—Four Days Ago—
A breeze?
The wind blew gently, swaying his black hair as Ace's eyes opened a very surprising sight.
"Yo, lil' bro! Finally awake?" a familiar white fox mask stared down at Ace.
"Who…?" Ace's slightly widened eyes were filled with confusion as he registered the person who straightened their back.
"Ah," the person dragged their fox mask to their side, revealing their face. "Guess you're thirsty, right?"
"Asaru… Takayoshi…?" the name rolled off Ace's tongue.
"Yep! That's me!" Asaru's bright grin only further intensified Ace's confusion.
"Ah. Wait here for sec," Asaru went to the drink distributor on the side, momentarily leaving Ace to his thoughts.
'Huh? This place…' it was only now that Ace finally realized where he was.
He had been lying on a park bench under a moonlit night.
'How did I arrive here?'
A breeze hit him once again, the sensation overly realistic.
"Here," a cold sensation was felt against his cheek as Ace's gaze went up to Asaru Takayoshi who was offering him a fresh Cola can.
Bringing his hand to grab the can, Ace asked the question hanging in his head at the time. "You… Who are you? And where am I?"
"Huh?" as Asaru opened his own soda can, a blank expression was etched on his face, pondering on the question as his head shifted repeatedly and his gaze drifted continuously on the ground, the air, the light pole and the verdant background.
"You tell me," Asaru smiled at Ace and sipped on his drink. "After all, I'm just a reflection of your subconscious. The question is why out of all the people that could have appeared, you decided to talk to me, lil' bro."
Ace's fingers twitched as his lips parted slightly. His eyes went down to his drink as he opened the can, his bangs hiding his expression.
"Who are you calling me your little brother?" Ace brought the can to his lips, gulping down a sip of the drink.
He then let out a deep breath as Asaru decided to sit down beside Ace.
Ace turned his head toward Asaru as the latter simply leaned fully into the bench, relaxing as he brought one leg over the other.
"You're a real complicated one, aren't you? I mean there must be a reason why you chose me, right?"
"Maybe. I don't know. Why don't you give me your own perspective on the matter."
Asaru's eyes widened in surprise as he immediately shot his gaze towards Ace.
"Hee… I didn't expect you to open up like this. You've been suppressing me for so long that even I, a reflection of your subconscious, am completely bewildered."
"Let's just say that I had some time to think about a few things. And now, I'm lost."
Asaru simply flashed a smile and started stroking Ace's head fervently.
"Now that's what I like to hear! You're finally starting to be honest with yourself!"
"Stop it!" Ace shoved Asaru's hand away, his voice tinged with irritation.
"Well, at least it's good that you're no longer suppressing us."
"You say suppressing us, but who are you referring to? In fact, if you're a reflection of my own subconscious then that mask you're wearing must mean that you're also connected to him, are you not?"
Asaru sipped on his drink with a pleased expression, the tension growing thicker in the air as Ace's question lingered.
"Well, I guess it's more accurate to say that what you know isn't all there is to your particular situation. We do want you to succeed, but at the same time, if you do not cooperate and actively try to sabotage yourself, we will have to take some form of action."
He then rose up from the bench, took off the mask, and placed it before Ace, the sitting young man's gaze focusing on it.
"This is yours," the voice that came out sounded different from Asaru's, deeper, more mature and colder.
As his gaze slowly drifted upwards, what Ace's eyes locked onto was the form a man dressed in pure white noble clothing embroidered with blue ornaments.
A man with white hair and blue eyes who seemed to stand above Ace as a higher being.
'Who is this? What's going on?'
"You should take it, you idiot," a youthful familiar voice resounded behind Ace as his shot his head back, his eyes landing on Ryu.
Without even knowing what was going on, Ace found himself back in the same familiar white void he had previously been in. And without knowing why or how, the white-haired man had also disappeared from sight as he glanced back over his shoulder.
"What are you planning, you—Eh?"
Ace was completely dumbstruck as even Ryu had disappeared, and the only thing left in this empty white void was only Ace, the fox mask that had somehow someway ended up in his hands without him noticing, and a black crescent moon above the blank sky.
And at that very moment, a distorted voice echoed throughout the void. It sounded like an unclear mix of male, female and children voices all combined into one.
{What will you do now? What will be your answer at the end of this iteration? You who came into existence as an anomaly.}
"What… did you say?"
'…?' shock reeled inside Ace's mind as confusion stormed within him before finally calming himself down. "Who exactly are you? No. What are you?"
{We should be asking you that question. Even if we take into consideration the Cataclysm of 300 years ago and its repercussions, how did you manage to become an existence? What is your purpose? We have observed you and yet, we still cannot understand.}
"…" Ace felt a strange emotion at the words of the voice. But it was unlike what he had previously felt. It was more so as if a fog was slowly dissipating within his mind.
"Were you testing me? You said I was suppressing you, so was it you who was testing me under the traits of that fox?" Ace asked clearly, his expression hidden by his bangs.
{No. We merely brought to light what already existed within you.}
'So that would mean that he…' an image of Ryu came to mind as if a puzzle piece to an enigma had shown itself.
"In that case, are you saying that my existence was a mistake?"
{No. For you are still an existence. One does not choose to be born. They can only choose how to live.}
"Haa…" a view of Emilia and the Blakelords appeared in his mind, and with them, an old voice came to haunt him back.
Be careful not to lose yourself in your search of whatever it is you're chasing.
'Guess the old man was right, huh? I should have followed my own advice. Telling her to act normal while I was suppressing my own inner demons. How pathetic can I be compared to her?'
"Then I reiterate my question. What are you? And what do you want from me?"
A moment of silence followed Ace's question before the voice finally gave an answer.
{We are one and we are all. We are…}