The room no longer resembled what it had been an hour ago.
Where there had once been order, there was now a disarray of paper scattered across the floor in uneven layers, some resting still, others shifting faintly stirred by the air coming through the slight crack in the door.
Bruce sat at the centre of it.
Ink stained his fingers. Sweat running down his forehead. The brush in his hand moved quickly-too quickly. Each stroke barely had time to settle before the next line demanded to be written. The pages around him told the same story: rushed notes, half-dried ink, thoughts captured faster than they could be processed.
Even the air felt tense-like it was trying to keep up.
He exhaled, the sound low and tired.
"Uhm... I think we've run out of ink."
Null who has been reciting the basics to Bruce telling him to write it and memorise it didn't look up immediately.
"Check the cabinet."
Bruce pushed himself up, stepping carefully through the scattered pages. A few lifted slightly as he passed, disturbed by the movement.
He reached the cabinet, opened it-
Paused.
"...there's none."
Silence.
Behind him, Null's gaze shifted-not to Bruce, but to the floor. To the pages. To the sheer volume of what had been written in such a short time.
A brief pause.
Then-
"Enough," he said.
Bruce turned slightly.
Null was already moving.
"Let's take a break."
He stopped near the doorway, glancing back just once.
"Come."
By the time they stepped outside, the city had begun to soften.
The sun lingered low, its light stretching thin across rooftops and stone paths, as if reluctant to leave. Shadows grew longer, quieter-less defined.
They walked without speaking at first.
Out past the busier streets.
Out past the noise.
And slowly-
toward somewhere the air felt easier to breathe.
The forest was quiet-but not empty.
Wind moved through the leaves in slow, deliberate breaths. The ground beneath Bruce's feet felt... strange. Not unstable-just heavy, like something beneath the surface was watching without eyes.
Null stood a short distance ahead of him, back turned.
"Tell me," Null said, voice even, "you've lived in the forest most of your life.. What do you know of Fugishi?"
Bruce shifted slightly. "Fugishi? Oh, This continent.. Vernon would be scolding me right now for forgetting.. If i remember correctly a lot of major events happened, like the whole... uhm... mm.. yeah.. you know what I'm talking about! right?"
A pause.
"...Sure, that's one way to say it." Null replied.
Silence settled between them for a moment before he continued.
"One hundred and eighty years ago," he said, "Fugishi did not exist as it does now. Not as a single land. Not as something whole."
He took a step forward.
"It was forced into existence."
Bruce frowned slightly. "..Forced ..forced.. could you jog my memory a bit? It seems i forgot a bit.."
Null raised an eyebrow.
"It started from the 'The Tricolour Cataclysm' War."
Bruce tilted his head. "Why's it called that? seems pretty grand for something that's meant to be a war."
Null didn't answer immediately. He crouched slightly, dragging two fingers across the dirt. As he moved, faint lines formed-subtle, but precise.
"Three forces," he said. "Mana. Qi. And blood."
Three lines.
"They didn't just clash. They overlapped-for years. Long enough that the land forgot what it was supposed to be."
Bruce looked at the ground.
The lines overlapping deliberately.
"but why is it called tricolour, shouldn't it be tri-power.. or tri-energy or something?" he asked.
Null gave a small nod.
"The colour dissipated in that region hence its name, colour is more than appearance there. It's structure. Meaning. When Mana and Qi had reached a certain density, they stopped coexisting. They simply erased each other."
He paused.
"What remains... is what couldn't be erased."
Bruce's eyes narrowed slightly. "considering the name it would be blood?"
"And will," Null added.
The wind picked up briefly.
"For over a century, three figures stood at the centre of that war. Not leading armies-becoming the war itself."
Bruce leaned forward slightly. "And who were they?"
Null's gaze shifted, just slightly-not toward Bruce, but somewhere distant.
"One sought absolute order. One believed only in strength and survival. And one... fought for people."
He straightened.
"They reached a point where none could kill the other."
"So it just... never ended?" Bruce asked.
"It would have continued," Null said, "until the land collapsed entirely."
A pause.
"Kinda.. but it didn't, it gets quite complicated."
"Really? I thought blood being considered a power in the war was already confusing enough."
Null turned his head just enough for Bruce to see part of his expression.
"Because a fourth entered the war."
Bruce's focus sharpened.
"The Silent Emperor."
The name hung in the air.
Bruce frowned slightly. "..is that it?"
"He must be pretty grand with a title like that, why is he called that?"
Null didn't respond straight away.
When he did, his voice was quieter.
"His father burned his vocal cords when he was a child."
Bruce blinked. "What?"
"To ensure nothing could ever be taken from him," Null said plainly. "No interrogation. No secrets extracted."
Bruce stared at him.
"That's-"
"Efficient," Null cut in.
Bruce exhaled slowly, clearly not agreeing-but not arguing either.
Null continued.
"He entered a war that had lasted longer than most lifetimes... and ended it in three months."
Bruce's head lifted slightly. "That fast?"
"He didn't overpower them," Null said. "He understood them."
A small pause.
"Mana. Qi. No one knows what he used. A lot said Qi but More said Mana but we can't find out Its far too far in the past. his remains weren't found either."
Bruce folded his arms slightly, thinking.
"So he just... took over?"
"No," Null said. "He gave them a choice."
Bruce raised an eyebrow.
"Follow," Null continued, "or be erased with the rest of the war."
"...and they followed."
"They did."
The forest felt quieter now.
"The Imperial Alliance was formed from what remained. Not just armies-beliefs. Enemies stood under one banner."
Bruce let out a small breath. "Doesn't sound like that lasted."
"It didn't."
Null turned fully now, facing him.
"i was just joking..." Bruce whispered.
"But before it ended, it reshaped the world."
Null began walking again, slowly. Bruce followed.
"The first faction was given the skies."
"I remember this one! Veyl.. Astra?" Bruce said.
Null gave a slight nod.
"They formed contracts with sky spirits. Letting them live up there."
Bruce frowned. "Aren't they hostile toward humans though?"
"Apparently there is a contract, But no one who has spoken of it or has ever proven it," Null replied.
Bruce looked up through the trees instinctively.
"Well okay.. So they just... live up there?"
"Yes."
"And no one can reach them?"
"Not without permission."
Bruce let out a quiet breath. < Sounds convenient. >
He didn't say it out loud-but the doubt lingered.
"The second faction," Null continued, "was given the south-eastern ranges."
"..I don't know this one either.." Bruce said.
This time, Null didn't nod immediately.
"Its called, 'Nerathys'. The surface tells you nothing about that place."
Bruce glanced at him. "What do you mean?"
"There are eight gates," Null said. "Massive enough to dwarf cities. Once you pass through one..."
He paused.
"...the world inverts."
Bruce frowned. "Inverts how?"
"The sea is above you."
Bruce stopped walking.
"...no, it isn't."
Null didn't turn.
"You walk on solid ground. You breathe normally. But above you-an ocean stretches across the sky."
Bruce stared at him.
"That doesn't make sense."
"No," Null agreed calmly. "It doesn't."
Bruce narrowed his eyes slightly. < Yeah... I'm not believing that until I see it. >
Null continued as if nothing had been said.
"The space is not natural. It folds. What you see is not what exists in the same way as the surface."
Bruce walked again, slower now.
"...and people just live there?"
"Yes, why wouldn't they? It functions the same."
"...right."
"The third faction," Null said, "was given the land that would become Kharos Terrafort."
Bruce's expression shifted slightly.
"Which land is that?"
"The nation of Earth." Null answered.
"They built deep. Far below the surface. Strongholds. Vaulted cities."
Bruce hesitated. "I remember Vernon telling me something about it.."
"what was it?."
"There was someone who went missing i think?"
Null glanced at him.
"Yes."
Bruce raised an eyebrow. "really?"
Null's gaze lingered for a second longer than usual.
"There are rumours," he said.
"Like?"
"That he's still alive."
Bruce blinked. "What?"
"Sightings," Null continued. "i don't believe it though."
"huh.. but isnt he from like 100 something years ago..?"
A brief pause.
"Then what about the other ones?
Null glanced back to Bruce.
"That he began researching immortality. That he came into contact with a group known as the Immortal Red Temple back then and disappeared because of that."
Bruce frowned. "Sounds like a stretch."
"It might be," Null said.
"But it hasn't been disproven."
Bruce scratched the back of his head.
"Everything needs proof huh.."
They walked in silence for a few moments.
"The remaining lands," Null continued, "were divided after the Empire fell."
Bruce looked at him. "Fell?"
Null nodded.
"The Silent Emperor ended it himself."
Bruce stopped again. "Why?"
"He had three successors," Null said. "They turned on each other."
Bruce's expression hardened slightly. "So he just... gave up everything?"
"He prevented a second war."
"...by destroying what he built?"
"Yes."
Bruce exhaled slowly.
"...people were okay with that?"
"No."
A small pause.
"But most accepted it. They even ended up being thankful for that decision."
"The land was split," Null continued. "Kharos Terrafort. The Verdant Accord."
"The forest one is the one we are still technically within, right?" Bruce asked.
Null nodded.
"Somewhat we are between the outside and inside, i guess the difference would be that they don't build cities," he added. "They grow them. Or make them grow through the use of mana and resonance."
Bruce tilted his head slightly. "Grow...? Crescent didn't look like it was grown but built."
"Thalos Vire? if im correct had brought back research in using mana to develop lands, The land there is alive in ways most don't understand. Memory exists in its roots, and it exists thanks to the research Thalos Vire had complete."
Bruce was quiet for a moment.
"...and the last one?"
"Fire? I'd call it that.." Null said simply. "Though it goes by other names depending on who you ask."
Bruce thought for a second before speaking again.
"Oh right, what about the Holy Land?"
Null's steps slowed slightly.
"The Luminous Sanctum?"
Bruce nodded. "Yeah. I've heard people talk about it."
"They offer food," Null said. "Shelter. Protection."
"That doesn't sound bad."
"It isn't.. but..." Null replied.
Bruce glanced at him. "What..? what's with the hesitation?"
Null stopped walking.
For the first time, there was a faint shift in his tone.
"They are strong enough," he said, "to stand against every nation combined."
Bruce's expression changed.
"...and they're just... peaceful?"
"They choose to be."
A pause.
"For now."
Null shook his head, "I don't believe that a place holding that much power would decide not to push and become filled with greed. It's only natural to want more as you grow stronger, even the strongest become blinded with greed. And few defeat such thoughts."
Silence settled again.
Bruce looked ahead, mind turning over everything.
The war. The Emperor. The sky. The ocean in the sky-
He exhaled quietly.
"...I'll definitely Visit all of these locations."
Null smiled, as if succeeding in something.
"This place is insane."
Null didn't disagree.
"Nah," he said calmly.
"It's simply a place where power was taken too far... and never fully returned."
He turned slightly, just enough for his eyes to meet Bruce's.
"If you're going to walk through it-"
A brief pause.
"-you'll need to decide what you believe."
Bruce frowned slightly.
"...what do you believe?"
Null held his gaze for a moment.
Then-
"I believe," he said, "that history only tells you what survived."
The wind moved again.
This time, neither of them stopped.
They turned back toward the city without a word, their steps steady against the quiet rhythm of the forest. The path felt shorter on the return-familiar now, or perhaps just easier to walk with less to take in.
Null finished answering Bruce's questions, and Bruce finished asking questions.
And now it was time for Null to ask about what he truly wanted to hear from Bruce.
"Bruce."
Null's voice cut through his thoughts-not sharp, but precise.
Bruce glanced up. "Yeah?"
A brief pause, as if the question had already been decided long before it was asked.
"What do you wish to achieve?"
Bruce blinked slightly.
Null continued, tone unchanged.
"In the future."
Another step.
"Something simple, perhaps," he added. "Strength. The ability to stand on your own."
It didn't sound like a test.
If anything, it felt... narrower than Bruce expected.
Not what do you aim for-
but what remains when you reach it.
Bruce's gaze drifted ahead, unfocused.
For a moment, he didn't answer.
The question didn't pull at ambition. It didn't push him toward something greater.
It settled somewhere quieter.
Deeper.
"I think..." he started, slower than usual.
His steps didn't stop-but they lost a bit of certainty.
"I think I'd like to just... live peacefully after."
A small pause.
"Yeah."
He exhaled lightly.
"That'd be enough for me."
The words felt simple once they were said.
Almost too simple.
Null walked beside him, unchanging.
He didn't respond.
Didn't question it.
Didn't approve or dismiss it.
He just let the answer exist.
And in that silence-
it settled, planting itself more heavily than any reply could have.