[Elsword] - Masked Renegade

21 - Memories: Add

...

"Eve is ready to proceed when you are." the Nasod's monotonous tone echoed in his mind.

Add briefly looked around at his surroundings. Hallucinations, or imaginary spaces like the one he was currently in, seemed all too familiar to him. Where the sense of familiarity came from was still a mystery, but it was a step closer to knowing his true self.

There would be a pause for the environment to alter before his very eyes. A stop in time for the new atmosphere to fall perfectly into place, as if it were a puzzle.

"Yeah. Go ahead, Eve." he responded.

A trailing burst of energy began to circle around him. Her serene voice returned again before he was sunken into the winded films of recollections, the tapes that precisely linked together everything that was happening, both in the past and present.

"Initiating file [data:Elrios_ADD.exe]. Please wait as the launcher processes the information while extracting power from the moonstone. Loading.... 10%. 25%. 40%. 60%. 80%... Almost there. 90... 100%. Opening document."

Electronic sounds of typing filled the air, followed by billions of robotic codes. Add grew dizzy from the noise, although he quickly redeemed himself to watch the movie of memories.

~

For as long as he could remember, there was always something mentally wrong with Add. His insane desire to master his abilities as a Diabolic Esper-- the longing to complete his ideal power to bend time and space at will. His morals were changed the night he saw Ava Haan, in such a terrible condition, curled up in a bloody mess on the filthy ground, it disgusted him and was torture to his eyes. The lust he once held for power differentiated, and was directed at something, no, someone else. Rather, his heart reacted faster than his mind could whenever he caught the sight of the girl. It was an odd phenomenon, or perhaps really, just love at first sight.

The pure accident that the Asura had come into contact with the Search Party Officers of Justice was a blessing and miracle to the albino. Her existence made each day brighter, with her optimism and smiles, as well as occasional witty retorts to certain situations.

As he performed his duties as an officer, she would always follow along with him. If it were anyone else, it would've been an utter annoyance, however, she was a different story. It was an indescribable feeling that Add had trouble expressing at the time. It was probably her personality that allured him to her, but he was never sure.He felt just as thankful as she was when her wounds had finally healed completely.

It was speculated that their romantic relationship would bloom sooner or later.

The more she hung around him, the more his cold barriers began to break. The finely crafted wall of isolation he had built from long ago was simply shattering every second. It wasn't an issue to him anymore, with Ava by his side. He laughed a little harder, cried a little less, and smiled a lot more. It was surprising, even for him, though it showed how much he grew to love her.

The inexorable destiny she held, was unable to be adjusted, no matter what transpired.

After her mysterious death, he fell into a short period of depression, that eventually transformed into a state of rage, wrath, and lust for revenge. The intelligent Esper never truly found who the culprit was. There was no point in killing somebody else for her death; it didn't change the fact that she had already faced her demise. Therefore, he started his new journey, in hopes of finding a way to revive his beloved. Behind the Officers of Justice's backs, he strayed from the path of supposed righteousness, and walked on a road of crime.

He had committed a crime of high-violation: breaking into the blessed vault. The treasury was a sacred place to store goods and to protect them from the greedy public, and only those with a positive standing to the Search Party Officers of Justice, retaining loyalty and morality, had access for guarding and inspection purposes. Sure, he met some of the said conditions, though his real sin was stealing. He captured an item called the Golden Insignia of Wishes, an extremely valuable mark. Legend told that the insignia had the capability of granting any reasonable wish, which somehow included the revival of someone who died. It was the perfect object that the Diabolic Esper needed for his happiness.

Unfortunately, Add wasn't stealthy enough, and was caught into a red-level of infraction during his act. Reported to be judged, a Document of Sin was promptly filled out for his infringement, which involved several results. First, the ban of returning to the Officers of Justice. Second, the temporary removal of his memories. Third, the judgement to be inflicted onto him by his own former allies.

His team was shocked. Elsword, Aisha, Elesis, Lu, and Ciel, every single one of them. They hadn't thought that his love for Ava had driven him to perform such faults. However, Aisha herself had volunteered to remove his recollections, as she was a capable mage.

Prior to the removal date, he had realized that somebody from the Demon's Association had information regarding Ava's whereabouts, or rather, her reincarnation's. As Lu and Ciel were also linked to the alliance of the demons, they gathered the knowledge for Add as a parting gift. Ran, a Demon General, suddenly gained the ability to transform into a human, within the boundaries of Earth. He was assigned to become the older sibling of Ava's reincarnation, Ara Haan, while forging his own alias as Aren Haan: a kindhearted and caring brother.

Using his abilities of space-time manipulation, he created a private vicinity for Ara to venture to in her dreams, forming a relationship with his lover's image of rebirth. For safety reasons, he made it seem as though he was a mere imaginary friend to the girl. The feelings that her soul eventually rebuilt for him was more than enough. The endless reveries in the utopia where only Ara Haan was royalty.

It was difficult to tell who the true mastermind was, within the chaotic streams of masked renegades.

...