Audrey's eyes flashes open one more time. She was panting heavily, tired and worn out. She looked around her, she was now in an empty realm. The barren land only had monuments of broken and moulded rocks around, etching fear and disturbance in her heart. She propelled forward, still running from whatever chased her. She looked at the floor, the earth morphing from dry, hard rock to sandy dunes, horror mystifying her.Her mind raced back to how she got there. For all she knew, she was fighting the Void and had just began to gain momentum on him before losing her breath, falling unconscious. Then she woke up, finding herself in this dry, empty realm, her instincts heightening as she was chased by a monster. Now here she was, running for her life like she had for a very long time as far as she could tell. She sighted a rocky platform ahead and breezed towards it, ascending it with vigour. She stopped for a few seconds just to catch her breath, darting her gaze behind her to see if her

The natural green pasture of the earth glimmered with glee and beauty. The forest, littered with rows of trees, all in random rows and patterns lined around, depicting natural scenery. Sunlight filtered through the canopy of the trees, casting golden glitter on the mossy floor.Songs of birds chirped around the tree tops, all singing beautiful, unique and clear rhythms deemed pleasant to both man and beast. Life glowed and thrived in the forest, butterflies gliding from plant to plant, feeding on the luscious bloom. Even the inhabitants of the forests…the snakes, deers and other animals, beasts or bugs lived as they should. The scene drifts farther into the forest, a deep and darker side which hosted dry patches of clay. Although trees thrived, the gloom and death was imminent, telling a cautionary tale with the setting alone. The carcass of a deer laid on the floor. Its frail body lying still, unmoving. The little ray of sunlight that managed to cut deep into the earth was on it,

He continued the kiss, a warm, passionate zeal growing in his heart. He then pulled away, noticing she wasn't reacting eagerly. "How are you alive?" He asked. She didn't say a word. She only stared. It was then he felt something was wrong. An illusion? A shape shifting monster? He couldn't tell. All he knew was something was different about her. Before he could utter a word or make a move, he felt something hit his side, throwing him on the floor. He turned around, shocked by the sight of Historia. "Queen Historia?" He asked, shock still in him. She didn't say a word at first, she only walked towards him, stopping as she got to him. He kept a hand on his sword's handle, prepared for a duel should in case one happened. "Well, Zeddicus. I must say you are quite the traitor." She spoke, a menacing smirk on her face. He frowned. He wondered, "What in the world is she talking about?" "You see, Meralda. This is the problem, he doesn't want to admit it. He pretends he never did it."

"What's the deal? I'm all ears." "Good one, boy. Now we're talking business. Real business." The system replied, having an excited look. David rose in the air, his breath echoing through the cosmic bubble. The system waved, warning him, "David. Don't think about doing anything stupid. My fondness for you can become wrath in a flash." They yelled.He cowered slightly, holding his arms in the air, indicating his understanding of the situation."You're the boss." He said, then dropped his arms. "Good, now get down." They instructed, and he complied. "So, what's the deal?" He questioned, tired by the suspense he was kept in. The system chuckled, pacing away from David to the end of the bubble. The darkness surrounding it cleared, revealing Ladus in the state it was hours ago. Beautiful, flourishing and safe. David saw Colleen and Audrey discuss while on their way home. The latter seemed undisturbed by anything, and it didn't seem like she had just woken up from a month long coma. H

"Now you beautiful Codes. Let's cheer our champion as he awaits his next challenger." The system announced, then lowered themself towards David."Oh David, it's just about to get hard, very fucking hard." They whispered. "I've never backed down from a challenge, why do you think this will be different?" He asked with a smirk. "The confidence. Save it for when you are out of moves." They quipped back, then teleported to their high platform. He stood, awaiting his next opponent with his sword held tightly in his grip. Suddenly, the ground stirred. He tumbled, feeling the asphalt grinding against him. He quickly levitated, watching as the battle arena shifted from a smooth, asphalt road to the rocky terrains of a mountain. In that moment, he frowned. An opponent so familiar loomed. One of his earliest adversaries. A stream of rune symbols burst forth, spraying around the arena, littering the air with light blue sparks, complemented with the dark fog that followed suit. Having fough