Sky was lifted out of the wagon roughly by his bindings, which were still painfully tight. He was half-dragged, half-carried into what looked like a large estate. The man threw him down on the ground in front of a grand staircase that led up to an imposing double door.
"Stay here," the man said as he walked up the stairs and knocked on the door.
Sky looked around as he waited, taking in his surroundings. He was in a large courtyard with a well in the centre and a few trees scattered about. The estate itself was made of stone and looked very old. There were no other people around that Sky could see, which was strange considering how big the place was.
After a few minutes, the door opened, and a woman came out. She was wearing a long, flowing dress and had her hair pulled back in a tight bun. She looked to be in her early thirties. The man who had brought Sky greeted her.
"Only one?" The woman asked, looking Sky up and down.
"Yes," the man responded. "He says he doesn't know where he's from."
The woman sighed as she looked at Sky. "Well, that saves us a lot of time in a way. Take him down to the jailor and have him processed."
"Yes, ma'am." The man said before grabbing Sky roughly by the arm and dragging him away.
Sky was led to a small building near the back of the estate. The man pushed him inside roughly, causing Sky to stumble and fall to the ground. The man then left, locking the door behind him.
Sky looked around the small, dark room he was now in. The only light came from his green patterned arm and a small window high up on the wall, reachable but too small to escape through.
"Name?" A croaky voice called from the other side of the door.
"Sky." He responded.
"Age?"
"I don't know."
"Where are you from?"
"I don't know."
"Hmm. What are those patterns on your arms? They look like some sort of runescript, but I can't read them."
Sky fell silent and, through gritted teeth, said, "I don't know."
"Well, that's not very helpful, is it?" The voice said, sounding annoyed. "Fine, I'll just put down 'unknown' for everything apart from your name then. Put your hand on the stone in the middle."
In the middle of the dark room was a circular pedestal with etchings that looked similar to the runes in the Devil's Domain. Sky did as he was asked and put his hand on the stone. It glowed very lightly in a strange pattern and then dimmed.
"Level 14, huh? Were you just lazy when you were a kid of something?" The old man scoffed and then paused. "Oh~ it seems we have a baby on our hands. But, of course, it makes sense now that you're level 14."
"What is this place?" Sky asked, ignoring the old man's comment.
"No questions. Just stay put whilst we prepare your jail cell."
"What's going to happen to me?" Sky asked, his voice trembling slightly.
The old man didn't reply and simply walked away. The whole conversation took place with the old man outside the barricaded shed out of view from Sky but somehow knew what was happening within the shed. As the old man left, Sky focussed more on the strange artefact that glowed when he touched it. Sky had many questions and not just about the artefact. He wanted to know where he was, what they wanted to do with him, and why he was in jail. The questions flooded his mind, but rather than deal with them, he tried to simply focus on the artefact. It was clear that everyone was incredibly strong, and he was no match for them.
Sky touched the artefact again, and like before, it glowed. Using Ether's Eye, Sky could see the lines thicken and thin like a dance going back and forth between his hand and the artefact. After a few minutes, the light show stopped, and Sky was left dumbfounded by the device.
"Sir Galfeld," The old man called, "The kid has been processed."
"Anything interesting about the boy?" The other voice, presumably Sir Galfeld, called back.
"He claims his name is Sky, and that's about it. He doesn't know where he is from, nor does he know his age. Although, I estimate his age to be around 20, maybe a little older. The state of his body tells me he has been in the wilderness for quite a while, probably in Belvoir Forest, considering where we found him."
"An abandoned child here and there is an often occurrence for the poor who cannot afford another plate on the table," Sir Galfeld said. "Did you get any other information about the boy?"
"He's incredibly frail for his age," the old man replied. "He has had no restarts either, which could explain his weak state, but to find him on the outskirts of the forest is strange."
Sir Galfeld looked shocked and annoyed by what the old man said. "Damn... You checked closely, right? There's no way he could have hidden his restarts?"
"The runestone clearly showed his level but didn't glow when processing his restarts. He has had no restarts." The old man said firmly.
"What do you propose we do with him?" Sir Galfeld asked, this time with a hint of anger in his voice.
"We can't sell him as it's against the law. So I say we let him go."
Sir Galfeld scoffed at the suggestion, "Let him go? I rather just kill him and be done with it."
The old man had worked for Sir Galfeld for as long as he could remember. He was a slave bought by them when he was just a child. They brought him up well, and he serves them with great respect. To see this kid, Sky, and be asked to kill him is something that he could do and would do without question. That was if Sky had at least one restart, but he didn't.
"We could bring him to the city, show him around. Let him experience life outside of the forest." The old man suggested calmly.
"What is the matter?" The woman who stood at the entrance of the building called out. "What are you doing here?"
The old man looked up at the woman, his expression unchanging. "My apologies, Mrs Galfeld. We were just discussing the matter of the boy."
"What about him?" The woman asked, her voice laced with impatience. "Just sell him off and be done with him. I don't see why you're making such a fuss."
The old man stayed quiet and let Sir Galfeld take over the conversation.
"The boy is different, Lorane. He's not like the others."
"What do you mean?" The woman asked, her brow furrowing.
"He has no restarts."
"And what difference does that make? Sell him on the black market for all I care." The woman said coldly.
"Lorane." Sir Galfeld said warningly, but his wife paid him no heed.
"If you can't get rid of him legally, sell him illegally. I don't care. But I want him gone from this estate, do you understand me?"
"Yes, ma'am." The old man said quietly, his head bowed.
"Good." The woman said before turning and going back into the house.
The old man heaved a weary sigh, and Sir Galfeld rubbed his temples wearily.
"I'm sorry about my wife." He said after a long moment. "You know what she is like."
"Of course." The old man said. "I'll prepare a message to the black market and send him off myself."
"Thank you." Sir Galfeld said before turning and going back into the house.
Sky was left alone in the room, his mind reeling from what he had just barely overheard. He would be sold off to the black market, and there was nothing he could do about it. He had no restarts, which from what he understood, made him essentially worthless in the eyes of everyone here.
He sat on what could barely be called a bed, his head in his hands, trying to make sense of everything happening. He didn't know who he was in his previous life or where he came from. His experience in the forest, the Belvoir forest is what they called it, was still clearly within his memories. Before that, he knew he was in the Darkness dimension, but he doubted anyone would believe him.
Sky closed his eyes and looked inward towards his soul space. He then opened his eyes to see the beautiful greenery around him. He looked around this familiar environment where his journey began. His interactions with Avis started here, and he even learnt about ether in this place. It was here that he felt most at peace and was also where he could think most clearly. He walked towards the centre of the space where a relic lay. The eight-sided octahedron with now two faces glowing. One a deep green with vines covering its face, and another with pitch darkness exuding from the face.
He reached out and touched the deep green face, and vines immediately started to wrap around his arm. He felt a warmth emanating from the relic and felt himself being pulled into the space. Suddenly he found himself in a forest where a giant tree stood, reaching high above the clouds.
He walked towards the familiar tree and saw a figure sitting on one of the lower branches.
"You're back even though I clearly said to never come back. But, technically speaking, you're not here, so I'll let you off this once." A silvery voice said, and Sky turned to see the forest goddess now standing next to him. She looked as beautiful as when he first met her, with long flowing brown hair and an ethereal dress.
"You're the one who left that message?!" Sky blurted out.
The goddess smiled lightly and nodded. "You threatened the heart of this forest. What did you expect to happen?"
"I didn't threaten it, though," Sky said defensively, "I was doing a quest."
"I am well aware of that quest you were given. I never thought it was in your nature to threaten the heart of the forest." The goddess said. "But you did, all because of that system's schemes."
"The system?" Sky asked, confused.
"Yes, the system uses quests to manipulate you, threaten your life and force you to do the undesirable. It is a system that needs to be destroyed." The goddess said.
"What... did you do...? Are you the reason the system and even Avis disappeared?!"
The goddess stood quietly. Nothing could be said, and she didn't retaliate or try to defend herself. She knew what she had done, and there was no going back.
"Please, I need to know. I need them, give back Avis; he was my companion."
"I'm sorry." The goddess said. "But that's not possible. They both are bound to each other. You can't have one without the other, and that system is too dangerous for you to handle." The goddess said pitifully.
Sky stood on the green grass, silent and lost. He didn't know what to do or where to go now. The only two companions he could rely on were gone, and now he would be sold like cattle. He didn't know his purpose or if he had one.
The goddess, Goregora, looked upon him with a sad expression. "I'm sorry, I truly am. But this is for the best, you'll see." With that, she walked away.
Sky felt a pull away from the Belvoir forest, and suddenly he stood within his soul space, a hand on the green relic face. He felt tears well in his eyes as he realised he was all alone.
He clenched his fist and punched the ground in frustration, where the ground below him fractured and his soul space ripped apart. Like when he let ether run rampant when he attempted to manipulate it, his soul space was now in shambles. Then, a moment later, it mended itself as if nothing had happened.
Sky was left alone in his soul space with the relic. One thought kept prodding his mind, one about the system and Avis. 'The system is fused with me... That's what Avis said, and Avis is bound to the system. Where else can they be but within me? I will find you both, I promise you.'