It was freezing, and despite the morning air, the Sun still hid on the far horizon, leaving the world in a dim, muted state.
Distant rows of verdant mountains stood in formation, chained around the great city like a fortress carved by nature. Their peaks were veiled by clouds the colour of ash, faint light shimmering throughout.
The wind howled through them, sweeping into the narrow streets of the outskirts. Rows of small, tattered homes lined the loose gravel roads, large rocks filling gaps in the concrete.
Scraps of metal and wood leaned against unused buildings. A few flickering lights pressed against the crowded streets.
It was only the early hours of the morning, yet everyone was already awake. The townsmen's shouts shattered the stillness, each panicked word heavy with confusion and fear.
...
"What was that sound? What had occurred at dawn—?" a woman shouted, her eyes red with panic.
"What! A northerner has trespassed? A northerner? Here? Don't speak such nonsense." The man's chest tightened.
"How would they cross the Unison Mountains…?"
From the back of the small, restless crowd gathered in the shadowed outskirts of the city, a young man of twenty halted, jaw slack.
He shouted, gazing at the people.
"Yes, Elder! An outsider has trespassed the great city! Did you not hear that loud bang? It was like thunder, as though our judgement has been delivered."
....
Late at night, a loud crash had awakened many. Children's sudden cries alarmed the people, and the mere rumour of an invasion stirred them into confusion.
But what occurred was not a natural disaster, nor an outsider from the city, but a stranger from the world itself.
What the loud bang had been was Oren Xianrath entering the world. But at what cost?
He was the cause of the ongoing uproar. He heard each and every shout as they continued, their voices louder than ever.
...
"We have had no connection to outsiders, have they created that sound to distract us? Why?" Only minutes passed, yet the tension had grown exponentially.
"Do not wander! Run away! Return to your houses! People… the heavens have forfeited our gratitude—!"
"Lies…!" a frail-looking man shouted, then spoke. His rough voice revealed his aged, weak lungs, yet it carried enough conviction to steady the chaotic crowd.
"Even if the heavens deem us unworthy of life, we must not panic. For the life God has created is worthy!"
Another man shouted, opposing the peace. "Look at the damage they have done to that prestigious building,"
The world thundered. The winter sky clouded. The sound tore through the air, aimed toward a large building.
Out of all the buildings in the outskirts, this one establishment did not belong there, it appeared as though it had been forged for the main city rather than the filthy streets beyond it.
The house towered over a small area, the crater in its clock drawing the gaze of many. And like the world, its appearance, too, was deceiving.
...
The scent of iron lingered, as though the air itself tasted metallic.
Oren Xianrath's battered ears muted the world. A final silence filled the crater of the cathedral house he had landed in.
He was surrounded by uneven beams and shattered planks that leaned inwards, awkwardly.
Everything around Oren was dulled and stained by his own blood. Despite his deafness, he still heard an abundance of muffled shouts from outside.
He understood the situation he had caused but had no power to do anything at all. His long, dishevelled black hair spilled across his face as sorrow seeped into Oren's hollow, golden eyes.
He was wrapped in shredded dark-grey robes, sunken under his blood. They were the robes he had worn since youth.
Now they were torn and stained a deep red. Their pitiful state strangely saddened Oren.
But what made him worry was not their condition, but his own. He could not feel or see his body.
Oren groaned in unfathomable pain as he found the strength to lean against an oak-wood beam.
That realisation stirred an unfathomable coldness to surge around him. His state was pathetic.
Countless limbs had detached, his scattered ligaments and muscles strewn across the floor. Yet somehow, despite the visceral and cruel sight, he was alive.
Only his torso and head remained attached, "Ahh… how pitiful. I am pitiful. If only I hadn't chosen to use the anchor!"
Oren's chest tightened as he recalled, initiating the anchor. The moments upon entering the vast and extraordinary world.
From what he had seen while falling from the outer atmosphere, was a world larger than any other.
Mountains surrounded citys, great borders protected lands, a grand sea connecting civilisations.
To think the anchor forged at birth, burned intricately into his soul, had betrayed him.
It was why he had gotten situation... That was why I am here, was it not? Oren thought.
But where am I? He questioned. So why was he here? Why was he in this peculiar world?
Oren understood this situation clearly, and yet, after a few moments of pondering, he became clueless.
It felt similar to being deceived.
Oren knew he should not have used his anchor. Even in his final moments, he could not blame it on that.
When using it, he had felt a strange shift in his entity. That should have been warning enough, and yet he refused to admit his own fault.
He glanced at a piece of torn cloth and chuckled in irony. It was an unsettling giggle, at the very least.
Is this what the stories say?
If only I remember… After a brief few moments of oppressive silence in the destroyed attic, Oren slowly recalled the name of what this place was.
A revos verum…? A… ruined realm. He announced, a flicker of joy crossing his pained expression.
But knowing the names of something so vague, wouldn't help at all. It was only if the stories were true!
Oren had caught a glimpse of this place. He thought this world was not ruined at all.
So where was he really? So many questions he could not answer.
He would die without them being answered. He grimaced, a heavy regret coiling in his soul.
His own failures, his own regret made memories surface in his mind, the memories that accompanied the death of oneself.
His golden eyes turned abyss-black as hours passed. In that amount of time, he came to terms with almost everything.
Still, his pitiful regret lingered.
In the end… he failed to achieve true peace and eternal rest. Wether both were the same achievements, he did not know.
A heavy breath escaped his torn lips. Oren had squandered his life, forcing himself down a path that would never soothe his soul. An ignorance that persisted even in his final moments as he questioned the inevitable. "This is what I wanted, wasn't it? In a way, this is true peace?"
Oren's eyes gleamed coldly as he thought. He looked up through tangled beams and chipped wood.
He watched as the Sun rose. It was mesmerising.
The distant mountains brimmed with life and verdure, blooming flowers and trees filling the fields.
They stretched toward the far horizon, jagged edges of the mountains piercing the sky.
Oren remained deep in thought, conscious slipping from his mind. Despite his failures, as death clutched Oren, he laughed.
What escaped his twisted mouth, however, was not laughter, but a warped sound that scraped against the air.
"No! I… I—I do not accept this end! I no longer want peace. I no longer want anything. I don't want this end."
His eyes shone darkly in regret and resolve. He spat out blood. The final signs of life faded, his body paling to an ashen grey.
This truly was his fault. And yet Oren no longer cared. His blood slowly spread across the austere attic, red drowning chipped wood and steel shards as his voice churned.
"Even if my next life is a dream, I will live on. I have failed in this lifetime, in several, I will succeed."
His blood slowly spread across the austere attic, red drowning chipped wood and steel shards.
He sensed a figure standing beyond the shattered beams.
Too distant to see.
But in the end, only nothing remained.
....
Hours bled into days, the Sun sat behind the mountains, darkness shrouding the outskirts, making the silent room oppressive and gloomy.
It was cold despite the windows remaining shut. The place was seeped in a deep black. Chandeliers hung from the ceiling, unlit, serving no purpose but decoration to the people within.
Elder Tie-Ru, one of the academy elders, observed the three others in silence. In the outskirts, names weren't earned, they were inherited. His, however, was respected.
When one saw Elder Tie-Ru, the first thought that crossed their mind was a forest blanketed by snow.
His long ice-white hair graced the floor as Elder Tie-Ru clicked his neck. His jade eyes were a dark shade.
Before him were his students from the good old days, those who had stayed in the academy despite graduating the academic fields many years ago.
Elder Sanye, Elder Cosette, and Elder Rivkah sat on their knees a handful of steps before him.
Those three answered to him, and only him, within the academy grounds. That was one of the many responsibilities he had taken on with this job.
Just as Elder Rivkah spoke, a petite girl of abnormally short height suddenly appeared, making Elder Rivkah bite his tongue.
In less than an instant, the comedically short women, reached Elder Tie-Ru. Two of the three sitting elders tried their best not to chuckle and laugh.
None were shocked at the youth, being allowed to enter and leave the room as she pleased. For she was just a maid.
Who like Elder Cosette and the other two elders, she was Elder Tie-Ru's maid. They all were well informed.
Elder Tie-Ru had to crouch down as she whispered into his right ear. Her voice was sweet and thin.
Upon hearing her words, Elder Tie-Ru's eyes shot wide in surprise. He then muttered, "Good, good, good." The news was brilliant.
Immediately after his words, Elder Tie-Ru straightened his posture, looking at the three elders before him.
Elder Tie-Ru remembered that despite knowing them since youth, he still had to maintain composure.
He coughed twice, then muttered nonchalantly, "I see." to the young maid.
His whisper caught the others' attention, making them freeze.
Premonitory anticipation settled over the room, quiet, yet impossible to ignore.
Unlike the other three elders in the darkened room, Elder Tie-Ru held no malice. His heart was calm and peaceful, and unlike the others' rough, grudging voices, his was gentle.
He always maintained a calm countenance, but that did not mean the others held sinister animosity.
They had not experienced his past and were not forged from the same steel as he was. The three before him, however, had been best friends growing up, sharing many similarities akin to what triplets would share.
"What happened, Elder?" they asked in unison. A reply followed almost instantly, his voice calm and delicate.
"Nothing much. This young maid has come to inform me that the youth has awakened."
He waited a moment before smiling at the young lady. "You are dismissed."
He coughed lightly. "Next time, however, do not sneak around. Candidates and higher-ups alike will assume you are up to something."
The maid nodded politely, not daring to speak out of line, and left the unusually large room.
Seconds passed, and yet the three elders before him remained quiet. Elder Tie-Ru glanced at Elder Cosette's indifferent expression, then to the other elders, noticing they were all sat on their knees stil, he spoke.
"I may be an esteemed elder, but you three are my subordinates. I have trained you from youth. To me, you are kin. Please do not kneel! That was only to delude the maid. My title is superficial."
With those words, the oppressive tension eased, and Elder Sanye spoke confidently, a smile stretching his lips.
"That young man… I have neither met nor seen him, but if what you said earlier is true, he is associated with C04."
"Yes," Elder Tie-Ru announced. "I already know what you are going to ask. And my answer is yes."
He smiled at the three people, he felt as though they were closer than family. "I do too. I have hope in this youth. More than the other dozen candidates. Not because I have met him, but because anyone associated with C04 must be bright, if not bright, then possibly well-informed."
The others shook their heads. Elder Sanye replied first. "It depends on whether he succeeds or fails. We should not raise our hopes. He has accomplished nothing yet."
"You speak the truth," Elder Sanye and Elder Rivkah announced, as the quiet Elder Cosette spoke.
"This youth, I have never met him, neither have I met this C04 you speak of. I have heard little about him, but even that is dwindled."
Elder Cosette looked up at Elder Tie-Ru with an untruthful smile. "You even said earlier that the man was yet to wake up and that this C04 was not situated in the room with him."
Elder Rivkah smiled darkly, his cold words cutting Elder Cosette off. "What are you getting at?"
"Oh, nothing. Nothing at all. I was just explaining that, unlike the other students raised by surrounding clans and families, this youth has shown no qualifications."
"Yes, I agree," Elder Sanye said. "It is pointless to rely on nothing. C04's name does not guarantee the youngling's success."
Elder Cosette glanced at, Elder Tie-Ru with a smile, then continued. "That is why I have hope that your Ru family's kin will prosper. Even some merchant families might grow."
The others agreed as Elder Tie-Ru nodded with them. "The ones we truly must watch are the youths who show the most talent and rise to each challenge presented to them, in both academic work and practice."
The four elders named a few candidates among themselves, comparing the letters received from the clans and family members, weighing the worth of the students to their families.
They were in the outskirts, a place where poverty lurked everywhere, the majority had nothing. Despite that, among them, a few stood out. But one was the most daring.
"This student—" Elder Tie-Ru raised his finger to the letter's owner. They did not identify the name, yet they understood this student had gravely harmed their family, causing irreparable damage to their name and standing, forcing them to lower themselves to the outer areas of the outskirts.
"Keep an eye on these candidates," Tie-Ru said, pointing out the candidates who may cause harm, and the others that may benefit the elders.
But before he said anything else, Elder Tie-Ru's voice rose suddenly. "I will state this before anything occurs. These words are not distrust, but reassurance.
"We are not scouting these candidates. We are merely supervising, noting talents and prodigies."
"Do not compete. Do not manipulate these youths." He paused for a moment, letting his juniors think, then continued.
"I remember, it was like yesterday when Elder Roan had his title revoked for manipulating students for personal benefit.
"How selfish. How self-centred."
Elder Tie-Ru continued, "Please keep this in mind, all of you, and do your very best to be great Elders."
"Yes, yes. I will certainly not manipulate the candidates or harm them for my own benefit."
"We wouldn't dare. I promise we wouldn't."
As time passed, the elders brought chairs from across the room. Only then did the true conversation begin.
Almost instantly, it felt as if the world had sunk beneath the ocean, an oppressive tension growing beneath their words.
"The trial," Elder Rivkah asked, inclining his head. "Have you heard any news?"
"No," Elder Tie-Ru replied. His voice grew cold, though he remained sincere. "Only that this year's trial concerns longing. It has changed."
The elders held their breath.
"Changed?"
"Yes. This year, it is a trial of the conscious, the Trial of Longing. What one undergoes, I do not know. If the specialist is late, Sir Idris will assume the role, but if he too fails, all will become a conundrum."
"Sir Idris…"
"Isn't he holding an assembly on what the ritual entails?" Elder Sanye asked.
Tie-Ru froze.
"ah, it seems you are quite corect." Elder Tie-Ru picked up his pouch suddenly panicked for a. Reason the three other elders did not know.
"It seems I will be late." Elder Tie-Ru announced, He glanced at the clock mounted on the shadowed wall. He had many things to do, but this one was at the top of his worries.
The elders expression were confused, despite the next words, Each gave Elder Tie-Ru an unsure smile.
"I promised Sir Idris I would attend his assembly. Rough as he is, whats on the inside matters more, then what is shown."
He said his goodbyes and went to the door. At the door, however, he turned back with a smile, his white hair waving as he shifted.
A hint of suspicion clouded his voice as he finally spoke. "Keep in mind what I have stated."