The fresh scent of horror. Rattling bones, shivering blood. Asahi shuddered, facing what seemed a dead end.

All of those meetings.

Everything about the hidden world.

All of it had been for naught.

But luckily enough.

Despite all his selfishness.

Despite all his errors.

Asahi was given a chance.

(Snap)

The world folded.

Dark mist enveloped a silver-haired girl. But just as he reached,

"Asahi."

A voice called out to the darkness. And the girl vanished.

"Asahi!"

The voice grew louder, ringing in his ears.

. . .

"My master, Asahi, why the small frown?"

Chains clattered, but the boy remained still. The room felt frozen with melting ice and restless wind—a faint metallic scent mingled with the musty stones. Cold seeped through his clothes, biting his fingertips, while a heavy sense of despair weighed on his thoughts.

The voice was rich and sincere, tugging at memories he both wanted and feared, stirring a whirl of longing and trepidation in his heart.

"Why stare at death with a frown? Shouldn't you be relieved?"

To his left was utter darkness and bones. To his right, his charming furry companion had quietly returned, reappearing after a long absence.

"Master Asahi, have you awakened yet?"

Beside him, a large kitten coiled its tail around his neck, paws on his shoulder. The kitten stirred something within him—a mix of warmth and reluctance—as memories surged, causing tears to prick at the corners of his eyes even as he forced himself to stay composed.

He had tried to speak, and his lips parted against the cold air. But he sealed them shut.

Here, speech felt futile; each word was a precious breath best saved for quiet reflection. He let the kitten move quietly, sensing its concern.

The kitten nestled on Asahi's lap, curling its body and gently pressing against him.

Here he rested and tried to snap back through time. But unlike before, his hands were chained, unable to move—even his fingers.

His hand rested on the kitten's back, finding peace in its presence, yet doubting this small anchor could steady him. A flicker of hope battled with the sinking weight of anxiety inside him.

"Ames," Asahi said after being silent for so long. "Y...You're back."

"Yes, it's been a while, master Asahi," Ames said, wagging his tail. "Seeing you suffer, I resonated with your struggles too."

"Wait, you saw my struggles?"

After a long silence, Ames' tail stopped wagging. He leaned against the cold stone floor, blue eyes fixed on Asahi.

"The massacre of snowstorms, the failed resurrection of Aletha... the cult, and most importantly..."

Even though he was captured, Asahi grinned just once, a fleeting spark of joy piercing through his misery before it faded again.

Finally, after all this grueling time, Asahi can share his struggles without confusing them, a feeling of cautious relief mingling with lingering vulnerability.

Deep in his soul, ever since being teleported here, Asahi had an urge to tell everything he had experienced.

The massacre of snowstorms and Blacksmith Haven, the failed resurrection of Aletha and Kika.

Ames had seen all of it.

And yet, he couldn't compel himself to emerge, watching him suffer for no reason.

As the cat rested on the outermost edges of the... jail cell, Asahi brought himself into a conversation with his beloved partner.

"You... saw her, didn't you?" Asahi asked the kitten. "Kartara? Telos?"

"Shh!" Ames said as he dropped his wagging tail down on the floor. "Don't want to find you dead for mentioning that forbidden name out loud."

And now, knowing that he wasn't alone the entire time,

"Why have you awakened now? Why haven't you revealed yourself sooner?" Asahi asked as he tried desperately to break the chains.

"Be glad I appear before you, broke, pitiful child." Ames, recognizing Asahi's selfishness and drive, reeled back, trying not to anger Asahi more than he already had. "You haven't changed a bit."

Ames, after hearing Asahi's complaints, couldn't help but step back, realizing that the Asahi he saw ahead wasn't the bright and cheery child he was before. Deep in Ames' beating heart, he had admired how his master did things. From plotting attacks and wars to writing several books and catalogs, Ames remembered it all.

But despite this admiration, waves of doubt and fear coursed through Ames, making his ears flatten in worry and his mind race with concern for his master.

The changes in Asahi were stark and alarming, causing a cold ache of concern to settle in Ames' chest.

Ames had always felt a sense of pride in Asahi's ambitions, but now those same ambitions seemed to teeter on the edge of darkness.

Each time Ames thought to speak up, a chill would run down his spine, reminding him of the cold distance that had grown between them. He hesitated, torn between his loyalty to his master and the dread of losing him to the shadows.

"Can you be at least grateful that I appeared here out of all of the places?" Ames asked.

Now, Ames wanted to be as optimistic as possible to motivate Asahi. After all, his title was The Ruler of Hope. But now, after seeing this, it was clear that Asahi had changed, and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Ames thought, ('I have been dormant for so long, and this is how I get repaid? How must you redeem and endure, my once cheerful Asahi? What happened to you?')

As Ames was left to ponder Asahi's poor choices, Asahi, after hearing that question, rested still and regained his senses. This conversation would get nowhere if he continued to struggle. So, he fastened himself, gave up, and sat down like a child being scorned.

"So tell me, Master, what has gotten you rocked up?"

Despite all of these struggles, all the reveals the one thing that TRULY changed his journey for the worse was the reveal... that his youngest, most loving sister... was the brutal destroyer of their world.

When that revelation dawned on him, his perspective and all that he loved of Aiyana had irrefutably changed.

His journey turned sour and toilsome, leaving him to face tragedy after tragedy of dead ends and shortcuts. Blood and bodies, pain and sorrow. It was an endless road of suffering and trauma.

That's when Asahi realized.

There WEREN'T any shortcuts available.

Every loop had deepened his understanding, yet the chaos and tragedy of all was too much for Asahi to bear. But when Ames revealed that he, too, saw his struggles, he urged Asahi to calm down and think.

"This revelation. The reveal that Aiyana... is the destroyer of the old world." He answered.

Ames froze, still in fear. Not even he saw this revelation coming.

"Really? Aiyana destroyed our world?"

Asahi sneered at Ames.

"Didn't you see it with us?"

After Ames showed a nod, Asahi shook the thought off and spoke with gradual malice.

"Not too long ago, this truth shattered me. My heart broke, and even after achieving my main goals—to find Aiyana and our world's destroyer—I was left empty and uncertain. The peaceful girl I cherished was the source of all pain. Even now, I can barely believe it, and dread chills me to my bones."

As Ames fell silent at Asahi's words, the boy continued.

"She mentioned a curse, wanting to remove it. My question for her is HOW did she get the curse in the first place? What made her go on the path she is now?"

Suddenly, visions of her trying to cast a purple light came into view. Asahi was holding deeply onto Aiyana's hand.

Though the warmth of this memory may serve as something, Ames began uttering.

"I am as clueless as you are, Asahi. And I have three things to say. First and foremost, stop with all the negative speak, I know well that you used to be the most optimistic kid in the kingdom." The cat curled into a ball, his voice resonating within his mind. "Two, I have seen everything as your fluffy companion, I have seen it all," Ames said as he lay on the floor. "And three, I will be with you to the very end."

"I will be with you to the very end...?" Asahi retraced Ames' words, his breath tinged with cold and bitter ice. That proposal could not get any truer. It's as if the animal were reading his mind. When the thoughts couldn't cross boundaries, a vibrant memory flickered into his mind.

. . .

A ceremonial type voice echoed from the walls.

"From now on, as proposed by the might of Acheros... Asahi, the firstborn, shall be granted a loving gift."

Just like before, this was after the second child had been revealed. Both the King and Queen wore dark black cloaks, hiding their hair, bodies, and all other features, like their ears. The crowd roared in approval as the sight of a giant feline pranced up to the podium. Its paws seeped on the wooden platform before shrinking to their standard size. The ceremonial, echoing voice continued.

"And that gift shall cling to his soul for the rest of all days." As the magical cat sat on Asahi's shoulder, it slowly melted into a warm, shimmering presence that spread across him. The transformation concluded in the form of a fluffy scapular, with white dots adorning its fur reminiscent of the attire of the Adtraic. The process felt like a gentle embrace, as if magic itself had seeped into Asahi's being, leaving a sense of belonging and protection. "Ames is his name." The voice said. "And he shall be his guide until further notice."

After that memory, Achlys, who had grasped hold of both the cat and the baby, threw out her love to the crowd, showering them in embrace.

"We love our baby as much as we love all."

A shower of applause erupted from the performance, revealing that the parents had thought well of the reveal, which hid their second-born child.

. . .

Afterward, the memory flickered back to the present.

Chains attached to his hands, unable to snap back in time.

If he had the choice, he would snap back.

But now knowing that wasn't an option to him anymore, he rested with despair, watching as Ames pranced around.

As his paws rested on the flat surface of the stones, Ames recounted their memories together.

"Remember the time when you first touched ground in the world?"

Asahi, not having a clue about this, squinted his eyes in skepticism, saying...

"No. I haven't really recalled remembering that."

Suddenly, another memory shimmered into being.

. . .

"Honey, is this necessary? To dwell in a cabin rather than the castle up above the clouds?" A thick, soothing, deep feminine voice uttered as they stood with cloaks draped on their bodies. "Living with the humans is more of a burden for us. Remember the last encounter with your worshippers?"

"Don't blame me, my sweet root. It was your idea in the first place to settle at such an abode. Didn't you say you want to live where the humans dwelled?" A man with multi-colored eyes stared deep into the eyes of Achlys, his white hair shining like the clouds in the sky.

He clenched her chin, then reeled back, staring as the sun festered into the glittering horizon.

"I would rather live a life in humility than a life filled with toil and strife. Resting on such a humble horizon, my thoughts flow like a stream. Clear and precise. Clean and legible. Our little sapling would love to gather here rather than above the clouds. I want my child to feel what a human childhood would be like."

"Shouldn't he also have a companion?" Achlys suggested, pointing her nail at Acheros' forehead.

After Achlys' suggestion, as the birds chirped and sang their harmony, Acheros quickly grabbed a strand attached from a star to the world, then ripped it apart, unveiling a large feline on the constellations of a cat.

At first, it roared and tried to kill.

But Acheros, with all his might and strength, tamed it at such a quick rate that even Achlys felt baffled.

With just one low hum, the cat lowered and surrendered, quivering in fear. Acheros issued.

"I mean no harm, my little feline. I want my sapling and roots to be pleased by your presence. And you are the candidate for such a task."

After Achlys stood still, rooted at the spot, terrified at her husband's power, Acheros unsheathed his immense sword and then wielded it with one hand, swinging and forming ripples into the air.

"Surrender now, and live a promised prosperous life," Acheros said directly as Achlys kept hold of their child. "Dare to combat, and your life will be my prized trophy."

Immediately, the cat surrendered, resting on the hill, its giant paws lying on the soft surface like a pillow. And that's immediately when his fate shall be sealed.

"Then it's decided, from now on, you shall be called Ames," Acheros said as he held onto Achlys. "The constellation that came into being and a living soul at the help of my creation, Ames Adtraic."

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