CHAPTER 195: TUMULT OF THE TWO WEEKS: PART 7 - LIMIT

Before him, giant streams and waterfalls appeared over a floor of shallow water, their roaring chorus stirring awe within his chest and drawing from him a breath of wonder.

After the questions, Asahi’s eyes opened to shimmering shallow water, where the sun scattered sparks at dusk and gargantuan waterfalls rose up from the horizon.

The scene shifted seamlessly as memories blended with reality, a tremor of awe and longing echoing in his chest, each vivid detail unfurling a bittersweet beauty that ached deep inside him.

"Mother..."

The landscape ahead of him was a remnant of a bygone era, a hauntingly familiar fragment of the Second Incarnation of the world of Gincad, and its faded majesty filled him with a sense of loss and distant yearning.

"Callista..." he muttered.

It was said that each waterfall whispered secrets of the past, the nation suspended in the clouds, and the shallow waters were believed to symbolize a fragile boundary between history and the present, pulling at Asahi’s heart as he felt an almost desperate longing to understand his own origins within this dreamscape.

Beyond the water, a striking woman with dark hair waited, her presence commanding and mysterious. She seemed to hold an authority linked to the past, perhaps a guardian of memories. Flanked by a tall man peering intently through an eyepiece, as if searching for hidden truths, and a white-haired girl clutching four strange buttons, her knuckles pale with tension, they appeared bound to Asahi’s journey in a way he couldn’t yet grasp. As the vision faded, figures began to take shape in the shifting light.

"D...Did you see that woman? The one with white hair?" he asked.

"Quick response. No," Telos replied, their voice softening with memory as they met his gaze. "Longer response, yes. We saw everything from your passage to Erkunshnkdle City and Blacksmith Haven." Telos paused, folding his hands. "But what you saw... as fate may have it, might be a memory belonging to your mother."

A tremor ran through Asahi at these words, a mix of surprise and longing flooding his senses. The possibility that the vision was a remnant of his mother’s past made his heart ache with questions left unasked and stories untold. He felt both a connection to and a distance from a piece of his history that hovered just out of reach, deepening the mystery of his own identity.

"So... you saw it, didn’t you?"

"Not me, but her." Telos glanced at Aletha and gestured toward her, addressing Asahi. "If you want more answers, I suggest sharing them with your sister. I have barely any memory of that woman or anything of that matter."

"Thanks, Telos," Asahi muttered, glancing over his shoulder before he ran over to Aletha, watching as the waterfall cascaded downward.

"Do you have any idea where you are right now?" Aletha asked, shaking her head.

Asahi fell silent at Aletha’s words, emotion tightening in his throat as he shrugged, unsure and vulnerable, which caused her to frown with concern.

"I... don’t. What is this place?" He replied.

"It’s your mind, dimwit!" Aletha said, playfully slapping him. "This truly resembles what HOME feels like. The waterfalls, the shallow water, remind me so much of Callista."

"Callista? The lush nation that belonged to The Ruler of Truth?"

"That’s me, idiot!" Aletha yelled, slapping the back of Asahi’s head. "But yeah, I suppose that nation really was Linuxinia after all."

Asahi, clenching his fists, asked Aletha as time seemed to stop in the dreamscape.

"Aletha,"

"Yes?" Aletha replied with a tone that was genuinely curious.

"Do you think our mother could be out there?"

"Mom?" Aletha mumbled. "I hope so."

Asahi paused, thinking about the white-haired man who had helped Kendra all the way back in Linuxinia, then added.

"How about Dad?"

A tension clung to both of them.

"M...maybe." She shrugged, turning downward as the atmosphere thickened. "Come on, Asahi, I haven’t really... thought of that."

After one more question, Asahi asked.

"Aletha,"

Aletha started to get upset with the slow pace of the conversation, feeling burned.

"Yeah, what, just spit it out!"

"What are your thoughts on Aiyana? On how she...destroyed our world."

"..."

Aletha fell silent at his words. Truly speechless.

"Um... b...beccause... I think.... um. I think..."

Asahi shook the thought aside and turned over to Telos.

"It’s okay. You don’t have to answer. I will be speaking to Kartara. Please be on your best behavior."

"Now you’re really sounding like Dad." But after one embrace, Aletha patted Asahi’s back and smiled. "But that’s okay. Because I love you, bro."

"..."

Those three words, he had never heard anyone in his family say that, even his own sister. The word "Love" hadn’t been used in years. It rooted him in the spot, shocked at those words. But after a moment of recollection, Asahi hid his tears and answered back.

"I love you too."

. . .

After the conversation, Asahi turned over to the dark-haired woman, Kartara, and asked about his special ability.

"Kartara..." He said, reaching over to her. "I have a question."

"And what is that?"

Asahi, gulping down a breath of regret, spoke as the memories of corpses flying everywhere haunted his mind.

"Is there a limit to how many snaps I can use?"

"..." Kartara fell into complete silence, refusing to answer the question.

Asahi tried asking again...

"Is THERE a limit to how many snaps I can use?"

"...yes." She said, turning away in fear. "You can... only do it... twelve times."

Asahi fell into utter silence as Aletha and Telos conversed in the background.

When he had heard that, he gulped in absolute fear, feet rooted in the ankle-deep water. He started to hyperventilate, crashing down and breaking his heart as he heard that.

"No! NO!" Asahi screamed as Aletha and Telos turned to him, confused.

Kartara continued, expression grave.

"If you can’t find a way to save Aletha in time, you will lose her and yourself completely. Forever."

Not only did this response rattle his bones, but the thought that there was a limit to this power broke him. First, he had immortality; then he had the villains; next, he had Primrose, Trid, and Grandpa to save; and not only that, but he also had a limited time-travel power. This caused him to fall into despair, knowing he had done this twice.

"Why?" Asahi yelled, gradually increasing in volume. "Why is there a LIMIT?!"

Kartara stepped back, trying to answer as Asahi screamed.

"Why is there a limit to that power?"

Kartara tried to reason with him.

"P.. please understand. And be careful."

"I just need to save Aletha, right? How?" He squeezed his hand.

"Asahi, calm down," Aletha said as Kartara turned away, silent.

"I will say it again, how do I save Aletha!?"

Kartara was silent, fading into particles.

"Oh, so you’re going to vanish on me, huh?" Asahi said as Telos and Aletha watched him break down. "How do I save Aletha? How do I SAVE Aletha?"

After moments of silence and driven anger, Telos stepped forward and answered.

"There is a way to save her, but the chances are slim. I suggest slowing down and—

"JUST TELL ME!" Asahi screamed, frustration bursting in his voice. Truly, anger has sent him spinning.

Aletha kept silent, vanishing into thin air.

"Okay, if you WANT her so bad..."

Telos slapped Asahi’s face in reaction to his selfish tone and said angrily, vanishing into particles as well.

"Go to the peak of Brittle Frost Mountain. If you climb there, you’ll have a chance to save your sister. That’s it, I refuse to talk to a selfish person any longer. Get lost and never ask for my help."

"FINE! I don’t need you ANYWAYS! Useless rots of scrap."

This chain of events was detrimental, knowing that his companions and everyone else could be lost. But now...

"You are never ever to appear in this space again," Kartara said as Asahi gasped in realization. Suddenly, unlike the fade of this time, the wrath and despair of Kartara flashed him back into reality. Anger still sent to Asahi’s bones, waking up with rage. He slammed his fist down on the desk and kicked it, screaming.

"Why is there a LIMIT! WHY IS THERE A LIMIT!?"

Yet nothing but silence and the occasional noise of the outside burst in on him. Had he messed up? Asahi’s mind was still filled with rage. After putting his cloak on, he was so angry that he forgot about...

"Wait, a moment... Where is Primrose? Why is it so quiet?"

And then, that’s when things took a turn for the absolute worst.

Lying on the ground was a corpse with several knives stuck in its throat. Then another one, equally worse in scale, had appeared, their legs chopped off in hazardous snow. Quickly, he rushed back to the inn only to find...

"P...Primrose?"

Had been killed and slaughtered in just one night. Then, Asahi resorted to snapping his fingers. But then...

(SNAP)

The world didn’t unfold.

Nor did it return to the spot.

It stayed how it was, urging Asahi to scream.