone hence Mana gives you more flexibility— Originality is the element which can control these laws. So you can imagine if Mana can do this then what feats Originality could accomplish.'
Ananke said 'Now you might be wondering what this has to do with the Rose of Awakening. Good question.'
'Just like how Magic is made by a Celestial that aids in controlling Mana. The world originally gave us the "Awakenings" which helped one to manipulate and wield the power of originality as humans were simply just incapable of controlling such powers. Unlike Magic, originality can grow or disappear from one body. So there is no limit to how much one can hold.'
He looked at the kid who was looking away as if guilty.
Ananke thought to himself 'I guess that was a bit too complex for him'
Smiley spoke out 'I can`t—' but was cut in by Ananke cough as he spoke out with few words in a distinct mannerism 'So in simple terms, Awakening helps you wield Originality, boost your physical abilities. OG is limitless as it can take shape into whatever you can imagine from the depth of your heart and soul. Even performing unnatural feats like making something out of thin air is possible but most people are unable to wield it properly and a few who can are only able to use it for simple stuff which is why imagination is a big factor in using it.'
Ananke pointed to Smiley and then himself 'The only limit is using it against someone who also has Originality, If two OG User clashes, it will depend on who can wield higher authority. Which is called "Clash Of Authorities"'
'But that only applies till someone with an overwhelming high OG walks in— Like me who is considered to have the highest Originality in all the living. So if you try to use your OG against mine and lets say you have higher authority then our authorities will collide and naturally your authority will overpower mine. But my Originality will step in to protect me while overwriting yours to not cause me harm. Regardless of Authority, it will render your attack useless.'
{Image: I was not joking when I said I can not draw}
'Originality will always protect their owner against everything. But of course your own OG can not harm yourself or others it chooses not to cause any harm. This is why you need to be careful of who you trust.'
Smiley asked a bit conflicted but hopeful 'So you said I bloomed a rose right? Where is it?'
Ananke saw his hopeful eyes and suddenly paused in realization while still smiling 'Ahh— You see… I umm– kind of forgot to take it out of the Void and it has already closed so- yea, its gone?'
Smiley sighed as his hope shattered yet somewhere deep within he felt relaxed 'I guess I really can not use magic…'
Ananke felt bad as he thought 'Well some people do collect their rose or sell it as decoration to noblewomen. Maybe he is sad about losing it.'
Smiley looked at Ananke and questioned 'So expect me believe— Wait now that I think about it, I guess Elenbel from the Veil did mention something about Awakening. I thought that was just his bit.'
Ananke looked puzzled and concerned as he questioned 'By Elenbel, oh you mean the man from the white room?' to which Smiley asked 'Yea… Is something wrong about that?'
'No! Not at all— Just weird. They are usually unfriendly and hostile towards me'
Smiley recalled how carefree he acted in front of Elenbel and thought 'You sure you are not the problem'
Ananke continued 'But they do not give out their names and are extremely arrogant about being a Protector. But the thing is these Protectors do not know what Awakening is. Hmm it could be New Voids?… Do they retain memories?'
Smiley asked 'New Voids?'
Ananke explained 'Oh the place we were inside is called Void– or "Veil In-between" The Worlds as it connects two worlds together acting like a cloth between them. Veil is divided into three parts, One is The Outer Dark Veil itself that covers the entire land like hemisphere, Second is the some land inside like the burnt village you saw and lastly the White Portal thingy in the middle which is the core of Veil, where trail room of the Protector resides.'
{Image: Not a Reliable Map of the village as 'I, The Writer' made it}
'Elenbel was the Protector and all Protectors come from another world. Veil connects these two worlds and slowly consumes the land till either the Protector dies or a given trail is completed. In the end, Voids don`t just vanish but they leave behind a dead terrain for the future to remember them by.'
Ananke continued 'But Lately these new kinds of Voids have started to come. There is not much of a difference except for the New Veils that started appearing a few centuries ago. As rare as they are, they are also unpredictable to tell where they would appear. That is the Void we were inside'
Smiley asked 'Wait so you can predict where they come out from?' to which Ananke paused 'No… actually never mind that. None of them are really predictable. The best is an estimated location as they are an oddity of the world and stick out like a sore thumb— But these new ones are undetectable even when they are expanding.'
^ (Note: The Veils are out of this world so they are easily detectable when someone searches for them. But New Veils feel more native to this world which easily blends in, making them almost undetectable.)
But his tone changed, warning Smiley 'But these New Voids Protectors are strong enough to wipe out cities or even countries by themself so consider yourself extremely lucky to even have survived. Don`t consider this a warning but an order to never enter a New Veil unless your party strength is the same as mine. Never go inside one alone again. Not even the old one. You could have died.'
His words carried multiple meanings and warnings at once yet Smiley's expression turned neutral as he responded 'So he really was strong…' feeling a relief but deep within his heart, something felt odd in his heart like a sharp pain.
Ananke blurted out 'Do not worry that much. Elenbel was not a big deal— I think. And there are other ways to defeat a Protector as every void has its own unique requirements. Some are beating the Protector while others are doing something like a trial.'
Smiley asked 'How do you know what the trail is?'
'You hear a voice inside your head when entering the trail room such as Elenbel one was to prove your worth.'
Smiley looked confused 'But never heard that voice…'
Ananke looked puzzled 'Huh? What do you mean you heard no voice…'
'That I heard no voice…'
Ananke said, confused 'That should not be possible. You might have just missed it when entering the Protectors Room, After all the land outside is just a ground and the white ray of light is where the trail really starts'
Smiley remembered when he was entering the Protector room, He heard a weird static voice 'Maybe…'
'Well if that does happen then the only way is to force your way in and kill the protector, Veil will disperse itself even if you do not finish their ridiculous games' Ananke said it like a joke which sounded arrogant yet assured the boy of his strength.
'Well if something does go awry then you can just force your way in and kill the protector, Veil will disperse even if you do not finish their ridiculous games' Ananke said it like a joke which sounded absurd yet alerted the boy of his strength.
He continued 'But seriously, do not go inside one.'
Smiley joked 'haha, lets just blame it onto string of doom'
Ananke corrected 'String of death— actually doom sounds better'
Smiley questioned 'You are saying as if you can change the name'
'I mean I named it since no one knew it. They all probably just died'
…
Ananke coughed 'Well that is why it is amazing that you survived even after following it. You were in luck that one of the strongest men was in the town.'
Smiley asked curiously 'Who?'
'Me—' Ananke paused and looked at the boy 'Wait— by some chance, do you not know who I am?'
'A man… known for kidnapping and swinging his sword like a mad man?'
Ananke sighed as he held his head 'I thought I was pretty popular. Why are you even talking to me alone? I am worried for you now…'
Smiley sympathetically scratching his cheek 'haha, I do feel like I have seen you somewhere…' as he looked towards his hair.
Ananke said 'No need to pity me. It is only making me feel worse…'
Ananke coughed and spoke up 'Let me introduce myself. I am Ananke, kind of a hero who isn`t a hero but still is a hero? Complicated right? But all you need to know is I am one of the strongest people alive so you can count on me if you ever need help'
Smiley looked at Ananke and thought of Elenbel 'Yea I do not think there is any different between them'
Smiley asked 'So that voice you were talking about during the drowning thing?'
Ananke responded with full confidence 'Nothing much to worry about. All it does is repeatedly say the same thing and sounded like a scammy merchant trying to take advantage of the situation. It seemed more desperate to make me accept it'
But Smiley still looked at Ananke concerned to which he reassured 'You do you need to worry. Almost everyone who has accepted told me that it made no difference as the voice just smiles and disappears afterwards and you do not really have any memories even if you are warned about it so it is really just up to that moment.'
The Kid looked down as he rubbed his eyes to which Ananke panicked and repeated his words in a gentle voice 'Don`t be disappointed. Trust me, you missed out on nothing. I am the strongest out there and the one who defied it. See? I can still use my rose. It was just a trail set by the world you were meant to overcome or something. So do not be sad–'
Smiley looked up and Ananke paused and thought 'Oh… he was not crying.'
Smiley scratched his head and acted a bit erratic to the point even pulling on his temple hair and holding his head.
Ananke saw his erratic behavior and responded 'Calm Down. You are going through the phase where you emotions—'
Smile spoke up 'Agghhh~ I thought I was seeing things so I tried ignoring it'
He looked dead serious at Ananke 'but it smells horrible…'
Ananke spoke as he raised his elbow to smell himself 'Pardon. Do I?'
Ananke's eyes widened as he glanced towards the boy. Smiley… He wasn't looking at him but something else.
Smiley spoke 'Not you. That thing behind you' as he pointed beside Ananke.
'Then it must be—' Ananke turned around.
A dark mist…
There existed an enormous dark mist behind him that could no longer be ignored. It crept all over the floor behind Ananke, giving off a unique scent.
Same one when his village burnt down. Same one when he wore up around his dead brothers… But this one was more foul than any other. Its odor was too sharp, almost giving him a faint headache.
The boy's body, which was super erratic, had calmed down as he stared at it, speaking in a cold voice 'Oye, I am talking to you.'
Ananke was busy looking over his shoulder to notice the teen's yellow-ish orange eyes had turned dull, letting no light escape its grasp as he stared at the shadow.