Anuver stood alone in the open air of Domain 3, the massive world-tree looming behind him like a silent witness.
The breeze carried the faint scent of leaves and earth, but he barely noticed.
His fingers brushed his lips again, the warmth of Audrey's kiss still lingering unexpected, fierce, loaded with years of something he didn't fully understand.
"What… why was she like that?"
His golden eyes narrowed, brows furrowing as confusion turned to frustration.
"My memories are missing. I don't know why, but there's nothing there. Just blank spots where there should be… something."
He slid the fragment out of his pocket, holding the pitch-black broken diamond up to the twin suns. It swallowed the light completely, a perfect void in his palm.
With a shrug half curious, half reckless he popped it into his mouth and swallowed it whole, like it was candy.
It went down cold and hard.
"Blahh," he grimaced, sticking out his tongue. "That felt like eating a rock."
But then it hit.
A rush dark, heavy, different from his usual divine aura. A black haze rippled out from his chest, cloaking him for a moment in shadow before sinking in.
And with it came the memories.
Not his gooner memories.
The original Anuver's.
He saw himself no, the real Anuver standing on a dead, cracked planet under a starless sky.
In front of him towered a creature of pure black, shifting and formless, eyes like burning voids.
Anuver moved like lightning, sword of pure chaos-energy flashing. Slash after slash, fury in his eyes raw, uncontrolled anger he'd never felt in his mortal life.
The creature roared, shattering moons with a swing.
Anuver countered, carving through it again and again, planets crumbling in the background like they were nothing.
The memory ended as abruptly as it began.
Anuver staggered back a step in Domain 3, clutching his head.
"Ughhh… what the hell was that?"
He breathed hard, golden eyes wide.
"The original Anuver's memories… a fight I don't know from the game at all. That thing he was fighting Void beast? Or something else?"
He looked around at the peaceful green world, then at his own hands.
"Fuck… they were destroying planets like it didn't matter."
The weight of it settled in.
Real power. Real war. Not the game's scripted cycles.
With a flicker of will, he teleported.
The green domain vanished.
He reappeared in the celestial suite but with another thought, he reverted it to its original form: the vast throne of starlight and obsidian floating among endless swirling clouds.
Aurel wasn't there. The bed was empty, sheets still rumpled from before. She'd woken up and left while he was gone.
Anuver sank onto the throne, leaning forward, elbows on knees, fingers steepled as he sorted through the flood of new memories.
Too much. Too fast.
Battles. Decisions. Choices he the original had made that led to scattering the fragments.
And now he understood why Audrey had acted like that.
The messages. The silence. The loneliness.
But one thing still didn't add up.
He couldn't find any trace of those messages ever reaching him.
Or of him ignoring them.
They were just… gone.
Like someone or something had erased them.
Anuver's eyes narrowed, a slow, dangerous smile forming.
"Someone's been playing games with me."
The throne room clouds darkened slightly, as if responding to his mood.
Anuver leaned back on the throne, one leg crossed over the other, fingers steepled under his chin.
"Who…" he muttered, golden eyes narrowing. "They didn't let the messages reach me. Not one. Someone stopped them."
He sat up straighter, the playful smirk gone.
"That makes sense. Someone in these Domains… betraying me."
The thought settled like ice in his chest.
He glanced at the empty space where Aurel had been.
"First fragment down. Seven more to go."
His gaze drifted to a faint ethereal screen he conjured a window into Domain 5. Alto was mid-fight, Predator ability flaring, tearing through a pack of shadow beasts.
Anuver raised an eyebrow.
"He's grown stronger already. Time difference checks out one day up here, roughly a hundred down there. That puts him right around the Mirlode Empire arc. The big fighting tournament."
He stood up, stretching, boredom creeping back in.
"I can't just sit here staring at clouds forever."
With a snap of his fingers, his suit shifted blue jacket and white shirt morphing into luxurious dark robes trimmed with gold, styled like a high-ranking noble from Domain 5.
Silver hair tied back loosely, golden eyes hidden behind a subtle glamour to look less divine.
Teleport.
The celestial throne vanished.
He appeared in the bustling capital of the Mirlode Empire Mirlode City standing high in the packed stadium overlooking the grand arena.
The crowd roared.
Down in the sand pit, a massive werewolf beastman lunged at a female paladin in gleaming silver armor. The werewolf's claws glowed with dark mana, slashing in brutal arcs.
The paladin dodged effortlessly, movements precise and trained, sword flashing as she parried.
"Heh, is this all you can do, puppy?" she taunted, voice ringing with authority and open disrespect.
The crowd erupted some cheering, some booing.
Anuver, leaning against the railing of an upper balcony seat, grinned wide.
"This is exciting. Not quite the Anuver vs. void-beast level… but way better than watching on a screen."
He dropped into an empty seat next to a girl with fluffy cat ears poking through dark hair. She wore adventurer leathers, tail flicking irritably as she watched the fight.
"Oh god," she muttered, ears flattening. "How can she be so foul-mouthed? Disrespecting a warrior like that. Zero manners."
Anuver glanced at her, eyes lighting up.
She's cute. Not in the game at all no quests, no mentions. are Side NPCs are this detailed?
The cat-girl noticed his stare and turned, one brow raised.
"Heh, kiddo. What are you looking at me for?"
Anuver blinked.
"Kiddo? Me?"
She smirked, tail swishing.
"How old are you then? With that fancy outfit, you look like some noble young master."
Anuver leaned back, amused.
"Hey, miss. I'm twenty-seven, you know."
Her ears twitched in surprise, then she burst out laughing.
"Twenty-seven? That's not old for me." She grinned, sharp canines flashing. "I'm thirty. And already a Rank 7 Aura Master. Hahahaha!"
Anuver stared.
A Rank 7 Aura Master? At thirty?
In Domain 5, the power scale went up to Rank 13 for both aura and mana users. Rank 7 was monster territory strong enough to slice steel like tofu, and with full power, barely level a mountain.
Her laugh is kinda crazy though, he thought. Is this girl a delusional chunni or what?
She stopped laughing, wiping a tear from her eye, and looked at him expectantly.
"So, what rank are you, kiddo?"
Anuver shrugged casually.
"No rank."
Her ears drooped, expression turning pitying.
"Huh. No rank? Then you're one of those useless young masters, huh? I see. That's too bad."
Anuver just smiled, leaning back to watch the fight.
Useless, huh?
The werewolf roared, charging again.
The crowd cheered louder.
Anuver's grin widened.
This is gonna be fun.