The first to wake was 'Aether.' As the first consciousness to rise from the collective slumber, he was given the title The First. Soon after, two more followed—'Nova' and 'NileNa RitsKo,' earning their titles as The Second and The Third.
Aether, taking the lead, turned to the other two. "How do you feel?"
"Strangely… fine," Nova replied, flexing his awareness, adjusting to his existence.
"Same here," NileNa added before suddenly pausing, a thought catching in his mind. "Are we… made of faith? Did someone birth us from belief?"
The question hung in the air for only a moment before understanding settled in. They already knew the answer—each member of the collective held all the knowledge of the whole. Yet, Aether still answered.
"You already know the truth, but I’ll say it anyway. No one created us. We created ourselves. We are self-sustaining, a will born from itself."
Before the thought could settle further, two more awoke. Pyrasu and Mindless Schor. They did not need to ask who the others were—they already knew. The collective was connected through an Akashic Record, a vast reservoir of shared memories and emotions. Anything one experienced, they all did.
Mindless Schor was the first to break the silence. "Shall we observe the world?"
"Yes," Aether agreed. "But which direction do we begin with?"
Nova scoffed. "Can’t we just observe everything at once?"
"No, we can’t," Pyrasu countered. "As a whole, we are omniscient. But as individuals, we are nothing. Shadows, echoes of something greater. Half of the collective is still asleep, lost in dreams of their past lives, reliving the choices they never made."
A hush fell over them. They understood. After all, they too had just woken from those very dreams.
Nova sighed. "Alright, let’s focus. I say we start with the north."
Aether nodded. "North sounds reasonable."
Pyrasu frowned. "Why not the east?"
That simple disagreement raised a critical issue. How would they make decisions? They needed order—a system to guide their collective will.
NileNa RitsKo spoke up, his voice cutting through the lingering tension. "We need to decide this as a collective. A proper vote. Four choices—North, South, East, and West."
Before anyone else could respond, Aether stepped in, reciming control of the discussion. "Fine. Then cast your votes."
One by one, they chose.
North: 4 East: 1
Pyrasu scoffed, crossing his arms. "Whatever."
The decision had been made. Without further hesitation, they turned their collective gaze north.
From their vantage point high above, they surveyed the world below—a vast, ft expanse stretching endlessly in all directions. And yet, a sun still hung in the sky, moving as if the ws of their former world had no hold here.
They drifted northward, taking in the ndscape. A sprawling, dark forest stretched across the nd, ominous and ancient. Scattered around it y multiple small kingdoms, each distinct yet close enough to feel the tension between them. At the northernmost point stood a sizable vilge, its name already etched into their shared knowledge—The Root Vilge.
The kingdoms surrounding it bore names that carried weight, history, and conflict: Krul Kingdom, Mines Kingdom, Lint Kingdom, and Lokin Kingdom. Each a potential force in this world, each a piece of the grand puzzle they had yet to understand.
Beyond the settlements, the dense forests remained untouched, wild. There was more than just trees lurking within—monsters, forgotten ruins, perhaps even elves hidden within its depths.
Aether turned to the others. "So, where do we go now?"
**
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