Out of Body

”The world you know and the one I know are different, little Princess.” ~The Entity

“Who are you? Where’s Brymeia?” Kristel’s voice echoed louder than she anticipated. It was difficult to control; she didn’t have a body in the first place. None of her Meiyal Arts worked, since she didn’t have a meiyal system. Her powerlessness dawned on her like a bucket of ice water, matching the chill running up her… well, she didn’t even have a spine to speak of.

The wave of meiyal accompanied the dark laughter originating from a direction she couldn’t identify. None of her senses worked. She was space, a concept, an existence that which couldn’t exist, a consciousness without form, a soul without a vessel.

Once again, Princess Kristel was nothing.

This time, however, she remained firm. She would be standing tall, if she could.

“Amazing. So a simple warning actually works. Does it influence Destiny somehow?” The voice sounded just like Brymeia’s whispers before she took the form of Liona the other time. However, it felt eerie to Kristel. Somewhat malicious and seductive.

“You sound like the most untrustworthy person. That’s all,” Kristel said, trying to provoke the Entity.

“Do I now?” The female voice, despite its sinister timbre, was in genuine thought. “No, that can’t be right, little Princess. You know about Destiny, yes? She taught you about it, if I recall. Sometimes, even knowledge alone can make rippling effects in what it can show.”

The Entity pondered for a while, leaving Kristel to wander on her own amidst the void. Was she still in the Dream Realm? No, far from it. Looking around didn’t help either. What was there to look at? What was there to look with?

All Kristel got were visions. They slammed into her consciousness the moment she tried to see something.

A blur of images raced past her before settling into a horizon filled with nothing but toxic bog. Muddy pools bubbled, hidden underneath rotting fields of grass. It produced thick smog, obscuring the other end of the field and carrying the smell of half-digested innards and waste.

There was no comfort to be had. Kristel, without her physical form, couldn’t even gag to find some sort of relief. She couldn’t vomit as a reaction. It was pure torture.

“Ah, I remember this place,” the Entity said, her—as Kristel recognized—terribly soothing voice coming close somehow. “One of my finest works, if I do say so myself. No survivors, you see. One of Liang’s greatest failures. Why are we here?”

Liang? Kristel had never heard the name, but for some reason, it felt familiar. The simple mention of it gave her much needed comfort. A placebo influencing her existence.

“You’ve never heard of the Great Apocalypse?” the Entity probed, reading the Princess’s mind. “Not all too surprising, really. Much like how Zerax’thum folded Destiny multiple times, Liang did the same to hide her history. How about I show you a glimpse of your wisest ancestor, hmm?”

Reality started to bend as a Recollection began to take root, but Kristel denied it. Relief filled her when the manifestation fizzled out, indicating to her that wherever this was, she was still in control of it. For now, at least.

The Princess was subjected to deathly cold when the Entity made its frustrations known.

“Interesting.”

“I can’t just let you lead me anywhere you want,” Kristel said, gathering all her courage. “I’m here for Brymeia, not you.”

“How cold of you to say such things, little Princess.” The Entity sighed.

“Stop calling me little.”

“No.” There was silence for a while, but the Entity didn’t let the thought linger for too long. “Regardless, your caring—hmm? Seems like Destiny won’t let me say it still. Fascinating. Brymeia it is, loath am I to utter the name, mind you. She’s currently asleep. I’m here to keep you company until she stops being lazy. Shouldn’t take long.”

“Fine.” Kristel didn’t really have a choice. “But no Recollections.”

“Don’t be so boring.”

“I don’t care.”

The chill became sweltering heat as the Entity’s anger surged in all directions. Kristel felt herself, her existence, melting away. The bog gradually turned into a sea of lava. The toxic smog disintegrated completely, finally allowing the Princess to see the vast horizon.

There was nothing now but molten rock. The skies above were filled with falling meteors and passing comets. Explosions and supernovas were still images that brightened the cosmos. Formations of stars, of planets, of orbits, and other celestial bodies were in complete suspension.

“Fine,” the entity said along with the normalizing temperature. Time resumed far too quickly. Instantly, the ocean of lava began to cool. And the cosmos above settled into a peaceful nothingness. “Tedious as it is, I will tell you the story of Liang Apocalypse. Understand, enemies though we are—were, I am still fond of the Great Apocalypse. So, how about we begin from the very beginning?”

Kristel was locked into place as the world around her began to reform. Snow enveloped the lands and melted just as quickly, forming oceans that rose landmasses along overlapping, fleeting earthquakes. Trees and all sorts of fauna grew faster than she could register, and the first signs of life swam and prospered in rivers until they began to explore the lands.

“Oh,” the Entity sighed once more. “I forgot how boring the first few billion years were. Let’s fast forward a bit. Nothing really happens here.”

You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.

In a flash, too quick for Kristel to comprehend, intelligent life appeared. Humans, dwarves, elves, the Triad of Origins claimed territories and warred against each other—including themselves. Blessings, Curses, Burdens, and Glories influenced the world, creating the source of all powers.

Meiyal.

“Hmm…” the Entity mused. “This should be around the time the Nightmarish Void planted its influence. It created utter chaos, you see. It was around the same time canintines and felintines emerged because of the genetic influences of meiyal core bonding. Caused a great amount of discrimination against those races. The coincidence was definitely calculated, in my oh, so humble opinion.”

“Nightmarish Void?” Kristel’s voice was drowned in explosions as devastating meiyal techniques from old, forgotten disciplines bombarded landscapes and kingdoms.

Death counted by the millions, by the billions, by generations upon generations. Kristel felt sick despite her nonexistent form. It was savagery. Violence and chaos without rhyme or reason. It was too much for the Princess.

“Not to your liking, I see,” the Entity said. “No matter. It’s not that important.”

Just like that, the chaos calmed as it was engulfed by the rapid change of seasons. Signs of war quickly vanished and fantastical creatures began to roam freely. Dragons, phoenixes, chimeras, unicorns, pegasi, and many more that only existed in myths in the present world, roamed the wilds, while civilization finally found proper territories to settle in.

“The Nightmarish Void is exactly what you think it is. The Nightmare Lands, the Void Region. All the same. Its true name, however, one that it prefers are not these silly interpretations of its nature. But alas, telling you of its Prime Designation might eradicate your entire existence. Its influence on Destiny is mighty strong, you see.”

Kristel pondered over the words as peace settled over the world in front of her. Kingdoms, nations, frontiers, and even underground settlements prospered, collapsed, and were rebuilt as time rapidly went by.

One thing though, pulled at her curiosity, and the Entity seemed to have read it almost immediately.

“Ah, you don’t know what a Prime Designation means, little Princess?” The mocking tone only emphasized the fact that the Entity was having too much fun. “It is one’s own mark on Destiny. A name, so to speak, but with the significance recognized by Destiny’s threads, making them valuable anchors to determine outcomes and futures.

“Irista, for example, is a Prime Designation bestowed upon Evanclad’s entire bloodline and whoever would end up carrying his Crown. A relatively weak Designation, some would say mind you, but one of the most recent ones to make a breakthrough. I would personally consider it promising instead of weak.”

“Whoever wears the Crown?” Kristel asked. Her thoughts still lingered towards finding out where Brymeia was, but this Entity’s stories made it too difficult to stay focused. “It’s not just his bloodline?”

“It’s the significance of the Prime Designation, you see. Not only does Destiny not care whether the heir is of Evanclad’s bloodline or not, it also strictly follows the mandates of the Designations it deems significant. In Evanclad’s case, hmm… let me see.”

The silence only lasted a few seconds as far as Kristel was concerned. She realized, her perception of time was all around the place at the moment.

“Evanclad’s Crown serves as the anchor of his Prime Designation. The bonds he made with Brymeia’s agreement made it possible for him to create impactful bends and advantageous decisions that allowed him to come toe to toe with Zerax’thum.

“But see, your ancestor is no god. Sure he may have reached the epitome of a Deitar, but that couldn’t be enough when he fought the Fallen Dragon. Zerax’thum, after all, did more than just bend Destiny to his whims. He could literally fold it.”

Too many questions suddenly bombarded Kristel. If what this Entity claimed was true, how then, did Evanclad succeed against Zerax’thum? What did it mean to bend Destiny? To fold it? The gods could only influence Destiny that involved them. Influence sounded so soft and distanced compared to doing the act of bending, folding more so. Then, how much stronger was the Fallen Dragon to be able to do something like it?

“Ah, and what does Liang Apocalypse have to do with all of it?” the Entity added. “Don’t forget, this is still a story about her. Don’t worry. We’re getting to the good part. See, Liang—”

“Stop.”

Brymeia’s command echoed with the soft, lovely voice of Liona. Time froze, suspending a busy market of intermingling intelligent races and species.

Kristel saw a bulky man with a rhino’s head in a perpetual state of panic as kids with rabbit ears and tails gathered around his feet. Before she could look around more, however, the adult version of Liona pulled her by the arm.

It was at that moment that the Princess saw her arm reform. Was it really that thin? It was clarified for her as her shoulder became reality along with the rest of her torso. She could finally feel her head and the mild swaying her of azure hair that was now made slightly brighter through the mix of silver. Then the rest of her body formed.

“Brymeia. A pity.” The Entity’s voice gurgled with regret. “I shall take my leave then. Storytime is over.”

Just like that, the Entity vanished.

“What took you so long?” Kristel asked the world turned person.

Brymeia simply smiled. “You were brought into a different world, Kristel. Even I can’t simply go around the cosmos to find you instantaneously. You’re here to find answers for the Nightmare Incursion, correct? Let’s go back first.”

Kristel turned, studying everyone in the market. “So these people. They’re not from Brymeia?”

“Kielmera. A world of meiyal just like Brymeia. Once, it had a vessel like myself to anchor a protective sphere against the Nightmare.” Brymeia opened a portal upon which Kristel entered, but only after admiring the finer details of the world she had just visited for the last time. Somehow, she could relate to Frein a little more now.

Not much different.

“Protection from the Nightmare?” Kristel asked as they dove into the nothingness. Worlds, stars, asteroids, and other cosmic entities zipped past them. “But if what the other one said was true, then this Kielmera was supposedly destroyed by the Nightmare, right?”

“The harsh truth about a living vessel is that they are alive and capable of thought,” Brymeia began before turning back to the Princess. “Kielmera got bored and abandoned his duty.”

“But isn’t the same thing happening on Brymeia? On our world?”

“Are you implying that I’m lazy?” Brymeia raised an eyebrow.

“Well, you were asleep just now, if I’m to believe that Entity.”

“It’s necessity, not leisure.” Brymeia returned her attention towards their destination. “Sustaining the roles of the severed gods ever since the Divine Severing has taken a toll on my fortitude. Sleep mitigates this price, but in turn, it makes me somewhat vulnerable to the Nightmare. Norazzel could only do so much.”

“But if Brymeia is also protected, how come we’re so ravaged by the Nightmare?”

“It’s the nature of playing defense, Kristel. Putting up a wall, literal or otherwise, could only last so much against oppressing and relentless forces.”

“You didn’t fight back?” Kristel asked. She felt the need to ask given that a lot of her training was about taking the offense.

“My forte is to provide life, Kristel. Not to end it. I asked for help.”

“Evanclad?”

“Yes. But before him, I asked Zerax’thum.”

“What?”

“That’s to be expected, but that’s a story for another time, Kristel. We’ve arrived.”

Kristel found herself looking at her own body lying on the floor of the training room. She was surrounded by everyone, waiting patiently for her. Frill was stressed, leaning on Xiv for support. Katherine and Elizzel were behind Frein, who was attentively observing the Princess.

“The High Palace will be the safest place against the Nightmare Incursion, Kristel,” Brymeia said as she gestured for the Princess to return.

She hesitated. “Why?”

“It’s still on top of Zerax’thum’s skull, yes?”

Kristel nodded.

“Then that’s why.” Brymeia smiled as she pulled the Princess back into her body. “Frein will understand. I have more things to tell you, Kristel, but your venture has cost you too much. Art fatigue or no, you need your rest. Please let Frill know that I’m still waiting.”

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