Veritas jolted awake, jumping up from the bed with cold sweat forming on his back and forehead.
His Soul was as calm as a tranquil breeze of a cold evening. He focused his gaze and stared at his illusory body.
It was... pure white but there was something different.
In the core of his Soul, a pure black speck made itself noticeable as if it was another, more foreign part of his Soul.
Veritas was not quite sure of what it was and every time he tried to remember, it seemed as if there was something missing from his memories.
He tried thinking back on the dream.
That.. he could remember quite well, but as for what happened to his Soul, he did not know.
What he knew though was that a pure black speck harmonized with his pure white Soul.
"Weird..."
Veritas stood up, wiped his sweat off his forehead, and walked towards the attentive cat.
Suddenly, it spoke:
"What's the matter, Veritas?"
He stared at it with great focus.. then, Veritas leaned in closer to grasp the cat's eyes.
"What's with your behavior all of a sudden-"
Upon scanning for a few seconds, Veritas let out a deep breath and pulled away from the caged cat.
"I've been pulled into a Dream."
"A.. Dream?"
Bello was quite familiar with dreams due to his Brother's affiliation with them. It piqued his interest knowing that something might've happened to Veritas being pulled in a dream.
"Yes, in it I saw the Queen - or rather.. the former Queen of Elrod."
"Veritas, that's impossible.. Elrod is a patriarchal kingdom, that means that it is mostly led by men! As far as I know, it has been like this since centuries ago."
Veritas looked dejected, as if the words he was saying in his mouth were something that he did not believe in himself.
"I know.."
He stared at the horizon on the window.
"She's been lying there, all alone for all these years.."
"What do you mean?"
"Hold on, Bello.. I have to go."
Veritas transformed and donned his black cloak and Faceless mask with only a crimson red-eye peeking out of it.
He looked at the cat once more and reminded it to watch their surroundings carefully.
"You don't have to guard me. Instead, you should take watch of the entire dormitory."
"Alright."
The cat then laid down and made itself comfortable, closing its eyes as if focusing on a different task overall.
Veritas twisted the door handle and exited the room, immediately vanishing in the Winds as he flew up and towards a hill in the distance..
In the dream, the forest had existed once in the past. And in the vision, it was the place where the Queen fell through the ravine and killed the Seraphim.
However, in reality, there was no such thing!
Rather, what stood there was a whole field made for recreational activities such as picnics and camping.
It was.. simple and plain.
Veritas saw the dandelion field swaying peacefully while basking itself in moonlight.
"She would've loved to see this.."
He flew towards that field and slowly descended down.
Veritas walked slowly, making his way while following the footsteps of the Queen in the dream within a dream.
Prior to her death, the Queen actually managed to experience a dream. In that dream, she walked through a dandelion field and all of her worries were suddenly removed..
Veritas, drowning in the moon's light, felt the blissful paradise that was upon him.
"Is this how she felt?"
He walked and admired the beauty of the cold and somber grass around him, most of it was already overgrown but it did not stretch to the point where it reached Veritas' waist.
Then, after walking for a couple of moments, Veritas saw a descent leading down to more stretches of a dandelion field.
He carefully watched his step as he got down the steep hill of dandelion.
As he made his way down, Veritas stopped to recuperate and laid down on the grass.
He felt the comforting bed and the beauty that is called solitude.
It felt as if the moment could not be taken away from him and his mind was being relieved.
He laid there for a couple of minutes, waiting for something to happen.
He did not hear a loud footstep but rather.. the earth silently shook around him.
Feeling as if something had changed, Veritas stood up and looked around.
However, his eye was already piqued by the gaping ravine in front of him.
"This was not here before.."
Veritas got closer and touched the large hole, he felt as if the hole was made by killing the ground and the space inside of it.
He looked down and saw that it stretched hundreds of meters down and was devoid of any forms of light.
This was not an issue for Veritas because he could just float slowly down and see through the darkness.
After circling around it for a while, he decided to finally jump and slowly make his way down the ravine.
Somehow, a call resounded from within.
In a minute, Veritas was already surrounded by darkness, the walls were described by what seemed to be remnants of a battle.
Perhaps between two distinct figures that were struggling to fight in mid air..
And then.. he reached a point where there was a disheveled feather belonging to that of a Divine Creature.
It stuck itself to the wall, hoping to find respite amidst the darkness.
After a couple more minutes had passed, Veritas saw dried up blood being sucked up by the earth walls. Although the ravine was considerably large in size, the blood splattered looked to be collective yet being spread at the same time.
He concluded that it must've belonged to the Queen's cut off leg.
Finally, he reached the base of the ravine, feeling the pressure of the walls and making his body tremble in fear.
It was as if a remnant of a long-lost emotion had been sealed here.
Veritas continued to further explore its deeper parts.
Slashes, torn walls and floor, lifeless roots, and many more could be found on the base of the ravine!
Veritas saw two bodies.
One was belonging to a beastly Seraphim with no wings, three heads, and no faces.
It was hard to even stare at but Veritas averted his gaze and focused on the other body.
It was.. a skeleton, it must've rotted here for many years!
Near her, a pulsating black blade glowed tenebrously in the darkness.
It seemed that it sucked in everything around it and then turned it into nothingness.
"The Seraphim of Feelings and... Queen Valeira."
For many centuries, the Seraphim had been trapped in an endless dream! Accompanying Her was Queen Valeira who had put that very Seraphim in the endless dream.
"A long battle forever unfinished.. May your Soul rest in peace.."
Veritas then walked towards the black blade plunged on the ground.
Upon closing in on it, he grabbed its handle and attempted to pull it out of the ground.
Immediately, Veritas felt his Soul getting sucked towards the blade!
"Rnggh!"
He did not let that stop him though.
Veritas gripped tightly and pulled as hard as he could! The blade was heavier than he thought!
Veritas felt that his Soul was being depleted at a fast pace!
However, it only took a mere second for him to realize that the blade was getting lighter and lighter!
His Soul was finally depleted and the blade shrunk to a meter-long size!
It was still plunged to the ground but Veritas felt it budging after his long effort of pulling it out.
Suddenly! The familiar runes appeared right in front of him!
[A Lost Soul wishes to resonate with you!]
[Do you accept?]
Veritas' eyes widened!
"..Yes."
And then, it came out! The black blade seemed to suck in everything, including the life around him.
It was like a black hole in the shape of a meter-long blade!
[A Lost Soul now resides in your Soul Storage!]
[You have received Nihility!]
The black blade immediately turned incorporeal and was sucked towards Veritas' Soul.
Veritas conjured it within his hands, forming it into an tenebrously black blade that perfectly fit to his liking.
Then, Veritas made his way towards the slumbering Seraphim.
Wielding the Nihility in his right hand, Veritas intended to kill the Seraphim.
'If I killed Her then would She come back from the dead once more and wreak havoc towards the kingdom?'
It was highly unlikely as this was the Seraphim's final body..
With this realization, Veritas lifted the black blade with his two hands and struck down in downward slash!
The impact was so heavy that it cut through the Seraphim with no hardship at all!
As a Pure rank, Veritas had already felled a Hallowed!
Although it was slumbering and was trapped in an eternal dream, Hallowed Souls usually had impenetrable bodies that could only be damaged by Pathbearers of the same rank.
But with Nihility in Veritas' hands, he carried the feeling of death and was able to impart it with just a mere slash.
So.. the Seraphim was cut in half and the everlasting battle between the Queen of Elrod and the Seraphim of Feelings was now over..
However..
Seconds turned to minutes... but the runes' announcement of the Seraphim's death had not shown.
Veritas trembled due to the shocking revelation.
He had two conclusions.
Either the Seraphim's Soul was trapped in the everlasting dream, which was highly likely.
Or..
Something or someone had stolen it...
His eyes widened in the sudden revelation.
Everything seemed to collide with one another!
It made sense!
The Puppeteer wasn't just here to ascend his Soul!
No.. it was much deeper than that.
The Puppeteer was here to steal the Seraphim's Hallowed Soul and make it his own Puppet!
Realizing this! Veritas rushed immediately out of the ravine and flew very quickly back to the room!
He garnered the attention of the two birds flying above the dormitory and warned his friend, screaming:
"Bello!"
The two birds flew endlessly atop the dormitories but suddenly... it seemed that they were cut off in half!
Veritas saw it clearly with his enhanced perception!
"Strings!"
The Puppeteer was on the attack!
He flew with great speeds, letting the gales behind him push him through while covering great distances.
In a flash, Veritas reached the dormitories!
He rushed through the lounge and went up the hallway, staying vigilant along the way.
Veritas let the Winds go through first to scout for him.
Nothing..
He then ran to the hallway and extended the range of the winds to feel if something was up ahead!
Still nothing!
Then.. Veritas got in front of the room and the Winds immediately shifted around him, warning him of a distinct figure in the room.
With a heavy breath, he twisted the door handle and summoned the black blade in his hands.
The door creaked open and made an eerie noise.
Veritas opened the door wide and saw the gruesome sight right in front of him.
The caged cat was dead, all bloodied and mangled, the furniture inside was destroyed, and on the walls.. it was smeared with blood, forming a text that said:
{You are one step too late..}
In the middle of a room, a man was hanging on the ceiling.
Invisible strings were formed near its neck and were knotted into a noose.
The body was turned around so its face couldn't be seen yet. As Veritas paced around the room to check the identity of the body, his heart beat ever-so loudly!
Veritas felt a deep feeling of dread within him.
Then.. he called out for his name.
"Abbadeer Crystal!"
On his body, a text was written with blood.
{Now.. The Final Act shall commence!}
*
[Volume 1 Part 1: The First Act. Completed.]