Echoes of a Forgotten Past

The space was a maelstrom of chaos, filled with nauseating whispers and black-purple flora that could steal one’s sanity with a mere glance.

A figure clad in white traversed this silent plain. She knew neither her current location nor her destination. Who was she? And who, after all, would care?

In the far distance, six colossal pillars pierced the heavens, marking the heart of this desolate realm.

Go, go… go there.

The ground was unusually damp, and each step the white figure took was arduous. It was as if the very land resisted her advance. But it didn’t matter. She had an eternity of time.

The black-purple plants gradually vanished, replaced by peculiar, twisted black flowers. Their forms were grotesquely contorted; no one could fathom why such things existed here. The earth beneath her feet slowly shifted from black to a deep crimson, as though steeped in blood. After an immeasurable span of time, the figure finally arrived beneath the colossal pillars.

“I thought you would never return,” a familiar voice echoed from the center of the monumental structures.

Only upon reaching this point did the figure realize that a black-haired girl was seated amidst the six pillars. Thick chains of light, extending from the pillars, held the girl firmly in place. Aside from her mouth, she could not move a single limb. Her arms, legs, and neck were all bound, and one chain even pierced directly through her abdomen. The agony she must have endured was unimaginable.

Golden, black, red, green, yellow, and blue—six hues of light formed a colossal barrier, completely isolating the girl from the outside world.

“Who are you?” the white figure spoke, her voice like a clear mountain spring.

“Hahahahahaha…” The girl gave the figure a derisive smile. “You’ve even forgotten who I am? How typical of you, Lotia. You’re still as cowardly as ever, afraid to face your own heart. Did you truly believe that locking me away here would solve everything? I eagerly await the day you come crying back to me.”

The girl’s mocking words stirred no ripple in the figure’s heart. Instead, she pondered a single question.

Was I… that Lotia?

“I… am Lotia? But I don’t feel like that’s my name,” she said.

The girl, who had just been spouting such arrogant words, paused. Then, the scorn on her face intensified. “To think, I haven’t forgotten your name, yet you’ve forgotten it first. If you’re not Lotia, then who are you? Unless… you’re Ceres?”

Ceres? The name sounded familiar, but the figure couldn’t recall who that was. However, she was not Ceres. Her name… it seemed… it seemed to be…

“Ziyao,” she uttered, the name emerging from her slightly parted lips.

“You’ve changed your name?” The black-haired girl’s gaze turned contemptuous. “To escape the past, you simply sever it all. You disappoint me greatly, Lotia.”

“My name is Ziyao, not Lotia.”

“No, you are Lotia.”

“Ziyao.”

“…”

“Ziyao.”

“Alright, alright, you’re Ziyao.” The girl scoffed. She, too, sensed a subtle incongruity. This figure, who called herself Ziyao, seemed somewhat different from the Lotia of old. The gaze she had just displayed was incredibly resolute—a look the previous, cowardly girl could never have possessed.

“Now, it’s your turn to answer my question,” Ziyao stated. She had given her name; now it was the girl’s turn.

“Me? Lotia, Ziyao… I can be any name.” A flicker of nostalgia passed through the girl’s golden eyes. “Whoever you are, that is who I am.”

“You mean, you are me?” Ziyao shook her head. “But I know you are not me.”

“Yes, I am not you, nor do I wish to be you.” The girl shook her head, the most significant movement she could manage in her restraints. “Once, you rejected me… and you will reject me again in the future. But one day, you will accept me once more. Only then will you understand that everything is an illusion…”

“I will not accept you,” Ziyao declared. Though she remembered nothing, these words were her deepest truth.

“You always say that, but back then, didn’t you still—”

Suddenly, the ground began to tremble, interrupting the girl’s words. She gazed at the cracking sky, a fierce glint in her eyes.

“It seems time is almost up. You should go back,” she told Ziyao. “Next time, I hope you remember something.”

Ugh…

Clutching her head, Ziyao slowly opened her eyes. She felt as though she had just experienced a very strange dream. She couldn’t recall the events of the dream, but those golden eyes—she would never forget them.

Hmm? Why is it so chaotic outside? No! Something has definitely happened.

Without a thought for waking Aiya gently, Ziyao quickly pried Aiya’s arms from around her.

“Ziyao, what’s wrong?” Aiya’s eyes fluttered open, still hazy with sleep.

Ziyao had already leaped out of bed and was pulling on her clothes. “Something’s happened. I’m going to find the Empress.”

With that, she flung open the door and rushed out. She hadn’t even had time to put on her stockings and shoes.

Ailin, who had been about to knock and wake Ziyao, stumbled as Ziyao crashed past her.

“Please, come back safely…” Aiya clasped her hands together and closed her eyes.

Suddenly, an unfamiliar voice appeared in her mind. “Aiya, I need your help.”

Eh? Aiya turned her head but found no one beside her. Who is it?

“Look in the mirror! Hurry!” The voice’s owner sounded extremely anxious.

Walking to the mirror, Aiya discovered that the reflection was not her, but a girl who bore a striking nine-tenths resemblance to her. This girl had the same long golden hair and nearly identical features. If not for her ruby-like eyes, Aiya might not have realized the person in the mirror wasn’t her.

“Who are you? Why do you need my help?” Aiya asked, a hint of curiosity in her tone. Though her mother had always told her that in such situations, it was best not to respond but to immediately leave and find her mother, this time, Aiya suddenly wanted to hear what the girl in the mirror had to say. Her intuition told her that this girl meant no harm.

“Who I am isn’t important!” The girl’s face was etched with urgency. “The Abyss! Those bastards dared to make their move here! The ritual has already begun. To stop it, we must interrupt the infusion of life force, but it’s too late… Even if all the corrupted individuals are annihilated, the life force they provide would be enough to summon a Demon God from the Abyss. When that happens, everyone in this city will die!”

They would not die by the hands of a Demon God, but by the attacks of the Gods themselves. Vast amounts of wind magic had already gathered in the north, the southern volcanoes were stirring, and even the eternally unmoving Sky-Reaching Peak was trembling. All three of the world’s remaining Gods were watching this place. The moment a creature from the Abyss descended, they would attack without hesitation.

That was their duty.

“I need your help.” The girl reached out her hand to Aiya. “Believe me…”