Silence.
No explosions. No collapsing ruins. No screaming Shuryoku.
Nothing. Only white. Endless white stretching beyond sight itself.
Royoshi slowly opened his eyes.
"…"
For a moment, he couldn't remember where he was.
The battlefield. Maris. The eruption.
Then everything came rushing back.
Royoshi frowned.
"What happened…?"
He blinked.
"Where am I?"
His body felt strangely light.
When he looked around, there was nothing. No sky. No ground. No walls. Only an endless white space.
Royoshi slowly pushed himself upright.
His voice echoed strangely.
"Hello?"
No answer.
Only silence.
A strange feeling settled in his chest.
Then—
Something touched his leg.
Royoshi's eyes widened instantly. He jumped and reached for his blade instinctively.
SHHK—!!
The blade appeared in his hand.
"Who's there?!"
He turned sharply. Then froze.
A little girl stood there. Small. Black hair. Light purple eyes.
She couldn't have been older than six.
The girl looked up at him nervously.
"Excuse me, mister…"
Royoshi lowered his blade. Something about her felt familiar. Very familiar.
He stared at her for several seconds.
The hair. The eyes. The face.
"…Maris?"
The little girl tilted her head.
"How do you know my name?"
Royoshi's eyes widened slightly.
It really was her. Or at least… a younger version of her.
The girl looked down sadly.
"Could you help me?"
Royoshi frowned.
"Help you with what?"
The little girl nervously grabbed her sleeve.
"I can't find my parents."
Silence.
"They've been gone for three days."
Her voice became quieter.
"I looked everywhere."
Royoshi stared at her. For some reason, hearing that made his chest feel heavy.
He slowly crouched down to her level.
"What happened?"
The little girl shook her head.
"I don't know."
A pause.
"They said they'd come back soon."
Her eyes started watering.
"But they never did."
Royoshi looked around the endless white void.
There was nothing here. No clues. No direction. Nothing.
Then he slowly extended his hand.
"…I'll help you."
The girl's eyes lit up instantly.
"Really?"
Royoshi nodded.
"Yeah."
Without hesitation, she grabbed his hand.
The moment their hands touched—
CRACK.
A fracture spread through the white void.
Royoshi's eyes widened. Then another. Then another.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The endless white world shattered around them like broken glass.
BOOOOOM—!!
Light swallowed everything. Royoshi felt himself falling. The little girl's hand slipped away.
"Wait—!"
Too late.
The world changed.
Royoshi landed hard on solid ground.
THUD—!!
He immediately rolled to his feet and looked around.
"…What?"
The endless white void was gone.
Instead, a peaceful village stretched before him. Children ran through the streets laughing. Merchants sold food from the wooden stalls. Families walked together happily. Everything felt alive. Normal. The complete opposite of the battlefield.
Royoshi slowly turned.
Then he saw her. Young Maris.
She ran down the street happily before entering a small house near the edge of the village. Royoshi followed her.
The moment he reached the door—his body passed straight through it.
His eyes narrowed.
"A memory…"
Inside—
A man and woman stood near the doorway. A caretaker waited nearby.
The man crouched down and gently patted Maris's head.
"Ms. Caretaker, please take care of Maris. We'll be back soon."
The caretaker nodded.
"Of course."
Young Maris crossed her arms dramatically.
"You better return with lots of presents, Pa!"
The man laughed.
"I will, Maris."
He pointed toward the woman.
"So will your mother."
The woman smiled warmly.
"We'll bring lots of presents."
Maris immediately brightened.
"Alright! See you soon, Papa and Mama!"
The couple smiled.
"See you soon, Maris."
The door closed.
Royoshi watched quietly through the wall.
For a few seconds, everything seemed normal.
Then—
The mother's smile disappeared.
The moment the door closed, tears rolled down her cheeks.
Royoshi froze.
The father immediately placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Hey…"
His voice was gentle.
"It'll be alright."
The woman wiped her eyes.
"What if it isn't?"
The father remained silent for a moment.
Then he forced a smile.
"We'll come back."
"But—"
"We always do."
The woman lowered her head.
Royoshi frowned.
Something felt wrong. Very wrong.
The couple slowly walked away from the house. The father continued comforting her while they disappeared down the road.
Royoshi quickly followed.
"Wait!"
He reached toward them. His hand passed straight through the father's shoulder.
Nothing.
The memory didn't react.
Royoshi clenched his fist.
"So I really can't change anything…"
CRACK.
The sky above suddenly fractured.
Royoshi looked upward. A massive crack spread across the clouds. Then another. Then another.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The entire memory began breaking apart.
BOOOOOOOM—!!
The peaceful village shattered into countless pieces of light.
Royoshi shielded his eyes. Heat slammed into him. A violent wind roared around him.
When the light faded—
His eyes widened.
Fire.
The entire village was burning.
BOOOOOOM—!!
A building collapsed in the distance.
People screamed while running through the streets. Smoke covered the sky.
The peaceful home from before was gone. Everything was in ruins.
"What happened…?"
Royoshi immediately ran through the burning village.
Then he saw her. Young Maris. Alone. Walking through the burning village.
Her small body trembled with every step.
"Ma…?"
No answer.
"Pa…?"
Only the crackling of flames replied. Tears streamed down her face. The fire reflected in her frightened eyes.
"I'm scared…"
Her voice shook.
"Please help…"
Royoshi immediately ran toward her.
"Maris!"
But she couldn't hear him. This was only a memory.
Young Maris stumbled through the burning streets desperately.
Everywhere she looked—
Fire. Smoke. Destruction.
The home she had laughed in earlier was now collapsing.
BOOOOOOOM—!!
The roof crashed inward.
Maris flinched.
"Mama!"
She started running.
Royoshi followed closely behind.
Then—
A shadow appeared ahead. A tall man stepped through the smoke.
Royoshi froze.
The man wore dark clothing, but his face…
No eyes. No mouth. No features. Just a smooth, empty surface.
Yet somehow—
His voice felt familiar.
Painfully familiar.
The faceless man knelt down.
"Hey kid."
Young Maris immediately froze. Her tear-filled eyes widened.
For a moment, she simply stared at him.
Then—
"Mr…"
She ran forward instantly.
The faceless man caught her before she could fall. Young Maris buried her face in his shoulder and began crying uncontrollably.
"M-Mama's gone…"
Her small hand clutched his clothes tightly.
"Papa's gone too…"
The faceless man remained silent.
Royoshi stood nearby, watching carefully.
Something felt strange. The man looked shocked.
Not surprised. Not confused. Shocked.
As if he had just learned something terrible.
Young Maris looked up at him.
"Can you help me find them?"
Silence.
The faceless man's shoulders tightened.
"…"
"Please?"
Her voice cracked.
"I can't find them anywhere."
The man slowly lowered his head.
For several long seconds, he didn't answer.
Then—
He gently placed a hand on her head. His voice became softer.
"I'll keep you safe."
Royoshi's eyes narrowed immediately.
That wasn't what she asked.
Young Maris looked confused.
"But my parents—"
The faceless man looked away. A painful silence followed.
Then he carefully lifted her into his arms.
"We need to leave."
Young Maris stared at him.
"W-What about Mama and Papa?"
The faceless man froze.
Royoshi saw it. The tiny hesitation. The tiny moment of pain.
Then—
"We'll look for them later."
It was a lie.
The faceless man knew it. But Maris didn't.
The little girl nodded weakly and buried her face against his shoulder.
The faceless man turned and began walking away from the burning village.
Royoshi followed.
The farther they walked, the quieter the flames became.
The burning village slowly disappeared behind them.
Soon—
Only darkness remained.
Young Maris had fallen asleep against the faceless man's shoulder.
The man continued walking.
Step.
Step.
Step.
Alone.
Royoshi followed silently.
The faceless man's head remained lowered. His grip around Maris tightened slightly. Almost as if he was afraid she would disappear too.
Then—
CRACK.
The world fractured again. The darkness shattered into countless pieces.
BOOOOOOM—!!
Royoshi stumbled backward as light exploded around him.
Everything twisted. Everything changed.
Then—
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
CLANG—!!
Steel collided repeatedly.
Royoshi opened his eyes.
A massive training field stretched before him.
The Citadel. But not the one he knew.
This one looked older. Less advanced. Yet still powerful.
Hundreds of recruits trained across the grounds.
Instructors shouted orders. Weapons clashed endlessly.
Royoshi slowly turned.
Then he saw her. Maris.
Several years older now.
Perhaps twelve. Maybe thirteen.
She stood in the center of a training area.
Sweat dripped from her forehead.
CLANG—!!
Her wooden training blade slammed into a dummy.
Again.
CLANG—!!
Again.
CLANG—!!
Again.
She never stopped. Never complained. Never slowed down.
Nearby—
The faceless man watched quietly.
Arms crossed. Patient. Waiting.
Maris finally lowered her wooden blade.
Pant.
Pant.
She wiped sweat from her forehead and looked toward him expectantly.
"How was that?"
The faceless man remained silent for a moment.
Then he nodded.
"You've improved."
A small smile appeared on Maris's face.
Royoshi froze.
He had never seen that smile before.
It wasn't cruel. It wasn't twisted. It wasn't filled with hatred.
It was just…
Happy.
Then—
Another voice interrupted.
"Oi! Get over here!"
Royoshi turned.
A second man approached from across the training grounds.
Dark eyes.
Purple irises.
Several scars stretched across his hands.
Royoshi studied him carefully.
Something about the man felt important. Yet he had never seen him before.
The purple-eyed man stopped beside the faceless man and folded his arms.
"There you are."
The faceless man sighed.
"What is it this time?"
The purple-eyed man crossed his arms.
"The instructors are looking for you again."
"That's unfortunate."
"You say that every time."
The faceless man shrugged.
"And yet it keeps being true."
The purple-eyed man groaned.
Nearby, Maris laughed quietly.
For a brief moment, everything felt normal.
Then—
Another figure approached from behind.
Royoshi turned.
Blonde hair tied into a bun.
The face remained strangely blurred, impossible to make out clearly.
Almost as if the memory itself refused to reveal it.
The woman immediately smacked the faceless man on the back of the head.
BONK.
"Oww."
The blonde-haired woman pointed accusingly.
"You promised not to disappear during meetings."
The faceless man rubbed the back of his head.
"I never promised that."
"You absolutely did."
"I don't remember doing that."
"Convenient."
The purple-eyed man sighed.
"You two do this every single week.
The blonde-haired woman crossed her arms.
"And I'll keep doing it every week."
Maris giggled.
The faceless man looked toward her.
"You're enjoying this far too much."
"Maybe."
The training grounds filled with laughter.
Royoshi watched silently.
That scene felt wrong. Not because anything bad was happening.
Because nothing bad was happening.
Everything looked happy. The faceless man. The purple-eyed man. The blonde-haired woman. Even Maris.
No hatred. No revenge. No darkness. Just people living their lives.
Royoshi slowly clenched his fist.
"What happened to all of you…?"
The purple-eyed man suddenly looked toward the faceless man.
"We need to go."
The faceless man nodded.
"What happened?"
"Several recruits failed to return from patrol."
The purple-eyed man's expression became serious.
"We've been ordered to investigate."
The blonde-haired woman immediately stepped forward.
"Then I'm coming too."
The faceless man sighed.
"Of course you are."
The blonde-haired woman pointed at him.
"And don't leave me behind."
"No promises."
"You—"
Maris laughed again.
The faceless man walked over and gently patted her head.
"I'll be back later."
Maris nodded.
"Okay."
"Keep training."
"I know."
"And take a break eventually."
"I know."
"Actually do it this time."
"No promises."
The faceless man froze.
The purple-eyed man immediately laughed. The blonde-haired woman laughed too. Even Maris smiled proudly.
The faceless man stared at her for several seconds.
Then—
He laughed as well.
Royoshi's eyes widened slightly.
The sound felt strangely familiar.
Before Royoshi could think further—
CRACK.
The sky fractured again.
The laughter stopped instantly.
A massive crack spread across the world above them.
CRACK.
CRACK.
CRACK.
The training grounds began breaking apart.
The recruits vanished.
The sky shattered.
Everything dissolved into white light.
Royoshi shielded his eyes.
Another memory was beginning.
And somehow—
He had a feeling this one would reveal why everything changed.