Author Of Another World

Part 1

The path narrowed.

Above them, the towering peaks of Centara loomed --- white stone cliffs, wind-blasted ridges, and clouds swirling like guardians of the sky.

The trail twisted like a serpent, carved into the mountain's bones.

Masashi sat quietly in his floating magical chair, bundled against the cold. The others walked with slow but steady pace, eyes scanning the thin trail ahead.

Crystella paused.

Crystella: "We're close. I can feel it."

Elra: "The air's different here… lighter, but heavier somehow."

Vellia pointed ahead.

A pale, ancient gate stood embedded in the mountain ---- overgrown with silver vines and marked with an eye-shaped crest glowing faint blue.

Yulleus: "That's no normal gate."

A figure stood before it.

An old man robed in white and blue — face hidden by a silver veil. His voice echoed, calm and timeless.

???: "You stand before the Threshold of Truth. All who pass must bare themselves before the mountain."

Vellia stepped forward.

Vellia: "We came for the second Fractal. We're ready."

The man raised his hand.

Veiled One: "Only those who carry no lies within themselves may reach it. You must climb with unshrouded hearts — or be turned away by the mountain itself."

The gate shimmered, and the path opened.

Elra looked at Masashi. "Can you do this?"

He nodded faintly.

Masashi (quietly): "I think… I have to."

Ascent Trial Begins

They passed through the gate.

Immediately, the world warped.

The mountain trail twisted into a spiral path — the air heavier, colors muted, shadows whispering.

Each step revealed something.

Clara saw her younger self — abandoned by her first mercenary group.

Clara (whispers): "That's not who I am anymore…"

Elra passed a vision of a ruined village — one she failed to protect years ago.

Elra: "I remember… but I keep moving forward."

Crystella saw herself as a full, cursed witch — bound in chains of ice, eyes void of hope.

Crystella (coldly): "I've broken that fate once. I'll do it again."

Vellia passed through silently — until a vision of her fallen comrades appeared behind her, saluting.

Vellia (softly): "Still watching me, huh…?"

Then—

Masashi's chair slowed.

He saw himself.

Not the Masashi he is now — but a version warped by fear. One who gave up. One who let everyone die in his arms.

Masashi (quietly): "I almost became you…"

The vision said nothing — only watched, eyes hollow.

Masashi clenched his fists.

Masashi: "But I didn't."

He passed through the shadow.

And the path ended — opening to a platform of white marble.

At the Library of Truth

There it stood.

The Library of Truth.

It wasn't a building — it was part of the mountain, grown from crystal and memory. Books floated in place, spiral staircases moved like thoughts, and golden light pulsed with a rhythm like breathing.

At the center — an altar. And on it, the second Fractal floated in a glass prism.

But standing in front of it…

The same veiled figure.

Veiled One: "You made it. Now one more step remains."

He pointed to a dark pedestal beside the Fractal.

Veiled One: "To take the second Fractal, one among you must read from the Truthwell — the Book that sees all timelines. The price is… comprehension."

Masashi stepped forward slowly.

Masashi: "I'll do it."

Crystella: "Are you sure?"

Masashi: "I have to face it. For all of us."

Reading the Truthwell — Again

Masashi touched the book. It opened with no pages — only light.

Once again — he fell into vision.

--- He saw five versions of himself.

--- Five futures.

--- Five different endings.

In one, he became the enemy.

In another, Elra died to save him.

In one, he never left Earth — and everyone in this world perished.

Masashi saw truths no one should see.

And in all of them — a figure lingered behind the scenes.

A woman with a silver eye.

Not Crystella. Not Elra. Not anyone he knew.

Masashi: "…Who are you?"

Her voice echoed:

???: "The one who set all this in motion. I wait at the fifth piece."

Then it ended.

Masashi collapsed — but this time, he didn't scream.

He was shaking, yes — pale, yes — but still conscious.

The veiled one nodded.

Veiled One: "You survived. The second Fractal is yours."

The prism dissolved, and the second Fractal floated into Masashi's hand — pulsing softly, this one glowing with a green hue.

Masashi looked around. His team was watching — concerned, but proud.

Crystella (softly):

"You did it."

Ending Hook — Back Outside

They stood on the edge of the library, overlooking all of Centara below — rivers, clouds, and forest canopies stretching forever.

Masashi held both fragments now.

He could feel something stir within them.

Like puzzle pieces beginning to respond to each other.

Clara (smiling):

"Two down."

Vellia:

"Next is Galvanna… the volcanic continent."

Yulleus:

"That place burns year-round."

Masashi gripped both fragments.

Masashi:

"We're not done yet. And whoever that woman was… she's waiting."

Part 2

The wind had softened.

From the edge of the crystalline platform atop Centara, the entire world seemed to unfold beneath them. Two Fractals now pulsed faintly in Masashi's hands—one red, one green. Both fragments reacted to each other, tiny pulses syncing like twin heartbeats. The team stood silent, basking in the quiet after the storm of visions.

But Masashi's gaze was distant.

He hadn't spoken much since they left the Library of Truth. Not out of fear this time, but contemplation.

"Masashi?" Elra placed a hand gently on his arm.

Masashi blinked. Then turned to her.

Masashi: "I saw her again."

Crystella stepped closer. "The woman from the first vision?"

Masashi nodded. "She said she set everything in motion. That she'd be waiting at the fifth piece."

Clara: "Who is she? A villain? Another witch?"

Masashi hesitated. "I don't think she's our enemy... But she's something else."

Yulleus: "You sure she wasn't just another vision messing with your head?"

Masashi shook his head.

Masashi: "No. She was clear. Intentional. A presence... like she knew I was watching."

Vellia narrowed her eyes. "Then it's time we start asking the right questions."

Later That Night

The campfire flickered softly under a cliff overhang. The group had set up their tents nearby, letting the stars shine above them like scattered memory.

Masashi sat alone with the two Fractals before him. The warmth of the red. The calm pulse of the green. As they touched, they shimmered lightly.

Suddenly—light.

Not blinding, but golden.

He stood. Or floated. The stars around him faded, replaced by glowing clouds. A sun burned quietly behind a veil of light.

She appeared.

The woman.

Hair like fire. Eyes like polished gold. A sigil of a sun etched on her chest—and within it, a diamond enclosing a "V".

Masashi: "You again... Who are you?"

Her voice echoed like sunlight on water.

???: "You call me a witch. But I am light. I am what remembers."

Masashi's eyes narrowed. "Are you the Witch of Sun?"

She smiled, but not cruelly. Not kindly either. Timelessly.

???: "One of four. One who watched Time freeze. One who saw Ice forget. One who watches Darkness hunger."

Masashi: "Why did you show me those visions? Why warn me?"

She stepped forward, lifting a hand—and a memory bloomed behind her.

The world, before it was divided.

A circle. Whole. Alive. A massive fractal tree at the center, its roots spiraling across all lands.

???: "The Ember Relic was not made for war. It was made for unity. But it was broken by those who feared what we could become."

Masashi: "And you helped shatter it."

A pause.

???: "I did. Because the others would have used it to merge timelines. And none would have survived the paradox."

Masashi's fists clenched. "So you broke the world to save it."

She looked away. "I delayed ruin. I did not prevent it."

Masashi: "And now you want me to fix it?"

She approached, slowly.

Witch of Sun: "I want you to choose. To break it further. Or to forge something new. I will not appear again until the fifth Fractal is within your hands. Then... I will show you the truth."

Her figure began to fade into golden dust.

Masashi: "Wait! What's your name?"

Witch of Sun: "You already know it."

And then he awoke.

The Next Morning

Crystella stirred the morning fire. Clara yawned beside her. Elra stretched with her sword leaning against a stone.

Masashi stepped forward, looking tired, but focused.

Masashi: "She spoke to me. Again. This time, clearly. She's real. The Witch of Sun."

Vellia: "Then it's confirmed. Four witches shape this world. You walk among three. The fourth... waits."

Yulleus: "Guess we're not just collecting fragments anymore. We're collecting truths."

Elra: "And rewriting fate as we go."

Crystella stood.

Crystella: "Then let's head to Galvanna. The third piece won't wait."

Masashi nodded, gripping both fragments.

Masashi (thinking): "And neither will she."

Part 3

The third continent stood before them.

Galvanna — a land of endless crags and towering cliffs, smoke plumes drifting from active fissures scattered across the horizon.

The skies were red with haze, but the ground wasn't barren. Small forests of emberbloom trees, their red leaves shimmering like sparks, dotted the otherwise rocky terrain.

Steam hissed from cracks beneath the surface.

The sea behind them bubbled faintly — warmed unnaturally by the volcanic shelf they had docked upon.

Their ship anchored at Moltorra, the capital port of Galvanna — a fortified city carved into the cliffs, with bridges of blackened stone and flowing magma rivers beneath.

Enchanted geysers hissed beneath the streets, powering everything from lanterns to lifts.

Vellia stepped off the ship first, her boots crunching against the black stone.

Vellia: "Welcome to Galvanna. Try not to melt."

Masashi's cloak fluttered in the dry heat, sweat already forming at his brow.

Masashi (muttering): "Feels like I'm breathing fire."

Clara: "Better than drowning in that sea wraith storm."

Yulleus stepped down last, shielding his face.

Yulleus: "Remind me to thank the sun for not exploding while we're here."

Elra looked toward the inland peaks. Even from this distance, the volcano towered above all — Mount Solerra, glowing faintly from its summit.

Crystella (gazing at the sky): "That mountain… it pulses. Like a heartbeat."

Vellia nodded. "The locals believe it's alive — a gift left by the Witch of Sun herself."

Masashi blinked.

Masashi: "Wait… Witch of Sun?"

Crystella (serious): "There were four witches, remember? Elra is of Time. I'm Ice. The Witch of Darkness nearly killed us…"

Elra (softly): "And now… it seems we've entered the domain of the Sun."

Myth of the Sun Witch – Solana

As they made their way toward the town square, they passed stone murals carved into the mountain walls — ancient depictions of a veiled woman with hair like sunlight and eyes shaped like diamonds.

Local children bowed as they passed the statues, their parents whispering stories.

Vendor (to Crystella): "You're a witch, aren't you? Then be wary. Solana watches from her mountain. They say she's still alive… waiting."

Crystella: "Witches don't live forever."

Vendor (muttering): "She's not just a witch. She is the sun made flesh."

Masashi glanced at the image of the woman. The diamond symbol on her chest… It matched what he saw in the Book of Truth.

Masashi (thinking): "That woman… with the silver eye. Could it be… her?"

The Third Fractal's Location

The group gathered at a magma-lit council hall. A local scholar greeted them — Ravien, a woman in soot-streaked robes, her face half-burned but her presence proud.

Ravien: "You seek the third Fractal? Then you'll need to descend."

Vellia: "Descend?"

Ravien: "Beneath Mount Solerra lies the Ember Cradle — ruins buried during the last eruption. There lies the Sun's Trial, and with it, the Fractal."

Crystella (frowning): "Another trial…"

Ravien handed Masashi a scroll marked with volcanic lines and glowing ink.

Ravien: "The volcano is unstable. But it waits. It always waits… for those chosen to carry its fire."

Ending Scene: Echoes of Fire

That night, as the group stayed in a forge-temple guesthouse, Masashi sat by a glowing brazier.

He opened the scroll — and inside was a sketch.

Of the Witch of Sun.

Her name was written only once, in divine flame script.

Solana.

Masashi whispered the name — and the brazier flared.

Visions filled his mind — of her standing atop Mount Solerra, her diamond symbol burning, her voice calling something… someone.

Masashi (eyes wide): "She's real… and she's waiting for me."

The obsidian door of flame burst open.

Masashi stepped forward alone — swallowed by gold and fire.

Everything disappeared.

There was no path. No sky. No ground. Just flame — alive, breathing, roaring like a voice he couldn't understand.

Then it spoke.

Solana (everywhere):

"You carry the past. The present. The burden of change. But what do you offer the world that burns?"

The flames around him twisted — forming memories.

He saw Earth — his home. Burning. Cities scorched, skies red.

Then Astrum — split into four zones, walls of fire rising between each one.

He saw Elra trapped in a loop of time.

Crystella, frozen alone on a dead tundra.

Clara, buried beneath rubble.

And himself… helpless. Powerless.

Solana's voice returned — louder, closer.

Solana: "You were meant to die. Yet you returned. Why?"

Masashi (shouting): "I don't know! But I couldn't leave them—any of them!"

A searing pulse radiated through the chamber.

From the flames emerged a silhouette — a phoenix made of pure sunfire. Its wings stretched wide, eyes glowing white-gold.

Solana's voice echoed from it.

Solana: "Then burn for them. Suffer, so they do not. Rise… or fall forever."

The phoenix screamed, unleashing a wave of solar magic that sent Masashi flying.

He stood slowly, shielding his eyes.

Masashi (panting): "I've… felt this before."

The orb's voice from the void realm echoed in his mind:

"When the time comes… rise as the flame that heals."

Masashi clenched his fists.

He wasn't here to fight for strength.

He was here to become something new.

He rushed forward, dodging flaming talons, and reached toward the phoenix — not to destroy it, but to embrace it.

It shrieked again, flaring to engulf him.

Then silence.

Masashi stood within a sphere of white-gold light.

His body didn't burn — it glowed.

Wings of fire shimmered behind him for a moment, then folded into his back like a memory.

Golden feathers floated down, vanishing into the air.

A sigil had formed over his chest — shaped like a winged sun.

He heard the final words of Solana:

Solana: "You are not just fire. You are its rebirth. Carry this gift — and remember… life is not just to be fought for. It is to be restored."

And with that, the flames parted.

Masashi opened his eyes — and emerged.

The others stood waiting at the entrance to the crater.

Their eyes widened.

Clara stepped forward. "Masashi…?"

His cloak was scorched at the edges. His eyes shimmered faintly gold. His wounds — gone. And behind him, a faint trail of glowing feathers followed before fading.

Crystella (serious): "You awakened something, didn't you?"

Masashi raised his hand. A small burst of fire formed — not wild, but gentle. He pressed it to Elra's shoulder, and a bruise she hadn't mentioned vanished instantly.

Masashi: "It's called… Phoenix."

Elra (softly): "Like the orb said."

Yulleus: "A healing flame. That's… that's rare. That's powerful."

Ravien appeared from the shadows, watching.

Ravien: "The Sun accepted you. You carry the Trial's blessing."

The third Fractal, dormant beneath the altar, rose from the scorched floor — glowing orange-gold, spiraling with fire.

It hovered to Masashi's hand, joining the other two.

And just like before — they pulsed in sync.

Later, that night, Masashi stood atop a ridge alone, looking toward the still-burning Mount Solerra.

Crystella approached.

Crystella: "The third piece… and the third witch."

Masashi: "She's still alive. Solana. She didn't just test me… she remembered me."

Crystella looked toward the flames. "Then that makes three witches who walk this world. Time, Ice, and now, Sun."

Masashi: "Only one remains."

Crystella (quietly): "Darkness."

Just then, in the distance, thunder rolled — not from clouds, but from deep underground.

Masashi turned slowly.

And far away… a black fissure opened at the edge of Galvanna.

From it… a voice like -- a whisper from the void:

??? (faint): "So you rise. Let's see how long you shine…"

Masashi's hand glowed again.

And the journey… continued.