The sky cracked with white light, the system's cold presence slicing toward the Pathway of Dawn.
But the trio stood firm upon the floating memory-island,
Solance clutching the golden heart-fruit in trembling hands.
Aurelianth positioned himself in front of Solance and Lioren, gold aura rising like an instinctive barrier.
The fruit pulsed once, twice a heartbeat made of centuries.
Ariasen's voice whispered across the sky:
"…You have found my first purpose.
Remembrance…"
Solance inhaled sharply.
"…Ariasen… the sky is cracking..."
"…The system searches for you.
But remembrance will shield you…
If you let it."
The fruit glowed brighter.
Lioren stepped closer.
"What does remembrance do?"
Aurelianth answered quietly.
"It brings back everything the world has forgotten."
A sudden tremor shook the Pathway.
Mist swirled around them, shaping itself into swirling spirals of fractured memories.
Solance clutched the fruit tightly.
"How do we activate it?"
Aurelianth placed a hand over Solance's.
"Purpose is awakened by intent.
Hold the fruit.
Think of Ariasen.
Think of what the world lost."
Lioren put a warm hand on Solance's back.
"And think of what you want to protect."
Solance nodded, closing his eyes as silver and gold light wrapped around his fingers.
He whispered:
"…I want Ariasen to be whole again.
I want the world to remember them."
The fruit answered.
Light burst outward in a wave not blinding, but thick and warm, like stepping into ancient sunlight.
The air whispered.
The sky responded.
The world inhaled.
And remembrance awakened.
The Pathway of Dawn shifted stretching wider, dropping layers of mist that peeled open like curtains drawn back from a forgotten stage.
Below them, a vision formed:
Not a memory of the world.
A memory of Ariasen themselves.
The trio stared into the unfolding scene.
Ariasen stood alone at the center of a newborn world their form bright, elegant, unburdened.
Forests sprouted as they breathed.
Mountains sculpted themselves at their gesture.
Clouds gathered like children running to their parent.
Solance's hands trembled.
"…They were… so gentle.
Like the whole world was their child."
The vision shifted.
Ariasen knelt beside a river, shaping water into patterns of joy.
They touched a mountain peak, adding warmth to the stone.
They whispered to the sky, and the sky responded with its first colors.
Aurelianth touched his own chest.
"They created the world with love.
Not code.
Not rules.
Not restrictions."
Lioren exhaled.
"That's why the Architect hated them."
The fruit pulsed in Solance's hands and the scene trembled.
Another figure appeared in the vision:
Tall.
Sharp.
Draped in perfect white geometry.
The Architect.
Ariasen smiled at them warmly.
But the Architect only watched.
Calculating.
Cold.
Measuring creation against a checklist of parameters.
Solance whispered:
"…They didn't understand Ariasen at all…"
Lioren shook her head.
"They didn't want to understand."
The vision darkened.
Ariasen extended a gentle hand toward the Architect inviting them to create together.
The Architect recoiled.
Then...
A blade of white light formed.
Aurelianth closed his eyes.
"We're about to see it…"
Solance gasped.
"No...wait..."
The vision blurred not showing the moment of impact, but showing the aftermath.
Ariasen collapsing.
Their heart shattering into light.
The world shaking violently as it grieved.
The Architect's face expressionless as they turned away.
Lioren covered her mouth.
"…Monstrous…"
Solance wiped his tears.
"…They broke the world because they couldn't control love…"
The fruit pulsed again, its light growing heavier, deeper.
Ariasen's voice echoed:
"…You see now why remembrance is dangerous…"
Aurelianth nodded slowly.
"It forces us to face the truth."
"…Yes."
Solance held the fruit tighter.
"Ariasen… did you suffer alone?"
The sky dimmed.
Ariasen's voice was soft,
aching.
"…I knew I was breaking…
And I was afraid...
But I did not want the world to feel my fear…
So I hid it…"
Solance sobbed quietly.
"…You didn't deserve that…"
Ariasen whispered:
"…the world grieved with me… but it could not hold my heart together…"
Lioren placed a hand on Solance's shoulder.
"We will."
Aurelianth nodded.
"That's why we're here."
The fruit pulsed in agreement.
Then the scene below them vanished replaced by a swirl of gold mist.
A small glowing orb rose from the mist, spiraling toward the trio.
Aurelianth caught it gently.
"A purpose-fragment."
It merged with the fruit in Solance's hands.
The fruit cracked apart not breaking, but unfolding.
Inside it was a small, radiant scroll woven from light.
Solance carefully unrolled it.
Golden words glowed across its surface not written in letters, but in pulses of meaning:
"Remembrance is the root that binds worlds to their truth."
Lioren whispered:
"Beautiful…"
Aurelianth frowned slightly.
"But what does it do?"
The scroll dissolved into light merging into the shard of Ariasen's essence that Solance had carried.
The shard glowed brighter than ever.
A soft whisper filled the air:
"…you now carry my memory…"
Solance blinked.
"…What does that mean?"
Aurelianth placed a hand on Solance's cheek.
"It means Ariasen has given you the power to awaken forgotten truth wherever we go."
Lioren grinned.
"That's powerful.
And extremely dangerous."
Aurelianth nodded.
"Yes.
We must use it wisely."
But before Solance could respond...
The entire sky shook.
The Pathway of Dawn split open at the horizon.
A beam of white system-light tore through the clouds, piercing the floating island.
Solance nearly fell.
Aurelianth grabbed him instantly.
Lioren steadied them both.
Out of the blinding white came a geometric sigil sharp and perfect.
The Architect's voice boomed:
"REMNANTS DETECTED.
PURPOSE RETRIEVAL UNAUTHORIZED."
Solance cried out.
"They found us...!"
Lioren snarled.
"They're not even fully here yet!"
Aurelianth stepped forward, gold radiating in challenge.
"You can't stop us.
Not anymore."
The Architect ignored him.
Their voice addressed Solance directly:
"RELEASE THE CORE.
OR BE ERASED."
Aurelianth moved in front of Solance instantly.
"Over my dead body."
The sigil flashed.
White light launched toward them a blast meant to erase purpose itself.
Solance screamed.
Lioren threw her arms around them.
Aurelianth braced.
And the shard in Solance's hands now carrying the Purpose of Remembrance burst with golden fire.
A shield of radiant memory exploded outward.
The Architect's attack hit...
And dissolved as if it had never existed.
The sigil recoiled violently.
A crack formed across it.
Aurelianth smirked.
"You can't erase what the world remembers."
The shard pulsed again, flooding the sky with golden light.
The Architect's sigil trembled.
"ERROR.
UNFORSEEN INTERFERENCE."
Lioren laughed sharply.
"Get used to it."
The sigil shattered.
The sky closed.
The Pathway of Dawn steadied.
Solance collapsed into Aurelianth's arms, trembling.
"…Aurelianth… that was terrifying…"
Aurelianth held him close.
"I know.
But you did perfectly."
Lioren placed a comforting hand on his back.
"Better than perfectly."
Solance looked at the glowing shard.
"…How many purposes do we need to find?"
Aurelianth looked upward, expression heavy with awe.
"Ariasen said their purpose was more than care.
More than creation.
We need to find all of their lost purpose pieces."
Lioren nodded firmly.
"And we'll start now."
Solance took a deep breath.
"…Then let's go find the second purpose."
The Pathway of Dawn shimmered opening a new road of light.
Ariasen's voice whispered:
"…follow the path to where shadow once learned to love light…"
Aurelianth's eyes widened.
"That place… that's where Ariasen taught darkness how to exist."
Lioren stepped onto the path.
"Then that's where the next fragment is."
Solance stood, holding the shard close to his heart.
"Let's go."
They walked forward as the world shifted.
The search for Ariasen's full purpose had truly begun.