A swallowing veil of light unleashed from the heavens upon the world.
In the wake of this radiance, the world held its breath.
Then came chaos: large, glowing cracks ripped between all continents.
Kingdoms collapsed under the brilliance.
Terror and anguish clung to the remaining rulers; their legacies vanished in this blinding sweep.
Then, creatures, dragons, and the rest died, screeching and crying while they were brushed away by the luminance.
Villages and cities, swept up in a whirlwind of chaos, drawn into a deep, white abyss.
Castles, factories, towns—all fell apart in an instant.
A bulk man with white hair hurled his trident into the castle, panic and desperation etched in every rapid movement. A giant barrier flared, shielding the castle from utter oblivion. Shock and terror widened his multi-colored eyes as he watched the land he loved unravel before him.
"My saplings, where have you run off to?" he called, voice tight with dread as he battled the tide of light. His words trembled with barely hidden fear. For a fleeting moment, determination steadied him. "No matter, all three must be protected. For the future of our dynasty!"
A tall, white-haired woman leaped off the ledge, levitating as she and the man tried desperately to protect the imperious white castle. As they brawled with the devouring light, both watched as their world unfurled into space like a flower.
"Asahi, Aletha, Aiyana, where are you three?" she cried out, agony breaking her voice as she was swallowed by the searing luminance.
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 plunged from a ruined castle, landing on an ashy mountain. His gray eyes widened, heart thundering as the world spun.
As he walked through the swirling winds, a brown scarf slipped away from his grasp..
"No... So much has already been lost," he whispered, grief weighing down his words. "I won't let the unknown take another thing I care about."
Just as it flew away, he desperately reached for the scarf, keeping it near his chest, like a mother would for her child.
The sky began to glow brighter.
This was the end.
"I'm sorry. Everyone." His voice echoed from the sinking mountains. "... for my foolishness. For my carelessness."
Only silence answered him; tears spilled down his cheeks as he broke, convulsing with irrepressible sobs, utterly heartbroken.
"I just want a peaceful life," he said.
With his head down, Asahi slowly turned. Grief pulled at each step as he drew 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.
Though everything lay in ruin, his spirit ached for understanding. He needed to witness how far this calamity would reach, even if it broke him.
But someone had stopped him.
"Asahi!" A distant voice shouted. "Over here!'
Tilting his head up in response, the boy noticed a faint light shining over him. From the collapsing stone, a slender pale arm reached out, casting paths of light that signaled hope.
He reached desperately and saw a white-haired girl pull him up from the hole, gripping her hand tightly as she helped him escape.
"We have to leave," she stammered, her voice shaking as another silver-haired girl followed. "Everyone is gone. Even our parents."
Afterward, the siblings frantically sprinted across the scorching fields, watching as a cluster of meteors pierced through the clouds.
Frightened, their ears rang with the piercing, desperate screams of those doomed within the wall of light, their cries searing into memory.
"Save... us."
Several 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.
. . .
As the siblings pressed onward through the chaos, a shift swept over the unraveling world.
Suddenly, the burning world vanished, replaced by emerald 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, unearthly scarf coated in hues of brown. The soft fabric comforted even the most hardened individuals.
Its aura made it clear that it was valuable and loved, urging the siblings to chase after it.
"Stop, and give it back!" The girl hollered as she pushed her white bangs to the side.
" I couldn't even spot you from a meter away," the cloaked individual mumbled as he leaped across a ravine. "As if they could catch--
A white-haired boy with a fluffy scapular leaped, tracking the thief's movement.
I won't let anyone take that scarf again," he said, launching across the ravine in white light, grabbing the thief's hand.
Airborne, he landed safely and immediately resumed his pursuit.
Trees blurred past as he ran.
No time for stopping, only chasing. Their eyes locked on the thief.
Once sighted, Asahi tightened his gloves. 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 that easily!" Asahi yelled, skidding his boots on the ground. "Show yourself!"
After the silence left in their wake, the same mysterious voice responded to him.
"With pleasure," he replied.
Suddenly, the thief launched from the bushes, hoisting an old wooden sword. He swung at the boy's heart, striking with all his might. With each rapid strike, Asahi made an incredible dodge pattern.
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. "A foreigner. An alien! You two should know..."
While the golden beams of sunlight peeked through the circle of clouds and treetops, the thief hurriedly sheathed his sword and ran away from the siblings.
"If you don't want to get hurt," Asahi warned, reaching for the scarf again. "You should never have stolen the scarf to begin with."
"Pfft, yeah right," 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.
Nevertheless, Asahi wasn't going to let him escape. His close-fitting gloves glowed yet again a brilliant white, and as his eyes anchored to the cloaked individual, Asahi delivered yet another earth-shaking punch, sending the thief flying back.
"It appears you don't know who we are," Asahi said as he ejected the luminance clinging to his hands, bending over to the cowering thief. "We're Rulers. Far beyond your comprehension. "
Abruptly, from the shadows, a girl with long white hair intruded into the area. She quickly clutched the tip of the brown scarf and threw it on the cloaked individual, wrapping it around him like a rope. Her hand absorbed the sunlight as she struggled to pull the scarf back.
In reaction, the thief hurriedly snatched the scarf from Aletha's hands and skidded his feet away from the two siblings, questioning with a face full of sweat.
"H...Huh? How is that even possible?" He gasped with heavy breathing. "You two, don't you remember me?"
Simultaneously, Asahi rushed and bolted to the thief, showing a cheeky smirk as his hands captured a full grip on him.
"Surprised?" Suddenly, he retraced the thief's words. "Wait, remember you?"
The thief gulped, froze still, and answered tremblingly. "N...Nope. I'm not surprised."
Asahi shook his head off the thoughts and clicked his teeth.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk." He clutched the thief's neck with his arm, engulfing his hands in a magical white light. As the thief struggled to move, Asahi hollered at a white-haired girl approaching from behind.
"Aletha," He said, "...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, cartwheeled toward the brown scarf, and snatched the end of its fabric. Charging at the thief, she swung the long, shimmering scarf around him, successfully attaching it this time.
Before the thief could break out from the soft fabric, Asahi bolted to the other side. He squeezed the thief tightly with the scarf, suffocating and hurting him until he cried.
"NO!" He gasped as he collapsed onto the ground. "Okay, okay! You win."
Asahi lifted his chin and squeezed his fists in refusal.
Hearing his response, a cold, chilling seriousness plastered itself on his face. He crossed his arms and stepped forward, responding to the thief in a rude manner.
"I'm annoyed that someone like you would take something for no apparent reason," He said as he clutched the scarf. "Just give it back. It's... very important to us."
Aletha shook her head and sighed, hearing the thief implore loudly to Asahi.
"Please. Stop squeezing me! Please, I'll do anything. I will even tell you why I'm here," he screamed as the tightness grew in magnitude. "The reason why I snagged your scarf is that it looked like mine."
Aletha drilled the thief's eyes with a cold glance of disapproval; her white pupils glowing as she saw the aura of lies float in the thief's false face.
After they grasped the situation, the girl shook her head and objected.
"You're lying! That thief didn't steal the scarf because of a misunderstanding. He stole it because he thought he could sell it!"
Asahi's eyes filled with burning anger as he knelt before the cowering thief, his voice low and filled with accusation.
"Is this true? Were you trying to sell our family's scarf because you just wanted some sick fortune?"
The thief cowered with a begging smile.
"N... No... not at all! If you could JUST listen to me, maybe you will understand--
Aletha sneered at him, crossed her arms, and shot her eyes with a look of truth, saying.
"He's lying."
Asahi squeezed harder, rage boiling over as the thief's face turned blue and his legs scrabbled helplessly. The thief's panicked cries mingled with choking gasps.
"Ahh... I can't... I can't breathe! Please! Dear me, give me mercy!"
After Aletha saw the thief choke and cough to death from the pressure of Asahi's grip, a shameful and pitiful feeling emerged in her, as if she wanted to spare him. She muttered, seeing the thief cry and cower.
"I can't bear this any longer," she murmured, voice quivering as pity and horror warred inside her. "I've seen enough pain for one day. Asahi."
Before any more pain could be inflicted on the thief, Aletha nagged her brother's arm and yelled.
"Hey, Asahi! You can stop now," she demanded, as crickets echoed over the woodland. "I don't want to see anyone die. Just keep that thief from escaping. I need to have a word with him."
Asahi weakened his grip and glanced downward at the thief quietly. In his years, he would never have done this, but this relic was important to him.
With an urge fuming down his neck, Asahi turned back and answered Aletha with a tone.
"There is no reason why we should spare such a being," He said as he kept his hands away from the scarf. "I understand we are not from this world, but I can't fathom why such a being like him would steal something like that from us. What makes you think he is good? Is it because he said that to remember us?"
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 because he's scared. Maybe he needed something from this scarf—maybe a memory, comfort, or help for his own reasons." Her eyes dropped downward 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, yeah, you tell him!" The thief clamored as he trembled in shock.
Aletha chuckled dismissively and smirked at the cloaked man.
"Now, don't get cocky. If you keep that up, I might let my brother hurt you. Stop lying, and tell us the REAL reason you took our scarf." Aletha added tension: "Or else, face my brother's fist."
"No, don't...." The thief pleaded, sighing without count. "Fine, I'll tell you." With that conflict pushed out of the way, Aletha smiled and nodded, leading the entangled thief to a tree with Asahi.
. . .
Then, without any moment to take a breather, Aletha immediately interrogated the thief.
"So, why did you steal our scarf?" Aletha pressed. "I want an honest answer, not some lame one like 'Oh, I want to sell this for money.' The best you'd get is five coins, and that's on a good day." She mocked him, crossing her arms.
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, hoping to find a way out. Then, when she wasn't looking, he scanned the place to escape the siblings.
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.
Without warning, the thief fled off with the scarf in a hurry, leaving behind a trail of footprints in the dirt.
"What a coward."
Aletha sighed in disappointment, disbelieving of his actions.
"He is just SO determined to run away from us," Aletha said as her body fumed with rage. "Well, I guess we have no choice. Chase after that liar!"
Aletha and Asahi chased the thief, increasing their speed with every step.
The shrouded man dashed across the woodland and continued to run until he came to a tiny clearing in the trees, stopping in his tracks.
"I'm nearly there." He said with a half-breathless murmur, "Only a few more meters..."
Just as he finished praying, he balled his fists, hung his head down, and whispered as he stared at the ground.
"...then we ALL can go back home."