In a ruined city lives a lonely Man. A man with a mask, a man with no memory. The black crystal like mask covers his entire face, no holes for the eyes or the mouth, yet the man can see and eat.

The man eats strange fruits that he founds growing on the weird trees the city is filled with. What once was a city with intricate and modern buildings is now destroyed and abandoned for the trees and plants to grow, the streets filled with grass and roots of the spiral like trees. 

The fruit was delicious , juicy and tender. Eating two was enough to fill him even though the fruits were just a bit bigger than an orange, he took a sip from the water he took from a small manantial. It was refreshing and with his meal finished, he entered the biggest building in the city, located in the center.

Climbing the stairs he finally made it to the roof, the view was breathtaking, a sense of wonder and melancholy filled him as he saw the glorious ruined city. He could see the edge and the endless nothing that lay beyond it. There was no escape from the city, none that he knew. 

With the view and a filled stomach the man closed his eyes and took a nap. 

X

The man was again in the white space, nothing could be seen, it was an empty space. The home of the only person he could talk to. 

A being made of shadows. The only thing one could see was its perfect white teeth. It showed a happy expression seeing the man in front of it. 

"hey there friend!" it  approached the man, sitting in front of him and motioning for him to do the same. 

"You still trying to take off the mask Azthol?" it mocked him as if it knew it was an impossible thing to do. "You know it's pointless right? I've told many times you can't take off the mask." 

Azthol remained silent for a moment before speaking. "I won't give up, even if you tell me it's impossible. I still want to try, but I think that as long as I remained in this city it will really be impossible." Azthol took a long look at the endless white world. 

"I want to see what's beyond the city, I don't want to stay forever here. At least I want to know what happened to make the city like this. I want to explore." Azthol lost the notion of time a long time ago, he doesn't know how old he is or how long he has been living in the city, but he wants to see more, he wants to find the answers to many questions he has. 

It looked at him almost like it was pitying him. A long sigh came from its mouth. "Are you sure you want take the mask off?" a question he answered many times before, but this time it sounded different. 

"Even if doing that would bring you despair and suffering. Not only for you but for the people around you?" It asked as a big grin formed on this face. "Are you sure no matter what happens you will take that mask off?" 

Azthol took a long breath before looking straight at where it's eyes would be. "No matter what. I will take it off, I don't know what type of person I was, but I know I will never regret my decisions." his eyes showed unbreakable conviction. Those were the eyes of a man who would never waver or back down. 

It looked a bit perplexed, maybe he was expecting a different answer. It closed its mouth before giggling a bit, it wasn't long before it became a loud laugh. "Hahaha! I expected nothing less from you, that's right one should never regret their actions." It calmed down and before showing a genuine smile. 

"Let's make a bet." It raised its left hand and raised one finger. "If you find something that makes you decide to accept and live with the mask you win and I lose." It raised a second finger. "If you take the mask off I win and you win."

Azthol was surprised, he knew it for some time now and he realize sooner than later that it was a weird thing, knowing more but never telling. At first he believed it to be a fragment of his mind to make up for the loneliness. But after some time he realized it was its own entity, he doesn't know what or who it was, but he considered it a friend. Someone who he could trust that's why he was surprised he offered that bet. 

It always tried to convince him to stay in the city and live in peace with the mask. As if it was trying to protect him, even weirder was that he talked as if he could take him out of the city. 

"So no matter what I win? That doesn't sound like a fair bet to me" Azthol asked. He trusted it, but he wasn't sure what the purpose of a bet like this was. 

"You could say I also win in both cases, but don't worry about that, will you take the bet?" It asked  extending its hand. 

Azthol took a moment to think, he didn't care how or why but this was his chance at escaping from the city, he would take the chance no matter what. 

He shook its hand officially sealing the deal. 

Azthol could feel the world around them disappear before his vision began to fade. Deciding to ask the question he had since meeting it. "Who are you?" 

It just smiled in response as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "You already know the answer, I am-

X

He woke up in the roof of the building, rain starting to pour from the clouds above him. He recalled his dream confused at the last words it spoke. He decided to make return home, least the rain gets worse. 

Azthol exited the building and made way for the resident area of the city. Houses destroyed and decayed greeted him as he made his way home. 

It was a small house, but it was almost completely intact, with only some broken windows and small holes in the wall and ceiling, but it was the best he had. He entered his house and went for the master bedroom. 

The moon was bright, the stars almost felt alive for how bright they shined. He took a long deep breath and layed in bed, looking at the moon and stars through the window, feeling hopeful that the day he could go outside the city was near.

With that wish he closed his eyes and fell asleep. 

X

A beautiful woman clad in black armor was flying in space, trying her best to escape from a massive beast, the beast looked like a giant serpent, wings made from blood allowing it to chase the woman with ease. 

The woman was named Kyrie Meld, she was doing a recon mission in the borders when she found herself in the nest of the serpent. Seeing as it was an opponent she couldn't face without attracting attention she decided to flee. 

Her armor was in a bad state having tanked hit from the massive serpent, it was almost falling apart. Kyrie had to find a place to hide and quick. Exhaustion was already making it difficult for her to fly and it was a matter of time before the serpent catched her. 

The space was filled with small and big worlds, the borders were dangerous to Traverse alone. Worlds constantly clashing and forming, she searched for a world to hide in, but most were unstable and constantly clashing with others. 

Kyrie wasn't a woman that gave up easily, even if the mission was a failure she needed to report to the officials at bastion. She knew that even the little information she gathered would be helpful in the war. 

She had faced situations like this before and survived. She couldn't give up know that her objective was so close. She frantically searched for a world to land on, feeling the serpent getting closer and closer by the second. 

Hitting her limit kyrie managed to see a world on the edge of her vision, with the last of her strength she shoot towards it. Paying no mind to the serpent trailing behind her. 

Kyrie entered the world and as the serpent was about to do the same, it felt a chill run its back. As if it entered the territory of an apex predator. The serpent decided it wasn't worth it and quickly retreated.

X

Kyrie was unconscious when she entered, her body crashing in a lake near a spiral like tree. Her body falling to bottom of the lake, but before she could drown, the root of a tree took her body from the depths of the lake laying her on the edge below the tree. 

Unconscious, kyrie didn't noticed the eyed that seemed to disappear from the center of the spiral like tree. 

The moon in the sky seemed to shined in ecstasy, before opening an eye in glee. Without Azthol or Kyrie knowing, the gears of destiny began moving. 

Their meeting was one many would come to regret.