- CHAPTER ONE -

𝓘𝓵𝓵𝓾𝓼𝓲𝓸𝓷, 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶 𝓸𝓻 𝓪 𝓝𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝓶𝓪𝓻𝓮

 

George Alexander Louis sat glaring down at the lavish banquet of luxurious yellow beast meat and multicoloured leafy flora in an unusual mix of confusion and anger. He kept daring it to fade away like he thought it would. Yet, no matter how much he stabbed it with his eyes, it never wavered; no matter how much his mind wished for it not to be real, it never disappeared; no matter how much he prodded, poked, pushed and jabbed it with his fork, it never vanished. The meat only sat there, mocking him.

His confusion didn't stem from how such a fantastical and magical meal could exist, nor how he knew, without a shred of doubt, such a meal would be edible when all common sense said such weird colours almost certainly meant it was rotten; he wasn't even confused about how he knew exactly what type of mythical beasts and planets the slabs of meat and vegetables had come from. No, his confusion and anger stemmed from the fact that he had seen it all before, just not in this lifetime. And as he began to take in more of his surroundings, the more unbelievable everything seemed to become in his eyes, because he also knew exactly when he had last eaten it all.

How could I not? He thought, irritated.

It had been the meal he had eaten when, after almost a dozen millenniums of back-breaking work, he had finally broken through the barrier to become a Greater God. It had been the meal that he had spent half his life's fortune on just so his friends could celebrate in one of the most renowned restaurants in the gods' realm with him. But, above all that, it had also been the last meal he would ever have with his friends before he invited them all on his next journey, and they perished...

"Hey!" An androgynous voice that went ignored called out.

Taking a deep and shaky breath before closing his eyes, hoping to stop himself from looking at the people he knew would be around him, George ignored everything, focusing on only the things he knew as he tried to figure out what the hell was going on. As he recalled his memories -- which remained just as crystal clear as always -- he remembered coming back to his hovel like home after finishing his last lecture on a standard Craniotomy surgery and he remembered working on the medicine he had been trying to develop for his grandmother, then, after he finally couldn't stay awake anymore, he had retired to bed for the night.

So how am I here? Did I die again? No. He pushed the thought from his mind; he knew what death felt like, and he definitely would remember experiencing something so... jarring, again.

"Hey, Asuhira!" A much louder boyish shout compared to the one he had ignored earlier, and a small shake of his shoulder pulled him from his thoughts, forcing him to confront what was happening and the people he didn't want to meet around him.

Forcing his eyes open, an otherworldly childish face, that couldn't be anyone but the owner of the voice he had heard only seconds before, with ivory skin, wavy blue hair, and eyes the colour of moonlight, leaned mere inches away from his own.

Anoky...

He wanted to reach out and touch him, confirm that what he seemed to be seeing and feeling all too well was real, so, so much. He knew what he would see when he opened his eyes, yet... it seemed too good to be true. As much as he wanted to believe that it was his friend in front of him, he knew that person had died long ago. But as Anoky examined him with delicate and scholar-like hands with such clear worry in his eyes, it was all George could do to not jump forwards and pull the boy in to a hug as his reservations started slipping away under such care.

How much had I missed this kid? How much had I cried when I had finally stopped running and got the chance to mourn him? Why am I seeing your face again after all this time? After I had finally moved on... His thoughts and emotions were in turmoil; all he could do was sit there silently.

"Aw~ look at Anoky fussing over little Suhi again!" The same androgynous voice he had ignored earlier seemed to snap Anoky out of it, and the boy quickly pulled his hands away, blushing.

"I - I wasn't fussing, I was merely checking to see if Asuhira was okay, Naen." Anoky spluttered, trying to hide away from everyone's eyes by looking as small as possible behind his food.

George's lips couldn't help but twitch at their edges as he saw Anoky just being the same old Anoky he remembered.

Wanting to say something, anything, to give a bit of comfort to a friend he hadn't talked to in so long -- despite how little the person cared about such teasing -- he was interrupted when Anoky suddenly looked back up and glared over his shoulder. "And stop calling him Little Suhi, he doesn't like it."

"Hmph! Asuhira doesn't even care!" The voice huffed, accompanied by a pull on his arm that managed to tear his gaze away from Anoky and towards the person who he had ignored all this time.

Sitting beside him, an erotic looking androgynous adult, with way too much pale skin showing, curly black hair, and abyssal black eyes that seemed to suck him in, stared up at him while they pulled at his sleeve.

"Right, Asuhira?" They asked.

Naen...

You're still just as weird, confusing and clingy as I remember... George chuckled inwardly, staring at his strange but lovable friend, still unable to find the right words for any form of response in the pile of words he had wanted to say to them after all this time.

His gaze must have been intense, Naen no longer quite looking up at him but looking slightly off to the side before even that wasn't enough, and she turned away, shifting uncomfortably, eventually shouting at him and pushing him away. "Asuhira, you're staring too much!"

Startled, George quickly turned his head away, cursing himself for forgetting what his gaze could do, but was now also stuck, fumbling on his words as he tried to apologize, curse and remember what he had been asked at the same time. "Ah! Sorry?Damn, I mean, um, right, the question... what was it again?"

As soon as the words left his mouth he felt like cursing up a storm again, but held it in, unwilling to embarrass himself further. When have I ever found it this hard to talk to people?

A husky and chesty laugh rang out around the room, and George, much to his relief, found everyone's attention pulled away from him and towards the source of the voice. A mountain of a man, with ashen skin, long, dark grey hair, a small neet beard, and eyes the colour of tar, who suddenly filled up the room when his eyes finally landed on them, sat reclined in their own little corner of the low sofa that surround the table laughing as they enjoyed whatever multicoloured liquid they were holding while the shadows hugged at their arms and hid in their open shirt.

"Naen stop teasing Anoky and bothering Asuhira, we're here celebrating Asuhira success! And you Asuhira, have a drink lad. " The man gruffed. "Only The Source knows when you last had one."

Raekes...

Still managing to be overbearing despite being an illusion. I don't know why I never trusted you; maybe if I did, things wouldn't have ended up as they had... He thought, absentmindedly accepting a purple liquid that had been slid across the table and now sloshed around dangerously in the chalice.

"I was only teasing," Huffed Nean. "don't be such a spoilsport, you big brute! Just continue playing with your yucky shadows in your little corner!"

Slamming the table, Reakes started getting up, dragging the shadows that had hidden in corners out in to the open as the room fell silent and Naen bristled next to him.

"Here we go again" Anoky muttered, already inching next to him to avoid the eternal lovers spat everyone had seen all too often.

Then all at once, whatever anger quickly built up disappeared and he deflated, slumping back in to the sofa with a sigh as he brought the shadows back in with him. "Stop trying to start something and acting like a brat Naen. Today isn't about us so give it rest, alright?"

Catching Naen pouting while sticking out her tongue playfully at Raekes in the counter of his eye, George found himself smiling without even noticing. Everything was like how he remembered it.

"Hey, Alish," Anoky whispered, nudging the childish-looking beauty, with grey skin, waist-length, frizzy red-black sooty hair, and eyes the colour of coals, beside him.

George sighed quietly, he wouldn't be surprised if the kid had completely forgotten that everyone in the room could hear him if they chose to, just like he could while he watched the silent and invisible mana battle between the two lovers that felt all too nostalgic.

"I'm not seeing things am I? That is definitely Asuhira smiling over there and not some imposter, right?" Anoky continued.

At Anoky's words, Alish's head whipped up and away from the food she had been inhaling. Her previous black and coal-like eyes slowly glowing in dull red as she stared at him from across the table while a pouty Naen reattached themselves to his arm again. She was clearly already ignoring Anoky's question, most likely using his small smile as material to enjoy her weird passion for watching men that she had picked up and he never could understand.

It wasn't until a moment of silence passed between them that Anoky, too, realised that he probably wouldn't be getting his answer unless he reminded her.

"Alish?" Nudging the girl a bit more violently to snap her out of her trance.

Suddenly broken out of her little pink world, Alish panicked. "Huh?! Hot, n-no wait, y-yeah, that's definitely Asuhira."

"Really? Are you sure?"

"I would never mistake Asuhira's pret-" Alish abruptly coughed in to her hand, the tips of her ears turning crimson. "I mean, I'm pretty sure I know Asuhira when I see him."

Seeing Anoky nod to himself, apparently happy with the confirmation that he hadn't been taken away as he treated Alish's words like they could only ever be irrefutable, George felt like bursting in to real laughter for the first time since he had lost them. What god of wisdom? What seer of truths? He could be tricked by a child... He groaned inwardly. The idiot had been tricked by a child...

"It's kind of creepy seeing him smile after his century-long grump though..." Anoky muttered to himself, clearly not expecting an answer as he ignoring Alish and stared at him.

"Yeah, creepy," Alish scoffed as she turned away, "right...", the idea that his face could be creepy, evidently, nothing short of ludicrous to the girl.

All of a sudden, Anoky's eyes widen and he began poking at Alish, trying to get the girl's attention back. "Alish, look, look! Isn't that a tear in Asuhira's eye?!"

George felt a bad feel well up inside of him hearing Anoky, and, spotting Alish turn towards him with fire already burning in her eyes, couldn't help but groan inwardly at his friends' carelessness. Anoky should know her hobbies by now.

Alish, with now laser-like focus, looked back up. And, spotting the small tear that had formed when he had held back his laughter, her body combusted in to flames right then and there. Her eyes no longer a dull glowing red but a blazing fire that burned in orange, hair more akin to a raging inferno that flickered, and licked at the surrounding air instead of a red mop dragged through a pit of soot, and skin, now stripped of its ashen colour, glowed in a blinding white.

The temperature of the room shot up under the heat emanating from the small goddess that had once looked like the personification of a doused and dusty fireplace. Probably feeling everyone's gaze, Alish panicked as she realised she had started to melt half the surroundings and quickly reeled herself in before she gave a small snort in apology and went back to inhaling her food. A light blush burned away at her cheeks as she attempted to ignore and hide away from everyone's gazes.

Alish...

George smirked, watching as the girl tried to hide in her food. Still the first one to wreck whatever establishment we eat at and still just as easy to read as I remember. Although you do look more childish than in my memories... He thought. Then again, it wasn't all that surprising his memories of Alish had seen her as more adult-like; they had both arrived in the gods realm at the same time, so he had seen her as an equal; and back then he would never have willingly admitted that he was childish.

A burst of ugly laughter accompanied by very unladylike nasally snorts, pulled his attention away from the small blushing goddess until his eyes finally landed on a blindingly attractive woman that sat quietly in a corner trying -- and failing spectacularly -- to smother her laughter behind her sleeves.

With a bust that only stayed hidden because of enchantments he knew were there, rosy skin, short, pink hair, and eyes and lips the colour of rose petals, the woman would seemed to be the very essence of innocent cuteness if she didn't exude an aura of complete debauchery at the same time.

Mae...

You look even more captivating than I remember; even that terrible laugh sounds almost musical now. It would seem my time with mortals has only allowed me to appreciate you even more...

It all felt like too much. George felt like his emotions were tearing him apart seeing everyone happily arguing, laughing and exchanging banter like they hadn't left him to suffer alone. He had spent aeons reliving this moment and the time he spent with them, regretting what he had dared to ask in a moment of pure selfishness. More time than he would like to admit had he tried to forget the small moment these people had taken up in his long life before they had disappeared.

Why is this happening after so many aeons? Am I being tricked? Or... am I being given another chance? The thought sparked a terrible ember of hope in him. As a god he had plenty of experience with time magic; often dragged by Alish to the gambling dens where he could bet for or against a mortal in their journey to a fake godhood, or when he found time to watch the larger more competitive clashes between gods were they had to reset entire universes so several teams of gods could create their own pantheons, religions, and empires before they battled against each other using their followers. And while he hadn't read about a god ever getting sent back in time, restricted by the vast amount of law imposed on them, he had messed with something far greater, something even the elder gods refused to talk about. Anything could be possible. Anything was possible.

Yet the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to deny it, bury it, along with all these emotion this place was forcing him to feel again. He would like to think that even as a mortal he would have noticed a wisp of such reality-breaking magic. Unfortunately, with such thoughts, that only left one thing...

George took a desperate gulp of the purple liquid he had started drinking at some point, his anger bursting to the surface. Is this another punishment? Was damning me to the life of a mortal not enough? My life of solitude all those years before not enough!? MY MISTAKE THAT UNFORGIVABLE!?

Another swig signified the unfortunate end of his blessed purple liquid and anger as his mood fell.

Why punish me with something so cruel? Why torment me so? Because that was the only thing this place could be; a sick illusion made by whatever being seemed to think that living his life as a mortal and losing everyone hadn't been enough.

It was the only thing he could come up with to justify whatever this thing that played with his emotions was trying to achieve. Looking down at the empty chalice he was nursing, spurreed on by its wretched emptyness, his mood finally hit rock bottom...

"Just let me die..." George whispered.

"Asuhira, snap out of it!" Anoky shouted.

George glanced up, surprised that the illusion had made Anoky shout at him.

"Why are you being more broody than usual today?" Anoky continued. "You're mood is affecting everyone else."

George finally took notice of everyone else in the room. Naen had quietly moved away from him. Raekes now sat silently drinking. Mae was no longer laughing. And Alish sat there prodding her food. It's better this way, better everyone stops celebrating me after what I did to them... George paused, feeling something was wrong. But... isn't this an illusion? Shouldn't it be trying to make me feel as guilty as possible? What's the point if they try to make him feel better?

Is... is this really an illusion?

Confused, George looked back at Anoky, hoping to find something in his reaction, but found nothing more than the same worry he had seen earlier.

"We're all here for you Asuhire! I don't know why you're worrying and brooding so much but just sit back, relax, and have some fun with everyone." Anoky whispered.

He shook his head. No, it's a trick. It's trying to trick me.

"You've been pushing yourself for a couple of millennia to achieve what you did so you have earned some you time!" Patting him on the back, Anoky turned towards everyone. "Right guys?"

A round of cheers and agreement followed as everyone lifted their chalices in what he could only say was a clear attempt to cheer him up. Anoky placed another drink in front of him, his eyes prompting him to drink it.

He hesitated but took a sip, the spark from earlier now burning brighter.

Mae Giggled. "Yeah, Asuhira. I still haven't given you your very special gift yet!"

"Ha! Close your legs woman, as if Asuhira would sleep with a loose woman like you!" Raekes scoffed.

Alish exploded with laughter. "You're just mad because your the only one Mae hasn't made a move on!"

Raekes grey skin darkened. "For your information, I would have refused her anyway. I have no need for such passionless activities!"

Maybe it was the drinks that had fogged his mind without his awareness, maybe it was the joyous atmosphere that seemed to suck him in, maybe it was the fact that everything seemed so right with the world at this moment, or maybe he just didn't want to notice. But after a while, he started talking.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Time had never passed so fast for George. He had been without friends for so long that he had almost thought he would never experience something like this again. Yet here he was, joking around and basking in others' company as he had in the past. He had long forgotten what he had been so afraid of.

He couldn't tell anyone how long he spent enjoying his time with everyone, but at some point everyone started to get up, preparing to leave. Confused and very much drunk, George scrambled to his feet, arms reaching out after everyone. "Wher'sh everyone going? Don't leave, ther'sh still mountains of food and I thought we were having fun?"

Everyone turned back to look at George, apparently looking just as confused as he felt. "Of course, we're off to prepare for the trip?" Anoky smiled sheepishly. "We have to be at our best if we don't want to hold you back. After all, we're not all as strong as you Asuhira."

The words felt like they pushed ice through his veins, and a small part of his mind sobered up as it started screaming at him that something was wrong.

What is happening? I'm sure I never brought up the trip... George felt his heart sink. Is everything still playing out just like it had in the past? He shook his head. No, calm down. I can still change this. Pushing back the tightness that was starting to constrict his chest and the feeling that everything, no matter what he tried, would be useless to the back of his mind, his rapidly clearing head tried to think of something to help. He couldn't let the same disaster befall his friends. Not this time.

"Um, actually, I-I..." George stuttered for the first time in his entire life. Think, damn it! His mind grasped at straw till he finally hit something. "I was thinking that I might go in to suclusion for awhile to recentre myself." He blurted out all out once. "I - I just mean, I think that I was being too hasty. We should think about this again. Right?"

Everyone look at each other with knowing gazes. Almost like this would happen from the start. George despaired as part of his mind battle to tell him this wasn't real. Only he didn't didn't listen. He didn't want to.

"It's okay Asuhira, we'll be fine. We have you after all! " Mae beamed, causing George to flinch at the words as his mind stabbed him with images of his previous failure. Mae glanced back at everyone. "right?"

The tightness in his chest rose with a vengeance as he got a look at Mae's back. Unnoticed by everyone but himself, white ethereal chains had started to crawl their way up the back of her legs. Chains he had hoped he would never see again.

No...

More chains lethargically inched out beneath everyone unheeded as Naen bobbed her head rapidly. "And even if you can't, we can just run away while you hold them off, right?"

Stop it...

George's outstretched arm fell to his side.

Raekes chuckled, his grey skin glowing under the chains encircled his waist. "The great Asuhira nervous, I thought I'd never see the day! If I didn't know you any better I would have thought you were a different person!"

Don't take them again...

Weakness flooded his legs as he fell to his knees.

Alish just gave him a dazzling smile like she couldn't feel the chains pulling her to the ground. "Mae's right! And don't forget the quicker we can finish this, the quicker I can show you this new casino I found!"

He couldn't do it; he couldn't watch anymore. Tears fell unhindered down the sides of his face as he remembered how alone he had been after they died.

Feeling two hands gently cup his face, George looked up. Sitting there, like he could carry the whole world on his small shoulders, Anoky looked at him with a small smile. "Asuhira, we will be right back. We promise." A delicate finger wiped away a tear. "So stop crying, okay?"

"But you won't..." George muttered. He felt a rage build up inside him at Anoky's words and smack away his hands. "You won't be back, will you?! You'll leave me all alone, to suffer, while you all pass on!"

"Asuhira..."

Seeing the ethereal chains pulse, his mind bombard him with images of his friends being turned to dust under them. Memories of there pleading eyes and hopeful expressions pulled apart his mind as he felt a deep rage take over. Unable and unwilling to believe that he was forced to watch everyone leave him again, everything finally went red, the sound fading out until only his heart wrenching command rang out as he reach for Anoky.

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

"I WON'T LET YOU!"

George knelt there, huffing and trying to blink his hair out of his eyes while he tried to clear the rage. He was confused. He was in a different room. Clean lines and minimal clutter. Floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed every bit of light outside to flow in to the room. A woman dressed as a maid pinned beneath his arm. No, not a different room, my room. He thought.

Shaking his head lightly to clear the last of the red, he pulled himself off Rylee, lest he strangles the girl before she had a chance to explain what had just happened.

Sat back on the edge of the bed, he brushed his hair out of his eyes as he waited for Rylee to speak, his now clear mind wandering. He knew he hadn't dealt with it well, terribly, in fact. He was in full control over himself yet he had been pulled in to the illusion that caught him with little resistance as it then led him around by the hand. He would laugh at himself for how pathetic he had been, but, looking back at how real it all felt, he knew, nothing could have prepared him for that.

Hearing Rylee's breathing slow, he turned around, raising an eyebrow at her in prompt while he tried to hide his disgust at her mortal appearance.

"I-It was just a nightmare your Highness" Rylee wheezed, taking deep breaths as she massaged her throat while she forced herself to answer.

"So that was the nightmare..." he muttered out loud in a daze, before he fell silent, his mind a mess. He had heard of such things along with dreams while he was still the Prince of Pandyan; however, it was an experience belonging to the weak and those who lack control. He had never experienced them himself as he was never and could never allow himself to lose control.

But a nightmare? He thought over the word slowly before shaking his head as he grabbed his glasses and walked over to the window. He could still remember how happy, how complete he had felt while he was there. From what he had read about nightmares in the empire they were just negative feelings and images the wandering mind stitched together, usually causing you to wake up from fear or anxiety. He had felt nothing like that, only a blinding rage as he woke up.

Looking at the storm in the distance, he found himself sighing at the bizarreness of his situation. "A nightmare huh.... then what am I living in right now?"

Far in the distance an electrical storm filled with wild mana bombard against the invisible barriers that surrounded London. Unrelenting just like the day before and the ten years before that. It would have been quite a beautiful site what with the pink arcs of plasma that danced around the sky above the capital and the splashes of colour that appeared every other second on the barrier which surrounded it when the lighting hit it. Unfortunately, the fact that if any one of them got through the barrier thousands would die before the rest then went crazy as wild mana infused in lightning dissipated into the air, made the site quite an awful one.