Worlds folded within worlds, each bound by its own laws.
Among them was one that stood apart.
Hidden.
Guarded.
Concealed even from the Crystals themselves.
The Realm of Seynara.
Colossal trees stretched endlessly toward a crimson sky, their branches interlocking like the ribs of a living cathedral. Leaves of deep obsidian and scarlet filtered the light, casting shifting shadows across the land below. Despite the blood-red heavens, the realm was never dark—light bled softly through the air itself, warm and constant, as though the world breathed illumination.
Flowers bloomed freely at the roots of the trees, their petals shimmering in impossible colors—azure, gold, violet—each pulsing faintly with mana. The ground beneath them glimmered with veins of crystal, half-buried and humming softly. The air carried a subtle fragrance, sweet and sharp, like rain mixed with iron.
A bird rested on a high branch.
A phoenix.
Its feathers burned quietly with embers, each breath releasing a soft hiss of heat. An extinct species—yet here it remained, alive and vigilant, eyes glowing with ancient awareness.
At the center of the realm sat a woman.
She lounged in an ornate chair grown from crystal and living wood, one leg crossed casually over the other. In one hand, she held a glass filled with dark liquid that reflected the crimson sky; in the other, a sheet of paper etched with symbols that shifted when not observed directly.
The air around her bent slightly, pressure rolling outward in slow, deliberate waves—an aura that made the realm itself seem attentive, as if listening.
She wore a crimson-red gown that trailed across the ground like spilled wine. Above her head floated a crystalline crown, fractured yet whole, rotating slowly as if orbiting an unseen axis—preserved beyond decay, beyond time.
Before her hovered a shard of crystal.
Within it, an image shimmered.
Ariana.
“Kuku… she looks cute when she’s younger,” the woman murmured, amused.
She flicked her finger.
The air rippled.
“Open Nyxis.”
Another shard rose silently from the earth, tearing itself free from the soil as if answering a command older than the realm itself.
“Set user: Aria Carlford.”
Match found… user defined.
The shard’s glow stabilized.
A voice broke the stillness.
“▓▓▓▓▓, Seynara…”
She turned her head slightly. The leaves overhead rustled, though there was no wind.
“What is it?”
“I—I… did you do something?” the voice asked cautiously.
“What do you mean, dear Victoria?” Seynara replied calmly.
“You know Shadow Man is getting closer,” Victoria said. “And how chaotic things are becoming.”
Seynara giggled softly. The sound echoed too long, stretching unnaturally across the realm.
“Oh, that… you don’t need to worry about it. Ever.”
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“But we need Ariana to defeat him,” Victoria protested. “The universe will be doomed if she’s no—”
“Oh, we do not,” Seynara interrupted.
The temperature dipped noticeably. Flowers at her feet wilted, their colors draining—then regrew as something darker.
“She is retired,” Seynara continued. “And she needs rest.”
“But—”
“I don’t give a damn about this universe,” Seynara snapped.
“Don’t tell me what to do,” she went on coldly. “And never—ever—make decisions for others.”
A tense silence followed, broken only by the phoenix’s low crackle.
“You always say she’s this… she’s that…” Victoria said hesitantly. “But I’ve never even met her. Is she even alive?”
Seynara’s expression softened—just barely.
“Of course she is. The last of the Primes still lives.”
“But—you created the universe,” Victoria pressed. “You would really let it be destroyed like this?”
“My universe?” Seynara laughed uncontrollably.
The sky trembled.
“My universe was destroyed long ago—by the ten I gave life to.”
Her fingers brushed the floating crown, causing it to pulse with fractured light.
“Even now, they wear my light and call it their own.”
Victoria hesitated.
“Just to confirm… something.”
“And that would be?” Seynara asked, snapping her fingers.
The crystal shards around them vaporized instantly, leaving faint afterimages burned into the air.
“There was a breach,” Victoria said. “Authorized—most likely by the Clear Crystal. And it was tampered with.”
The phoenix shifted, talons scraping softly against crystal.
“You said you would bring her back,” Victoria continued. “That you would meet again—with the Time Crystal—on the Eve.”
Seynara tilted her head. Shadows crawled across her face.
“Your point?”
“You messed with something, didn’t you?”
“…Are you accusing me?”
“Maybe. Maybe not.”
Seynara stood.
The ground beneath her feet crystallized, spreading outward like frost.
“I see.”
She lifted her gaze toward the sky.
“I am stepping into the mortal realm.”
“Oh, oka—wait, what?” Victoria panicked. “You’re going where? The mortal realm? No—absolutely not—never!”
“And who is stopping me?” Seynara asked coldly. “You?”
The phoenix descended, wings unfolding in a blaze of heat, and perched upon her shoulder.
“Good boy.”
With a single beat of its wings, a portal tore open—light and void collapsing into a spiraling rift.
Before stepping through, Seynara paused.
The realm seemed to hold its breath.
“Take care… of this place.”
She stepped forward.
The portal sealed shut.
The crimson sky stilled.
“…What am I even supposed to do now?” Victoria whispered.
A few hours after the summoning
A girl woke with a sharp breath.
“Where… am I?”
Her eyes fluttered open, squinting against unfamiliar light. Above her stretched a ceiling she didn’t recognize—smooth, pale, faintly glowing with veins of crystal embedded within it.
“Wait… I was in class—”
Her body jolted upright.
“Class… my friends—”
The door opened softly.
A maid stepped inside, dressed in flowing white robes trimmed with silver thread. She bowed her head slightly.
“You are awake, my lady.”
My lady?
“Where am I?” the girl demanded, panic creeping into her voice. “What is this place? I was in my class—my friends—where are they?”
The maid straightened. “Please, follow me.”
“…What?”
Without waiting for an answer, the maid turned and walked out.
After a moment of hesitation, the girl followed.
The hallway beyond was vast.
Pillars of pure quartz lined the passage, tall and flawless, refracting light into soft rainbows across the polished marble floor. Tapestries depicting battles, crowns, and unfamiliar symbols—some of which she instinctively understood—hung between arched windows. Through them, an enormous garden was visible: silver-leafed trees, glowing flowers, and fountains flowing upward instead of down.
She stopped walking.
“…The moon?”
Beyond the glass, the night sky stretched wide.
Two moons hung above the horizon.
“…Two moons?” Her voice trembled. “What the hell—how are there two moons? This—this can’t be happening. Hey, what is this place?”
“My lady,” the maid said calmly, continuing forward, “I told you to follow me. You will understand once you meet His Majesty.”
They stopped before massive doors carved with runes and gold inlay.
“So am I just supposed to—”
“Go in,” the maid said simply.
The doors opened.
She stepped into a vast throne room.
The ceiling rose impossibly high, supported by crystal arches glowing with mana. A crimson carpet stretched toward a golden throne where a man sat—his posture rigid, his presence heavy. Beside him stood a young princess, her expression unreadable. Around them gathered nobles, knights in ceremonial armor, and robed figures radiating a pressure she couldn’t explain.
“Hero,” the king spoke, his voice echoing through the chamber. “Step forward.”
“…Me?”
“Do you see any other?” the king replied coldly.
“Well—whatever,” she snapped, nerves overriding fear. “Why am I here? Or better—what is this place? Where are my friends?”
“Our universe is in grave danger,” the king said. “We brought you and your friends from another universe to ours—for our aid. If you are willing.”
“…Another universe?”
“Yes.”
“What—”
Her words died in her throat.
A symbol burned faintly on the back of her hand.
“What is this?” she whispered, staring at it. “What have you done to my body?”
A priest stepped forward, staff clicking against the marble floor.
“That,” he said, “is a Crest.”
“A… crest?”
“It allows an individual to channel the domains of the Ten Divine Crystals,” the priest continued. His gaze sharpened as he studied her mark. “…It seems you have received the Clear Crystal’s domain.”
The room stirred.
“A very rare one,” he added.
Silence followed.
And in that silence, the girl realized—
Whatever this place was…
There was no going back.