(Crown Plane - Spirit Realm)
An incredible light constantly washed over the inhabitants of the Crown plane. The source of this light, the Zenith Castle, was surrounded by circular boundaries that separated those souls who were lower in rank from those who held the most important titles in all of the Spirit Realm.
It was a plane in which souls who were permitted to go through an Awakening resided.
A plane solely for Spirit Warriors.
The light faded as one travelled to the edge of the plane and sitting at the very edge, was a deep, dark chasm that sent chills down the guard's spines anytime they dared to look down.
As one descended the magical platform to the bottom, echoes of otherworldly entities as well as that of 'guilty' souls would fill the enclosure in an unbearable cacophony.
Even with the inability to directly see the source of the voices, one would eventually reach the conclusion that there were 'things' behind those crude walls.
The unending cries would soon end once one reached the frigid floors of the daunting prison.
It was a place where no prisoner would dare to make a sound
Well, they didn't even have the chance to do so
After all, once any soul or creature was unfortunate to touch those floors, nothing about them would ever be heard forever.
"Hey, Ray?", a young girl nervously held on to someone's uniform.
"Hm?", Ray turned to face the terrified spirit warrior. "What is it? Pearl, don't tell me you're scared."
"N- No", Pearl pushed back the bit of hair that covered her face. "It' just- I've been a bit worried lately."
"Worried?", Ray gave his partner an expressionless look. "About what?"
There was a slight hesitation in Pearl's demeanour as she looked ahead, her eyes fixed on the back of the person both of them were walking closely behind.
Ray noticed her gaze and immediately knew what Pearl was worried about. He sighed and furrowed his large brows.
"Miss Xoese decided to go against the king. There's nothing you can do about that. An order to detain her on sight is as solid as any order can get."
Pearl flinched, "I know, but- I feel like... she really wants to accomplish something important to her."
Ray raised a brow, "Don't we all have important things we have to do? If hers has to do with running off with the king's blessings then it's important to her only."
The air around them was cold and Pearl shivered from time to time as their breaths escaped as white fumes from their mouths and nostrils.
"We're Spirit Warriors", he continued. "Our purpose goes beyond individuality."
Pearl was about to say something when the person whom they were both walking behind came to an abrupt stop.
Ray and Pearl immediately felt a kind of pressure weigh down on their shoulders.
'Damn it. I hate it when this happens', Ray thought.
Pearl gulped as she nervously stared at the symbol of the Wind Faction on the man's silver robes. The aura around him was calm and yet, one couldn't help but feel a kind of pressure weigh on them whenever he was around.
All three souls bore the same symbol on their clothes, however...
"Took you a while to get here, Wind Blade"
A shrieky voice echoed in the chasm as a bat-like creature with a large beak flapped its tiny wings endlessly before him.
The Blade of Wind smirked, "I like to take my time."
"Heh, brat", the creature flew further into the darkness and disappeared in an instant.
Then suddenly, a flicker of light popped up from within the darkness. Another one popped up right next to it and after that, successive flames of light shot through the darkness on both sides of the walls and lit up the remainder of the cold path.
At the end of it was a large metallic door with several runic patterns on its surface.
"Are those... seals?", Ray muttered.
At this point, Pearl held on really tightly to Ray's clothes.
"You have GOT to stop being a scaredy cat, Pearl"
The girl's eyes shook with fright as she stared at the door, "There's something r- really terrible behind those doors."
"Hmm?"
Ray had seen Pearl get scared in many situations, but this was the first time she had grabbed hold of his uniform so tightly. She may have been afraid most of the time, but she never ran away from whatever made her scared.
Yet from the looks of things, it seemed like she would book it the instant she got the chance.
"Ray, Pearl", the Wind Blade turned to them. He had a slim build and a handsome face that radiated in perfect sync with his short blonde hair.
He smiled and walked up to the two, "You're among the best spirit warriors in the Wind Faction. Even though your emotions hold you back most of the time, there's no doubt your powers surpass that of the others back at HQ."
Both Pearl and Ray's eyes lit up once they heard that.
"That's why I brought you with me", he turned around. "That way, you can learn to suppress those hindering emotions and embrace true courage."
He walked towards the door and placed his palm on its surface. Soft light glowed on each rune until a resounding click could be heard. Then slowly, the heavy doors opened up to a dark room.
As the three souls walked in, bright lights lit up the hall and showed what laid inside.
In the middle of the large hall was an equally large and strange structure. Its base looked like a spherical capsule and a long series of thick, metal cables linked it to the ceiling high above their heads.
The three souls walked down a flight of stairs to the base of the structure. However, the Wind Blade motioned for Pearl and Ray to stand back as he walked forward.
"What is this place?", Ray looked around.
"This is the deepest part of the Frigid Prison", Pearl muttered. "Normally, don't we keep souls here if we don't want them to ever be touched by the Soul King's light?"
Ray immediately turned to face her, "But to warrant such a punishment would mean-"
"Committing a crime that is equivalent to threatening the king's life", Pearl shivered. "Wouldn't such a person... have power that would be enough to give him that kind of confidence?"
Ray gulped and then slowly turned to face the Wind Blade as he walked to the capsule.
"SCRAAWWW!! WIND BLADE! WIND BLADE!"
The bat-like creature shrieked as it descended from above, greatly startling the young spirit warriors.
"If I ever lay my hand on that messenger bird-", Ray gritted his teeth.
"YOUR INTERACTION SHALL BE MONITORED BY THE EYES!!", it landed on the handrail of the platform next to the large metallic doors.
The Wind Blade chuckled, "That isn't something you need to tell me."
He placed his palm on a small panel next to the capsule and immediately, thick fumes of smoke erupted from the device as a portion opened up to reveal the head of a person.
"I've waited for this moment for a long time", the smirk on the Wind Blade's face transformed into a grin.
"W- Who's that?", Ray muttered.
An ominous silence filled the hall as the head was hung over for a while. Soon, the person began to lift his head up and eventually locked his dual-coloured eyes with those of the Wind Blade.
"How have you enjoyed your new home so far?", the Blade tilted his head.
At first, there was a bit of confusion on the prisoner's face.
Pearl gazed into the mesmerising eyes of the man and felt like she was being torn in two and thrown into two deep holes at once. Her chest tightened as an unsettling feeling began to befall the enclosure.
She struggled, but managed to steal a glance at Ray.
He felt the same way.
The prisoner slowly smirked and chuckled lightly.
*BOOM!*
An explosive sound shook the prison and both Pearl and Ray fell to their knees as an incredible weight crushed their shoulders.
The Wind Blade's grin turned to a frown as he kept his eyes locked on to his prisoner's.
"It's... obviously uncomfortable", the prisoner spoke in an enchanting voice. "Do you feel that? I'm getting restless."
"Restless, you say?", the Wind Blade took a step forward.
"Nahhh!"
The intense pressure suddenly disappeared. Ray and Pearl began to quickly gain their breaths as their shaky legs barely helped them on their feet.
"Everyone loves that epic villain intro, no?", the prisoner grinned. "I wouldn't really call myself a villain though!"
The Wind Blade was taken aback, but expertly hid his surprise.
"So, what brings you to my humble 'home'?", the prisoner squinted his eyes. "Adler?"
"You know exactly why I'm here"
The prisoner's gaze fell on Ray and Pearl for a brief moment. In that brief moment, a deadly glint sparked in his eyes before he quickly shifted his eyes on his current problem.
"Ah yes yes. The Shadow soul, no?", he furrowed his eyebrows. "Hmmmmm. Thing is, I have no idea where he is at the moment."
Adler gave silence as his response.
"If I did, I would've told you guys already!", the prisoner laughed like he didn't have a single problem in the world. "But I don't, soooo..."
"Hmph", Adler smirked. "You've always portrayed yourself as some kind of idiot, Edem. However, I know better than that."
The Wind Blade placed his right foot on the surface of the capsule and leaned in close to Edem's face.
"Perhaps, I should ask a different question", his eyes gleamed with a deadly gaze. "Where did you obtain the forbidden spells you possess?"
Edem smirked, "Oho, that one's a long story. Let's see...."
He looked up at the bright lights for a while and finally returned to Adler's gaze.
"Alright, I'm in the mood for some story time", a mischievous glint appeared in his eyes. "Don't get sleepy now"
.
.
.
(Unknown Location - Night time)
Falling through the clouds of an entirely different realm was a lone streak of bluish light. Flecs of light particles stripped themselves away from the comet-like projectile as it raced at high speeds to the sea of light below.
In the heart of the projectile's head was a young boy donned in a blue-black trench coat. His eyes slowly parted and he immediately squinted.
However, the little bit of light that got into his eyes before that had forced him to shoot them wide open.
'W- What in the world-'
Zanetor tried to adjust himself, but he was falling at a speed that was much too great for him to control.
Faster and faster, the ground grew closer and closer to him. He fell into the sea of light, surrounded by tall, majestic structures that reflected the panic on his face.
Realizing there was no way to stop the impact, Zanetor covered his face with his arms and shut his eyes tight.
Then, he waited.
...
Time had passed
A significantly large amount of time
But he didn't feel anything
Was he already done in?
Slowly, he opened his eyes and his heart clenched when his blurry vision made it clear to him. He was only inches away from the ground. His body slowly adjusted itself and left him gently lying down.
Zanetor sat up and took a few heavy breaths before getting up on both feet.
Once his heart had settled into a somewhat calm state, he looked up and was shocked at what he was looking at.
Several moving vehicles hovered above his head while a sea of people went about, doing their own things.
People...
So many people
Definitely, there was going to be one settlement in the Spirit Realm that had this many people, right?
Zanetor's eyes trailed to a specific location. Lots of people seemed to be moving out of the entrance. Above it was a large sign that read:
'ZED CITY CENTRAL TERMINAL'
"Zed...", he muttered absentmindedly for a bit. "Zed!? Then- that terminal. Isn't that-"
He kept pausing between words until a sudden weight dawned on him. That was the terminal he last visited before passing away and it wasn't far from the place he died. In fact, the terminal stood right before it.
Slowly, the shadow soul turned around and felt his heart sink as he stared at what was left of the Theta Fields Hospital.
Warning tapes surrounded the area and notices about an ongoing reconstruction had been posted around the site.
There was no doubt about it...
Either he was in some kind of illusion... or truly, somehow, he had managed to find himself in the living realm again.
Everything around Zanetor fell off from his notice as he stared dead at the rubble.
A single thought flashed through his mind as he stood frozen in place.
'Mother...'