Adtraic Verity: Journey For The Truth
Chapter 16

The noises of the city went silent as they ran away.

Huge white swollen clouds drifted across the glimmering horizon of azure blue, and birds trilled their sweet little songs out to the world, which nourished the colorful flowers below.

The vivid breeze blew across the expanse of tall grassy hills, flat plains, and dense forests, washing the mist of the night away from the world.

Up across from the blurry distance, arose three figures; Asahi, Aletha, and Belial. They flew from hill to hill and jumped up and down the many streams.

Their white hair shone brightly under the rising ball of light, and their faces were aglow with a golden luminance.

It was clear for them that the guards had given up, and so they slowed themselves down and took a breather under one of the few trees scattered across the flat grassy meadow.

Asahi clutched the Forbidden Book tightly in his hands and took a few breaths under the shade, pondering about what to do.

(What to do… what to do. I… still can’t think of anything.)

Aletha panted, wheezed, and wiped the sweat off her face.

Every corner of her body felt exhausted and worn out. She relaxed her back against the tree trunk, humming out faint tunes.

And Belial searched his surroundings, ensuring himself the security of himself.

For five minutes, they chose to sit back and embrace the change of scenery. They knew it was to do that,

otherwise… they would have fainted and probably got transported to that strange dream again. All positives aside, that still doesn’t dismiss the ever-shrouding mystery of The Forbidden Book.

The sweet scent of mint brooded in the air. Grass tickled their feet as the fulfilling sentiment of peace grew on the three of them. A squirrel moderately-sized pranced around near Asahi’s arms and grabbed an acorn, scrambling up the tree.

A faint smile shone on Asahi’s face.

“Thank goodness.”

He took a deep relaxed sigh, and laid back, mumbling to himself as he heard Belial approaching from a distance.

“I can’t believe we made it out there alive.”

Footsteps rustled through the leaves as a moderately-deep voice directed to Asahi.

“Yes, it was no surprise for me. Do you have that book with you?”

“Wait wait wait, hold on.” Asahi said as he pushed himself up.

“Why do you have to be so concerned about the book, already? Shouldn’t you be curious about us? Or at least introduce yourself?”

A silent wind flew in between Belial and Asahi.

“Of course not. All I care for is the book and only the book. Besides, if I wanted to know who you two are, then I would have asked you the moment I met you.”

Aletha flinched at the reaction Belial made.

“Gosh, what is your problem? All we wanted for you to do was introduce yourself. Why are you so riled up?”

With a mild look of annoyance and impatience, Belial hung his head down and relaxed his arms against his sides. A relative calmness surrounded his figure as his brown cloak fluctuated with the wind.

Asahi and Aletha both stared at him with a look of suspicion, squinting and watching his every move.

Yet, all Belial did was place his bow on the ground, pushed his long black braided hair to the side, and fixed his attire. He never did anything zany and crazy, just… something to settle his bearings.

It was understandable for the wanderers to act this way; They experienced many mind-twisting moments that almost drove them mad, so it made logical sense for this type of attitude to be shown to the wanderers.

All of that changed soon after Belial showed a warm, forgiving smile to both of them. One so light and soft, that it could make even a squirrel’s heart pace.

Afterward, he bowed down and approached the confused siblings, apologizing and explaining with a calm voice.

“Look, I sincerely apologize for what I have acted against you. It was rude for me to do that. I just… felt frustrated, that was all.”

“Oh really? Why are you so frustrated?” Aletha said as she moved her head sassily.

Belial shut his eyes and took deep breaths, inhaling the fresh air and responding.

“The reason why I was so frustrated, okay, was that I had experienced a continuous cycle of this same event, over and over again. Well… not the same event, but the same day.”

He looked over and asked. “I’m sure you two are familiar with this, right?”

Asahi nodded his head silently and crossed his arms. He looked heavenward up to the treetops, took deep breaths, and tried to calm himself down. On the other hand, Aletha responded to Belial by nodding her head, impervious to the lessons she experienced.

“Yes, we are VERY familiar with it.”

Belial’s -emerald eyes widened slightly, shocked and curious.

“Oh? Do you two care to explain what happened?”

After he asked, Asahi and Aletha explained all of what happened to both of them. from the moment they had awakened underwater to where they were now.

This quickly triggered a surprising reaction from Belial, now giving insight into who these two were. The dark-braided hair boy scratched his chin and nodded his head, impassioned with the great curiosity of the two.

“Oh, so you two are not new to this world? Strange. I have never seen anyone like you, so I guess it makes sense. Did you two lose all your powers?”

Asahi and Aletha nodded silently. Belial slowly pushed himself up and exclaimed with a chill tone.

“That’s… tragic. You see, now that you two told me that, my curiosity is now over the roof for you two! I shouldn’t even be the one complaining. You guys had it rough.”

Asahi interrupted with an accepting grin.

“And that is only just the beginning.”

“Just the beginning?”

Suddenly, the sound of footsteps tolled behind the three. Quickly, Belial bent over and clutched his bow, aiming toward the figure approaching from behind. But just before he could launch his bow,

“Stop!”

Aletha clutched Belial’s wrist and threw the bow down to the ground. Immediately, the calm sense in Belial’s aura dissipated, unveiling his true colors to them.

“Seriously?! Do you want yourself to be killed?”

Belial never understood the reasoning for why Aletha threw the bow down to the ground. That was until she explained to him…

“Look closely.”

Far in the distance, rustling with trees and bushes was a tall young man walking toward them. The shiny pensive rays of the sunlight shone and revealed his figure, having long, thick dark hair, beautiful lavender eyes, and fair skin.

Belial slowly backed away while Asahi and Aletha approached the man. He said as they approached closer.

“W… Who are you?”

Respect forbade downright contradiction from Belial as he saw the aura of remoteness and calm circulate the figure. He made a half-uneasy, half-laughing compunction, then spoke with relief.

“Oh, it’s just you.”

As a result of Belial’s casual reaction, Asahi and Aletha jumped up in shock, stammering.

“Huh?! What are you saying? You know this man?!”

Provided the gentle and passive actions of the familiar dark-haired man-made, it could only be assumed that this man was an ally to all of them. And so, he was… expressing relief with his moderately-deep voice.

“Of course, Belial knows me. We are one of the same. Individuals that serve our majesty, Narcissa.”

Asahi raised an eyebrow and backed away from him slowly.

“Oh, hold on… Are you saying that–

The man nodded his head in agreement and interrupted him.

“Indeed. I am Akwan, preserver of happenings and the server of Narcissa. Belial is my ally, and so I treat him with the utmost respect.” He took a deep breath and approached the group, leading them across a brown trail and explaining.

“The method on how I arrived here was of the reason that I followed the path outside of the city and betrayed Drimi just as that boy did.” He leered his eyes at Belial. “It wasn’t out of spite, but for something else. And I know exactly the reason and root of this cause.”

Aletha tilted her head ninety degrees and questioned quietly.

“W… What’s that?”

As the wind flew and circulated across the forest they had now entered, Akwan stopped in his tracks and pointed to the book grabbed by Asahi’s hand.

“This. The item that you are now holding; The Forbidden Book.”

Without warning, Akwan snatched the book from Asahi’s hands and ordered the group to continue walking along the dirt path. As they passed through mysterious wooden structures shrouded in shadow and green, Akwan continued his explanation.

“It was soon to be realized by me that this book– the one I am holding, possesses an unreal and peculiar power. And what you two are experiencing; Asahi and Aletha is the power of The Forbidden Book.”

Aletha’s eyes traveled from the sight of the ponds to Akwan’s face. She backed away and shook her head in disbelief, replying sarcastically as the group stopped in front of a Boulder.

“Oh, as if that wasn’t obvious enough.” The tone of her voice dialed down as she felt a breeze pass by her. “My brother and I have experienced some weird stuff ever since we came out from that library.”

Belial and Akwan leaned over with interest.

“Oh, and what is that?”

Asahi bumped into the conversation and explained boastfully.

“To put it simply, ever since we grabbed that back from the library that presumably doesn’t exist for you two, we have experienced two similar events. One, in this world we are in now, and another, in a completely different and opposite dimension.”

A silence flew in between the group, and Akwan’s eyes sparkled in curiosity.

“Hmm? Why did you stop? Please, Asahi, continue. I am deeply invested in this idea of a “separate dimension” you so speak of. Do not be afraid to explain everything. We have all the time in the world.”

Thanks to Akwan’s compliment, Asahi’s pride rapidly increased in him. He fixed his posture, stood in front of all three of them, and with a loud and clear tone, as shining-emerald leaves flew around him, Asahi continued.

“Okay, Akwan, so you remember explaining to me the power of The Forbidden Book?”

“Yes. Why so?” Akwan said as he raised his eyebrow.

“Well after that, a golden light consumed us. Afterward, we awakened to what looked like a vegetation-infested abandoned version of Pladtioa City and were greeted by bandits that requested ingredients. We didn’t know what they meant, and we saw rather than get killed.”

Aletha, rudely and selfishly, stepped forward and interrupted Asahi.

“And then we saw you die, Akwan.”

“Huh?” Akwan stammered in disbelief. “How?”

Asahi added more to Aletha’s words while he made a gesture with his finger.

“We don’t know. Not only that, my sister found out that sketches of us were illustrated without anyone touching the book. There are hundreds of symbols.”

Belial, along with Akwan continued to nod.

“Ah… so, you’re saying that the book can show warnings by magically fabricating sketches of you? Interesting. So it’s like a psychic ball.”

Before they could realize it, Aletha snatched the book from Akwan and threw it into the dirt.

“What are you doing?!”

“You’ll see!” Aletha replied with a snarky tone.

She then pried the hardcover open, flipping over the pages until she finally found the list she made.

Akwan commented as he read the brown lettering carved onto the singular page.

———

1. Find out what the ingredients mean.

2. :// :/// :/:/

3. :// :/// :/:/

———

“What’s this?”

Aletha hurriedly reacted.

“It’s a list I drew on the page when we were in that dimension.”

Surprised and amused by this strange phenomenon, the mysterious dark-haired man kneeled over and asked the wanderers.

“Oh, smart. Hmm… Is there anything else that happened?”

The memory of the magical green bow flashed in Asahi’s mind. He quickly got up from the log, looked over to Belial, then Akwan, and answered eagerly.

“Yes, there was a bow I found in that dimension lying across the contaminated version of your room.”

Belial’s emerald eyes broadened, bemused by Asahi’s claim. He was not just surprised, but also curious, knowing well that he had always kept his bow all the time. In a short response to a short temper, the dark-braided boy exclaimed angrily.

“What?! Did you use my bow? But I don’t remember seeing anyone grab it from me.”

An unsure look floated in Asahi’s eyes, responding.

“Yes, but it was a bow from somewhere else.”

Aletha added.

“Yeah… And before my brother and I awakened in that disgusting place, I remember that you were trying to ambush us just like that dark-haired woman did.”

“Drimi,” Belial muttered interestingly.

Asahi barged back in. A trembling and uneasy tone came from his lips.

“Yup. Dri…mi, did almost the same thing that you did to us before, Belial. But then, when I placed that magical bow I found, instead of you being the one to ambush us, it was Drimi.”

A stunning moment of realization flickered across Akwan’s invested face. In interest, he flipped over the pages of The Forbidden Book and glimpsed the same illustrations of Asahi and Aletha glowing along the soft fabric. After a moment of pondering, Akwan slammed The Forbidden Book shut, walked up to Asahi, and engaged with a look of astonishment.

“So, correct me if I’m wrong, Asahi you said that when you found and placed a magical bow, (presumably Belial’s) somewhere else within the strange version of Pladtioa City, the position of Belial was put into that same area? Where exactly did you place this bow? This may explain the reasoning for this event.”

“I placed it near a fountain.”

. . .

(I can’t take the discussion anymore. All these three are doing is babbling on and on. Just get to the point! This is nonsense!)

Because of her boredom with the lack of action, Aletha facepalmed and looked over around her surroundings. She turned over to the vast valley of trees, then she backed away in awe, admiring the scenery.

For minutes, this was what Aletha did while Belial explained his whereabouts, But the moment she walked out of the bushes, wondering what was going on, she found Akwan rubbing his chin and explaining his new theory to everyone in a garrulous manner.

“Fascinating. So, Belial suggests that Asahi’s discovery of the bow in that dimension may be related to the location of his presence in the other realm. If true, then that means that each individual’s placement in this world is influenced by the objects from the parallel dimension. Each object in that strange dimension that is closely associated with the person in THIS dimension may be interlinked. That may not be just the case.”

Even the forest fell silent to the theory. No one, not even a small insect, emitted a noise as Akwan continued.

“Maybe the parallel world itself may be interacted with, thus changing the set up of the city inside this world? Perhaps all people’s placement on this recurring day may have been influenced by the artifacts and items’ placement in the other world. Maybe the people in this world don’t even exist in that strange parallel world?”

Asahi, Belial, and Aletha, clueless and confused about what Akwan was describing, rubbed their heads and shouted.

“What?”

Akwan sighed deeply and snapped his fingers, rubbing his chin and explaining slower.

“*sigh* I guess I have spoken too much. My apologies.” He took a deep breath and slowed down, looking over at all their eyes with a look of amazement. “To summarize everything I said beforehand; the very actions made by an individual in the parallel dimension affect this dimension as well.”

“Ohhh…” Everyone expressed their understanding.

“Yes, indeed. It’s all clear now. If that’s the case, Asahi and Aletha can utilize this newly discovered ability to create several, interchangeable scenarios– all from interacting with the parallel dimension.”

Asahi retraced Akwan’s words.

“So, in other words, it’s like some sort of reaction?”

Akwan’s face glimmered with pride and joy,

“Correct, Asahi This arrangement resembles a multi-layered chessboard in certain ways. The rest of Pladtioa City in our dimension is the first-full board, while the objects and artifacts from the other dimension are the pawns.” He drew symbols against the fragile, soft texture of the dirt, expressing his theory in both images and words all for Aletha to understand.

“So, to put it this way. When one pawn is moved on a “board” the other “board’s” pawn will follow suit. So, when the day “resets”, and they get transported to that strange dimension, Asahi and Aletha may therefore alter the “pawns” AND the “board” to create various instances and different events of the same day.“

After this brain-twist of a hypothesis Akwan devised, Aletha scratched her head, puzzled and amused by all of this. She expressed with an unsure tone.

“That’s SUPER weird. A parallel world connected to the other? So… It’s like moving puppets around in a playset and watching them wander around and do stuff, or creating and controlling your ant colony and watching them do what they do. That sounds pretty cool!”

Then, her focus magnified onto the real subject. (As she calls it), instantly changing her fascinated face to a questionable one.

“Okay, so what does this have to do with our goal? What can we do with this ability to achieve and finish the list?”

As he scratched his chin and looked heavenward at the treetops, Akwan replied.

“What I can infer from this discovery is that by using this power, you two may be able to achieve and replace out what is truly going on currently with this world and The Forbidden Book. An answer to every question you have. Both of you can experience different scenarios and obtain information, while also recording it on The Forbidden Book in the process and learning how many people act.”

“And what if you don’t remember?”

Aletha leveled a glowering look at Akwan.

“What if WE don’t remember?

“Then this whole situation will be up for you two to figure out. And, if you can’t remember all of this, try writing it in The Forbidden Book, or try and remember it..”

Asahi slowly nodded his head and leaned forward to the book, taking notes in his mind.

(Okay, so this dimension and Dimension (A) are connected, our actions in Dimension A will affect our dimension. And the sketches serve some sort of warning.)

Asahi rubbed his hands together eagerly and made a wide and easy grin, uttering.

“Alright, noted! I give you my greatest gratitude Akwan!”

In a wise, superior, slightly scornful manner, Akwan replied with a smile.

“You are beyond welcome. I thank you as well, Asahi, for allowing me to conduct and hypothesize such great theories. Shall we meet again on this strange, repeating day?”

As Asahi and Akwan made a double-handed handshake, Belial nodded, coughed, and in moments of attention, he waved his arms and announced.

“Look, I know this is all some sort of weird, but let me say one thing. It is nice to meet you two, Asahi, and Aletha. Although we may be the Prisoner of The Pages, and we may have been enemies in the past, I will try my best to remember this moment. I wish you two the best of luck in figuring out and solving this mystery.”

Akwan backed away and daggered his eyes at Belial’s words.

“Halt for a moment. Prisoner of The Pages? Hmm, could that serve as a clue?” A flash of realization swept Akwan’s lavender eyes, stating. `Wait a moment, what you have just said Belial, has completely altered my perspective on everything in this situation. Now that I have thought about it, Asahi, Aletha, I think I may have figured out–“

Suddenly, before anyone could reach any closer to the truth of this scenario, Belial alerted.

“Asahi, something is glowing on you.”

“Huh?” Akwan and Belial mumbled.

The book clutched from Asahi’s hands emitted a strange golden luminance. It expanded rapidly, consuming Asahi’s hands, and then his arms. In this frightful sight, Aletha had no choice but to stop her brother from running, warning him as Belial and Akwan’s eyes shrunk in horror.

“Bro, look at your hand!”

In shock, he scratched his head and replied with an unusually calm voice.

“Yeah? What about it, sis?!”

His eyes broadened, feeling his body twitch from the consuming light. An expression of horror and uncertainty flew in his face, shouting.

“What is this?”

“Don’t!”

Although Belial warned Asahi, he noticed the book consuming his body…

“NOO!”

All hopelessly watched as the cover, the pages, and the ink, peacefully and easily slipped out of his hand. engulfing everything around in white.

. . .

There, before they could have even noticed the impact.

“H-Huh?”

At the same place…

“Where are the ingredients?”

Everything started becoming a recurrence