Afterward, Asahi and Aletha huddled in the shadow-drenched corner of Akwan’s room. Shadows carved uneasy lines across their faces as their eyes darted to each other, straining to unravel Fountain Day’s enigmatic significance. Only moments before, they awakened—memories clouded by the ceaseless dance of time and the lingering specter of The Ruler of The Forgotten. Confusion coiled between them until a sharp flash of insight illuminated their expressions.
"Asahi, check the book!" Aletha’s gray eyes trembled.
At Aletha’s urging, Asahi opened the ancient book. They leaned in, scanning the cryptic script for answers, while Akwan drifted nearby. One inscription sprang from the page, seizing their focus.
"The Self-proposed Librarian lost to the tendrils of The Ruler of The Forgotten, but his fate was sealed as two white-haired beings emerged from the pages."
"It’s talking about us!" Aletha said, her face falling into shock.
"In the end, they saved Drimi, Belial, Akwan, Landon, and all the others by following in accordance with Liora’s list."
In that instant, a chill ran through them—the book’s cryptic words were not just legend, but the very story of their lives in the city of Pladtioa.
Each loop reset Akwan’s memory, as well as Belial’s, Drimi’s, and Sally’s. The Forbidden Book tracked it all, from the first to the last cycle.
Yet, fragments of his memory clung together, preserved by their victory over The Ruler of the Forgotten. As the pieces fell into place, a question surfaced, urging him to speak.
"Where do you think the Scarf went?"
. . .
Rumors swirled of the scarf blazing across the sky like a falling star. Asahi and Aletha exchanged bewildered looks, their curiosity piqued by the enigma of its fate.
"Where did it go?" Asahi and Aletha both asked in unison.
The mystery of the scarf called to them, daring them to set off in pursuit without a second thought.
Since they were unsure who had the Scarf and couldn’t act immediately, Asahi and Aletha turned their attention to the familiar brown book. They glanced at each other, then observed Akwan at his illustration.
"Hey, you two," Akwan said as he peered from the shed door, searching for guards. Immediately, both of them jerked upward, responding.
"What?" they said together.
As Clover and Akwan both peered out from the crevice near the door, listening to the sound of carriages bouncing left and right in the room, Akwan—the mysterious dark-haired man—turned away from the door, faced Asahi and Aletha, and offered them an invitation.
"Do you want to have a ride to The Fountain?" He scratched his head and muttered, recollecting his history of being in Pladtioa. "There’s a beautiful Fountain resting on the southeast side of Pladtioa. If we depart now, we might hitch a ride through all the traffic towards The Great Fountain. It is now or never. Traffic isn’t as busy as it will be this afternoon."
Unable to resist the requests and having set aside thoughts of the Scarf’s whereabouts, Asahi and Aletha joined Clover and Akwan as they approached a black and cyan-colored carriage.
The horses shimmered in cyan and black, their lustrous harnesses glinting in the sunlight. Each animal bore a bold infinity symbol on its flank, intensifying the spectacle.
A spectacle of opulence unfolded before them, dazzling their senses. Asahi and Aletha scratched their heads in wonder, uncertain of the Fountain’s hidden path. Still, the promise of venturing beyond Pladtioa’s worn streets and towards the unknown tugged at their restless hearts.
Without hesitation, Asahi and Aletha took up the offer and were guided to the carriage with Akwan.
. . .
It felt as if the entire nation pulsed here. Carriages in every blazing hue glittered and jostled, weaving a vibrant ribbon that stretched endlessly toward the horizon. Amid the tumult, Akwan’s carriage waited by the gate. As the minutes slipped by, curiosity coaxed them closer to their uncommon ride.
The carriage rolled forward in stately elegance. On one side, stained glass poured ribbons of shifting color; on the other, a polished wooden table gleamed with reflected light. Overhead, a crystal chandelier cast prisms across a plush, red rug, enveloping the floor. Sunlight streamed through windows, splashing the interior with a kaleidoscope as Akwan gazed out, deep in reverie.
"I suppose this is your second carriage ride, correct?"
"Yes," Aletha replied, twiddling her thumbs.
After countless cycles of three repeating days, the truth of their predicament finally settled over them.
Beyond the endless loop, a new radiance beckoned—the long-awaited dawn of the fourth day.
Sunlight blazed even brighter as the carriage climbed a steep slope. The wanderers pressed their faces to the window, marveling at the kaleidoscope of people appearing along the ramp’s edge.
Some were human hybrids with cat ears on their heads. Others were tall mechanical knights, and some didn’t even have a human shape. Despite the spectacle of colors, hairstyles, and eyes, not one had a tiny bit of white on them—not once did they have gray eyes.
"How many people are in here?" Asahi muttered as his eyes caught the many people shuffling on the streets.
"About one hundred sixty thousand people," Akwan replied as he pushed his bangs away. "Not to mention, the citizens coming from the other side of the world, the main continent, Vehemat."
"Vehemat? So we’re not on the main continent?" Aletha stared at the poorly-illustrated world.
"Correct," Akwan said as he unveiled a better illustration of the nation. Quickly, he grabbed a feather pen and then circled the chunk of land cast off at the left-hand corner, secluded from the rest.
"Pladtioa is a secluded nation," Akwan informed as he placed the map on the brown table at the center. "If you ever want to get happy and live prosperous, loving lives, I suggest you go to the warm sanctuary, Linuxinia, first."
Clover shook her hair and mumbled as well. "However, if you want to go into danger and horror, I suggest the cold hands of Astait."’
Asahi and Aletha both turned their eyes away from the southwest corner of the map, pondering Clover’s words.
Then it returned to Akwan. "But first, before you even try that, try to familiarize yourself with THIS nation. Perhaps you might get clues regarding your parents?"
After rolling up the map, Akwan noticed the carriage approaching the entrance to the gate, where a large arch stretched from one side to the other. Now that the three-day loop was over, he signaled for caution. Swiftly, Akwan pushed Asahi and Aletha down to the floor as the carriage passed through the gate of Pladtioa city.
Two guards clad in silver armor with blue tints blocked Akwan’s path. Asahi and Aletha crouched low in the carriage, holding their breath and doing their best not to make a sound. Seeing this, Asahi quickly put his hand over Aletha’s mouth as the shadow of a guard approached.
"Sir, we need to see your pin," One of the guards said, "All of the citizens in the capital must have a pin of recognition when they both enter and exit the gate.
Akwan slowly nodded and slid his fingers through his pocket. He gripped a shining circular gold pin with four stars encircling it. Then he tossed it toward the guards’ hands. A silence came for a moment. Akwan shed a sweat as a horse carriage came from behind, dashing through the gate without stopping. Afterward, they heard a carriage passing back, with the sound of...
"Stop there! That’s a felony!"
As Asahi and Aletha kept their mouths sealed, they heard the relieving words.
"I show you our deepest gratitude for revealing your pin," They said, "Not many have this type of medallion. You may now exit the city. Happy Fountain Day!"
With a brief glance, the guard returned the pin to Akwan and saluted. The carriage creaked forward, passing through the gate onto a dirt pathway stretching for kilometers. Asahi released his grip from Aletha’s mouth; she kicked him hard in the stomach. Tumbling quickly to another seat in the carriage, she caught Akwan’s prompt.
"Wanderers, you can come out now."
As they approached the red seat, they sighed in relief. The carriage was now in full motion, passing through the traffic due to the horse’s formidable speed. He took a deep breath and leaned his back against the wall. Akwan stared at the map continuously, speaking...
"Have you two become familiar with what The Fountain was?"
Neither had learned the Fountain’s origins. Their questions broke the silence. Previously, they had focused only on retrieving the scarf. Now, they faced three clear goals.
One was to find Aiyana, the second was to find their parents, and lastly, to find what actually happened to their world.
Of course, being time-dilated for several years, one may be stupefied by this dramatic time gap. After taking the moment to calm themselves down, Asahi and Aletha replied.
"No."
Coming with this knowledge, now that The Ruler of The Forgotten’s influence lost grip on his head, Akwan snapped his fingers and remarked.
"Ah, Well. To put it this way, Fountain Day, the day that is celebrated for the one who constructed the Great Fountain, was a day cherished for the Fountain stood proudly in the land." Akwan resumed as he turned over to the carriage.
"Fountain Day is supposed to be recognized as the day of Gratitude, Gifts, and most importantly, will. However, when the Ruler of Purity chose to ditch the people of Pladtioa for taking advantage of the Great Fountain two centuries later, greed started to form."
"Soon, the ’new’ ruler of Pladtioa ordered or practically forced the people to give their gifts to them. From that day forward, The Fountain would get abused. No one knew the reason for The Ruler of Purity’s disappearance, but they could all assume that they were not worthy to be gifted by The Rulers.
After taking a deep breath, watching as Asahi and Aletha sat on the red chair, he continued.
"So the people of Pladtioa slowly started to lose respect for The Ruler of Purity. But after that one fateful day, after a decade, the greedy ruler got what they deserved and got dethroned by someone better."
Later, as the carriage approached through a clearing in the pathway, Akwan cut his conversation short and muttered.
"We’re here."