Alma 104 The White Shore

What remained only served to paint a terrible picture in Reed's mind. Bloody, unrecognizable corpses, crumbling skyscrapers, and raging flames were the only things that the Infested had left behind after the massacre.

Reed had visited the city once, not too long ago. It felt as if it'd been ages since then, though. When he'd first visited, he had been nothing more than a clueless fellow. He missed those times, when his biggest source of grief were his instructors, and not…

This. This unrestrained… destruction, cruelty, and loss.

How he envied the past. It felt as if time was slipping out his fingers and there was nothing he could do to stop it. For all the power that Reed possessed, he still felt powerless. He could meddle with reality at will, but couldn't seem to do anything correctly with it.

He had a suspicion, one that he'd been fostering deep in his heart about Anima. It was raw, undefined creation — colorless and at the same time, capable of transforming into whatever dyed it, gave it purpose.

That much he knew because of the hooded man in his dreams. He showed him enough that he was positively certain that it was the truth.

And that was the most important part about it; Anima given purpose — directed by a will — created. It was the essence of all that had been and would be.

Hence, his concern.

If a will was required to create with Anima and all existence was and would be, at some point in time, formed from it…

Where is the supreme being that created the world? God. The one who willed reality into existence and shaped everything that was?

…This multiverse should be, by all rights, its finest work — its magnum opus. A painstaking work of love, devotion and sublime skill, no doubt.

How could it let this happen? Let everything happen as it did?

He could not understand.

Who in their right mind would ever let someone defile and violate their most precious work?

Not only that, but allow others to tamper with it freely.

Lesser beings, no less. The same beings it had created in the first place.

Has there ever been a story where fictional characters in a book suddenly gained the ability to edit the very same book they resided inside of?

Where they could change the script that the Author had written for them?

Had this world been abandoned? Had the creator died? Was this some kind of test? Why would the creator allow such pain and suffering to exist if it was still alive?

Something broke and Reed's vision suddenly went dark for the briefest of moments.

The blinding stage lights had been cut off for a moment, allowing Reed to see past the Veil of Obscurity that all things were innately born with as creations.

Reed vanished.

Lu'um had a frozen, aghast expression on her face as she stared at the spot where Reed had been a moment ago. She looked like she'd witnessed something that should not have happened, much less been possible…

Having realized the innermost nature of the world, he had unintentionally severed himself from base reality, which was muddled by the perceptive influence of the living and the dead.

Simply put, he had done what should not have been possible. He had jumped off of the performing stage in the middle of the play.

...…What in the hell?

A white shore — untouched by those who were born with the Veil of Obscurity, was an intentional obfuscation of the hidden infrastructure that supported reality.

Reed had arrived at the boundary that separated base reality, where all things existed — the material multiverse, and the white shore, the Atelier of the Creator.

The long and boundless sea near the White Shore was the boundary itself, the Veil of Obscurity. It was impossible to cross for those who allowed themselves to exist as a part of the whole.

People who were influenced by the world into believing and accepting the fate given to them by their fellow men. Only those who were capable of separating themselves, individuals who'd had the capacity to accept the truth — the true nature of creation — could pass through the Veil of Obscurity.

It was not enough to simply know the truth. One had to accept it for what it was — that was the hardest part.

To see past the mundane and recognize the inner mechanics that governed the world. To understand the Creator's vision of its Work and not be blinded by one's innate nature as a part of it.

Flowers of clarity blossomed on the Far Shore at the End of Eternity.

A billion unanswered questions answered themselves for him in an instant.

He knew who he was. What he was meant to do. Why he had arrived here. Everything.

Ah, so that's how it ends. What a mess, but in the end…

His entire life story, from beginning to end, unraveled in front of him. Watching from the audience's viewpoint had allowed him to see how the grand play would end.

It was odd; he felt nothing, even though he now knew everything.

Reed gazed at the endless sea and suddenly felt a sense of longing.

She was waiting for him, scared out of her mind — rightfully so considering what he'd done. He didn't belong here yet. There was still much he had to do and experience for himself before he could return here.

But above all else, he did not want to live in a world without her.

I suppose it's time to return back to the stage and play my part, huh…

Reed grasped the golden ring around his neck and said, "Take me back to her."

The ring shone with a brilliant splendor that culminated in a blinding flash of radiance. It swallowed Reed whole in an instant and he disappeared inside of the light.

He had returned before she even realized it, seemingly in less than a blink of an eye.

The light of clarity granted to him had disappeared, along with all the knowledge he had possessed, for he had rid himself of it. Having it would only ruin his growth and hinder him from becoming what he needed to be.

"…Huh? What's with that expression, sweetcheeks?" said Reed.

Lu'um hurriedly stammered out, "Ah... It's nothing, I guess. How do you feel, by the way?"

Reed shrugged his shoulders and said, "Terrible, I suppose. Look at what the Infested have done to the city. We need to pick up our pace and get Astrid as quickly as possible."

He wasn't going to give up on the people fighting outside just yet. If possible, he wanted to save them too. In the end, it would all depend on how fast they could take care of the situation inside the Reef first, though.

Lu'um agreed and the pair set off into the ruined city, specifically to find the central core. Raku itself had been built around the entrance to the core, so finding it was not that difficult for the pair.

An enormous fortress-spire had been built around the entrance, smack dab in the middle of the city that only a few people had ever been allowed to enter. It was an incredibly important place, after all — it was where the city drew the energy it needed to run.

Reed had expected that they would've had to deal with locked doors, or perhaps some Infested guarding the entrance, but nothing of the sort when they arrived.

If anything, the doors opened themselves for them. It was like they were being welcomed in by the Reef.

At least it's courteous — that's good enough for me, considering I was expecting trouble.

An elegant, regal altar awaited them past many a sealed door. It was one of the greatest enigmas to the North's scholars. None had been able to activate ever since they had discovered the Reef thousands of years ago.

They knew it was an active Altar and was properly functioning, but it would not accept any commands that were given to it. It was locked by some unknown means that frustrated the Northern scholars because they knew that it was likely protecting an unknown section of the Reef that they had never seen before.

Space warped and blurred and before long, they had jumped somewhere else. A small hallway lay before the pair that led to a medium-sized gate made of gold, silver, and jade.

The moment that the pair approached the door, it opened itself for them, letting them into the innermost part of the Reef — the central core.

Reed let out a breath of relief. She was there, alive, although unconscious. Unfortunately, they, too, were there. The Twilight Children perked up as soon as they saw Reed walk into the core.

"Welcome, brother! You've made it in time, not a moment too soon," said Kanosis as he gestured for Reed to step inside. "There is much to discuss and not much time left for… either one of us."

He was right. But truth be told, time had already run out… for everyone. They simply did not know it yet.

Chapter end