Three continents, stacked atop one another. Akira, where the rays of sunlight beam down on the gorgeous green continent. Flauma, the second floor, a place where the sun and moon are visible at the same time during the day. The bottom-most continent Dunkle Tiefen, a place where the red sun shines under the world. The moon and sun move in a spiral manner around all three continents, but Dunkle Tiefen is unable to see the sun. It is a place where only the moon shines.
•On each continent there are structures we call towers, although they might be called towers, they don't resemble them in any way. Dunkle Tiefen has a "tower" shaped like a cube, while Akira has one shaped like a pyramid. Flauma's tower is spherical in shape.
•5 years ago, on the continent of Flauma.
A war…
No.
A massacre.
•The rebel factions of Rapan, Flauma's capital, known throughout the world as the city of light for its beautiful view of both the sun and moon. During the solstice, a day thought to have been peaceful and celebrated throughout the continents as a symbol of peace and freedom—though celebrated on different days of the year—but by far it is the most beautiful in the city of light.
•A day of bloodshed unlike any other, the streets, the sky, and everything in between covered not by the blood of the king and his guard, nor the blood of the rebel factions. The streets were covered in the blood of innocents—women and children, old and young. A battle between Darkness and the void.
•After all the killing they did, the remnants of the rebel factions—being the "Heroes" they are—hid themselves in the sphere tower on Flauma's continent.
•Every year since then, the solstice has been a day that inspires fear in the hearts of many, and it doesn't help that rebel faction's eighth division, Hange Ursla, comes out every solstice to engage with the people of Rapan—and the people seem to like her, even though she was one of the people who brought bloodshed of that caliber to Rapan in the first place.
•The bloodshed didn't begin for no reason. Every action has its consequences. The former King of Rapan, the one who made it the city of light that it was. The man who made the world's center the biggest city in history—The Great Alexander.
•Light cannot exist without darkness. That was the mountain the last king died on. The new King, a royal from the weakest branch of the royal family, the Lh branch. The new king leads the reconstruction efforts, beloved by his people—some even say he is more beloved than the late Great Alexander—but in my personal opinion, trying to make the city what it once was will NEVER work.
•The name given to me by my mother and father was Arthur. Although I can barely remember them, I still feel a gaping hole in my heart. That day took everything from me. We were merely innocent, caught in the crossfire between soul cages and shadow fire. I still remember that day like it was yesterday.
•"MOMMA! MOMMA!" My sister cried out as the King of Rapan stripped her of her knowledge. The knowledge to breathe. She suffered till the very end. My mother and father—trampled. Trampled by the people they swore to protect, the people they healed dozens of times—and this is how their kindness was repaid. The law of the jungle was applied that day. They both worked as doctors, helping the sick with no fee, just out of the goodness of their hearts. Even when the plague killed over five thousand people, they managed to find a cure in two days—even though those bastards in the castle couldn't be bothered to deal with us "devils." Her stethoscope couldn't hold the weight of the thousands of people trying to escape, and that was the last memory I have of my parents. There was no room for remorse or morals on that day—only fear. A day where the moon and sun both rose, the sun in the east and the moon in the west. A day where the once golden hue of the sky was soaked with the blood of Rapan's citizens.
And I?
I laughed.
•I don't know why. Why did I laugh that day? I lost everything, and yet I laughed. Was it because I found it funny?
NO.
I would never find that funny.
Sometimes it's good to let the insanity take over.
•Since that day, I wanted revenge. But how do I take revenge on a dead man? Since that day, the rage that boiled within couldn't be described in words.
I want to kill him.
I REALLY want to kill him.
•How could I just forget about the man who stripped me of my...
•Wait—what?
What were they to me?
I cared for them.
I think.
I still wanna kill him.
•They were people I cared for, and he…
He took them from me, and that is something I will never forget.
•The sky began to crack and break away like glass shards. A gust of wind so strong it blew me off my feet. The people around me—nothing. The sky warped like a whirlpool.
And BOOM—
Silence.
•I couldn't move, couldn't see, couldn't touch, nor could I feel. A voice called out: "Arthur, welcome to Flauma's very own tower."
•"Who are you?" I murmured, thinking he couldn't hear me. "I am Grim, leader and commander of rebel faction section Aurora," he said as he emerged from the darkness. Rage—an emotion not new to me—but just this once, it was a new rage entirely. The man semi-responsible for the deaths of my loved ones. How dare he? If he hadn't led his forces to Rapan that day, MY—
My?
Loved ones?
Who were they?
•I charged at Grim in a blind rage, and as expected, I was on the ground before I could even open my eyes. But wait—he didn't move. How? How am I on the floor? "I shouldn't get used to kicking your ass, Arthur," he said before I drifted off into a—
DREAM
•"Hey man, are you ok?" I don't know this voice, I thought. "That bastard Grim, just throwing this random guy in here with me. He didn't even tell me when I'm getting out."
Oh yeah.
I was fighting a guy named Grim.
He was…
Their leader.
LEADER
•"WHERE AM I?" I shouted. "Relax, man. Grim threw us in here. Apparently, he wants us to get along because we're 'destined to'—whatever that means," Kyo said. "Kyo?" I asked, confused.
"That bastard must have told you my name, didn't he? I guess nothing's a secret in this place, huh?" He turned his gaze, looking at me. "Hey man, are you ok?" he asked, concerned, as a tear streamed down my face. "Wh-wha—what? Yeah, no, I'm fine." "So, where are we?" I asked. "The void. So annoying. I'll have to kill that bastard when I get back," Kyo answered angrily. "Is there, like, something we have to do?" I asked, trying to gather as much information as possible before I could formulate a plan to escape. "You can't escape. It is impossible. Even for me—and I just wiped the floor with you. The only way you'll be permitted to leave is if both you, Arthur, and Kyo get along. Share dreams and stuff like that," Grim said, walking back into the forest.
•"I hate that arrogant bastard," we both said in unison.
•I don't know what he was thinking when he put two people who couldn't be farther from each other in terms of character together—just to talk about their past for no reason other than because he told us to.
•We've been here for 2 weeks—not a word said between the two of us. Food was no problem. Kyo would leave in the morning and come back before midday with white and red meats. He also knows how to cook. This isn't so bad, but I still have to kill that bastard. I should get this over with and leave out the important stu— "I think we should finish this so we can both go back to normal life," Kyo said. Shaking my head, I agreed. "My name is Kyo. Only Kyo. I should start by telling you about the tower. The sphere tower is the middle tower on the middle continent of Flauma. Each and every one of the towers is made up of ninety percent void. The void is nothing, but it is also where we are right now. The trees, the rocks, the leaves—all fake. They are merely an illusion. They can be configured to look like anything. The void is also where the rest of the guys draw their power from." "The rest of them? Not you?" I asked. "You and I are quite different. We are sun and moon. You know how this world has two suns—one that revolves around all three continents and the other shining always over Akira." "This is the world I live in," I proclaimed swiftly. "That means, as the sun, I can use the power of both, and my power increases on whatever continent I'm on. I'm strongest when it's high noon on Akira. But as the moon, you can also borrow the power of the two. The moon reflects the sun's light, so that means you will always be weaker than me. No matter how much you train, you will never be stronger," Kyo said. "Arrogant much. I don't think that's what that bastard meant when he told us to get to know each other. I think you should tell me about you as a person," I stated. He stood up, stretching over the campfire. "Only you can judge my character, but I guess I can give you a little more. My dream—
I'll carve a path.
Through the void.
Until I see the real sun."
•I was in awe. I wasn't expecting such a timid-looking man to open up in just two weeks' time, let alone share his dream. Seeing the REAL sun—what does that mean? I know he's still keeping stuff from me, but I don't expect him to tell me his deepest, darkest secrets from the start. "Well, it's your turn. You spill," Kyo said, with a hint of annoyance lingering in his voice.
•So with that, I told him. I told him everything that happened that day. Although it was already public knowledge, he looked dumbfounded—like he'd just seen a ghost. Of course, I kept some key details—like my psychopathic laugh after watching my…
My…
Who was I talking about?
Why do I feel so angry? And sad?
•A single tear dripped down Kyo's face. "Hey dude, you good?" I asked, concerned. "Yeah… yeah, no, I'm fine," he murmured, wiping the tear from his face. The space went black—the forest we were just sitting in vanished into the void.
I mean, it was the void.
•"You didn't tell me I would meet him so soon." Is that Kyo? I thought to myself. "It has been 2 years, Kyo. I told you that's when we'd see him."
Is that…
GRIM.
•My eyes widened. Rage took hold. I jumped out of the chair, only to be restrained by the chains strapped to my neck, hands, and feet. The next words I said came from so deep within my soul, everything else I had ever said felt like a lie.
"I'M GONNA KILL YOU!"
•His gaze turned to me. His eyes glowed a deep purple. A force stranger than anything I had ever felt before. My body—as well as my heart—heavy. My head felt like it was being crushed—as well as my soul.
Is this the power of the void?
•"Listen, young Arthur. I know why you might hate me. I know that I share the blame for killing your mother and father." What is he talking about? I thought to myself. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a shiny black pebble—and that's all it took for all the memories to come flooding back. Rebecca and Kraft. Mother and father. Touka, my little sister. A family once filled with life. Without moving my head, my eyes looked up. Grim jumped back, nervous. "Wow, kid, you're angry, aren't ya?" he said in a condescending tone. "I think it's time you knew our side of the story."
•Not that long ago, and not too far away. On this very continent of Flauma, a city the likes the world had never seen before existed. A city where even the ignorant masses of Akira would come to visit every solstice. The streets cleared, the poor forced to stay inside while the rich nobles of Akira roamed the streets. However, this wasn't my qualm with King Alexander. Let's go back even further—a time where the city of light, Rapan, was known as just Rapan. The king had just died, and Alexander ascended the throne. On a day where thunder roared and lightning crashed, a man approached me. A man by the name of Reaper.
**GRIM BACKSTORY**
•I was once the average Joe. Helping my mother out with her work as a construction worker. My mother was strong—stronger than anyone I had ever met at the time. Her shovel, then her knees, hitting the dirt hard, her head following in close pursuit. The coughing began—first blood from her mouth, then her ears, and even her eyes weren't spared from such anguish. Everything changed after…
*Grim, keep living.
No matter what they say.
Keep looking towards tomorrow.*
•Those were her last words. As I mourned the death of my mother, the people in the community started talking.
*That's him. That Grim, the mother-killer.
Apparently, his father died from the same illness as well.
That boy has been cursed, I tell you.
Cursed by death itself.*
•They cheered as I held the corpse of my dead mother in my arms. She protected me from these monsters all my life—but now that she's gone…
It hurts.
It really hurts.
As a child, this sent me into a spiral. How could I be accused of killing her—my own mother? An ear-shattering shrill was heard throughout the three continents that day. One day, as I wandered the streets of Rapan, a feeling called me toward an alleyway—and before I knew it, my feet were moving before my head could comprehend. A man stood atop corpses, his scythe dripping red as the ever-blue moon cast its veil upon him. His first name—Reaper. The leader of
Rebel faction division 8
•The people who led the war against Rapan ten years from now. A man by the name of Reaper showed me what it means to be strong. I thought all hope was lost—but there he stood, looking down on me. A symbol of
FEAR
•That's how my story with the 8th began.
•2 years passed. I trained my strength as much as I could over that short period of time—and that's when he entered our lives. The door creaked open, every member of the Eighth on guard. The void was strong with him—a thought I'm sure ran through everyone's minds. Who knew one step carried so much weight? He entered the room. "My name is Lh.Zeke. Pleasure to meet all of you," he said, grinning devilishly.
•I wanted nothing to do with him from the beginning, but on that fateful day, we were fighting against the king's guard. At the time we didn't know they were void soldiers created by King Alexander. We fought until we could no more, our breath heavy, our stance wavering. I was prepared to risk it all, but Zeke the forsaken one managed to push them back. He pushed them far enough to where I could run away, but how could I? If I ran now, Zeke would most definitely die. "RUN AWAY!" His words resonated with what I wanted to do deep within my soul. It was as if he was talking to my soul directly.
I ran.
So far away.
•Tears welling up as I turned my back on a comrade I bled with, a comrade that helped me in training to master my manipulation over black holes.
•I finally reached the hideout, calling for Rapar to come bail him out. He grabbed his scythe and with the speed of light, reached Zeke in no time. When I finally managed to catch up, Zeke's body lay on the floor, alive but barely, surrounded by the skeletons of armor of the headless knights. Since that day, Zeke and I were thick as thieves.
•Eight years go by, our bond only getting stronger. The war of Rapan is finally upon us. Rapar—our leader—was different than most of us. He didn't draw his power from anything. He used a technique that gave him full control over his physical body. Limit Break is what the style is called.
•Rapar didn't really share any part of his personal life with us over the years, besides from training we did and smiles we shared over dinner. I didn't know anything about him. A man with no power but the most powerful, everyone looked up to him as a symbol.
A symbol of absolute strength.
•The matchups were set for the final battle. Rapar and Zeke were set to go up against the king at the insistence of Zeke. He claimed his words would crush the king—literally. If any of us tried to intervene, we would get in the commander's way, so we left that to them.
Mistake.
•The siege on the king's castle began. With my control over gravity, I was set to guard the front door from foreign parties.
•A scream—the scream of my comrades. I heard but I couldn't do anything. If I left my post, the mission would be in jeopardy. The screams grew louder and louder—Marcus, James, Akame, Akari, and finally
HANGE.
•I couldn't hold back any longer. I rushed to save Hange, only to find Zeke standing atop the corpses of our comrades. Clara and Iben were the last ones standing, but barely. "ZEKE, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!" I yelled, already in front of him, loading my fist. "You will forget. Forget to breathe," he said, his ability wide-range.
•I struggled. I couldn't breathe. The knowledge stripped from me. On the floor, on the verge of death, I looked towards Hange. Just like that, the knowledge came flooding back. I took his eye in an instant. Among all the members of the eighth, I am by far the fastest. He fumbled back. I went on the offensive, but I had to have known this wouldn't be a fair fight. King Alexander, the man responsible for all of this. The man who created a city of light from the darkness. The man we were supposed to kill. Iben backed me up, a Limit Breaker. He was meant to keep Zeke busy just long enough so I could kill the king. With one clean punch, I tore through the king's chest. His heart now pounded in my hand. Laughter followed—not from Zeke, not from me, but from the king whose heart was sitting in my hand. His body dropped to the ground. I lopped off his head for good measure. "RETREAT!" I yelled, carrying out the body of Rapar, who already had a foot and a half in the grave.
•I begged Hange to heal him. She looked at me in fear. Time froze. Nothing made sense. Why? Why would he do that? "Grim." A faint voice called out. Looking down without moving my head, only my eyes changing direction. "Grim, I'll always love you. Remember that. Your dad will always love you." His last words. The era of the great Rapar ended, the reign of the king over, and my mind—shattered.