Dawn of a New Era

All that greeted Vin's senses was an abyss of darkness.

He didn't perceive anything but discerned that his soul was somehow suspended on a thin line between life and death. Perhaps that was where the Voice of the planet Auroraan existed. It felt incredibly empty.

Vin lingered there for an unmeasurable amount of time, but eventually, something gripped his essence and dragged it from that place of emptiness. Soon, that canvas of zero flashed into a new dynamic scene, and he found his formless existence suspended in an endless grass field. The sky above was a deep ruby, exhibiting three distant moons that orbited the world. It wasn't Earth. However, he felt the red atmosphere and cloudless sky didn't belong to Auroraan either.

He was joined by the presence that'd rescued his soul, the black Phoenix that swiftly landed atop a pile of ash. Again, it communicated with him using a sense of intention. It was unclear before, but then he understood it as clear as that open ruby-red sky.

That spirit called upon his service. Only Vin, in his formless existence, communicated an outrage. That thing had failed to save Lynn; it did not uphold its end of the deal, so he had no basis to oblige it.

The dark entity shut down Vin's refusal. Its vow was to grant him power to save Lynn, and it claimed to have yet to fail that overarching objective. It, along with the ice spirit, were indeed Gods of another plane of existence—deities who had always hidden and watched mortals, granting them magic and blessings. The Phoenix explained that, like itself, the God of ice wouldn't reveal itself without cause, especially not to murder a mere mortal.

Then, the question was, what did a God want with a teenager. Vin was prepared for something wicked like killing innocent people or slaying rival Gods; however, the black Phoenix simply flew into the red sky and professed, "I want to go home."

Earth wasn't the only planet assimulated in Auroraan. Its world, Vulcorath, was devoured 300 years ago. It was bound to the ordinances of that new planet, which sealed a God's true form in a separate realm called the Astral Plane.

According to it, there were three planes of existence: the lowest was the Mortal Realm, the middle was the Archival Dimension, and the top was the Astral Plane.

The Phoenix wanted Vin to start by traveling to the middle plane of existence called the Archival Dimension. The logic of that world dictated that each realm operated under a different set of rules; however, just as God's found a way to temporarily descend to the mortal world, mortals could ascend.

As implausible as it sounded, as Vin observed the mound of ash on the ground, he knew he'd gain nothing in refusing. In addition to protecting his family and friend, he wanted to experience life and its joys; he couldn't be reduced to dust.

Vin sensed the Phoenix's burning conviction as it flew away, and with its exit, the visualization of that dwelling soon crumbled. Vin's essence rippled, then forcefully spiraled through a flash of ethereal light where time and space were null.

He manifested elsewhere, revealing a new scene—one much more familiar. Bountiful beats of color pulsed and painted the picture. At the same time, Vin slowly felt his limbs return, granting him the feeling of steady movement. As the portrait was drawn, he noticed he was no longer alone.

A few paces ahead, skating peacefully down a moonlit tunnel of a ravishing, vivid flower garden, was a friend. Vin eyed her back while she rode ahead on a skateboard with light blue wheels. He seemingly materialized behind her on his own wheels, then called, "Hey, Lynn."

Vin pushed his board lightly to reach her. A gorgeous white dress flapped behind her as she advanced against an angelic night breeze. Her honey-brown hair was released, and her glasses were absent. It was quiet, but she smiled loudly as she extended a hand to the garden walls and plucked a rose before passionately pulling it to her nose.

"It's beautiful here," she murmured, barefoot but skating smoothly along the path.

Vin had never seen her in that light before; at that moment, he thought she was surprisingly feminine. The past of reality escaped him as he arrived at her side and remarked, "Yeah, it is."

Oddly, unlike the first time he'd been in that dream world, he no longer felt the urge to smile. Even more, now that Lynn was there, he should have been grinning as she had. Yet-

Whatever, that wasn't the time to contemplate it. They were together again, and nothing else mattered.

They rolled into the moonlight garden at what felt like an incredibly drawn-out pace. Vin loosely recalled that the last time he'd dreamed of that location, he hardly covered any ground before waking up and realizing hours had passed. Bizarre, it always seemed logical for dreams to move quickly, but mere seconds felt like hours.

It didn't matter much. The idea of getting stuck in time with her wasn't so bad.

"Hey," Vin said, his deadpan expression now fixed on the girl.

Lynn rotated, met him with sparkling, emerald-colored eyes, and responded softly, "What is it?"

The boy leaned slightly downward, tightened his footing on the skateboard, and added, "You wanted to settle who was faster, right?"

With an elegant squint of her eyes and a smile, Lynn rode closer to Vin and placed the flower she plucked in his hair. She gently shook her head, then delicately voiced, "Actually, for once, I'd like to take it slow."

"Let's enjoy this dream. Before it ends."

Vin inadvertently became entranced by her eyes, smile, and gentle movements, which were the opposite of what he'd known. He breathed, then forcibly turned his head opposite of her so she wouldn't notice the hint of affection in his eyes. "I'll beat you another time then."

Lynn didn't snap back but opened her arms to the loving caress of the wind and giggled. "Jerk."

Vin slowed. He found himself watching her back, someone who looked like they'd felt free for the first time in their life. Like a beautiful white dove released the moment that a bride placed her lips upon her husbands to commend their new life together.

If only that moment would last forever, he truly would be the happiest person.

The vision blurred. The colors faded, and with it, the last time he'd seen that innocent, smiling girl.

"Assimilation Complete."

"Welcome, Humans, to the Planet Auroraan."

Everything was zeroed behind Vin's eyelids. Nothing existed for what felt like a long time. Then, he was disturbed, hauled from the happiness of his dream by an annoyingly enthusiastic Soul that tried to conceal its excitement with brief, straightforward messages. Its words, like the last experience, poked at Vin's mind in an uncouth fashion.

Reality bled into his consciousness like ink spilled onto a white canvas. His dreams made his body heavy, but he quickly retrained all his limbs. His sense of touch returned first, informing him he'd been on his back, laying naked on something akin to feathers. As he fluttered his eyes open, he couldn't help but note how remarkably soft the ground was.

Faint light seeped into his irises, allowing him to immediately conclude that he'd been staring up at a rocky roof. 'A cave?'

"98.7% of Earth's population have successfully jumped. All those unable to enter a bridge in time have regretfully perished."

This information was slowly processed in Vin's head as he was more curious about his location and whether he'd actually arisen from a pile of ash. He sat up and noticed he was in an immense cave about the size of a stadium. Black feathers the length of a bus covered the entire ground in a thick sheet.

Even more extraordinary was that tall, purple flames outlined the cave walls; he felt its warmth, but neither he nor the feathers burned.

The face of the creature that created those fires flashed in his head. Waking up naked at the center of a feather bed, he couldn't help but feel like he'd somehow been hatched out of a nest.

His face tightened into a scowl, and rage blizzarded his core as he slowly remembered what he'd left behind in that swamp. A name gossiped in the back of his head; he wanted to paint a picture of the face in his mind; however, the words he'd recently heard forcefully robbed his process.

Still sitting upright, his hands pressed against his face while he recognized. 'Earth's population has jumped?'

Aiding his confusion, another broadcast was made to him and every other human that the Voice chose to include. "Please make yourself comfortable. This settlement is a haven granted to humans to start over."

"The assimilation of your bountiful planet and its resources has granted these once-dying lands new life. You are free to build your societies as you like."

A multitude of disorienting needles swarmed Vin's mind, pricking and stabbing his understanding, and all of a sudden, nothing else made sense.

No, nothing ever made sense.

"Humans are on this planet too?" Once those words left his mouth, he unhurriedly clasped his hand over his lips.

"What—" he started but hindered. He'd never learned another language, yet every syllable that left his mouth was foreign to him. They were new, yet he understood them as if he'd spoken them his entire life.

That was a problem for later. Vin put it off, using his mindscape to communicate with himself. He squeezed his hands together so tightly that circulation was hindered. 'It's been 3 years? What happened to Mom, Dad, and Macy!?'

A brief flashback of the horrors he experienced after arriving on the planet induced nasua in his gut. He didn't believe a word that the magic Voice transmitted. Vin wasn't thinking of a safe settlement; he imagined the worst, pictured his family running for their lives in the same terrible swamp. Just how he and Lyn-

"Lynn," he breathed. Her name was the only thing that sounded the same to his ears. His frantic thoughts were cut off again. His mind shifted between many subjects, images, and regrets, never staying in one place long.

"It's my fault…" he mumbled in an unknown tongue. His frustrations elevated as his heart did. He angrily hunched over the ground, then slammed his head against the floor until the point of drawing blood. He nearly puked at the remembrance of his past sickness and deaths, finding it too surreal to be true.

But Vin. He wasn't ill. Not anymore.

Another chance at life was granted to him. He allowed a flood of thoughts and memories to take his mind; he remembered everything about his past life, how safe and mundane everything had been. How he died without ever experiencing genuine joy.

'I want to really live this time…'

It was impossible to redo his past. Earth was gone, and even its language seemed to disappear with it. However, that did not mean he couldn't search for pleasure there.

Vin lifted his leaking head from the ground and clenched his fist. Past all that land, monsters, and sadness were millions of experiences waiting to be had. And not just for him; if he survived being burnt alive, Lynn had to have been out there still.

Gradually refocusing his sanity and calming, he realized the magic Voice had been rambling the entire time he'd had his episode. He missed some crucial information, but that was fine because he found something in the pandemonium of his mind.

Objective. Vin knew what he wanted and would dedicate his all to achieving it. No God nor its silly quest would hinder him.