Sunlight crept through the large, square window above the mostly untouched bed. Small furnishings sat at the edges of the room, avoiding the lone figure who laid fast asleep on the white-tiled floor. Their sleeping posture was messy, bearing no real form or looked comfortable for that matter.
But the blissful face they showed said otherwise.
This was Exrite. After staying out till nearly daybreak, he made his way back to his room, completely depraved of sleep. Along the hallways of his floor, his vision became mudded as he staggered around and hugged the yellow walls. When he finally entered his room, he realised that there was almost no way of reaching the bed without crossing the chasm – which was the straight path to the bed without following the walls.
With a mighty heave, he ended up falling magnificently face first into the floor. Whether he was knocked out by the fall, or couldn’t be bothered getting up, remained a mystery even to himself.
Above him, the golden doorhandle rattled vividly, before it twisted and threw itself open. The door smashed into Exrite’s shin, causing the sleeping man to jolt awake to the sudden pain as three pairs of eyes stared down at him.
“Sorry-! Wait, why are you down there!?” The priestess’ loud voice was far too unsuited for the early morning.
Khaos jumped taut in fright, as Frosty lightly winced. It had only been mere minutes since they had woken up, and it didn’t help that they slept so late.
“Y-your voice, please.” Khaos placed a hand against his thick chest.
“Ahh! Is Khaos the only one who knows how to use a bed?” Inkshard sighed as the pained Exrite sluggishly pushed himself from the cold floor. “Are you ok?”
Normally, he was groggy in the morning. But when pain came into the mixture, it was like a shot of adrenaline. He clamped his teeth in agony as he limped to Inkshard.
“You didn’t have to throw the door at me to get me up.” He complained as Inkshard stood outside the room to make space for him.
“What are the odds of you falling asleep on the floor?” Frosty replied, yawning shortly after. “You’re lucky she insisted on waking you up – would you rather Khaos threw the door at you?”
He gulped at the frightening image of missing half his leg to a door. The pain in his shin suddenly disappeared as he wryly smiled.
“So, why’re we waking up so early?” He asked as he exited the room, pulling the door shut behind him.
Inkshard curiously stared up at him. “We’re meeting the Commanders remember?”
“Eh?” Frosty’s voice slipped. “This earlier?”
She was rightfully confused on why they had to meet with the Commanders so early in the morning. The kings didn’t mention when they would meet with them, but at the very least they knew that it wouldn’t be in the morning. It would be far too early.
The priestess was also on the same boat, but there was little she could do. After all, she had already been approached by them –
In the middle of the night.
Their voices haunted the dark hallway outside her door like banshees, murmuring the time and place of their meeting, and warning them what would happen if they weren’t there on time.
That said, they were running out of time.
The colour of her eyes faded when she remembered the horrors of last night.
“The priestess has it tough here as well.” Khaos quietly laughed before looking down the hallway. “Exrite’s up, so let’s head off and finish this meeting quickly – we really need some new gear.”
Khaos only wore a black shirt and long, grey trousers with black boots. There was absolutely nothing else on him. The same with Exrite, who never managed to find his crossbow or the bolts after they were confiscated by the white knights.
Inkshard shook her head and returned to reality, smiling softly.
“Follow me. We’ll be joining them just a floor above us on the round table.” She announced as she began to walk down the bright, yellow corridor.
The others gladly followed her, but glad wasn’t something that Inkshard wouldn’t describe herself with. If she could, she would deter them away from the Commanders without even thinking twice.
That was because Black and White were people beyond anything she could describe. You could never tell what they were thinking, no matter how hard you tried. They were a strange case of Otherworlders – they arrived only a month ago, but had garnered a reputation so high, that surrounding kingdoms and their convoys grew wary of them – for all the wrong reasons.
Wherever they came from, it seemed that fighting was all they ever knew.
Inkshard led the group into a large, hollowed chamber. It was cylindrical in shape, and on the smooth, stone ground, there was a giant magic circle. A faint, white light gently shone from the circle and all its intricate symbols and shapes. They couldn’t see the ceiling at all, neither the surrounding walls.
The lit ground was all they had to approximate the size of the room.
This room was what they called a ‘vertic-port’, short for ‘vertical teleporter’. It consumed large quantities of mana to transport the current space to another connected space. Luckily for them, the mana required was stored in large crystal deposits around them, hidden behind the veil of darkness.
Teleportation was a powerful magic that could be used to varying degrees – but never on a grand scale. The amount of mana required for teleporting even a hair was monumental. Premade magical circles however, increased the efficiency of the mana usage, and even more so when it was connected to a second magic circle.
It would take far less mana to teleport from connected magic circles hundreds of meters away than trying to move a centimetre away without one.
When they stood in the centre of the glowing magical circle, Inkshard simply called out “War Floor.”
Nothing changed. No blinding lights, nor any noise – only the entryway had changed to a greyish hue, rather than the previously predominant yellow colour scheme.
Inkshard walked again, and they followed her through the wide entrance, which led into a short hallway.
“Has there ever been an accident with the vertic-port?” Khaos curiously asked, still trying to wrap his head around the concept of teleportation.
“Don’t think so. I don’t think teleporters can have accidents if they’re connected to another space.”
“What if someone leaves something in the way? Won’t they get impaled?” Frosty asked.
“The spaces will swap completely. Plus, you can’t teleport the same space in quick succession – the room would get way too hot.”
“That’s weird.” Frosty hummed as they entered a wide space after exiting the narrow passage.
Inside, there were multiple instruments and crudely rolled maps shoved against the stone walls. It was messy, but the centre part remained mostly tidy. The centre table was huge, and had a massive, coloured map of Colight and the surrounding regions. Tiny figurines idly stood on the table top, beside a long, wooden broom.
Inkshard abruptly paused and stared at the empty table. Confusion riddled her face as the others stopped beside her.
“Are we here?” Exrite asked as he eagerly studied the large room.
“I… I think we are.” The frozen priestess uttered after a momentary pause.
She was certain that this was the right place – but why the table was left unattended remained a mystery. No other room in the castle contained such a large mapped table, let alone had the walls drenched in a greyish tint.
“Did we arrive too late?” Inkshard whispered to herself.
“No, you’re quite early, little girl.”
There was a voice oddly different from the others. It came from behind, and when the group immediately turned to the entrance –
BANG!
Before anyone had time to see what had happened, a small, but powerful burst of air flew by Exrite’s face as scorching heat smeared against his cheek. Bits of the shattered metal noisily clanged against the stone floor. Beside the broken fragments, were a pair black boots belonging to a black-haired woman who held a disfigured metal handle far from her face.
“Aw. I hope that doesn’t leave a scar.” She spoke with sarcasm.
The explosion happened in her hand. Whatever remained of the metal handle now resembled a hollow mushroom. Exrite brought a trembling hand to the sear across his face and felt the blistering heat that lingered, even after the sudden attack.
“Put that toy away. You know iron and steel aren’t enough to contain the explosion.” Another feminine voice spoke from beside the black-haired woman in front of them.
The holder of the blown weapon thrust it aside with tremendous force. It smashed into the bricks, further shattering the metal into smaller fragments that clamoured on the floor, as the white-haired woman folded her arms.
She sighed.
“Sorry about her. She just wanted an excuse to use that thing.” While apologetic, she somehow came off the wrong way.
The two figures were polar opposites to each other. While they both wore the same sharp, cloth attires, they were staggeringly different in terms of colour. One was entirely black, and the other stark white. Their long hair matched their dangerous outfits that beared little resemblance to anything of their world.
“Hmm? It’s healing already? Ah~ then you must be the Exrenity with that fragment we heard so much about.” Black Melody, the woman who was clad in nothing but black, save for the colour of her bright-purple eyes and fair flesh, spoke with piqued interest. “Really now – such ludicrous regeneration. I’m almost jealous.”
“C’mon Black, you’re wasting time.” The girl beside her sighed as she walked past Black.
The other woman was White Crimson. Every inch of her reeked with unbound purity. Her skin was pale, and her crimson eyes gave off the impression of a vampire. Of course, everyone kept that thought to themselves, as the woman approached them with a warm smile.
“Humans, Frostbitten, and us. A bit of a bummer you’re only human, though” She glanced at Exrite as she walked by and made her way to the round table.
No one dared to respond. Whatever had passed by them, was something beyond the speed of any conventional weaponry or magic. It moved even faster than the explosion it emitted, leaving them all helplessly lost to their power.
The weapon was a prototype of an arm called a ‘gun’. And like White mentioned earlier, iron and steel were mostly used to create the case of the weapon. But it wasn’t enough to withstand the pressures and force of the explosive propulsion.
But of course, only the Commanders knew this.
“Curious about that thing? It’s just a makeshift gun. Not powerful at all, really.” Black’s smile was sinister and twisted as she stared at the group with her purple eyes.
Exrite painfully gulped. Such power was not considered powerful in their eyes? He wanted to ask but resisted the urge as the woman began to walk towards them.
“Inkshard, inkshard. How’s your mother faring? She didn’t come with you to the Capital, did she?”
“No- not at all.” She responded and snapped from her frozen trance. “Did you need something from her?”
“I just want to figure some things out with her. That fragment doesn’t belong in a human.” Black didn’t speak until she was side by side with the girl.
Her voice was purposely loud for all to hear. It provoked mixed reactions, particularly from Exrite who’s fist lightly clenched.
“I’m hoping you can prove me wrong, though. I love good twists.” She added and joined White at the table.
The others too joined the duo at the table. They were understandably wary of the two, particularly Inkshard who feared that things may quickly get out of hand. In the little time she spent with the three, she knew for certain that Frosty would most likely be the one to clash with them.
When she gave her a peculiar look, Frosty could only sigh and weakly nod. She already knew what she was getting at and agreed to keep herself contained.
They tautly stood around the large, metallic round table. Black cunningly grinned, refusing to waste any more time.
“The kings may have introduced us as the Commanders, but it’d be better if you just call us by our names. This is White, and I’m Black.” She placed both hands onto the mapped surface of the table.
Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Pleasure meeting you.” White shallowly bowed with a pleasant smile.
* * *
“So two Frostbitten and two humans – one of them being the Exrenity and the fragment holder. Exrite, how the fuck did you get your hands on it?” Black was as straight to the point as the iron pellet that had barely missed his face.
Even in the short amount of time they had spent in this world, they knew well of the Maidens and the local lore, as well as some brief history of Six Point. The Exrenity was someone entirely different from the person holding the fragment. According to the kings and Talia, the previous Exrenities had different reactions to what happened in the chapel.
Only the blinding light served as proof of their eligibility of being an Exrenity candidate – but the moving gears and the removal of the shard was something only caused under the influence of the fragment.
But the problem was – there never was a fragment holder. The Maiden of Time had lived long since the time of the Gods, disappearing until recently. Only She carried the fragment.
Exrite placed a hand onto the edge of the table and answered truthfully.
“Ten years ago, it was shoved straight into my chest on my balcony. That’s all I can remember”
“Ten years ago? When you were what – fifteen?” Black hummed, sounding unsatisfied. “Heh… Still makes no sense. Looks like a good thing for you though – can’t fail if you can’t die.”
Exrite didn’t disagree with that statement, even if it was meant as a joke. He could try something over and over until he got it right without having to fear much of the consequences other than pain. However –
“Not for long, though. I’m slowly losing this immortality because of the fragment.” He clarified the situation at hand as White pleasantly hummed.
“And your mind. Hmm… Maybe the Maiden of Time set you up for this.” Black’s smile broadened as she slowly pieced a few things together. “She probably expected you to become the Exrenity and wanted you to survive it at all costs.”
However, one thing bugged her.
There were little redeeming qualities that Exrite exhibited. He was only a human with the fragment and the eye of despair. Why the Maiden of Time and the Children of Balance put their faith into him was beyond her.
Even White found herself boggled by this puzzling circumstance. The power of two Frostbitten would not be enough to support him in his travels to wherever the Gods planned to throw them.
But Black thought of an idea. A quite sinisterly devilish idea that she believed would make Exrite something a little more…
‘Formidable’
“What did the Children of Balance plan for you?” White politely asked, expecting either of the three to answer.
Khaos, while wanting to answer, felt like he would sound stupid by saying their goal in front of the two powerful beings before them. Frosty however, wasn’t as shameful as he was. Even if they were weak and far from being up for the task, she wasn’t going to run away from the reality.
“They sent us to liberate the Maidens.” She firmly answered with a clear voice.
It was perfect – no, it surely was too good to be true. Black’s fist crumpled in excitement as he bared her teeth.
“… White…” Black sent a sidelong glance to her partner, softly grinning.
“I know. This is perfect, isn’t it.” White could barely hide the ecstasy surging through her entire being.
Inkshard stared at them with disgust. It was impossible to tell what they were thinking. A terrible premonition overcame her as she gently nudged Frosty with an elbow.
“I have a bad feeling about this…” She whispered, trying to voice her concerns to the girl standing right beside her, but she was mostly ignored as a devilish smile formed across Black’s face.
“It seems that our goals align quite nicely.” White proudly announced, directing her gaze predominantly on Exrite. “We’re also after the Maidens. But more than anything, we want to get rid of the Maiden of Realms.”
Curiosity filled their beings to the brim as they keenly honed their ears.
“Mana isn’t a reliable source of energy for… yeah, ‘magic’. Unlike those Hero kids who come from Earth, we come from a completely different world called the Colour Plane. It’s not the first time we’ve come to a different world, but Corozin seems to be where all the other worlds point to.”
Black was ambiguous at best, but she resumed.
“The Maiden of Realms blocks off any and all contact from the other worlds, so we can’t harness any of our ‘original’ power at all. We can’t even fight them directly cause – if we lose, then we risk losing the Colour Plane entirely. So, Frostbitten and Exrenity – let’s bargain.”
Her hands elegantly overlapped as they rested against the table.
“Like Black said, we can offer you everything we know to help you take out the Maiden of Realms. Your fight will only risk your lives, but as for us – we wager our world.”
The sincerity in White’s voice was a pleasant surprise to the young priestess. But it didn’t change the fact that she believed they weren’t to be trusted.
The problem was that they were their best bet in gaining strength to oppose the Maidens.
Frosty on the other hand scrutinised what they were getting at with her calculating crimson eyes.
“Your goal is just to regain your power and save your world?” Frosty asked, sounding somewhat unconvinced.
It was strange for them to want their powers back at the cost of everything they had – there was certainly an ulterior motive behind their façade. They were powerful enough as is, and regaining whatever power was left in their world was something she considered dangerous. Especially with something she saw within them – or rather, what she didn’t see.
“Hmm hmm~ Frosty, you’re sharper than you look.” Black’s smile was twisted.
She reached for a pawn on the table and placed it on the ‘Capital’.
“Hard to believe things that don’t have a soul.” She revealed with some disdain as she tightly folded her arms.
White’s eyes narrowed momentarily. Souls exist only for those that live. As for the two, they were an entirely different case. A case that was unknown even to Frosty herself.
They weren’t machines, or the fabled Biomech. They were as close to flesh and blood as one could get, but despite this, they had no soul.
“But we don’t have a choice, right guys?”
She turned to Khaos and Exrite with a face of stone before the two quietly agreed with firm nods.
“Great~ Although if you tried to refuse, I’m sure you know what would happen, right?” Black brought another wooden figurine to the western kingdom of Di-Lock.
Frosty felt a chill run down her spine, but the fear was thrown away in an instant when she remembered the monumental task at hand – defeating the Maidens.
“Even with us all combined, we’d be hard pressed to even come close to beating Realm. It’d take another Maiden to take her out.” White complained, which was followed with a loud sigh. “But we’re not in a rush. We can’t even reach the Maiden in the west with the skirmishes going on. It’s only a matter of time before we officially go to war.”
“Not that I’m complaining~ Makes annihilating them all the more satisfying.” Black hungrily licked her lips. “Also, that regeneration of yours Exrite – abuse it while you still can. I’m sure death doesn’t scare you at this point, right?”
Exrite watched her carry the brown stick and shove a figure across the table to the far left. By the time it ceased sliding, he quickly rebutted.
“Sorry, but I don’t fight face to face. Like Inkshard said – I’ll end up being too reckless if I overly rely on it.”
Frosty momentarily frowned to Black’s suggestion. Even if Exrite agreed to it, she was not going to allow him to take the front lines away from Khaos and herself – that was their role in the party, and even minor changes would drastically alter their chemisty.
She remembered the fight against the bandits. All the mages were off her radar because she knew she’d have some form of support to take them out from afar.
Black smiled despite Exrite’s response, as if that was the answer she hoped to hear. And indeed, it was – he fit well to be a proper candidate for the weapons they planned to create – Firearms.
The small figure that Black had moved was far different from the other pieces on the table. It was a tiny star made from fine, green emeralds. Beneath the glass chandelier, it shimmered with astounding beauty which captured the breaths of those who were unlucky to set their gaze upon it.
Beneath the piece, was a vast region called the Shallows. The printed black text did little to encapsulate whatever mysteries resided there. And just beyond the Shallows, were the Depths – whether it was thickets like the Shallows, or something entirely different, was unknown, even by the kings.
And perhaps even the Gods themselves.
Black brought her gaze back to the rest, then fixed them against Exrite. The longer he tried to maintain eye contact with her, the harder it was to tell what she was thinking.
Khaos too struggled to grasp their intentions – only concluding with their goals being roughly similar.
Reasons aside, they all were united by the single goal of defeating the Maidens of Six Point.
“Heh~ I see, I see. Alright. How about this – I tell you what that weapon I fired earlier was and teach you how to use it.” Black placed a firm hand against her hip, her smile becoming something that could only be described as ‘hideous.’ “But to use it, we need a metal strong enough to contain the explosion. Pillaging and raiding towns- I mean ‘freeing’ them doesn’t yield anything other than worthless minerals and a bunch of biomass.”
The disdain the group suddenly revealed caused her smile to twist sadistically. Not an ounce of Black’s being was bothered by the tasteless words that left her mouth.
Only Inkshard knew – that wasn’t just a tasteless joke.
“There’s your first weakness – empathy. An enemy is an enemy, regardless of any circumstance. You humans, and Frostbitten look at us like we’re monsters in sheep skin, but you’re all naively dancing on thin ice. No amount of goodwill will save you – it will only get you killed.”
Black’s smile nearly faded. Her voice was nothing like before, now becoming macabre and filled with the bitter truths of their world. White’s thoughts perfectly aligned with Black’s in this matter.
All enemies should perish. Resistance is proof of their animosity. Surrender is an empathetic tool to lower your guard.
This was an embedded ideal they abided by back in the Colour Plane, where only combat existed.
Khaos’ fist clenched to their ridiculous ideology. They were willing to kill many innocent lives in a war they’ve only recently become a part of. These were no longer skirmishes, or a war at all – it was a genocide.
He battled the dilemma. His righteousness and sense of justice caused his blood to race as he knew that the very same thing was being employed by the other waring side. When he looked over at Frosty, he was pleasantly surprised to see her angered face and Inkshard’s beside her.
Exrite too was shocked, but not to the same degree as they were. In fact, he was mostly complacent, although slightly bitter by the cold reality.
To protect the many smiles and peace of the kingdom, a deeper shade of black had to be cast somewhere else from its light.
That’s when he softly smiled.
“Balance.” He muttered to himself with a painful gulp.
“We’re willing to aid you with our knowledge and understanding from our world in order to strengthen you – so long as our goals align.” White loudly stated as she slowly began to walk around the table towards them.
“And if our goals change?” Frosty asked, a bead of sweat forming at the side of her face as the woman brushed behind.
“Expect to become enemies.” The stern words left her mouth before she paused beside Exrite.
She was only a hair shorter than him, but that did nothing to defuse her overbearing presence.
“Then, what happens when they beat the Maiden?” Inkshard asked with urgency and concern as she spun to face White who had a hand placed against Exrite’s nape.
He shivered to the coldness of her skin and wondered if there was any ounce of life within her. White’s passive gaze was met by his eyes, to which she finally smiled.
“That depends all. On. You.” She sunk a finger and felt for his pulse. “It ticks like a clock. Bizarre. If you die, make sure your body stays in once piece. I want to study how that works.”
Exrite, despite the gnawing fears, faced her head on with a fixed gaze. Her statement held little importance, considering it wouldn’t be the first nor hundredth time he had been dissected for study. At least he would be dead for it, instead of being wide awake – screaming, crying, shouting, writhing-
“Hey!” Khaos snatched Exrite from White’s gentle grasp by his shoulders as he was jerked back to his senses. “You ok!?”
White stood there slightly dumbfounded for a moment, before she quietly laughed. At the back of her mind, she remembered Exrite’s current predicaments and his battles with the eye of despair.
“Did that trigger something? I’m sorry. But I’m still adamant about checking that ticking heart myself.” Her words failed to match the tone of her voice, which was monotone at best.
For a moment there, Exrite lost himself to the resurging memories. If not for Khaos, he would’ve relapsed in a fit of madness like last night. And there was no telling what he would’ve said in front of the two clearly powerful beings.
Making them into an enemy was the last thing they wanted.
“Hmm~ About that metal we were talking about – Iron and steel won’t cut it, I’m afraid. The explosive power in this world is far too powerful. We need a metal that’s strong, but not too brittle.” Black reminded them as she folded her arms.
“… Cobalt?” Inkshard suggested with uncertainty.
Black snapped her fingers as her eyes immediately lit up.
“Cobalt it is~ We’ll be off ‘freeing’ other settlements in the west for the time being. Just leave the metal ores in the store room above. We’ll come to you when we’re ready~”
“Get stronger, Frostbitten and Human Exrenity. There’s no point in helping you, if you can’t help us. The helpless and weak should stay put at the sidelines and watch from their pitiful existences.” Her words were mostly directed to the silent Inkshard who returned a dangerous glare at the pale woman.
The priestess in their eyes was nothing but a pebble among thousands of others. Her only difference was that she was a pebble with a name. Unlike her mother, she was unreliable and far too naïve to be of any form of aid to them.
Unrealistic goals and idealistic peace were nonsense in their eyes. Inkshard detested violence and bloodshed, even if Six Point historically bathed in it. She dreamed of one day bringing peace to the sacred lands of Six Point.
Such a dream was laughable to them –
Peace was not without war.
Love was not without pain.
And death was not without living in the moment of battle.
Pain and illness were a sign of weakness.
Such things did not even exist in their home world – it was filled with nothing but fearsome battles and endless fighting.
Their mind, heart and ‘soul’ were forged into weapons. No sacrifice was too little or too great for victory.
They were almost like machines.
“You only have one month to meet our quota. I don’t have to remind you what will happen if you fail.” White’s true voice was seeping from the depths of her heart.
The purity of her being was nothing but a façade – strip it away, and there’d be nothing but a cold void.
White approached Exrite once again with an outstretched hand.
“That ticking is rather nice.” She quietly hummed as her thumb gentle dug into the side of his throat. “Hmm. We’ll let you have your breakfast in peace.” She snatched her hand back made her way to the room’s entrance.
“One month~” Black pleasantly hummed as she gave them an uncannily-friendly smile.
She gracefully marched to White, leaving the group to follow them with their eyes in complete silence. Within the darkness of the distant vertic-port, the two smiled before disappearing into thin air.
Inkshard heaved her lungs out with a loud exhale as Exrite placed a hand against his throat, shocked that White didn’t pull anything off other than feel his pulse. The siblings looked at each other with relieved faces, silently thanking that it was all over.
“We can’t catch a break, can we?” Khaos jokingly sighed. “Until we become strong enough to follow our own path, let’s do our best.”
“I hate your optimism. We’re running errands for the Gods and those things as well.” Frosty bitterly responded as she drilled a foot into the bricked floor. “Exrite, what was White’s hand like.”
“Cold. Very cold. But other than that, she was normal.” He finally left his neck alone and looked back at the table. “Those two – they’re not human at all.”
“I could tell. Without any soul, I couldn’t even read past their clothing. Inkshard, just what are they?”
The priestess placed a hand on the edge of the table.
“I don’t know.” Was all she could answer with as she stared at the floor with furrowed brows. “L… let’s get out of here… “
The girl slowly began dragging herself towards the entrance. Frosty hummed as she closely followed, glancing back at Khaos who stuck beside Exrite.
“What do you think? One month enough for us to become ‘strong’?” Khaos asked as he took a couple steps forward.
Exrite gave a slow, hesitant nod.
“I hope so. I’m confident you and Frosty will be good to go, but as for me… sorry. Give me a bit of time to think this through.” He sighed and felt for his neck again.
It was certainly like the innards of a clock. Gears felt like they were pressing against his thumb, and they gave off a soft, soothing chime. When he felt for his wrist, it was mostly the same thing – just slightly weaker.
Little by little, he was changing. Sooner or later, the human he once was may disappear altogether. However, no matter what change he would inevitably undergo –
He vowed to not become like Black and White.