Nahn's Premise

Oisin found himself in a dark room with minimal light, the only illumination coming from a few wall-mounted fire sticks. It appeared that Nahn was long ready to bring Oisin in.

"Sit." Nahn asked Oisin, pointing at the sofa in the center of the room.

And he did as told. Looking around Oisin was only dumbfounded;

'Why the hell is this room dark? Is he trying to be like, cool?'

Soon, two more people entered the room as Oisin watched. One was Aiden, and the other was a girl whom he never saw before.

"You know Aiden already. Meet Esya too. You three are the only people of similar ages here, it appears. Hains is thirteen, but too young, you understand. You three, coincidentally all showed anomalistic talents. I'll take you three in my next expedition."

Oisin looked at Esya. She looked younger than him, had long braided hair and her eyes was green, strangely. Aiden was a taller than both of them and always a bore careless expression but he was well-built and rather handsome too.

'Interesting group I got in.' thought he.

"And now... we will just answering your thousand questions. Begin."

'Ahh, finally.' Oisin felt relieved.

"Runes, what are they?"

"Well..." he thought for a little while before answering, "did you feel any change in yourself after the apocalypse?"

"Not really,"

"Change as in internal change. Did your body operate any differently?"

"I guess... yeah I had been able to live without consuming things a normal healthy person would consume. But I am doing fine, as you can see. Is that supposed to be because of those runes?"

"Most likely." Nahn smiled. "Now for the next step..." that smile quickly disappeared.

"Take of your clothes."

"What!?" Oisin lost his composure. What joke were they trying to pull? Or were they actually some suspicious bunch!?

"No, really. Your rune core is situated under your thorax. We need to see that."

Oisin looked at his sides at where Esya and Aiden were sitting. No way he was about to take his clothes off in front of a girl now. He might have done stranger things in the past years but that wouldn't make him any less shy.

Luckily for him, Nahn seemed to notice that.

"Uh, Esya guess you should come back in a few minutes."

"Huh!" she scoffed. But as if she understood the point too, slightly blushing, she stood up and proceeded to leave the room.

True, Oisin was a little shy than average people.

'Damn. Its still embarrassing...'

But what had to be done had to be done. Oisin put the robe down and took of his only t-shirt he had. Despite being rather skinny than not, he was actually quiet fit for a young man.

Oisin looked down at his thorax and seeing nothing different he looked back at Nahn with a questioning look.

"Alright. Now... try to focus all your power in your heart, as comical it may sound..."

'Are they actually ridiculing me...?' Oisin sighed. Afterall, he had no reason to distrust him. Aiden, who was still quiet suddenly spoke up,

"Didn't you watch any fantasy anime before the apocalypse?"

"Anime? Uh, no actually."

He then sent a disappointing look slightly hurting Oisin as he refocused on how to do that.

"Imagine you are a boat in an ocean and then a tsunami comes from all six directions and you drown there." Aiden remarked again. You can't really predict when he would say something.

"Aiden, you need help..." Nahn sighed hearing his strange analogy. "Oisin, just try to focus all the blood flow or power into your heart."

'How bizarre...' thought Oisin.

He closed his eyes, and tried to feel everything inside his body and make futile attempt to bring the flow to his heart. Of course he can't control his blood flow, how stupid are they...

But standing like that for a few while he understood what Nahn meant.

Eventually, he really started to feel the blood flow in his heart quiet vibrantly.

"Aha! Perfect! Now look at yourself!" Nahn exclaimed suddenly, breaking his short meditation.

Oisin did that and looked down again, and to his surprise, he was left... haunted.

"That's a strange rune core." said Nahn, impressed.

"Unusual." said Aiden, curious.

"Am I going to die?" said Oisin... absolutely freaked out.

"No, silly! Its your rune core. Deal with it." Nahn answered him, laughing.

"How does the core look like? I can't see it well." said he.

A green and red glow had emerged inside his thorax that was even radiating outside. Scared, naturally, he asked Nahn that question. Since again, he couldn't see what core looked like.

"It's a leaf...?" said Nahn.

"A leaf dipping in blood. Guess you will die afterall." Aiden rebutted.

Still surprised, Oisin was left speechless.

Nahn broke the silence changing the topic, however, "Alright. We'll come to this core again. But Oisin, by now there are two obvious things you should understand."

"What?"

"First, supernatural things exist and have come to be. These runes are clear sorcery too, don't you see?"

"I see..."

"And that, the apocalypse for whatever the reason... was intentional."

"I guessed that too, actually. Now what do I make of this... what did you call it... rune core?"

"You are really more interested in that that the apocalypse?" Nahn sighed. "Well, you see. Our estimation is that our rune powers originate from the rune core. Yes we can use that power and I'll demonstrate that to you in a while. But before that, know how everyone has a rune core with different designs. Perhaps they refer to something. Perhaps, only. We don't know alot about this runes yet."

Oisin simply nodded in agreement.

"Again, if you don't understand this already, the runic energies exist throughout your whole body, but originates from your heart. And this energy never existed before the apocalypse had begun. It means that the apocalypse had brought the runic magic with itself."

"How bizarre."

"And the other thing is about the monsters or what you called phantoms. Phantoms aren't senseless beasts you see. I assume you never went close enough to one."

"I went close but was far enough from their grasp every time."

"Then it's reasonable if you don't know. Phantoms too, of course came to be with the coming of the apocalypse. They weren't here from before. Simply put, some supernatural entity is either testing us, or has conquered the world for Himself. Of course the second is more rational to me."

"Now that you put it like that, I agree actually..."

"Good. Aiden you want to say something?"

Aiden leaned forward, putting aside the stone he was toying with.

"Esya is triggered outside."

"Aha! I literally forgot her. Well, who cares. What about you Oisin?"

'Hey, that's just rude.' thought Oisin.

"Yeah... but did you really discover all this on your own?"

"No. Here's the last part of our story."

"Oh."

"That is..." his face sparkled, and leaned forward as though he was dying to see Oisin's reaction of this.

"I had a phantom teach me."

Shocked, truly, Oisin almost startled himself on the floor. As though he just displayed the perfect reaction, Nahn grinned with joy.

"How the hell is a phantom supposed to teach you!"

"You really don't know, it seems. Phantoms are capable of speech."

"What!"

'Hey. That's just too much information for the day!!'

Oisin sighed then. He had to stay calm.

"That's the truth. Sit down, now. I will tell you my story, then I'll hear yours."

Momentarily stunned, he yet took up his t-short and swiftly wore it and sat on the sofa. Nahn raised his voice called out Esya who happened to be waiting still.

"How is his core!" she asked immediately, coming inside.

"Ask him instead." said Nahn.

"As if I saw it!? Well, he said it's supposed to be a leaf dipping in... blood?" Oisin faced Esya and responded to her question.

'Hey, that just sounds creepy though...'

Nahn laughed. "True, that's one strange rune." and then ordered Esya, "Take your seat, and hear my story for the... seventh time?"

She did so. And with that, Nahn took a long breathe and started.

---

Nahn used to be a veteran sportsman before the apocalypse. A really good one at that! He even received offers to play in nationals, but for pressures better left unsaid, he had to reject all of them.

But one day, as though time had come for humanity to pay for their sins, the apocalypse had started without a hint beforehand. And miraculously, just like all the other survivors, he survived. He didn't consider having a chance to escape from that hell, but he did. Leaving the burning scars behind, just like Oisin, he fled.

Coincidentally, on his journey he had reunited with one of his friends and two other survivors, only the friend was currently residing in this camp.

Then with that, the four of them walked through the crimson horror and dealt with their unbearable hunger and thirst for two whole weeks. It wasn't before that than they first discovered the... phantoms.

It was a generic day... or dawn rather. Nahn was the first to wake up. None of them were on guards, naturally, as they already concluded that everybody is dead. And so they were about to perhaps pay for their boldness. As he went out of a stone boulder built of pure ash from the remnants of some structure a few days ago, he could already sense that something was strange.

It was an unreal sensation. Intuition? Perhaps. But he could sense someone behind him, or around him, or surrounding him.

"Who is that?" he questioned, not expecting an answer. But to his dismay, there was one.

"We don't bear names."

The crackling accent had him already haunted but he quickly turned behind and saw that phantom. He was dark green in skin color. A human figure with four arms and two wings. The face reminded him of a bee and the legs... he couldn't even describe how that looked like. In all, it was a fearsome scene.

But Nahn didn't scream nor fret.

"What the hell are you?" he interrogated, instead.

"Didn't I say we don't bear names?"

"Well, why are you here?" Nahn was scared of that monstrosity, of course. But he couldn't let it know how afraid he was. Things could really turn for the worse then.

"We were brought here. And we seek to go back."

"Oh. How?"

"By guiding you survivors to the sanctuary of Dawn."

"What is that again?"

"A sanctuary in earth, that isn't devastated by the apocalypse. That's what happened here, I assume? Dawn is a paradise, even to you... what do you call yourselves?"

"Human. We we call ourselves humans."

"I see. Human, Dawn is what a paradise is. If we can guide you to the Dawn, we can go back."

"How do I trust you and how do you know?"

The phantom stopped, almost startled by his question. Why would he trust an abomination like that? Of course.

"I can only inform you. Otherwise we will take you by force. What can make you trust me? That I am unaware." he stopped and continued again, "It's all because of a war, you see. In our world, we have been fighting with ourselves, wreaked great havoc and thus were killed. But then, we have reincarnated into this world! And have been given a goal by an unknown entity. And promised us with a prominent goal. How should I not know?"

Despite being a phantom, it had a tone of convincing voice. Nahn listened to him with pure focus and said, "I see. I will call my companions, wait for me."

And went and did that. Waking his companions inside, he briefly explained what just happened and naturally they disbelieved and ridiculed him saying he was on drugs. Although they respected Nahn, and so moved with him.

"But Nahn, considering what you just said is true, that monster is clearly lying. Those creatures tried to kill me, and I barely escaped. To hell with me! They killed countless people from my village in the day of apocalypse."

"Really...?"

"Yeah, silly."

The contradiction was concerning but Nahn kept on.

He found him again near a stone cave sitting patiently waiting for him. Again naturally, the companions were all shocked and what not, but at the end, they just had to believe that going to him wouldn't be a suicide.

Eventually they went and after a little introduction and a brief overview of what the phantom had said before, the same companion questioned the phantom, "But you people killed those of my village? It doesn't connect."

The phantom stayed silent. Thinking for a decent reply. Obviously, the later the response, the more suspicion would rise.

"They are perhaps... the cursed among us. They are from us too... but their goal... is different. To conclude, we protect you and guide you to the Dawn, while they kill you and disrupt you from that goal."

"That's... concerning." said he, not entirely dissatisfied with the reply.

After another whirl of silence the phantom said in a grimmer voice, "Although, I can't stay with you..."

"Why?" asked Nahn.

"I can... I can sense you humans, through my runic powers... so I approached you. I will always know where you are if you insert any rune of you into me. Then I can come and protect you. I'll have to leave... however, because truly, I don't know where the Dawn is, I need to search for it first. And get stronger too... And if I take you with me, I will end up failing to save you. So I will take the correct choice as I learnt from my previous life..." he momentarily paused and finished his sentenced, "by not saving you. But I would try, since you survivors are rare... that's it."

That was a lot of information to swallow. But Nahn quickly followed it up, "And what is all that rune nonesense?"

"That I... That I will teach you before I leave, worry not."

Worry not, he said.

And thus started another two weeks of a graver hell for the helpless four under a... good phantom? Is that what he was...?

'I think I am just insane.'

---

"Pss, Oisin!" Aiden sneakily walked to where Oisin was sitting and whispered in his ears as Nahn was narrating his story closing his eyes with quiet the poetic tone. "Apples or oranges?"

Oisin whispered back, "Uh... apples?"

"Perfect, we are brothers now.!"

"You brats, shut up and listen to me! Aiden go back to your seat!" Nahn seemed to have heard them already so he shouted, enraged. "And after that...