Me Myself and l

"Let's go to another room," Michelle said, her voice firm, her emerald eyes locking onto Edward's.

There was no hesitation in her words—only seriousness.

Edward followed as they made their way into a small, dusty chamber nearby. The room was barely furnished, with only a writing table and a couple of old chairs standing in the dim moonlight. Heavy dust hung in the air, making each breath feel thick and weighted.

It was stifling, and yet Edward's anticipation of learning the truth far outweighed the discomfort.

His gaze drifted across the walls. Faint silhouettes were painted there—dark figures, their details lost in shadow. It was difficult to make out what they represented, but there was something unsettling about them.

The only light in the room came from the moon, its glow weak yet steady, casting long shadows across the wooden floor.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

Then, Michelle broke the silence, raising a hand and gesturing toward a chair.

"Sit."

Edward obeyed, his mind racing.

Once they were both seated, she began her explanation.

"We are on the continent called Schachtel," Michelle began, her voice steady.

"A vast and flourishing land, surrounded entirely by water. Many nations, kingdoms, and empires have thrived here, each with their own history, their own ambitions. Among them stands our home—the Dragon Empire."

She paused briefly, letting the weight of her words settle before continuing.

"It is said that the Dragon Empire was founded a thousand years ago by its first Emperor—a warrior of unmatched strength who slayed the legendary two-tailed dragon in a battle so fierce that it nearly shattered the skies. In that narrow victory, the Emperor gained great power and carved out an empire, forever immortalizing his greatest foe as both the emblem and the symbol of his rule."

Edward listened intently as she went on, the weight of history pressing into the dimly lit room.

"Thanks to his overwhelming might, unrivaled leadership, and cunning political strategies, he expanded the empire's borders, conquering the entire western lands, claiming large portions of the south and north, and establishing political dominance even in the east. Each successive Emperor followed in his path, expanding authority and power, pushing the Dragon Empire further towards absolute rule.

"And they nearly succeeded."

Her emerald eyes gleamed in the moonlight, reflecting something between admiration and unease.

"A little over 20 years ago, the Dragon Empire stood on the verge of controlling half of Schachtel. It was an era of unmatched power, prosperity, and dominance.

"But then..." Michelle's voice grew quieter, darker.

"Then came The Eternal Abyss… or as some call it, The Great Calamity."

Michelle's voice lowered, her tone carrying the weight of something ancient, something that had shaken the very foundations of the world.

"It came without warning," she murmured, her fingers tightening against the wooden table. "A tear in the very fabric of the world. A wound in reality itself."

She let the words settle, their meaning far heavier than they should have been.

"The sky… it didn't simply darken. It broke."

She glanced up, her emerald eyes gleaming under the dim moonlight.

"No storm, no eclipse, no divine wrath—it was something else entirely. At first, it was just a sliver. A thin, jagged line high above the heavens, as if something vast and unseen had torn through the sky like fragile cloth. And then, it grew.

"It was unlike anything we had ever witnessed. Not a void, not an abyss, but something deeper. A realm beyond existence itself, where time and space did not obey our laws. It was an open wound in reality, and through it, we saw something we were never meant to see—a place without form, without light, without an end."

She took a slow breath, as if the memory itself unsettled her.

"And then… they came."

She fell silent for a moment, letting the weight of those words sink in.

"They weren't demons. They weren't men. They weren't even gods. They were something else entirely."

Her hands curled into fists as she continued.

"Creatures that had no place in this world, things that did not belong in any world. They bled through the cracks in the sky, twisting and shifting as they forced themselves into existence. Some were massive—shapes that defied logic, with too many limbs or none at all. Others were small, skittering, creeping, whispering in tongues that shattered the mind. Their forms were impossible, their presence unbearable—just the sight of them drove men mad."

She swallowed hard before continuing.

"But that wasn't the worst of it."

She leaned forward slightly, her voice lower now, as if afraid to speak the next words aloud.

"They didn't just invade our world. They corrupted it."

She let that sink in before elaborating.

"They didn't come with armies. They didn't need them. They could take control of what was already here."

She met Edward's gaze, the seriousness in her eyes sending a chill through him.

"The beasts, the monsters that had always roamed Schachtel—creatures that we had fought and hunted for centuries—they bent to the will of the Abyss. Their minds were stripped away, their instincts drowned beneath something else. They became vessels, mindless extensions of the creatures that had emerged from the Abyss.

"Nothing was safe. No fortress was strong enough. No army was large enough."

"The Dragon Empire, at the height of its power, had faced countless wars, conquered half the continent, fought enemies that outnumbered them ten to one. But against these things, against the horrors from the Abyss, none of that mattered. We were nothing more than prey."

She leaned back slightly, her expression unreadable.

"They didn't come to conquer, Edward. They came to consume."

"You remember the previous battle, with the blue forces?"

Michelle's voice was low, almost unnervingly calm, carrying a weight that made the air feel thicker, heavier. There was something in her tone—something unnatural—that sent a faint chill down Edward's spine.

"Yes," he answered, swallowing hard. His gaze locked onto Michelle, his mind racing to understand where this was going.

She exhaled slowly, eyes flickering with something unreadable.

"They were once the greatest opposing force against the Dragon Empire."

Edward frowned slightly. The way she spoke… it was almost like she was speaking about ghosts.

"The Aurion Empire," she continued, "a nation unmatched in both warfare and knowledge. Their warriors were fearsome, their mages capable of reshaping the battlefield with a single incantation. Their engineering was unparalleled, their cities built with towering walls and defenses years ahead of their time. A true colossus of the East."

She paused, her gaze darkening.

"But even they… were nothing compared to the beings from The Eternal Abyss."

The room felt colder.

Edward didn't move, didn't breathe—just stared at Michelle, waiting for her to continue.

Because if one of the strongest empires in Schachtel had been helpless against the Abyss…

Then what chance did anyone have?

Michelle studied Edward for a moment before speaking again.

"You do remember that Commander Richard is a 2-Star Knight, don't you?"

Edward blinked. The way she said it made it sound more important than he initially thought.

"Yes," he replied slowly, unsure where she was going with this. "He told me himself."

Michelle nodded, her gaze sharp.

"Then do you understand what that actually means?"

Edward hesitated. He thought he did. Richard was strong—far stronger than a normal man—but the way Michelle was looking at him made it clear there was more to it than he realized.

She exhaled. "I figured as much."

Leaning forward slightly, she locked eyes with him.

"You must understand, Edward—even a 1-Star Knight or a 1st Order Mage is already beyond normal humans."

She tapped the table lightly, as if trying to emphasize her words.

"Most people—even trained soldiers, skilled warriors, and seasoned veterans—will never reach even 1-Star. It requires inhuman talent, relentless training, and, most of all, the ability to awaken something greater within yourself."

She paused, her expression darkening slightly.

"Reaching 2-Star? That puts you among commanders and noble champions. A single 2-Star Knight can fight and defeat dozens of normal men without breaking a sweat.

"3-Star Knights? Elite monsters on the battlefield. They can crush stone with their bare hands, react faster than the eye can follow, and dodge arrows with ease.

"4-Star? Legends. The kinds of warriors whose names are sung in songs, etched in history, and feared by all. Only a handful of warriors in an entire generation will ever reach this level."

She sighed, shaking her head.

"5-Star Knights? Monsters in human form. The strongest nations would kill to have just one in their ranks. A single warrior of this level could turn the tide of war."

Her voice dropped lower.

"6-Star? They stand alone. Empires rise and fall in their wake. A single 6-Star warrior or mage could slaughter armies, tear through fortresses, and shatter mountains with a mere swing of their blade."

She leaned back, her gaze distant.

"And then there's 7-Star…"

A deep silence filled the room before she spoke again, her voice barely a whisper.

"If the stories are true… then a 7-Star being is not human anymore. They are forces of nature. A single 7-Star warrior or mage could stand against entire kingdoms alone. They don't just change the course of a battle. They change the course of history."

She paused before finishing, her tone final.

"And that is why, Edward… even reaching 1-Star is already a miracle."

Michelle's expression hardened.

"And yet… the creatures from The Eternal Abyss are born at 2-Star strength or higher."

Edward's breath caught.

"Wait… you're saying…?"

She nodded grimly.

"Even the weakest of them—the ones we call Abyssal Spawn—are equivalent to a trained Star-Knight."

She let that sink in before continuing.

"Their growth is unnatural. Their power is limitless. And their strongest…?"

Her fingers tightened.

"Even a 6-Star warrior barely stands a chance against an Abyssal Tyrant. And Monarch or a Primordial?"

A pause. A flicker of hesitation.

"There has never been a recorded fight against one. Because no one has ever survived to tell the tale."

Michelle's expression darkened.

"You need to understand something, Edward… the Abyssal beings themselves were not even the biggest problem."

Edward frowned. "What do you mean?"

She leaned back slightly, her gaze distant, as if recalling something she wished she could forget.

"The creatures from the Abyss… they were already beyond anything we had ever faced. But what made them truly unstoppable was their ability to control the beasts that already roamed our lands."

Edward felt a chill creep down his spine.

He suddenly recalled something—a memory from earlier, when he was searching for Michelle.

As Edward wandered the castle halls, trying to locate the healer, he passed by a group of injured soldiers resting against a crumbling stone wall. Their armor was battered, their faces hollow, their voices barely more than whispers.

"My village…" one of them murmured. "Gone. A single beast tore through everything… my home, my family, my neighbors… nothing was left."

"Same happened to mine," another rasped, his eyes empty. "We thought we could fight it. Sent our best hunters, the strongest men. They didn't last a minute. It wasn't even one of the Abyssal ones. Just a… a normal monster. But no one—no one—could stop it."

A third soldier, older, his body covered in half-healed wounds, let out a bitter chuckle.

"You know what's worse?" he muttered. "Those monsters used to be rare. Dangerous, yes, but at least we knew where they lurked. Now? They're everywhere."

"Why?" someone whispered.

The old soldier swallowed hard.

"Because the Abyss is controlling them now."

Edward had kept walking then, the weight of their words settling uneasily in his chest. He hadn't understood it at the time. But now…

"They were already powerful," Michelle continued. "Wendigos, Basilisks, Wyverns, Titans—creatures that took entire battalions to bring down. Beasts that had ruled the untamed lands of Schachtel for centuries."

She clenched her fists.

"And the Abyssal forces turned them into slaves."

Edward swallowed hard. The soldiers' words from earlier now made perfect sense.

"Just the beast-controlling entities alone were enough to take kingdoms," Michelle said. "With a single thought, they could bend monstrous beings to their will, turning them against the people who had spent generations keeping them at bay."

Her voice dropped lower, colder.

"The Abyss didn't need to send an army. They simply corrupted what was already here. And once those creatures fell under their control, the rest of the world followed."

Edward could feel his heartbeat in his ears.

The Abyssal Beasts were terrifying.

But the ones who controlled them?

They were the true nightmare.

Michelle exhaled, as if deciding she had shared enough for now. But before ending the conversation, she studied Edward closely, her emerald eyes narrowing ever so slightly.

"There's one more thing," she said, her voice quieter now. More serious.

Edward stiffened. "What is it?"

She hesitated for just a moment before asking,

"Have you ever… spawned The Runes?"

Edward blinked.

"The what?"

Michelle didn't answer immediately. Instead, she leaned in slightly, her gaze searching his face as if trying to read something deeper within him.

"Think carefully," she said. "Have you ever felt something unusual within yourself? A presence—something that wasn't quite magic, wasn't quite strength, but something… more?"

Edward's mind raced.

The word Runes meant nothing to him. He couldn't remember anything about them. But then, somewhere in the depths of his thoughts, buried beneath the fog of his lost memories—

Something stirred.

A flicker. A pulse. Something ancient.

A dull, glowing pattern flashed in his mind—just for an instant.

He gasped, his body tensing involuntarily.

Michelle noticed.

Her eyes widened ever so slightly before she whispered,

"…I see."