Author's Note:

Yes, this is a Xenologue. Doesn't look FE:A at all does it? Well, it's not supposed to. However, it does contain characters that are featured in Chronic. Therefore, I believe that this can qualify. Xenologues cross over from the other games, right? Well, this crosses over from the source of Chalysane.

This was written mainly to respark my thought processes for Chronic. I do this here by going back to the roots of Chronic, and close to where Chronic finds its beginning before all of the timelines. I may write other possible Xenologues, hence the "1". No guarantees, though.

. . . On another note, I'm generally curious as to how many views this will get. Don't think I'll mention that I wrote this in Chronic, considering… Veh. Whoever reads this, I hope you enjoyed this! ^^" Now pardon me while I think of how to fix Chapter 17…

Xenologue 1 – Existia

"It isn't fair!" Though I cry those words to him once more, I also know that, no matter how many times I would scream them, they would never get through to him. He would simply look down on me without any emotion in his eyes as I held my blades against him. And then he would strike out at me, just like always. A dodge timed to the exact millisecond. And then he would pause to stare at me, just like he had always done.

"There's nothing unfair about this." His words are always the same. To him, it's simple logic. His sword, Existia Flame, unsheathed, lies firmly gripped in his hand, ready to end any life that its master wishes it to. "It's a process of natural selection. The strong rise, and the weak fall. To call it unfair would be to disregard nature." He lashes out once more, and I easily dodge his attack once more. I am one of the few people that can keep up with him, the one that I used to love. However, though he could kill me given the chance, I couldn't kill him. I still held a naïve hope that he would return to who he used to be.

It started out as a game. Two beta test keys. He had signed me up without my knowledge, though I hadn't minded at the time. Though he had already received his key, he had waited to receive mine as well. He didn't want to play without me. He had already bought two Full-Immersion Systems: one for me, and one for himself. When he finally received the second key, he arrived at my house and delivered the system he had bought for me. That night, choosing the name "Chalysane" as my in-game name, we began to play Existia for the first time. He had chosen the name "Kyph".

Existia was the absolute first, true High-Immersion MMORPG. Blacksmithing, cooking, eating, drinking, sleeping, bathing, writing, reading, living and breathing. The first true copy of real-life. The theories of such a game had been in the making for years, and the developers of the game had been working for just as long, if not longer. They were the conceptualists of High-Immersion. Games could claim to be "high-immersion", having instances where you could train skills in certain professions, but they never came close to the "High-Immersion" that the developers of Existia had dreamed of in their youth. It wasn't simply a game: It was a recreation of life with the dreams of its creators mixed in.

A recreation of life, except made in the view of the dreams of its gods and goddesses. Graphic quality unlike anything that had come before it. Progressive stat systems that broke every mold developed. Control systems that were more advanced than any before, yet supportive of older technology. Accessibility that cast its web of connection over the entirety of the planet. An ability to expand in ways that people would have never imagined in the past. Open World ideas at its finest, existing within a world of its own. Massive landscapes, and far-reaching oceans, and each undergoing changes of seasons as according to the system. One didn't play "Existia". One experienced it.

But that was exactly what brought about the Downfall. One experienced Existia. One lived Existia. One existed in Existia. An existence entirely separate from that of the real world, a reality of its own. When I first began to play the game, I had promised myself that I would never allow myself to become lost in the reality that I was about to step into. And I never did. Rather, it was the one that introduced me to the game, the one that I loved, that lost himself in the reality.

As we played together, he found himself witnessing a gradual revelation. The essence of cause and effect. The logic that allowed the world to operate as it was. He began to see both worlds as the "games" that they truly were. And he excelled in both worlds. As he progressed, however, he gradually lost the essence of himself that I fell in love with in the first place. But I refused to admit it.

It was at night that I finally came to terms with reality as he couldn't see it, and I came to terms with it in the game that had taken him from me. A passerby of a player, though it may have been that I was the one that had been passing him by. As I sat on a bench at night, contemplating the right choice, I had decided to seek out the help of another player, one that looked like he would play the part well. As time passed, only one player arrived, accompanied by no one, but carried on his face an experienced gaze. And so I ran up to him, bowed, and quickly introduced myself. "I'm Chalysane. An honor to meet you."

He had stayed silent then, refraining from telling me his name. However, as he walked, and as I followed him, he never told me to leave. Eventually, we would sit down on a bench, at which point he gave me half of a loaf of bread of unknown make. He would ask why it was an honor to meet him, to which I would answer, "Does there need to be a reason?" He never questioned my answer, accepting it at face value. We sat on that bench for a lengthy period of time. It was only after I steeled myself sufficiently that I asked him my question.

He never asked why I chose him. Instead, after a moment of thought, he would ask for further details, wishing to give me a further defined answer instead of a vague one. "Would you mind?" The question at the end of his dialogue was defensive, hoping to prevent any unintentional offense. And so I explained the situation to him, and he gave me an answer. But when I heard his answer, I had already been expecting him to say it. His answer wasn't so much an answer as it was a confirmation of my own beliefs. It was a painful acceptance that I had to make, either at that moment, or as I went to sleep.

The one I had been consulting, at that time, looked away from the ground and towards the shadows. As I followed his gaze and discovered the object of his attention, my heart skipped a beat. In the shadows stood the one that I had used to love. As he stepped forth, he drew his blade, to which I called his real name and tried to dissuade him from his plan of action. However, he denied my attempts with a sharp and unforgiving return. "It's Kyph in front of others."

He lifted his blade to point at my consultant. "Besides, he would understand, right?" To this, my consultant nodded, and I instinctively stood up from the bench, yet hoping to prevent a clash which could only end in death, albeit temporary, for my consultant.. However, my consultant tugged at my shirt, stating a calm "I'll be fine," with a smile that defied the death that stood before him. Everyone knew who Kyph was, and to assume that my consultant didn't know was foolish. No one had ever defeated Kyph, the most powerful player in the game at the time. My consultant drew his blade…

Despite the events that occurred, I would yet continue to play Existia, though not with Kyph. I would eventually become a powerful player myself, albeit unknown despite such. I let myself become a transient figure in-game, appearing every so often to the general public and assisting new players before disappearing once more. I would eventually become the only Full-Immersion System user to master the "Blade-Lance" type weapon, which was coded specifically for Mouse and Keyboard users. Of course, however, I would remain relatively unknown to most others except for my friends, as few as they were.

I would also discover an unknown skill, namely "mana-weaving", of which there had been no reports, which allowed me exquisite control over any magic attack I used. I gained the ability to cast any mana-based attacks at unmatched speeds, even gaining the ability to cast without spoken word had the attack normally needed such. However, as I continued to practice with the skill, I discovered that I had also gained another ability: I could cast mana into attacks without any need for a preset form of attack. Basically, it was the freedom to control mana in any way that I wished.

Time would pass, and, eventually, the Downfall would come to pass. "Existia actually exists." Three words, difficult to understand. Given, these three words were not the only words spoken, but these three words summarize the announcement quite accurately. However, those words stated the truth: Existia actually exists. The landscapes, the characters that can cast mana-based attacks, the weapons, everything in the world of Existia actually existed. Initially announced by the game's developers, it was first taken to be a popularity stunt, and initially ignored.

But then people started to analyze the statement's context. Everything in-game was done with extreme attention to detail: environment, destruction, physics. Footsteps would be left where one tread, and dust would often follow one's footsteps. Anything could be destroyed, and you could pick up individual pieces of rubble. Heat-releasing, high-power mana-attacks were often known for searing their users upon casting as well as damaging their target.

If one could craft an item with high quality and skill in-game, why couldn't the same person do so out of game? Smart AI-based, Error-correction nano-machines already existed. It's possible that these nano-machines exist in Existia, increasing in quality and skill as they are continuously used. And how about mana-based attacks? Electricity-based attacks are a given: Sudden release of electrical charge in specific directions via magnetic direction. Heat-based attacks are also obvious. Ice-based attacks are cast via the same concept of air conditioners, hence why they don't use up as much mana as other elements. On that note, mana recharges via many methods, including heat-energy conversions. Buffs are caused by energizing certain aspects of a character, and debuffs by a reversed method, though not necessarily by sapping energy.

Discussions like these slowly began cropping up on the internet, and, as they grew more and more informative, they were eventually taken notice of by major media centers. Slowly but surely, the world realized that Existia actually was plausible in terms of actually Existing. At first, it was a terrifying concept, considering that the "Super-Sapiens", as they were eventually referred to, were clearly much more advanced than humans. However, as the developers of Existia would assure the public, they would have no way of coming into contact with Humanity. Not only such, but they couldn't function without being connected to their user. With this, the public was soothed.

Not only was it soothed, the observation of occurrences within Existia actually became a passion for many. Large scale faction wars, conflicts between large groups of players, numbering in the thousands, were one of the most popular objects of interest. Imagine huge battles between extremely skilled players, each one tinted with finality as immediate respawns were non-existant. Magic exploding across the battlefield, sparks flying into the air as swords, shields, scythes, hammers, spears, axes, and an endless variety of other weapons clash against each other. Seige weapons being rolled out onto the battlefield, trebuchets and ballistae unloading their payloads at fortifications. Conflicts of unmatched, epic proportions that were fought without any instance repeated, never to be replayed in the same way again. Such were the spectacles that captured audiences and players alike, who found their childhood dreams of conflict realized in a form that excluded the permanency of true death.

All at once, the main event of the Downfall occurred. The most powerful faction in Existia found its way to Earth. Natural Selection started running its course. "Existians couldn't function without being connected to their users?" Not necessarily. When a player put on a Full-Immersion System, a copy of their brain's neural connections and memories were imprinted onto their character. For the time that the user played Existia, their body simply became a continuously updated data back-up center. It was in this way that there existed no lag for users of Full-Immersion Systems. The correct statement was that Existians who were connected to their Full-Immersion System using players couldn't respawn without being connected to their users. And, by this time, many players used Full-Immersion Systems.

Humanity, with all of its high-technology weapons, ironically found itself defeated by the magic and weapons of old. Though it was admitted that these magics and weapons were created via the use of high technology itself, it only added to the irony of the situation. Humanity ultimately brought about its own downfall, at the same time, they also brought about its evolution. And so, as Humanity left the stage, Existians took it.

Of course, Humanity wasn't completed eradicated. One of the most well-known traits of Humanity is its resilience and ability to adapt. Not only such, but Humanity did find some allies in the form of Existians. It was admitted that Existians are far more advanced than Humans. However, it was a main belief of these Existians that their predecessors shouldn't be annihilated just for that fact alone. To do would be Genocide, a degradation of values that all had sworn never to repeat. And I would find myself amongst those who fought for the sake of Humanity against their own race.

Looking back on it, I have to admit, it's something that I wouldn't like to look back on. Try to imagine it. One moment, you lived a "normal" life, so to speak. You went places, ate food, hung out with friends, lived life basically. You listened to the news, which happened to regard the war in whatever the place happened to be. Or maybe the war ended, I don't know. Basically, things were normal, even if they might have seemed unusual. Why? Because unusual is normal. Well, normal unusualness, anyways.

But then, imagine, one day, you find that the game that you played actually exists. At first, people don't believe that this is possible. It's a game for goodness sakes! Things like this don't exist! Go right ahead and dream that it does, but, in the end, it's just a game. That's all it is. But then people start thinking about it, and then, all of a sudden, people start to realize that, maybe, just maybe, this game could actually exist. And then your perspective changes right then.

That's right, you have an entirely other body that you crafted with your own hands. Okay, given, not completely by yourself, but you nurtured its development. It's powerful in so many ways. Resilient, intelligent, and, overall, better than the average human. Considering the technology it uses, of course. There's huge amounts of potential for it, both constructive and destructive. With this super-human thing, you could decide fates of countless numbers of people.

And then you realize just how many of them there are. You aren't the only one with the super-human thing. In fact, there are others out there that have more powerful versions of it. None of them are the same. Just like a normal human. Except better. Doesn't it start to get scary there? You, as a human, are now obsolete. To keep up with the times, you have to discard your old self, and dedicate yourself to the new you. The Existian. Humanity is a concept that's becoming obsolete. Existian is the new thing.

Sure, they might say that Existians have no way of getting to the normal world. But what if they do? I mean, they probably use technology that we developed. If that's true, how'd the technology get there in the first place? If there's a way in, then there's a way out. Any moment, a powerful super-human could suddenly break into your world, changing life as you know it forever.

Isn't that scary? It is for me. Then again, this is my opinion. Others might see it in other ways. For example, Kyph. The one who I'm crossing swords with as I think. With a quick maneuvering of my swords, I slip past him and step-dash to a safe distance away. He recovers and turns around to face me, glaring once more. Kyph sees Existians as the future, Humans as the past. To leave Humans in existence would be to keep our past with us. Something that's obsolete, something that w have already learned from. Nothing but predecessors, who existed to give rise to their descendents. All that he sees is the future. Nothing else.

But that's the thing. It isn't fair. It isn't fair to take what you want, and to leave nothing behind for those who helped you to exist in the first place. He even discarded the name that his parents gave him in the first place. The name of the person who gave rise to who he is now, who faces off against me. The person I fell in love with, and the person that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. But that person is gone. All that he has now is the person who I'm crossing blades with as I think. All he has now is Kyph of Existia.