Ordo ab chao - A GWH Story (LEVEL 4)

Ordo ab chao - Chapter 2

The girl and the spirit traveled for a few moments in silence across the vast reaches of space, hand in hand... if you could call what the mostly formless soul had a hand. It could feel no fear, anger or anything of the sort; just a calm wonder. A vague curiousness, if you will. What was happening? What did this child want from just another imperfect spirit among uncountable others in existence? Why would she retain the soul from returning to its rightful place?

At last, the surroundings changed. The black, starry background became a pleasant mix of indigo colors and swirling wisps, and an ample platform made of those same colors materialized before the two. The girl gently sent foot on it and turned back, smiling.

"Welcome to a... safe realm of sorts. We don't have much time to talk, but I hope this place will grant us an extra instance or two."

"What does... that mean? What is... going on...?" The bodiless ghost whispered.

"I brought you here because I need your help." The lass explained. "During your last life, you showed immense potential for soul fusion thanks to your tendency towards order and your care for the lives of those under your protection. You are just the one I need for our future plans."

The spirit gave its interlocutor a distant, confused gaze, letting her know it wasn't understanding anything at all. The patient girl merely giggled, amused.

"Oh, my apologies. I should probably introduce myself. Maybe that will clear things up a bit."

The young-looking one extended her arms to the side, and the scenery changed, this time very radically. The crystalline platform remained there, but the space backdrop changed to show several different environments at once. A big city, a lush forest, a volcanic wasteland, a vast ocean, a frigid mountain range, all spinning around the mysterious being... The sight of these places finally activated a piece of the lost soul's memory, making it give a soft gasp of realization. The girl beamed.

"I am Minori, the Tale Dimension. It's a pleasure to finally meet you in person, Tsukiko."

The amazed spirit took a moment to react. When it spoke, it did so in the voice of its former host body; that of the Tale Caster.

"Gods, it's... just as Pax foresaw. You're..."

"Indeed." Minori nodded. "I appeared before him in a dream, giving him instructions to rally the gifted Tales together. He was not able to see me fully, but even then, he understood I was more than just a world. I am an immortal soul, much like others you encountered in your past life."

"But... why am I here?" Tsukiko's voice had faded; it was back to the ethereal sound of her soul.

"You still don't get why it has to be you who helps me, right?" The girl began to slowly approach the puzzled one, still smiling in reassurance. "As of now, there's nothing you can do, so worry not, my dear. You might not even be able to process what I'm about to tell you, but I must do it anyway."

The spirit fell silent, indicating it was listening. Minori continued on.

"You did so many things for me in life; I couldn't even start to list them all. The devotion you demonstrated towards my children was beyond that of any Tale Caster that has ever lived. Your respect towards others' lives, your responsibility with your duties and your discipline in upholding the rules were exceptional. And your love towards the ones closest to you, whether it was family or friends... It was truly inspiring and fulfilling. All these things are what I meant by your tendency towards order, which is tremendously strong, I might add. Since I am a world that helps maintain order in existence, that means we are compatible for soul fusion. However..."

The lass's face became somewhat grim and sad. It was heartbreaking to see her smile fade like that.

"...mortals are so easily swayed by the forces of darkness. It is so easy to play with their emotions, making them lean towards the wrong side. You took one action that left a humongous stain on your pure self, and that was getting romantically involved with the Layer of Chaos."

"Mu...chan..." The soul muttered longingly. Minori furrowed her brow before continuing.

"Even though it was a short time, you were tainted by chaos. This cannot happen again in your next lives if we are to fuse... and to survive." She added sternly.

"Survive...?"

The white-haired immortal made a pause before elaborating on that point, always looking straight into the spirit's eyes.

"Something huge is set to happen in the lifespan of the multiverse. There are still tons of events that need to happen before that time comes, but we need to be prepared as soon as possible. The bad news is that, despite your best efforts to stop the dark Tales, I have been weakened too much to survive this great instance. That is why I need to fuse with you and, eventually, with the soul that belonged to your Tale once she is ready as well. Only then will I be resistant enough to keep supporting existence with my eternal cycle of life."

"...Ready?" The formless one asked. "We're not...?"

"No, sadly not." Minori replied. "That is why I stopped you from going to the Riversphere; because I need to tell you to prepare for that fateful time. From here on out, in all your reincarnations, I need you to follow the path of righteousness, of justice, of order, just as you did in this past life, only now you must avoid falling to chaos at all costs. This way, you will temper yourself enough until you are immortal, at which point we will be ready to fuse. Kiari's soul will leave her mortal shackles soon, and I shall pass the word to her once that happens so we can be as one in the future. Do you understand?"

Tsukiko's spirit said nothing; its gaze was wandering in a daydream again. The young-looking girl bent forward, getting a closer look of its face.

"Do you understand?" She repeated patiently.

"May I... return now?" The soul asked. A tear was forming in its blank eyes. "Being here... hurts..."

Minori widened her eyes, realizing her friend was way past its borrowed time. Immature spirits were meant to go back to the great pillar immediately after death; keeping them from their fate was unnatural and thus dangerous for them. If they stayed for too long out of the Riversphere, they could disintegrate, never to be reassembled again, which was a tiny but important blow to the balance of the multiverse itself. And it seemed like this particular soul was starting to feel the effects of separation.

"...y-yes, of course." The lass smiled apologetically. "Sorry to have kept you for so long. You may go."

As the ghost drifted off again into the void with its eyes closed, the surroundings returned to the previous indigo-colored state. Minori was left alone there, looking sad and troubled.

"...my Queen?" She said to the emptiness.

"I am here, darling." Another voice, regal and majestic, responded in an echo from all directions, without anybody visible to project it.

"Did I do it right? I think I may have failed to get your message across. I am so, so sorry..."

"Do not fret, precious." The voice answered, interrupting the bow Minori was about to perform. "You did wonderfully. The seeds of duty have already been planted in that soul thanks to you. It may not have consciously understood what it is supposed to do, but in time, it will come to comprehend its mission."

"Y-yes, my Queen." The dimension girl nodded. "You are right."

However, even though she trusted her partner, and even though she had witnessed the birth, rebirth and growth of spirits across existence for an eternity, she couldn't help but give a look of worry in the direction the important soul had departed to. The white-haired one just had this tingling sensation of unexplainable discomfort...

"Now, come, Minori. There is much we still must do to prepare for the event."

"Yes, my Queen." She repeated.