The ice dragon pried its jaws open, its cold stare locking onto Agni, the Greater Ruler of Fire.

"Am I solely responsible for this matter?" He yelled.

The world below was in absolute turmoil.

War spread from one direction to the next, fighting frost demons and The Ending's monstrosities along with the King of Obrus, too.

As Agni's dark black hair fluctuated upward, pebbles shuddered in the sky.

With one glacial exhale, the frozen dragon unleashed deadly blizzards that swept across continents, smothering the world beneath a suffocating, frozen veil.

Agni fearlessly tore through the howling storm, launching a torrent of fire that blazed toward the dragon's brow, a display of his unwavering courage.

The beast's scream split the heavens, its wail lingering as it vanished.

With a final lash of its tail, it flung arcs of asteroids earthward, crashing into the roiling seas below.

"As the Greater Ruler of Fire, Agni, I command you to fall to my flames." He declared as clouds shifted.

A sudden ignition erupted from his palms, hurling a blazing sphere that carved through the icy stones.

In its wake, a whirlwind of debris spiraled wildly, flung into the void.

Just as despair gripped Gincad, its people watched in awe as a new thing took shape in the sky.

After fourteen days of relentless battle, Agni finally emerged victorious over the invader, a moment of triumphant relief.

Yet what he created in victory proved even more terrifying.

He had forged a molten moon, joining thirteen others that circled Gincad in a cosmic dance.

In his final vision, the world spun beneath a sapphire sun, while twin voids collided and circled, forever threatening but never consuming the fragile sphere. The panorama was all too alluring to ignore.

The final memory—Agni's—flickered through Asahi's mind as he drained his cup of hot, sugary milk in a single gulp.

. . .

"Though you may have absconded with my acquaintances, I shall not permit you to usurp the Adtraic lineage." A deep, echoing voice shouted at the swallowing veil of light.

The world had been devoured.

Thousands of rulers floated in a white void.

Each was equally confused and scared, surrounded by shrill noises.

Agni was clashing with the wall of light, getting surrounded by all sides, and being grasped.

Still, as the light swallowed the world, he ignited his flames one last time.

In seconds, he tore through the wall of light.

Then he forced Achlys and Acheros away toward the gap.

As soon as it closed, fifty to eighty rulers made it through, including Agni. The other thousands were trapped, unable to see the light of day again.

Afterward, Agni blazed away from the consuming radiance.

But it had been too late.

The world, as he knew it, had changed.

Now, after many millennia have passed since that moment, the world has been transformed beyond recognition.

Achlys and Acheros were thrust back to this changed world, along with the other eighty rulers who escaped through the tear in the wall of light, and returned to the land altogether..

If it wasn't for Agni, not even the Adtraic would have been saved.

. . .

Now, firmly back in the present, Asahi reeled from the vivid memory that had surfaced moments before.

It shattered his understanding of the calamity, turning every lingering mystery into a pulse of dread.

As he gathered the fragments, a distant and unsettling truth began to take shape.

Some rulers did manage to survive, Asahi realized.

"Master? Master, you just blanked out on us."

After Asahi finished his sugary milk, he reassured Primrose and Ames that he was still very much alive. But there was a truth that festered in him, the idea of Rulers surviving The Last Calamity had not once emerged from his head.

He refused to share that truth, not with humans such as them.

At once, Ignatius finally stepped outside.

The snowstorm had faded.

One by one, everyone emerged from their hiding places.

"Never mention that name ever again," Ignatius warned, pushing her orange hair to the side. "Call it the Icy Nuisance."

Kenneth nodded his head and took a deep breath, feeling the fresh cool air tingle his nostrils. He followed them toward the guild house, on the other side of the town. As doing so, Ignatius revealed her plans.

"From here, we will get your Adventurer's License and..."

Asahi quickly pulled out from his soul storage a pendant that signified he was already...

"Wait, you already have your Adventurer's License?" Ignatius asked with genuine curiosity.

Asahi nodded his head silently, staring at all the names plastered on the board. Asahi wasn't good with groups, so...

"I will be standing back," Asahi said as he teetered to his right, backing away from the line. "Here. Just prepare. I feel like... I feel like I'm going to vomit..."

Asahi was too afraid of the Rulers' fate. "Is it even possible to save them now? Or are they all gone?" After he vomited in disgust at the frightening fate of his peers, Asahi turned his head back and watched as Ignatius conversed with the guild team.

"So all we have to do is sign this paper and..." Ignatius said as she picked up a feather and a quill.

"And then you will be certified. Please wait at least two business days before it can be confirmed."

The brown-haired guild member nodded and hurried away, leaving Asahi, Ames, and Primrose to gather at a table. Asahi recalled the struggle to earn his license in Linuxinia. Now, after saving the world, he felt he had finally earned it. The promise of adventure and reward simmered with excitement within him.

And yet, even after this day, Kika and Yawman were nowhere to be seen.

What could they be planning? Asahi thought as he stared at the brutes cackling in the back, and the skinny men gathered on a rectangular table.

. . .

At another horizon, as the sun broke through, a deep voice uttered: "I never knew you two had companions."

"Oh come now, Telos," Aletha said as she sat in the very shallow water, gazing at the scintillating horizon that painted the skies before her. "I always had my Athenia with me. But even then, that isn't as comfortable as the fluffy cat."

"I see." A distant voice erupted in the distance. "So you're his sister, eh?"

A blonde-haired man with violet eyes came walking from the horizon, each step seeming to reverberate with the memory of an ancient power.

As Aletha's eyes widened at the reveal, a complex swirl of emotions erupted within her: a surge of fear at the power he wielded, and awe at the elegance that belied his forgotten title.

This man, this figure who walked toward her, was none other than...

"The Ruler of The Forgotten? Paxon?!" Aletha cried.

"Don't call me that." He said with a genuine tone of approval and redemption. "Call me, Paxon, the Greater Ruler of Memories."

Telos' eyes broadened in shock, muttering beneath his breath. "The Greater Ruler of Memories?! Why are you here, of all places?"

"I have come here to redeem myself, Telos."

"So you're the one responsible for all the memories he had been seeing." Aletha pointed out, stepping back slowly behind Telos.

"Yes and no," Paxon said as he brandished his silky blonde hair on the side. "A lot has changed about me, Telos. Can't you see?"

"You stole my partner's memories," Telos said with a scoff. "Why should I ever trust you?"

"Well, it's because I understood what happened to your love, Telos," Paxon said. "Why can't you accept it?"

"You're one of the survivors of the calamity, aren't you?" Aletha asked, and images of the white void flickered into his vision. "Did you come here to drink our memories too?"

"Goodness no." Paxon retorted as he pushed his hair back. "I'm here to redeem myself. I'm still looking for the memory of my transformation as The Ruler of The Forgotten. Without it, I'm still caught in the chaos of it all."

"Speaking of chaos..." Telos clenched his fists, slowly approaching Paxon. "Back in the War of the Wish. You stole my memories and betrayed me, too. Why should I EVER trust you at this moment?"

"Because there was a lot I learned about memories," Paxon said, sitting on the watery floor as the sun shone eternally bright on the line attached to the sea. "Memories are what drive us around. It's what made me who I am. I don't have the memories of my birth; I'm still looking for them. Such as you as well. It can't be given at one point, or else the balance would shift. Do you understand?

Aletha and Telos, after constantly denying Paxon, had slowly grown empathy for Paxon, as if finally trusting him after all this time, hating him.

"Is there a way to get our drunk memories back?" Aletha asked as she took a deep breath, ready to punch him.

Paxon, after silence, slowly shook his head in approval and answered while an uncertain relief blew in.

"Yes."

Aletha and Telos' eyes broadened with a sense of relief. That one word was enough to confirm their suspicions.

"So... you lied to us," Telos stated, a nascent smile gracing his visage. "You lied to our faces! There IS a way to get our memories back!"

"Affirmative. My sole request is your unwavering trust," Paxon stated, inclining his head. "You must entrust Asahi with all that you possess; otherwise, progress shall remain unattainable. And you may never escape this space for all due end."

"Asahi? Yes, the selfish scoundrel that had betrayed his peers." Telos muttered. "How can I trust him after what he did to Kartara?"

Suddenly, a dark-haired woman appeared from thin air, whispering to Telos.

"As Ruler of E..., I find no merit in that assessment. Shall you exhaust the boy to the point of illness? Or will you, as the Subordinate Overseer of Eyes, accede and place confidence in your colleagues? The decision rests with you."

Her formal speech was all too lengthy and bold to ignore.

Telos closed his fists and took deep breaths, collectively reminiscing about his goal.

If he wanted to get his memories back, he HAD to work with Asahi. So...

"Understood. Then if it's my trust you want, Paxon, then..." Telos finally shrugged his shoulders and refused to protest. "I suppose I can put my trust in him, once more."

. . .

A voice sounded out from outside the space.

"Your first mission... as an Adventurer." A voice uttered as Primrose, Trid, Grandpa, and all gathered behind Asahi. "Three of you must take down the incoming knife threat and the frost demon's enclosure. From there, you will be paid handsomely, and you shall agree to take on quests for rewards such as treasure chests and buried relics."

"Treasure chests?" Primrose muttered, eyes sparkling in awe at the possibilities.

"If it's to get anywhere and finally take down Yawman and Kika, then.."

Asahi's mutters transformed into audible yells.

"...Then sign me up for it."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.