When dawn finally came, Ae stepped out of his chamber and wandered the long hallways of the central Citadel until he found his way out onto the courtyard. The next battle would begin in the afternoon and he still had time to prepare mentally.

He took a seat at one of the marble benches and leaned back. The silver sky overhead was not an ordinary sky like one would find on Creation. It seemed more artificial than real, as if it was a ceiling surrounding the entire world, even though looking at it would not show any real clues to the truth of that statement. It simply felt wrong.

Ae was relatively new to this place. It looked as if though it had existed for a very long time. Ancient, towering spires pierced the heavens like swords. In each one of those spires lived countless people who didn’t act like people. They walked around aimlessly, wandering and patrolling the streets. If Ae tried to talk to them, they would just ignore him unless Ae wore his mask. He did not understand such behavior, and even when he did wear his mask, they only responded to questions about the upcoming battle. They were seemingly unaware of the artificial sky, and the artificial world they were in.

The only entity Ae could talk to regarding his current state was his Liege, Asivos, and those conversations were cryptic and often painful. His comrades were facing the same problem. They all joined at the same time and they shared any and all information, but still, it was not enough to understand some of the concepts regarding their new existence.

They understood that they were all immortal and that their only purpose was to fight in the Rifts, whatever those are, to retrieve Essence. Essence was a currency in this world but it held a much greater importance than that. Essence could expand this world and fashion new facilities out of thin air.

Ae looked towards one of the buildings in the distance. It was a training complex that they created out of Essence. They chose to make it because it promised them the ability to create their own attacks and gain a deeper understanding of some of the concepts they are dealing with. What they did not know at the time was that they also had to create trainers, and they were expensive. Therefore, their current objective was to acquire as much Essence as they could to create the trainers.

Other than the training facilities, they also wanted the armories, vaults, alchemy shops, and a myriad other things. They all held the promise of enabling the group to finally conquer the rift and potentially become free of this painful existence.

Ae wasn’t really sure who was the first one to suggest that is a possibility. The idea was that once they did whatever it was that Asivos wanted them to do, that they would cease to exist. It was a recent thought. It was just desperation but it held the allure of an oasis in a desert. In the beginning, they were all excited about their new powers and death, although painful, was a manageable… setback. But as time went on and it became clear that death was the only possible outcome for them, every day, it started to gnaw at their minds. Some, like Ae, experienced mostly “pleasant” deaths; stabbed, slashed, crushed. Others though had worse experiences; burned, frozen, obliterated, impaled, asphyxiated… the list went on and on.

Before he knew it, the sun was high in the sky and a deep bell rang throughout the spires of the Citadel. It was their summons.

Your presence is required at the Stellar Gate.

This is it.

With a sigh, Ae stood up and made his way through the courtyard, back to the main building. On his way there, he noticed Fara far ahead of him. He was about to call out to her, when another girl joined him from an adjacent corridor.

“Ae, have you learned anything new from the recent battle?” she asked. She had black hair and blue eyes. Her thin lips were pressed together in a grim expression.

Ae nodded, “Yes. I learned [Plasma Element] and [Lightning Mastery]. What about you, Zia?”

Zia smiled, “I did. I think we can turn the tides this time.”

“How so?” Ae asked.

“I learned one of the perks with the Principle tags,” she said. “You know the ones?”

Ae blinked. “Yeah, are they good?”

“Oh yeah,” Zia said with a big smile. “It is called [Flawless Form]. You know how perks have a category that is your Aspect?”

Ae nodded.

“Well, it turns out that you get perks from Principles too, and they are all really strong. At least mine are,” Zia explained.

“Maybe I should’ve saved up my internal energy,” Ae lamented.

Zia nodded confidently, “You should have. I think if we all get our Principles, the Rift will stand no chance against us.”

Ae laughed merrily. He actually believed those words. Zia spoke with a confidence that easily convinced Ae.

Zia glanced to Ae. “Your Aspect is Annihilation, right? What are your Principles?”

Ae paused for a moment, trying to recall the information. “[Paradox Blade] and [Sword of the Emperor].”

Zia pursed her lips, “That sounds impressive. What do they do?”

Ae shrugged, “I don’t know. I haven’t purchased them yet.”

“Oh, you can learn what they do if you think about learning some information about the Principle,” Zia said.

“Huh, let me try that, then,” Ae said.

Show information on Principle [Paradox Blade].

A blade infused by an Awakened Origin seeks its own death and destruction. Sever the Pattern to defy causality, and strike before the motion.

Show information on Principle [Sword of the Emperor].

The sword that conquers all beneath the Heavens.

Ae thought about the lack of information on the [Sword of the Emperor] Principle.

“It is not very descriptive,” Ae said.

Zia nodded. “I suppose that is true. But you’ll find out soon enough how effective they can be,” she said.

“What about your Origin though? Asivos told me that if you learn Principles, it will affect your Origin.”

Zia shrugged, “Nothing changed, as far as I can tell.”

“I guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

Finally, as their conversation winded down, they reached the Stellar Gate. It was a large chamber in the center of which was a pool of glowing, silver liquid. The liquid spiraled upwards and two of such tendrils formed an arch, like a gateway. One could not see what was on the other side of the portal, but they all knew what waited there. It was the [Ancient Battlefield]. The desolate place that claimed their lives dozens of times now.

Around the pool stood all eight of them, some of them already wearing their masks.

“What is the plan this time?” Mao asked. He wore his mask and his symbol was a circle struck through with three diagonal lines.

“Same as before, I think,” Fara replied. “Ae and I will hold down the center and work our way towards Desolation Hill, to ambush the Subjugator.”

“Since Mao can sense the Shadows, we should form a squad to hunt them down and keep them off your backs,” a masked man said. His symbol was a starburst surrounded by seven pillars and his name was Senon.

“I’ll join Mao,” Zia said.

Mao nodded.

“The rest of us will hold the left flank then,” a teen named Belal said.

They all nodded in agreement.

“Good luck,” Ae said, summoning his mask and stepping forward. His feet did not sink into the liquid, as if it was solid. He stepped through the Gate.

You have entered the [Ancient Battlefield].