The Kingdom of Ivyana is the third largest among the Five Kingdoms of the East. The Ivyan are a race whose physical features resemble those of elves. This kingdom is ruled by King George Red Ivyana and Queen Glacia Red Ivyana.
The royal couple has three daughters: Ruby Red Ivyana, the eldest; Carolina Red Ivyana, the second daughter; and Sicilia Red Ivyana, the youngest.
Ruby is set to become the next ruler of the kingdom in just five years.
…Wait, what? Where is all this new information coming from? How do I suddenly know all of this? And… where am I?
…
…
…
[sound of footsteps]
In the grand corridor of Ivyana's castle, three figures walked together: Ace, Ruby, and William. Ace's face remained completely expressionless, while Ruby and William struggled to conceal their fear of him.
Ace could sense they were trembling, though he had no idea why. They continued walking in silence until they reached a massive door. Ruby turned, giving Ace and William a meaningful look. William nodded in agreement, while Ace's mind drifted back to the events of yesterday.
The scene shifts to the previous day, inside Ace's room.
He had suddenly grown taller and strikingly handsome. Both Ruby and William stood frozen, stunned by his transformation.
Ace tried to speak, but neither of them responded. After a few long moments—
"Hey… Ace… is… is that really you?" Ruby asked, her voice cracking.
"Huh? Yeah, it's me. Why are you asking?" Ace replied with an easy smile.
Ruby and William could hardly believe their eyes. Just an hour earlier, he had been a small, frightened child. Now he stood before them as a grown young man, his entire demeanor cheerful and carefree—completely the opposite of the scared boy they had known.
"Yo, guys, what's wrong? You both look like you've seen a ghost," Ace teased.
William's eyes narrowed in anger. "Hey, show some respect to the princess," he said, his voice thick with rage.
"What? Princess? What do you mean? And who?" Ace asked, genuinely confused.
The question caused William to falter for a moment, but before he could respond, Ruby raised a hand to stop him.
"Ace… do you recognize who we are?" she asked doubtfully.
"Uh… yeah, of course. You're Princess Ruby, and he's your knight, William, right?"
"Ace, what happened to you? How did you suddenly grow up like this?"
Ace smiled again. "Well… I don't really know. I was just sitting here thinking, and then I heard your voices. I walked over to you guys, and… suddenly I looked like this."
His answer offered no real explanation, but they both noticed something else: Ace now acted far more childish than before—almost the complete opposite of the personality he had shown as a child.
William sighed and glanced at Ruby. Her face was full of confusion and she seemed emotionally unsteady. Noticing this, William gently took her hand and led her out of the room, telling Ace they needed to speak privately.
Once outside, William turned to Ruby. "Princess, what is going on? Do you have any idea what this is?"
Ruby met his eyes. "No… I have no clue how this is even possible. Even if he possesses some combination of demonic attributes and can use Shadow Step, growing his body like that… it shouldn't be possible, not even at level 5 ability strength."
They stood in silence for a while before William spoke again.
"For now, we don't need to figure it out. Tomorrow we'll take him to the castle. The queen can deal with him."
Ruby's eyes widened as the reality hit her. Her hands began to tremble again.
William's heart sank at the sight. He hated feeling so helpless when his wife was in pain.
As they stood in the corridor, Ace watched them from inside the room. His face had returned to a blank, emotionless mask—his personality completely shifted once more.
The scene shifts back to the present.
The massive doors swung open. Ace peered inside and his eyes widened in shock.
It was a grand hall—the king's audience chamber. The walls shimmered like molten gold, complemented by long, rich red curtains and golden flame torches all over the walls . At the far end stood two thrones. One was occupied by an elegant, mature woman. Her hair was fine as spun silver, her eyes glowed a soft light blue, and she wore armor adorned with red gems.
Around her stood several figures dressed in black and white robes—priests and nuns. Ace quickly grasped the situation: he was standing in the presence of the queen and members of the church.
His heartbeat quickened as his gaze fell on the long sword resting behind the queen's throne. His eyes darted around the room as he slowly approached.
Just behind Ruby, both she and William stopped and knelt before the queen. Ruby spoke first, her voice firm and calm.
"Mother, I have brought him as you commanded."
The queen took a moment before replying, her tone carrying unquestionable authority.
"Very well. Then, my sweetheart," she said, glancing at William, "you may leave now."
Without a word, the two rose and departed. But just before Ruby crossed the threshold, she looked back at Ace one last time. As the doors closed behind her, a sharp, crushing pain stabbed through her heart. The thought that she had led Ace here—to what might be his death—tore at her. William placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.
Back inside the hall, Ace stood alone in the center, utterly confused about what was happening or why he was even there. His mind raced through countless possibilities, causing his expression to flicker wildly: confusion, fierceness, childish innocence, fear, calm—over and over.
The queen observed him in silence until a priest in the crowd broke it.
"You… child of the devil! Explain yourself! How did you unlocked your ability? What kind of hideous power do you possess?" The priest's voice dripped with fury.
Ace stared at the man. His mind went blank. The room filled with tense, angry silence. The priests began to lose composure at his lack of response. The air grew thick with rage, awkwardness, and annoyance.
Then—
[A loud clap]
The queen's hands struck together sharply. The room fell into instant, deep silence.
She spoke calmly. "Well then… are you the child my daughter spoke of yesterday? If so, I must admit I'm confused. You look like a grown man."
Ace's mind remained blank. He couldn't think clearly or recall anything from the day before. Chaotic thoughts swirled inside his head:
Hey wait, this place looks awesome—no, stop thinking like a child! The queen asked you a question.
Who does she think she is, questioning me?
Wow, the queen is really pretty… no wonder Ruby is so beautiful.
Hey, stop it, all of you! You're giving Sushant a hard time.
It's his fault for not keeping the balance between us.
Voices overlapped and clashed inside his skull. The priests' insults—"monster," "devil," "abomination"—only made it worse.
"JUST SHUT THE HELL UP!" Ace roared. His voice echoed through the entire hall.
Everyone—including the queen—stared at him in stunned silence.
Ace took a deep breath, bowed his head, and spoke in a calm tone.
"Forgive my ignorance, Your Highness. My name is Ace. That's all I can remember. I don't know how I ended up in this kingdom, how I unlocked my powers, or anything else. What I'm saying is one hundred percent the truth."
The queen studied him carefully for a long moment.
Before she could respond, the same priest erupted again.
"Oh, so you expect us to believe you? You child of the devil! You think this pathetic act will save your miserable life?!"
But he cut himself off as the queen raised her hand.
She remained silent for another second before speaking.
"So you're telling me that, apart from your name, you remember nothing at all?"
Ace lifted his head and nodded.
The queen continued, "You don't remember anything—not even how you used Shadow Step, or your encounter with the assassin gang?"
Ace paused, thinking. Then fragments of memories flashed through his mind—the incident in the clouds. His heart pounded.
Wait… when did all of this happen? Why don't I remember any of it until now? …Oh. Right. It must have been one of my other personalities.
He sighed inwardly.
Yeah… I forgot. I have dissociative identity disorder.