Chapter 72 - Junction of Yestermorn

In a silent corner of a universe, a small ship cruised through space, its destination unknown. Not even its passengers truly knew where they were headed, but they knew what they were leaving behind. A woman sat by one of the rear windows, watching the distant miracle that had by now come into full view. It was an inexplicable sight, one that she knew should not even be remotely possible. It was a violation of all the laws of reality that she understood, but she cannot help admiring it, the mystical and impossible beauty of it all.

Far in the distance, the place from which the ship had left, was the site of a unrestrained chaos. Although the space itself seemed tranquil and beautiful, there was a tumultuous raging of energies and authorities imperceptible to anyone but Ascendants or those deeply in tune with reality. This was supposedly a rather barren outskirts of the universe where not much planets and very few stars even existed. And yet, it was at the same time at the centre of the universe itself. Quite a contradiction, but this was the very nature of this strange paradoxical phenomenon.

And at the heart of this impossibility were two worlds, one barren gray and brown while the other a glowing crystal globe. Behind the barren world was just a barren space filled with nothing or the occasional asteroid and some lesser worlds amidst the backdrop of very distant stars. And behind the crystal world was an entire system of grand worlds and stars that shone brightly, lit with a sacred inviolable authority that permeated the entire universe. The two worlds, complete opposites, were connected by a single line, a pillar of prismatic light, a corridor that brooks no passage.

"Is it really wise for us to leave?"

A man's voice came from behind the woman. The man seemed awfully anxious, confused even, as he gazed at the distant twin worlds. Despite the fact that he too abhorred the beautiful yet abominable sight of them, he could not deny that both were his home. He did not wish to leave them, especially not for a journey he was not even certain of. In the past several months, the world he lived in had changed so tremendously that it left his mind unable to keep pace, scarring him with things he never knew. And from someone who was always the one to grasp the initiative in any acts, he became a mere follower.

"I didn't force you to come with me, Brother. Even you want to go back now, it's already too late. I'm not turning this ship back."

The woman spoke with a certainty that she did not used to have. Her brother could only fall silent in contemplation. Their roles had been reversed after the calamity that changed the world. He thought he was prepared for anything, to protect his little sister, but he instead found himself following her lead. She had somehow become someone unrecognisable to him.

It was not just about her personality, even her mind was different. She knew things that she should not have before, things that even her brother did not know, secrets about the universe that should not possibly be within the grasp of a child. Even after hundreds of years, he still cannot help seeing his sister as a child. This was the root of his fears, the reason as to why he kept trying to make her reconsider.

"But Lily, the Regina has called out to everyone. She'll be furious if we're not there! We will be branded as traitors as well!"

"We will not be, Brother. She is Regina no longer. Besides, she knows I must go. Why else do you think we were able to get this ship so easily and leave without problems? Asheya has begun playing her part. It is time I played mine as well."

The man, Leonel, could utter no other words. He was really starting to believe that Lily was no longer that same little sister he raised. She was an entirely different person. He did not know what to do with this knowledge, but he can only accept it. The Alma and the Prisma, they were a race of impossibilities to begin with. He just needed to learn and adapt to it all. Yes, he had given up understand everything. He was never the strong one after all. He just had to be strong for his little sister. And now, his sister was strong enough for the both of them. So he would follow her lead. And just as his contemplation ended, she heard her mutter another thing beyond his knowledge.

"Gale, Yul, I'll be ready by the time you come back. I will find it..., the True Ena."

In the junction of two worlds, sat upon a crystal throne was a woman whose hair shone with a myriad colours, interchanging like mystical tides that ebbed and flowed. Her clear moonlit eyes that shone with prismatic light gazed into the distance, seemingly watching the imperceptible dot growing smaller and smaller. Her gaze flickered as she somehow heard the soft mutterings of Lily even from so far away. And she too whispered.

"You must find it, Sister. You must awaken...."

"Your Majesty, everyone has gathered."

An aide reminded her as she seemed lost in thoughts. The woman retracted her gaze and looked at the people gathered on either side of her. On one side were ethereal soul form beings carrying great power. And on the other were humanoid beings with different rocky or crystalline mutations on their bodies. Two different races, but one true identity. The woman sat upon her throne in the junction of two worlds with two peoples awaiting her words. She was Asheya, the Shade of Suriael, and the Heart of Lua.

"The two calamities brought forth by the traitors of the Alma has led us to this point. The Alma and the Prisma stand before each other, vestiges of our pasts, remnants of who we were. I am Regina no longer, but..."

The two races listened intently, their hearts beating with trepidation. This scene was unbelievable not just to the Prisma but to the Alma as well. One was dead, the other was dying. And now, the only leader they had left no longer wished to wear her crown. Did she call them all, from across the universe, just so she could abandon them all?

The Alma and the Prisma felt extremely bitter and sorrowful, but their hearts also burned with hatred for those who pushed their Regina to this, for those who took away their Rex from them. Perhaps not many of the Prisma truly knew, but the Alma would never forget their tormented Origin and their accursed Fates. The traitors, they have decided, must die the most gruesome deaths in all existence. But they kept it in their hearts as they listened to Asheya's words.

"I call on you all to stand with me, to prepare. The inevitable war will be upon us. It may not be soon, but it will come. The moment he returns to me, to all of us, Eternity will be drowned in Chaos."

Most of the Prisma were confused by her words, but the Alma were certainly not. Their eyes glowed brightly as a vigorous flame seemed to burn in the depths of their hearts. They all knew who 'he' was. And seeing Asheya speak with certainty of his return, they had no need for doubts. Just as she said, they would prepare for war. And this time, their struggle will let them glimpse the spark of a new Beginning at the End of Finality itself. This was the promise 'he' once gave them. This was the promise they would forever hold on to. For the Severed Shades of Oblivion, Finality cannot be their End.

"So stand with me and fight for your homes. This Pinnacle War will drag not only the entire universe into it. It will drag the entire Loom of Eternity. There is no escape, especially not for us. We have been exiled from our home once. We shall not be exiled from our home again."

The blazing ember in the depths of their hearts raged once more. Regardless if they remembered their Origin or not, it was etched into their very beings. They will not be exiles once more. They would protect their homes and struggle for the promise of Eternity. It did not matter which world they were from or what race they were now. They were one people fighting for the same cause.

"For Lua!"

"For Corrin!"

Asheya nodded, acknowledging their kindled resolve. They would need that fire to face the dangers of war, a war of a scale never before seen in this universe or any other universe for that matter. And all this because of the blasphemous actions of traitorous fools who thought themselves almighty gods. Asheya looked toward the depths of the junction, that pillar of prismatic light that connected the two worlds. It brooked no passage as she had ordained. She was the Heart of Lua. And as vengeance for the destruction of her home and the murder of her husband and herself, she had imprisoned the traitors in the junction, their very souls bombarded by the chaotic energies that seemingly tore through space and time to exist in this singular point.

The past and the future, Lua and Corrin, Alma and Prisma... all now existed in an anomalous region of Eternity.