Chapter 36: And so... the story begins...
Dear Diary,
How long has it been?
A month? A year? Two…?
I can't remember anymore. It's been too long, but I know it all started after… the crash. The plane crash where I lost… everything. My family, gone in an instant. And somehow, I was left behind.
It was… a strange day. I remember it clearly.
I'd had a dream—one so vivid that it left a mark on me even now.
I can still remember it so clearly.
In it, I saw a girl. She was beautiful, but not in a way that seemed real. She was smiling, but her eyes… her eyes were filled with pain.
I wish I didn't doze off that day.
I wish I never had that dream.
I wish... I never saw that girl.
But… I did.
And after that, it happened.
The plane fell… or rather, it just… dropped. One moment we were soaring, and the next… chaos. Screaming. Metal tearing apart. Then… nothing.
I survived… alone. The only survivor, they said. The "miracle" of the crash. But I didn't feel like a miracle. I felt… empty. Lost. Like maybe it was better if I'd gone down with everyone else.
After that day… I started hearing voices.
…they whispered to me, in the darkness, in the silence. They told me things. Things I didn't want to hear. They told me to kill. To kill everyone. Everything. The voices wouldn't stop.
The orphanage was supposed to be a new beginning. A fresh start. But the voices… they followed me. They poisoned everything, twisting the way I saw the world. When I looked at the other children, the voices told me what they really thought of me.
A murderer.
A monster.
So… I stayed away from everyone. I hid in the corners, trying to make myself invisible, hoping the voices would lose interest and leave me alone. But they didn't. And the kids… they didn't either.
And one day...
... one of the boys—his name was Aaron, I think—finally said it to my face.
He called me a killer. He told me I'd murdered his parents. He looked at me with those wide, accusing eyes, filled with grief and rage, and he demanded that I give them back. "Give me my parents back!" he screamed.
And he wasn't alone. Everyone looked at me the same way. Like I was… something evil. Something wrong... all because i survived.
And the voices… they laughed. They taunted.
And then came that day. The day I couldn't resist anymore. The voices were loud—so loud that they drowned out every other sound, every other thought.
I saw a lighter. I saw hay. I saw… fire.
What had I done?
I didn't know why I did it. I didn't want to do it. But… I did it anyway.
I became… a murderer.
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"Why… didn't you open it? Why did you bring it here?" A woman's voice cut through the silence, tense and filled with questions. She stared at another woman, who clutched a small, ornate box in her trembling hands.
"I could ask you the same question," came the reply, sharp and defiant.
A sigh. The first woman's hand reached out, fingers grazing the box's smooth surface, her gaze distant. "This is it… the last the sins…"
The other woman shook her head, "There are still two left…"
"...which he warned us against finding," she muttered, her voice barely a whisper.
A pause, heavy with finality. "Well, I guess… this is really it."
The first woman nodded, her expression weary. "Yes. But… can't I see him, just once… before it all ends?"
The silence grew, heavy.
"I… wish we could," the other woman whispered, her voice breaking. "But it would only put him in danger."
"But this is the end! If I don't see him now… then…"
The woman swallowed, her voice thick with unspoken grief. "…Never. I know. But we're not dying… not really."
"But in a way… we are. Our memories will be lost when the cannon events begin."
"Yes," she nodded slowly, eyes glistening. "But there's no other way."
The silence stretched, until finally, they both reached for the box, hands trembling. Tears glistened on their cheeks, unspoken promises and regrets hidden in each drop.
"This is it… Ariana," whispered the woman with blue hair, forcing a smile through her tears.
The other woman, with eyes as gray as storm clouds, nodded. "Yes… Lily. Though you remember after this... I believe he might only come to care for you in this timeline. If he does… take care of him, won't you?"
Lily laughed softly, though the sound was bitter. "As if I'd do anything else."
Together, they turned the keys, and the box creaked open…
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[System Alert: Unknown Abilities Detected]
[Five unknown abilities have been identified, all linked to user emotions.]
[Status: Contained]
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The chamber was vast and dark, the silence pressing down like a physical weight. A lone figure stood before a throne, trembling, his voice breaking as he spoke.
"Your… majesty," he managed, his words barely above a whisper.
"Speak," came the cold, powerful reply from the throne.
"He… he was found, but… dead," the man stammered.
A flicker of disbelief crossed the emperor's face. "What…?"
"The son of the Arenfords. He was found dead after being… forcefully taken into the ancient world," the man explained, his voice trembling.
The emperor's face contorted with rage. "No… NO! NOOOOO!" His scream tore through the chamber, and with a sudden, horrifying flash, the man before him was reduced to a pool of blood.
A voice slid out of the shadows, mocking. "It seems… you have failed us."
"I… please, give me one more chance!" the emperor pleaded, his face ashen.
"Never," the voice replied. "Remember this, and never forget it. You will live to see all that you have built crumble before your eyes."
The emperor's scream echoed through the darkness, desperate, hopeless. "Please! There must be another way!"
But the shadow only laughed, fading as it whispered, "None. For he was the one true incarnation of evil… the perfect vessel, which none can replace. And for your failure… a time will surely come, when you will beg for death, but even death... will be far from you."
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...
On the outskirts of a distant village, a young boy with a sword stood protectively before a trembling girl, his eyes narrowed as he faced the looming figure of a man with a thick beard.
"Well, well…" The man grinned, impressed. "To think such a talent lay hidden in such a forgotten place…"
"Who are you?" the boy demanded, clutching his sword, his gaze wary.
The man's eyes gleamed as he pulled two letters from his cloak. "No one important… just someone who could change your life." He held the letters out. "Here… you've earned these."
The boy's brow furrowed. "What are they?"
"An invitation," the man replied, stroking his beard with a grin.
"An invitation?" The boy echoed, confusion etched across his face.
"Yes," the man chuckled. "To Aden's Mystic Academy."
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