The flying sword cut through the night. The world below was nothing but a blanket of cloud. Up here, though, the sky stretched open. The stars burned brighter than I have ever seen them and even the moon wasn't the same. It was bigger and almost cracked, like some scar had carved into it centuries ago.
For a moment, I just sat looking up. It felt... unreal, like flying through someone else's dream. That's when Thales broke the silence.
"Do you know anything about Fluve Fields?"
"You're asking the wrong guy. I'm good sure, but I'm not omniscient. I barely know about them. Kill the Fluviums, gather Fluvehearts and survive. That's my textbook definition. If you're expecting some secret scholarly answer, you're barking up the wrong tree."
"I expected you to know the true theory behind them."
"True theory? What, are you telling me the university lectures are lying? Because if so, not surprised."
Thales didn't laugh. His voice stayed even, steady, like he'd rehearsed this explanation.
"During the Fluxwave Phenomenon in 1340, humanity was introduced to Flux by the Five Goddesses. The Goddesses of Combat, Knowledge, Nature, Space, and Existence gave us the Flux types we know. Combat, Psyche, Elemental Alteration, and Concept. You know this much already."
"Yeah," I said, waving a hand. "Standard history lesson. Day one stuff."
He leaned slightly forward, the sword gliding smoother as if responding to his posture.
"What isn't explained is that Altera Earth doesn't exist as just one world. It exists in two parts."
"Two parts?"
"In short, a similar, copycat dimension of Altera Earth appeared. Created... no, birthed by the Goddess of Existence. And the two worlds are connected through portals. The portals lead us to Fluve Fields."
For a long moment, I just stared at him, my brain fumbling for words.
"What?"
"You heard me. The Fluve Fields aren't some random phenomenon. They're doorways to that other dimension."
I shook my head slowly, disbelief sinking its claws into me. That's not in Masquerade of Dreams: Shattered. That's not in any of the lore I read. I played through every goddamn route. I would have known but the way he looked at me told me he wasn't bluffing.
"You're saying the Fluve Field we're in right now, the one with Reversa Island, the university, it's not our Reversa Island. It's the one that exists in the other dimension?"
"Yes."
"Holy shit."
"And in that other dimension, people are replaced by Fluviums."
"Wait. Wait hold on. You're telling me the things we're killing, those monsters we've been carving through—"
"—are actually the people who live in that other world or people who once existed there."
All those fights, all that blood, all those kills and now he was telling me they weren't just nameless creatures. They were echoes of people.
"That's... no. That's insane. Why would the Goddess of Existence even do that? What's the damn point of creating a copycat Earth full of monsters?"
Thales's gaze returned to the stars.
"No one knows. No one has ever known. But most Houses, the ones who have access to the truth, believe it was her way of balancing the scales. We were given Flux. With it, we had the potential to dominate everything and overturn the natural order. So, she created the Fluviums, an enemy made to match us. Think of it as a threat to sharpen us and giving us reason to fight."
I let out a sharp, bitter laugh.
"Balance, huh? That's one way to spin mass slaughter."
He didn't argue. He just let the silence hang between us for a while, the stars cold above our heads.
"This has been happening for centuries. Fluxers fight Fluviums over and over again, cycle after cycle. Each generation faces the same fields and same enemies. And each generation only ever learns half the truth."
I shook my head, trying to swallow the bile rising in my throat.
"So what, you're saying every Fluvium we've cut down was once... someone. A person with a life, a family, a story. And now they're just what, beasts for us to kill so the balance works out?"
"Yes."
I wanted to argue and say couldn't be true. But the way he said it made it impossible.
"And there's more. The maximum a Fluxer or human can stay here is seven days. After that, this dimension pushes us out like it rejects us."
"You're serious."
"Deadly. That's why I understood your words saying we have seven days in this Fluve Field."
For the first time in a long while, I felt my mind spin out of control. This wasn't just a game anymore. It wasn't some neat, consumable story with defined villains and heroes. I really forgot this was the real world now.
"You're insane, you know that? Absolutely insane. And if you're right, the everything I thought I knew about this place is all wrong."
"So you really didn't know this?"
"Not a damn clue. And now I wish you hadn't told me."
But deep down, even as my stomach churned, I knew I needed to hear it because ignorance wouldn't save me. Not in a world like this.
"Since we are talking about history, do you know anything about the Six Goddesses?"
"Which part? The shiny part they teach you in school, or the messy part no one talks about?"
He shot me a look. "The truth."
"Then nope."
"I thought you would. The Goddess of Death. You know her, right?"
"Yeah. Everyone does."
I remembered the story. The Death Flux would come later in the arcs but for now, she was just seen in the middle of every year. Thales went on, oblivious to my thoughts.
"The other five Goddesses are worshipped all over the world. Humans, Fluxers, it doesn't matter. There are eight known deities; five who made Flux, the Goddess of Death, the Hidden God and an unknown one. That's all anyone knows for sure."
"The Hidden God, huh? The lone guy in a sea of divine women. Sounds... fun."
Thales gave me a side glance, not amused, before continuing.
"My House, Erdict, follows the Goddess of Combat. Our ancestor was blessed by her directly. That's why our Flux is what it is. She gave her gift to the Angel Race, and we honor her with everything we are. Every Combat Fluxer does, in one way or another. They train, they bleed, they pray. Their strength, their will, their purpose, it all ties back to her."
I watched him for a moment. Thales wasn't bragging. It wasn't in his tone. He spoke with the weight of someone repeating a creed carved into his bloodline.
"And what about you?" He asked suddenly, turning the spotlight on me. "You've got Concept Flux. You don't seem like the worshipping type, Phaser."
"You're not wrong, but here's the thing. Concept Flux was handed down by the Goddess of Existence herself to the Argemenes."
Thales frowned slightly. "And?"
"And she's... not exactly popular. Fluxers don't like her. Most outright hate her because she's the reason Fluviums exist. She's the one who created the other dimension, the copycat Altera Earth as you said, and shoved a bunch of monsters into it. Every time we fight, bleed or watch someone die, people remember it all started with her."
Thales's eyes narrowed. "Then why do you sound like you're defending her?"
"I'm not but let's be real. Without her, Flux wouldn't be what it is. And humans? They adore her. They see her as the creator of opportunity. While Fluxers spit her name, humans praise it. She's worshipped through the Abyssal Houses. They say her existence balances the scales."
"Balances?"
"Yeah. Fluxers get power, Fluviums get spawned. Supply and demand, you know? It's ugly, but it keeps the game from breaking."
The sword hummed faintly as it carried us across the heavens.
"So what about the others? Besides Death and Existence."
"Their appearances mark the seasons," Thales explained. "The Goddess of Combat, the one we Erdicts worship, shows herself at the beginning and end of winter. She stands beneath the falling snow as the Goddess of Nature arrives, turning it into spring. It's like... passing a baton."
I let out a low whistle. "Sounds poetic."
"It's not poetry. It's history."
"History written by people who probably never even saw them."
Thales scowled faintly, but didn't argue. Instead, he continued.
"But they do appear. You've just never been there when they did. At the end of every season, the cycle repeats. People gather, worship and pray. The faithful get their glimpse."
"Except Existence, Death, the mysterious Hidden God and this unknown deity."
"They're the ones who never show. Death does appear but hides from the world."
The way he said it carried weight, like it bothered him. And honestly, it bothered me too. Gods that gave power but didn't show up to own it. That sounded like unfinished business.
"Funny. Because sometimes the ones who stay hidden are the ones pulling the strings."
Thales looked at me, eyes narrowing slightly, like he wanted to dig into what I meant but he didn't. He just shifted his gaze back to the stars. I leaned back, smirking faintly, though inside, my mind churned. He had no idea what was coming about the Death Flux and how the Goddess of Existence's shadow stretched far longer than anyone realized.
For now, I should focus on the Slime Octopus.