Chapter Text
Thousands of years ago, when the first men ruled Weyard, three children were born with incredible abilities, whether it be from Alchemy or craftsmanship. All three of the children were born at pivotal times of the day: one at noon, one at midnight, and the third when both the sun and moon were in the sky. The Noon child, a gifted Jenei, was the epitome of goodness, known for being able to bring light to the hearts of everyone around them. The Sun and Moon child, the result of a Jenei and Exathi coupling, was born with an unbreakable sense of justice, believing without a trace of doubt that there must be crimes and punishments in the world. The Midnight child, an ancient Exathi beastman, was shrouded in darkness. A hateful, angry child who spread terror and calamity.
As they became older and their powers grew, darkness and light clashed violently, with the middle child acting as justice, or more accurately, vengeance. The ancient Jenei decided their fighting would become catastrophic if they continued, and so the three were placed into seals crafted by the Jenei and Exathi’s combined efforts. Light was imprisoned in chains as brilliant as the sun, Vengeance banished into the air where the sky was their wall, and Dark sunk into the depths of the Abyss, so they would never see light again.
The time they were imprisoned, the New Year, was then a feared day. For that would be the day that the three could escape their prisons and restart their destructive war. But as the years passed and all was silent, and even as the ancients died away and the power of Alchemy was sealed, the three were forgotten and the day of the New Year became a day of festival and celebration. The people continued on, ignorant of the past and clueless of the danger.
However, the unsealing of Alchemy made the miracles of the ancient world stir, rousing awake legendary machines and beasts. When the world was thrown into darkness by the Grave Eclipse, the Light, Dark, and Vengeance opened their eyes for the first time in millennia.
-
On the night of the new moon, three days before the New Year, a series of earthquakes created a chasm north of the Endless Wall. When they were investigated by nearby residents, they saw the eyes of the monsters brought forth by the Grave Eclipse. They ran in fright, unwilling to suffer by their claws again, but they did not leave the crevice. All they did was growl and wait, like they were expecting orders. The monsters closest to the surface were attacked and killed, but none of them moved to retaliate.
On New Year's Eve, the heat was unbearable. The sun shone brighter than ever, scorching the earth and burning skin. The birds were behaving oddly too, spiraling in the sky above Apollo Sanctum. Despite the birds being of different species, they all sung a song that sounded the same. Even domesticated birds and pets escaped their homes to join the ones in the sky, all tweeting the beautiful but mysterious song. Some even said they heard the cries of a Mountain Roc.
Despite the mysterious happenings, the phenomena scarcely affected the personal lives of the people, so New Year’s celebrations continued on. Matthew anxiously looked out of the window of the Belinsk castle, but the New Year was one of his and his friends’ favorite holidays, so for the night he would forget his worries and focus on the festivities. The Eclipse monsters were a problem, but they weren’t attacking anyone either. As for the spiraling birds, it must have been an odd season for them. They weren’t hurting anyone either, so it was assumed they would eventually get tired and go home.
Tyrell knocked on his door, asking impatiently if Matthew was done getting ready. The blonde grinned and knocked twice on the wood of the door, signifying a yes, and left. He was greeted with the sight of Tyrell and Karis wearing traditional attire. Down the hallway, Matthew spotted the blue of Rief’s hair, but he must have been busy, because he was scurrying with a pile of books in his arms.
Tyrell walked ahead, while Karis and Matthew trailed behind. The Jupiter Adept gave Matthew a thoughtful look, keeping her voice low, “Are you thinking about the strange things happening in Weyard too?” When he nodded, Karis continued, “Call it a woman’s intuition, or me just being like my dad, but I’m getting a really bad feeling from it all.”
Matthew agreed, and that’s when Tyrell joined the conversation. “I’m not worried. Both us and our parents have dealt with catastrophes, and we can do it again.” Tyrell was way too optimistic about the situation for his own good, but he was right. Their parents had braved the worst monsters and skirted death 30 years before then, came out alive, and were alive to see their children save the world in a similar ordeal. While lives were lost, the world had been saved.
Outside of the castle gate, the three were greeted by Sveta and Amiti. They explained that Eoleo hadn’t arrived yet, Rief was still furiously running back and forth from the castle library with research material, and Himi asked not to be disturbed, she was meditating.
Sveta linked her arm with Matthew’s, causing the young man to turn an embarrassing shade of pink. Karis and Amiti while Tyrell made various jokes, but one glare from Sveta and they went silent. The party continued to the town square, where Vande and his band were performing. All six of them were playing, but it seemed they learned more than just Arangoa Prelude. Various events were going on in Belinsk, food vendors were everywhere, there were too many competitions to count, and some beastman children were showing of their Psynergy. Matthew and Karis forgot their worries in the fun, and the festival continued.
Eoleo eventually appeared, tipsy from a drinking competition he participated in, Himi showed up with a new hairpin from one of the vendors, and Rief had torn himself away from his books to enjoy the city-wide party. Soon, everyone became quiet, staring up at the night sky waiting for the New Year to arrive. Couples getting ready to kiss, children ready to yell, and the rest preparing to drink their heads off. They counted
down the final seconds.
10.
Matthew looked down at Sveta. She was looking back.
9.
Eoleo had a mug full of ale. He wanted to drink until he was numb.
8.
Tyrell swung an arm around Karis in a platonic manner. To another year of being best friends.
7.
Amiti thought about Pathios. It would be his first year without him, but he was ready to enter the New Year with his head high and being the king his uncle wanted him to be.
6.
Rief finally could celebrate a New Year where he didn’t feel suffocated as a student. He was free to study what he wanted without limitations.
5.
… wait. What was that? Did everyone else feel that?
4.
Something’s wrong.
3.
The hopeful air died. The public has noticed too.
2.
The people, including Matthew and the rest, were drawing their weapons.
1.
Silence.
0.
An ear-splitting noise pierced through the sky, sending the beastmen with sensitive hearing crying out. The rest looked up in the sky in horror, as a thin line appeared like someone had cut the air with a knife. A hand reached out from the cut, spreading open the sky until a woman had exited the wound of the air.
She had silver hair, draped on her back in a braid, and alarmingly blue eyes. It was like there was raw electricity running through them. Most startling was the golden bow in her left hand, it was just as tall as the woman was.
As civilians were fleeing, Matthew and the others were prepared for a fight. The woman stared down at them with indifference, before looking south. She drew her bow, bending the string back until an arrow made of energy appeared. When she let go, the arrow shot an incredible distance, flying out of sight towards the direction of Apollo Sanctum. She repeated this, but the second arrow did not go as far. She shot the bow towards the face of the Endless Wall. After this was done, she vanished as if she never existed at all.
Tyrell was the first to speak, “What... the hell was that?”
-
The hole in the sky sealed itself after a short period of time, but most of the festivalgoers were too scared to leave the safety of the buildings they ran to. The party of adventurers left to scour the library of the castle, but no one, not even with Rief’s research experience found any clue of who that woman was.
Rief wrote a note on a small piece of paper, before rolling it onto a carrier pigeon’s leg. It was a blessing; the pigeon did not seem to want to fly off to Apollo Sanctum. There were other birds that resisted as well, and Rief made sure to thank the Wise One for his bird being one that resisted.
“Hopefully Kraden will have some insight on this whole mess.” Karis sighed, putting back books that she pulled off that even remotely resembled a clue. To check one more time, she flipped through a book bound in red leather, but saw nothing and put it back.
“Do you think that man at Harun Village might know anything? I think his name was Ikan.” Amiti asked, earning nods of agreement. The storyteller knew about ancient legends and myths, so for now, Ikan was thier best lead.
They wasted no time, pulling on their armor and weapons. They had the horrible feeling that this was going to turn into something major very soon, seeing as they witnessed a woman rip open the sky. Who knew where the arrows she shot landed? For all they knew she could have just leveled entire cities and they wouldn’t even know.
“Something is bothering me...” Himi began, the others turning their attention toward her. If Himi was feeling uneasy, then it rippled through the others as well. She had the manner of speaking like someone who never lied, and could figure out the hidden from the obvious. “The Third Eye would provide some sort of answer or hint as to what to do, but there’s nothing.”
The party glanced at each other nervously, before Tyrell butt in, “No matter what it is, we can take care of it! I mean, we saved the world already, we can do it again!”
The others didn’t seem very confident, but Matthew gave a supportive nod to his friend. With that, their spirits were lifted a little higher. Their strong, silent leader has never let them down before, and they had no doubt he would start now. The party climbed into Eoleo’s boat, and they set sail for Harun Island.
-
The trip was going pleasantly enough, until Sveta smelled smoke coming from the direction of the island. She went to the head of the boat, and squinted her eyes. When she saw the warship hovering above the island, she cried out, “Hey, speed up! The Tuaparang are attacking the village!”
Through effective uses of Whirlwind Psynergy, they were able to make it much faster to the island. The village was overrun by the soldiers, who were trapping and harming the people. Matthew could feel his blood heat to a boil when he saw the boy, Kaba, being ripped away from his parents. He was on them in no time, giving the offending soldier a diagonal slice to the chest. Amiti spoke for him, asking if Kaba was alright.
“I-I’m fine!” The boy stuttered out, visibly shaking from the trauma. “But you have to go save my grandpa! They’re after him! There was a really scary girl looking for him!”
They felt a sharp pang when Kaba said that. None of the soldiers ever took off their masks, so if he knew the woman’s face, then chances were that she was one of the higher-ranking personnel. “Chalis!” Tyrell said menacingly, “That’s who it has to be!”
Karis laid a hand on Tyrell’s shoulder. She knew his distaste of Chalis ran wild, but flying into a blind rage was the worst way to react to the current situation. “I know you’re mad, but we’ve beat Chalis before. And it doesn’t sound like Blados is with her, so it will be even easier to apprehend her.” After a few seconds, his muscles relaxed and he stood up straight, giving Karis a grin and a thumbs-up.
Eoleo kicked open the door to the cottage, and the rest were amazed that the door didn’t snap off of its hinges. They were prepared to fight Chalis and drown out her sweet words, when they saw the reality of the situation. There were two soldiers, and standing in-between was a girl with black hair. She turned to stare at the intruders, revealing heterochromatic eyes; one red and the other blue. Underneath the red eye was a scar that looked like it had come from claws.
They didn’t even get the chance to express their surprise, she was on them in an instant. Eoleo barely had enough time to raise his axe to block her blade, which looked like it was made almost entirely out of Dark Matter. Despite the blade being thin, there was a tremendous amount of force behind it. Eoleo was pushed back, and the woman looked on passively. She looked ready to fight them all at once. She stepped out of the house to confront them, and they felt the familiar pull of Psynergy activating, but something felt wrong about it. It looked like ink was trickling down and covering her body like armor. When it solidified, she raised her sword to challenge them.
Matthew held an arm out, preventing his teammates from doing anything hasty while assessing the enemy. They had never seen Dark Psynergy in action before, unless things like Shadow Shield, Punish, and Scornful Caress counted. Matthew made a silent motion for half the team to enter the house to rescue Ikan while four would take the girl head-on. They shuffled in a way where their guard wasn’t let down, and soon it was Matthew, Sveta, Eoleo, and Amiti against a Tuaparang soldier they knew nothing about. They were wary of the other Tuaparang standing around, but they made no motion to attack, they were all muttering among themselves.
“They’re so fucked.”
“Commander Frey is going to blow them away.”
“I don’t know... Weren't these the kids who defeated Blados and Chalis?”
“Dude, quiet, or else it’ll be our necks on the line!”
The girl, now known to them as Frey, surged forward and swung her sword in a wide arc. Sveta narrowly avoided the slash, growling because it grazed her clothes. The beastman retaliated, sending her fist towards the girl. She blocked it with her sword, but she was pushed back.
With a ferocious cry, Eoleo lunged, slamming his axe into her blade. The sword flew out of Frey’s hands, landing by Amiti’s feet. The royal kicked it away, leaving the woman unarmed. Frey scowled, but continued her assault, kicking the pirate away and rushing toward Amiti. He had his bow drawn and ready when she swung, a reinforced fist slamming into his cheek. He fell to the ground, and she kicked him in the stomach, sending him a few feet away.
“Commander Frey!” One soldier remarked, and she directed her eyes toward the one speaking. “The Adepts, they rescued the storyteller! Now they’re-” He was cut off by Rief slamming his ankh into the back of his head. It was one of the few times Matthew had seen Rief absolutely furious.
Frey cursed, directing the soldiers, “I knew I should have asked for an elite battalion, but they give me... these. Pull back! Phalanx formation until you enter the airship!”
It was when Tyrell suddenly drove his knee into Frey’s side that she showed any emotion besides apathy. She let out a small gasp of pain before turning her attention to Tyrell. Absolute fury was in her eyes as she grabbed his arm and squeezed.
A sickening crack echoes through the emptying battlefield, the reinforced hand holding Tyrell in a death grip until his bones were broken. With that, she punched him in a similar manner that she did Amiti and backed away, running to follow her soldiers. Because Ikan was safe, they assumed the Tuaparang considered this a failure and they decided to retreat. The Tuaparang airship, now having all of its personnel, disappeared into the clouds.
“Cowards.” Tyrell spat, holding his arm up for Amiti to heal him. He stopped wincing when the pain went away and tugged his arm away. “They attack a village only to run away with their tail between their legs as soon as something went wrong.”
Before anything else could be done, the Adepts treated the wounded villagers and revived the ones who were unconscious. By the time they were done, the sun should have set, but for some reason it remained high in the sky, and the moon was rising to join it.
“I don’t know what would have happened to me if you didn’t come here,” Ikan groaned, pushing himself to his feet, “And on top of that, you saved my grandson again. You have my utmost gratitude. Is there anything I can do for you in return?”
The party glanced at one another before Sveta spoke up, “Actually, there is. Something very troubling happened in Belinsk and we have no idea what it was. We were wondering if you knew a story or legend that would help us in some way.”
Ikan listened to them explain how at exactly at the start of the New Year, the sky had split open and an armed woman stepped out of it. They said she had shot two arrows before disappearing like she was never there. As they recounted, Ikan’s face began to pale more and more. “Is there something you know?”
“I’m afraid I do, and you’re not going to like what you hear.” The party went silent, allowing Ikan to continue. “That woman you met was Nemesis, the ultimate form of justice and vengeance. She was said to rise when the greatest forces of light and dark woke up, and she was supposed to be a mediator...”
Karis was almost too scared to ask. “... a mediator to what?”
“The war between the light and dark.” When they heard war, a pit formed in their stomachs. They thought the Grave Eclipse was bad, but dealing with a full-scale war? They didn’t know if they could handle the ordeal.
“The light was a gifted Jenei named Solana. The dark was an ancient beastman named Nyx. They had the power to have absolute authority over their respective elements, and they were so powerful that their war could have destroyed the ancient world. So the Jenei and Exathi banded together to create prisons for them, which they could never hope to break out of. Solana was bound with chains as brilliant as the sun...”
The birds flying over Apollo Sanctum.
“... Nyx was crushed into the Abyss...”
The chasm north of the Endless Wall.
“... and Nemesis was stitched to the sky.”
The sky being ripped open on the New Year.
“... and they were clever. The ancients say the same prisons would not work again.”
They were silent for a long time, processing the information given to them. Ancient forces woke up and there was no way to stop them? Just as they were about to lose hope, Ikan spoke again, “But the legends also said the rise of Solana and Nyx would not happen if they did not have suitable vessels to manifest in. They needed the bodies of Adepts to gain power. If they gained enough, they could appear as their true selves.”
Rief quickly thought, then exclaimed, “We still have time to figure something out! If they’re not at full power, they can’t destroy anything. Maybe we can find a new place to trap them, or even better, get rid of them for good.”
“I’d expect that you already scoured all of the ruins in Angara looking for clues about the Grave Eclipse, so I would not think you would find any useful information.” Ikan said, furrowing his brows. “You’d have to go to another continent. Perhaps that would provide an answer.”
“Wow, another continent...” Himi sighed. They really were like the Warriors of Vale now, not just traveling Angara, but Weyard as a whole.
“I wish I could tell you more, but I’m afraid that’s all I know.” Ikan said somberly. Amiti reassured him and said that he just provided them with an incredible lead, and they would be forever grateful. “I wish you all have a safe journey. May the Wise One watch over you.”
-
“My sweet birds...” A light and airy voice sang, the birds around them repeated the notes. “I am bound to this place... I cannot leave its protective light. But with time, I can.”
A transparent finger touched the top of a bird’s head, and it began to glow and morph until it changed into a beautiful, giant, white falcon. “Please... search the world. Find an Adept that would be able to handle my power. The forces of darkness cannot prevail...”
-
Mir was one of the very unlucky few who fell into the chasm when it first opened up. But surprisingly, none of those foul Eclipse creatures moved to attack her. Her terror was revitalized when a beam of light shot into the chasm, but nothing happened. It was total silence until she heard a faint voice that continued to get louder.
And suddenly, she was face-to-face with a grotesque face with a piercing red eye and a gaping hole where the other eye was supposed to be. “You are the first to see my face in millennia... I’m going to give you something very special.” She placed a clawed hand over Mir’s face, and the woman screamed, her body contorting and breaking until she looked like another one of the monsters.
“Go! Go now! Find me an Adept! I will destroy Solana and the light, and then split the world into pieces!”
-
“They were here.”
Strangers had arrived to Harun village, all wearing broken armor pieces of the Tuaparang soldiers like trophies. The one standing at the front was a woman who had scars up and down her arms. She pulled her goggles up, staring at a helmet of a foot soldier. She looked at it with disgust before stomping the metal in, leaving the armor deformed and unusable.
“Question the villagers. We’re going to destroy the Tuaparang no matter what the cost is.”
“Yes, Commander Zephyr!”