Ames braced himself, paws firm and steady, while his tail danced through the air, alive with eager delight.

"I, Ames Adtraic, shall serve with Asahi as their companion and follow him whithersoever thou goest."

As he spoke, a smile blossomed on the child's face, spreading to the white-haired Acheros and then to Achlys.

While the kitten, Ames, swam in the crystal clear waters of the shallow fountains and pools, it stood unafraid, resting on the lap of the newborn. Achlys and Acheros cherished this vibrant moment, the swimming pool and fountains feeling like heaven, and the water magically clean, perfect for a baby.

But the fountain Achlys and Acheros resided in was no ordinary fountain.

From those birthing waters flowed the fountain that kept them eternally youthful. Anyone touched by its waters would forever remain that age—time stood still for them.

So, little Asahi was placed in the normal waters for now, while Ames swam in both waters altogether.

"Master Asahi, you have such an adorable face." Ames complimented as it smiled.

Of course, little Asahi hadn't known most of their words.

He responded by blinking rapidly and curiously, struggling to grasp the words before the vision faded.

. . .

A thunderous roar erupted from the darkness, shaking the very air.

Acheros donned his helmet and mask, hurling bolts of violet lightning at the towering beast.

"Achlys, Asahi, stay back. I will deal with this."

Memories surged, shattering the calm of the past, as a world-ending dragon loomed before them.

With a single snap of its jaws, half the world vanished beneath a cloud of ash. The battle against the beast ebbed and surged, each clash echoing with relentless force.

Asahi, Ames, and Achlys gazed in awe as the world folded inward, birthing fresh land and torrents of water.

As Acheros fought, he grabbed both the dragon and the waves with all his strength. Gradually, he forced the dragon's tail, then its body, and finally its head beneath the waves to lull it to sleep.

Asahi covered his little eyes as Achlys comforted him, watching as the world reshaped in this striking battle.

. . .

When Ames and Asahi returned to the present, the memories of the past faded away as if dissolving into the shadows of the dungeon's damp walls.

"Have you remembered about the loving presence of Achlys?" Ames's voice echoed softly, breaking the silence.

Now, mind you, these were memories far in the depths of his troubling past. Even he didn't know much. It was Paxon's fault that he gathered these memories in the first place.

"No," Asahi replied. "I don't remember much about her, just her smile.

"Really? How about her secret? Must I inform you of something dangerously secret about her that not even your father knows?"

"Dangerously secret?" Asahi asked, questioning how and why Ames received this forbidden knowledge. "What? What can be dangerous about it?"

Ames lowered his head and rested on the surface of the cold floor, preparing to utter this sudden revelation. Moments of a dark-haired woman and man flashed in Ames' mind.

At first, he was reluctant.

He hesitated to reveal the truth.

But knowing this might be his last time enjoying this form, Ames made the statement clear and direct. After resting on the ground and fearing Asahi's reaction, Ames began to reveal.

"Asahi, Aletha, Aiyana... You three..." Ames tried not to say it, but it was too late.

A heavy silence filled the air as Ames, with a trembling voice, revealed,

"...you three are NOT the only children they had together."

Asahi's heart pounded fiercely in his chest, the weight of the revelation crashing over him like a tidal wave.

His eyes widened, a mix of disbelief and confusion swirling in their depths as he grappled with the implications of Ames's words.

His mind raced, wondering who the other siblings could be and why he had never known about them.

A sharp twinge of betrayal fumed as he questioned how his parents could keep such a secret all these years.

The room seemed to close in around him, compounding the sense of shock and the shifting reality he found himself thrust into.

The words hung in the air, echoing in Asahi's mind, leaving a trail of unease and a newfound awareness of the secrets entangled.

"Not the only children?"

He felt the earth shift beneath him as if this shocking revelation had upturned the very foundation of his world.

"What do you mean by..." Asahi tried not to well up a tear. "What do you mean by that?"

"..." Ames kept silent.

Asahi backed away, trying to snap back to fix everything.

But all that had been done was more harm than good.

He yanked his chains and screamed to Ames.

"How do you know that?"

Ames cowered silently, trembling, wracked by guilt and desperation. His heart ached for Asahi, torn between the urge to comfort and the paralyzing fear that he had irrevocably shattered something precious.

(What... What have I done?!)

Asahi's voice quivered with anger and betrayal, demanding clarity. His mind spun with the weight of the world's new reality, as each revelation felt like a stab of truth too raw to process even in anger.

"... it was a mistake to think you were mature about it," Ames finally admitted, his voice tinged with regret. "I guess I have been misinformed. I should have never told that secret."

Despite the turmoil, a flicker of hope whispered within him—hope that perhaps understanding and healing might one day come from this storm. So instead of unleashing all his rage and confusion at Ames, he festered it deep in his soul and decided to go to sleep. Using the kitten as a pillow, Asahi had nothing to do but rest, hoping that somewhere out there someone would save him.

. . .

"...you three aren't the only children they had together." That truth clung to him, cold and suffocating. Doubt and fear twisted in his chest—who were the other children? How could his parents hide them? Why did Ames know, and why did they never tell? The questions struck like a blow, each one deepening his sense of betrayal.

These questions swirled chaotically in his mind, like a deadly ballet, with the faces of possible candidates flashing in this dream space.

"Could Alaunus be one?" he murmured, lost in the void of thought. He couldn't imagine who else could be their sibling. As said before, Asahi had only known two children of the Adtraic family: Aiyana and Aletha.

But he had hoped and always thought there would be three and only three.

Soon, before he knew it, the dream unfurled like a flower, revealing a familiar figure in the distance. Blonde hair and violet eyes, and another new figure with dark hair and beady blue eyes. It was the form of an adolescent child, with a wagging cat tail and two ears perched together.

"Asahi?" He asked as he looked at his form. "Who am I? Where did I get this body?"

Now it was clear, Ames had a human form. This immediately caused Asahi to question.

"Ames, you had a human form?"

Ames quickly nodded his head and replied as his tail wagged back and forth.

Ames nodded quickly, tail wagging. "I think so... It's been millennia since I was in human form. Before your father found me, I think I had a human form, Master. Now all that energy is gone, and my home has changed."

Approaching across the shallow water, Ames tapped the spot over Asahi's heart before continuing.

"It seems I can show my form in dreams," Ames said with visible confidence. "I haven't really remembered much about my past before your father, Acheros, found me. I only remembered crimson and destruction. But what I CAN remember was that his power was immense, unlike anything I have ever seen. Truly otherworldly."

Remaining silent, Asahi turned to the blonde-haired man, wind frolicking over the field of shallow water.

"On the topic of remembering, Asahi..." A sharp voice cut through the air, targeting Asahi's soul with his fierce violet eyes. "Have you remembered my deal?"

This quickly got Asahi thinking. Deep in his adventures, he had hoped to find answers about Paxon. But like all things, it had shattered. So, he had to reply.

"I do... I just haven't made progress."

The Greater Ruler of Memories, Paxon, scratched the back of his head and pointed to Asahi's eyes.

"You DO know I remember and can see every action you do, right? Telos and Aletha see it. But like I said, they refuse to appear. Not after what you did to them. It's the biggest slap in the face."

Asahi's eyes broadened. "So people can just appear for some and not for others. I don't really understand how this mind game works. But if it's to get Ames here too, then I'll settle and find a way for all to be free."

"Now don't get cocky," Paxon said. "It is the very cockiness that will grapple you to death. I say, before anything, make sure your friends are safe. Your life is on a clock, and their every action will determine your fate."

Asahi, after he took a breather, took two steps back, sighed, then nodded his head.

"If it's to understand my changed world more..." He glared at the false sun shining in the sky. Truly dreamlike. "Then I will do whatever it takes. Everything. What my parents have been hiding. I WILL find a way."

. . .

As the visions of Asahi's dreams gradually faded, leaving a haunting echo of unspoken truths lingering in the air...

Meanwhile, outside the snowy facility, back in Frolicking Factories.

Dark hair and cyan eyes. Turquoise pupils and fair skin. Trid had been gazing at the prison from afar, saying to a group as...

"If you can find a way to get into that prison.." The group he mentioned consisted of people resting in the snow, born in poverty, under its relentless chill. He had found these people and gathered them around, promising them a life of hospitality.

"Who are we trying to save again?"

"That's the thing. There's a risk." Trid said. "But if you succeed, and manage to be put in Astait's prison, near Asahi's cell... I WILL know."

After he scratched his chin, gazing at the group clustered together, Trid whispered to himself as snow fell in thick flakes.

"So, I promise a life of prosperity. And if there is any way Asahi and my daughter can get out of there... it would mean the world to me."

All Asahi had to do was snap, and everything would be reset.

But thanks to Ames, he wasn't entirely lifeless.

He hadn't lost all hope.

He wasn't hopeless.

After all, he was the Greater Ruler of Hope.

. . .

"Asahi... what are you doing?" Aletha asked with a trembling voice, and she stared at the reflection of the water, wondering how it had come to this point.

Right now, inside a space called the Soul room, Aletha and Telos gathered in despair, knowing there was truly no way out of this hole.

Thanks to Aiyana, Aletha had been trapped in his brother's soul room, with nowhere out. The same goes for Telos.

All she could do was watch and weep with her brother, knowing that was all she could do.

Even she was touched by Ames' reveal. And she had demanded a way out to speak with Asahi.

"So your parents had... more than three..." Telos covered his mouth, cautious of Aletha's reaction. "Children."

"It just doesn't make sense." Aletha mumured, her fists shaky and tense. "Why would my parents be hiding such a revelation? It doesn't add up."

Aletha screamed at a distance to see her brother, but the soul room didn't budge. It served as a wall, a barrier, as if some external force was interfering. Telos rubbed the back of Aletha's head and said.

"He will be alright. Someday, he'll find a way for us out of here. No matter how selfish he could be," He pointed to his chest. "He DOES have a heart."

"As the Ruler of Truth, I feel like he will go somewhere." The tone shifted. "But as his sister, I... can't bother to see my brother suffer for something he didn't really do.." Aletha took a deep breath, then washed her face with the clear water, staring into the false sunlight. "It's not like we can do anything but appear."

Telos, understanding Aletha's struggle with feelings, couldn't help but sit beside her, watching Asahi's vision.

"No matter, I believe deep down, he could be a great person. Like everyone, it's all dependent on memories."

"Memories..." Aletha said as she took a deep breath. "Memories are the core of your being. It's what builds us into who we are, no matter how evil we can be. We both have a balance of good and bad memories."

Telos fell silent. Closing in on the horizon, sitting beside her and watching as all matters of chaos unfold before their eyes.

"You spoke truthfully, Aletha,"

Telos said as he shook his head, crossing his arms.

"Now all I wonder now... is who exactly are the remaining members of your... family?"

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