Gun of Ashes

This is a dim starry sky, the stars waning, suffused with a sense of death.

Among the pitch-black curtain, only sporadic light points flicker, and such brightness is like embers in the wind, seemingly about to extinguish completely in the next second, plunging this starry sky into eternal darkness.

The man sits on the bench, shrouded by the starry sky.

In the dim starry sky, something seems to be writhing, reaching out toward the man. An invisible force swirls around him, gently caressing him, lifting his body, causing the man to rise slightly from the bench, until his entire body leaves the bench, ascending toward the dim starry sky.

This ”ascension” proceeds slowly; no one knows how long it will take for the man to truly ascend into the starry sky, but it can be known that as long as the current state is maintained, no matter how long the passage of time, it will vanish in an instant.

Then, at a certain moment, the ”ascension” suddenly encounters resistance.

In the lengthy ignorance, some power is at play, issuing vague roars, though muffled by layers, turning into whispers, yet even such weak sounds seem to awaken something, like the fluttering wings of a butterfly rousing a storm that sweeps through everything.

Below the bench, the entire space begins to stir violently, subtly twisting the starry sky beneath the bench.

The sound of rushing water erupts.

Menacing shadows break through the water’s surface beneath the bench, splattering countless droplets, each reflecting the dim starry sky, so calm and clear that in their reflection, one feels an illusion of standing amidst the starry sky.

The eerie beings in the water emerge, roaring as they leap out from the surface, extending withered, pallid, scar-covered arms, pressing one after another, piling up until they can touch the man’s ankles, followed by his calves, waist, and abdomen.

Countless skeletal hands clutch the man, vying for him, like hungry ghouls, emitting infant-like cries until the invisible force abandons the man, pulling him back to the lake’s surface.

The man falls down, lying motionless on the once again placid water, resembling a corpse, neither ascending into the starry sky nor submerging into the water below.

After an unknown passage of time, he awakens from sleep, yet he does not open his eyes, his consciousness muddled, even without a sense of ”self.”

In this prolonged silence, time becomes extraordinarily slow, or perhaps swift; no one knows whether it was minutes or centuries, but ultimately he begins attempting to control this body.

First, he governs the body, gradually turning his head, gazing at this starry sky. Then, understanding the external world, he starts perceiving everything he sees—black ”color,” dim ”stars,” infinite ”starry sky.”

Different concepts and terms unearth from sealed memories, more and more, prompting him to attempt ”thinking.”

Until he touches something.

An inexplicable term, a weighty character, a key to unlock a door.

”I am...”

He murmurs softly, a faint glow appearing in his gray-blue eyes.

”Ah!”

Lorenzo utters a cry of surprise, as if awoken abruptly from a nightmare, rolling several times on the water’s surface, then tremulously climbing back onto the bench.

The surroundings are void of anything but the strange water beneath his feet and the dim starry sky overhead. Lorenzo grasps the bench to enhance his sense of security until he calms down.

”This... my [Gap]?”

Lorenzo thinks for a while, arriving at this conclusion, after all, this bench under him feels too familiar.

However...

”Why has the ice melted?”

Lorenzo looks at the boundless water surface ahead—or rather, the sea. He remembers this place should be a vast ice field; these seawaters ought to be frozen.

But upon reconsideration, he feels something is off; it should be said that now is the true state of his [Gap].

[Gap] forms based on the most significant scene in a person’s memory, Lorenzo’s [Gap] being the large ship fleeing Florence. His good friends all died on that ship, and it was there that Lorenzo acquired Authority·Gabriel, starting afresh.

Logically, Lorenzo’s [Gap] should be akin to Erin’s [Gap], both being large ships that never reach their destination, sailing aimlessly on the sea... But eventually, the ship sank, the turbulent sea was frozen into a vast ice field, leaving only Lorenzo and this bench, trembling in the cold wind.

Now, the ice has thawed, revealing the original sea. Lorenzo looks down, finding his feet securely planted on the water, unable to sink. He attempts peering into the sea’s depths, but within his view, there is only the reflected starry sky and a silly face peering down at the water.

Feeling a bit melancholic, Lorenzo sits back on the bench, completely oblivious to his recent unconsciousness or the turbulence from the starry sky and beneath the sea. He resembles a helpless lamb, curiously examining this renewed place.

He remembers just directing the Black Angel, taking himself back to the Morning Glow Advance, then finding himself here... Lorenzo recalls donning the Holy Silver’s crown, dismissing any concerns of his [Gap] being invaded.