Truth and Family: A God's Journey

Asahi pondered the ultimate choice that stood before him.​

Ever since the massacre and the failed 'revival' of Aletha—events that cracked his sanity and sent shockwaves through every memory—Asahi drowned in isolating, agonizing loneliness.

The void left by his loved ones pulsed like a fresh wound, every waking moment a battle against the ache of emptiness.

Telos, Kartara, Aletha—all vanished, each absence clawing deeper into him, threatening to unravel his sense of self.

Only Paxon remained—a fragile echo of the life Asahi once knew, whose presence offered more pain than comfort, haunted by memories turned ghostly reminders.​

When the offer was met with silence, loneliness tightened its grip on Asahi, his own thoughts echoing back at him in the emptiness.​

First, anger and betrayal boiled within him; the idea of allying with the man who had stolen his memories was almost unbearable. But the desperate ache for a sense of belonging and for the warm touch of the past forced Asahi to push aside the storm inside his heart, clawing for clarity through turmoil.

Second, the terror of what lay ahead seeped into Asahi's mind. Recovering Paxon's memories meant countless days lost in fruitless searching, his hands tied as others needed saving. Panic crept in—failure would mean not just lost lives, but the erasure of everything that made him Asahi. The risk threatened to suffocate.​

But knowing the three were immortal, his worry about the loop faded.​

Finally, the burning ache to know his parents' fate surged in Asahi. He needed—more than anything—to understand their end. By reliving every anguished moment through his loved ones' eyes, answers finally pierced the fog, providing relief mingled with heartbreak.

And so, after a pause heavy with pain and longing, Asahi locked eyes with Paxon, his stare sharp as shattered glass. The words he spoke next trembled with both defiance and yearning.

"I choose the first option."

Paxon recoiled at Asahi's response.

"Are you sure? There's a heavy risk." Paxon's tone now matched the Ruler of Memories, not the Ruler of the Forgotten. "I seek redemption, not love. I want to atone for interfering with the Adtraic family."

Once again, words failed Asahi. The bitterness of Paxon's betrayal gnawed at him—but that betrayal had, however cruelly, given him the thinnest thread to grasp at the meaning of what he had lost.

After all, knowledge is power.​

"Quite sure," Asahi replied, turning to the rising sun. He breathed deep and continued, "Since my journey underwater, questions haunted me. How Aiyana, Achlys, and Acheros survived. How Akwan arrived first despite us using the device together. How the world changed in five thousand years. I always sought answers, even after you tampered with my memories."

Paxon crumpled into a silence thick with shame. Asahi's raw honesty was a blade; each word cut until guilt nearly suffocated him.​

"As you said, memories are the form of existence. They construct your view of the world and reveal your identity. Without memories, why exist at all? Why exist purely out of fear?"

Now deeply immersed in the conversation, Asahi brushed aside the issues between the three immortals. He seemed intent on finding answers. Resolving to move past his immaturity, he decided to move forward and face the troubles ahead.

"You have eleven tries to get it right," Paxon said, turning to the horizon. "But only one chance to restore my memories. Do that, and I'll share the truth about your family, The Last Calamity, The War of the Wish, and The Black Flood."​

"Black Flood?" Asahi questioned with genuine curiosity.​

"You need not ponder on my musings. Just get my memories back. They should be located within the depths of the icy cavern, beneath Brittlefrost Peak."

With those final words, reality began to fracture, the world fracturing like Asahi's scarred heart. The chance to look through his parents' eyes rekindled hope, but also unleashed fresh aches; his rage smoldered into purpose.

. . .

(Meanwhile, back at the carriage's crash site)

"Why can't I fight, damn it?!" Grandpa roared, straining against the unseen force pinning him. Old wounds throbbed, but this helplessness was agony. "This cursed barrier… this useless magic! I've never felt so powerless." Fury and shame twisted inside him, the weight of his loved ones' peril pressing down. "Damn it all!"

Asahi's eyes fluttered open to find three immortals standing before him, their presence both familiar and otherworldly.

Ever since the bargain for memories, Asahi was haunted by the truth: Primrose, Trid, and Grandpa owed their immortality to the moment he shattered the Orb.

With the weight of fate pressing on him, Asahi gripped his sword. Grandpa strained to break free and fight. Primrose staggered, exhausted. Trid's mind spun with dangerous knowledge. If Asahi was to save them all, defeat his foes, and recover Paxon's memories, it had to happen in this very loop. There would be no easy shortcuts.

"So, all I need to do is go to Brittlefrost peak, and go to the—

Suddenly, memories of the nameless caverns surged through him: ancient, towering halls where millions once lived, the air thick with earth and moss. He relived the brutal clash with The Guardian, Kendra's awakening—each moment flickering like lightning in his mind.

"What... what are the—

Suddenly,

"ASAHI STAY BACK!"

(SWING)

A sudden chill swept the air. The ground quivered beneath his boots, hinting at something monstrous drawing near. For a heartbeat, the sky darkened. Shadows stretched, thick with menace. Every breath felt electric.

In the silence, Asahi's senses sharpened. Every flicker, every twitch at the edge of his sight, set his nerves on edge.

(SWING)

The rabid polar bear lunged, claws slashing for Asahi. He dodged and drove his sword into its belly. The beast howled, eyes wild, then twisted and sprouted eight legs, morphing into a monstrous, spider-bear hybrid. Such grotesque mutations marked the handiwork of The Ending—creatures ever-changing, ever-unnatural.

The sight forced Asahi to retreat, realizing that facing this abomination head-on would be a fatal mistake.

Thinking fast, he pulled Primrose and Trid close, using their presence as a desperate shield.

Primrose froze, horror-struck as the bear-creature scuttled up the icy walls, moving with unnatural, spider-like speed.

That left no doubt—this was a beast of The Ending. The Ending was a catastrophic force, spawning ever-mutating horrors that threatened to unravel the world itself. Its icy shadow haunted every corner of their struggle.

The creature swelled, its crooked jaws snapping for Asahi. He slashed, severing one of its arms, and it shrieked in agony. Amid the chaos, Grandpa felt a flicker of change within—a surge of magic ebbing, his determination to protect his family chipping away at the ancient curse. Gritting his teeth, he forced his weapon up, deflecting the monster's blows. "Get on the damn carriage!" he bellowed, parrying another savage strike despite the painful electricity that surged through him.

Realizing they stood no chance, Grandpa and Trid scrambled into the carriage and veered off the path. The six-legged horror skittered after them, its bear-like mask sliding off to reveal something even more grotesque beneath.

"What is that nightmare?" Primrose gasped, pressing against Asahi to distance herself from the horrifying beast clawing after them.

"That's what we call it, a damn Mimic Bear."

"A Mimic Bear?" Asahi echoed, baffled.

"Yeah, a Mimic Bear. It's just a damn mimic, done up as a bear. That's how they hunt—damn clever, damn deadly. It's not always bears, either. Sometimes, it's just lousy rats."

Tracking the foul trail left by the Mimic Bear, Primrose snatched two Soil canisters from the back of the carriage. She hurled the red one, and a roaring fire engulfed the creature's matted fur.

But it still kept moving.

She lobbed a blue canister next, freezing the beast in its tracks. As the carriage rattled on, Asahi thrust his map at Primrose, finger jabbing at Brittlefrost Peak, his voice tight with desperation.

Their options shrank fast: Blacksmith Haven was crawling with enemy troops, Serpent Shores was impassable after the storms, and Erkunshinkdle teemed with monsters loyal to The Ending and The Merciless Queen. Only Brittlefrost Peak or Tower Valley remained.

After a breathless debate, they set their sights on the ruins of Brittlefrost Peak. Grandpa snapped the reins, urging the horses over jagged ground. The Mimic Bear lunged, claws raking the carriage.

(SWING)

Just as they neared safety, the Mimic Bear sprang, its stinging legs latching onto the wagon and hurling it toward the lowest glaciers at the mountain's base.

With no time to brace, Asahi, Primrose, Trid, and Grandpa tumbled out, crashing hard onto the frozen shoreline, shattering the glacial floor beneath them.

The carriage skidded and jammed between a jagged crevasse, stranding them in the coldest depths they had ever known.

. . .

Memories flashed into being in Asahi.

"Behold, the Adtraic in the flesh!" A priest said as he bowed down.

Five figures in dark brown hoods drifted through his mind—one silver-haired, the rest white-haired—radiating authority in the shadowy Kingdom of Rulers below. Thousands of Rulers gathered. But just as he could get more info, the vision vanished as swiftly as it appeared, leaving Asahi murmuring to himself.

. . .

(Several hours after)

"Ah, our beloved prince..." The shrill voice pierced the silence as Asahi's eyes opened to a vast cavern, its walls bristling with enormous icicles. Sunlight spilled through a gap in the icy ceiling, illuminating the carriage wedged above. Turning toward the voice, Asahi spotted a wooden hut anchored firmly to the frozen earth.

"Oh, almighty Prince, your return has breathed new hope into the world!" The voice said as it grew closer and closer. "With your boundless heart and devotion to the enchanting realm of Gincad, may peace finally grace all eight nations."

"Eight nations? What are you talking about?" Asahi said as the others reeled back in shock.

"No prince questions their destiny." The dark-haired man said as he drew an S mark on the glacial ground. " It is prophesied by Alaunus that our beloved Prince of Gincad shall return from the icy depths and bring hope to a nation full of despondency."

"Nation? Depths?" (So even Alaunus' prophecies came here as well?)

"Paxon, what have you been hiding from me?" Asahi mumbled as a new chapter of his life began to unfold.