Trails in The Sea of Souls

Volume I - Prologue

Shimmering shards of ice surrounded him, the crisp chill of the frozen air reaching every corner of the chamber; each shard refracted the light like a kaleidoscope, a beautiful carpet of glimmering ice which seemed to wrap around him. Silence reigned within the room, not even the slightest whisper of wind caressing his ears, as if time itself had halted in reverence for the scene before him.

He slowly surveyed his surroundings and set his gaze upon dozens of people, each one encased within their own translucent tombs — each one imprisoning a soul within its confines, their faces etched with a blend of sorrow and torment, trapped in a poignant tableau of suffering. For a fleeting moment, he closed his eyes, the weight upon his chest pressing down with a gravity beyond measure.

These people would survive, for such is their fate, yet the guilt he felt is often too much to bear. What he had done was nothing more than a necessity, an agonizing choice made for the sake of the greater good, and yet the remorse lingered like a specter, refusing to dissipate — hope intertwined with the guilt, a desperate yearning that his actions would bring solace to more lives than they had scarred.

A breath escaped from his lips, expelled as a wispy vapor that curled delicately into existence; its ghostly trails meandered through the air, an ephemeral dance before it vanished into the ether. The wildcard, a figure of enigmatic power, stood in reverent stillness, his mind adrift in aimless contemplation — his thoughts through the labyrinthine corridors of his heart, silently pondering what his comrades would make of him now.

Would they even recognize him as the same person that stood beside them as they climb and fight their way through that infernal tower?

Would she?

He could almost feel her presence standing beside him in that moment; a faint, melancholic smile made its way onto his lips.

Mitsuru...

He could still remember how firmly she defended him back then, her eyes ablaze with burning anger as she confronted her fiancé who had spoken ill of him. The way she boldly stood in front of him before unleashing a flurry of words that he had never expected to hear.

Even now, the mere thought of her caused his heart to swell with longing…

With a feeble motion, he lifted his hand, the tip of his finger slowly brushing against his lips. Memories came flooding back as he recalled that day when she asked him to stay with her just a moment longer — the subtle blush on her cheeks as she peered upon him with those crimson eyes of hers; how it had felt as her supple lips pressed onto his own, a single kiss that seemed to last an eternity, until finally, it melted away into nothingness.

The memory of that bittersweet embrace was something not even time itself can take away from him...

Oh, how he yearned for her… for them.

A fragile sigh escaped from his lips — quivering and laden with emotion — as he acknowledged the impossibility of reclaiming those cherished days, the loss of that irreplaceable presence that he had continued to hold dear. Time had stripped those moments away, relegated them to a realm beyond reach, forever stuck to the recesses of nostalgia.

He had done what was necessary to protect the world and those few souls who meant everything to him… and yet, his heart bore a weight of anguish that could never be assuaged — a sorrow that seeped beneath his skin, a haunting specter that loomed with every thought of them.

Perhaps this was to be his fate, to carry a burden that will last an eternity...

"I chooseth this fate of mine own free will..." He whispered to the empty air, determination lacing his voice, resonating with the resolve that burned deep within.