You always image odd things when you pass out. I was laying on the floor in a white backdrop. My body couldn't move. I was paralyzed from top to bottom. From my sight of vision then comes that shady individual with a fox mask. He then touches my forehead and I see a bloody image of people getting shot and killed. My breathing grew heavy, my mind splitting. Pale as a sheet, I screamed. Following up, I slapped the hand away from me and I wake up from the dream violently.
It was only after an hour that I managed to regain consciousness. Standing up from the ground the rest were flocking over and startled by my screams. Surprisingly my barrier was still there. Magna was taking a few swings off the barrier but he wasn't even able to dent it. Richard even let out a few arrows of light from his hand but the magic bolts were absorbed right away. The head of the group whistled and was quite impressed. Richard then noticed I was awake. "Just how the hell did you do it?" He asked. "I got too many lives on me. And with that, a whole lot of information. Part of that was the barrier seal charm." I answered.
The man then turned away in thought. He was mumbling to the point it can be barely understandable. Soon Richard snaps his fingers and calls the attention of Mr. Williams. The other people noticed what was going on. They decided carry on for the rest of the night. In all my life being Hijikata, the way Richard acted was the way that Ryoma was up to something.
A few moments later we were told to gather at the roof. Me and my group were wondering what was going on at the time. Everybody else looked rather calm and acted it was nothing. But soon Richard comes out of the door with Mr. Williams and the whole roof becomes silent. He stands on a box and waits for things to settle down. "It has come to attention that we will be bringing this group with us to Cletus right away." He declares, "We will be leaving at the morning so pack all that you can and we will be heading out once daybreak comes. That will be all." After he stands down, everybody started to move on their own and followed their orders. A part of me knew this wasn't gonna go well. But this was just a gut feeling.
Me and my group gathered into our room with Richard and Magna. Tyrell, Rebecca and I were kinda confused what was going on as we sipped our tea. Out of the door comes out the mage from awhile ago and storms inside. "Why are we taking a bunch of noobs back to Cletus?!" He asked rudely. "The Asian is a reincarnation of people we need at my guild; we might as well not waste talent like that." Richard replied.
"You can't be serious!"
"If you don't like this Luka then take it to your guildmaster, not mine."
"They're just gonna be dead weight!"
"Rin could have almost killed us if he wanted to; I wanna see it with the monsters."
"Quit overestimating!"
"You're not the only hot shot here! I you don't like it then haul you ass elsewhere!"
They soon started to angry towards each other. He soon makes takes off the door, all steamed up. The mage then slams the door to the point the whole hall can hear it. "What's up with him?" Tyrell asked. "Actually he's a woman." Richard told us. Me and Tyrell spit out tea after hearing that. But the only ones not surprised about that was Rebecca and Mr. Williams. "It's not like it wasn't obvious." Mr. Williams implied. "And here I thought you guys would have known that." Rebecca added.
"Either way... it's not like being PC was ever a big deal." Richard puts out, "Some of the male elves here look like women."
"So why are we even heading out? Isn't it dangerous?" Tyrell asked.
"We need to head to civilization at one point." Magna said.
"What civilization? It's practically a wasteland." Rebecca said.
"Funny you should think that." Mr. Williams mentioned.
Soon Magna comes out to tell us a story. The floating continent that we know as Laputa happened to come from a parallel world known as Aria. Back when the continent was at Aria it was known as Ventus, a floating continent that suddenly appeared twenty four years ago. Ventus had a giant crystal tower at the middle of the continent to have the ability to control space and time. However once you chip off a piece of the crystal, the stone will become useless. People tried to harness this power but failed. It lead to the HAPs occurring at our world and Aria thus sending them to Ventus. Eventually it was done again but this time Ventus went from Aria to our world. Cletus on the other hand was built ahead of time by mystical mean up due to the situations of Ventus. With various situations happenings, the main reason Cletus was set up was to give a location for refugees victimized by the HAPs in order to find a safehaven. Eventually Ventus became Laputa once it came to our world and it became a stronger shit-show since then.
We were confused ourselves. The timeline was far beyond people actually know. Rebecca raised her hand. "How can this be happening for twenty years? Hasn't the continent arrived here at our world for three years?" Rebecca asked. "That's the weird part about it. Time and space magic is incontrovertible without the experience. The crystal just multiplies it and makes it a million times harder." Richard explains to us, "The chances of you being able to control it are close to zero. You would have to be a god if you want to have the willpower to use it." This was a hell load of information to take. For us regular people, it would be hard to even understand it. "Then who was able to use it then?" Mr. Williams asked. That itself alone was actually one good question to ask. But unfortunately neither of our guest didn't know how to answer that. "Nobody really knows. There were rumors but it's hard to point out who it was." Which was the only answer we can get out of the two of them.
But there was nothing else to talk about. The origin of Laputa was an enigmatic phenomenon. True enough, it was best to make it end there. "For now we need to rest up." Richard told us, "Best pack your stuff 'cause we'll be out early." That was all we can agree on for now. We packed our things and got ready for bed.
Everything was set but I could barely sleep. I didn't know what kept me out at night. It was either Richard's snoring or the fact that we're getting out of here. I looked at the Moon at the dark blue sky. It was only now I noticed how big the moon was. Then there appeared across the table from me the woman with the black and white kimono. "So many thoughts for one man, what has gotten you up?" She asked me in Japanese. "So how long has it been?" I asked in the same language.
She gave a light chuckle. Out of the shadow in front of her came a kettle of hot tea and mochi. The woman let out her hand and my demon form appeared at the left side of my face. "Looks like the effect that I did in making a true tasogare." She mumbled. The conversation was on full Japanese from here on. "I am Tsukuyomi. I'm what you call a goddess of the moon." The woman replied. The goddess pours me a cup of tea and something to snack with. It had been awhile since I had some good mochi but I soon realized that I was going off topic. Tsukuyomi soon noticed this soon enough. "Go on, ask me a question." She insisted. I took a deep breath and wet for it. "From what I got from spying on Richard, This floating continent we are now, why am I here?" I asked. "That I do not know, but the gods are curious to the point I'm wondering what I should do. Especially since Prometheus was rumored to do this." She says, "Prometheus is a crafty god. Even smarter than Athena, he is. So much that he even hides secrets, even of this very continent."
"What does he have to do with Laputa?"
"I am curious myself. The Greek Pantheon hasn't been a society that is to be considered 'stable'."
"What do you mean by that?"
"I believe you know the answer to that."
It took a little time to think about it but I soon remember what I learned from mythology class. Gods of the Greek legend may have been good but they have their faults. Zeus was arrogant and a philanderer. Aphrodite may be the goddess of beauty but she curses people who are more beautiful than her. And Hera had a grudge with almost any woman Zeus used to cheats on her. But that was the tip of the iceberg. If people looked at the gods like this then the deities of Mount Olympus would all be considered divine hypocrites. "So you're saying, the entire Greek Pantheon is unpredictable…?" I asked her. "Yes but it's hardly surprising the Norns cannot find you." Tsukuyomi told me.
"Who are the Norns?"
"Goddesses that carve at the world tree. They can tell divine prophecies and things to come."
As the legend goes, the Norns were goddess of fate and time. They manage the lives of all living things. One thing well known about them was their clairvoyance or how they can read the future. Not much is actually known about them. It is only that they manage the past, the present and the future. Not much can be said but it did bring some light of what I remembered from spying on Richard. "They said that gods look after us… does that mean differently now?" I asked. She sighs and stares at the half moon. "The gods have always looked after mankind, but not as much as the angels, and the creator gods such as Izanagi, Yahweh, Allah, and many others." She tells me, "However it looks as if living need more help from the gods, more than ever."
Tsukuyomi explains to me the current situation I was in. Back at the time magic was considered something to that was part of basic living. It was practiced by many but it was abused. Overtime the gods grew disgusted for mortals who abused magic for their own personal game so they decided to judge the living. Those who are still worthy of magic are to head to Aria where they can live in peace. However those who abused this ability will live in Terra; currently Earth which was known as the mortal world. The reason why people know magic as something malicious is because the gods tampered with the memories of all the mortal of Terra. With the use of gods of mischief such as Loki and Anansi, humankind has completely forgotten about magic. It was only now with the appearance of Laputa in Terra that the gods have come to terms that humans are now allowed to use magic for the threats to come. The only problem now is that other than the military and the people of Aria and few refugees of Laputa know about magic's existence. Magic is practiced but by different means.
But with the mentioning of gods and magic made me curious of the inhabitants of the island. "Then why are the gods working with humans?" I asked. "It has to do with the HAPs." She told me. Those who are victims to the HAPs have a fifty percent chance to regain magic. However even if some are able use magic, only a few either have high Mana control or high Chi control. The rest have little to none. Mana is considered the living essence the world. Those who can control it are able to use magic provided of the world and materialize it in a physical form. Chi however is the inner energy of beings. Those who are able to control the chi within their bodies are able to use it to do extraordinary abilities. The gods see it fit to serve as mentors and to provide their power and teachings when it is needed. "So does that mean I am one of those people?" I asked. "Unfortunately no...you were just born with for some odd reason." Tsukuyomi told me.
"I was born with it? I have so many questions."
But the goddess didn't answer. She didn't know what to say and was confused. She cleared her throat and put in a mature face. The goddess then decides to change topic. "At the moment Prometheus is nowhere to be found. He continues to study the continent in secret." The goddess replied.
"Then why are the gods so curious of Laputa?" I asked.
"It is because it just appeared."
"You're joking."
"I wish I was… the existence of Laputa is a mystery. There was no reason for its appearance and many individuals of Aria and Terra have avoided the territory for its harsh environment."
"So... why does he need to hide?"
"The gods are forbidden to touch it, for they fear tamping with Laputa's core will spell horror."
"What horror?"
"The shift of which it will bring all living beings to an end. It has brought destruction so many times, we wish not to tell the tales to mortals to avoid the last two catastrophes."
It was there I stopped asking questions. At the view I saw something shimmering at the horizon. Up north there was a glass pillar that shimmered a dim white. "There it is, the Crystal Tower. A mystery that even the gods do not know of." She says, "Prometheus keeps on wandering there and yet I do not understand why he keeps on going there in the first place. But it wouldn't be Prometheus if he wasn't curious about this."
The Crystal Tower was a mystery on its own. A light that greets adventure but scares curiosity. I couldn't help but stare as it glowed its enigmatic light over a dark night. Tsukuyomi then snapped her fingers in front of me. I was getting woozy until my head hit the floor. "I may not know your purpose here but do whatever to do to survive." She says, "I will be watching you, Tragic Hero of Lost Souls."
I passed out after that. My body was heavy and it felt cold. My mind was left to wander off into my past memories. The word 'hero' echoed in my head as I dreamed. Funny… I only remembered dying in horrible ways. Either shot with bullets or burned alive it was hard to call myself a hero. Maybe dying horrific ways made the gods call me a 'tragic hero'. I didn't know at the time. Normally when you hear voices in your head think you are crazy. Mine on the other hand felt so insane that it became sane for me. The world itself was becoming insane. Looks like I wasn't the only one now, aren't I?