“You both… are telling me who you are, aren’t you?”

 

I understood what this memory was supposed to be. This was the truth of who Janova and Yuu Yuu were. The mother took the child and walked out of the home with her. The father followed, and so did the massive group. I followed along with them. It was strange. I was like a ghost that nobody noticed as I became a part of the group.

Yuu Yuu’s mother raised her in the air.

"My daughter, Yuuna {~~~~~~} was born with a gift. We checked her vessel countless times, and it’s been found that she, my Yuuna, is a chaos user."

Everyone chanted words of praise. As they held up the baby wrapped in fine cloth, it cried on a warm day. The lake was beautiful. Everything about this day was a miracle to see.

 

 

“Yuuna {~~~~~~} has received the blessings we asked for. Yuuna… will one day bring us into paradise!"

Every time the woman mentioned her last name, an audible distortion would cover up her words. It was an apparent inconsistency because… it would seem that Yuu Yuu and Janova do not know Yuu Yuu’s last name. Maybe it was due to a trauma that she forgot… I couldn’t say until I continued to understand who Yuu Yuu was.

"I see,"

I noted.

Yuu Yuu was a miracle child. Someone who could create pocket realities. Could that have been the “paradise” that they wanted?

"We are going to the sanctuary for Annaba. But we will continue to please our true goddess. She had finally answered our call by giving us… Yuuna."

Yuu Yuu’s father spoke.

The chants and praises of the many clapped and cheered. As they crossed the bridge, kids played, mothers and fathers were happily chatting. This group of 66 made their way into the sanctuary and began their worship. I followed behind, observing everything.

I reached the sanctuary, and Yuu Yuu’s father took them to the podium. That's when her father brought out a book. It was silver and had a bright symbol I'd never seen before on it.

“Janova…”

He chanted.

The book lit up with the chaos element. Excitedly, the Steeble Lake Tribe began their religious practice.

“So, this sanctuary was made for the water goddess Annaba? But the Steeble Lake Tribe used it to worship… Janova instead?”

Slowly, the story was coming together…

They played and had fun as they worshiped their true goddess. As the day went on, I watched from the back... A group of people happy beyond all measures of the word.

After the sermon, many of the children ran down the steps that led to the underground. I followed them and what it opened up to was a vast space. The front seemed to be a play area… but as I went back, deeper inside, the truth began to unfold. 

There were all kinds of artifacts. There were people down here, explaining to the children who Janova, the goddess of chaos, was.

“Hm.”

Yuu Yuu’s father held his infant daughter as he looked up to a giant statue. Janova was depicted much differently than what she actually looks like, however.

“Janova was a cruel goddess…."

He whispered to his daughter.

“But her abilities could shape the world into a wonderful place. Yuuna… you will be like her in power only. You will lead your people to happiness.”

I realized then… that their goal was only to escape from this world. If Janova could create a perfect stable reality… then their people could be eternally happy within said reality.

It was a dream of escapism. I wasn't sure what led these people to hide from the world, but they banded together for that sole purpose.

"These were the beliefs of the Steeble Tribe.”

Yuu Yuu’s disembodied voice said in my ear.

 

---

 

Suddenly, I was outside, standing on Steeble Lake. The weather changed. Leaves turned colors and eventually died as snow came.  Then spring came blooming after. Time was flowing and when it all ended, a young Yuu Yuu looked up at the sky. I stood from a distance, watching as she played with children. She looked far younger than her orphanage days. I take it she had to be around 3 or 4.

When her friends ran off, the small Yuu Yuu stopped chasing after them and turned to a blurred figure. It floated ominously as she watched it in amazement.

“Are you okay?”

Yuu Yuu asked.

As I observed… the blur around her took form. In a white pure white dress, she emerged. It was Janova, and she looked exhausted.

“I’m… tired.”

This woman said as she lay on the grass. Her body could barely keep a form. But as Yuu Yuu approached, I could see chaos resonating between the two of them.

“People… are calling my name. And… I followed it for years...”

Janova said tiredly. She closed her eyes as if opening them was costing her too much energy.

"And now… I'm tired…. I made it… but I’m tired."

Yuu Yuu walked to Janova. The weak goddess laid down on the grass. Sweetly, Yuu Yuu sat down and offered her lap to the tired woman.

"Here."

With a warming smile, Janova took her offer. Gently, she put her head softly on Yuu Yuu’s lap.

 

 

"It's okay…. What is your name?"

Yuu Yuu asked. It took a while before Janova finally responded.

“Janova… what’s yours?”

“Yuuna… but mommy calls me Yuu Yuu.”

“Oh…”

At their side, a small pink doll lay next to Yuu Yuu.

“And… what’s that?”

Janova asked.

“It’s my doll. Mom made it… and I take it everywhere.”

The spirit grew silent as she closed her eyes and rested.

Suddenly a disembodied voice appeared behind me. The spirit held me in her arms and put her chin on my shoulder again. It was no one other than that bratty Janova, watching the remarkable scene before her.

"I had no idea who I was at that time. I… just felt like my name was Janova. After that battle with the Radiants… I fell into a deep sleep and slowly forgot who I was, Feo."

“How did you live when Jade pulled your heart out?”

I asked.

"Because chaos doesn't follow the rules of reality. I am… a walking inconsistency. So, when my body died… I had nothing left, and my mind began to wander."

I looked back at the two as Janova’s touch left me. I could see… the strings attached themselves to both of them. The question I asked in the past was, who is controlling who?

But this scene between them showed me that it was simple… Yuu Yuu and Janova both controlled each other using these strings between them. There is no master or servant… there is only Yuu Yuu and Janova.

Janova appeared at the side of the memory. She tenderly watched her past self… sleep in Yuu Yuu’s arms.

“Eventually, I regained my strength and was able to watch Yuuna grow up. I couldn't interact with others… but her parents believed she saw me and accepted that I was the Janova from 200 years ago. Yuu Yuu… could tell the group about features about me that nobody should know.”

“I see.”

I said as I watched the two girls… relax together.

“Little Yuuna.”

Her voice took me off guard as Elizera, the head of the knights, stepped near her. Yuu Yuu looked up at the woman towering over her.

“Oh… Aunt Eli…”

 

 

 

Janova stayed asleep as Elizera gave Yuuna a pet on her head.

“You’re a good child. Are your parents around.”

The innocent Yuu Yuu pointed towards her home. The beam on her face… showed me that her relationship with Elizera… was a familiar one.

“They… knew each other?”

Janova turned to me with saddened eyes. The goddess vanished along with the scene in front of me.

The times began to change again as the winds blew.

 

---

 

I saw a 5-year-old version of Yuu Yuu. The age when I met her in the orphanage, I assumed. Once again, Janova appeared at my side.

“I’ve grown to understand something while I watched and observed Yuu Yuu, Feo.”

She spoke.

“What was it?”

I asked.

"That… I could feel what Yuu Yuu felt. If she was sad… I slowly understood what sadness was… and it was overwhelming to me. If Yuu Yuu was happy, I was manic…."

I turned to Janova, and her bright eyes drew me in. Suddenly she approached me, placed her hand on my chest, and tilted her head.

“When Yuu Yuu was angry… I was enraged. You can only imagine those emotions taking over me as time went on.”

The tone of her voice was one of pure sadness. Worriedly, she brought her face closer to me.

“Keep your sanity for us, Feo.”

 

 

She whispered as she lay her lips on mine. It felt like I was kissing Yuu Yuu… but no, that wasn’t it. I’ve always been kissing Janova, and this was just confirmation that I didn't just fall in love with one person…

I fell in love with two.

But as abruptly as she did that, she vanished.  

 

---

 

“We’re running out of time.”

The world broke again, and I found myself in the sanctuary. There stood the father of Yuu Yuu, her mother, and the young child herself. Janova hovered behind her. The person they were speaking with… was no one other than her…

Elizera.

“Spectrum is going to be pulled from this area… and that would destroy everything we worked for.”

Elizera said with her hands on her hips. Her smile was gone, and she appeared distraught.

“Yes, we see the silver trees just like you, Elizera. You promised that you’d relocate us before these events take place, though.”

Yuu Yuu’s father said.

They turned to look at Yuu Yuu, who was focused on Janova.

“I have a plan. Don’t you remember who gave you the book with Janova’s name in the first place?”

Elizera asked as she crossed her arms.

“It was you, Elizera. We know… we’re just worried.”

Yuu Yuu’s mother said. I couldn’t believe my ears when she did.

“Elizera… gave them the book to worship Janova?”

I questioned.

I couldn’t wrap my head around anything that was going on anymore. The mortal enemy of the goddess of chaos… converted a group of people to become followers?

“I need to plant the seed before it’s too late. Time is against us.”

Elizera whispered.

“Plant the seed?”

The father parroted.

“Follow me, all three of you.”

They did just that as she led them to the front of the sanctuary. Yuu Yuu bounced over, and Janova followed her as tired as she was.

“Your aid will be here in a few days. That’s already been scheduled...”

Elizera raised her right hand. Her spectrum power flowed as a wall of weeds filtered around Steeble Lake. It reminded me of the spell she used in the interrogation room. No noise could break through, and it made my heart sink…

I understood what this memory was.

“What is she doing?”

The people of Steeble Lake were on high alert as they watched this spell filter over the land.

 

 

Everyone stopped what they were doing as they watched the glorious power of the Radiant, the one who brought them their religion, do something extraordinary. The prophet who gave them a reason to worship showed another marvelous thing. 

"We've stored spectrum under the Steeble Lake for years. Yuuna has the vessel openings we need. This is the only chance we'll get…."

The tone of her voice was cold… and detached. When the spell was completed, the world around us darkened. People were confused as they crossed the bridge to meet with Elizera. Suddenly, a claymore appeared in Elizera’s hand. It was magnificent as it shined a bright gold.

“What are you talking about, Elizera?”

Yuu Yuu’s father asked.

Janova floated eagerly. As if she felt danger, she took hold of Yuu Yuu. Elizera stared at Yuu Yuu… then the shadow that was Janova.

“I need you broken before it’s too late.”

Coldly, Elizera said... before it happened.

“Ah!”

 

 

Yuu Yuu screamed along with the group surrounding the Radiant. In front of Yuu Yuu’s innocent eyes, the woman that gave her life had the sword plunged through her neck. Blood spilled all over Yuu Yuu, and her father. Elizera twisted it, mutilating her unsuspected victim, maddeningly.

“What the hell are you doing?!”

Yuu Yuu's father screamed as he fell to his wife's body. People began fleeing as the braver few rushed up to Elizera. The father, in shock, took the lifeless body of his beloved in his arms.

“E-Elizera, what the hell are you doing? Why would you do something like this?!”

Distraught, the man looked up at their prophet. Her eyes were like a stone as she turned them towards the young Yuu Yuu. She grabbed Yuu Yuu by her arm and lifted her up.

“Aunt Eli! Stop!”

The Radiant hurled her up to her chest and held Yuu Yuu hostage. Her sword angled at her neck as she dragged the struggling girl into the sanctuary.

“Let Yuu Yuu go!”

Janova screamed through her. It was clear that she had no power to do anything but lash out. Janova looked weak and tired, but she struggled to break her free. Finally, Elizera tossed Yuu Yuu to the floor as she reached the center of the church.

"You will watch as everything that makes sense in your life… ceases to be, Yuuna.”

A group of people raced in with weapons raised. One by one, Elizera cut them down. But she didn't just defend herself. Through her attacks, she would lie them in front of a terrified little girl and brutally murder them one by one. Even her dying father cried out in pain next to his child.

“Daddy!”

Horrified, Yuu Yuu’s small mind couldn’t comprehend the devastation that was only just starting. Elizera returned with the mutilated body of her beloved mother. She tossed her lifeless body down next to the terrified little girl. After a few hacks from the great sword, her mother's severed head rolled next to her.

"Keep your eyes open, Yuuna, or else I'll hurt you!"

The murderer demanded.

“Don’t look at them, Yuu Yuu!”

Janova cried as she held the child, still screaming and crying in fear.

“Mommy!”

That’s all Yuu Yuu would say as she looked at the lifeless head of her mother. Soon the bodies began to pile around her as the blood coated the floor. Elizera brutally grabbed her short hair. She looked into the eyes of the screaming child and cast a spell. Yuu Yuu's eyes were forced open, and her body was locked.

“Ah! Ah!”

Only her mouth could move as she was… forced to watch the brutality unfold before her eyes.

“This is disgusting!”

I screamed.

I couldn’t do anything but watch this carnage take place. Elizera forced Yuu Yuu to see all the brutality she caused on these people. After all the brave ones who came to save their leaders died, Elizera mercilessly cut up their bodies like a butcher to meat. The gore-coated Yuu Yuu as Janova held her tight, trying to console her.

“It’ll be okay! Don’t break Yuu Yuu! That's what she wants! Don't break!"

I couldn’t even believe this was the same person. Elizera stepped away, leaving the child screaming and petrified by her spell.

"She's not going to…."

I raced outside to see her dragging other people one by one across the bridge. Others screamed and cried for help, but the barrier she put over the place was perfect for this. Steeble Lake had become a hunting ground for her.

Elizera dragged in a woman by the hair. The screaming as she struggled couldn’t be mirrored. The fear of her life about to be stripped from her caused my bones to chill. This wasn’t a night terror where all the horrible things never hsppened. 

This was a memory of the past… that Yuu Yuu and Janova very much experienced. The woman was pleading for her life. She tossed her down in front of Yuu Yuu.

“Watch! See something you can’t understand, Yuuna!”

“I-I-I d-don’t want to! I-I!”

Janova held on to Yuu Yuu as tight as she could.

“Don’t let this fucking monster break your psyche! You’re stronger than this… you’re stronger than me, Yuu Yuu!”

I watched as she brutalized this woman and ultimately cut her in half. I… couldn't imagine the thoughts going through a child that young. All the crying, the terror each person had as they were brought in one by want and slaughters in front of Yuu Yuu caused my blood to boil.

“I get it, Janova! I get it, Yuu Yuu!”

I cried out to the only two who could stop this madness. But then… before I could break out of this pocket reality, I stopped… I understood… why I had to see this.

“I…. I have to see this.”

It would be the only way for me to… truly understand the horrors of their past. So, I turned back and watched the frightened little girl doing her best to escape and her guardian… trying to keep her from going insane.

Elizera brought in the children last. Yuu Yuu's voice had grown hoarse by this point, but her eyes were still petrified with fear. Her mind wouldn't be able to process such an extreme event. She… was breaking.

“Watch Yuuna! You will watch as everything you thought about this world changes before your eyes.”

“Please, help me, Yuuna.”

A child… an innocent child, pleaded for their life before being murdered in front of her friend. The blood also covered her as Elizera tossed the body on top of Yuu Yuu. Unable to move, she had to hold the child's lifeless body as she bled out in front of her.

What terrified me the most out of this repulsive scene was that Yuu Yuu wasn’t screaming anymore. 

Janova still held her as tight as she could as she yelled in her ear.

“Yuuna! Listen to me! Don’t let Elizera break you! Stay focused, stay alert! Don’t… don’t let her make you go insane. You don’t want to become me!”

Elizera snipped her teeth and glared at Janova. She seemed to have discovered Janova before this horrible event. Elizera knew of Janova’s existence.

Yuu Yuu attempted to create reality, but Elizera broke it instantly.

“You can’t escape reality, Yuuna! Everything you knew and loved is dead before you! Nobody is going to wake back up! Your world has changed.”

Elizera berated coldly.

“Shut up! What kind of monster are you?! Yuu Yuu isn’t like me! She’s not going to break like I did.”

Elizera ignored her and turned back to her victim. Yuu Yuu’s screams suddenly came back.

“Janova! Janova!”

The child called out.

"It's okay! Yuu Yuu won’t be broken! It’s okay!”

Elizera walked over to her and picked up the child. She squeezed her neck, causing her to become dizzy.

“There is no time. Yuuna {~~~~} is one of the only hopes this world has. You will be broken!”

She stared down at the child, still fighting for life. But eventually, her eyes rolled back as she passed out.

"I'll fucking kill you… leave Yuu Yuu alone! I… I… should have killed you 200 years ago, Elizera!”

Yuu Yuu’s eyes opened as Janova took charge.

“Yuu Yuu won’t die!”

She crawled at Elizera’s face with her small bloody palms. But it wasn’t Yuu Yuu doing it… It was Janova fighting as hard as she could.

“Yuu Yuu won’t break! Yuu Yuu is strong! Yuu Yuu… Yuu Yuu won’t become like me. She has compassion… she… has love. And a monster like you won’t take away her humanity!”

“You don’t understand.”

Elizera turned to Janova.

“This child having her humanity will destroy this world.”

Elizera put her hand on Yuu Yuu's small chest. She the chaos element and broke through Yuu Yuu' blur. By doing this, Elizera revealed Janova to her surprise. 

"Silence."

Elizera said.

"Huh?!"

Janova lunged back in fear. The Radiant’s hand began to glow as she channeled a spell.

“Janova!”

I cried through tears, but it was pointless…

I wasn’t there at this time…

There would be no way I could have prevented this if I was.

"You need to sleep. Maybe if this child wakes up… and you are not there with her, she'll finally break. Maybe you, Janova, are the catalyst she needs to be broken."

In a snap of an earth spell, Janova screamed horribly as her spirit faded away… back into Yuu Yuu’s body.

Her eyes lay open, but Yuu Yuu wasn't alert. Slowly, Elizera walked out to Steeble Lake. Blood was spread all around the land as she walked over the bridge. She dipped Yuu Yuu into the water, and the thick blood on her didn't wash off. Her clothing just stained pink slightly, but it was enough to wake her up from her shock. Coughing, Yuu Yuu was in the arms of a mass murderer.

“Ahh!”

She struggled, but Elizera wouldn’t let her go.

“J-Janova! J-Ja… Janova!”

In a panic, she shouted. Everything in me wanted to beat Elizera to death, but I couldn't. I was just a ghost in this world, and I had to stay there… and observe this horrific event.

"She's gone, Yuuna! She’s dead… and you’ll never hear her voice again.”

The monster whispered lies.

I could see it in her eyes as that final line within Yuu Yuu snapped. The world began to shake, and an insane amount of spectrum energy began to ascend from underground. Yuu Yuu screamed, and her body started to glow a bright silver.

 

 

 

“What’s going on with her?!”

I called out. But it was useless. I wasn't… a part of this world.

“There you go! You can’t understand any of this, can you Yuu Yuu?! Let the chaos in you take over! Don’t think anymore! You want everything to be quiet! No more screaming, no more anything!”

It was as if Elizera was coaching her as the land began to drain of its spectrum. However, the energy was being fed into the young Yuu Yuu. This massive amount of spectrum energy was pouring itself into her veins.

“Ahhh?!”

Yuu Yuu struggled with rage. A young child like her couldn't process what was going on logically. She couldn't understand anything, which was a catalyst to make her go insane, and Elizera was feeding into that.

“Yuu Yuu! Yuu Yuu!”

Suddenly, out from her body, Janova appeared.

“Don’t let her take your mind! Listen to me! I’m alive! Janova is here!”

Elizera put her lips to the screaming child's forehead. It made my stomach knot in disgust. The spectrum continued to flow within her.

“That’s in your head, Yuuna! I killed her! I killed Janova. She’s lying next to your mommy and daddy in a pool of blood.”

The intensity of Yuu Yuu’s screams increased as the power continued to be forced into her. The world began to break into small pocket realities as Steeble Lake drained of all its beauty. Death and toxins began to rise, and Elizera held them off with her spell. The land was dying, and its people were engulfed by the gasses.

“All of this was to make Yuu Yuu go insane…. And become another Janova from the past?!”

Asking questions to memory was useless. No matter how much I screamed at Elizera… the fact of the matter was, it happened, and I wouldn't be able to change that.

Finally, Janova wrapped her arms around Yuu Yuu, still within Elizera’s embrace.

“It’s okay… to give me control, Yuu Yuu. If you can’t handle it… I’ll take over.”

Yuu Yuu was still screaming in terror. I wasn’t sure if she could even hear the gentle voice of her… only friend. If that child was this terrified… I could only imagine the emotions going through Janova.

"It's okay to not understand… It's okay to be scared. Just hide. I'll take over."

Janova was crying. Her soul was crushed, yet she continued fighting for Yuu Yuu.

"I can feel your sadness. I can feel your fear. I'll take it… just hide…. And I'll take it all from you, Yuu Yuu."

Finally, she calmed down as her eyes rolled behind her head. The spectrum flow began to be disturbed as Janova… took over.

“You won’t… break Yuu Yuu. Yuu Yuu won’t allow you to. And if you get rid of me… I’ll make sure she’ll never wake up again, Elizera.”

 

 

Annoyed, Elizera set the child to the side. Even this mad murderer had tears rolling down her cheeks as they faced one another. The child asleep, the world around them horridly destroyed. Janova... had won the battle of Yuu Yuu's sanity for the time being.

“You’ll continue to put her to sleep… and she’ll never awaken to what she needs to be.”

Elizera looked at Janova through Yuu Yuu.

“She’s probably too young to even comprehend this madness. But one day… all of this will be too much for her… and she’ll even do one of two things, Janova.”

Elizera, the monster that slaughtered 65 people, announced.

“She’ll even fall into a deep depression and kill herself… Or gain enough rage and hate and come to kill me.”

The monster bent down and lifted her back up. Janova was fighting as much as she could, but the power difference was massive.

 

 

“And when that day comes where she can comprehend madness… I will break her no matter what. Her loss of humanity is the key to us surviving. 65 people being killed and 1 being mentally destroyed outweighs what is to come."

The spell around the Steeble Lake broke as she began walking away, holding Yuu Yuu in her arms. Janova kept fighting, but it was useless. The toxins erupted around the lake, likely caused by the event Elizera made. That Radiant and mass murderer... was the true culprit of the Steeble Lake incident and she was kidnapping their goddess.

I followed speechlessly. It felt endless, but eventually, like a skip in the world, we appeared on the outskirts of….

 

 

....a particular orphanage.