Do you believe in the power of wishes?

There is a legend that speaks of another world. That when humans on Earth have a desperate wish at the moment of death, their souls could be transported into another world under the right conditions.

Some say that it is paradise, an untainted world full of potential and opportunities.

Some claim that it is much more, a glorious utopia where one can have all that they could ever desire.

Some records beg to differ, calling it an illusion and insisting that darkness lurks in the corners of that world.

Despite the different accounts, one thing is for certain.

The world of Ragnarok exists somewhere out there.

Perhaps in mind, perhaps in memories, or maybe just in tales of old that are almost forgotten.

But still, it exists.

Darkness.

An unnatural silence within it.

Then, a growl.

Deep, guttural, and restrained.

Startled, a young girl opens her eyes to find herself in an unfamiliar glade. The trees that surround her are topped with leaves of midnight, their thick scarred barks separating the small space of the clearing from the thick darkness beyond it.

A layer of fog crawls on the ground and she imagines a similar one clouding her mind. Memories of where she last was are hazy. The only thing she remembers is someone shouting out to her. “Carnelia,” the voice had called. She doesn't remember the owner of the voice but recognises her name.

A quick glance at her outfit only produces more questions. Did she own anything like it? Had she got into a situation where she had to borrow someone else’s fancy outfit? Another growl reaches her ears, cutting off her muddled thoughts. This time, the deep rumble is accompanied by the rustle of something large prowling among the trees. Carnelia shifts backwards, feeling the cold and damp dirt beneath her hand as a creature emerges into the clearing.

Carnelia isn't sure if the creature is merely covered in grotesque tendrils — minuscule, dark, and moving as if each of them were alive — or if it is entirely made of that. However, the creature's burning feral eyes are more than enough warning for her to approach with caution, not that she has plans to do so.

Taking a step forward, the creature reaches out.

Carnelia’s eyes widen as she catches sight of the sharp talons at the tip of its grotesque hand. Her body stiffens from shock and fear, but she somehow ends up dodging.

As she looks at the claw marks on the ground where she was seconds ago, Carnelia is grateful for the existence of adrenaline. The creature hisses in annoyance and Carnelia sprints into the forest without missing a beat, guided only by weak moonlight and the goal to escape.

The air is chilly but heat spreads through Carnelia’s body as she runs. Over her own laboured panting, she hears the creature impatiently gnashing its teeth behind her, its footsteps heavy and trampling easily through the foliage.

It lets out a sudden violent roar, startling Carnelia and it is enough to result in her missing a step. She loses her footing and falls, her body hitting the unfamiliar cold ground of the forest. Then she is tumbling.

Down and down as stones and sticks tear into her skin, every cut injecting a dose of panic into her. Carnelia wonders if she would fall to her death when the frantic sensation suddenly ends, only to be replaced by the unwelcome sting of freezing water. 

Standing up, she notices that she is knee-deep in a dark lake. The icy air licking at her skin does nothing to calm her, but Carnelia soon realises that the creature is nowhere to be seen or heard.

“Out of the frying pan and into the water,” Carnelia tells herself as she shivers. She smiles, glad to know that at least her voice and wit are still intact. However, her reprieve is short-lived as she turns around to see the familiar grisly being barreling toward her. As the black mass advances at a ferocious speed, Carnelia bites down on her lip.

Overwhelmed by a sudden mix of despair, confusion, and pain, she briefly wonders if it would be easier to just let it all end. She had no idea where she was, or where she came from — and those thoughts were more frightening to her than the grisly being before her.

A sudden surge of warmth blooming in her chest distracts her from those thoughts. The warmth seems to spread with each beat of her heart, and as the iciness leaves her, she steers her mind in another direction.

What if it didn’t have to end here?

What if she found answers to her questions?

What if she was warmly wrapped in a blanket at home instead of being soaked outdoors on a chilly night?

What if she didn’t have to run — what if she could fight?

A sudden blaze of heat sears through her arms and before Carnelia registers it, bright petals of flames are gathered at her fingertips. She tries to grab at them, noticing that they connect upon contact with each other, forming an eager burning sphere in her palms.

Her immediate thought is to throw them at the creature, so she does. One of the fireballs finds its destination in the lake’s dark waters, but the other successful hits the creature squarely in its face.

A flash of memory surfaces in her mind when the fireball hits. She is throwing pitches at the park and there is laughter. Her laughter, and… someone else, someone she should remember but can’t — and the memory disappears as quickly as it came.

The creature roars in anger, halting only slightly before resuming its furious charge toward Carnelia. Focusing on the heat surging within her, Carnelia attempts to channel all she can towards her hands.

A huge blast erupts at the lake, followed by an anguished howl.

Under the dark sky, Carnelia is once again surrounded by silence, this time along with a thick cloud of steam. It doesn’t take long for the night wind to dispel the steam. When Carnelia regains clear vision of her surroundings, the creature is nowhere to be found only remnants of ash-like debris floating and fading away.

It is a while before the cold of the water kickstarts Carnelia’s thoughts again. She glances around, taking in the ominous forest, above at the starless sky, and down at the cold dark lake she is standing in — and her own reflection.

Her bright hair is damp and sticking to her face uncomfortably, almost poking at her eyes. At least — she notes in shock — her left eye. The right side of her entire body is without flesh, baring her innards and skeleton to the world. A spark of flame dances in her right eye socket, unaffected when she blinks. Her body is feverish, causing the water on her skin to slowly evaporate, forming a layer of mist above the soft fiery glow of her skin.

“Now that I’ve survived,” she says, this time without shivering, “it’s time for answers.”

She hopes that the first answers she gains would explain where she is, and more importantly — what she is.

After trekking through the dreary forest, Carnelia thought she would be happy to no longer be surrounded by eerie trees. However, when the scenery switched to a barren land of greys as far as her eyes could see, her joy quickly dwindled.

The only consolation is that she can relax slightly. Compared to when she was on constant alert for more grotesque creatures lurking behind trees or hiding in bushes, the land offered itself entirely to her sight in all directions. There were occasional clumps of withering plants and rocks, but nothing big enough to hide large predators.

“Perhaps I’d fall prey to a tiny yet deadly creature instead,” Carnelia jokes to herself. Then realising that it could be possible, she begins lighting flames at her fingertips. Just in case.

Ever since the incident at the lake, she had been trying to figure out her newfound powers of flame. She realized that she could control the surge of heat within her body and if she willed it, it would gather at her fingertips, forming different shapes and sizes. Her personal favourite was the finger gun, where a small burst of flame would shoot outwards from the tip of her index finger. She didn’t think it would actually be of much use in combat, but it amused her amidst the gloomy landscape she travelled through.

A sudden screech causes her to look around frantically. She spots a creature in the sky, flying toward her. It swoops down at high speed and Carnelia barely has time to react before she realises that it is a creature that she recognizes.

“An owl?”

As if mirroring her confusion, the owl perches itself on the branch of a sickly small tree and tilts its head.

While she first wonders how long the branches could hold the owl’s weight, Carnelia soon turns around upon hearing voices.

Human voices.

From afar, she sees two figures approaching her location from a distance. While they seemed to be human, Carnelia shifts backwards slowly, preparing to run just in case they aren’t friendly.

She desperately hopes they are.

The owl hoots as the strangers approach, both of them seemingly wary of Carnelia as she is of them. As they walk carefully forwards, one draws their sword out. In response, Carnelia lets a few tiny flames light at her fingertips.

A few more steps bring the figures into a clear view for Carnelia and she feels a burst of relief. Even though the duo aren’t entirely human. “You’re like me!” She exclaims, taking in the form of the lady and man before her.

“Like you?” The lady asks as the owl takes off from its branch to perch on her right shoulder. Carnelia points to her own revealed skeleton and then to the lady’s hot-white one.

“Oh!” As the lady laughs, her neatly tied high ponytail of electric-blue hair sways with her. “You’re a newborn, aren’t you?”

“A newborn?”

“She means to say you’ve just arrived from Earth.” The man explains and he sheathes his sword. Under the non-skeletal side of his travelling cloak, Carnelia catches sight of a pale face and a braid of dusty-red hair handing over his shoulder.

“I’m Arata,” he gestures to himself and then over to the lady before extending his left hand. “This is Mika, and I believe you’ve already met Nova.”

Responding with her own name, Carnelia reaches to shake his hand and hesitates when she realizes that she’s reached out with her right hand instead of her skeletal one like Arata has. She ends up giving them both an awkward wave instead.

Mika laughs before waving in return. “Don’t mind Arata’s left-handed habits. And nice to meet you, Carnelia. Judging by how spooked you are by skeletons, I think I’m right that you are indeed a newborn. And if you are, I guess I shouldn’t ask why you’re here in Chaos.”

“I really have no idea where or what I am right now,” Carnelia confesses.

“That’s fine, we can tell you all about it. But we should get out of here quickly.” She and Arata glance around and start walking immediately without waiting for an answer. “Chaos isn’t somewhere a soul should hang out in. Especially not newborns.” Mika pauses to take a quick look over her shoulder before resuming her steps. “And honestly, while I think I can handle myself well enough, even I dislike it here.”

Following close behind, Carnelia asks: “Why are you here then?”

“Good question. And the answer is her.” Mika points at Nova and nudges her face. Letting out a soft hoot, Nova takes off from her shoulder and moves to Arata’s instead. “We were hunting with a group when Nova flew off. Way off our intended path. Normally I’d be really upset, but I’m glad she found you.”

“Me too,” Carnelia smiles at Nova, who again, tilts her head in response. “I don’t know if I could survive another creature attack.”

“Creature attack?” Mika asks, and Carnelia can’t tell if the lady is excited or worried. “Did you already cross paths with a Phantom?”

“What’s a Phantom?”

“I’m so sorry,” Mika laughs apologetically, “I haven’t met a newborn in years and keep forgetting that all these words probably sound like gibberish to you. Let me tell you all about them. But first.”

Abruptly stopping in her tracks, Mika turns to Carnelia, her skeletal left-hand extended. “I’m no left-hander, but I believe a proper welcome is in order.”

Carnelia reaches out with her left hand, letting Mika grab it in an enthusiastic shake. The touch of another skeletal hand on hers is a sensation of electric and flame, not painful but still immensely unfamiliar to Carnelia’s senses.

“Welcome to Ragnarok, Carnelia.”

♦

Elsewhere on Ragnarok, a young boy opens his eyes.

When Xundo first opens his eyes, he wonders where he is.

He doesn’t find an answer within the fog of his mind and is offered another question instead. “Where was I before this?”

Again, he finds no answer, only more questions that do nothing to stop the rising panic in him. Did he agree to some weird dare to end up here? And then blackout after attempting something risky? What is he even wearing, did he own such clothing?

What day is it?

He hopes it isn’t a weekday, because there would be many — mainly his mother — who would be sure to give him an earful for skipping classes. His only consolation is that he at least remembers his name. In order to quell his anxiety about the huge blank in his memory, Xundo concludes that he must be dreaming.

Definitely not the kind where he could wander aimlessly in a landscape of familiarity and comfort, but the type of electrifying fever dream where one would be trying very hard to reach a goal or trying even harder to escape something.

In a matter of seconds, he figures it is probably the latter.

Two fiery lights are approaching him slowly, and despite the lack of light to aid his vision, he can see the outline of a strange creature. Xundo can’t tell if the goosebumps across his body are due to the cold of the air, or the fault of the grotesque animal — if it was even an animal. He had definitely not seen nor heard of any creature on each looking so ominous, covered in dark tendrils that seemed to have a mind of their own, writhing in a sort of controlled frenzy.

He reaches to place a hand behind his neck — something he recalled doing out of habit when he was anxious — and shudders from how cold his skin there is. At the sensation, the tiny bit of denial that Xundo had moments ago, vanishes. He is abruptly presented with the thought that he, unfortunately, might not be dreaming after all.

Despite his effort to ignore that particular gnawing thought, Xundo still shuffles backwards to keep a decent distance between himself and the unrecognizable creature. His body feels sluggish as if he just woke from a night of bad sleep — but something surges within him when a large tendril from the creature springs out towards him.

In the blink of an eye, Xundo finds himself crouched at a nearby spot from where he last was. He thinks his time spent in various sports clubs after school might have actually paid off, and he sprints away without waiting to see what the creature would do next.

As he deduced, there is no comfort at all as he runs through the unfamiliar landscape. It is barely lit, but after running into a rocky wall and following it, he realises he must be in a cavern. The ground is littered with debris, causing Xundo to trip more than a few times. Each time he stumbles, he prepares for the worst.

Fortunately, there are no attacks, but unworldly hisses and growls echo around him every now and then. When he doesn’t hear them, it is his own ragged breaths and erratic heartbeats that fill his ears.

There is no watch to track the time, but Xundo knows by the soreness of his legs that he has run quite a distance. He slows down to a walk when he no longer hears the sounds of other creatures around him, even being so bold as to take a quick rest before continuing aimlessly, hoping that he is headed somewhere safer. When the darkness around him lifts ever so slightly to reveal an exit, Xundo makes a dash for it.

Dull and lifeless is the landscape that meets his eyes, until he notices movement in the distance. Gruesome creatures like the one he saw before — hundreds of them in humongous forms — either flying among the red-tinged dark clouds or shifting about in their own ways across the jagged ground as far as he could see.

Xundo barely takes a step back when heavy footsteps are heard, his body quickly moving to avoid the snap of a large jaw. Already exhausted but even more fearful, he launches himself into another sprint despite his aching legs. Unlike his last encounter, this predator is much more persistent, its heavy footsteps following close behind.

Despite scanning for potential spots to take cover in, Xundo finds none and lets his instincts take him through the risky grounds before him. From the corner of his eye, he notices the monstrous beings turning to look at him. Besides being the only human, Xundo’s short bright hair stands out in the dreary scape, effortlessly drawing the creatures’ attention to him like moths to a flickering light.

“If I make it out alive,” he thinks bitterly as he dodges a winged creature that swoops down at him, “I think I can finally join that cross country marathon that… someone’s been bugging me about.”

It irks him that he cannot remember who that person is, but there is no time to dwell on forgotten names as more beasts lunge at him. Another dodge leads to a misstep and Xundo finds himself falling down through a crack in the ground. While it isn’t too deep, the impact of the fall still leaves Xundo out of breath. He lays there, a grin forming on his face at the many claws trying to get to him — so close but out of reach.

The walls are lined with glowing minerals, but their soft light isn’t enough for Xundo to see the entirety of the area. While he feels uneasy for not being able to determine that he is completely safe, Xundo is thankful for the sudden respite and shifts himself to lean on one of the walls. With no other creatures in sight as far as he can see or hear, he allows his legs to have a much-needed rest. At least, he intended to only let his legs rest, but it seemed that the rest of his body required it too, including his eyes.

As Xundo drifts off into a nap, he sinks into a sea of calmness, entirely unaware of a shadowy figure creeping toward him.