[Ashton City Community Orphanage]

The dimly lit candles within the chapel flickered continuously, casting an eerie glow over the interior.

The alternating orange and black hues of the room created an unsettling atmosphere, one that was heightened by the silence within.

The only sound that could be heard was the gentle whistling of the wind outside, which seemed to creep in through the cracks and crevices of the old building.

Clank―!

As the minutes ticked by, the silence was suddenly broken by a loud clank. A certain door within the chapel burst open, and a nun rushed out from it.

"Oh, no,no,no... no..."

She had a panicked expression on her face, her eyes wide with fear.

"No.. no, how can it be?"

There was a certain madness in her face as she muttered to herself in a voice barely above a whisper. Her words were barely coherent, as if she were speaking to someone who wasn't there.

"It must be a mistake."

The nun's pace quickened as she moved across the chapel, her feet making little noise on the stone floor.

"No... no... no..."

Her gaze was fixed on a certain statue, and as she drew closer, her expression grew even more desperate. With trembling hands, she clasped her hands together and fell to her knees.

Thump!

"Protector."

She whispered, her voice barely audible.

Her eyes burned with reverence as she looked up at the statue, which towered over her from above.

The statue was her faith, the embodiment of all that she held sacred. And yet, just moments before, she had felt her faith shaken.

She wasn't sure why, but the feeling had been so strong that she couldn't ignore it.

Believing that she had sinned in some way, she rushed toward the statue in order to amend her mistake.

Crack―! It was right when she was about to pray that a sharp sound shattered the quiet of the chapel.

The nun's gaze shot to the statue, her eyes widening in horror.

Cracks had formed on the outer shell of the statue, spiderwebbing out in all directions. The sight froze the nun, whose expression paled considerably.

"P..Protector," she whispered, her hoarse voice echoing within the empty chapel. Her eyes shook slightly as she felt her throat become dry, all semblance of energy leaving her aged body.

Crack! Crack!

More cracks formed on the statue, further shocking the nun, who simply gazed at the statue in utter shock.

She found herself unable to move, and by the time a minute had passed, the statue was littered with cracks.

"I..it can't be..."

With each crack that formed on the statue, the more the nun's expression changed. It was as if the statue were a living being, and the nun could sense its pain.

Wobble.

"No!"

She cried out, rushing toward the statue. She could feel that it was soon going to fall.

"No!"

She hugged the statue, trying her best to stop it from falling. She was desperate. The statue represented her faith, her beliefs, and her very being. If it broke apart, so would she.

She couldn't allow it to happen!

But...

"N,no!"

C...Crack―! It was a crack like the many others that had littered the statue, but once this crack formed, the entire structure of the statue collapsed.

"No!!"

Rumble―!

Over a thousand different pieces crumbled down, unable to remain in a single form anymore.

"Nooooo!"

The nun screamed, watching the statue before her eyes collapse.

What was even worse was the fact that the many pieces of rock directly crashed onto her, burying her beneath the rubble. Her scream didn't last for long, and silence returned to the chapel.

The only part of the nun that wasn't buried was her hand, which was outstretched to the side as if pleading for help.

One that would never come.

'Ohm' 'Ohm' 'Ohm'

Several blue orbs appeared following the collapse of the statue. They were the size of a marble, and they levitated right above where the statue used to be.

As the blue orbs hovered above the shattered remains of the statue, their glow illuminated the chapel, casting an eerie light on the walls and pews.

The orbs pulsed with otherworldly energy as if they were alive and searching for something.

Suddenly, the orbs began to spin around each other, their blue light intensifying with each rotation. They moved faster and faster, creating a vortex of energy that crackled with the wind.

The air in the chapel grew thick with tension, as if something significant was about to happen.

The nun's body lay buried under the rubble, but even in death, she seemed to be aware of the strange events unfolding around her.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

With a final burst of light, the orbs shot away from the statue, streaking through the air like shooting stars. They passed through the walls of the chapel as if they were not there, disappearing into the night.

The moment the orbs vanished, the chapel was plunged into silence once more.

Swoosh―! The candles flickered and went out, leaving the chapel shrouded in blackness.

But the darkness was not the only thing that engulfed the chapel. As the orbs disappeared, a deep rumbling sound filled the air, and the ground beneath the chapel began to shake violently.

Rumble―! Rumble―! The clanking sound echoed through the chapel once more, growing louder and more insistent. The walls began to crack and crumble, and the pews were tossed about like twigs in a storm.

The roof of the chapel began to cave in, and debris rained down upon the shattered remains of the statue.

Crash―!

The chapel collapsed.

***

[Union Tower, Top floor]

Octavious sat in his high-backed chair, looking calm and serene as he flipped through the papers that lay scattered in front of him.historical

Flip―! Flip―!

His long, slender fingers delicately turned the pages as he studied each one with a languid gaze. There was no hint of expression on his face, and his features remained blank as he sifted through the documents.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, his brows furrowed as he sensed something out of place. His eyes, usually calm and hazy, flicked toward the window behind him, and his expression shifted slightly.

Rising to his feet, he approached the window and looked out at the sky. A large crack had appeared, and it was rapidly expanding.

"What's going on?"

Octavious murmured to himself, his voice low and unusually grave.

He stepped closer to the window, peering at it intently as he tried to discern what was happening. But before he could get any closer, the crack widened even further, revealing a shocking sight.

A tangible wave of.. mana?

Octavious felt his body freeze in place as the wave crashed down around him.

It was as though he was standing on the shore of the ocean, watching as a powerful wave came crashing down on the sand.

But this was different.

The wave seemed to be unable to affect the surroundings, appearing more like a projection than anything else.

Swoosh―!

The mana splashed everywhere, washing over the earth like a giant wave.

Octavious felt his own mana levels surge, increasing rapidly and without warning. He could feel himself getting closer and closer to the threshold of <SSS->, just one step away from the pinnacle of power.

But then, out of nowhere, a blue orb appeared in front of him.

WIIIIIIIIIIIING―! It hurtled towards him with a speed that he couldn't react to, and before he could even attempt to dodge, it slammed into his forehead with a jarring impact.

"Ukh."

Octavious grunted, his head recoiling backward as he tried to process what had just happened.

As he hung in the air, the space around him began to shift and fluctuate wildly.

Memories flooded his mind, and a pain that he thought he had long since buried started to resurface in his chest.

"Haaaa... Haaaa..."

He gasped for air, his breath coming in ragged gasps as he tried to keep his composure.

Suddenly, his eyes cleared, and forgotten feelings began to rise up within him. His expression changed rapidly, alternating between a smile, a frown, and tears that threatened to spill down his cheeks.

In just a few seconds, he went through a myriad of emotions before finally settling on a smile that was accompanied by tears.

He gazed at his hands, feeling a sense of exhilaration that he had never experienced before.

All of sudden, his body trembled, and so did his mouth as he silently mumbled to himself.

"I...I'm free."

***

[Apartment ― 1576]

"Hmm."

Currently, Liam's expression was utterly solemn. If anyone saw the expression on Liam's face, they would be utterly astounded, as they had never before witnessed such uncommon gravity from him.

"Hmmmm."

His brows knit together even more tightly, and he tightened his jaw. It seemed as though the more time that went by, the more serious his expression became.

"Hmmmmmmmmm."

The scowl on his face transformed into a troubled one as he massaged his forehead. A massive door made of metal was there in front of him.

The source of his problem—a miniature keypad that one would use to enter their passcode located on the handle of the door.

"Should I.. just destroy it?"

He felt tempted.

Lowering his hand, he stared at his hand, which was vibrating constantly. Moving the hand closer to the door, it passed through it for just an inch before he stopped himself.

"Maybe not."

It had been close to three hours since he stood outside of his apartment, and no matter how many times he pressed the code, the door would not open for him. This presented a bit of a problem for him since he needed to use the restroom.

"What useless piece of paper."

The fact that he had the keycode written down in his wallet was the most vexing aspect of the matter. Yet, for some strange reason, it didn't seem to be working.

"Is the door faulty?"

There could be no other explanation.

It had to be that.

"I think it's best if I call someone."

He rummaged through his pocket in an attempt to find his phone. When he went to retrieve his phone, the furrows between his brows deepened further.

"Is this my phone?"

It was a pink phone covered in a variety of different sized heart stickers. At first glance, it didn't seem like his phone; however, he could not quite remember how his phone looked.

Perhaps.. he had been in a phase when he bought the phone?

"It's not.. too bad."

He convinced himself that it wasn't as bad as it looked. Rather, the more he looked at it, the more he found himself liking it, and he soon convinced himself it was indeed his phone.

He tapped the screen.

"Now.."

The moment he caught a glimpse of the wallpaper on the phone, his face stiffened on the spot. It was a photograph of Ren's back.

"The fuck?"

His entire body began to shake, and he came dangerously close to hurling the phone across the room. He was now confident that whatever he was holding wasn't his phone.

Swoosh―!

"Who's phone is th―akh!"

Right when he was trying to determine what to do with the phone, a bluish orb materialized out of thin air and stabbed Liam in the head. Almost instantaneously after that, his head jerked back, and he stumbled forward a few steps.

"Ukh..W,what was that?"

He came to a stop just as his back was turned to the wall, and he looked around him in disbelief. Did someone sneak up on him unexpectedly?

"Huh?"

Suddenly, as he looked at the phone while blinking his eyes a few times and staring at it, memories came flooding back into his head.

He finally knew who this phone belonged to.

It belonged to Leopold's daughter.

Not only that..

"That's the wrong apartment."

He also realized he was in the wrong apartment. It wasn't the one in front of him that belonged to him; rather, it was the one that was two doors down from it.

"I see.."

He put the phone back and walked toward his apartment, but just as he had taken a couple of steps, he froze on the spot.

"Hold on a second."

His eyes opened wide, and his head snapped up.

"..My memories?"