Hours before...
"So, only a few steps away from utter transformation. Unbelievable. The Sealed Beatific and all the other abominations of the world have followed that girl AND the shadow too."
His long, dark, twilight hair flew with the disembodied breeze howling through the long, winding bridges of the underground.
"If only that green-haired girl had cognized my forewarnings. Was it my admonition that drove that girl to vamoose from me? Or could it be the curse that fettered my soul and ushered my fear to latch onto every corner?"
His ashen skin glowed under the detached lights levitating over the vast underground series of tunnels and caverns.
"Lest my only heed shall be to this place itself. This universal church administered and preserved the surviving residuum of the Second Incarnation.
A source that had possessed a great caliber in the preservation of the ancient incarnations itself."
His exposed cyan heart illuminated the tall, distorted, shuffled hallways, scattering underground.
"I realize that the foreboding essence that assisted with preserving the ancient forms is cascading throughout this entire place.
This is a perpetual concomitant that has no grasp on thought.
An ever-expanding underground construct that automatically fabricates walls, ceilings, stairs, and the like without any linear goal and source."
His dark pink glow bloomed underneath his chest plate. Cyan luminance shone rapidly as he passed through a portal network leading straight toward Linuxinia.
As he traveled along the corridors with S marks everywhere, the tall man clenched his fists, gritted his teeth, and shouted furiously.
"Nonetheless, all of these elements will not deter me from the path I'm treading across. From the moment I was brought into existence, a mate from afar brought love to me. All twenty of my children, forsaken from HER dereliction."
His eyes beamed with fury as he thought of his woman.
"I will NOT turn a blind eye to her."
The dark-haired man unsheathed his twilight blade from the circle-shaped symbol on his back.
"For the countless years now lost to time, the only thing that held onto me was my goal."
He tilted his head and saw droplets seeping from the ceiling.
"But even my goal has been shattered. Only one fragment remains." He tapped his cyan heart. "Here."
As he tried to pass the barrier blocking his entry into Linuxinia's stronghold, his mind flashed with visions of Asahi and Aletha's faces.
He backed away from the wall and turned toward the shadow woman taunting him.
He gritted his teeth and tried to hold back a tear.
"She's lost. There's no other option. My only hankering to reform the forgotten fragments of my goal leads toward the Adtraic family. Nothing can repair my goal except them."
He closed his eyes in distrust and turned away from the shadow woman.
"The only concern I have is that out of all the people in this universe…."
The man stared at the S mark planted on the wall.
"...Why is my ONLY hope… the Adtraic family?"
. . .
Telos' eyes flashed to the present.
"I apologize, Asahi. I know not of your problems and never have guessed you would have arrived here so soon."
The young Priestess growled and gritted her teeth, biting and screaming at Telos at the top of her lungs.
"Don't ever interfere with our lord again! He's ours, you here?! His power and everything are ours."
Telos sneered at the girl, pitying her. He sighed and shook his head.
"You can't simply 'claim' a stranger because you have been worshipping them for so long. That's not how any belief works.
Now, scram. Before I slaughter you all..."
As he slowly unsheathed a glistening star-shimmering blade, the cultists quivered in fear and backed away.
Telos lightly chuckled and slammed the blade's hilt straight at the floor, forcing the entire ground to shake.
His powerful, dominant voice resounded as Asahi stood back, almost about to faint from his weakness.
"Leave this place at ONCE, or get vanquished under my soul-consuming blade!"
Three nodded and raced out of the stronghold, screaming to spare their lives.
However, the rest dared to challenge the all-powerful Telos, standing in front and asserting their 'dominance' before their 'lord.'
"As if you are a challenge for the Adtraic Cult."
Telos's blade's hilt glimmered and sparked, blinding all of the cultists with its hostile glow.
"IT BURNS!"
As Telos stood before them, wielding his blade, a green-haired girl, followed by three strangers, raced to Asahi and yelled.
"We found a way to escape; it's just three hallways down. I apologize, Asahi."
His eyes were already shut, but he smiled, knowing that Isa wasn't betraying him.
While cyan explosions bloomed in the room, Telos slowly creaked his head behind and gasped, pointing his blade toward the green-haired girl, thinking they were more of the Adtraic Cult.
"Leave that boy down at once!"
...
But as Telos could turn around, a massive magenta laser struck him straight from behind, knocking his body on top of Asahi.
"N... No..."
Before anyone could see it, Telos' entire existence dissipated and vanished into small, twinkling particles, slowly getting absorbed by Asahi's S mark winding on his body.
. . .
Isa's emerald eyes shrank in pure terror; her eyes flooded with tears, not from Telos' death but from someone else who arrived from a portal behind Telos.
"W-Why... she's... why is she..."
A woman, cloaked in a black veil, with dark magenta eyes, pale skin, and a half-scorched body, slowly clenched her fists and emitted a full magenta glow.
The cultists froze in absolute fear, hoping they wouldn't be erased from existence, pleading to the young woman.
"Spare our lives! It wasn't our fault!"
"Please.... d-don't kill us. We're sorry!"
"I don't want to die. I don't want to die..."
Two gallants wearing purple armor stood at the intimidating woman's sides, their blades poised to strike the ceiling and their voices distorted in a chant.
"Kneel to the almighty, superior Princess!"
Everyone in the stronghold bowed to the woman as she walked over to Asahi, praying and crying that they wouldn't be erased from her power. This woman, without a doubt, was the most powerful being in absolute terms.
The Princess of The Ending, standing before everyone and staring at their fearful faces.
She walked over to Asahi and stared at his body, sneering at him with her amethyst eyes
. Her dark veil obstructed her face and hair as she slowly pressed her pink-illuminated palm against Asahi's stomach.
Her distorted yet human voice could still be heard from Asahi.
"Telos and your souls will merge, and forever will it be converged. An illusion or not, I am someone that you will never forget. Though I don't know who you are, there is a pulsating feeling running inside me."
The Princess slowly knelt to Asahi's frozen face.
"I can't see your face... I-I don't know who you are. Please, just let me see your face once. I want to see your eyes... I-I want to see your mouth, I want to know why I feel this way..."
From the Princess's perspective, all she could see from her vision was Asahi's body; only his face had been washed into blankness.
She tried to hold her tears and remember who she was and he... but all she could remember was that he was there.
As everyone stared at The Princess with fear, she slowly shook her head and gritted her teeth.
"I can't take it anymore. All of you are dismissed. Every being here will be forced up to the surface, never to see my face again..."
The moment the Princess snapped her fingers,
*SNAP*
Everyone, including the cultists, Asahi, and Isa, was teleported back to the streets outside the stronghold, where they saw the morning sun shining down on them and the carriages pacing back and forth.
. . .
The sun poured through the crystal clear windows.
"M...Morning?"
Her eyelids parted slowly from each other, and her white back rested against the soft surface of the mattress.
After pushing back her long, silky, entangled white hair, she extended her arms to the ceiling and released a long yawn.
"Good morning, world!"
It was Aletha's habit to greet the world every time she awakened. She never grew tired of greeting, but when her brother would be around, Asahi would get annoyed at her for screaming at the top of her lungs.
Luckily enough, Aletha was alone in this comfortable room; no one but the sight of the wilderness of Linuxinia greeted her from the window.
Before Aletha touched the golden doorknob, she instantly remembered.
(Oh, my brother told me to stay in this bedroom until he returns. But...)
Aletha turned to the window at her right, seeing her reflection cast over the bright blue skies tinted with a dazzling warm orange. She gasped.
"Pretty."
Indeed, it was.
Her face froze in shock as she watched the distant emerald-colored mountain ranges blend beautifully with the tall, rushing waterfalls and the lush, thick forests.
A flock of colorful birds soared toward the extravagant horizon, as the shadows of night slowly gave way to the glittering sun.
A calmness settled over Aletha's spirit as she sat on the carpet, her legs crossed, her knees pointing outward. As she stared into space, waiting patiently for her brother's return, Aletha pondered.
"Goodness, waiting is SO BORING!"
A silence grew in the room. As Aletha pondered, brushing her white hair to the side, she closed her eyes and continued.
"Hmm, that reminds me. I remember this one time when we were waiting for a temple door to open in this jungle world; Asahi told me that boredom allows your mind to wander into distant areas..."
She glanced at the snow-white, comfy robe wrapped around her and smiled wisely.
"I'm glad he told me that... I never knew my brother could be so analytic."
Aletha turned to her empty hands and reached for the comb, which was conveniently dangling at the dresser.
She slowly pressed it against the thick but loose strands of her white hair and mumbled.
"I wonder what Asahi is doing right now..."
Aletha covered one of her eyes with her hand, lifted her chin, and gave a half-shrug, glimpsing down at the desk.
Eagerness bloomed in her mind. Rapid images of random things bounced everywhere in Aletha as if her brain was urging her.
And so...
"Now that I have all this free time, I can finally draw!"
The thing that Aletha wanted to do the most since she returned to this world with Asahi was to draw.
All the creatures, humans, and sprawling environments Aletha had encountered in Pladtioa further sparked her imagination to an unimaginable extent.
"Just need some paper..."
Aletha shook her head and bit her lip, darting over from side to side to find any sheet of paper lying around.
But despite her attempt, Aletha couldn't find any.
She shrugged and slid her fingers on the dark, swerving tattoo on her right leg, commenting while grabbing a pencil from the cup in the corner.
"Pfft, if this hotel can't provide paper, then perhaps I'll make it myself. I hope I still have the power to do it..."
As the boresome white-haired girl closed her eyes, Aletha raised her five fingers over the desk's surface, and a magical golden luminance sparkled on all her fingertips.
. . .
All Aletha felt was a painless sting on her skin, and her mind erupted with the vision of one silk sheet of blank, white paper floating everywhere.
(Concentrate...) Aletha told herself.
She kept her eyes shut and felt a warm, luminescent line weaving and wrapping in the air, forming the shape of a thin rectangular object.
(Focus... don't open your eyes... yet...)
Aletha couldn't be patient anymore.
The moment the gleaming golden luminance "printed" a silk sheet of paper into existence, her eyes quickly opened, and she saw the fabricated object lying on the dark hardwood surface.
"OH!"
Her grey eyes widened; she pushed the chair back and leaped up, confidently screaming as the paper propelled upward.
"Yes, I did it! I successfully created something!"
Aletha grew aware of her surroundings and instantly forced herself to be silent, watching the yellow sparkles on her fingers fade into thin air.
While Aletha pushed back the chair and calmed down, she tried to make another object.
But to her surprise...
"Huh..."
It didn't work. Even though Aletha successfully fabricated a silk sheet of paper from thin air, she inevitably realized that it was nothing but a tiny fraction of her power.
She bit her fingernail and turned to the window, whispering to herself while hearing footsteps sound behind the door.
"I don't think that's enough. I guess I still have a long way to go before I can make fortresses in my mind."
When Aletha saw the sun, she shook the doubtful thoughts off her head and stood proudly, grabbing a pencil, sitting on the chair, and pressing the lead on the paper.
"I don't care! As long as I can still draw, then that's fine by me! Okay... Let's see here. What should I draw? Should it be a person, an animal, or an environment?"
Pondering more about what she should draw, Aletha turned to the painting of Linuxinia city on the neatly painted wall in front of her and scratched her chin.
"Hmmm...."
A metaphorical light bulb shone above her head.
"I know! I should draw a giant monster!" Aletha sighed, pressed her elbow on the desk, and looked at the ceiling, whispering.
"I haven't drawn a strong monster in a while, so this might be difficult for me."
The ecstatic, hyperactive girl slammed her fist on the desk and hollered.
"Who cares?! My mind always loves a challenge!" She lifted the hardwood pencil and pressed the tip lightly against the paper, shouting while her eyes dazzled with countless flickering ideas.
"Alright, imagination, let's see what we can do!"