"How did you get that?" Dawn asked as he chiseled his jaw.
"We got it by following a list," Asahi replied, holding up a book. "It started with the ingredients."
At that moment, Asahi began to recount in detail the adventures he and his sister had experienced. He described how Belial arrived menacingly, how Drim confronted him in a tense standoff, their cryptic encounter with the Queen, meeting the mysterious Librarian, experiencing strange dreams, becoming trapped in an endless loop, and discovering an invisible barrier. With each story, Asahi ensured he clearly explained the events and the roles he and Aletha played throughout.
"So… you know about The Leaf, The Trunk, and the Four-Edged Star?" He asked, concern in his voice.
"Indeed," they replied, revealing the bottle of essence. "You said the Leaf rests high by a massive green forest."
"You said? Wait—this is the ingredient we needed! Do you know where the others are?" Landon exclaimed.
"That's what we're searching for now," Aletha said, determined. "But first, we need to move the pawns."
"The pawns?" Dawn muttered.
With the ingredient in hand, Asahi and Aletha explained the meaning of Akwan's metaphor by actively demonstrating the strategy to the others. They moved pieces around, visually representing how pawns and the chessboard could be manipulated. Each step was explained, ensuring that everyone saw and understood the actions required for their new plan.
(Asahi and Aletha may therefore alter the pawns AND the Board to create various instances and different events on the same day.)
As their explanation unfolded, Asahi and Aletha darted from place to place, positioning the artifacts with swift precision, their movements a blur of urgency and purpose.
Belial's Bow was deliberately positioned at the center of the town to block his approach. Drimi's catalyst was placed at the southward entrance to give wanderers easier access to the second ingredient. Sally's item was set on the north side to direct the guards toward her fountain, as planned.
"There we go," Aletha said as she wiped sweat off her face. "Running back and forth is a nightmare in this place. I almost got caught by those creatures."
"We will handle those." Dawn, Chip, and Landon said as they grabbed their blades. "Just get busy finding these ingredients."
After initial disagreement over the pawn placements and a brief debate about Belial's Bow, they decided to move it southward with Drimi, allowing them to search northward for the remaining ingredients.
"Almost done," Asahi said as he placed the crates down in the empty alleyways. "Just one more day."
Soon, their careful preparations would be put to the ultimate test.
On the third day, sunlight flickered across a decaying horizon, casting uneasy shadows over the world.
The thieves were nowhere to be seen.
Only Asahi and Aletha.
As they see the luminance greatly consume them, the book, and all the illustrations,
. . .
Darkness was all that they saw.
They could hear a liquid bubbling in the background, similar to all the other loops.
Just like before, Belial was nowhere to be seen. Thanks to positioning his bow in the south, it could only mean one thing.
"It worked!"
As dizziness struck, Asahi and Aletha struggled to push themselves out of the trance. They knew they couldn't afford to lose any more precious time.
"Forget all that boy's nonsense…"
It stood out, jarring and impossible to ignore. They fought to break their patterns, to shatter the relentless cycle. Yet, after an hour of repeating the same moments, they nearly lost themselves in the loop.
"Snap out of it." Landon appeared, snapping his fingers as Akwan and the others backed up.
"Huh? What's going on?" Aletha said as she broke out of the trance.
"You are experiencing the same loops," He said. "Your theory was correct, those artifacts DO affect their positions. I AM a victim of this book. I remember!"
Quickly, Asahi and Aletha were pulled northward by Landon and the others, moving away from the city. Each step toward the forest grew more difficult as their vision blurred—the urgency and intent becoming clear in their actions.
"We need to get those ingredients, quickly!"
Suddenly, just as they were about to leave.
(SWOOSH)
"He has arrived," Landon said as Asahi and Aletha braced for what was to come. Belial was there, preparing his bow. Instead of surrendering, they ran far, far away.
. . .
"So tell me, what are the last two ingredients, quickly before they catch us!"
As they peered into the book, Asahi and Aletha found their notes.
"The Leaf rests high near a gigantic forest of bristles…"
"The Trunk is located in multiple areas where no one was interested in going."
"The four-edged star, located where most dream to be."
Hints and clues rushed through Asahi and Aletha like a wild river. With The Leaf already captured, only The Trunk and the Four-Edged Star remained, their next challenges looming ahead.
"Do you have any clues on where The Trunk and Four-Edged Star will be? Quickly," Asahi said with a snap.
Landon hesitated, but as time pressed on, he finally nodded. He drew a map in the dirt for Asahi and Aletha to follow.
"What we can do is avoid the guards and Belial, who are coming from the south. Then, Aletha, you lure them back into the city, to the center, while Asahi and I grab the ingredients. Got it?"
Asahi and Aletha nodded in approval. But Aletha was hesitant, saying,
"Me? As the decoy? Are you writing a death sentence?"
But as doubt crept in, a memory of Narcissa surfaced—her curious gaze, her lack of true malice toward the wanderers. The realization struck Aletha like a bolt, and with newfound resolve, she nodded and flashed a shaky thumbs up.
"Whatever works," she said, sweating with uncertainty.
"Now that we are alone, Asahi, I trust in you to find the second ingredient. I don't want to get trapped here. So let's do this first try, understood?"
Caught in the endless loop, lost and desperate for answers within the Forbidden Book, he yearned for freedom and the chance to help others. Regret gnawed at him, making him question his worth—was he truly an Owner, or just another lost soul?
Yet the unyielding cycle and swirling confusion only fueled his determination to press on.
Instead of going for The Trunk, he ran over to the Four-Edged star, which was located where most dream to be; the podium, a vast spectacle of beauty. When Asahi sprinted through the streets, reaching the stairs leading to the podium, he witnessed the city glimmer near the ocean; a vision one would die for. But that's when he found it…
"Huh?" Asahi found a crimson bottle filled with scarlet essence just lying beneath a stone brick."The ingredient!"
Clutching the precious ingredient, Asahi felt a wave of relief for Aletha's safety. As he dashed down the stairs, a sudden movement ahead caught his eye.
(SWOOSH)
Another arrow shot toward Asahi's heart, causing the air to shimmer red with its passage. He darted past the guards and Belial, running as fast as he could toward the center of the city. He yelled, "Aletha, I thought you were going to lure them," indicating his expectation and the resulting confusion.
Meanwhile, on the southernmost point in the city.
"Shouldn't Belial be here?" She asked as the sun shone vividly in the azure sky. "Ummm"
Aletha hadn't considered that Belial could take a shortcut by heading east toward Asahi, but that's exactly what he did.
Aletha was meant to be just a decoy, not a seeker of ingredients. But as she reached The Trunk, a spark of purpose ignited—she could do more than simply distract.
"Wait, it's there?!" It fell into a brown essence. The last ingredient, the one from the trunk, had been found in a mud puddle by Aletha.
"That was too easy," Aletha said as she picked it up.
(ZOOM)
Suddenly, Drimi approached, her hands glowing with magenta luminance and her mask concealing her face. Her dark hair streamed behind her as she channeled energy into the ground, purple essence sparking. Without speaking, she lunged at Aletha and swung a fist toward her, but before her punch could land,
(DING)
Her fists were hit by metal. Akwan, who had his back covered by Asahi, pushed himself forward and deflected the attack from Drimi.
Drimi, who was so close to reaching her, began to ask as her hands charged once again with magenta.
"What are you doing?" She said, her mask covering her mouth. "Don't cha have the…."
"I realized something, Drimi," Akwan said, his hand now covered in a dark blue light. "You are clueless that you are stuck in a prison."
"Prison?" She muttered. "What cha talking about. There ain't no prison here--
Abruptly, Akwan threw a rock near her at the barrier, rippling. That's when she realized.
"We… are… No, that can't be," She said with a trembling voice. "We can't be in prison. Akwan, are you telling the truth?"
"Indeed, I am," said Asahi, Aletha, and the others. "We're stuck in the same boat as you."
"I have been stuck in this time loop for ages," Akwan said. The only reason we can't escape is the reset. Luckily, it's only been one day. We have two more days to get things right. It's only natural that I finally figured things out."
As Akwan continued to spit wise words toward Drimi, she started to look phased, as if she had finally realized where she was the entire time. Asahi showed her the Forbidden Book, along with its illustrations.
"This can't be… we can't be in prison." Drimi shook her head and turned over to Belial, who had looked for her and the wanderers.
Just like Drimi, he too was shocked to see Akwan with the wanderers. "Are you being truthful?"
"As truthful as I can get," Aletha said as she placed her hand on her hip.
Suddenly, a vision of the magenta-haired woman blazed in her mind. She was the reason for their predicament, the one who had thrust the Forbidden Book into their hands. The truth hit hard—the library had been nothing but a clever ruse.
But now, knowing the truth of everything, Asahi and Aletha, along with Akwan, Drimi, Belial, and Landon, all agreed to refrain from hurting each other and instead be allies... for the time being.