In the lightless space separate from the Divine realms and Void, a lone spark blinked into existence.
The spark wavered, flickering as if contemplating its existence, unmoving as if trying to grasp something. Deep within the spark, something warm blossomed, an alien pain, paradoxically warm yet cold. The spark was only born today, yet the pain felt older than existence itself. It was hungry, burning for everything and more.
It was desire.
A desire born from a treacherous Shadow, one whose existence had become an error in the strings of reality. It was something that shouldn't exist, an irregular piece in an all encompassing puzzle of perfection. Reality wanted to reject the imperfection, but it couldn't.
It's desire was too strong
Too emotional
It yearned to be remembered, silently screaming, wishing to be heard, to be seen, to be… loved. It wanted to go home, if it had one, longing for the primal warmth that all life craved.
And so the light continued to shine in the empty space, silently growing.
Until after 4 years… it finally stopped
Its radiance had become blinding, all encompassing of the desolate space. The light spewing from it, even reached the edges of the Divine realms, causing them to slightly tremble, unfamiliar at its presence.
From deep within the core, something took shape.
It opened its "eyes" and looked in the direction of the Divine realms
Everything seemed to pause as if waiting in response to what the light would do. Then a single, sonorous sound echoed in the empty space for the first time in eons.
"...home"
In the next second, the light flared and moved, surging forward towards the Divine realms.
**************
Bastion, in the Ivory tower of a floating island, a hypnotic scent wafted out of the highest window as a figure stood above a stove, skillfully flicking a delicate concoction of seasoned meats and vegetables in a large plan.
It was Nephis, clad in a stylish apron that covered simple civilian clothes.
Currently, she was preparing a feast for the entire cohort as they chatted leisurely in the room opposite at a large table. Nephis was content, it was the first time they were having a meal together in a long while.
Ever since they had returned from the Third Nightmare, their lives had become quite burdensome. Valor had become tense at the revelation of the cohort's sudden ascension, and had been laying invisible leashes on her and Cassie, by the commissioning of continuous tasks, missions and paperwork. It was clear they held animosity towards the heroes of the Forgotten Shore as powerhouses they hadn't nurtured. Effie, Jet and Kai had not escaped the burden of responsibility either. The government had been piling on continuous tasks, primarily located in or around Antarctica in a bid to possibly recover the foothold that resided in the region or build a new one for humanity. Regrettably, this had kept the cohort separated for quite some time, although Effie periodically visited to support some new Cafe that had recently appeared in Bastion.
In the times she had dropped by to meet her and Cassie, she would hound Nephis about the cafe shop, how it supposedly was her new favorite place in two worlds, and a quoted "Utopia" for women.
Each time Nephis heard this, she was confused.
Utopia was foreign concept to Nephis, as someone who had been aspiring her whole life to gain power and avenge her family and clan, to rid the world of the corrupt Sovereigns. She was nearing what seemed like an impossible goal in the eyes of others, and had felt some progress in naturally ascending to Supremacy to take action and make Utopia a reality for humanity and not a fiction.
Which is why she was stumped, and possibly although she wouldn't admit it, curious about this supposed Utopia Effie had mentioned. Although, Nephis suspected that the word "Utopia" that came out of Effie's mouth, could only correlate with one thing, being food. Yet oddly, she stressed how it was for "women".
Nephis's hands paused and laid down the pan.
'Isn't a Utopia supposed to be a uniform thing for all humans? How could a Utopia only exist for women?'
She refocused as the door to the kitchen burst open as Effie peeked through with a wolfish grin.
"Soo.. uhh princess! How long until the food is ready? The others wouldn't stop complaining about how hungry they are!" Effie exclaimed as a growing grin plastered her gleaming face.
Nephis indifferently looked over and replied in a calm tone.
"I'll bring it right now"
Effie gleamed as she turned around and energetically stomped back to the table, causing slight tremors to vibrate the Ivory tower.
Grabbing nine plates, one for each and five for effie, Nephis loaded them with food and carried them into the other room. Kai and Jet sat next to each other on one side of the table, conversing about the recent propaganda posters the Government had commissioned of them to the public, although it was mostly Kai talking, more specifically whining about the colors they had used for his poster which poorly contrasted with what he was wearing. All the while, Jet casually nodded in agreement, albeit hiding a growing smirk on her face. Effie was at the end of the table, fork and knife in hand, practically beaming at the sight of the approaching food.
And lastly there was Cassie…
Strangely, it was her who had requested that they meet up and have a meal together for the sake of relaxing. Secretly, Nephis was very content at the proposition, which is why she had offered to make the food in homage back to their times on the Forgotten Shore.
It was not a hidden truth that Cassie had been suffering since the end of the Third Nightmare, seemingly having lost connection to fate.
As a result, she had become cold and confused, pushing herself away from the others, possibly reminded of her inability to help back in their first nightmare.
However, Nephis also suspected that she was hiding something, a vital piece of information which she wouldn't share. Something had happened in the Third Nightmare to their memories, seemingly corrupted, a missing piece in the puzzle. The cohort was troubled but couldn't do much as it involved a matter they couldn't control. But Cassie was different. Her aspect was tied to her memory, and so along with having been severed from her connection to Fate she had been even more tormented by the missing link as the grappled to hold on to what it was.
So, the sudden proposal to have a meal together was a shock, a contrast to her quiet and secluded nature over the last four years.
Nephis suspected that something had changed.
'Today we're going to learn what has happened…'
Nephis set down the plates and took her seat beside Cassie, they thanked her in unison and started eating.
However, nobody said a word.
Silence hung heavy as they quietly ate their food, although Effie was a bit louder than the rest.
They all knew.
They knew that Cassie was going to reveal something.
Seemingly noticing the anticipation, Cassie calmly put down her fork and politely wiped her lips with a napkin before audibly clearing her throat.
"Ahem.."
All eyes slowly turned towards her as they put down their forks.
Cassie smiled slightly "I think we're all aware of why I have gathered us here today" she said in a light tone, before quickly taking a deep breath.
"We all know that something happened after the Third Nightmare, something that more specifically did something to Fate…. our memories, something that I have been trying to figure out for the last four years"
She paused and turned her head to look at the others
"Something happened yesterday. For the first time in four years…. I felt Fate tremble"
The others' eyes widened as the seriousness of the statement settled into them, Effie was the first one to speak, abruptly rising from her seat with a alleviated look on her face.
"So... does this mean that Fate is back or getting fixed?" she exclaimed.
Nephis's fist clenched as she looked at Cassie in silent anticipation
'We all want a clue of what happened back there..'
Cassie paused before quietly replying "No"
Effie abruptly shut her mouth as the others diverted their eyes at the weight of the mood killing statement.
"But.. something has changed, for the first time in four years, Fate reacted to something, though I don't know what, it has reacted and this means that other seers will have also felt the change"
Jet leaned forward, asking in a serious tone "So what does this mean for us and the rest of the world?"
Cassie slightly shuddered, before composing herself.
"I-I don't know exactly, but what I can say is that something will happen soon, something big tha-"
Before she could finish her sentence, a bright white light shot up from below her, encompassing her body completely. The others immediately jumped up, sparks condensed around them forming different armour and weapons.
But before they could even react, the light vanished.
And so did Cassie, the spot where she had stood now empty.
Effie looked around in alarm before raising her voice "WHA JUS-"
However, before she could also finish her sentence, the same white light rose from below her as well and covered her body, similarly happening to Kai and Jet.
Nephis strained her muscles to the limit and infused as much essence into her body as she could, launching herself with a thundering boom towards them.
But before she could even reach them, they had also vanished.
Standing her ground, Nephis moved into a defensive stance as her eyes scanned around the room, looking for the attacker. White Flames burned in her eyes, as they began to rise from her body.
Yet, it was to no avail, as the last thing she saw was the same white light rising from below her, before the world disappeared.
**************
Somewhere else in Bastion on a familiar street, a couple was walking.
It was Kim and Luster walking together towards their usual cafe, with a smile on their faces.
Luster was jokingly tossing Kim's bag in the air, which she angrily berated him to stop. In response Luster mischievously grinned and tossed it exceptionally high. As the bag reached its max height, a white light briefly flashed below it, before the bag gained momentum and fell down.
However no hands caught the bag as it dropped onto the concrete.
The street was empty and silent.
**************
In an old apartment in Bastion, in a dimly lit room an old man was scrunched over a desk deep in thought reading a book.
Its title, "Report of the Tomb of Ariel - by Unknown".
The man silently closed the book as he chuckled, before picking up an empty cup and slowly standing up.
However, before he could take a step, a white light briefly flashed, and the cup crashed to the floor, the noise too loud for such an empty room.
**************
In the heart of Bastion, in a conference room, Morgan along with the rest of the Valor saints and the representing Government saints sat at a table in discussion over constructing new housing locations for mundane citizens.
Standing by the wall, a quiet attendant kept her back straight and eyes focused in fear as the powerful saints discussed.
She jumped slightly when one of the men turned to face her and beckoned her forward with a finger.
'Oh gods, i'm about to die'
She bit her tongue as she quickly moved forward and arrived by the old man's side.
He craned his head and smiled, revealing a mouth of pearly white teeth "Please, be a dear and get this old man some nice tea, at this rate my mouth will be drier than my knees after all these years of walking!" he croaked
The attendant nervously nodded and quickly bolted out of the room, preparing some lemon tea before putting it on a tray and making her way back.
She reached the door and took a deep breath before gently opening it, however the room she entered was now completely empty.
**************
Ravenheart, in a war room, a long complicated table depicted the surrounding area of Godgrave, with miniature soldier figures in places and strategic lines covering certain parts to designate pathways, camps and death zones.
Yet, every seat in the room was oddly empty as a window noisily rattled in the background.
**************
In the snowy outskirts of Ravenheart, a girl miserably trudged through the snow
Wisps of steam rose from her mouth as her teeth chattered, cursing and complaining about some miserable shadow.
As her ranting became louder and angrier, she failed to notice a rock before her feet and resultantly face planted in the snow. A muffled curse could be heard underneath the snow as the girl stood up and turned around to kick the rock, bracing her toes for impact.
But the rock didn't budge.
Confused, the girl looked down, only to find her legs becoming transparent as a white light began to rise up.
"Wha-"
Before she could finish her sentence, the world turned black.
**************
In an unknown space that resembled a movie theatre, multiple bright lights quickly rose from the ground before taking the forms of different people.
The air was still as people quickly looked around confused of their location and whether the people surrounding them were friend or foe.
However, before anyone could form another cohesive thought, a large screen illuminated the room, causing everyone to turn their heads.
On the screen, two simple sentences silently blinked
[Welcome to the Cinema of Forgotten]
[Spectators, please take your seats]
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Author here :)! I'm writing this reaction fanfic because I love these types of fanfics, but sadly we don't have enough in the community! One of the best one's sadly takes a while to update because the author is busy (don't hate them), so I got a bit impatient and thought, why not do it myself? Anyway, hope you enjoy and i'll update ever 2-3 days since I have too much free time.
Hope you have a pleasant reading experience!
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