Krono De Vivian is a fallen prince who no longer has a purpose in life. His kingdom was destroyed by a natural disaster. There was no enemy, no intent. He had nothing and nobody to seek revenge against. With nowhere else to go, he now spends his time traveling the misty dark forest searching for something—anything—that will give him new hope and a new raison d' être.
One day, as he travels farther into the mist, he finds a hungry, mysterious creature. Its body is mostly covered in medium-length light brown hair, but the hair on its face is a white mask. The creature's eyes are large, yet sleepy. It appears weakened and on the verge of death.
Taking this sight in, the lost prince feels pity. He puts a hand in one of his bags, pulls out some of his meager food, then hands it to the helpless creature. It reaches out and takes the food in its long-clawed hands, saying to the fallen prince, "Thank you, kind human."
Discovering that the creature can talk, the fallen prince is spooked. He jumps back and stands alert, ready for whatever may happen next.
However, the creature pays no mind to this and slowly places the food into its mouth. After chewing for some time, it swallows and then introduces itself.
"My name," it says in a calm yet rough voice, "is Edgar. I am what's known as a sloth."
"Hello, Edgar," the prince responds with amazement. "My name is Krono, the fallen prince."
"Fallen, huh?" Edgar asks.
"Yes, fallen," Krono nods, frowning. "With my kingdom lost, I have been wandering the forest, searching for a new start. I haven't found it yet, but I won't stop until I do."
Edgar looks relieved.
"Then this may be a lucky day for both of us," he smiles.
"What do you mean?" Krono replies.
"I'm not from here, and one day, I'd like to get home again," Edgar tells him. "However, I need to gain a lot of mana to make that happen."
"Mana? as in Magic? it's real and not just a fairy tail?!" Kronos asks.
"I'm from another world that has been enslaved by an evil entity. Nobody knows where this being has come from or even what its goal is. But now, everybody within my world—and even the world itself—is at this cruel being's mercy. I need enough mana to create a portal that will take me home so my people can be freed," Edgar sighs. "It's not an easy task for someone as weak as me, but I won't let that stop me."
Krono recognizes that this may be a good opportunity for him and accepts. In response, Edgar climbs to the top of his head to have a better view of the surrounding area.
"Hey, Krono?" Edgar asks.
"Yes?"
"Can you climb that tree over there?" He points to a tall spruce tree nearby. "We need to get up where the moonlight shines unhindered."
Krono agrees and makes his way up the tree. The tree's needles make the journey difficult, and he needs to go slowly, but the spruce is strong, so he can climb without the branches bending too much.
Once they make it up to the top, Edgar creates a psychic link with him. He does this by gathering the dark energy of the moon upon his claws. He weaves it into a thin thread that connects both of their mana together. It leaves them with a connected mana pool that they can both use as they see fit.
This link enables Krono to gain access to the dark powers that Edgar possesses. The surging power also contains the sloth's emotions. As this inky black cloud of ethereal power coalesces around him, Krono feels hope and happiness contained within it.
Edgar then instructs Krono on how to use the dark powers to open a small portal. Krono lifts his arm and gathers the mist to a single point, then forces it to grow into a large oval shape just large enough to fit his body into.
Eager to see what's on the other side, Krono jumps right into the portal. He comes out of it to find a tree trunk right in front of him. With no way to stop or move away in time to avoid a collision, he throws up his arms to protect his face and—
—passes right through the tree.
"Ummm… Edgar?" He gulps. "What just …?"
"Oh, I forgot to tell you! I had enchanted ourselves with a spell" Edgar laughs. "When you go through the portal, you can't touch or interact with anything physically. It's to keep us safe from the limitless dangers that this world carries. Don't worry though, like your own world, this world does not know how to use mana and had not idea of it's existence."
Edgar stops laughing and becomes serious again. He explains that to help him gain energy, Kronos and he must gain the mana extracted from the hope and happiness of the people of the world.
Satisfied with the explanation and fascinated with his new, ghostly appearance, Krono roams around to find an answer to the problem without worrying about obstructions.
Eventually, he sees someone through a window in a tall building. The person is a young man, and he's staring into a strange box that has what appears to be a window into another universe. It is attached to a long board covered in square buttons.
He's watching someone that looks like a moving painting of a person that is part shark and part girl. She's jumping in and out of the water, beaming with happiness. The man watching her is overjoyed and giving out lots of hope and happiness the shark girl's way.
Krono wonders how this young man can view an entire world using only a simple box—and that's when he figures out their dilemma. He knows exactly how to help Edgar gain some mana!
Krono discusses his plan with Edgar, and they use the dark power to connect to the box. With their connection, Krono returns to his original world and creates an eye of seeing together with Edgar's aid.
This magical eye allows Edgar and Krono to show everything they wish to show to the other side. It happens in real-time, like live-streaming.
But this is only the start, and it will take several more discoveries of people with genuinely positive experiences. And even then, those experiences must include both hope and happiness.
It will take considerable time, but Krono hopes to gain as much mana for his friend as possible. It will allow them to vanquish that evil entity and set Edgar's people free.
Krono has found his purpose in life, and it is all for his new friend—and his friend's people. His own kingdom may be lost, but he now has the chance to rebuild another.
With his new friend, he feels that anything is possible.