PART 1: WHITE
Chapter 0 - Soul Experiment
Nighttime...
A warm breeze in the air...
A deep silence reigned over the Ruins of Bloodmoon. A truly eerie silence...
There wasn't the slightest sign of life around. But it was more peaceful that way. At least, until a voice broke the stillness:
- You've come at last?
- ...
- Oh, come on, cheer up a little. Today is a big day. Today is the day our dreams come true.
Then, jumping down from the wall they were sitting on, their long white hair came into view:
- Come on.
The moonlight shining from behind revealed two shadows. Together, they walked to a pool. The water in the pool was blood-red. Some crystals floated within it, and red mist rose from its surface. They silently watched the pool for a while. The masks they wore hid the expressions on their faces.
But the silence didn't last long. The white-haired one turned and asked:
- Did you bring the teleportation crystals?
- I did.
- Alright then, we can begin.
Then they pulled an orb from the pocket of their cloak and threw it into the pool. Turning to the other man, they said:
- Your turn.
The man gave no reply. He simply reached his hand forward. A yellow flame immediately flared up, covering the top of his hand.
- Burn it already...
Without replying, he snapped his fingers. A spark shot from his palm straight toward the pool.
The moment it touched the surface, it suddenly expanded and spread, quickly covering the surface of the pool. The white-haired one smiled:
- At last...
Then they threw a piece of parchment from their cloak into the pool. The moment it touched the water, a bright lightning bolt flashed. A whirlpool formed at the center of the pool. The vortex rapidly began to grow. At its center, a sphere appeared, emitting a yellow light. A black lightning bolt struck, and a rift that tore through space and time opened. A strong air current formed around it. At that moment, several more bolts of lightning struck, and a few spirit lights shot out from the sphere. One of them emitted a crimson light, while the others glowed green. The white-haired one turned and asked:
- Those are...?
- Insignificant.
- Alright then.
They continued to watch. The sphere was growing larger. A portal began to form in the center of the sphere. Meanwhile, the two men kept throwing more materials into it.
- Everything was proceeding without issue...
But then, a few purple-black sparks flashed:
- DAMN IT! IT'S COLLAPSING INWARD!
The portal closed, and the sphere turned black. It began to scatter black sparks all around.
- WHAT CAN WE DO? THE SPHERE IS COLLAPSING! THERE MUST BE A WAY!
- There is no solution. We can't fix this. In a moment, that sphere will turn into a black hole and destroy everything here.
- DAMN IT! DAMN IT!
Even the dark-haired man was struggling to remain calm:
- Use your crystal now, or we won't get another chance.
- No! No! Nooo! My years of effort...
But he couldn't resist. Because the sphere had started to exert a powerful gravitational pull. Black lightning was flying toward them. Both of them took the crystals from their cloaks, held them in their hands, and shattered them. Upon doing so, a blue light surrounded them and they began to rise into the sky. But because of the sphere's pull, they couldn't ascend in a straight line. Both were flung in opposite directions. There was no stopping it. Right after they were separated, the sphere grew even larger and became unstable. After exerting gravitational force a while longer, it shattered and exploded with a massive blast. When the dust cloud rising into the air finally settled, there was nothing left of the Ruins of Bloodmoon...
End of Chapter 0