Chapter 48

[Why… why am I alive?]

Lily finds herself standing in the void once more, the endless expanse of nothingness stretching out before her.

No light.

No dark.

No life.

No death.

No release.

Just a nonstop spread of gray space numbing her mind.

She wanted to cry, to scream, but she couldn't, this wasn't her dream or her memories.

In fact, as soon as she realized she wasn't in control she began to calm down, now trying to figure out what was happening.

This body wasn't her's that much was clear… if anything it felt like she was a passenger in someone else's tired mind.

Perhaps it was Six, that was the only thing she could think of.

He was the only other one to know the void after all.

The feeling running through her right now was also a strange feeling, one of extreme sorrow and apathy.

It felt like a swirling abyss of darkness, one threatening to swallow her whole, yet she kept floating on its surface, head barely above the water.

The few happy memories being the only thing keeping her from sinking fully into the depths of despair.

Happy memories?

Right, that's what was going through "his" head right now, memories of brighter times keeping him going, keeping him looking up.

One in particular seemed to stand out, it was more cherished than the rest, beloved in fact.

It was a bittersweet memory, one that made him smile and made his heart ache with each passing day.

It was the day he met his dearest friend, one who he'd happily lay his life down for, one who shone like the sun in his eyes.

Yet it was also when he first awoke his curse, the reason the void traps him, keeping him alive for eternity.

Lily wished to understand it better, to see the memory fully, but she couldn't.

This dreamlike connection was barely enough for her to see into his mind, and that memory was so bright and soft, comforting her weary soul.

Is this what Six held dear? Is this truly the core of his being?

It felt like it.

"Why am I alive?" Six's voice rang out, as if responding to himself, a tired but amused chuckle escaping him.

It was a question he'd found the answer to a long time ago, one he was truly happy and content with.

"I bet you'd like to know the answer to that, wouldn't you Lily?" His quiet and sweet tone surprised her.

'You know I'm here?' she asked, now earning another quiet chuckle.

"Of course, I've lived a long time, and I know when a new set of eyes is observing me from inside." he calmly replies, seeming to be more comfortable in this place than in reality.

'I would like to know, to understand you a bit better if we're going to be stuck together.' she responds earnestly, surprising even herself with this.

"Well it's nothing amazing, and you'll come to find out more as our connection deepens… but, the truth is… I am alive to help others, even if they forget me in the end." He states matter of factly, a tinge of that bittersweet feeling hanging on his tongue.

'Why would they forget you? If you helped them wouldn't they remember you?'

"They couldn't even if they wanted to, my curse is a unique one you see." He begins, a flood of memories seeming to form around them, almost too many. "I can never forget anything, no matter how much I want to."

The memories begin to fade away, leaving only the void once more. "When I "die" I return here, forced to wander until I awaken in a new world."

Now the memories return, though looking wrong, altered, irreversibly changed. "And when I die my existence is wiped from that world's history, only traces remain such as faceless statues and the like… but my name and any memories regarding me are gone forever."

Lily was speechless, mind racing as she thought about it.

How long had he been alive then?

Had she met him before?

Would she gain his curse as well?

"Relax, you'll be fine… I told you the process will be slow, and I promise you won't have to bear this curse as well." he lets out a long sigh now. "In fact, this is normally not how these connections go, if I wasn't slowing it down you'd already be lost in my memories and dreams, not sitting in my mind."

'So that voice earlier?'

"That was the start of one of my earlier memories, a rather unsavory one at that." Six reminisces, his surprisingly relaxed persona faltering slightly. "That's why I didn't let you view it right now, I don't want to pile more troubles onto your plate."

'But what if I wanted to see it?'

"Trust me, you really didn't… not yet, you still have your own freedom and your friends to worry about." Six says, his relaxed air returning. "Besides, it's not fun to have eons of memories flood into your mind, so just relax for now… and wake up."

Suddenly a cold rush snaps through Lily as the world changes, the gray void now being replaced by the room she'd been staying in.

Just what was that?

Quietly she looked around and whispered.

"Six, are you there?"

But there was no response, only the ambience of the outside world to greet her.

With a heavy sigh she woke up, feeling even better and more energized than the day before, her mind feeling clear and razor focused.

Quietly she pulled out her journal, her eyes widening upon seeing a message notification.

It was from Ryder, everyone was still alive.

They had just cleared out a second dungeon, though they were nowhere near her.

If there really was a barrier separating them she had two choices now.

Find and defeat the lord creating the barrier, or find a way out, likely through another false zone.

Just seeing that message took a whole weight off her shoulders, though she did wish to see them again she knew it wouldn't be any time soon.

Now she paused, considering her options carefully.

She could find a false zone… but that wouldn't guarantee anything in the slightest… no she had to do something else, tracking down this mysterious lord candidate might be the easiest route.

Not only that but it'd give her time to understand everything.

Six.

Resovult.

This strange golden rite.

Vonder and Aida.

The Beast Lord.

With a nod she confirmed her plan and marched out to the main area, finding Night behind the counter once more.

Quickly she walked up and asked. "Where is Vonder at?"

Night blinked a bit, surprised at the sudden question. "Probably still in town somewhere, why? What's up?"

"I know what I want to do now and I need his help." Lily says with a bit of confidence she didn't have before.

"Really? What's that?" Night questions while producing a pen and some paper, a bit of red ink clear on the tip of the pen.

With a smile Lily proudly proclaims the answer she came to. "I'm staying, I'm going to learn more about this place and help free it!"

A soft smile seems to form on the guild leader's lips as she writes it down on the note. "Well then, I hope you're ready because…" suddenly the note vanishes in a flash of pale red flames. "Vonder isn't going to take it easy on you now."

"I expect not, but I can't give up now… not when there's so much to learn!" Lily excitedly states. "I'm going to free this place and get everyone one step closer to going home!"

Suddenly the guild doors creak open, Vonder entering with a smile as he holds up the note Night wrote.

"Well then, let's get started!"