I strained my eyes to try and take in my surroundings. I can barely make out the figures of Trona and the others just a few steps away from me. They laid on the ground, unmoving and covered in blood. With my remaining strength, I try to reach Trona’s hand.

“Wh-what have I done?” I croaked. My throat felt dry. It hurts to speak.

“You’ve betrayed them all.” A voice said as I faintly heard footsteps approaching me. The footsteps stopped. Shoes entered my line of sight. Shoes that were splattered with blood.

“I…. betrayed them?” I questioned.

“Yes. It’s your fault that they all died.” The voice was filled with mirth.

“It’s my fault they're dead?” My throat felt like it was being ripped apart. But I need to know. I need to know if it really was my fault.

“You’ve killed every single one of them. One by one.” The voice grew in pitch as their amusement became more obvious.

“I did…?” My voice finally gave out on me. I felt tears run down my face as I silently mourned the loss of my comrades. No… they were more than comrades, they were my friends, my family.

“Now, now, no need for you to cry. It’s time for you to sleep, like everyone else.” I felt something impale me. It hurts! I wanted to scream in pain, but I could no longer hear my voice.

Trona…. Everyone… I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…

“Good night, Yuuta” And that was the last thing I heard before darkness engulfed me.

...Chapters 1...

We live in a world where the impossible is possible. A world where monsters and magical creatures roam freely. Our journey starts in one of the many ruins that litters the world.

This certain ruin used to be a research facility owned by a man named Viva. Viva was a man who found great joy in the success of his research. He’s love for research caused the doom of his own facility.

“Marcus, has he woken up yet?” Viva questioned turning to a tall, well-built man in a guard uniform. He had firm and determined brown eyes. His hair was swept back and he stood tall, head held high.

“Not yet, sir.” Marcus replied. As he side-eyed the boy they were referring to.

Unbeknownst to them the boy was conscious, but numbed and unable to move. His mind swirled with questions and confusion as he listened to the other two people in the room.

“Set up my magic control.” Viva ordered.

“Yes sir.” Marcus replied firmly before making his way to set up the controls.

“Is it ready?” Viva asked impatiently.

“No sir. We need a massive amount of mana crystals.” Marcus informed his boss and friend.

Too preoccupied, the two failed to notice the twitch of the boy’s fingers as he tried to regain full consciousness.

“Do it! Now!” Viva instructed as his patience continued to grow thin and his frustrations growing.

“Y-Yes, sir.” Marcus uttered in fear. He knew Viva well enough to know how violent he can get when frustrated.

The ground rumbled and shook. “Sir, the magic circle is unstable! We have to get out of here.” Marcus’s voice was lace with urgency as he informed Viva.

“For the sake of the research, we can’t stop this!” Viva stubbornly stood in place. He had a crazed look in his eyes.

The ground shook harder. The facility began to crumble. Viva was too focused on seeing his research succeed that he didn’t notice the debris closing in on him from above.

“VIVA! LOOKOUT!!” Marcus screamed, too panicked to keep up with formalities as he ran forward using his momentum to push Viva away from the falling debris. Upon doing so he ended up directly below the debris and not a minute later he was on the ground with the weight of the debris crushing him, making it hard for him to breath.

“Marcus! NO!” Viva’s voice was laced with fear, guilt and panic as he strained to lift the debris and pull Marcus out.

“Marcus! Marcus! Come on, stay with me! You can’t die!” Viva held his friend’s wounded and crushed body. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as he held back his tears.

“V-viva…” Marcus looked at Viva with glassy eyes as he took a shuddering and painful breath. “W-who would have thought that the last face I’ll see is yours?” He forced himself to let out a strangled laugh. His eyes began to close.

“Marcus! I’m here ok? You’re stronger than this, you hear me? You’ll survive. You have to! For me… Please marcus.” Viva let out a heart-wrenching sob as he continued to hold the pale-cold body of his deceased friend.

His mourning was cut short as more debris kept falling. He scrambled to stand up. He took one last look at his friend's decaying body before fledging the facility. He was determined to stay alive, if not for himself then for Marcus who died to save him.

Years passed. No one had visited the ruined facility. That was until a young adventurous girl named Trona heard of hidden treasures somewhere within ruin.

“If I’m right then the ruin should be right over… there!” A young woman with glowing emerald eyes and silky black hair with a strand of white, smiled to herself as she approached the ruins. “I’m going to be so rich!” She cheered, her smile never once leaving her features.

She began to move rubbles in hopes of finding precious treasure. After moving some more rocks, she spotted flesh. To be specific she spotted a hand. She then screamed as she fell back in surprise and terror. She stops for a couple of seconds and stares at the hand contemplating what to do.

“Does it belong to a dead body?” She thought to herself and gave the hand a little poke with a stick she found laying beside her before deciding to move away more rubble. After much effort she finally sees a body. To her surprise it wasn’t a corpse. But the person was pale enough to almost look like one.

“Poor guy! He must have been running away from bandits. He must have terrible luck to be killed by debris.” She gave the body a poke, just to make sure he was indeed dead. No response. “Oh well. Since you're dead, you won’t be needing your stuff. I’d have more use for them.” She said before proceeding to search his body for anything valuable.

She gathered her loot and listed down the things she found. “Let’s see… Mana crystals and an encrypted spell book. This’ll sell for a lot of money.” She cheered to herself. Her eyes turned dreamy at the thought of being rich and her smile turned slightly feral.

She was snapped out of her daydream as she saw movement at the corner of her eye. She turned to check what it was, and suddenly she came face to face with the supposed dead body. Trona froze as the guy looked around in confusion.

The guy turned to look at her and she lost herself in his pitch black eyes. “Wh - where am I?” He questioned once again snapping her out of her inner thoughts.

It took her a minute to process the situation she was in. This boy who was just laying on the pile of rubbles is now talking to her.

Her heart rate accelerated as panic and realization dawned on her. “GHOST!!” She screamed as she jumped away.

The boy looks at her in confusion. “Ghost? Where?” He sees the girl staring at him. His face turned even paler as he slowly looked behind him. Seeing nothing there he lets out a sigh of relief. “Don’t scare me like that!” He exclaimed.

Trona continued to stare at him, her eyes reflecting fear. “Please don’t curse me! Here! You can have your stuff back! Please don’t haunt me!” She held out the spell book and mana crystals.

The guy continued to stare at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?” The guy innocently asked.

Trona blinked. Then blinked again. “Wait, you’re not a ghost? Are you tricking me or something?”

“Huh?”

“Hmm… I guess a ghost wouldn’t be this stupid.” Trona said as she stood up and dusted her clothes.

“H-hey! Who are you calling stupid!?” The guy exclaimed, offended.

“Never mind that. My name’s Trona, Trona Valde Hermet. You can just call me Trona.” She said, offering a handshake.

“Cr… Crona?”

“No! T R O N A! Tro-na! Trona.” Trona spelled out and syllabicated her name.

“Tro-na. Well nice to meet you! My name is-” His introduction was cut short as he suddenly fainted.

...Chapter 2...

Trona had carried Yuuta back to town and had rented a room in an inn. She placed him on the bed and busied herself while she waited for him to wake. 5 hours passed before Yuuta finally woke up. He slowly opened his eyes and groaned in pain as he slowly got up.

“You’re finally awake.” Trona stated. Yuuta slightly jumped in surprise. He placed a hand to his chest in hopes of calming his racing heart. He took a calming breath in.

“Where are we?” He asked.

“You love asking questions, don’t you? We’re in Lyenia.” Trona informed.

“Lyenia?” Yuuta repeated in question.

“Yep.” Trona nodded her head. “The city’s been around since like forever.”

Confusion was still written all over Yuuta’s face. “I’m still confused.” He shook his head as if silently saying ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’ “What happened?” He asked.

“Oh. You decided to take a nap while I was talking to you, rude by the way. I had to carry you all the way to this inn.” Trona said, recalling the past few hours. A cold wind entered from the window making Yuuta shiver. That was when he realized that he felt the wind hit his bare skin.

He quickly looked down and saw that his clothes were missing. He turned his attention back to Trona, eyes filled with panic and asking a silent question. ‘Where are my clothes!?’

Understanding the look in his eyes, Trona looked away, pink dusted her cheeks. “They had dirt and dust all over them.” She let out an unladylike snort. “Made me sneeze the entire way here. I went ahead and washed them for you.” She paused as she saw Yuuta’s face go red. “Don’t worry I didn’t see anything!” She rushed to add.

Yuuta averted his gaze and watched his hands fiddle with the warm blanket that was draped on his waist down. “Thank you.” He managed to say through his embarrassment.

“You’re welcome. That’s what friends are for. Speaking of, you still haven’t told me your name.” Her eyes reflected curiosity as she looked at him in slight expectation.

“Oh. Right. My name’s Yuuta… I think?” Yuuta said, unsure.

“You think? It does sound foreign.” As if remembering something Trona stood up and approached her bag laying on the floor at the corner of the room. She took out something and handed it over to Yuuta. “Here you can have your stupid book back. I can’t read or understand anything written on it.” She says dropping it on his lap.

“This is mine?” He looked at the book in confusion and curiosity.

“Yep, that’s yours. Do you have memory loss or something?” Trona replied.

“Most likely. I can’t recall anything before our meeting. Just that my name was Yuuta.” He answered as he examined the book in his hands. He traced his fingers along the symbol embedded onto the cover. He slowly opened it and carefully skimmed the writing. He found that he couldn’t understand a single word written.

“This looks gibberish to me. The only thing I can remotely recognize is the signature. Viv- Vieva- Vee- V- Veivay-” Yuuta attempted and failed to read the signature.

“Let me see that!” Trona exclaimed, snatching the book from Yuuta’s hands. She squinted her eyes as she looked at the blotched signature. “Vee-va. Viva! It says Viva! You really are stupid.” She said as she gave the book back to Yuuta. Yuuta frowned at the offense.

“Viva…. I need to find him. He may have answers, about my past and why I lost my memories.” Yuuta stated.

Trona walks towards the table across the room. She picked up a bowl of cooked rice before walking back to Yuuta and giving it to him. “Well, you can’t right now. Rest for a few more hours. I know a guy that can help us, but first, you need to get energized. Besides, your clothes still need to dry. The guy we’re meeting doesn’t exactly swing that way if you know what I mean.” She said with a smug look as Yuuta looked at her in annoyance. Trona giggled.

“How long will it take before we can start looking for Viva?” Yuuta asked, still looking annoyed.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be on the road the day after tomorrow.” Trona replied. As she headed towards the door. “I’ll head downstairs and rent another room.” She informed her.

“Why?” Yuuta innocently asked. Trona turned red.

“I’m not sleeping with a ***** man until I’m 40.” She stated before walking out the door. Yuuta processed her words before also turning red. “Right.” He mumbled but Trona was long gone.

Trona quickly descends the stairs. “So you and that boy having fun up there?” The girl behind the counter asks with a smirk. She looked to be in her early twenties with golden-brown hair and sapphire blue eyes. In short? She was a beauty.

“Fenia, it’s not like that!” Trona exclaimed.

Fenia let out a chuckle. “I’m only messing with you. So where’s he from? Is he from the west like those soldiers that just arrived?” She inquired.

“Nah. Sort of found him like… outside town.” Trona said.

“Oh! A mystery. I love mysteries! Tell me more.” She said her voice filled with excitement and her eyes swimming with curiosity.

“I would if I could.” Trona sighed. Fenia pushed a key towards her. “Thanks. Which room?”

“The one right beside the other one you rented. Don’t forget to return it.” Fenia stated.

“Oh, and do you know any shop that sells boy’s clothes?” Trona asked

Fenia gave her a grin that rivaled the Cheshire Cat’s. “What for?” She prolonged the vowel.

“Yuuta’s clothes are beyond saving and too small for him. He needs new ones.” Trona replied with a deadpan expression. She actively ignored the grin still plastered on Fenia’s face.

“Didn’t know little Trona was so nice. Did you mature overnight?” Fenia said phrasing her words to seem innocent. But Trona caught the hidden meaning. She turned red and glared at Fenia in annoyance.

“Hehe. Just down the road, on your left. You can find good quality clothes for cheap prices.” Fenia informed, still smiling in amusement.

A few hours passed and Yuuta began to worry. “She’s been gone for a while now…” He murmured to himself in worry.

He stared for a minute before deciding to distract himself. He examined the book again. “This symbol… It’s got to mean something. Trona said she found this near my body. But it can’t be mine since I can’t read anything written inside it. Whoever this Viva guy is, he’s got to have some answers.” He said to himself. Too lost in thought, Yuuta startled when the door suddenly swung open. He jumped and screamed in surprise and before he knew it he had already fallen off the bed and was now splayed on the floor.

“Guess what I got you!” Trona said in a singsong voice. Yuuta sat up, rubbing the back of his head trying to lessen the pain. Trona stared at him for a few seconds before she shrieked. She turns red as she closes her eyes and covers her face.

“Put this on!” She exclaimed as she threw a set of clothes to Yuuta’s face. Trona rushes out the door.

A few minutes later Yuuta slowly opens the door and peeks outside. He saw Trona sitting just beside the door. She hugged her knees to her chest as she slowly rocked herself back and forth. She was whispering something to herself.

“Trona?” Yuuta tried to get his attention.

“I didn’t see anything, I didn’t see anything. I didn’t see anything.” She chanted.

“Umm- I’m sorry about that. I’m decent now.” He hesitantly stated. Trona slowly turned her head towards Yuuta.

“I will forever be traumatized.”

...Chapter 3...

The next day Trona and Yuuta headed out. Trona led the way to their destination.“So how sure are you that he’s willing to help us?” Yuuta asked as they walked at an eased pace.

“Let’s just say he owes me.” Trona said with a grin. They continued to walk in silence and a few minutes later they arrived in front of a house. It was quite a few blocks from the inn but it was at an appropriate distance.

Trona confidently strolled in, throwing the door open. The owner didn’t even flinch. “Hey Tron. Long time no see.” He casually says.

“Long time indeed. I need your help with a situation.” Trona stated.

“What is it? Want me to wash you back? Like when we were little kids?” Nibbato teasingly asked with a smirk. Trona turned red.

“No!” She shrieked. Nibbato continues to smirk.

“So what did you need help with Tron?” He asked before finally noticing Yuuta. “Oh? And who is this?” He inquired.

“I need you to help me find someone.” Trona said.

“Hello.” Yuuta said as he gave him a wave.

“Such a cute and pretty little lady.” Nibbato looking Yuuta up and down. Trona looked at him in disgust.

“I’m actually a guy.” Yuuta timidly said before chuckling nervously. Nibbato’s jaws dropped open. He turned his attention to Trona, asking a silent question. Trona nodded her head, confirming Yuuta’s words. Nibbato closed his jaw and straightened his posture a bit.

He let out a fake cough. “So who do you need to find?” Nibbato asked, going back to the main topic.

“A guy named Viva. He left this book.” Trona held out her hand as Yuuta handed her the book. Trona passes the book over to Nibbato.

“Let’s see.” Nibbato said as he examined it. He studied the exterior before opening it and checking its contents.

“Can you read it?” Trona asked. Nibbato shook his head.

“It’s a very old language, this is probably really old. Do you have any idea what time it’s from?” Nibbato asked as he continued to examine the book. Yuuta and Trona shook their heads.

“Not exactly my specialty but I do know a guy just a few miles away. At first glance he might seem like a quack, but I can assure you he’ll be able to translate this. He lives at the village of Ciato, in the east section.” Nibbato informed them.

“Ciato!? But th - that’s too far! There HAS to be another way!” Trona exclaimed.

“Not that I know of. This scripture is nowhere near recent.” Nibbato replied, shrugging. Yuuta eyed the book, once more wondering what was written in there and how it connected to him.

“It makes sense considering you found it in the ruins.” Nibbato added as he handed the book back.

Trona’s eyes narrowed before turning into a ferocious glare. “I never told you where I found it. Did you send people to spy on me!? Again!?” She snarled.

Nibbato took a step back in fear. “Take this. It’s a letter, give it to the soldier out front. They’ll know what it means.” He said, holding out a letter to Yuuta.

Trona continued to glare. “Hey! DON’T CHANGE THE SUBJECT!” She screamed as she stepped forward. Yuuta quickly held her back.

“Thank you.” He said still holding a struggling Trona.

“You should go now. It’s a long trip.” Nibbato said. He took a step closer to the stairs as he kept his eyes on the furious Trona.

“Come on Trona. We need to go. You two can talk about it another time.” He said. Trona stopped struggling.

“Yeah, you’re right.” She says dejectedly. Yuuta exited the house and Trona followed close behind but suddenly stopped in front of the door. She glanced back at Nibbato. “I won’t forget this.” She growled.