Depths of the Familiar (Asahi: Part 13)

After making their way down through the hole, passing through kilometers of empty stone passageways, the sun's glistening rays eventually reached the depths of the earth, unveiling a boundless sea of ancient structures.

The vast, long-forgotten forest of long-lost cities, filled with thousands of stone temples, towers, houses, tunnels, stairways, and statues, emerged up from the sea of fog like a hand reaching up to the sun; revealing its existence to the very god that once owned all of these.

"These are all old structures from the old world." Asahi whispered to himself as he stood there, awestricken by the sight. "Thousands of structures that once belonged to several kingdoms. Now... buried, forgotten by the world above. I… It's unfathomable how much is left here."

Accompanying the ancient cities weathered in stone, dust, and vegetation, were an expanse of land both green and orange, surrounding and paving way through many of the walls and forgotten-kingdoms of this forsaken place. To Asahi, it seemed shocking to see that even in depths such as these, vegetation could still grow. But now that he thought of it, it was no surprise that this was to occur; magic was always chaotic in this world.

As Asahi's hands trembled at the thought of all of this being submerged underground, the masked-man tapped his shoulder and asked.

"Would it be so bad if I were to reveal my name to you, Lord Asahi?"

"Not… at all." Asahi said as he tried to keep a tear from falling from his eye. "Just refrain from attacking me, if you may so please."

"Understood." The man replied.

As they walked alongside each other, wandering the outskirts of the cavern, passing through a lively village positioned on top of a lush area, the man revealed.

"The name is Kirei. And, as you can see, I am a member of the Adtraic Cult." He claimed as he straightened his posture. "My role here is to ensure that no one interferes with the cities we claim. There have been several, but some of the members of The Adtraic Cult are gathered at another city far off that waterfall of stone pillars!"

Asahi had heard and knew something about the cult before. The only reason for which was because of the encounter and reunion with Telos inside the underground catacombs beneath Linuxinia City. Despite having met them, he had never known that The Adtraic Cult was this expansive.

"Wait a minute, do you... remember me?" Asahi questioned, confused as to whether or not this was a dream.

Kirei nodded, resisting to not pull off his mask. "Of course! Everyone of The Adtraic Cult knows each and every member of the Adtraic family. It's a requirement. Honestly Lord Asahi, what has gotten through your head?"

"Nothing."

Stopping near a broken, misplaced fountain positioned at the center of five houses built of stone and wood, Kirei held up his fingers and named each of The Adtraic with every finger he lifted, starting with the white-haired boy.

"Let's see. So from my knowledge, The Adtraic Family includes Asahi," He said as he looked over to the five statues behind the houses. "Then we have Aletha, Achlys, Acheros, and Aiyana."

Although Asahi knew the names of most of them very well, it seemed that he forgot about two.

"Achlys…" He recited as he struggled to remember their faces. "Acheros." He tried to look at the statues, but they were broken, torn, and in disrepair. He couldn't grasp the thought that he had forgotten who those two were. There was significance within them, but drowned with the thoughts of the present, it was almost impossible for him to recall. Torn with memory loss, Asahi questioned as he looked back toward Kirei.

" Who... who are they?"

Kirei backed up in shock, disbelieving of Asahi's reply.

"I suppose that those two are your parents, right? Your mother and father?"

The sound of water trickling into the ground echoed throughout the cave. Asahi stood still in silence. A heavy and remorseful feeling weighed in his heart as he stared at the S mark inscribed on Kirei's mask; the only mark that symbolized and characterized his family. Despite having been with them for so long in the past, it seemed now, Asahi couldn't even remember his own parents anymore. Struck with the emotions of frustration and despair, he clenched his fists, and tried to scream.

But before doing so, he noticed other people wearing painted wooden masks, staring at him with curiosity. Instead of bursting out, Asahi closed his eyes, and tried to take a deep breath.

The only memories of his mother and father that he could see in his mind were nothing but distorted, shuffled, blurry versions of their appearances. It's as if the only thing he could recall of them was their eye color. One had two different eyes, magenta and gray, while the other had both of them dark gray.

Just as he could grasp on those memories, swiftly they faded away. His eyes started to cloud with sorrowful tears, his hands started to tremble, and he collapsed down into his knees, begging to remember who his parents were.

But the image didn't steer clear; it remained a blur, vanishing into the darkness of his forgotten memories.

"Please, who are they? What happened to them?." He begged, pleading for any memory at all. " I don't understand... Why did the world need to be destroyed?"

His head fell back onto the cold stone floor, letting out an audible groan. The tears began flowing once more, soaking the cloth of his attire and running down his cheeks.

He didn't know why this was happening. All he knew was that he was alone, without any friends or family around him, other than the members of The Adtraic Cult. As they witnessed their lord fall into tears, Kirei leaned over to a girl with blonde hair and whispered.

"Our lord… is showing his tears. What should we do?"

"I don't know…" The girl said as she leaned over and shrugged. "But…We have to help him! We can't leave our lord alone like this!"

After moments of longing for recollection, Asahi chose to give up on trying to remember who Acheros and Achlys were. It seemed that not only had The God of The Forgotten left a mark on everyone in this world, but also the family themselves. The only thing that could prove that they still exist was this massive expanse of ancient structures from The Second Incarnation, and yet, even that couldn't guarantee the fate of his parents.

Before he forgot, he sprinted to where he came from. A hole rained down with sunlight from above. A circle of flowers circumvented around it, outlining a circle of water at the center. It seemed to Asahi that without this water, he would have surely perished. But then, as he looked down into his hands, with others of The Adtraic Cult staring at them obsessively, he looked back inside his mind to see what happened beforehand. What he could recollect seeing was a girl with light powder blue hair, screaming for help as she stood underneath a collapsing ground. If Asahi were to end up in this long-forgotten place, what happened to Kendra?

The fact that he had forgotten about Kendra annoyed Asahi. He knew well that he cared about others, it had been proven the moment he was with Narcissa. And yet… the first thing that came in his mind was the whereabouts.

When he approached the lake and tilted up, he saw an inverted hallway of stone corridors winding up and around several layers of rock.

(Who was to say that this was the only place submerged underground?) Asahi pondered as he noticed several rays of sunlight raining down on him in multiple paths. "There could be several layers, it's really dependent on how deep I am underground."

As his eyes anchored over to the buildings positioned around him and the cultists, Asahi stepped forward with Kirei and sucked up his tears, accepting of his loss of memory.

"Kirei… correct?" Asahi asked as he approached the neatly carved stone walls. "Just how many people are here residing within this… expanse of forgotten structures?"

"I think someone said that there were billions here, my lord." Kirei said as he leaned his right arm against the wall. "But as time grew on, and famine and curses grasped on most, I say… there may be one or two billion people left here among this expanse of this world."

When Asahi heard the number 'billion' be uttered from Kirei's mouth, he couldn't begin to fathom just how many people resided within this underground ancient world. In the past, when Asahi was still young, he remembered hearing his father say that "the world population of The Second Incarnation was nearly seven billion people."

Knowing the possibility that only two or one billion people of his old world were left alive among this underworld before him; with the other five billion left to either rot, die, or vanish, it sent shivers down Asahi's spine.

Shifting the topic of the conversation, Asahi began walking along the stone pathway embedded into the grassy foothills sloping downward to a forest of tattered castles. Each pebble and stone paved way through a cluster of villages, all of which had statues of the Adtraic Family placed on either side of the entrances. And to make matters better for Asahi, cultists had also resided within these places, bowing down and greeting their god with respect.

"We welcome your arrival… lord Asahi." Said hundreds of lips as he passed by.

The emotions that had stirred inside Asahi's heart as he saw various outfits walking around the cold, hollow, and yet warm places, were one of mixed feelings. He knew that Kendra could be out there, and looking down on himself, it was no reason why he was getting stares.

"My lord. It would seem as if your upper attire is missing."

A man wearing a brown robe walked towards Asahi, carrying a large cloth wrapped around his waist. With a smile on his face, he presented Asahi with a relatively strange cloak covered in the shades of brown and white.

"This is the attire that you and the rest of your family wore before all the lesser gods of the Kingdom of Cleira, my lord. To conceal your true beauty for the sake of others' confidence." The man said as he kneeled down on one knee. "We have deeply awaited your return, and in favor, we would like to give you what we owe for your generosity to us gods."

Asahi nodded and took the clothes from the man, wrapping himself in it as the man began to walk back to the others. After looking back and seeing the others surrounding Asahi, he smiled and thanked them.

"I'm honored by your kind gesture. Thank you very much. But that isn't my true clothing."

Visions of a black cat with a white dot pattern scattered around its fur flashed in his mind. There was a bold significance

"Ames." Asahi said with a half breathless murmur. "Without him, my entire existence is futile."

With a pale face, Asahi turned back to Kirei, who had been staring at an inscription embedded into a wall plastered in a radiating white glow. Though his concerns of the disappearance of his attire and Kendra may have grasped him, the white ancient language set on the cold stone walls near him couldn't help but make him curious.

"Kirei, what is this?" Asahi said with a raised eyebrow.

"That, my lord, is one of the MANY prophecies written by our savior, Alaunus."

"Alaunus?" Asahi mumbled with suspicions dawning up on him. "Who is Alaunus?"

As people gathered around behind Asahi, staring at him with focused eyes, Kirei answered with a certain implication of confidence written in his face.

"Alaunus was a mighty and wise creature of applicable skill, my lord. Not because of its wisdom and sheer power, but of its motivations and drive."

Before Kirei could resume on his description of the legendary creature, an old woman cloaked in a brown dress stepped forward and interrupted.

"It is said that Alaunus was once esteemed as the healer of The World of Gincad. Where it sustains and keeps the Soil of this world rich and fertile like the heavens by soaring out in the cosmos and intervening with worlds beyond this one."

Kirei barged in and pointed to the sky.

"But one day, when a colossal veil of light descended from the stars, Alaunus and the rest of us were immediately trapped in perpetual night. Several nations, including ours were left in darkness, leaving us and the remaining gods to create our own light. If it wasn't for Alaunus, we wouldn't have survived."

The more that Asahi heard the people's reaction, he realized that this discussion wasn't just about Alaunus now, but the origins of his old world. For five-thousand years, billions of individuals were trapped underground, believing that this was their world; when in all actuality, above them were places beyond their comprehension

Asahi knew very well that there were ruins hidden among the world. But stumbling in a place where all the remnants of his past world coexist with one another, with an entire society dwelling among its places, made him absolutely angry at his own ignorance.

"So, are you informing me that all of which you see are believed to be your world?" Asahi asked.

"Why, yes my lord." Another individual replied with hoisted arms. "This place is nothing but just a small sector in comparison to the vast nearly endless expanse of this place. Kingdoms are still residing here, monsters as well. But with you here, confirms that yes, our appraised rulers of Gincad still exist."

"And I suppose you will tell me that this place is known as the old world?" Asahi continued.

"Yes, but it goes by a different name, my lord."

"How many other civilizations have existed within these walls?"

"Many, my lord." A young girl, clad in a white robe, bowed her head respectfully.

"Are you saying that there are other nations from the continents of Gwenneg, Azazael, and another here?"

"That's correct."

Although they could continue this conversation all day, especially at the means of the boy that they worship, Asahi turned and pointed to the glowing inscription inscribed on the stone wall and asked.

"Would it be so hard for you to decipher this text for me, my followers?"

Without hesitation, all jumped up and raised their hands eagerly. They couldn't wait any longer to answer their lord. But although many people raised their hands among the sea of individuals, Asahi picked only one. And that was…

"Kirei," He said as he clutched the man's hand, "please… decipher this text for me. What does it say?"

After several minutes of silence, with the crowd waiting in anticipation for their lord's reaction, finally Kirei came out and revealed.

"As said by our savior, Alaunus… [In a time that elapses ten thousand years, when all had been thought to be fallen and forgotten, our beloved, respected, divine rulers of our world will make their long-awaited return. Thou 'shalt not mention their names, nor shall they rush them. But for they shall wait…]

When the words of the prophecy had been deciphered from Kirei, Asahi couldn't help but step back and stumble in shock.

"Ten… thousand years…?" He mumbled underneath his breath. "That is… c… considerably longer than when we arrived. Did we return early?"

At that moment, the crowd shook in shock.