I woke up, in the midst of an unfamiliar Street.
And I soon noticed that in this street, the sky was unfamiliar and strange.
There was no moon in the sky, and it was shrouded in thick darkness, as if it was the darkest hour of the night.
Then, my eyes caught a figure standing on an electric pole.
The figure had two horns protruding out of its head, its whole figure covered in darkness, as if the darkness was afraid that anyone might perceive it.
Then, the figure slowly turned in my direction, its red eyes containing madness peering down into my soul.
I felt an overwhelming fear and had the urge to compress, do something, and hide, but there was nothing to hide in.
Just then, I felt as if a bucket of cold water had been poured on me as I shuddered, sitting up straight.
Besides me, I spotted Mumbe, who was also looking ahead dazedly.
Then, I asked her, my voice shivering. "Did you have the same nightmare?"
She shook her head. "No, my powers aren't working."
"What?" I asked, my mouth somewhat agape. "Your powers aren't working?"
She hesitated for a moment and frowned, shaking her head once more. "No."
Standing up, I looked around the place. It was a long hallway, the walls made of brass with various senseless designs imprinted on them.
The floor itself though, was made of thick concrete with a white powder-like substance still sticking to it.
"Where are we…? What happened?" I asked, clutching my head. It was throbbing with unnatural pain, making me unable to think. 'Was it because of that nightmare…?"
Just as I was wondering, Mumbe frowned, pointing at my head. "You're bleeding."
"I am… what?" I scowled, touching the back of my head where it hurt the most, and my fingers soon touched something moist and disgusting.
Blood. Blood had covered my fingers, and not a small amount. "Dammit." I scowled.
"It doesn't look that serious, for now, let's ignore it, we will think of something later."
I nodded. "What should we do now?"
"We will try to regroup with Diablo and others, and find out how we ended up here."
I nodded again, following her.
As we proceeded through the hallways, the brass walls on our left and right sides started showing gaps, with strange noises echoing from within.
We soon found out what they were though.
"People… people are confined here!" My headache worsened as I suddenly had the feeling that I had returned to the Cavern of Black Lilies.
Mumbe, rather sceptical, went ahead and peered through the cells, but withdrew her head when nothing was visible.
"Anyone there? Hello?"
Clang!
At her shout, a loud noise resounded from inside, making her flinch and back away from the cell.
"You… how are you there…? The gangs, those gang members, where are they?!" The person inside shouted as my expression twisted.
Mumbe's did too as well, as she asked the person hurriedly.
"Gang members? Which gang's members?"
"You… you really don't know? How did you come here in the first place…?"
The person inside, taller and thinner than Mumbe, muttered something incomprehensible.
"Are you being experimented upon?" I asked, recounting my experiences.
"Experimented? What? No… we were captured after the academy was infiltrated."
I saw Mumbe Berknalz's pupils tremble as she called out, "Filza?"
The man inside the prison cell came very close to the iron bars as he looked at her. His expression changed as well.
"Mumbe! You escaped?" He asked, his face morphing into a complex expression. "I thought you were also in here!"
She sighed, nodding. "Somehow, instead of ending up here, I was in the Southern Kingdoms when I woke up."
The man's brows loosened a little. "Southern Kingdoms? Why were you there?"
"I don't know either…" Mumbe paused, "Hold on, so the whole academy is in this place? Where is this?"
The man named Filza looked at her incredulously, "You came here, you are roaming freely, and don't know why you are here?"
"Gods, Mumbe, have you gone mad…"
"No, it looks like you are the one who's gone mad."
I agreed with that. The man was thin and haggard, his hairs a mess and his eyes sunken and deep, his skin was a bit pale, too.
"Guys, we should perhaps make it quick. What about those gang members anyway?" I urged them, having somewhat of an idea of what this was.
"How did you arrive here?" The man asked, looking in my direction.
"I don't know either. We were entangled with a giant tree a few moments ago, and then we ended up here…"
From the looks he gave me, I was half certain he thought that I was mad. "Please, elaborate. We are more confused than you are."
The man sighed, nodding his head. "Well… after the academy was overrun by the Lower Street District's gangs, except the higher-ups and a boy, no one escaped."
I was going to interrupt him but Mumbe stopped me.
He continued. "Then, we were carried off in specialized trucks and brought here, to Kvenz Es I Colosseum in Madilan."
I frowned instinctively, no, my expression was perhaps quite funny.
Mumbe had a similar expression as she muttered, "We are in Madilan…?"
"No wonder I couldn't use my powers…"
"Yeah, apparently, supernatural powers don't work in Madilan, may it be spells or blessings, none work."
My eyes open wide. "So that's why neither the south or north were able to capture Madilan?"
"That's a part of it… Though if you go outside…" He started, only to shake his head and sigh. "Mumbe, please free us."
"How?" She asked, bewildered.
"I don't know… but please, please save us!" He pleaded, pounding his head on the prison-cell and stretching his severely decayed hand across the cell, small plant roots growing instead of hair on his hand.
I and Mumbe instantly backed away, Mumbe's eyes showing genuine horror for the first time.
"Filza… what have they done to you?!"
"I, I don't know… the guy in charge of the gangs is crazy, please, please free me!"
Mumbe frowned, not responding, but she hurriedly dragged me away from him.
Soon, the two of us were walking in the hallways, an eerie silence lingering between us.
"So, are we going to rescue him?" I asked.
"No." She decisively shook her head, not elaborating further.
Just as we were walking in silence, we suddenly stopped in our tracks, so did the person in front of us.
"Hi." The person waves his hand, prompting Mumbe to frown. "How've you been?"
I took out the Pouch of Myths from my pocket and tried to get the dagger in my hand, but sadly, I found that it was sealed.
"Boo-hoo, magic and magic items are prohibited here!" Eric Kofter said, maintaining a safe distance away from us.
"How about we just talk? I've been hostile since earlier as I had been forced to, no intention to hurt you otherwise." He said, raising his hands up in surrender. "Good morning Miss Berknalz."
'It's night now…' Since the earth doesn't circle the sun anymore, the weather and climate remained the same throughout the world, so did seasons and time.
"You were the one that escaped?"
"Fortunately or unfortunately, yes. Though I ended in a miserable state and… came back here once again, all due to that… ahem."
Mumbe kept her frowned but didn't reply.
"Well, etiquette be damned currently, yes? Well, initially, I was in Lower Street District when the mess happened, and was thought of as an accomplice of… the alliance."
Mumbe gestured him to continue.
"Well, stuff happened, I almost died, that Diablo bastard playing a major part in it. Later, I was almost imprisoned, but escaped before reaching Madilan." He said, showing the ring he had previously worn before — except that it was now charcoal black and had no features.
"What type of ring is it?" I asked him curiously.
"Well, it is a ring made with the powers of a War Chariot, a family heirloom, which takes me wherever the resonance of another War Chariot's power is the strongest…" He sighed. "But since I had activated it only when we were very close to Madilan, I ended up in those tunnels, where the dead remains of another War Chariot lay."
"So that tree wasn't your doing then?"
"Hell no, that was the remains of a War Chariot who had died decades ago." He said, "That girl and I merely used the ring's dormant power to stimulate the War Chariot's remains."
He smiled. "We shouldn't stay here. We should move to a safer place."
I nodded, but Mumbe questioned him. "You don't know her?"
He shook his head. "Nope, when I was dying and all for using that ring, she coincidentally found me somehow, and helped me. Apparently, she was fleeing from someone and needed help, so I complied… hmm?"
"Half the story you have said, but fine."
I sighed. Why were we having such an unpleasant group reunion now?
"But that's not what's important right now, I know of an exit here. That is important." Rose said, smiling.
…
In a place where the shadows had stopped dancing.
Belite, who was leaning against the wall, opened his eyes, sighing, listening to the sounds in front of him.
There was the sound of incomprehensible murmuring along with "I'm sorry… I'm sorry" being repeated.
"How long are you going to stay in that state?" Belite asked, expecting no reply. "Perhaps that was precisely why I was warned against using magical items. It really makes you mad."
The murmurs stopped for a moment but continued once again, prompting Belite to smile bitterly.
It was the transfer students from Twilight City, Estize Skien, that was murmuring such a way, gone mad from using sealed magical items and solitary confinement.
But Belite's eyes suddenly opened wide.
He felt that a part of him that was "bound" was suddenly released, prompting him to realise that he could utilise his Blessings: Wish!
…
In the colosseum's hallways.
Ruiki, along with Rosalyn De Avarise, Mumbe Berknalz, Eric Kofter, and Saemon Havaris, walked quietly in the hallway, with Ruiki extending his support to Saemon Havaris.
In order to persuade them, Rose had led them to Saemon Havaris as a token of trust, but Saemon was badly wounded and his face was pale, being unable to use his powers either.
"Diablo couldn't enter Madilan. He would die, if he did." Saemon stated, grunting. "Blessed who are above the Fourth Circle couldn't enter Madilan."
Ruiki furrowed his brows. "Is he safe atleast…"
"Outskirts of Madilan are safer than Madilan itself even though various forces are lurking there, quietly waiting. But he should be able to manage."
Ruiki nodded, his brows easing at the words.
Soon, led by Rosalyn, they reached a prison-cell that was illuminated by pure blue light, the blue lights faint and flickering in and out of existence, licking at their own wisps and barely scattering apart.
Looking at the spectacle, Rose immediately extended her hand as purple light billowed forth, various inscriptions appearing on her body and glowing brighter than ever before.
…
"I Wish: To be granted freedom!" I shouted, making my voice clear as I felt a faint tingle reverberate throughout my body.
Then, my body started disintegrating, rapidly changing colours and eventually settling on blue as pain blazed throughout my entire being.
I heard numerous voices, familiar voices, unfamiliar voices. I heard the dreadful whispers of men, women, and children alike, their voices either tinged with resentment, or hope.
The voices soon scattered, my consciousness barely clinging to myself as the disintegration increased.
The last thing I saw before losing my consciousness was Rosalyn De Avarise and indistinct figure, her whole body glowing purple and disintegrating just like myself, but the purple hailstorm, instead of engulfing her, engulfed a teenager beside her, the hailstorm rapidly leaping towards me, as if to consume me.
…
"I" arrived at a place.
That place was a city, a city with black chimney's billowing black and white smokes alike.
Looking at them from where "I" stood, I noticed besides me, a woman in her mid-thirties. Maybe more? Her age was hard to guess since her face was hazy.
She addressed me. "Ruiki, what are you doing standing on the rooftop? What if you catch a cold?"
Without my permission, my lips parted. "I won't."
The hazy face distorted, revealing a small smile as she placed her hand on my head and ruffled my hair.
"Don't worry. Your father is strong, he will surely come home." She leaned closer to me. "But you know who isn't strong? Your mother. So she wants Ruiki to help her, and for Ruiki to help her, he has to eat dinner!"
"You will eat dinner for my sake, won't you?"
The scenes distorted, fading into the darkness as I saw myself standing in another place.
In front of me was an old man carrying books. His smile bloomed as he saw me, shoving the books to my chest.
"Keep them, they are yours from now on." The old man pointed to himself. "I am old so I have no use for them, do I?"
The scenes distorted once more, now showing a woman in her mid twenties, her face clear, unlike others.
"What do you want to be when you grow up, Ruiki?" The woman asked, her curly blond hair neatly tied in a bun as she wore a plain white robe, its ends billowing in the wind.
"When I grow up?" My lips parted once again, an unfamiliar voice resounding. "I want to be able, and strong enough to protect my family!"
The surroundings continued to twist: Once a teenager, other times a middle-aged man, then a teacher, Rosalyn, Eric Kofter…
I touched my lips, unconsciously noticing a grin as at some point of drifting, I saw a young boy of thirteen or fourteen years of age standing in front of me.
I noticed that it was myself, Belite, looking at "myself" with a sorrowful expression.
Then, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me to another area as the scenery distorted, rapidly blending and merging into a black void.
Now, I stood opposite the teenager who was no longer unfamiliar, whose memories I had gone through.
"Ruiki Imara." I called out, stepping forward.
At my call, the boy's expression distorted.
"You know why we are here, don't you?" He asked, to which I nodded.
But I didn't elaborate, stepping even closer to him until I was right in front of him.
Then, I raised my hand, my hands glowing bright red as they burrowed into his chest.
But no blood flowed, instead, I was thrown back, crashing into what seemed like a barrier in the void, the barrier briefly taking on the appearance of a cubic wall, its edges shining with white light.
Then, the surroundings around the boy changed, becoming that of the town I was familiar with.
Similarly, his appearance changed.
He was suddenly covered in thick darkness, his own shadow writhing as dozens of screams were heard.
He shut his eyes tightly as the darkness he was covered in transformed, completely draping him and covering him with unfamiliar yet familiar faces, each of them opening their mouths, clutching at him, clawing at him.
But in the end, most of them embraced him, becoming separate existences that protected him, guarded him, baring their teeths towards me, who stood with my back against the wall, all alone.
I smiled, however. I smiled because it was "I" against "Them."
In the next moment, I attacked, each attack consuming a part of me.
The ghosts immediately scattered under his will, merging into his body.
Even as I kept on attacking, he kept dodging, often hiding inside buildings, often hiding in familiar places.
It was of no use, however. Since the place he was hiding in was familiar to me as well.
"You can't get hurt." I said to him, "Since "you" getting hurt, means hurting "Them" who you cherish."
I attacked, consuming myself since it was I, asking for none's consent because it was myself.
"But it is not the case for me." I said, my attacks eventually demolishing the walls he had been hiding in.
'I can do whatever I wish, since "I" am entirely composed of myself, not existing with someone else's consent, not existing for someone else's happiness, but mine alone.'
Now completely exposed to me and my attacks, Ruiki smiled at me bitterly.
"It is entirely because of the way you live, that you cannot defeat me, Belite."
Instantly, an enormous power weighed on me, rejecting me and accepting me.
The whole city seemed to come alive, burying me in a river, in a place that was familiar but not familiar.
"I" saw corpses of humans and polymorphed humans alike, dragging me with them, burying me with their bodies, alive.
I heard his voice. "It is mainly because you are composed of yourself, that you can't win."
"If a single strike of yours kills me, then all I have to do is kill you before you strike."
"It is mainly because you are composed of yourself, that every attack of mine hurts you more, and even more as time passes."
I grinned. "Atleast I can get hurt, unlike you."
Amidst the corpses that I could barely stand from, I noticed the people I had met throughout my life watching, grinning with sadistic expressions.
Armado, Gellard, Kesiar, Sophia, Sonia, Sel…
They stood in the distance, watching me, grinning while shedding tears.
'Huh?' Just then, beside them, I noticed a rippling void, a voice that I was intimately familiar with wishing me well.
'Even you?' I questioned none as I noticed the voice chuckle, speaking inside my head once again.
"How weak you are, to get overwhelmed so easily? Deep inside, even you don't wish to live."
Immediately, the pressure weighing on me subsided as I stood up, looking at Ruiki, who was now composed of "himself" alone, just like I.
Now, he sported a playful grin on his face.
"Nice to finally meet you, Bell." "Ruiki" said, "What about a hi, or hello?"
I looked at him in a daze, asking, "Is that you? Are you alive?"
"Ofcourse I am." He spread his hands, grinning. "It feels nice being able to move your arms, doesn't it..."
Before he could talk any further, I asked him. "How did you defeat him? Are you really that powerful?"
At my question, his smile ceased, replaced by a smirk. "Powers, blessings… They are nothing in this place."
"As for how I defeated him…" The corners of his mouth curled up. "You will know, very soon."
I nodded. He was as mysterious as he was for the past sixteen-years.
"So… you won't be in my head now? Whispering constantly and all that?"
"You can consider that." He nodded. "Although I won't be in your head, I will always be watching you whenever I can."
"Please don't."
"Sure." He replied, flashing a thumb as the surroundings started to disintegrate rapidly.
"So… ahem, what was this place, again?" I asked him, who was "I" and "I" was him from the beginning of my life.
"And who are you?"
"This place? It is a Planar Soul Prism, a plane which unfolds when two similar souls undergo the process of merging."
"As for me…" He grinned. "I am you, and also him, but I am the both of you, but also myself."
"So an amalgamation of sorts, huh?" I asked back, to which he chuckled.
"Live your life however you want, Bell. You are finally free, congratulations." His figure rapidly disintegrated. "Enjoy your life while I live in the misery of "collecting" more unfortunate souls such as yourselves and myself."
My figure began to disintegrate as well, and I wordlessly nodded to his words, my consciousness or soul reaching the body in the prison-cell.
The first thing I heard or saw was the frenzied Estize Skien, reacting to the blue light that my body was still faintly emitting.
"Concentration of high-level magic detected! Detaching Area B-49! I repeat, detaching Area B-49!"
I frowned as the unlit candle in the prison-cell suddenly ignited, the entire prison-cell slowly collapsing as the candle-flame got brighter and brighter.
Then, at a certain point, I noticed that I had lost my Essential Heart, with only the blessing: Cold Touch faintly flickering as I tried to stabilize the breaking prison cell.
As I decided to ask Estize for help, I noticed the candle-flame, which was now as big as myself, glowing with words written in an unknown language as they rapidly disintegrated, flowing towards my shadow and momentarily fixing me in place.
As I soon got the freedom to move and ask for help, certain information flashed in my mind as the faint blue light finally flickered out of existence: that the Essential Eternal Chaos Heart was now replaced by the Essential Grave Keeper's Heart.
Volume 2: Bright Night — End.
Author: Happy New Year!
I rewrote the ending multiple times and found this the most fitting, hope you have enjoyed it. The next volume, Wanderer, is going to be serialised soon, in which all the unexplained world building and power system is going to be explained along with the plot, following the story of Belite. I thank you if you are still reading this, and I once again wish you a happy new year.