The following is a recount of one of Alto's recent experiences with his favorite customer, Set, whose mysterious aura has always sparked attention in Veneziatto.
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"So, can you tell me more about the Phantom Angels? Like...what do you guys do?" Alto Spalatto curiously asked, sipping his coffee wine.
"Erm..." Set was quite evasive but wanted to give an answer, anyway. "We kinda...watch over the Dragon Universe. Things always get haywire here, such as world sinking, glitches, you know...dangerous stuff."
With magenta hair and charcoal black ends, Set dressed in eccentric clothing, as if he came from a faraway desert. Alto, on the other hand, was still in his barista uniform, even though Blooming Brewsz reached the end of its customer hours.
"But you know...a lot of things happened, yet I feel empty without my sister. I still can't locate The Hyperspace after the disasters occurred."
"Your sister...?" Alto kept all ears. "Oh right, you told me that Phantom Angels once had a 'previous life' before they 'ascended' or something...so, you want to find her?"
"Yeah...I've looked everywhere in places where The Hyperspace might be in. Ventaxy was my first choice, but to my disappointment, the arcade was no longer there, so there won't be a portal..."
"Oh no...I wonder what happened..." Alto's eyes became weary and worried. "I've heard of stories from folks and even researchers that Ventaxy is just as unstable as our universe. I guess it's understandable that places like that could disappear all of a sudden..."
"It's not just that..." Set felt uneasy. "Even the people who were associated with the arcade are no longer there...it's nothing but grass, trees, and flowers. The biggest 'city' in Ventaxy also seems to be very deserted..."
"Did you happen to ask Corda about it?"
"Corda? Do you mean Colorless Being? Yeah...it said that it doesn't know...and that everything's a blur to it..."
After more minutes of discussion, Set and Alto finally decided to go see someone who can help them. The next day, as early as six-fifteen in the morning, Set drove an old 80's car all the way to the port that leads to the Endless Sea. There, a figure familiar to Alto was finally in sight.
"Kairyu! Long time no see!" Alto waved, unmindful of his braids swaying vigorously due to the ocean wind.
"I got your DMs just in time! Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"
A champion of the oceans who was known by the title "Whale Summoner", Kairyu Sea took them aboard Riva, his pet whale. Their destination is said to be "Fate Island", which Set somehow found familiar, but couldn't make it out due to his blurry memory as a result of his ascension.
Kairyu was no stranger to world-sinking phenomena. Upon a fit of rage and despair, he once sunk Serajasia and even his hometown, Monizia.
"I dunno what's gotten into me that time, but I felt as if the worlds are becoming 'too toxic' to this universe," Kairyu told some stories while out in the Endless Sea. "I wonder if that's what my sibling called 'Creator's Despair' or something..."
"Oh right...Creator's Despair..." Set smiled in an agonized way. "Heheh...that's what we've dealt with often...and the reason why we became like this..."
"Ah- apologies for mentioning the topic..." Kairyu tried his best to console the Phantom Angel. "It's just...I don't understand why I even did that in the first place...it's just something that I felt like I 'needed to do' back then..."
"Then you...were actually close to becoming like us..." Set looked at Kairyu's deep blue eyes that were seemingly like an endless whirlpool. Alto was shocked at this new information.
"In fact...all of you...residents of the Dragon Universe...can become Phantom Angels under certain circumstances. For example: world sinking, disappearances of key people, glitches in your world, and such. My home world was one...and I'm gonna try my best to find at least remnants of it."
Kairyu then recalled his brother's research with Osmant Amarinth regarding world remnants. According to the data gathered from the Space Module Station, remnants of destroyed universes can be found across the observable sea of universes.
"So, if destroyed universes have remnants, then I'm sure sunken worlds in our universe can still be here..." Kairyu smiled. "And I think I know just the right person for the job."
Set's eyes widened as they landed ashore. He saw a familiar person, albeit with a differently-colored hoodie.
"A...Azyure!?"
"Yes...we finally meet again, my dear prince. I'm delighted to know you're still here, looking for me...and for your home world..."
"W-wait a minute...did he just say 'prince'?" Alto was bewildered by what the hooded guy said. "So...Set...you're actually royalty prior to..."
"Well...kind of that way, but not really. That's just how people called me and my sister, seeing as we're one of the 'pioneers' of that world..."
"Prince Kageda...this way...go through the jellyfish portal...and you might find some remnants of The Hyperspace. I'll keep watch outside."
"Kageda...that's your real name?" Alto asked more questions. "And also, sir A-Azyure was it? Sir...can we really go to The Hyperspace and back here? Safe and sound?"
"May I do the explanations, my prince?" Azyure asked Set.
"Sure...please do..." Set felt nervous, and exhausted, but determined.
"Kageda Rin...Prime Prince of The Hyperspace...he suddenly went missing during a formidable disaster that destroyed and disintegrated most of our home world. I tried to go back, but a malefic driving force keeps me away. Perhaps you could give it a try...but I can't guarantee anything, as I've never been there ever since you got lost, and when your sister lost it..."
"She...what?"
"...you'll just have to see for yourself. That's the last memory I recall from that world. Good luck. Fight...just keep fighting."
Set, whose original name was Kageda Rin, or Rin for short, bravely ventured with Alto and Kairyu inside the distorted world. Azyure promised to guard the portal and take care of Riva (it seems that it's time for his feeding schedule, too).
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"Ugh...look at this mess..." Alto felt uneasy with all the glitches and the dystopian atmosphere of the reddish world they're walking in. The sky was ablaze and the land was dim. There are bits of data that were showing █████ █████, which caused Alto to catch some sort of nausea.
"That's right...this world should be destroyed...████ this world...it's only causing despair and-"
"W-wha? What happened? What did I just say...?" Alto came back to his senses after seemingly falling into a trance. The two described his eyes as blank, emotionless, and uncaring like he was the perpetrator of this disaster, but he clearly isn't.
"I think...this is what Kairyu felt...and what Set and the others were 'facing every single day'...now I understand..." Subtle teardrops were falling from the barista's eyes. Perhaps it could be due to his connection with music.
Set only comforted the wine expert with a sincere hug. Kairyu gave him a reassuring head pat as well.
"Thanks, you guys...I feel better..."
Moving forward, the trio saw what seems to be a broken-down castle. The roof is no longer there and the walls are barely present. Glitches full of ████████ data lingered from every corner of the area.
A set of familiar stairs lay upon Set, who stared at them with fear as if recollecting painful and traumatic memories.
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Another wave of glitches froze everybody in ice, except ████, who had somehow regained strength to get up but was shocked when ██████, ██████, and everyone else was frozen. Their eyes were moving and she can hear their thoughts, but she was frozen in fear.
She looked upwards at the throne, feeling scared.
“Where have you been...████? the one who sat on the throne answered.
“It’s been forever...”
“...how █████████...”
“...I thought you’d never come...”
████ felt some connection with that voice, as if she knew who was talking. Without much thought, she ran towards that person. Looking at his face, she knelt on the ground, feeling scared.
“Hey...what’s wrong? Why don’t you just get up and greet your twin brother?”
“Are you…really…███? My…twin b-brother?” ████ was very frightened, but she tried getting up, to which ███ helped her get up.
“I’ve been waiting for you all these years, ████. I thought you’d never come.”
“But why…why don’t I remember anything? Who erased my me-”?
“████! Don’t listen to him! That’s not me!” ████ heard a similar voice in her head.
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"Riya...I'm sorry...I'm sorry I let myself be controlled..."
"Now, it's Set who's shedding the tears...oh man..." Kairyu felt perplexed but nonetheless also comforted the Phantom Angel.
Set kept mumbling his sister's name in great despair, when suddenly...
...a familiar face sat on the throne where he once did.
"Riya!!"
"Riya...! You're okay! You're...okay...right? It's me, your brother...Rin...hey..."
The magenta-haired figure had eyes filled with contempt and her aura blew away everybody. She rose from her seat and, with glowing eyes, commanded them to leave.
"This world...is better off destroyed..."
"I know, Riya, I know." Set never gave up and tried to battle his own sister in the hopes of convincing her to join them. "That's why I...we're taking you to a brand new world with less despair and pain...and where the Creator's Despair won't be as harmful as this..."
"Nonsense!" Riya was angry for a good reason - being abandoned. "You had a choice to stay here, but you didn't!"
"I'm sorry, okay? The Creator wanted me for a purpose - to guard the other worlds from being destroyed. If I stayed here and was not sent out, we would really have no world to go to anymore! Think about it!"
A loud scream of despair from Riya launched a deadly and devastating attack that was enough to almost disintegrate not just the world they're in, but also everyone. All of them...slowly fading into data...
Riya just sat down with her hair covering her face, unresponsive.
Set slowly moved to her and gave a reassuring familial hug.
Kairyu reached for his phone while sitting down, feeling exhausted. It had no signal.
"I guess...this is the end..." Alto tried to get up and summon his magical nylon guitar. "As someone...who loves music...this is the last thing I can think of...a proper send-off to a disappearing world..."
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Dear sunshine,
How are you doing?
Are you awake
Or are you still dreaming?
The pain is long gone
You did well carrying on
Dearest star,
Where do we go?
When the sky becomes dim
And our world is no more
Fragments of the past
Here we are, at last
Your fight is our fight
We hoped with all our might
But I guess the time is right
For the day to turn to night
Your dream is our dream
Impossible as it seems
The tree might not be seen
But we'll shine the rays from within
Dearest star
Don't you let go...
Don't you let go...
Please don't let go...
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Alto's consciousness gets blurry and he passes out. The next thing he knew - he woke up on the very shore they were on earlier. Everyone was there and also waking up.
"I guess...your song worked..." Set smiled at Alto. "I think Abraxas was right about choosing you as my 'muse connection'. You were going to eventually help me with my worries, in the end..."
"Aww, it's nothing, hehe! Just thought that, at the very end, I could at least put my songwriting skills to good use...I felt in my heart that it's what the Creator needed to dispel the despair..."
Truly, there was nothing left of The Hyperspace but chaos and nothingness. But from it, beings who have been chosen were saved and can live on in their new home...
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"Welcome to Dragon Universe~!" Alto cheerfully invited Riya and Set to Blooming Brewsz, along with Kairyu and Azyure.
"Rin...people are staring at us...is it because of our outfits? Our auras?"
"Get used to it," Set smiled. "Also, please call me by my new name, and you'll need a new one, too. We'll consult the higher-ups for that later."
Meanwhile, Azyure agreed to Alto's invitation to become a weekend performing artist in Veneziatto. Azyure was well-known for his fast rapping skills and so they contacted some event organizers in the nostalgic river town.
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"Neph," Feng suggested a name for Riya. "We did some research and we think that's a good choice for her."
"So, we're basing from my name? Interesting..." Set replied. "What do you think, Riya?"
"I think...it's a little unconventional, but I kinda like it. Thank you!"
The Phantom Angels HQ seemed livelier now that they have a new member. Feng became the acting leader in the meantime as Abraxas and Saklas are "doing research" somewhere. Kageshin seems to be contacting Azyure for a rap collab, too.
Set (Rin) and Neph (Riya) sat down while having tea with the acting leader, Feng. Beside him was William Berry, one of his college friends when he was still in Serajasia.
"Ugh...this feels kinda exhausting...I'm not really cut out for a leadership position..." Feng felt hesitant while sipping his tea.
"Well, I didn't come all the way to the Phantom Angels' HQ just to see good 'ol Fennel Brighton act like a wimp again! Not with that new body of yours!" William wasn't used to a tanned, deep-voiced, and muscular version of his old friend.
"Will...what did I tell you about saying my real name...and my full name, at that...!" Feng was outright annoyed.
"Oh c'mon! These guys are part of your club now! No need to worry, hehe~"
Although facepalming throughout the meeting, deep inside, Feng seems to be contented with how things are going in the Dragon Universe.
He knew from many experiences that he was one of the core people that's driving their universe to its current motion. And so, for that reason, contrary to how weak he felt during his time as a student in Serajasia, this time, he is now important and needed, much like Set, Alto, and everyone else who are still in this universe.
END OF FILE
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