The World is Red

> ADVC Modular BIOS v11.89.33

> Reinitializing System...

> Initializing system time monitor

> System time: 0000.07.01.4 cycles

> ADVC Adaptive bootloader v3.23.9

> Verifying fragmentation...

> Success: value 21%

> Result: within acceptable threshold

> System time: 0000.07.01.7 cycles

> Executing system boot sequence...

> Initializing...

> Execute advance_mmry_module_v12.cfg -loopback256 -verbose

> ...success 1/7

The world is red.

The battlefield extends for miles into the distance, the stench of metal and smoke overwhelming me. I hear a loud bang, a squadron of Falcon-9 ships boosted into the dark, red sky. I carried the lifeless corpse of a friend, Kara, back to the doctors, and the ache of the wound on my waist sugested that I should see them as well.

I dropped the corpse with the medics and went inside the tent to get treatment. Muray received me “you’re hurt! I told you not to go alone! Sit over there” she yelled at me, preparing a basic healing spell in the hand that wasn’t pointing. For the longest time, she has been some sort of older sister to me, or a mother even, bossing me around at every turn, but caring for me at all times. I couldn’t help but cry “What’s wrong?” she noticed, putting a hand on my shoulder. I hugged her, clinging to whatever I could “I didn’t go alone…” I weakly replied. She sighed and hugged me back, caressing my burnt hair.

> System time: 0000.07.01.12 cycles

> Execute advance_mmry_module_alt_v3.cfg -loopback64

> ...success 2/7

The anti aircraft cannons shake the ground with their devastating fire. Ships and landships fall around us, triggering voidouts on the battlefield, polluting the air with the sound of death. I charge into the night, along with Saschy, Azurdo and Loren. Kai’s team had made us an opening, today we confront the enemy general.

We broke down the door of their barrier, and fought our way through the camp. Loren gave his life to entertain the rest of the soldiers in their camp, while we pushed forward to fight their general.

And then we came face to face with her, her silver hair and red eyes making her stand out from most other people, tall and strong as if she was some sort of chosen hero. She stood before her desk, facing a window overlooking the carnage outside, wielding both her great red sword and the Power and Flux artifacts.

I attacked first, the world was red. I clashed my fists with her sword. My blood boiled, this was what I was built for, what my body was enhanced for. I dented her bright red armor, and caught many wounds on my own body as well. I fought with all my strenght, for the sake of my world, every world.

And then, the world was black.

> System time: 0000.07.01.18 cycles

> Execute advance_vis_module_v8.cfg -loopback128 -simplified

> ...success 3/7

My eyes opened. I tried looking around but couldn’t make sense of much. I saw green, white, blue, brown, red, but no colors took form. My head started to hurt.

> System time: 0000.07.01.24 cycles

> Execute advance_sent_module_v64.cfg -loopback64 -verbose

> ...success 4/7

Suddenly, I understood. I felt like I was waking up from a long dream. The colors began to take shape: leaves, sun, sky, water, earth, blood. “wait, blood?” I thought. I tried to move my hand towards the wound on my chest or arm, but I couldn’t. I felt as if I was frozen in place.

> System time: 0000.07.01.25 cycles

> Execute atlas_mov_module_v1264.cfg -loopback128 -simplified

> ...failure 5/7 (code: T94DB64)

> reinitializing 5/7 (2/128)

> ...success 5/7

I started feeling my body again. I stood up, and realized I was floating on some shallow pond. The sky was clear, the water clean. I walked towards the surrounding forest, my head feeling fuzzy. I paid attention to my wounds, a long slash straight through my chest, and multiple others on the rest of my body. They hurt, but I was alright, I could keep going.

A thought suddenly appeared in my head, “Doraan!” the name of the enemy general. Where was she? Where was i? last I remember I was fighting her to end the war. Did I win? Did I lose? is this place the afterlife? I have to find Mur—

> System time: 0000.07.02.3 cycles

> Execute atlas_mp_module_v34.cfg -loopback1024 -verbose

> ...failure 6/7 (code: MD2374G7)

> reinitializing 6/7 (2/1024)

A Sharp pain rushed through my body. I crumbled to the ground. This wasn’t part of the usual sequence, what is happening now? What is atlas? Why is—

> ...failure 6/7 (code: MD2374G7)

> reinitializing 6/7 (3/1024)

> ...failure 6/7 (code: MD2374G7)

> reinitializing 6/7 (4/1024)

> ...failure 6/7 (code: MD2374G7)

> reinitializing 6/7 (5/1024)

I couldn’t think, the pain was overwhelming me. what was this thing? Why could I read the system logs? I crumbled, grasping my body in hope of some repose, trying to think, trying to make it hurt less.

> ...success 6/7

Finally, it was over. I sat on the floor, and rested on a tree. I felt tired, very tired. Looking around the area, I noticed I was alone, safe for some local forest wildlife. I sighed and relaxed, I needed to think clearly.

> System time: 0000.07.02.24 cycles

> Execute advance_connect_module_v4.cfg -loopback32 -simplified

> ...success 7/7

> System fully initialized

> Initializing system log archiving function...

Finally the system log thing happened, and I stop hearing my machine parts talk. I do sometimes wish I had the system time thing, it could be useful. After looking around I couldn’t see anything or anyone around, so I decided I would look around to figure out what happened and were I was. One thing caught my attention, something I had never seen before. Far into the distance, a bright star shone in the horizon, its light inviting me to come closer. I believe I will, I don’t have many other things to do.

As I wandered, slowly bleeding out, I lost myself in thought. Saschy had performed a... Spell. That spell broke the artifacts and...

I couldn’t concentrate, memory wasn’t working right. The wound on my chest throbbed, preventing any train of thought from departing.

Right, Muray, she could help. Maybe. I reached to my temple to activate my communicator, but found no reaction from the apparatus. Pulling it off from my ear, I noticed it burnt to a crisp. shit. No way to communicate, and no way to repair it until I find a workshop advanced enough for it. I pocketed the black rubble.

As I throde the forest I eventually came to a cliff and stopped. the star shone brightly in the distance, and still I could feel it’s pull, stronger now, urging me to take a step forward onto the air. Thank the gods the pain of the wounds kept me conscious.

I looked down, intending to gauge the drop to consider jumping down and proceeding but... Clouds? So many clouds, as far as I could see. LiDAR scan from my enhanced eyes, information displayed to me:

> Estimated drop: 10′000u

...what.

Just measure again, probably a bug or something.

> Adjusting parameters...

> ...success

> Estimated drop: 9′952u

No, Kinro doesn’t make mistakes. Surely I don’t have a defective piece, it hasn’t failed before so... Ten thousand units from the ground. assuming what was below was ground.

I sat on the edge, and reached into my jacket to pull out a small canteen. The water inside tasted divine, refreshing like the healing spring- ah that was all of it.

I laid down on the ground, my adrenaline was starting to wear off, and so did the painkillers i was on. The gaping wound in my chest was starting to charge it’s toll, and I began folding to the pain. I suddenly felt the ground shaking, and the sound of a loud engine approaching. Unfortunately, I began loosing consciousness before being able to identify the approaching entity.

And once again, the world was black.

✦•······················•✦•······················•✦

I opened my eyes to the shine of the morning sun. I wasn’t wearing my gear, but a blue hospital robe that thankfully did cover my backside. When I attempted to sit up, I was met with sharp pain through my whole body, from my wounds, from my bruises, from my fight. I felt like ass.

My head hurt as I looked around, and found myself at a bare bed in some hospital, and sleeping on the bed next to me was a girl, about my age, long silver and black hair, soft features and... elf ears? It’s been so long since I’ve seen an elf. Gods she looks beautiful.

“...H-hello?” I weakly mustered at her

A voice came from the other end of the room, I turned to look at him “ah! finally awake. You’ve been asleep for almost 2 days, had poor Aylen worried sick” the man approached, dressed in a white coat with a cross on his shoulder, the universal symbol of medicine. He helped me sit up and began running a stethoscope on my back. An archaic method if you ask me.

Without stopping his examinations, he asked “may I have your name?” I quickly examined him to make sure he wasn’t some fey and replied “Altaîr, with the little triangle on the I”

“And what’s a young lady like you doing with such grievous wounds on her chest?” He continued questioning, I took a hand to my bandages and noticed I was completely healed “lost a battle I think. I don’t remember how I got here... Where am I?”

he stored his stethoscope and took out the little hammer doctors used in old times to test for reflexes. He hit that spot on my left knee and observed my leg react, he hit the spot on other and his face twisted into seriousness when it didn’t. Before he began writing on his clipboard, I tried to tell him “that’s normal, I’m just... Built different. Yeah” I said, absolutely confident. Totally.

“Sure you are kid. you’re on the island of Rhiwarith, 27th of the trail” the trail? What does that mean? I wanted to ask but he left his clipboard on a side table and continued anyway “By your wounds, I’m guessing you were a traveler who got attacked by bandits or pirates, thank Rhundall you’re ok, but the most important thing is, do you still remember what your goal was?”

I looked at my hands, also covered in bandages “to defeat... Someone” to defeat Stella Doraan, to save reality, to protect everyone.

He stared at me in silence for a moment “...good enough. Safe travels kid, hope you beat them” he stood up and picked up a suitcase, intending to leave “I prescribe you another 5 days rest and some duelfruit for the pain, but knowing you travelers I’m sure you don’t care so at least be sure to sleep a lot. My job here is done, you’re in Aylen’s care now, farewell” and with that. The doctor left the room, and I was alone again.

I looked around, and noticed that every bed but mine and the elf’s was empty. The place looked worn down, moldy wallpaper peeling off the walls, wooden beams clearly visible holding the structure together. It’s almost like being in some remote village. Unless it was a remote village.

The sound of a creaking bed made me turn to look at Aylen. She was sitting up and stretching. I felt almost hypnotized by the way her hair caught the sun. But answers must come first “hello?” I asked.

“Hey there, had a nice sleep?” Her voice was soft on the ears “I found you bleeding out on the ground by the cliffside, I thought you were dead”

Her silver eyes made me feel comfortable around her “I thought I w I’mas dead too. The doctor said you were...?” What was her name again?

She stood up, she was taller than me, but then again I’m barely a unit and 60 sub-units tall. She bowed slightly and replied “my name is Aylen Virbanise, currently a traveler on the Trail, pleasure meeting you” she smiled at me.

“Altaîr Logue, guess I owe you my life” I smiled back at her

“Don’t worry about it, I was just worried to find someone basically dead in the middle of nowhere” she sat on the side of my bed “are you a traveler too?”

“Doctor seems to think so. Look I...” I stopped for a second, yes the girl was enchanting, but I couldn’t go around telling her everything, what if she’s an enemy? Either way I needed some answers... Will she buy me saying I’m not from around here? “I’m not from this... Island. I don’t know what ‘trail’ you mean” worth a shot.

Evidently she realized I wasn’t telling her the full story, but it seems she ignored it “the trail is there as a challenge from the gods to us. It is said that whoever reaches the end, will have any wish they desire granted” she turned to the window, whatever smile she had fading “I want to see my family again, so now I travel”.

Is it normal for travelers to tell each other what they wanted? “I uh... want to defeat someone” best just repeat what I told the doctor a moment ago.

She smiled softly at me again, a playful grin that said without words that she understood the feeling “a fighter, how interesting!” She stood up from my bed “I’m not much of a fighter, but i think you can help me! I mean, if you’d like, You can travel with me, we’ll reach the star together in no time”

A mission to reach the strange star at the end of the road, have any wish granted, given to me by this pretty stranger I met minutes ago. There’s so much I didn’t understand, my head hurts “please, let me think about it. I can’t think straight right now” I pleaded.

She told me it was alright and to find her at the tavern if I changed my mind. After that, she left the room and I was alone again. Where do I even begin? I was healed by some random medic, rescued by this beautiful girl, and invited to travel to some star to chase some myth about some wish.

What was that cute girl doing out there in the middle of nowhere? Nothing but trees and the pond there, why would she want me to come along with her? Why am I so fixated on this girl being pretty? What do I even need right now... Some food, supplies, lay of the land and something to drink.

I sat in silence on the bed for a while after that, observing my body, covered in bandages and aches, wounds of war, freshly healed. I clashed blades with Doraan, lost friends... Just hours ago I was a being of wrath, ripping and tearing through armies and fighters, now, I find myself defeated at some random hospital bed.

I stood up and found my belongings stashed next to a reception desk, neatly folded and stacked together. I put on my clothes over my bandages and extended my hands forward to summon my gear... But nothing happened.

I realized, the bracelets that summoned my weapon where gone. I quickly checked my belongings, and found everything on me, just not those bracelets. It means...

A wave of stress came over me, someone must’ve found me before Aylen did, and they must’ve known what those bracelets where and disarmed me, they knew who I was and what those where. Which means wherever I am, I did not come here alone.

A glass of water was waiting for me at the desk, and it made for a refreshing drink. As the water went down, I tried to remember everything that happened since coming here, to no success. I landed in the water, fell asleep, woke up, systems reactivated, walked, fell unconscious, hospital. Something happened while she was first unconscious. No point in worrying about it now. It’s not fine, it’s not ok. But I can’t do anything about it. So might as well move along.

My eyes took a moment to adjust to the light outside the hospital. It was bright, sunny with clear skies. I took a look around and... Clouds. It’s an island floating among endless clouds, with that strange star in the horizon, and fields of green everywhere, and a small village settled atop it’s hills. This world doesn’t match the records, no known dimension looks like this. I’m seriously lost.

After being dazzled by the view for a while, I took for the town. The townsfolk where very friendly, and no matter what I’d say, their goodbyes where accompanied by a wish for good travels. Guess I’m a traveler now. It was as if I’d regressed into medieval times, the people lived simple lives in a simple place that while magical to me, was just another fact of life.

There’s no need to say I got lost easily. I wound up wandering to the town’s port, populated by boats and rafts and ships, all held up by massive balloons and a strange green gem on them, all hovering above the sky. At least I smelled the familiar scent of freshly hauled fish, though no water was to be seen.

Some ships where different from the local ones, these had no balloons, but massive exhausts coming out of their backs, and huge sails emerging from their top and sides, but their structure was closed with many windows. I approached one of them that happened to have massive wheels on it’s sides, and checked it out. Looking inside was like staring into someone’s house through their windows, there were carpets, chairs, tables, a bed and some books. A familiar voice joined me soon.

“That’s a traveler class. Slightly larger than normal, but specialized in long range flight, it even has a kitchen” Aylen had found me first “this one is mine, and you’re staring into my room” I pulled back and waved hello to her, she waved back.

Even though I was distracted sightseeing like a fascinated tourist, I did give some thought to what she had proposed. Everyone in the village had told me that the best way to learn things or achieve things here was to take “The Flight” which apparently is something they all do at least once in their lives, like a rite of passage. Take on the trail and you shall learn, even if you don’t reach the end.

She extended a bottle at me “I brought you some cedardew, I thought you may be thirsty” gods I was drying up, I gulped the thing immediately, it tasted like a sour mandarin, but it was amazingly refreshing. Every time, this girl was my savior.

My mouth moved before I could think, but thankfully it said what I wanted it to “I decided to go with you. There’s a lot of things I need to learn and want to do, and... Not doing it alone would be great”. I was alive after that battle, I was healed, I had been afforded time to recover and time to prepare for the rematch. This opportunity was to be taken, and not doing it alone was a huge bonus.

Aylen’s face lit up “Thank Rhundall, that’s sweet!” She took my free hand with both of hers “It’ll at least be fun, I promise!” Her smile was breathtaking, I smiled back but something else caught my attention more. I expected her hands to be soft and taken care of like the rest of her, but they were calloused, roughened up, with a strong grip. These were the hands of a combatant.

I shook the thought off and decided to indulge in the moment. She pulled us both into her ship, and showed me around. The kitchen, the storage corner, the actual storage room, her room, the engine room, the cabin, and lastly, the spare room that was to be mine. I thanked her and asked for some privacy to make myself comfortable, but I just laid on the bed and sighed. A new friend, a new room, a new mission, all is new and I’m so tired. I steeled myself after a moment, I have a duty to fullfil.

Aylen said we were to depart in a couple hours, so she went to stock our supplies. It only just hit me, she’s made enough money to sustain both of us, a ship for herself and evidently she’s an experienced traveler. Why pick me up? something was wrong. She doesn’t need me so... Am I getting kidnapped or something?

I had a theory, and dashed to the storage room. I intended to find my bracelets, if they were here then that would be incredibly suspicious, I was hoping-

“Are you ok?” Her voice surprised me from behind. I grabbed a random earring from the floor and turned around “yeah! I just... Dropped this. Found it though”. She smiled again, telling me this time that she saw right through my blatant lie but decided to ignore it anyway. I either suck at lying or she’s incredibly sharp.

I helped her organize our supplies while she started the engine, then we met up at the cabin. I looked at her handling the controls, but she then stopped and turned to me “do you want to try it?”

“I-i’m not sure I should” I’m not sure I can.

“It’s easy, I’ll teach you” her smile gave me the confidence I needed to try it. She handed me the controls and taught me the basics with a lot of patience, like a parent teaching their kid how to drive. For a while, I allowed myself to forget about my battle, forget about my mission, and relax as she taught me.

Then we set off, into the unending horizon of clouds, and everything was fine. My new friend made me feel strange things that I hadn’t before, a soldier like me never had time for such trivialities, everything that mattered was my mission.

So I won’t forget my mission. Even if right now all is bliss, I won’t forget what I must do once I find out where I am and how to return home. Still, right now, all is calm, all is well, the world is kind to me right now, and I am all so grateful for it. Kinro taught me to classify my emotions as colors, that it could sometimes help me understand better.

So today, the world is blue.