Van
The citadel in the sky was a great civilization. Spanning leagues among the heavens, it was once the most advanced society ever birthed. The fruit of human knowledge and perseverance, a marvel of science and magical technologies.
It was home.
But here, he found none of it. Only a bunch of questions, and inexplicable answers. The 12 knights of the order, the gods he devoted to defending, the values he was taught to uphold. It's like none of it mattered here. Like it'd have all been a lie.
He thought he had found one of his comrades of old. That man had the same voice and appearance - but had he been deceived. Why would the most loyal of the guardians find himself here, and betray him? He didn't understand a thing, and the more he tried, the more he felt scared by something inexplicable.
"Van, it's me... Karlhelm. Thank goodness, there is no time. This city... our people are in danger."
Those were his words, and they rang true, just like the bookish scholar he always loved to tease. Even his fear and concern felt genuine at the time, but the more he thought the more he felt a strange sensation about it. He touched the scar that had been pierced into him by that thing and frowned, standing in the middle of what looked like a hellish tundra. Heavy snowfall fell constantly, coating everything in a suffocating dull white.
No. Walking through the barren wasteland, he realized this was all nothing but ash. Was this Ivanna's work? He should have come. He still wasn't sure if the choice he made was the correct one. That thing underground, that girl who became a god, and that vision of his. Those children, those metal corridors... just what was going on?
"And what's with the tattoo..." He looked at the sheen of his new metal armor and pulled his eyelid down... revealing some sort of black pattern under his eye, almost like a set of grids. The kind you'd find in the markets nowadays as if it were some produce. Noticing it only made it all more uncomfortable.
Either way, he had a pained, uncomfortable expression. Something about this was giving him a bad feeling. He couldn't explain it, and he wished he'd never have to.
But eventually, he feared he'd have no choice but to confront it, and that horrifying vision of the future.
