ORIGIN: Book of Ascension

A sense of peace and etherealness permeated Rozelle's mind. He felt cool and warm, the two temperatures didn't conflict with each other but instead worked to form an irresistible sensation resembling waking up.

It felt like his body and soul were one and all his regrets had been washed away or cleansed. His mind too was basking in the satisfaction of dreaming and rest. 

Suddenly Rozelle felt a shock, like he had been struck by lightning. He felt numb and the pleasant sensations from before began to transform. Constant electrical shocks ran through his mind preventing him from thinking or clearing his mind. His body felt stiff and pressured as if it was being crushed.

The temperatures that gave him peace became enhanced, Rozelle felt cold, as if he was being frozen and at the same time burning hot, far hotter than the hottest days he had experienced. 

These aspects formed a great disharmony in Rozelle causing him to twist in pain. But more importantly than that, Rozelle's instinct told him there was something more. He felt as if he was being watched by something dangerous, trying to move his body out of danger, Rozelle noticed he couldn't feel his body.

Fear of the unknown spread as he felt a sinister presence looming over him, threatening to consume him. 

In a desperate attempt, Rozelle tried to summon Albion, the image of its jet-black blade and blood-red gem reflecting in his mind. Rozelle could feel the sensation of its blackhole-like properties, the warmth of blood, and its weight.

Rozelle shuddered, despite feeling his precious sword's presence he could not feel it in his hand. Do I even have a hand? Rozelle thought as memories of the all-engulfing white flash returned to him.

Instantly he felt the excruciating pain lessening and his 'eyes' shot open. His sense of heat and the cold vanished, the pressure on him along with it like he was finally let go of. A sense of relief washed over Rozelle, only a slight hint of anxiety still deep within him. That's when he noticed two things.

Despite feeling awake and watching his surroundings it was filled with darkness. A space that lacked any source of light. It felt like he was floating within a space where even gravity no longer existed. 

He tried to feel for his body but didn't get any response. Rozelle tensed up a bit contemplating, trying to understand the situation. The second thing he noticed was his emotions, they were unrestrained and much more childlike.

For some reason, Rozelle felt himself unable to reign in his doubt, anxiety, and fear. Imagining his sword Albion, admiring each of its aspects and slight details in his mind he channeled his thoughts calming himself down. 

It doesn't appear I lost any experience or memories. Did I just become more sensitive? Rozelle began to experiment. He tried speaking and realized that, much like his limbs, he had no mouth or air to transmit his thoughts within the abyss.

It could very well be both, he thought. There was no sense of time in the vast expanse of the abyss. In his attempts to keep himself sane, Rozelle could only voice out questions to keep his mind working. 

Occasionally, his previous symptoms would flare up; they were much weaker than before. Not wanting to take risks despite his loneliness, Rozelle dealt with them as soon as he sensed them. Slowly, Rozelle had begun to feel tired, wanting to give in to a voice in the back of his head.

Why was he holding on? His dreams had already faded along with his world. Just as Rozelle's thoughts went into the path of no return, a change occurred in the dark abyss. 

Rozelle felt as if his pupils constricted as his exhausted mind jolted wide awake. In the abyss, devoid of the ground, water had dried and light became a foreign concept. He saw it, two circle sources of light shone through and pierced the abyss.

A mystical sensation ushered over him as his mind felt relief. That's when he noticed the color of the lights. They felt indescribable like they shone no color and every color simultaneously. The sight caused Rozelle's mind to pause.

Without warning, a bright light surfaced in front of the former two. Rozelle snapped out of his daze and sharpened his mind. He didn't want to miss anything that was happening. He watched the sphere of divine light with hope and excitement.

With consecutive thumbs ripples of light spread throughout the abyss. Then, before he could have another thought, he felt himself stiffen. Rozelle's eyes constricted and his 'body' shook. Reflected in his vision was a darkened silhouette!

The silhouette had a humanoid shape its arm extending towards the sphere. An expressionless mask covered its face. Located where the eyes would be, were two incomprehensible lights.

Instinctively he turned his gaze away in fear, his eyes landing on the sphere of light next to the silhouette. With each pulse of light that reached him, he felt an increasing amount of comfort. Rozelle felt alarmed and tried to resist, keeping a slight grip on his mind as it began to fleet. 

Then suddenly, the light disappeared. Rozelle's comfort instantly vanished, and he felt a sense of loss. Quickly, he recalled seeing the figure clench its hand into a fist as if crushing the light. Unable to do anything, the Lord of Chaos and Order listlessly watched where the outline of the figure would be.

At the same time, Rozelle felt horrified, recalling the sense of comfort he felt moments ago and how it had made him let go and just forget who he was. 

A bloody emperor, a lord of chaos and a king of order, a soldier and a general, a peasant, royalty, and a villain named Rozelle. Hastily, Rozelle recounted every identity he had given himself, ensuring he had not forgotten the sacrifices he had made.

The sacrifices... Rozelle fell silent, realizing everything he had done had been for nothing. Just as his consciousness fell silent, the abyss erupted into bursts of light. 

Divine white light and all-consuming black light shot out as rays in all directions. Each ray eventually collided with an invisible object and burst, revealing spheres of various colors. Not long after Rozelle noticed a ray of light hit him, he braced himself, unaware of what could happen.

Only after a few moments of not feeling anything did he carefully open his vision, glamouring in amazement. 

The once lightless abyss was now filled with countless specs of colors. Each was their one size and shape. Rozelle couldn't help but wonder if that was what he looked like. No wonder I can't feel anything.

He thought as he looked again. By then the final ray of contrasting light had already dissipated leaving behind a sphere of black and white light. The two colors refused to mix, creating a beautiful pattern that was hard to identify.

Besides the divine sphere was the figure he had seen before. It appeared to be admiring the hundreds of lights that floated in the abyss. Rozelle felt a cold shiver permeating through him when the figure's gaze swept over him.

He quickly tried to shake off the instinctive fear of facing a creature beyond his comprehension. When he finished he noticed two new colors mixing with the sphere pale indigo and dark emerald dissolved into it.

The sphere began to squirm and contract, spasming rapidly. Just as it did the figure next to hit waved his arm and something akin to an imaginary wind blew past Rozelle and the other lights.

He felt his body shake again before feeling like a blanket was wrapping him. Confused, he ignored the sensation and watched the figure and the sphere for answers. In the corner of his vision, he noticed the other lights quaking. 

Suddenly, a field of energy began to pump out of the sphere with fast pumps. As it spread to engulf all the lights, Rozelle felt irresistible exhaustion. His vision became blurry, and he felt like he was in a dream.

A dream? Yeah, what's happening right now isn't normal; I must be dreaming! His thoughts were slowing down, like someone waking up or falling asleep.

Through his muddy view, he saw the sphere of light that had now solidified crumble. An explosion of light burst out of it consuming the figure and then all of the lights in the abyss including him.

The blast took the appearance of every color he knew. As it engulfed him he felt a squirming sensation and countless hands grasped him as if pulling him. Rozelle then heard deranged and irrational ravings driving him to the brink of madness. He let out a cry of pain and suffering.

A dream..? This is a nightmare..!

...

Rozelle slept underneath the blue sky, arms spread wide over the grasslands. Breaths of wind brushed past him, making his chestnut-colored hair flutter. His wrinkles of old age had receded, giving the impression of a young adult.

This was different from his more dangerous and veteran-like appearance from before. The former emperor's face twitched as he felt the gentle touch of grass grazing him, delivering a ticklish feel. 

He felt like his body was an anchor in the ocean. Compared to when he was in the abyss and was weightless the weight now was heavy. He took a silent breath of fresh air and tried prying his eyes open.

After repeated attempts, he felt himself lose his temper and with a thunk punched himself in the face. Imideatly Rozelle managed to push the ground and throw himself straight up as his eyes finally opened. 

"This certainly isn't the Teru plains.. huh?" Taking in the environment, Rozelle softly caressed his cheek which had turned numb from the pain. As he did his eyes narrowed as he turned confused at the soft yet tight feeling of his skin that was unlike the slightly sagged cheeks he had grown accustomed to.

He applied pressure to his cheek, pinched it, and pulled it making sure he wasn't imagining things. He had just woken up after all. 

Rozelle slowly lowered his arm, finally letting go of his cheek which had begun to swell. He let out a tired and lost sigh as his demeanor calmed. His eyes turned soft as he searched around the grassy plains.

The plains spanned far but luckily there were signs of other things too. To the west was a mountain range with a large stream of water flowing down into a nearby lake. 

East was the vast ocean behind some low cliffs. A blue sun rose from the horizon. Its light gave the ocean's tide a much deeper blue than what he was used to.

Occasionally a wave of water would seemingly shoot up without warning before returning to the ocean's embrace. South the plains extended until the horizon. However more west, adjacent to the mountains was a dense forest.

Finally North. Rozelle felt a strange sense of magnetism in the direction. As he watched what he saw reflecting in his eyes was a vast ivory forest. The leaves were white and the trunks gray in color.

He brought his arm to his chin and moved it up and down as if brushing something as he thought. Then as if something clicked in him he subconsciously looked down to what he was supposed to be brushing. 

"Wait my beards gone too?" Rozelle felt a sense of loss as his back slumped down in regret.