Worlds In Limbo

It was like a tree, sprawling the cracks as high as possible into the sky while the ground, the trees, the fallen Terrestrials, the slain Abberants, and everything was shattered.

'Is it... spreading?' Rhian donned an upside-down crown of dried blood she carved herself, watching in worry and interest at the growing cracks in the sky.

'How much do I not know of this world?' She spoke to herself, sighing heavily before looking at her fingers, with dirt stuck deep within her nails. She realizes she is still a complete mystery in this unknown world.

Whatever Kouki, Doru, and 'Rhian Smyra' have told her about this world was nothing but words, and she has yet to live in this world. She has yet to try and uncover this world.

It was her first and foremost mission, but the intel gathered, though beneficial then, was useless now.

No idea why and how she's alive, no idea why Catalysts and Abberants exist, no idea why she's here, no idea why this world feels so familiar, and no idea what to do.

Is she a vagabond? No. Is she lost? She knows where the association is. Not a gypsy, not a vagrant, not arover. She is in limbo, and she doesn't know where to go.

'Should I go off by myself?' She'd get mauled to death by Abberants or even awaken 'Rhian,' something she desperately wants to avoid.

'Should I just stay here?' An injured man was lying on the grass, and another sat against the wall of the fallen Terrestrial, exhausted. If she left now, they'd be nothing but fodder for any Abberants strolling by, and Rhian can't have that image forever hung in her mind.

'No...' She shook her head, diverting her gaze away from the encroaching cracks, focusing her attention on the two unconscious men.

She first went to the one lying on the ground, firmly grasping his arms before pulling him up. "HMP!" She pulled him toward the Terrestrial, setting him down beside Kouki before she sighed. 'What can I do now?'

Coincidentally, the man jolted awake, immediately alerting Rhian as she noticed his arm was covered with Runes. "Where-"

His eyes darted around the wreckage as he pushed himself off the ground, covering his body with orange, swirling Runes as he burst on fire, scanning the vicinity before being aware of where he was. "Ah- Mr. Kurayami!"

The man first noticed the expressionless unit that belonged to Kouki, quickly going to check on him with dim Runes before he finally acknowledged Rhian.

The man's unit was jagged and rough. Most of his body was covered with a sharp, serrated blade that pointed back at him, probably to aid with his style of fighting and Runes. "D-Did you save us?" His face was covered by another serrated piece of armor, but his tone seemed grateful.

"I-I didn't. Mr Kurayami saved us both and brought us here," Rhian replied hastily, wishing for no misunderstandings.

"Ah. I see..." The man looked around, raising his right arm to try and block the sun, but only realized it was missing. "Right..." He muttered softly, frustrated.

"Are you not hurt?" Rhian got closer to him, visibly worried as she looked at his arm.

The man raised an eyebrow. "...No. I think I cauterized the wound immediately after it was severed." Orange Runes appeared again, surfacing over where his arm was severed, bursting in a gentle flame.

Rhian eyes widened, mesmerized by the movement of the flame. 'I... I really know nothing of this world.' She moved away from the man, catching his attention with a point.

"W-What the hell is that?!" The Runes over his arm dimmed as his eyes widened, clearly bewildered by the numerous fissures across the sky.

'So... even for a native, this isn't natural?' The man's gaze darted down, noticing more cracks opening 'on' the ground, causing him to become more perplexed as his eyebrows scrunched. "Is... This a Catalyst?" He noticed random, inexplainable symbols on the cracks.

"Are they supposed to be this big?"

"NO! They're normally the area of a small house, but this?! Impossible!" Something popped into Rhian's mind - the catalyst Kouki showed her. Although the Runes themselves were indescribable, the shape those Runes formed seemed like a root system or in this case, cracks sprawling through the ground.

"Is this the Catalyst... Dyeus spoke of?" The man immediately lit up, not literally, however, he seemed to have burst with an idea. "Definitely!" The man exclaimed at Rhian before staring off at the forest.

"We have to explore the forest or at least get close to whatever the Catalyst is." Rhian looked at him with a bewildered expression. "WHAT?! Why should we get close?!" She registered the cracking sky and ground as something 'dangerous', but for a long-time member of the association, the man wasn't fazed.

"We need to gather data! The KUD must learn of this!" The man was eager, flowing with a type of aura that could make people think he was unstoppable.

"W-Wait! Wouldn't this be dangerous?" Rhian tried to rationalize her argument.

"So? I joined the association, leaving behind my child and wife in Pathmark. I didn't join because I thought it would bring me fame or riches. I joined to help expand The Known World, to discover things that could help everyone, and this is something entirely new! A variable that can be studied and used to benefit everyone!" The man expanded his view for Rhian to see, introducing her to every member's basic ambitions and motivation for joining the association.

She was silent. After all, it was something she wished would happen to her on Earth. To be someone to find a new, better, and safer way to treat patients. "I see..." Rhian sighed, clenching her fist and pushing away the little bit of fear that clung to her. "I'll go with you, but what's your name?"

"Ah, right." The man placed both his hands- "AGH! Damn.. I keep forgetting..." He lowered his right arm, using his left arm to carefully pull off an apex molded onto his helmet, revealing his fiery mane. "I'm Gideon, a pleasure to meet you." He forwarded his left hand before placing his helmet on the ground.

"Rhian Smyra, a pleasure to meet you." She returned the sentiment, releasing his hand after a handshake before looking at the forest.

The cracks had already spread far into the meadows, and the slight disturbance caused by the footsteps of the two did not ease Rhian in the slightest. Frankly, it made her more anxious.

"D-Do you know what the Catalyst could be?" Rhian steps over a crack, carefully as she dodges a tree branch.

"Probably a Titan Class Abberant." Gideon waltzs through the forest, ignoring the cracks as he walks.

Rhian was disturbed, guessing the 'Titan Class Abberant' to be about the size of that giant painting Abberant. "How would you know- AH-" She hits a branch, quickly having her hands massage her forehead.

"These Catalysts occur because Final Bindings are used, and typically the potency and size of the Final Bindings scales with the size and desire of the caster. So, a Titan Class Abberant would be the best fit for this situation."

'So... just size and desire matters? Makes sense...'

It was high noon. The armada of Terrestrials requested by Gywn and William were nowhere to be found, except Rhian's and Gideon's. The cracked sunlight still beamed through the shattered canopy, lighting their way as Gideon saw an area in front of him with no cracks.

"Here?" His pace hastened as he strode towards his target with Rhian following clumsily behind.

Then cracked sunlight was halved and Gideon noticed, walking faster as he got closer to the-

"HOLY SH-" Gideon's arms lit up with Runes, releasing jets of fire as he propelled himself out of certain death.

"Gideon?" Rhian was behind and slowly walked toward him, decreasing her pace as her eyes widened. "W-what?"

The cracked terrain was decreasing, thankfully. But it led to a cliff.

One that had no visible ground.

One with cold, howling winds.

"I think I was wrong," Gideon said, feeling a strong gust blow past him as his foot slipped, prompting him to enchant his soles, propelling himself back to currently stable ground.

There was no fear, no doubt, and no anxiety inhabiting Rhian's body, but all that was left was a foreboding sensation of dread as she watches the ground erodes into a cliff.