I woke up with a headache that could only be described as… a head-on collision with a stampede of deranged bulls.
The world was spinning.
My eyes burned.
And my mouth tasted like… grass?
"Why the hell does my mouth taste like grass?" I mumbled, spitting out half-chewed blades of leaves as I struggled to sit up.
Slowly, the mental fog began to clear.
The buzzing in my ears faded, but… the scene around me hadn't changed. It was still there.
The golden light rose from the abyss.
The floating islands formed a perfect circle.
And at the center of it all, 'her'.
The colossal blue macaw.
Vast as a mountain range, her body still resting as if all of this were just another lazy afternoon for her.
She had spoken to me.
Or rather—inside me.
And then, simply, my brain had yanked the plug, shutting me down for safety's sake, to preserve the little integrity I had left.
That hadn't been a dream.
Before I could even ask myself what exactly had happened, a new voice echoed in my head.
But this time… it was different.
It wasn't an explosion of existence.
It was gentle. Like a song.
As if thousands of macaws were singing at once, each note woven into a living symphony—a courtship dance choreographed by the sky itself. Impossible.
Dazzling.
"It is an honor to finally meet you, Key of Secrets."
My eyes widened. I was still trying to stand fully, but the double vision and dizziness weren't helping.
"Key… of secrets?" I murmured, trying to steady my feet on the ground and push myself up by my knee. My hand was trembling.
She was looking at me.
Or… at least it seemed so.
That colossal head moved with the slowness of centuries, and the creature's gray eyes seemed to pierce through my flesh and bone as if reading my thoughts.
"Forgive me, little one."
"It has been ages since I last spoke to someone of your rank."
The voice echoed again, now with a light touch of laughter.
"In fact… I'm trying to remember if it's ever happened at all. Hmm… perhaps I'm too old to recall."
She laughed—a warm laugh, with the faint melancholy of centuries woven in.
"Who are you?" I managed to ask, my voice still hoarse.
"I am AR," she replied naturally. "AR, the Oracle."
I closed my eyes for a moment, trying to fight the vertigo. Even gentle, the pressure of having this being speak inside my head made it pound as if hammered from within, but my attention was locked entirely on her now.
"Why did you call me that…? 'Key of Secrets'?"
For a moment, the world seemed to pause.
The light from the abyss pulsed more intensely. The wind stirred the vast feathers of the ancient macaw.
And then, she sang.
Not with her mouth.
But inside my mind.
An ancient, deep song, as if hidden between the notes of the world.
"Yes… I greet the Key of Secrets."
"And the song that slept… begins to awaken."
The voice in my head changed.
It was no longer just the song of macaws—it was as if the sky itself had taken vocal form. As if the winds of continents bent together in unison to sing a fate written before time began.
The earth vibrated.
My hair stood on end, every inch of my skin screaming in warning, and a cutting, ancestral chill traced my spine like a blade of light.
AR was no longer speaking as a single being.
She was the voice of something greater.
And then… it began.
'The song of the Key echoes in the bones of the world…
There are many Keys, forged from greed, desire, protection, and fear…
But the Master Key…
…ah, the Master Key is the Catastrophe of Secrets.'
I felt my heartbeat quicken.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
'Where it walks, veils unravel…
Doors tremble…
And the eyes of those who sleep open, filled with malice and desire.'
My chest burned. As if something inside me were trying to awaken—or perhaps remember.
'There is gold that does not shine…
There are doors that do not creak…
Locked since the dawn of time…
Sealed with weaves of reality and dream…
They guard what must not be remembered…
…but must be revealed.'
I was trembling.
The islands around us gave faint, crystalline cracks. Even the Sleipnirs were still. Silas said nothing. Shaeleg squeezed his eyes shut, as if trying not to see something beyond sight.
'Secrets hidden in absolute gold…
Touched only by one who carries two hearts of power…
In perfect convergence, they awaited him.'
'Races will tremble…
Nations will bleed…
And those who dwell in shadows…
…will come into the light, starved for nectar never tasted.'
I felt my knee buckle. The pressure was overwhelming, yet I couldn't pinpoint where it hurt—it was as if every cell in my body were about to explode, and yet no attack had touched me. My flesh felt ready to tear, but no extra weight had been added to me. My eyes burned like erupting volcanoes, and my heart pounded so hard it drowned out the roar of waterfalls.
'The past will be revealed…
The present, rewritten…
And the future…
…decided by the one who carries the Master Key.'
'Key of Secrets…
Walker between worlds…
Echo of the ancient silence…'
The voice fell silent.
But the echo…
The echo still vibrated inside me.
As if it had been carved into the walls of my soul.
I could no longer hold my own weight.
My legs gave out without resistance, as if they were only shadows of what they had once been. The ground rose to meet me in a trembling slow-motion, and all that was left was to feel. Feel the nothingness. Feel the everything.
My muscles seized in involuntary spasms, a tremor that came from within—not from flesh, but from spirit. It was as if my very soul were burning in a silent combustion, trying to adapt to the weight of what I had just heard.
But there was no blood.
No scream.
No pain.
Only a collapse… caused by something that cannot be touched.
The spiritual pressure of AR was an entire universe passing through me.
And then, everything went dark.
Glenn collapsed to the ground like a leaf surrendered to the wind. His eyes shut in exhaustion, his chest rising and falling in a slower rhythm, as if his body had finally been allowed to rest.
The others exchanged silent glances.
The monumental creature before them — AR, the Oracle — stood still, its blue feathers shimmering with golden motes, as if the sky itself had decided to rest upon it.
It hadn't spoken aloud, yet everyone felt something shift.
Then AR turned to the others. Its eyes glimmered with liquid light, and its voice resonated in a gentler tone, still bearing the same ancient gravity.
"I see bonds…"
"Bonds of fate entwined between the boy, Rezon, and Shaeleg…"
"Strong bonds."
Rezon clenched his fists. Shaeleg, however, stepped forward, bowing deeply with a respect even kings would not demand.
"Is this… a prophecy, Oracle?"
The answer came with a faint chime of humor in its voice.
"No, little mother. Merely common sense… and too many ages watching."
Shaeleg smiled faintly, unsure whether to laugh or weep.
Then AR turned to Silas.
The old alchemist — always steady, serene, unshakable — for a moment, trembled.
AR looked at him with tenderness, like a mother reunited with a lost child.
"Your vision…" it said. "Sharper than ever. Not through the eyes of flesh… but through the clarity of the soul."
"It is a joy to see one of my children perceive wisdom… and walk the path of lucidity."
Silas did not answer.
He simply remained there, unmoving.
But a single tear welled beneath the bandages covering his blind eyes.
It slid slowly down, resting like a silent jewel upon the curve of his face.
It dampened the cloth, staining it with a mark almost invisible… yet deep.
The mountain seemed quieter.
AR then turned its gaze toward the horizon and spoke, though no one knew to whom:
"The times have changed."
"I feel the currents shifting…"
"Swords being drawn…"
"And a seed taking root…"
No explanation followed. None was needed.
Those words were not meant to be understood in that moment… but remembered.
A subtle glow bloomed in the macaw's chest.
Golden, pure, light as a forgotten prayer.
And then, with a single breath, its entire body dissolved into light — radiant particles rising to the heavens like stardust dancing on the wind.
And silence fell once more.
Not the silence of absence.
But the silence of something sacred that had just taken place.