Arcaea: The World of Glass

[Main] Severed Eden

Passing on always seems so sad, and wouldn't it be wonderful if it could be more than that?

When a soul parts from the body, and flies into the air...

When it passes all boundaries, when it is, thereafter, adrift...

There is a world that feels the same way. "Wouldn't it be wonderful? Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful..."

You see, that world called out to you.

Ah, you: you fell into a world of light. Ah, wasn't it wonderful? You fell from a soul like a tear, beautiful and new. You sparkled as you fell. You crystalized, and came alive. Ah, the beauty of it as you came into a world of memory and, rare thing, still bore a bushel of memories yourself...

A girl with two-colored hair and two-colored eyes. Telling. There was another like that already here, you know? But her two and two colors are pretended. You: you are real.

This last tear shed of a forgotten and departed life came down from on high, and down through a sky without clouds, resting finally amidst endless old ruins. It was a dark night that you fell into. Half this world in fact is dark, and you would wake beneath the stars.

The stars in this world – this world called "Arcaea" – are actually violet. You opened your eyes to a mauve-shaded sky, and squinted at the strange shapes dancing and glinting across it. Glass, in the sky: something magical, and called, too, "Arcaea". They are shards, it seems, of memory.

You knew all this; you knew the name "Arcaea" but you—you "remembered" nothing of the place. No, no...

You only remembered "yourself".

Oh, such a terrible heartache filled your chest. Oh, what dreadful things you had done. You had left a world behind. You had left a world to ruin. A veil of sins felt as if it was weighing upon your shoulders and blending with your body, seeping in. An ichor-like thing it was; you felt as if you carried what was left after that great and terrible wound which you yourself had dealt. You cried, you sobbed into your hands. Ah, ah, a beautiful sorrow...

There was one thing you forgot: your name. You do not truly know who you are. Is that a shame?

Shame or no, you dried your tears and stood to your feet.

In truth, you may have never "been" anyone at all...

But your feelings were so very real. Those memories were real—no mistaking that.

And your new name... Hm, "new name"? Were you ever even bestowed a name—? Oh.

It seems this world did indeed decide to give you a name, and what a lovely name it is.

It seems this world wished to call you "Maya".

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Maya, you are exceptional—do you realize that? You are made of stuff that no one else here is.

"Made of stuff" can be taken two ways, in fact. You are made of stuff unusual, stuff none of the others have when they come here. But, also, you are made of "stronger stuff". That is a turn of phrase, Maya. It means your "heart" is strong. You are, perhaps, the most wonderful thing in a world of endless wonder.

Although, that is hard to say absolutely.

To most, this world has always been bright. An endless daylight once shone down over everything from an unseen star. But after you awakened, you wandered the darkened world.

For you, shadows were all around, and yet you still stepped bravely into the unknown—maybe
unthinking, but it was no doubt admirable. So, Arcaea, Arcaea...

You found a world of mirror meanings. You found a world of the dead, giving life. You found a world of day, and also night. You found a forgotten place full of memories of light and conflict. It seemed to remember elsewhere always, however—and never itself. Does "Arcaea" fear itself and what it has done? Do the girls here also feel that way...?

It's a question for philosophers: is this world of second chances worth anything at all when most
can only see this chance as their first? Is this sealed world worth anything at all, when it can't seem to progress into anything beyond itself? It is a question for scholars. It was also, indeed, a question for you.

Given what you were, who you were, what you'd done—why were you here...? Memories after memories flocked to you, showing sorrow, and what point was there in that...?

At one point, when you stood between light and darkness, it seemed almost a mockery...

But the secret answer is very, very simple.

Arcaea is a meaningless world.

It is simple, yes, but that is why it is admirable. And you, Maya; you came to notice it, right?

The world came to warm you. When you felt sadness and horror, the world brought you the gentle embrace of old stories, remembered here. Yes, you... found it distasteful for quite some time, but after you walked into the light! Poetic! Meaningful! What a show it was!

To think this world of a shattered heart could put on such a marvelous show...

Torn between two paths, and brought low by your suffering... you wished for ease and received it! You wished for pain and received it!

And so suddenly...! Everything changed! Or, had it changed long before? When did it change,
when...? Difficult to say, really...

Why, it doesn't matter. A burst! A shadowed path appeared before you to Heaven, and you
walked it, Maya!

You faced the guilt inside of you and chose to pursue the light. Ahh...

So selfish... though you deserve only judgment, Maya...

That scene, it was sublime, almost providence...

But not quite...

And so—!

I decided then, and there, to come and find you.