A story isn't just a piece of illusion; It's the desire of a person. Stories are cruel, never nice. So why is someone going to witness them without a pause? Why is one going to love them?
Because inside the chaos and cruelty of the mortals, you might see some piece of hope, going to witness a smile on their face just as an excuse to hide their sadness and emptiness. I've become a living example of what a story can teach a person; I've learned to smile, I've learned to hide the storm of sadness and desire. Why will I accept the truth when the truth keeps betraying me? Why will I hold the truth in my soul when the truth continuously hurts me, leaving countless wounds in my soul? So tell me, why won't I let myself fall into the sea of illusions? Is it really selfish to try surviving? Is my lone wish way too hard to be granted? I don't know the answer. All I know is that I've decided to be one with them, I've decided to be one with the false reality and deny the truth.
I am Maria, here just to tell a little part of my journey, my journey to be one with my story, my illusion, and to reach the destiny I was looking for, for countless years.
7 years later. After our confrontation against the True Spirit, we began to train ourselves in order to prepare for the next layers. We looked over the worlds for spells, tried finding out ways to be stronger, and did our best to be prepared for the 5th layer.
What changed about us was our physical figure, getting more mature than 7 years ago. We've remained the same as we always did. After completing academic graduation, we decided to take over Zeldia under our control and set Raizel at the top of that. Due to his inheritance from his father, it wasn't really hard for us to set him as the new ruler of the realm.
7 years ago, my usual dress set up was similar to a novel royal academy student. But as time passed, I've grown older, changed things about myself along with my figure. After 7 years, I've become a 25-year-old tall, slender woman with auburn hair, as I used a dark ribbon to tie it like a bow. My facial structure became much more mature than 7 years ago, and the smile I used to wear isn't really as bright as it used to be, revealing some pieces of depression and sadness there. On the top, I wore a skirt which reached my knee and a long coat that covered me entirely. To tie my skirt with my long coat, I wore a belt in the middle of my spine.
Now, I'm a grown woman, just like thousands of others, but maybe a bit different. I stepped outside from my house, following the streets, as I was going out all the way to the largest castle in Zeldia, placed several hundred meters away from my house, the castle that belongs to the ruler of the realm. After becoming the new ruler of Zeldia, Raizel built a new castle for himself and began to live there.
Following the street, I reached the entrance of the castle as I sensed the presence of Marco, Elesia, and Aizis. Even though we live together, Elesia seems to be pretty much more disciplined than me. While Marco and Aizis are as early as always. All three of them waved their hands to get my attention; I waved back my right hand as a reply. I stood in front of them and said with a smile, "You guys are really early, or maybe I'm just late."
Even after 7 years, Elesia's appearance still seems unchanging from her appearance 7 years ago. But it was understandable. Beings with supreme ruler or higher class don't really age after a certain time; their figure remains unchanging. Elesia's tall figure with dark hair and gentle smile didn't really change much; it could be that her smile became a bit blank from 7 years ago. The bright smile faded away from all of our faces; Elesia wasn't an exception.
As for Aizis, his physique grew even more as he appeared even more mature and strong, unlike his innocent and calm self from 7 years ago. His flashing white hair grew much longer. He was never a person who could smile or show any expression that could possibly be described as bright and shining. The darkness in his expression didn't fade away, remaining as a causality for him.
As for Marco, I don't know how to describe his appearance. A man with dark hair and red glowing eyes, maybe some other way, I really don't know. But I can tell he's an older person now in his appearance. And the childish boy he always was.
Raizel wasn't there with us. I was expecting to see him in the throne room. Following our conversation, we entered inside the castle. The throne room wasn't really much away from the entrance; we got there by taking a few steps. As I stepped inside the room by pushing the door, I saw a red-haired person standing in front of the window and trying to clear it up using his right hand. As we stepped in, Raizel looked at us and stepped ahead to us. Just like Aizis, his appearance wasn't so different, but his physique and presence were what had grown in the 7 years.
I stepped ahead toward him along with the fellows and said with a smile, "So you are doing all these just by yourself? You don't want a servant while being the ruler?" While I spoke, my voice sounded kind of disappointed, even though I was trying to hide it.
Raizel cast his gaze down toward the floor and said without any expression, "I don't want anyone to be my slave. Everyone in the world is independent; they exist to survive, not to be a slave for their fellow existence."
"Whatever you choose." I replied casually, took a long breath as my expression seemed to be a bit annoyed.
Instead of keeping myself silent further, I spoke once again, "So the reason for our coming here. What are you planning?"
"It's already settled. We're complete now to stair upward to the 5th layer." Aizis replied, following my sentence.
"I'm totally determined that every single one of you is going to follow me, like the way you did in every situation we were in, in the past." Raizel added to Aizis's sentence.
"I've gathered enough information. The Absolute Spirit seems to be completely ready for us; he's prepared for anything we can possibly do. At least right now in this moment, there is nothing we can possibly do against him." Marco spoke up, expressionless.
"He's a perfect gamer who can prepare a gameboard that will never let us bring out victory. I can understand every single type of plan you guys can use, and it's ridiculous enough that Arfanez has already set everything he needs to do regarding our ways. No matter how many ways we can bring out, he will play things out the way he should." Marco added indifferently. As he was speaking, a little trace of fear and wonder appeared. However, it's not really ideal to say he feels fear; I can say it's nothing but merely his eagerness to conquer, to destroy the fear that will dare to approach him.