The world they owned, lost in a heartbeat.
Upon that emergence, everything shattered.
As if seeming to seep from the earth itself, an encompassing veil of light was unleashed upon the world. The light ripped through the continents, and almost nothing was spared in its wake. Kingdoms, cities, towns, all of it was destroyed as the light continued to ravage through the world.
The inhabitants of the world prayed, begged even, that the beings that governed over their beloved world would save them. However, their pleas fell on deaf ears. After all, not even the gods were safe.
A white-haired man hurled his trident at the castle, panic and desperation in every rapid move. After moving once, he grasped the weapon, and soon, a giant barrier flared, shielding the castle from oblivion. Shock and terror widened in his magenta eyes as he watched the land he loved unravel.
"My saplings, where have you run off to?"
For a fleeting moment, determination steadied him, grounding him back to reality. He remembered his world fondly, tending it like a gardener tends their crops. Then he remembered their faces. White hair and gray eyes. Family. Perhaps they resided inside the castle?
"No matter... All three must be protected. For the future of our dynasty!"
Just when they were about to be overtaken, when chaos ate at the corner's edge, a tall, white-haired woman leaped from the castle ledge and began to levitate next to the man. Both focused on defending the white castle, struggling side by side as they braced themselves against the force that was tearing their world apart.
"Asahi, Aletha, Aiyana, where are you three?" The woman cried, agony breaking her voice. Not much after, the searing luminance swallowed her alive.
Eons of dreams and toil vanished in an instant, swept away as if they had never existed. This was their home, a world once filled with rulers of every element: Gincad.
"Our world..."
A boy with white hair whispered as he plunged from a ruined castle, landing on an ashy mountain. His gray eyes widened, and his heart thundered as the world spun. The wind swirled, brushing everything away. And yet, he walked on. Just as he felt his muscles pressuring down, he lost grip of a brown scarf.
"I can't lose that, too!" Asahi exclaimed, grief and anguish weighing down on his words.
Before the fleeting fabric flew away from his grasp, the boy reached for it and clutched it to his chest, squeezing it hard into his arms, nails digging into his palm. The sky began to glow brighter, and time was ticking. All watched as the world tore through and shattered like a piece of paper. This was the end, and the boy knew that well. His voice echoed from the sinking mountains.
"I'm sorry. Everyone. For my foolishness. For my carelessness."
Tears spilled down his cheeks as he broke.
"I just want a peaceful life..."
With his head down, the boy slowly turned around. He gazed upon the world he loved and cherished, thinking it was forever gone.
All reason to remain had faded into the ashes. But even as despair clawed at him, he found himself unable to turn away. His spirit ached for understanding. He needed to witness how far this calamity would reach. But someone had stopped the boy.
"Asahi! Over here!" A distant voice shouted.
Tilting his head up, he noticed a faint light overhead. From collapsing stone, a slender pale arm reached out, casting hopeful paths of light. He stretched out his arms, grasping desperately for support. A white-haired girl appeared above the hole and extended her hand. With relief, Asahi clasped it firmly, letting her pull him up and out as they escaped the collapsing debris together.
"We have to leave," she stammered, her voice shaking as another silver-haired girl followed. "Everyone is gone."
Afterward, the siblings frantically sprinted across the scorching fields, watching as a cluster of meteors pierced through the clouds. Once they reached the edge of the cliff, overlooking the smoldering world, they spread their brilliant, radiant wings.
"Hurry!"
As the light consumed everything known, two of the siblings narrowly escaped the crimson thunderstorms, dodging tendrils of lightning and forceful winds. Tears filled their eyes with agony as they hopelessly soared away from the calamitous world, flying into the sea of stars.
"Save... us."
Innumerable voices echoed across the fading world, begging for help. But there was no way for the Adtraic to save anyone anymore. All they could do was run. Far from the ruin and chaos.
. . .
Years later...
The scorching world vanished, replaced by forests, meadows, and rivers. A different planet far from Gincad.
"Get back here, you thief!" Two siblings screamed as their feet flew across thick brown dirt and leaves.
As they paced through the hills, their gray eyes fixed on a person cloaked in a long, dark hood, sprinting swiftly into the forest. The thief's eyes glanced behind, noticing a girl catching up to him. Cradled in the thief's gloves was a long, shimmering scarf coated in hues of brown.
"Stop! Give it back!" the girl shouted, anger trembling in her voice.
Despite knowing his stance, the cloaked individual mumbled as he leaped across a ravine.
"I couldn't even spot you from a meter away."
A white-haired boy ran up and followed the thief, keeping pace across the ravine. His hands trembled with fury, glowing the more he pursued.
"I won't let anyone take that scarf again," He said.
Airborne, he landed safely, rolling into the next patch of grass. Trees blurred as he ran, the ground shrinking the faster they went. Once sighted, Asahi tightened his gloves. Using his special magic, he conjured a dazzling white light around him, preparing to retrieve the object in the thief's hands.
Just before Asahi's fists could reach the thief, the cloaked individual narrowly scrambled to a thick patch of bushes, vanishing into the shadows.
"You're not getting away!" Asahi yelled, boots scraping furiously against the ground. "Show yourself!"
After the silence left in their wake, the same mysterious voice responded to him.
"Gladly,"
Suddenly, the thief launched from the bushes, hoisting an old wooden sword. He swung at Asahi's heart, striking with all his might. With each rapid strike, Asahi dodged the slashes. Fury burned in his movements. After the last slice, Asahi hurriedly unsheathed his sword and countered the attack by deflecting the strikes, sending a powerful blow toward the thief's stomach with his fist. In reaction, the thief quickly rolled to the ground, with white sparks discharging from the magical punch.
"You're not even from this world!" he shouted, as he back-flipped away.
Silence fell between them.
Sunlight beamed through the clouds and treetops. Winds passed through the corridor of trees, blowing at his cloak.
"If you don't want trouble," Asahi warned, "...you never should've taken it."
"No," the thief retorted. "If only you knew WHY I'm doing this."
With that being said, the thief hurriedly turned his head to another patch of bushes, sprinting as fast as he could. But the white-haired boy caught up with him. As he delivered a punch, Asahi's gloves glowed white, sending the thief flying.
"You don't know who we are," Asahi said, leaning in. "We're Rulers. Beyond your understanding."
Abruptly, a girl with long white hair emerged, looping the scarf around the thief and struggling to pull it back. The thief yanked the scarf from Aletha and retreated, eyes anxious.
"H...Huh? How is that even possible?" he gasped, breathing heavily. "You two, don't you remember me?"
Asahi darted to the thief, smirked, and grabbed him firmly.
"Surprised?" Suddenly, he retraced the thief's words. "Wait, 'remember you'?"
The thief gulped and froze still. Asahi shook his head off the thoughts and clicked his teeth. He gripped the thief's neck, hands glowing white, and called to the girl approaching.
"Aletha...grab the scarf now!"
She snapped her fingers and hollered back, giving a subtle wink.
"Right on it, bro!"
After climbing the cliff, Aletha barreled into the clearing and cartwheeled toward the brown scarf, snatching the end of its fabric. Charging at the thief, she wrapped the long scarf around him, successfully restraining him. Asahi and Aletha tightened the scarf, pressing the thief until he cried out in pain.
"NO!" He gasped as he collapsed onto the ground. "Okay, okay! You win."
Asahi lifted his chin and squeezed his fists in refusal. A cold, chilling seriousness carved across his face, shadowing his features. His arms tensed, and he stepped forward, his voice sharp with wounded pride.
"Don't take things that are not yours," he said, clutching the scarf. "Just give it back. It's important."
Aletha shook her head and sighed, hearing the thief implore loudly to Asahi.
"Stop squeezing! Okay. Okay. I'll tell you why—I took it because it looked like mine!"
Aletha drilled the thief with a cold glance of disapproval; her white pupils glowing as she saw the aura of lies float across the thief's false face. The girl shook her head and objected.
"You're lying!"
Asahi's eyes flared with anger; his voice trembled with hurt, choking the man.
"Is this true? Are you lying to us?"
The thief cowered with a begging smile.
"No! Listen to me—maybe you'll understand! I... uh... I stole it because I needed money."
Aletha sneered at him, crossed her arms, and shot her eyes with a look of truth, saying.
"He's lying, again."
Asahi squeezed harder, rage boiling over. The thief's face flushed blue, his screams ragged and desperate, gasping for air as panic seized his entire body.
"Ahh... I can't... I can't breathe! Please! Dear me, give me mercy!"
Aletha's stomach twisted with shame as the thief choked and coughed under Asahi's grip. Pity stabbed through her, horror mixing with sorrow as she watched him cry and cower.
"I can't take this," she murmured. "No more pain, Asahi."
Before any more pain could be inflicted on the thief, Aletha nagged her brother's arm and yelled.
"Asahi, stop! I don't want anyone to die. Just keep him here. I need to talk. I think he wants our attention."
Asahi lessened his grip, slackening his hold on the thief. He stared down at him in silence, wrestling with the urge for justice. In all his years, he would never have done this, but the relic's importance gave him pause. With an urge fuming down his neck, Asahi turned back and answered Aletha with a tone.
"There's no reason to spare him," he said, hands away from the scarf. "Why would he steal from us? Didn't he see us slay the dragon earlier? Did he really need the scarf? Or is he lying again?"
Aletha looked upward and made a thoughtful expression.
"Because... I don't believe that he is evil," she answered. "The only reason he was lying is that he's scared and wants our attention. Maybe he needed something from this scarf—maybe a memory, comfort, or help for his own reasons."
Her eyes dropped to the cloaked individual.
"Well, at least I hope so."
The thief hurriedly shook his head as he felt relief fly into him at last.
"Yeah, tell him!" the thief said, still shaking.
Aletha chuckled dismissively and smirked at the cloaked man.
"Don't get cocky. Tell me the real reason you took it, or my brother will use his fists. Although my ability has flaws, I can see through most lies, you know." Aletha warned.
"No… don't," the thief pleaded. "Fine, I'll tell you."
Aletha nodded, guiding him to a tree.
"Be honest. Don't tell me you just wanted money—you'd get barely five coins," Aletha mocked, arms crossed. "If you wanted our attention, you got it."
The thief gulped, shook his head, and tried to remain silent with sweat sliding down his pale face. He kept his shadow-veiled eyes on Aletha, clearly weighing whether to trust them with his real motive or try to escape. But before he could think of escaping, Asahi stepped forward, gunmetal eyes narrowed in warning.
"Don't even think about it."
The cloaked person hunched his shoulders and swallowed hard, feeling how strong Asahi was. He knew if he tried to fight or run, Asahi would stop him right away. So, he did what anyone would do in that situation.
(SWOOP)
The thief fled off with the scarf in a hurry, leaving behind a trail of footprints in the dirt.
"What a coward. He can't even admit the truth."
Aletha sighed in disappointment, disbelieving of his actions. Knowing the truth, she bounced to her feet and...
"He just can't stop running," Aletha said, fuming. "Let's go after him!"
After seeing his shadow flee, Aletha and Asahi sprinted toward the thief, flailing their arms. From a ravine to a pond, they passed through the woodland's labyrinth, approaching a clearing in the trees. Beyond was a cliff leading straight to a divot, with golden sunlight shimmering next to a moon. The thief sprinted as fast as he could, coming to a clearing and catching his tracks.
"Almost there," he panted. "Just a few more meters."
After he finished, he balled his fists, hung his head down, and whispered as he stared at the ground slanting over the divot, recollecting escaping the calamity.
"...I've hidden my reason long enough. Just a few more steps, then we ALL can go back home."