Sasha's POV
Badump. Badump. Badump.
I can practically feel my heart jumping out of my chest. Ever since Lucas lent me his mobile game, I feel like my breaths have been shorter and I've gotten more anxious, generally speaking. Not only that, my brain constantly itches as if it's forcing me to recall something in particular, but the said thing never comes up.
I've always felt that my surroundings were strange, especially after being exposed to other people's lifestyles.
For one, I'm isolated. There are missing gaps in everything around me that it's almost eerie. I have this understanding that I had an accident when I was early in my teenage years, so I have no recollection of any memory prior to that stage. I also have no details as to what this accident is supposed to be.
Secondly, I am currently residing in an old bungalow alone. My parents are both working overseas; however, they have not contacted me at least once. I don't have memories of their appearance, voice, and personalities. Whenever I need something approved for my studies, the teachers inform me that they'd already been contacted and my guardians had given their approval.
Thirdly, I've never had to struggle for anything. I somehow always had what I needed in my possession. In terms of monetary means, I was left a bank account with an absurd amount of money in it. I've never seen the amount dwindle down below 8,000,000 Rich. I tried withdrawing the entire amount previously, of course, by increments that the bank allowed, but the next month, I received double the amount I took. It is humanely impossible for any human to be earning that much, unless they do something completely illegal. My neighbors all provided me food and other materials I needed, so I was never required to procure my own resources. I had no idea of my neighbors' identities, but they had an understanding of my entire character.
I understand that the points I enumerated were privileges not everyone has access to, and I am grateful to be able to live a life without strife. However, it cannot be denied.
A life this convenient reeked of suspect activity.
The only time in which I felt that the environment was familiar was when Lucas lent me that game of his called "Reverie Mirage." The buttons were confusing, but I knew the setting. I understood the concept of the game almost immediately. At first, I thought that it was simply a case of deja vu, but there are multiple instances in which that could not have been the case.
Firstly, Lucas praised my skill for the game. It also surprised me that utilizing the character he gave me was almost natural. I know the Staff of Stars, and I understand the complexity of its power.
Secondly, the character Panlias was someone I knew. My heart sank when I saw him, and I was intimately versed in the pain and suffering he had endured in this story.
Not just in the way that Lucas described, no. I knew Panlias.
He dyed the upper half of his hair mauve as opposed to his natural lilac so he doesn't seem as soft as he actually is. He's quite insecure of how he's perceived, and he knows he is the symbol of hope of his people, so he dresses in a dark and assertive manner to hide his sensitive heart. His people already know.
He tends to take things to heart, and he gets overemotional from stories told to him. Whenever he's stressed, he eats a lot of sweets, and because of this, he brings a pack of candies under his cloak all the time.
Panlias was also told by Faenikzha to not go near any lakes. Especially not when she's with him. They've had several fights due to his stubborn nature, and she knew Faenikzha would be upset from the story Lucas showed her of him giving a monologue by the lakeside.
I know all of these as fact. Even if it's not mentioned in the game, I know them to be the truth. This begs the question then, how do I know these things?
I had never encountered this game before Lucas introduced it to me. I was shocked by the element of gambling that's being made into a mechanic of some kind for monetary gain, but that's besides the point.
I have a few hypotheses.
First, could this be nostalgia that I simply can't recall?
I debunked this because there's no technology in my home. I'd never even seen a television unit until a teacher used it for their presentation in the academy.
The other possibility is simply dumb luck. That would be too dismissive of a lot of my points, though. That doesn't answer my deep familiarity with Panlias and how I understood the mechanics and technicalities of the Staff of Stars.
Perhaps, it's something to do with the game itself? That was the most plausible conclusion, so I downloaded the application the night before. I hadn't gotten far into the story, but I've developed the story enough to be acquainted with Panlias and Faenikzha.
I booted the game and waited for it to download updates.
Lucas previously mentioned that I look similar to Faenikzha and my personality reminded him of her. I didn't understand where he was coming from, but there was something about Faenikzha that seemed painfully familiar, to the point of me finding it hard to breathe whenever I see her character.
The game loaded in and, as if on cue, my character was already standing in front of Faenikzha in the Old Zesseyel Palace.
The Old Zesseyel Palace was built like an enormous arena, its circular structure surrounded by towering stone walls and rows of elevated arches. The outer walls were worn with age, while the inner sections were built in layers, with wide stairways leading toward the higher levels. Large pillars supported the upper structures, and statues of old Zesselyan figures stood between them. It looked less like a palace meant only for royalty and more like a place built for an entire civilization to gather.
I don't see the resemblance between me and Faenikzha, but I could understand why Lucas saw the both of us as familiar, in an abstract sense.
The tightness of the ribbon around her neck, the heavy ruffles in her skirt that hindered her when she entered into battle. I also remembered how those gloves hid the callouses on her hands and how painful it was to break her soft skin to be adept at battle.
It looks like the common consensus for Faenikzha's skill was to use her for support, and most experts suggested that her skillset was not practical on her own, but rather to only be utilized when in a team.
I disagree. I've chosen her weapon as my starting armament, and I've found it easy to coast through the game just by experimenting with elemental and environmental statuses that her skill inflicted. The fact that she can also immediately heal herself makes it easier to explore for long periods of time without resting at a church. I've attempted other weapons such as Panlias or Quadratus, but I found that while their damage and agility statuses were higher than Faenikzha's, her well-roundedness is easier to work with.
I walked my character around the halls and found writing on the wall. It was written in the ancient script of Zesseyel, and it was blurry and pixelated, but for some reason, I could understand what they were conveying.
"On the Night of the 100th Blood Moon, the Chosen Child of Zesseyel would end the reign of Slebek in a land surrounded by the Holy Waters from the hand of Lord Teirnbat," was carved into the stones of the structure.
"Who is this Lord Teirnbat?" My character voiced out.
Lord Teirnbat is known by any Zesselyan. He is the first king of Zesseyel. He and his sister, Ahhibat, were the descendants of the aristocracy that ruled Yabbat, the old name of the combined continent of Zesseyel and Slebek. When their father king passed, he decided to divide the land amongst the two heirs, with Ahhibat claiming the West, now known as Slebek, and Lord Teirnbat inheriting the East, now named as Zesseyel.
The two siblings had different approaches to their rule. Lord Teirnbat was known for his love of nature, and that reflected in how he interacted with his community. His people lived by nature, and they were open to diversity. Almost everyone can be a Zesselyan, as long as you were able to follow their culture and ideology. Lord Teirnbat also introduced democracy into the country and allowed anyone qualified to lead while the royal family stepped back to simply work on diplomacy.
The war between Slebek and Zesseyel started due to Ahhibat's desire to innovate. She proposed that her brother collaborated with her ambitions to innovate and develop technology to improve the efficiency of everyday life, but it came with the cost of destroying the natural order. Ahhibat had used the essence of the universe to power her projects. Lord Teirnbat heavily opposed this proposition, and that cut off the relations between the two nations.
It was still peaceful until 10 years later, when Slebek had dwindling resources and had to procure more. Other countries would require too much resources to be spent, so she decided to simply invade Zesseyel. Zesseyel had already lost its lands in the west, and the war still persists a hundred years later.
Panlias is a descendant of Lady Ahhibat, while Faenikzha is a descendant of Lord Teirnbat. As the chosen child, she was born with purple eyes, with her left eye changing when she uses elemental magic.
This isn't something I'm supposed to know. Clearly, the main character hasn't discovered this, so me knowing about it in full detail is clearly abnormal.
At this point, I have to admit it to myself. I have to be acquainted with this game to a certain extent. The fact that I know so much of its writings and legends makes it farfetched for me to think that I'm not adept to its lore. Though it seems ludicrous, it might even be fair for me to assume that I'm somehow involved with the story. Otherwise, it would be difficult to justify exactly just why I'm so well-versed with the universe.
I had my character exit the river and found abandoned houses in its surroundings. The villages near the Zesseyel River were conquered and displaced first. While Zesseyel still held territory on the eastern side of the waters, it had become too dangerous for the civilians to stay in their residences, especially after Slebek poisoned their food supply and shelled the agricultural lands and its surrounding villages.
The village was barely recognizable. The houses stood empty, some with their roofs collapsed and their walls blackened from the fires. Broken fences surrounded fields that had been left unattended, with patches of burned grass stretching toward the river. A few abandoned tools and overturned carts remained where their owners had left them. There were no civilians, no livestock, and no signs that anyone intended to return. Everything that remained suggested that people had left in a hurry.
Images flashed through my mind. People leaving their families behind. Houses and crops burning. Lives reduced to smoke and ash. Then the grass, burning bright against the dark, and children stumbling as they tried to run, slowed by their injuries. Then, two hands glowing bright blue. A cool breeze passed through them. Wherever they touched, the children's injuries began to heal.
I couldn't help but cry from this vision. I could almost smell the smoke that covered the area, making it even harder to breathe. Everything in this route is familiar. I know that the burned houses by the river were beside an old farm, and their last harvest was a harvest of pumpkins. They had grown them for the Autumnus Harvest Festival, wherein the country would gather to contribute their ingredients to a big pot of stew.
I know this place, so even if the Story Quest advises me to go to Slebek Castle, I had a feeling that I had to stop by the old abandoned church at the end of the Forest of Rumor. The Forest of Rumor was where Ahhibat's plans to betray Teirnbat were revealed, but only spread as a rumor. The forest itself is grim and has a giant swamp in which the Pellaidh resided.
I wiped my tears away with my sleeve and controlled my breathing. I need to prepare myself for who I'm about to meet. Sure enough, there he stood.
Prince Panlias the Beloved.
I controlled my character to run towards him, interacting with him freely, outside of cutscenes, for the very first time.
"Good day, adventurer." Panlias greeted. "Me? Please don't mind my sitting here for your rituals. I'm only here to reflect."
I pressed the dialogue option again.
The same line appeared.
I pressed it again.
The same line.
I knew there were deeper lines here. I knew what he was supposed to say. I knew the stories he would tell, the things he would mention, the way he would speak about the war and his people.
I didn't know how I knew.
I pressed the dialogue option again.
Nothing.
Before I could continue, I heard Lucas behind me.
"Sasha, you're late for our meeting!" Lucas pointed out.
I froze.
"...." Emery didn't speak.
"Oh, right. I apologize. I didn't realize." I looked around, a bit caught off guard.
"You're crying again..." Emery dug into his pockets and handed me a pack of tissues.
"Aww, Sasha, what were you doing? Oh, were you playing RevMira?" Lucas smiled.
Suddenly, I realized I was late because I had been playing a game. "Please don't tell the others. It's irresponsible of me."
Emery looked like he empathized and nodded.
"No problemo! Happens to the best of us!" Lucas said.
"No... Really.... Please." I looked down.
Irresponsibility is unbecoming.
"Alright, let's just go so we don't get any later." Lucas seemed to decide to let it go.
I nodded, and we all went to the meeting room.