In the blank and white world, a typhoon raged.
Rain flooded the ground, land collapsed on its own weight and trees uprooted due to great winds.
Inside a small Dilapidated house, an old television played a live broadcast.
[...due to recent overlap resurgence, the death toll in Northern front has reached tens of millio-.....The Northern sovereign has yet to make any move, maintaining absolute silenc-.....]
The house was ruined. water dripped from the ceiling, the floor was cracked, the heat insulation was nonexistent, but above all, the right side of the house was completely exposed, damaged beyond repair.
[The Remnants have overrun the front lines, pushing back the high Ascendants. All civilians and soilders have perished in a single night. We, People of Astra Nova, might see another region lost to the ever-growing overlap.]
Blood pooled, mixing with rainwater. Pieces of flesh scattered across the cold floor.
[....as the old generation falls to the Overlap, the new generation may have to take the mantle sooner than expected-....]
Bodies of people in white long overcoats and pristine masks lay motionless, missing a few limbs. Surgically cut with precision.
Amongst the motionless bodies, stood a young man with blue eyes, drenched in blood and rain. He stood there panting, missing a right hand. A broken blade on the left.
[..now, on to the next agenda - Sky Theob-....♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ.]
The television abruptly cuts to a commercial.
"Ha ha ha." The blue-eyed man panted hard; he felt like his lungs would burst any moment.
He tried to get up, only for his body to give up. Too exhausted to move.
Truthfully, it may not just be his body that has given up. His spirit and mind have also given up.
He was tired of running.
What meaning is there to a life without meaning? A person without a future, goals,, or wishes. A being that can't dream.
Why does he keep running, knowing that this freedom was nothing but a tighter chain? A barbed chain that hurts more you try to escape, that forces you to be content in its false security.
Clap clap clap
Outside his periphery, a series of exaggerated mocking claps rang like thunder.
"We finally meet again, subject. So it seems you finally understood, this freedom you sought was not kind."
A tall man wearing a long black and white coat stepped towards him. It may be colourful, but his eyes only see black, white, and shades of gray.
"We provided you shelter, safety, and an opportunity to be something a little more than the filthy commoner you were. Yet you betrayed us by running away? Is that how you repay our kindness?"
Ier was evident in his voice, his face couldn't be seen due to the pristine mask, but he could almost see the smile behind it.
The man moved closer, his eyes from the eyehole looking down on him in mockery.
The ascendancy mark on his right eye glowed bright yellow in this colourless world.
"You could have been of great service to the golden order with that..... unique powers of yours. Sadly, betrayers are not entertained; the higher-ups have issued the mandate." He spoke, disappointment flashing in his eyes. Has if conveying - 'How pitiful..'
The right hand of the man with a mask rose, his fingers mimicking a gun pointed at his head. A ball of light gathering at its point. Soft Heat transmitted throughout the room.
"Goodbye~, Subject. May you be unhappy in next too!" The man exclaimed brightly.
The beam shot, aiming to incinerate him whole, he didn't resist.
But it never connected.
The scorching heat instantly went out cold, stopping just a centimetre away from his face. The sound of the intense typhoon outside also went silent.
The man stood in the same position as before, frozen in place, still carrying the smug look in his eyes.
Time had stopped.
Before he can investigate the situation further, strange glyphs arranged themselves in front of him. Reading out-
[Congratulations! StarStrek personally invites you in its realm to be it's student.]
[It offers to fullfill your ultimate wish, only if you triumph all Trials and survive a full cycle.]
[Everything you seek, can be found.]
[Do you accept by the Grace of Moon and the Oath of stars?]
He stood frozen from the barrage of information.
His eyes were glued to the sentence that offered to fulfill his ultimate wish.
What wish? Did he even have a wish? Did he carry what others called hope?
He heard a quiet whisper in his mind, something inside him urged him to accept.
Can his questions be answered? Can his life have a meaning to work towards?
"Yes" he answered to the deity that offered him the opportunity. He felt like it was the right answer.
[Congratulations! Student Aeon, you are now one of the students of StarStrek.]
[May you find the end.]
Dong!
He was now standing in a dry room, surrounded by clockwork gears. Sound of church bell rang in a distance.
There was no typhoon, no rain, no masked men.... no blood.
His body was now whole, missing limb intact. No wounds were visible on his body, as if it never existed. But the Body covered in rags and cut cloth told a different story.
[All initiates, please be prepared. The first trial begins in 5 minutes.] An omnipresent voice echoed. Informing all first years.
He was dazed, the turn of events was too fast to keep up with.
The first thing he did was to survey his surroundings for threats.
"♫⋆｡♪ ₊˚♬ ﾟ." The sound of musical humming attracted his attention, by reflex, he took cover so as not to be noticed.
There, perched on the giant clockwork gear, was a man in an untidy, disheveled white shirt and black trousers. He hadthe blackest shade of hair hehad everseenw.
The man was currently humming with his eyes closed, swinging his legs playfully with rhythm.
He knew who it was; anyone would know after seeing his pictures many times in newspapers and broadcasts. He was a sensation to most.
The Blasphemer, Sky Theobane.
As he silently observed, sky suddenly stopped humming and called him out,
"I know you are there, come out...I don't bite."
'How?' He had his himself perfectly.
He tensed up, his hand gripped the broken blade, ready to run pounch.
A pair of molten golden eyes looked into his.
He froze.
Did he.....just see colour?! What bright colour is this?
In the black and white world. He saw colour of something other than ascendancy mark at last. He saw those colours from the eyes of the blasphemer.
The rest of the conversation was a blur to him. He starred at the eyes like a blind seeing light for first time. He was intrigued but also wary of the person in front of him.
Why is he an exception? Why is he special? Is it something to do with why he is so hated?
"I am sky Theobane" The person introduced himself formally.
He did not understand the motives behind the sudden team up nor this hospitality.
Seeing the expectant eyes of sky, he noticed that it's his turn to introduce.
....but he had no name to give. As he was never named in the first place.
"..Aeon" That named slipped out of his tongue. It was what this realm reffered to him as.
So as Aeon would he continue onwards. It better than no name.
Clank!!
Aeon was pulled out of his reminiscence by a sudden clash, he noticed that he had blocked yet another strick from his foe.
'Ah, I blanked out....again.' he reflected dryly.
He was surrounded by eight, no..nine enemies, students just like him.
The ground was stained red from blood, yet no bodies were in sight. The eyes of his opponents showed fear and wary.
They wore the same uniform. Though Aeon can't see colour, he had basic fashion and civil senses. He felt uncomfortable in his current attire, which was neither durable nor efficient.
The one in the back aimed a spell at him, to which he dodged with a small sidestep.
His so called condition, they called it - 'static mindscape' forced him to see the world in static, devoid of colour or distinction. The alive and the instantaneous were the ever changing variables in this ever static world.
Yet there actions were predictable, always with a rhythm. It gave them away.
Right
The closest person had its head severed cleanly, he didn't even notice.
Left
Another attacked, his spear unable to connect with Aeon. He was cleaved in a two, an impossible feat for his broken blade.
Back
Two rushed at him simultaneously, he dodged their opening rush by taking few steps back. Then struck their sheild when he in saw an opening.
Their rhythm broke, dissolving into panicked chaos.
They didn't last longer.
Forward
After those, he went into a rampage swiftly taking out their dealer and healer.
Up
An assassin type attempted to strick Aeon from his blind spot while he took out another one.
He failed, in the end only a broken sword went through the assassin's skull.
The last person fell to his knees, looking at Aeon like he is some monster.
"Y-you monste-"
Down
The last head joined the other fallen heads.
All their bodies dissolved into light, leaving behind only the blood they spilled earlier.
Aeon had expected more to be here but since the start of trial, only 57 people had encountered him. Which was low compared to 4000 people participating.
!!
[30 minutes over! The throne will descend in East!]
The sky parted as an enormous hollow Anchor fell from the sky. Dropping just a few kilometres away from Aeon.
Aeon could see a throne in middle of the hollow Anchor.
"Aim for the sky....is this what he meant." He finally understood what the blasphemer meant.
"Fine by me" he muttered as he ran towards the throne, a suicidal move for most, afterall it's something reserved for high rankers not low rankers like Aeon.
But Aeon didn't care, he was here to triumph over the trial, not survive.
[A/N : Your feedback is appreciated!]