Everything turned white.

Yes, that’s what the world looked like. As I slowly opened my eyes, I found myself sitting against an invisible backdrop, surrounded by an infinite white realm. I looked like a drunkard who fell asleep on the floor in a desolate room, his back leaning against the wall with his head drooped.

Not a minute passed, and I could hear footsteps approaching me. The sound echoing throughout the hollow realm.

“Caelum? What are you doing here?”

That voice was just like mine. Not deeper as older ‘me’, nor was it as childish as younger ‘me’. It was literally my own voice, resounding throughout this place.

I slowly raised my head, and saw myself, dressed in a black windbreaker robe approaching me. His arms spread in the air as he continued.

“You’re not supposed to be here, you know?”

“…Who are you?” I asked with sleepy eyes, thinking it must have been another mirage of mine. He sat on one knee before me, and looked me deep in my eyes.

“The voice in your head. Remember when you shut me off after you closed the window in that bedroom?”

My own… voice?

The voice that tormented me that night, before I spoke with Vaelen. So that was him…

…I couldn’t react. I just wasn’t mentally able to grasp the gravity of this encounter. I wholeheartedly accepted the fact that literally anything and anyone could present themselves before me in this pandemonium world.

Due to my silent response, he continued, tilting his head to the left with a smile.

“It seems that you’re close to giving up, aren’t you?”

“I don’t understand anything anymore. I just… want to be left alone.”

“Ah, sadly, I can’t let you go right now,” he said, clasping his hands. “There’s a dream left for you to fulfill, you know?”

“…That dream…”

“Did he not say that you’re not dead yet? Why do you look so defeated? You’ve uncovered the mystery surrounding your birth. You finally know who your Mother is, and you still look unsatisfied.”

I lowered my eyes, aimlessly staring at the white surface below. Prompting him to continue.

“You can make it as hard as easy, Caelum. I’m here to help you get out of this place. You’ve been here for a good amount of time already. It’s about time you stand up and accept yourself. But of course, you might need some help to do that. So I brought someone here for you.”

As soon as he said this, footsteps approached us from afar. The body of my voice smiled, stood up, and stepped out of the way…

…revealing Emory, dressed in a white blouse with black pants, walking towards me.

“How’s it going, you twink?”

My eyes were gradually being illuminated, but then I realized he may not have been real. My eyes turned void once more as I averted my head.

“…You’re not real. You’re an illusion to make me-”

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Right before I was able to finish my sentence, a strong force recoiled my head to the side, causing me to stumble over.

As I grunted, I looked over my shoulder to see Emory in a kicking position, staring at me with an aggressive expression.

“Not real, huh? How real was that dirty kick to ya face?!”

I stumblingly raised myself to my feet, rubbing the inflicted area as I stared him in the eyes. He walked towards me and began speaking in a loud manner.

“The hell are you doing, man? Calling me a fake whilst I’m literally waiting for you on the other side. How dare you?!”

“I…”

“He understands your situation, Caelum,” my voice chimed in from behind, walking towards us as he held his hands in his pockets. “As painful as it may be to say this… It’s not the time for you to give up and be sad. You haven’t been given that luxury yet.”

“I saw it, man,” Emory added, patting my shoulder. “I seriously understand your situation. You’re not the only one who witnessed the deaths of his parents at a young age.”

Then, he tilted his head to the left, and tears began to well up in his face.

“That’s why I want to be there for you when you need it, man! Your voice told me you wanted to change the world, right? To rid the world from the theocracy, and inspire people to become their own selves, right?”

I remained silent in response. He continued, sounding more and more emotional after each sentence.

“What about it? Are you willing to throw all of that away just because you can’t accept yourself? What about that prophecy? To hell with it! Why don’t you decide to stand against all the odds and prove yourself to them? Even if you are the Perished One, does that mean you will let that define you?!”

After he said this, old and young ‘me’ appeared right beside him, fading into being. The three of them were now surrounding me in a crescent shape, whilst the body of my voice stood a few steps away, his arms crossed as he silently watched the spectacle unfold.

“Look at him!” Emory exclaimed, pointing towards older ‘me’. “Are you telling me that he let that stupid prophecy define himself? No! That is what he’s been trying to tell you! This younger version of yourself was there to show you the quality of your memories, the quality of the past that made you, but it also showed you the person you will become once you don’t accept yourself!”

“Not only that,” the body of my voice added. “But there are people who need you, Caelum.”

“People… need me?” I muttered, as I could feel someone gently tugging at my attire from behind. I turned around, and saw… Helvega standing before me.

She was not the ‘adult’ Helvega, no, she represented herself as a young teenage girl, dressed in a black turtleneck with black jeans. Confounded, I hazily muttered her name.

“Hel…?”

“She can not speak,” older ‘me’ said. “She is, just like the ‘Emon’ you encountered, a representation of her memories.”

“What is she doing here?” I asked. Older ‘me’ lowered his head, as his voice turned solemn.

“…She needs you, Caelum. You need to take her hand and show her the way of life. Because right now, she has gotten lost.”

…Gotten lost? Why would she need me? I… didn’t understand, but then, I realized that older ‘me’ was indeed trying to make me understand ‘most things’ by making me experience the memories of myself, Father, and now, Helvega. I asked him with a curious tone,

“Will you show me her memories?”

“I said it earlier, didn’t I?” he said, a closed smile tugging at the corners of his lips. “For you to be able to accept yourself, you must understand the stakes that have been put on your back. Father and Mother aren’t dead. They are well alive, and are waiting for you.”

“What?!” I said, gasping for air. “Is Father… really alive?”

“Yes, he is,” he nodded. “I will prove it to you once you take Helvega’s hand. Through her memories, she will show us that Father is still alive.”

I slowly turned back to Emory and muttered his name. He then patted my shoulder once more and smiled.

“Go. I don’t want to see you here. I want to see you in the real world, where we will fight and drink with each other. Where you will prove to me that you are, indeed, a great Sequencer. That is the Caelum I know.”

…Even though this wasn’t the real Emory, I felt as convinced as I would if he were to tell me in the real world. This was a manifestation of my potential. He was of course my first ‘challenge’. The first wall I would have to break through before eventually reaching Vaelen. And his words regarding the prophecy…

It did not sound bad.

I felt motivated. I could feel my body gradually lightening up, and with a firm tone, I nodded.

“Okay.”

“Let us go,” older ‘me’ said, as I took Helvega’s hand. Together with her, older and younger ‘me’, we walked into the depths of the white realm, leaving the body of my voice alongside Emory behind. We eventually faded into the distance, and I saw the surroundings sparkling into a different environment once more.