《Emyriddia - The Great World》 Chapter 1: A Chance Encounter Chapter 1 A Chance Encounter Grey ash. As far as the eye could see. A girl walked, alone. When she inhaled, small cuts lined her throat. When she exhaled, she¡¯d stop and keel over to cough, pale red saliva leaving her mouth, a mixture of blood and the suffocating grey ash that filled the world around her. Her tears had long caked. Her knees had given out their last cries. Her clothing, ragged, cracked, and crusted such that the word ¡°destitute¡± would be a compliment. Yet it was this girl, that continued to walk. Step by step, her mind grew foggy. Her limbs would lose feeling, and she¡¯d stumble, but before she fell face-forward, her legs would catch her. ¡°What has this world come to¡­?¡± If there ever was a path, it was long smothered by the torrent of pale flakes that never seemed to end. She cursed in her mind before resuming her footsteps. Step. Step. As the steps began to meld into one another, something caught her eye, in the distance. ¡°A building? A town!?¡± Her insides grew warmer. Hope. A hope faint, yet blinding. Steps quickening, her breathing rushed and ragged, she hobbled forward toward the distant shapes that popped in and out of her view, teasing her from behind the thick veil of ash. Quickly, quickly¡­! She ignored the pain as she hastened her hobbling to an improvised stumbling ¨C clearly unbalanced, yet the ground was unable to reach past her feet. Her heartbeat quickened, her steps quickened, Please! Water! Water! Before she knew it, she was at the closest building, or to be more accurate, the closest rundown, decrepit shack, but the details went unnoticed to the now frantic, half-crawling creature that practically dove into what likely was once a door frame. No! Not here! The girl quickly exited the building and went straight for the nearest structure. Not here! Her mind accelerated, envisioning on its own the promise of sustenance, the possibility of it, what it would be like to cleanse her throat of the ash that caked her throat and threatened to suffocate her, to ease the pain that came and lingered with each breath, to reenergize herself, to be free from all of this! Not¡­ here either. Not here. No. No. Nothing. But just as she was preparing her heart for its seemingly inevitable letdown, as her eyes began to moisten¡­ her heart stopped. She let out a gasp. ¡­! Her eyes locked onto a building, one with a familiar structure faintly visible inside it. She ran, with vigor she didn¡¯t know she had left in her. Her foot got caught on a rock, hiding beneath the ash of the ground. She went flying, her speed causing her to do a forward dive. Yet she kept moving. Her arms picked up the slack, stopping her from colliding with the ground, and she clawed forward, preserving her momentum and recovering from the near fall with her feet. To not waste even a fraction of a second in reaching her destination. She couldn¡¯t wait any longer. Bursting through the remnant of a door that stood in her way, she couldn¡¯t even register the pain in her shoulder as she quickly leaped to the center of the room, her arms outstretched toward the device in the middle. Her fingers found their way to a large lever stretching out, and clasping around it, with as much dexterity as a newborn, she brought her chest closer to the lever, and lifted her feet off the ground. She heard the sound of creaking, and felt through her hands and the lever, inner components that seemed as if they were about to move. When the lever refused to give, though, she lifted her leg to the box in the middle of the room and began to push off it. She moved her hands closer to the edge of the lever, anything that could generate more force, anything to budge the stubborn lever. But when the creaking noise grew to its loudest, when she felt as if it was about to give¡­ Crack! She hit the ground hard with a dull slam. Her shoulder, having taken the brunt of the fall, was red and ached. Her head wasn¡¯t spared from the fall, and she struggled just to piece together what had occurred. After a few seconds, her vision focused and felt and saw the lever, now broken off, in her hands. Stunned, she lay there, processing the situation. She rose from the ground, noting the bit of blood that oozed from her shoulder, the pain from the side of her head. Anger. Rage. She felt the strong desire to erupt into a tantrum, to shout a thousand curses, to just cry. But perhaps because of her lack of energy, she just didn¡¯t. She stood there. She looked at the device, one that used to dispense water in her village, albeit in small amounts. She remembered her mother, who didn¡¯t hesitate to share her portion with her as water grew scarcer and scarcer. Who, at some point, gave all of her portion to her. Who at some point, stopped moving. Who died for her. She remembered the stealing, the chaos, as more and more people couldn¡¯t be provided for. How she was cast out, along with so many others. But she also remembered what she did after that, the lengths she went to to survive. Her grip on the lever in her hand strengthened. She kept looking at the device in the center of the room, not in defeat, but analytically. She never took a good look at it, but doing so now, she noted its metal shell, which had long lost its familiar luster. Clearly, others had attempted to break this device, but it had held up. Actually, taking a step back and regaining her clarity, suspicions about the village she was in started to sprout in her mind. She hadn¡¯t had the wherewithal until now to consider the lack of bodies in all of these buildings, corpses she had long grown used to. She now considered the possibility that the water from this place was already long withdrawn entirely. That shouldn¡¯t be the case, as the devices are connected to water lines deep underground¡­ The fact this lever broke off¡­ This place was abandoned! It had to be the case. For some reason, the people must have left this place. And for a long time, too. There¡¯s no other reason for this device to be so untouched, decrepit to the point of breaking. If it hadn¡¯t seen any repair or upkeep for so long, then¡­ I can break it! She felt the lever in her hands, and gripped it with renewed confidence. She raised it up, and Bam! She swung it down with all of the force she had. Satisfied with the small dent she left, she repeated the action. Again, and again, deliberately aiming at a certain part. After a length of time, she wedged the lever into the hole she had created, the intersection between two particularly weak-looking plates. And she pushed, with what strength she somehow had remaining. Creak, creak¡­ The metal plates tried to endure, but shortly, they couldn¡¯t anymore. Pop! A rusted fastener dropped to the ground with a plink, and the gap between the plates widened. Carefully, so as not to hurt herself, the girl placed her hands in the newly created gap and pulled. With each pull, she exerted herself more and more. ¡°Urrrrrghhhhhh¡­ Come¡­ onnNN!!¡± It wasn¡¯t quick, but the weak metal gave way, and with one last squeak it bent, roughly 30 degrees. After catching her breath, she looked inside the device. It wasn¡¯t especially complicated. But it was difficult to see. In essence, it was a pulley system, where a pull of the lever would release a small bucket of water into an area to be dispensed, and pushing it back would likely cycle the buckets, replacing the next one to be emptied. The mechanism for one lever to be able to move such a large amount of buckets was likely far too complicated for her to understand, but it didn¡¯t matter. She just needed to get down this tunnel. Utilizing her smaller size, she squeezed through the opening in the metal, and carefully placed her feet on the contraption. She avoided what seemed to be small groups of gears and tried to only touch the areas of flat metal. Ah! She clenched her teeth, bearing the sting of the cut, and she kept moving. Every once in awhile, a part would dislodge itself, clinking with the metal sides of the tube she was descending. Clink, clink¡­ She couldn¡¯t hear the sound of it colliding with the bottom. She tried to suppress her hopes, but she was unsuccessful. There¡¯s something¡­ something at the bottom of this pipe! Vigilant and cautious, in the near pitch-black tube, she descended. She lowered her limbs, one by one, doing her best to gauge if the surface she was touching was safe to place her weight on. Like this, she descended. Like this¡­ until when she lowered her foot¡­ it was greeted by a cold sensation. If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Water!!! She resisted the urge to plunge, lowering herself a couple more times until her knees were submerged. She nearly lost her grip doing so just from the relief that coursed through her. After so long! And without another moment of hesitation, she dipped her cupped hand into the water, and brought it to her lips, and drank. She froze. ¡°H-...Huh?¡± She couldn¡¯t form a thought. Her heart threatened to burst through her chest as its already quick beating intensified. She started to shiver. Not from the cold. ¡°W-... Why?¡± Ash. Its taste she knew all too well by now. ¡°Why?¡± This wasn¡¯t ash. After all, it was, without doubt, a liquid that she was touching. It felt just like water. ¡°Why?¡± Why wasn¡¯t it water? Why? The girl could not piece together her thoughts, just one question on her mind. ¡°Why? Why? Why! Why! Why!! WhyyyyY!¡± She would have banged her hands on the wall if she wasn¡¯t still clinging onto the metal structure. ¡°Whyy! Why! Why!! Why¡­ Why¡­¡± Just as she was about to vomit, as she felt as if her body was going to self-destruct, her heartbeat slowed. The rage inside of her was changing, transforming into something else. A cold, emptiness started to grow inside of her. ¡°Ha¡­ Hahah¡­ Hahahahaah!!¡± She was laughing. She was smiling. She didn¡¯t know why. ¡°Haahaahahaha, Hahahahahhaha!!¡± Did she give up? She didn¡¯t feel like it. She just¡­ had enough. Or at least was close to it. What¡¯s the point? What¡¯s the point of all of this? Why, why am I even down here? Why did I even try so hard to live until now? Hahahaha, somebody explain it to me, I don¡¯t get it, why??? Hahahahah¡­¡± Cold laughter echoed around her, all throughout the long, long tube¡­ At first, a hand. Then, the rest. The girl found herself back outside of the device. She didn¡¯t know how long she spent in the tube, she could barely recall any part of her ascent out of it. Thoughts of what she would do next, though, roused her from her half-conscious state. But the bitterness, a strong bitter feeling found itself in her chest now. Half-stumbling, she slowly found her way outside the building, stepping over the door she had crashed into and broke on her way in. Why¡­? Before she knew it, her hand was over her knife. A person? She lowered her stance, ready to flee at any moment. Ready to fight, to the death, at any moment. It was an adult male. He didn¡¯t seem to have the grey hair she associated with older men¡­ Wait, the ash! For some reason, the man¡¯s hair was black. Dark black. The ash¡­ it¡¯s¡­ it¡¯s not falling on him¡­ She couldn¡¯t see a speck of ash on the man. In a landscape nearly entirely engulfed in it, the man just didn¡¯t belong. As if he was an image added after the fact. Am I seeing things? She allowed herself to think this one thought, but immediately continued putting up her guard. Because of how abnormal his presence was, she couldn¡¯t relax for even a moment. Her eyes moved to the opponent¡¯s hands, her first instinct when gauging a threat. ¡°You climbed back up.¡± ¡°...Huh?¡± ¡°I said you climbed back up.¡± She was caught off guard. When was the last time she had had a normal conversation? Should she respond? What if he¡¯s trying to get her to lower her guard? ¡°Why did you climb back up?¡± ¡°Why? What do you mean, why?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°I¡­ What are you getting at?¡± The man continued to stand there. Still. Still as a painting. ¡°Why do you continue to walk? When you know what¡¯s underneath?¡± ¡°...I-... I don¡¯t know.¡± The man grimaced. As if hurt by her words. It was subtle, though. But he wasn¡¯t particularly trying to hide it. ¡°You deserve better than this.¡± For some reason, when the man said that, something clicked in her. She didn¡¯t cry, but she kind of wanted to. She remembered when she used to cry, and when her mother would comfort her. Oh. Oh, I remember, that¡¯s how it feels. When someone cares about you. She knew this was just a stranger, and she wasn¡¯t stupid enough to let her guard down, but a part of her¡­ Some part of her longed for how things used to be. ¡°...What¡¯s your point? What are you trying to say?¡± ¡°You know¡­ you¡¯re the last person alive.¡± ¡­! Was that true? ¡°Really?¡± ¡°Yeah.¡± Inner turmoil. She couldn¡¯t process that fact. But what about the person before her? But what if it¡¯s true? It didn¡¯t seem like he was lying. But if it was true, then, then¡­ Then why should she continue to live? In a world where there was no one left, what was the point? The girl lowered her hand from the knife at her waist. ¡°You¡¯re lying, aren¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Haha, does it really matter?¡± The girl¡¯s expression, caked with ash, grew solemn. The man could see it. And so, the two stood there. An indeterminable amount of time passed. The silence was broken by a sigh. The man from which it came, shrugged. ¡°So. Are you going to stop now?¡± ¡°What¡­ What kind of question is that?¡± Heat rose from within the girl¡¯s chest. ¡°I¡¯m asking if you¡¯re giving up now.¡± ¡°What? I-I¡¯m- I just-¡± With a look of dead seriousness, ¡°Are you giving up now?¡± The girl, stammering, stopped moving. She drew in the brevity of the question, and its depth. She considered how she felt. The world. How small they were compared to the world. The ash. ¡°I¡­ I don¡¯t know.¡± The man stared back, unresponsive. ¡°There might be water somewhere¡­ There might be people somewhere¡­ I don¡¯t know. I honestly don¡¯t.¡± The man, taking in the segmented response¡­ smiled. ¡°Even in a dead world like this¡­ You¡¯d still keep walking?¡± ¡°...I don¡¯t know, I guess I¡¯d just do whatever I¡¯d do¡­ I never really thought about it that much¡­¡± ¡°Haha, you know, that they don¡¯t think about it that much¡­ You know that¡¯s what the strong say, right?¡± ¡°?¡± ¡°Being the last one¡­ it means you¡¯re strong.¡± Still smiling, the man started walking towards the girl. The girl¡¯s legs tensed, and she briefly considered running away¡­ but she didn¡¯t. When the man drew a couple paces away, he outstretched his hand. ¡°I¡¯m Ei.¡± The girl was a little confused, but she didn¡¯t feel any danger. For a brief period, she had to recall her own name. ¡°Suna.¡± Puzzled, Suna, unsure of how to react, just stood there. The man¡¯s, Ei¡¯s, smile widened, letting out a laugh. ¡°Hah, I guess you don¡¯t have handshakes here. I¡¯ll stop being cryptic, I don¡¯t really like wasting people¡¯s time. Come, follow me. Oh, and here.¡± The man outstretched his hand, holding an unfamiliar cylinder. ¡°Drink.¡± The girl, hesitant, slowly inched her hand closer to the bottle, wary of any sudden movements. And then, in an flash, she snatched the bottle. Sure that no follow up attack was coming, she directed her attention to the strange object in her hand. ¡°Just, yeah, just move that part sticking out down. Yeah, there you go.¡± She didn¡¯t want to believe it. But, in her hand. Given to her by this reality-defying strange man¡­ was it. Water!! Now faced with that which she has sought for so long, not even in such a situation could she keep up any pretense. Her brain, no, her body didn¡¯t let her. She lost all control, tilting the now open container to the sky and letting it flow down her throat. Cough, cough cough¡­! It hurt a bit, and she couldn¡¯t help but cough out long lasting bits of ash that had gotten stuck in her throat, some lodged there so long she thought she would never be rid of them. But even the most stubborn bits and pieces gave way under the rejuvenating stream. This sensation of drinking mouthfuls of water at a time, she could barely even recall the last time she got to experience it. And now, after so long, she could cry. Sniffle. She was helpless against the tears. The man held the back of his head and looked away. With a smile and a laugh he couldn¡¯t help but let out. After several divine minutes, and a couple more ¡°bottles¡± that the man seemed to pull from nowhere, the girl¡¯s thirst was, at last, quenched. Sitting up from a rock he had found, the man stretched. ¡°Come on. We have a bit of a walk. You can chew on this in the meantime.¡± The girl, overcoming her lingering suspicions about the man, decided to take what was offered to her, and she followed the man as he walked away. Chapter 2: A New World Chapter 2 A New World The two walked amid the never ending, shifting winds of ash. But strangely, near this strange man, Ei, ash seemed to deviate from his path. Suna didn¡¯t like being close to someone who was practically a stranger, but she didn¡¯t like the idea of breathing in ash even more. Now, breathing in what seemed to be fresh air, she realized just how thick the ash had become, and wondered just how she was ever able to get used to it. Having walked with Ei for a little bit now, she also noticed her aches and pains were lessening. She had grown so used to them, being without them made her feel different, as if she was now in a new body. She couldn¡¯t help but double check that she wasn¡¯t imagining things, testing her different joints. The man turned briefly, then back, simply smiling. ¡°Suna.¡± Suna stopped her motions, shifting her gaze to the man. ¡°...Yes?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll speak bluntly. I travel worlds.¡± A look of confusion crept onto Suna¡¯s face. She wrestled with the sentence, but couldn¡¯t come to accept it. ¡°This is one of many worlds, Suna. All part of a greater world. Connected by a barrier, which we¡¯re heading towards now. Moving things between worlds costs a great deal, but¡­¡± The girl stopped walking. And so too, did the man, who turned around to face her. ¡°I refuse to live in your debt.¡± She placed her hand on her knife. ¡°I can¡¯t pay off this kind of debt.¡± She knew it was too good to be true. This was a crazy man. ¡°No, no,¡± The man waved his hands. ¡°I don¡¯t mean it like that, that¡¯s not- that¡¯s not what I¡¯m trying to say. Just, look.¡± Then, something inexplicable occurred. She saw¡­ the World. Not with her eyes, but with something within her. Something deeper, something she didn¡¯t know existed. ¡°You can see it, right? Look here.¡± The image the girl was sensing seemed to zoom in. She saw a world, beset by a blanket of ash. It was her world. She never saw her world from such a ridiculous angle, but she didn¡¯t need to be told that this was where she was from. ¡°We¡¯re here, right now. Yrma, they call it. We¡¯re going to go to Nadeer, which is connected at these points. Forget what I said earlier. I just wanted to let you know what was happening. Once we get to Nadeer, you can go and live out your life there. It¡¯s not perfect¡­ but then again, nowhere really is. Understand?¡± The girl digested the knowledge. She didn¡¯t know how, but as soon as she saw the world, she knew. That the world she was in was dying, and that she really truly was the last person alive on it. And that Nadeer really did exist. That this person wasn¡¯t making this all up. So she nodded. And the two continued once again, setting off into the storm of ash. ¡°...¡± ¡°... What is it?¡± ¡°?¡± Out of nowhere, unprompted, Ei put forth the question. A bit startled, Suna didn¡¯t know how to react. They had been walking for a rather long time, and that whole time they didn¡¯t share a word. ¡°I can sense roughly what you¡¯re feeling. Do you not want to go? Do you really want to stay here?¡± This only startled Suna further. She struggled to find the right words to say, she felt like a bug under a rock, comfortable, only to have her safe place lifted. Her own mind, her own emotions. This person can even sense those? ¡°Sorry, I didn¡¯t mean to startle you. It¡¯s just, you know, there¡¯s not much point in walking this whole way if you don¡¯t even want to leave.¡± ¡°No, n-no, of course I want to leave this shitty place¡­¡± ¡°...Then?¡± ¡°It¡¯s just¡­ what you said earlier. About it costing you. What do you mean?¡± ¡°Oh, that?¡± ¡°I mean, if it really costs you so greatly, I don¡¯t get why you¡¯re letting me go, free of charge. Why help me?¡± She didn¡¯t say it outright, but doubt was written on her face. ¡°... Haha. It¡¯s as you said before. I don¡¯t know. Isn¡¯t that right?¡± Suna¡¯s eyebrows furrowed. ¡°Well, let¡¯s just say I¡¯m helping you because I feel like it, okay? Yeah, it¡¯ll cost me a bit. It costs energy to traverse the world boundaries, and taking someone with me will cost even more, that¡¯s just how it works. But my energy will eventually come back with some time, it¡¯s not permanent or anything. That satisfy you?¡± Suna remained cautious, but decided, for now, to trust the mysterious figure. It¡¯s not as if she would know more about weird powers than this person anyways. And, well, she resigned herself to the thought that maybe even a life of servitude would be better than dying in this ash. For a long while, the two walked in silence between them, with the drone of the ash surrounding them. They slept at various caves that scattered the wastelands. At first she constantly kept her guard up, discreetly monitoring every movement the man made. She also got a closer look at him, which was much easier out of the fierce winds of ash. He seemed to be young, in his 20¡¯s. But given his abnormality, she figured it was useless trying to judge him by her conventions. He had dark, straight, pitch black hair that tapered to his neck, covering his head. Looking at it was odd, as if it reflected no light whatsoever. As if black ink was splotched onto her view. She felt as if his face was a bit uncanny. Somehow slightly off from what she was used to seeing. She couldn¡¯t really put a word to this feeling of hers, though. He was rather thin, but not frail. He just had a thin frame. He wasn¡¯t extremely tall, but definitely not short. On closer inspection, his legs seemed somewhat long. And occasionally, he would glance at her and smile. Normally, thinking about it now, she felt that such an action would be extremely creepy, like a predator smiling at its prey in anticipation. But, she didn¡¯t feel this was the case. Her gut feeling was just that the man was genuinely happy to help her. But this behavior went against absolutely everything she had come to know about people, and a large part of her brain warned her to remain vigilant, that this person definitely had bad intentions, but at a certain point, even she had to acknowledge the large possibility that this was simply a good, albeit abnormal man. Contemplating such things, the two eventually encountered a mountain. The terrain, which had been relatively flat, grew more rough, requiring the two to scale boulders and hills blanketed with ash, so much so that a lot of time and energy was spent solely on wiping off the accumulated ash off a surface to climb it. ¡°Yeah, this is getting a bit rough and slow. Suna, if we don¡¯t move quickly, this world will collapse before we reach the boundary. I didn¡¯t want to do this, but¡­¡± Suna, who was currently scaling a small vertical rock wall, was too focused on climbing to notice Ei who appeared right beside her. With strangely little time to react, Ei¡¯s arm wrapped around her waist, and the two ascended. She was beyond startled, but she couldn¡¯t move, simply due to the sheer speed the two were traveling at. Ei was practically jumping up the stone steps, cliffs, and hills of the mountain, using his feet and hands to propel himself when his jumps came short. It was strange. It wasn¡¯t just jumping. There was some sort of trick to it. He wasn¡¯t literally generating tremendous force with his legs and pushing off the ground to jump such massive heights. It seemed too easy. No, it was too easy, as if a light step was all he was doing to achieve such physical feats. And, given that she was being held by him, she could feel how little effort he was using to traverse the mountain. It was extremely odd, she didn¡¯t even feel the wind you¡¯d expect from such propulsion, as if she was just seeing things. She remembered how the ash seemed to avoid this man, it seemed a similar phenomenon was at play here too. Not sure how to feel about being literally carried up the mountain, Suna just kept silent throughout the journey, which was oddly comfortable. With her focus freed up, she observed the world around her. She had the feeling before, but she was certain now. The world was ending. The ash seemed even more thick, and the winds more fierce, but this feeling wasn¡¯t really related to those observations. She could just feel it. The world itself, screaming. Emitting its last death throes, a magnificent elegy that seemed deafening, yet so quiet. She could hardly describe the sensation. As if a choir was assembled, of every living being on the planet, sentient and non-sentient, all belting out miserable death screams, only amounting to mere whispers. This aroused¡­ certain feelings within her. Feelings she never felt before. She hated the world, she felt like she deserved better than this life of suffering, of ash, of constant betrayal and survival. And now, she realized. The world felt the same way. The world also hated this slow, agonizing, painful death. It longed for water, just like she did. It longed for life to grace its lands, for the sun and the moon and the stars to shine down upon it, it longed for happiness. But it knew. It both knew yet rejected the idea that it would no longer be able to have these things. ¡°This world¡­ This world also deserves better.¡± Suna¡¯s head jerked towards Ei. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was put off by Ei¡¯s uncanny ability to sense her feelings before, but here, at this moment, where she was feeling more emotion than she has ever felt in her entire life, she was glad. Glad to share it with someone, that this heavy elegy wasn¡¯t one that she had to bear by herself. Even just the knowledge that someone else was witness to this event was enough to comfort her. She started to regain her senses. Soon, the two arrived at the peak. Ei set her down, and began wiping away the ash from certain protrusions that came from the ground. She also helped. ¡°It¡¯s time. Let¡¯s not delay at all.¡± Ei beckoned for Suna to join him, at the center of the strange protrusions. Oddly, a bright, blue light emanated from the oddly shaped protrusions. It wasn¡¯t bright, yet she couldn¡¯t stare directly at it, as if it were the sun. She hesitated to close her eyes, but had no choice when the lights grew in intensity. ¡°Noric Ashiv Desir Aarm Medi Castra Namph Meyr Syndra¡­¡± She heard strange chanting from Ei beside her, who gripped her shoulder. The energy in the air began to rise, yet another strange sensation she had never been exposed to before. She could feel vibrations through Ei¡¯s hand ¨C she was unsure if they were due to Ei shivering from exertion, or instead due to some external force. With a strange nervousness welling up in her, she tried to calm herself, but to no avail. This situation was just too strange, too weird. Every doubt she had before about the validity of this man and what she was experiencing, thoughts that he was a vision or that this was a dream, that he was a delusional survivor, that she was already dead, they were all dissolving under the face of the real thing. She couldn¡¯t describe anything of what she was experiencing, even as it twisted, changed, grew intense, weakened, laughed at her, scorned her, filled her, became her, knew her, was her, remembered her¡­ If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¨C ¡°Hey. Hey, wake up. Hey.¡± She was dizzy. No, far more than dizzy. Discombobulated, she couldn¡¯t even tell up from down, she didn¡¯t know what thoughts were hers and which weren¡¯t, what was real or what wasn¡¯t¡­ ¡°Heeeey. Come on, wake up.¡± Birds¡­ Birds? The chirping of birds filtered through her ears. Yes. These are real. She could just tell. So, using those as an anchor, she started paying attention to the things like the bird chirping. Such as the soft, dull patting on her cheek. Or the weight of her clothes. Or her hair, draped on her face and neck. Like the air, clean, fresh air, entering and exiting through her nose¡­ ¡°-Ah!¡± With a jump, Suna awoke. Her body¡¯s instinct was to propel itself from the unknown situation, but she was kept from doing so by the arms around her. ¡°Hey, you¡¯re gonna hurt yourself.¡± Startled, nearly hyperventilating, Suna wrestled with her body¡¯s instincts and forced herself to start to calm down. Her rise and falls of her chest began to slow as she started to control her breathing. Her eyes, which had been frantically searching for some kind of escape every which way, began to rest, slowly taking in their surroundings. A forest? ¡°Welcome to Nadeer. Glad to see you¡¯re not hurt. Do you remember where we were before this?¡± Suna¡¯s mind began to remember things. But a lot of what it remembered were indescribable, inexplicable sights and sensations. Calling them such words didn¡¯t do it justice. She was befuddled. ¡°It¡¯s normal to experience that kind of thing when you¡¯re exposed to Magic for the first time. Especially such strong Magic. But, listen to me, just like a dream, it¡¯s not real. It¡¯s your soul struggling to interpret that which it is presented with, so it meshes together various bits and pieces of your imagination and things you¡¯ve seen before, and it tries to interpret it, in a futile manner. Think before those things. Can you tell me your name?¡± Name¡­ name¡­ Suna. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ Suna.¡± ¡°Yes, good. Can you tell me what my name is?¡± The man¡­ He was weird¡­ His name was¡­ ¡°E-... Ei¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, good, seems your mind has gone through safely too. Sigh, thank goodness, I was worried¡­¡± The man let Suna down. She felt a softness. Her hands clenched in and out, grappling with the new sensation she had never felt before, like a toddler. She sat up, rubbing her eyes, as if waking from sleep. ¡°Grass?¡± ¡°Yes, Nadeer has many forests like this, with personally what I find to be some of the most lush greenery in the whole Greater World.¡± ¡°...I, I was¡­!?¡± All of a sudden, her memories came back to her. Or, rather, she remembered what her memories meant. Of her journey with Ei. The pale ash of the dying world, of her struggles. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s gone now, isn¡¯t it? Yrma¡­¡± ¡°Yes, well, it will be shortly, relatively. It can take awhile before a world well and truly dies. They are rather resilient, after all. Anyway, if all is well with you, then let¡¯s get going. I¡¯m going to drop you off at the nearest city. You¡¯re survival skills should be more than enough to get by in a rather peaceful world such as this one.¡± Suna looked at Ei. She felt a bit¡­ she felt a lot of things. Anxiety over the future, a whole new world. Sad that she¡¯d soon depart from the first kind person she had met for years. She remembered the elegy, she wondered just what other kinds of wonders there were out there, just out of sight. She came to be a bit enamored with the strange sensations of Magic, but she knew she had no right to request to accompany or learn from Ei, whom she had already costed who knows how much. To burden someone who saved her from certain death, it just went completely against who she was as a person, so she shut such indulgent thoughts from her head and instead focused on what she would do on her own in this new world. She would no doubt need to thoroughly prepare for all kinds of danger. So the two walked, once again. Her mind was filled with unsettling anxiety, at the thought of a world that could house any sort of dangerous inhabitant or harmful phenomena, like the ash, or vicious, towering creatures. But, gradually, she was smitten. The way the sunlight filtered through the leaves, the way the moss grew over the stone, she had no words for such things but she nonetheless was captivated by their beauty, a beauty she was completely new to. A bird flew through the leaves, and she dropped to the ground, hand on her knife, shaking with worry, rebuking herself for allowing this beautiful world to drop her guard, and preparing herself for any incoming danger, but there was none. The bird came and went, a flit in her peripheral, all too fast. Its speed scared her, but there didn¡¯t seem to be any danger. She exhaled a sigh in relief, resuming her normal posture, until all too quickly, Ei stepped in front of her. She didn¡¯t have time to react. All she could see was Ei¡¯s back, his arm stretched before him as he struggled to fend off some sort of attack. The glow of Magic appeared again. But there was no luxury to simply close her eyes this time. She drew her knife, and jumped away from Ei, sliding along the dirt ground. ¡°S-Suna, No!¡± ¡°Hello there, darling~¡± She simply couldn¡¯t react. An arm picked her up by the shirt, raising her. Whatever it was that picked her up, it was rather tall, many times her size. The ground seemed so far away. ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you keep pets now, Eidra, that¡¯s rather uncouth, you know?¡± Suna did not hesitate. She plunged her knife, with all of her force, into the arm of her captor. But, as if hitting an invisible metal wall, it suddenly rebounded with a clank, the force so unexpected that the knife flew out of her hands and onto the ground. ¡°Hey, you should really train them better, like this¡­!¡± Pain. Pain was all she could feel. Somehow, far more pain than she had ever known. ¡°AaaAaaagGGhhhHhH!!!¡± A scream the likes she had never heard before entered her ears. ¡°STOP IT!!¡± The sound of fighting entered her ears as well. But none of it registered. Too great was the pain, as if her entire body, her entire being had split into many pieces. She couldn¡¯t even think. The ground. The cold dirt. It was pressed against her, no, something was pressing her into it. A large surface, like she was squeezed between two walls. The pain grew even greater, the shock, however, now subsiding. ¡°Rrrrckkkk¡­¡± She tried to break free. She tried to move what she thought was her arm. ¡°How unsightly¡­¡± And then, she lost connection. With her arm. Yet another scream. She didn¡¯t know the human voice could make such a noise. She could still hear the sound of battle, but it started to grow faint. Fainter, fainter¡­ No. Not like this. Not yet. Not after¡­ Not after everything I¡¯ve been through. She remembered the elegy. She sang it, in her head. A desperate cry against the pitiful fate it was succumbing to. Miserable, pitiful, pathetic¡­ Yet still, so strong. With the strength of every living being, all desperately crying at once, a collective rebellion against the immutable, the unchangeable. Amidst pain she never knew, amidst the destruction of everything, this was what she clung to. Desperately. Until the bitter end. ¡°Hoh, so you¡¯ve found yourself quite the jewel, huh, were you thinking that a piece of criminal traitor scum like you could fashion yourself a weapon? How pitiful. But maybe I¡¯ll take her off your hands, turn her into something actually useful, unlike you, hehe~¡± The pain, the pain seemed to recede. Her consciousness was returning, her vision, her senses. I¡¯m still in danger! She immediately got up and readied herself for a fight to the death. But what awaited her¡­ Blood. It blanketed the ground. A bleeding man was held up by a tall, armored figure. It was Ei. Strange abrasions ran down his arms. They looked like burns, but were more likely related to Magic in some way. A weapon of some sort lay on the ground, its lustre fading. Suna¡¯s attention quickly scanned and noticed the other figure present. A tall lady, with thin, thin limbs¡­ like needles. Actually, her entire body was rather disproportionate. She didn¡¯t have normal arms, rather, her arms seemed to reflect light, like metal. Her long hair glittered like a diamond, her chest was deep like a ruby, her waist was shaped like a man-made metal contraption, but with elegance. Her entire appearance was elegant, curved to appeal to a base aesthetic sense. Whatever she was looking at clearly wasn¡¯t human, so why did she think she was looking at a lady? There was something more to it, as if what she was seeing wasn¡¯t the entire picture¡­ Her arm. She remembered her arm. Looking down, she expected not to see it there¡­ but it was there. In its entirety. Well, except for the sleeve that once covered it. What¡¯s going on? This confrontation was obviously completely out of her league. Was there any way she could boost her rate of survival? It didn¡¯t seem likely¡­ Either way, she only had one option: observe, and wait for an opportunity, if it would ever come. ¡°Wh-¡± Before Ei could speak a single word, blood poured out of his mouth. The armored figure behind him tightened their grip, causing an expression of pain and grimace to come onto his face. ¡°Hah, hah¡­ Why¡­ Why are you here¡­?¡± ¡°Oh, isn¡¯t that obvious? Because we own this place now, duhh~!¡± Despite her face remaining still as the gem it seemed to be carved out of, Suna could still see the wide, patronizing grin that extended across the whole width of this lady¡¯s face. Ei made no attempt to hide his utter befuddlement. ¡°Didn¡¯t you hear? We took Nadeer! Haaahahaha! It was only a matter of time, of course.¡± She seemed to linger on her every word, as if to prolong her gloating and drive ever deeper the stake of reality into Ei¡¯s shaken being. ¡°But, of course, someone disgusting and incompetent like you, hiding like some rat, probably wouldn¡¯t even know it if the Sun disappeared, wouldn¡¯t you?¡± ¡°Hah¡­ What, don¡¯t tell me, after all this time¡­ the stupid Radiens are still playing their stupid games, hahah¡­¡± The female figure shook, leaking a dark, oppressive air that made Suna shudder, as if seeing death, face to face. ¡°Games¡­? Games? Haha, you REALLY don¡¯t get it, do you? You, you scum that forsook your God, Hah! I guess that¡¯s all it really was to you, just a game, huh? I bet when they DIED, you thought it was funny, didn¡¯t you? You¡¯re pathetic. You disgust me. I thought the feared Eidra Flynt, the one whose pathetic scummy villainy is known all throughout the Greater World, I figured they would at least put up a fucking fight, but look at you. About to die a death more pitiful than a fucking dog¡¯s. Die already.¡± The lady merely glanced at the armored knight to convey her meaning, and a mere instant later, a head rolled. Suna had seen many deaths. But this, what was practically an execution¡­ she hadn¡¯t seen any of those. Her mind raced to determine her next course of action, but she couldn¡¯t suppress her sorrow. A loud, exaggerated sigh rang out. ¡°How pitiful. Well, at the very least, this head should raise our standing quite a bit. Aymry, help me with this, we need a fanciful yet realistic tale of our deadly battle with the infamous Eidra. We should probably even inflict some injuries onto ourselves, after all, who would believe we came out of such a legendary fight unscathed, right?¡± The knight made no noise as it moved its long arm to pick up the head of the now deceased Ei. The lady began to strut over to Suna, whose nerves began to tense, who deemed the situation extremely hopeless. Guilt. ¡°And look, we were even lucky enough to pick up a gem for all our hard work. Do you think we should sell her? Or should we keep her?¡± There was no audible response. Guilt. ¡°Hmm, I don¡¯t know~... Why would we do that?¡± Guilt. Ei¡­ This didn¡¯t need to happen to them. I¡¯ve inflicted death upon others in the past, but I had no real choice, they all were people who tried to kill me¡­ But Ei¡­ The death of my savior, on my hands¡­ This feeling, is sickening¡­ But Suna¡¯s body knew better than to dwell on the nauseating urge to vomit. It focused on survival, continuing to search for any hope of escape until the bitter end. ¡°Oh well. We¡¯ll do as you say, you often know better than me, anyway.¡± Suna could do nothing, as the arm of the tall, metallic limbs moved closer. Seeing them closer, they moved unlike any metal she knew of. As if it was flexible, a living thing with a mind of its own, parts of the thin, needle-like limb extended out into prongs towards Suna. She knew better than to try and fight this strange being. Closer. And closer. Unnaturally, they extended. They wrapped around her, like tentacles. Their surface was not metal-like. It was rough, like sharkskin, yet also like a fluid. Suna grimaced, putting up with the weird sensation, until a weird urge came over her. Before she knew it, she had given into the urge. The urge to kill. She had no weapon. But with a swipe of her hands, the weird, metallic head of the lady fell. Thud. Immediately, she sensed the approach of the armored knight. They were many times taller than her, many times more deadly¡­ But she wasn¡¯t afraid. She knew where to strike, as if she had studied the knight for a long time. She knew their weak point. The heart. In the deepest center of their armor. Strike in the gap between their back and their shoulder. She didn¡¯t even know how she would achieve such a thing. But, without hesitation, she followed through. Cut. And like a puppet with its strings cut, the armored figure, Aymry, collapsed into the grass. Chapter 3: Death Chapter 3 Death She was stunned. The feeling of a motion so swift and so deadly, a mere swipe of her hands, yet with the intent, no, the capability, the inevitability to pierce pure metal. This sensation was all she could think about, her mind couldn¡¯t help but replay over and over again the short series of actions that just took place. She was captivated. But that feeling. That feeling seemed to move further from her. As if departing, cruelly. Wait, stop! Don¡¯t go! ¡°Let it go.¡± Suna, so enraptured by the allure of the forbidden insight, failed to fully register the voice she had just heard. ¡°Wha-, Huh!? Who¡¯s there!¡± ¡°Let it go, Suna. Things beyond your knowledge only hurt you, you aren¡¯t ready for it.¡± ¡°Who-, Who are you! Show yourself!¡± The voice let out a chuckle. ¡°I¡¯m Ei. Hopefully you do remember me?¡± Ei? Suna unconsciously glanced over to the decapitated corpse, its head having rolled not far from its home. It was a gruesome sight. No matter how many times she saw corpses, they¡¯d still raise within her deep unsettled feelings, feelings that made her want to throw up. ¡°Do-Don¡¯t speak nonsense!¡± ¡°I¡¯m not, Suna.¡± ¡°You don¡¯t sound sound anything like him!¡± ¡°Haha, well, when you think to yourself, the voice in your head doesn¡¯t sound like the one that comes out, does it?¡± That patience. Suna started to calm down a bit. ¡°This, this is just so crazy. Are you really, still alive?¡± ¡°Hahaha, well, no. At least, my body is dead. However, the body plays a critical role along with the soul, so my energy regeneration¡­ it¡¯s not looking too good. I¡¯m sorry, Ei. My ignorance put you in danger, and I was forced to resort to some drastic measures to deal with our foes. I¡¯ll be quick, because the more I speak, the more my energy dwindles. This place is no longer safe, they know that these two Servants are dead. Luckily, no one should suspect a weak-looking girl like you to be responsible for the deaths of those people, but¡­ should you come under their query, remember. Even your thoughts aren¡¯t safe from the prying eyes of the truly strong. Even directing your thoughts at them from another World could bring you danger. So listen to me carefully.¡± Suna gulped. She could not see him, or even hear him, but she sensed the gravity of his words. ¡°This event. The two figures from before. Thinking about them will kill you.¡± He wasn¡¯t lying. She understood, her very soul understood, not to even faintly approach those thoughts. After a second of digesting Ei¡¯s words, she soon found she couldn¡¯t remember the people she had just saw, or what had happened to them. And strangely, she couldn¡¯t look behind her. It was a strange feeling, as if she knew vaguely, deep down, what had just transpired, but her very being wouldn¡¯t let her broach the topic. And when she tried to muster the will to pry into it, to turn her head, a sense of danger overcame her. She broke out into a cold sweat, all over her body, chills running down her spine. ¡°Good. Your survival instinct serves you well. I¡¯m certain you have many questions, but I can¡¯t answer most of them. My time speaking to you like this is limited. Listen closely. This world, Nadeer, is not suitable for my recovery. I¡¯ll hitch a ride on you for now, but it will take most of my energy to simply not deteriorate. Just know that you aren¡¯t yet ready to traverse a world boundary on your own. I can feel it, Suna. You¡¯re deep urge to overcome these fatal, laughable odds of yours, to overcome your helplessness, when the World seems to conspire against you. So I¡¯m betting on you, Suna. That you¡¯ll find a way to do that. Follow your heart¡­¡± Suna struggled to keep her emotions in check as Ei¡¯s voice grew fainter and fainter in her mind. Guilt. Guilt. She hated owing anything to anyone. But much more than that, she hated the idea of being responsible for her benefactor¡¯s downfall. Despite the strong feelings within her, Suna did not remain actionless forever. She broke out into a run, without looking back. Information. I need information. And I need to get stronger. Suna¡¯s mind was very clear on what she needed to do. She would not just let Ei die. If there was a way to help him, anything, she was going to find it. But she knew, all too well, just how powerless she was to do that at the current moment. I can¡¯t dwindle. I don¡¯t know how long Ei has. I must hurry! ¡°You have such a noble heart, don¡¯t you?¡± Once again, the quaint feeling of hearing a voice, yet at the same time hearing nothing. She was startled, but recognized its owner. ¡°Ei! You¡¯re okay!¡± ¡°Not out loud, Suna. Yes, I¡¯m not in any immediate danger.¡± Suna felt relief. Thrust into a completely foreign land, with an insurmountable task before her, she really doubted whether she could manage on her own. ¡°Sorry, I just wanted to clarify a couple things. As I said, I¡¯m not going to die soon, so long as I focus 0n maintaining my energy level. So don¡¯t rush. Actually, rushing would likely just get you killed. You need to take your time. Just to give you some perspective, even if I sat dormant for ten of your lifetimes, I¡¯d still be just as fine. So what you need to do now is focus on just living, alright? The largest growth always comes naturally. Trying to forcibly change or accelerate that part of you will just burn you out. So just take things one step at a time. Understand?¡± Suna nodded. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Good. I¡¯ll be sleeping now, but I¡¯ll still feel what you¡¯re going through. I won¡¯t stick around to guide you every step, but listen to me. You don¡¯t need that. Just follow where your footsteps take you. Goodbye, Suna. I¡¯ll check on you when I rouse from slumber.¡± Suna stood in place, amongst the trees, unsure of what to do. Just a couple minutes ago, she was psyching herself up, ready to throw herself at the fiercest beast, or steal from the tallest towers. But Ei woke up, specifically to tell her not to do that. So, what should she do? She pondered, but now, without the feeling of the world crashing down on her. She stepped forward, one step, at a time. She broke out into a jog, one step at a time. And she let her feet lead her. Suna found surviving in the lush forest to be laughably easy. The animals showed little fear as she stalked and hunted them. Most often, a simple throw of her knife was enough to put to rest any creature that came upon her path. A couple times, she encountered large beasts, with thick fur or hide, slumbering in a cave, or stumbling through bushes. But they didn¡¯t attempt to hide their presence, as if they hadn¡¯t a care for their own self preservation. As if they were the apex predators of the land. Even Yrma had much more dangerous animals when they were still around¡­ Maybe it¡¯s just this forest that¡¯s so peaceful. I shouldn¡¯t come to expect this low level of danger everywhere¡­ Cooking, sleeping, traversing, these things were all second nature to her. It felt, quite literally, like a walk in the park, a very stark contrast to the world she had suffered in not long ago. So, like this, she kept moving, for days¡­ until she heard unusual sounds. Talking? Someone¡¯s here¡­ At least two. Suna immediately hid herself, her small figure easily obscured by a small bush. They¡¯re still quite far away, I can¡¯t make out what they¡¯re saying¡­ Suna crawled, carefully and adeptly, on all fours, making her way through the shrubbery. ¡°...its just th-... ¡­Not here¡­ ¡­Ugh, this is so annoying! Why are th-...¡± Suna could make out a voice, but she didn¡¯t know if it was male or female, or if there was more than two speakers. There was a deeper voice she swore she faintly heard earlier, but she hadn¡¯t heard it again. The voices she was hearing weren¡¯t hushed, as if they didn¡¯t mind if anyone overheard them. The disdain and annoyance in their voice was also apparent. ¡°... -ou feel that? ¡­¡± She couldn¡¯t make out what they were saying, so she tried to focus more intently on the voices, to not miss a single sound that escaped them. ¡°...eah-, over there¡­ ¡­-eel it too, ri-...?¡± The voices were getting closer. Then, as if realizing something all of a sudden, her body broke out into a cold sweat, a feeling of danger no less severe than when she was unable to turn her head. ¡°Somewhere over here?¡± ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure it was¡­ Unless I¡¯m going crazy.¡± ¡°No, I don¡¯t think you were imagining it.¡± Two figures approached, small signs of their movement flashing between the dense tree lines. They pushed smaller branches and plants to the side, and cut the thicker ones in their way. They were making a beeline, for her. Not good! ¡°Somewhere around here, right?¡± One of the figures, dressed in a light blue shining armor that seemed vaguely familiar, yet she couldn¡¯t quite put a finger on it, cut down all that was in their path with a long, curved, sharp looking sword that seemed to gleam despite the small amount of light filtering through the leaves. It sharpness was made very apparent by the way it seemed to cut through thick branches as if they were somehow made of butter this whole time. A whole litany of emotions were coursing through Suna. Mainly fear, and anxiety. But they didn¡¯t stop her from maintaining her calm, deep breath, or from closely monitoring the situation. ¡°I think we¡¯re getting closer. It¡¯s subtle, but it¡¯s definitely around here.¡± The armored figure looked all around, as if trying to peer through the densely packed leaves of the scattered about bushes, or trying to look past the tall overgrown roots that rose from the trees before they plunged into the ground. On more than one occasion, Suna felt it. That their gaze met hers. It was just a coincidence, right? Her heart started to beat faster. Soon, she realized just how drenched in sweat her clothes were. Her breathing accelerated as the armored figure soon started to approach closer to her rough location. Closer. And closer. Somehow, Suna¡¯s sense of danger, which was already heightened, spiked. ¡°Aha! Here!¡± In a flash, all too quick, the knight leapt forward and thrust their hand out towards the bush Suna was in. ¡°H-Huh? Huh. How strange. I could¡¯ve sworn it was coming from here. Wherever you are, can you just come out already, mystery person? If you even exist¡­¡± ¡°Ugh, this is so annoying, why do we have to get stuck with such a boring task? I mean, it¡¯s such a big forest, and they really expect us to search through the whole thing? Give me a break.¡± Close. Too close. The armored hand had just barely missed her. Had she not moved right before the last second, she would have been caught. She did not want to find out what would happen if they caught her. Suna listened to her heartbeat. It was loud. It was fast. But it wasn¡¯t overwhelming. She had just been subject to a mountain of nerves, but right now, she was in a state of calm. She had never felt more serene before. She had stopped shaking. She just listened, calmly, to the conversation of the two armored figures. She didn¡¯t risk looking at them, she didn¡¯t even risk paying too much attention to them. So that was it. That¡¯s how they caught onto my location¡­ Suna remembered, far too late, how Ei had sensed her feelings in the past. Perhaps they share some of the same ability? So Suna just emptied her mind of her thoughts. She saw how turbulent her emotions had become, yet how they still ebbed and flowed. And she sat there, deathly still, just taking it all in. As the voices of the knights, who didn¡¯t refrain from expressing their impatience and annoyance at their task, began to drift, further and further away, Suna lay still, in the bush. Even as she could barely even make them out anymore, as all she could hear were the rustling of leaves, brushing each other in the wind, she continued to lay still. One hour. Two hours. At some point, Suna herself was beginning to wonder why she continued to lay there, motionless, in hiding. Her mind reasoned that the danger was long gone, that she should begin moving again, to get as far away from the two as possible. But when she began to muster the will to move, she just didn¡¯t. She continued, laying there, still. 6 hours. 12 hours. She was losing track of time. The sun, which was on its way down when she encountered the knights, was now coming up again. How much longer was she going to stay here? Her body ached, and she struggled not to move. Each minute felt longer and longer, and the pain she felt grew. She desperately wanted to move, to stretch her limbs, just to regain feeling in them. But she didn¡¯t. Part of her began to panic, but another part of her just calmly endured. 24 hours. 36¡­ 48¡­ The sun made two whole cycles, and just as she was reaching her limit, she felt something. As if the air itself was starting to turn against her. It grew heavy, hostile even. She struggled to combat the sheer feeling of despair she was encountering. She could have sworn that even the steadfast trees surrounding her were moaning, groaning in pain, trembling, shaking in fear. She was terrified. And she had no idea why. And then it appeared. But she knew better than to look at it. Just like she had been doing, she remained completely motionless. All the accumulated pain felt like nothing in the face of this danger. She was glad to endure all of it, every last drop of it. It didn¡¯t seem to move around much. She struggled to even theorize what it could be doing. It just seemed to exist there. Then, she yelped. Agh! A pain struck her, but not just her. All the trees and plants around her, they seemed to also share in her pain, as if all were struck by some invisible force. This pain, it wasn¡¯t physical, it was as if it targeted her very being¡­ I¡¯ve felt this kind of pain before! It wasn¡¯t to this extent, however, and she struggled just to gasp for air. No, she wasn¡¯t gasping. She wasn¡¯t groaning in pain, nor struggling to breathe. She was doing all those things in her mind. Her actual body lay completely still. Having realized this, she all of a sudden felt so disconnected from her physical self, from the whole world around her. What is this feeling? Agh, this pain¡­ It continued, unrelentingly. It was trying to drown her, to smother her, suffocate her, and it was succeeding. She didn¡¯t know how much more she could take, she was going mad with pain, pain that she had never felt before. It hurts! It hurts! Stop! Stop! But no matter how she pleaded, it kept coming, getting stronger with every second. No¡­ more¡­ Suna was blacking out, her consciousness experiencing gaps. She struggled to piece together what was happening, and how she had got there. But despite the turmoil within her, her body lay perfectly still. After she had stopped trying to assess how much time was passing, at last, the pain subsided. The shrieks of the trees around her had all stopped, long ago. They were all dead. They didn¡¯t seem like it visually, but she could feel it. Unlike them, she was still alive. She lay there, breathing, in and out. The overwhelming presence she felt earlier was gone now. And at long last, after who knows how long, she was able to move her finger. A feeling of joy, of something lost but being returned at long last, filled her. She felt like she could jump and yell in pure happiness, but her body struggled to even move just its fingertips. She realized just how hungry she was, how dry her throat was, how miserable she seemed now. But she kept trying. A twitch here, a twitch there. Her fingertips, her foot, her wrist, bit by bit, she fought to regain control of her body, which was beset with painful aching. But soon, she moved her arm. She applied some force, and then all at once, as if freed from the paralysis of sleep, she moved, all at once. She shot up, and looked around. The forest¡­ it was dead. The chorus of the leaves, it was all gone. Pure, dead, silence. Chapter 4: Happiness Chapter 4 Happiness She had never heard a silence so quiet. The sound of her footfalls seemed deafeningly loud. She could hear with clarity her faint heartbeat, and a ringing of the ears. Her own thoughts seemed to boom within her head; they were erratic and uncontrollable, expressing themselves with different levels of clarity and tone. Was she hearing voices? No, these were just her own thoughts. She had never heard them like this before. Slowly, quietly, she made her way through the forest once more. After some time and consuming some food and water she had prepared in a small pack she carried with her, she started to regain her energy. She moved, quickly, to not stay in such an unsettling forest for a second longer. Sleeping was difficult. Her thoughts seemed to grow louder and more intense the closer she came to slumber. So, she only slept when she couldn¡¯t stay awake any longer, sometimes sleeping when the sun was unabashedly present in the middle of the sky. Corpses. Dead animals. She encountered them as she traversed the large forest. But they didn¡¯t rot. So she ate them when she was hungry. At some point, the trees started to change. She found a few that were on the brink of death, their life a much needed refreshment from all the death she had passed through. She felt pity and sorrow for the trees, which she had never known she shared so much in common with. Then, the ground changed. It grew smoother. The trees grew sparser. The dense shrubbery and plantlife seemed to grow further apart as she advanced. Her speed increased as less obscured roots and shrubs blocked her path. The air changed from an empty and dead void to one that brought life, one that brought the stories of those that breathed it. She had never felt this sensation before. And soon, she came to a clearing. Stepping through the treeline, she saw the land. She was up on a hill, and she could see far out into the distance. Other mountains, other forests, large and towering rocks, and splotches of clouds. An entire lake, filled to the brim with water, and a roaring river that pierced it. She couldn¡¯t see all of it clearly, and the ground rose up in places, obscuring her view, but¡­ She knelt on the ground. This. This is what Yrma wanted, what they longed for¡­ At some point, they must have had it. They must have felt this overwhelming sense of life, once upon a time¡­ The world she knew never looked anything like this one, but she knew how easy it was for even a view so beautiful and grand to be taken for granted. She could feel something, deep within her, resonate with more than what her eyes took in, and she felt certain emotions she had no name for. So she sat, by the shade of the tree, just taking it all in. After getting her fill of the view, she resolved herself, and set off. She was unable to make out any signs of civilization or of any humans like herself, but she saw a rough, wide, dirt road. She knew that if she traveled long enough down it, it would be a matter of time. However, she did not think it was wise to simply stroll down it, in plain sight. Without any information, and without knowing why she was pursued, hastily seeking interaction with potential enemies seemed like a dumb way to die. She surveyed the land. The land alongside the road, from what she could make out, shifted and changed, but it wasn¡¯t completely bare and flat. And if she encountered that, she could deviate further from the road. It also wasn¡¯t a bad idea to wait for a time and observe any travellers going down it. With a plan in mind, she descended down the mountain. With varying amounts of cover, she didn¡¯t dare risk staying in the open for long, her short legs flying back and forth as she ran downhill. Her feet knew where to land for her to avoid falling, her light weight aiding her agility and speed. To and fro, following the ground¡¯s least steep regions, she flitted back and forth, a flash. With the sun descending, she felt comfortable with her level of exposure. She was confident in her dark grey clothing¡¯s ability to blend in with the land from afar. Having reached a certain proximity of the road she was satisfied with, she traversed the land adjacent, moving parallel to the road. At times the path would twist and turn sharply, snaking through and around small forests and groves, smatterings of trees. But more often than not, the road found the easiest way through the hills, so Suna was able to relax as she comfortably traversed the land. It was much more forgiving and flat than the rough forest, where she had to pay close attention to each step. Sound. Wheels. People. It didn¡¯t take long. She hid, listening to the rolling sound get closer from afar. She couldn¡¯t see it coming as it was obscured by a hillside, but she was confident in her ability to hide. Having learned her lesson, she didn¡¯t try and intently focus on the sound of the wheels or on what could be voices. She just let the sound hit her ears, and she took what came to her. Close. The wheels rolled by. She remained out of sight. She didn¡¯t hear any voices. She didn¡¯t feel a sense of danger, so she poked her head ever so slightly past the tree she was hiding behind. A carriage¡­ Pulled by some sort of animal. It doesn¡¯t look very advanced¡­ Suna was used to seeing metal compose most of the devices she grew up around, it was her first time seeing a wooden carriage. She considered. If she should emerge from the treeline and attempt to communicate with the figure at its front. She didn¡¯t sense any danger from them¡­ Better not to risk it. There should be other carriages and groups of people as well. Given how quickly I came across someone on this path, and how lightly armed they seem to be, it¡¯s likely this path isn¡¯t extremely dangerous¡­ I¡¯ll wait for a few more groups to pass by before I consider interacting with them. So, Suna continued, leaving the fading sound of the rolling wheels behind her. Before long, another sound entered her ears. Voices. A group of people, rowdy. Laughs? She almost failed to recognize the sound of hearty laughter, her mind instead recognizing it first as some sort of cry of pain, or choking. Laughter¡­ I, I used to laugh, didn¡¯t I? My mom did¡­ Suna pushed aside her sentimental thoughts and continued focusing on the group. ¡°How long until the next carriage comes along, you think? Of course it¡¯s just our luck for ours to break down like that.¡± ¡°It¡¯s the fault of that decrepit old wack, selling us trash like that.¡± Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Come on, did you seriously think you could get something good with the amount you offered? I told you we should¡¯ve put down more money.¡± ¡°Oh? With what money?¡± ¡°Well, I dunno, maybe you don¡¯t absolutely need a new sword so bad?¡± ¡°Hey, are you kidding me? Look at this thing! It¡¯s basically falling apart!? Look right here!¡± ¡°James, stop being silly, it¡¯s totally fine.¡± ¡°Wha-! Hey, you¡­!¡± ¡°Come on, you two, stop fighting, we¡¯re not getting home any time soon so please don¡¯t make my life miserable, alright?¡± ¡°Oh, you think you have it rough Krax, don¡¯t you? Tell me, are you the one with a broken sword? It could cost me my life!¡± ¡°Yeah, dying to some slime, sounds like how you¡¯d go, to be honest.¡± ¡°Urrrrggh! Cyra! I am NOT talking about some stupid slime!¡± ¡°Pffft.¡± ¡°Oh? And what do you have to say about all this?¡± ¡°...Pft, pfffthahahah! You guys are so silly!¡± More laughter. Suna didn¡¯t know how to react. She considered just letting the voices pass by her. But, she just couldn¡¯t. Before she knew it, she was following them, listening intently to them. Like a moth to a flame, drawn in by their light. She wrestled with herself, telling herself she shouldn¡¯t put herself closer to potential enemies. That she couldn¡¯t trust their banter, that they could be enemies just as dangerous as the ones she encountered before. But she couldn¡¯t stop her feet, they moved on their own. Still adept, following the shadows, without a noise. But involuntarily, they moved. She continued following them. When they laughed, a smile came to her face. She almost imagined herself, one of them, laughing along with them. Friends¡­ They were blindingly bright to her. She considered Ei to be a benefactor, a strong entity that took pity on her. She was obviously nowhere near his equal. But these people, the way they talked to each other, harassed each other, joked with each other, they were equals. They didn¡¯t bargain or seek recompense from each other, they simply existed in each other¡¯s company. The way their words oozed, and meshed with each other, the way they didn¡¯t force anything, comfortable silence living among their conversation¡­ She was enraptured. ¨C As the sun dipped down, further behind the mountains, as sky enacted its twice daily, colorful transformation, the group departed from the main road. She followed. She could hear their pace slow, coming to a halt, shortly followed by the dull thud and rustle of their heavy belongings hitting the dirt ground. ¡°This place should do.¡± Suna listened intently as the four went to work, setting up their camp. She heard sounds of cutting, as if a thick piece of meat was being carved and prepared. The rustle of leaves and branches, the crisp and satisfying sound of wood splitting echoing through the air. The striking of flint, repeatedly, rhythmically, until the crackle of caught flame emerged into being. Exhausted sighs, the occasional remark, none of it escaped Suna¡¯s ears. She caught every sound, almost in an effort to visualize what the scene looked like. The way they worked together on separate tasks, or occupied themselves during their downtime. She desperately wanted to watch them. But she was afraid, very afraid, of looking. It¡¯s too dangerous. I can¡¯t look. She could not risk it. She didn¡¯t know if looking at them would alert them, if they would come and end her small life before she she even knew it. It¡¯s a trick. They¡¯re getting me to let my guard down. I can¡¯t give in to this! But Suna¡¯s legs wouldn¡¯t budge as she tried to move away. She was drawn in by them. By every aspect. By a life that she once knew. Happiness. Her vision grew blurry. How couldn¡¯t she cry? That sweet, divine nectar, just like water, when it¡¯s gone, you know just how much it¡¯s worth. What if I could have it? Why can¡¯t I be happy? Why can¡¯t I have friends, and just get along with them? Why? Why me? Suna longed, desperately, deeply, for the life that this group shared with one another. As the darkness deepened, and the group, content with their meal, retreated to their tents, the whole time, Suna couldn¡¯t help but imagine herself. One of them. Eating with them, and retiring for the night in comfort, peaceful. Suna sat, in still silence, for what seemed to be an eternity. Her heart hurt. She hurt. She stopped crying, but she couldn¡¯t rid her eyes of the blurry glaze, that heat of sorrow. Her heart twisted, it hurt her, but she made no effort to stop it. Her throat constricted, to the point it was interfering with her breathing, but she made no effort to clear it. She indulged in these feelings, for they brought her closer to them, in some twisted way. She may not get to experience this happiness, perhaps not ever in her entire life. Maybe, in her suffering, there was something. Something human, something she could grab onto. So she didn¡¯t stop her emotions, nor her tears. I have to go. Suna resolved herself to leave the camp. But¡­ but once¡­ She longed to just see it. To have a memory, so she wouldn¡¯t forget the warmth of the voices she had once heard. Her legs, stiff from immobility, creaked as they remembered how to move. Her feet dragged along the ground, mired in doubt and fear, yet finding their way through their marsh-like emotional obstructions. Slowly, she inched closer. Slowly, with a heavy, heavy heart. ¡°Intruder!¡± Hu- What¡­! Before even a few seconds could pass, all four of the members emerged from their tents, weapons in hand, ready for combat. Suna was slow to react, having been hastily awakened from her emotional stupor, but her body did not delay long. Her feet carried her as fast as they could, her small figure darting between shadows. ¡°Erykh Avant!¡± ¡°Flicht einer Auren, Floren!¡± She heard hasty, yet collected chanting behind her, fading as she gained more distance. A faint rumbling, she felt it in her feet, through the ground, something was approaching. Jump! Her instincts commanded her, and she followed through. Just where she leapt from, a startlingly quick, root-like growth had pierced the ground, seemingly in an attempt to engulf her legs. Cold sweat ran down her forehead, and she quickened her pace. ¡°Not so fast!¡± Behind her, the clattering noise of metal approached. One of the group members emerged, lightly armored. A grown man, sword in hand. All that armor, and a sword, how are they so fast! It was a familiar sensation, as if the man was moving faster than her logic dictated he should. A slight gliding over the ground, with each step. It was nothing compared to Ei¡¯s, but it was definitely connected. Magic! Curses rang out in her head. If only I just left! Why did I do something so stupid! I¡¯m an idiot! But none of them helped her evade the man, or the rumbling roots she felt were on their way. ¡°Heh, you¡¯re fast, but¡­ Avarem!¡± It was too fast, in but an instant, the man appeared before her, blocking her way. She struggled, pushing her thin legs to the limit and forcing them to dig into the dirt, and somehow, somehow she managed to stop herself before colliding into the man, whose arms were outstretched, clearly intent on capturing the girl. She skidded along the dirt, her right arm dragging along the ground as she attempted to steer herself away from the man. But just as she had managed to make a full 90 degree turn, her hand couldn¡¯t leave the ground. It was stuck. The roots! The man approached, she heard the sounds of the others running toward her, she was stuck. It, It¡­ It¡¯s just a few fingers! Suna unsheathed her knife with her free hand, and resolutely slashed at her other hand. I can¡¯t get caught! Her blood was racing, preparing for the ensuing pain, which soon came. That wasn¡¯t so bad¡­ She opened her eyes to look at her caught hand, but realized. It was too late. The man had grasped her hand, stopping her from successfully slashing through her caught fingers. He quickly twisted her hand with the knife, hard, and she was forced to drop it. Then, in a smooth motion, he brought the left arm of the girl behind her back, and pinned her to the ground with his knee, her right hand still caught in the thick roots, which had continued expanding to cover her wrist and even parts of her forearm. She had lost. Chapter 5: Doubt Chapter 5 Doubt She was bound. Not by a rope, but rather by some sort of Magical chain, that gave off a familiar glow, albeit in a faint, yellow color this time. She wasn¡¯t moved yet, still at the place she was caught. The group¡¯s arguing filled her ears. ¡°What if she¡¯s Geth?¡± ¡°What do you mean, ¡®What if she¡¯s Geth?¡¯, do you have any idea where we are?¡± ¡°It could be some sort of ploy, Cyra, I don¡¯t know, maybe they¡­¡± The man, James, struggled to find his words. ¡°Look, it¡¯s just a girl, James, look at her! She probably got lost on her own, somehow.¡± ¡°And what, you think a, normal girl, could evade our senses? You think that we wouldn¡¯t notice a normal girl so close to us?¡± Suna felt sad. A deep sorrow. She had already resigned herself to her fate. Whatever happened to her would be up to this group, she had no way out. But, she felt bitter. Bitter that she was responsible for introducing conflict to what should have been a peaceful group. ¡°I think James has a point, Cyra. Without my wire, we would have never even known she was in our midst. This isn¡¯t just a normal girl.¡± Wire? What wire? I never saw a wire¡­ Of course. Magic. I really should have guessed. Suna felt even stupider. ¡°Oh, okay. So we lug her aaaaaall the way back to town, throw her to the jailers, so that they can execute her, does that sound good to you? Actually, why don¡¯t we save them the hassle? Why don¡¯t we just kill her right now?¡± Her exaggeration was highlighted by wide, overdone gestures that accompanied her tone of disbelief. The man named James responded with a look on his face, as if silently saying ¡®You¡¯re making this more difficult than this has to be¡¯. The woman, Cyra, obviously made no attempt to hide her annoyance and disdain with the ¡®too quick to judge¡¯ James, delivering a poignant eye roll and crossing of the arms. ¡°Look, look, I get it, Cyra, but you shouldn¡¯t let your guard down against her. Do you remember how fast she was? She¡¯s obviously not a normal person.¡± ¡°And her eyes.¡± The swordsman paused. ¡°She didn¡¯t hesitate to cut off her own hand.¡± At the mention of her hand, the group turned their eyes to her. Well, her hand, more specifically. Blood ran down and covered the hand, now freed from the Magical roots. Suspicion lined their eyes. ¡°Okay¡­ She¡¯s not normal, but what if she¡¯s just had it rough? Did she ever even try to hurt you? Would a Geth just run away like this? It¡¯s not like you know what kind of life she¡¯s lived, James.¡± ¡°Yeah, yeah, do you seriously think¡­¡± The two¡¯s bickering continued, a third trying to get between them, as if without him, the two might start throwing punches. A fourth¡­ the fourth kept looking at her. At her hand. They approached her. Suna¡¯s body tensed, readying itself for some sort of strike, or blow, or worse. But all that came was a soothing sensation. ¡°Shaanek.¡± The fourth, a girl not much taller than her, crouched down in front of her, and outstretched her hand, as if bestowing something to her. It continued for a bit, her hand glowing a faint green, but when the girl removed her hand, she realized. It¡¯s not¡­ bleeding anymore¡­ ¡°I¡¯m Angie. What¡¯s your name?¡± The girl, Angie, looked at her straight on. There didn¡¯t seem to be any of the expected deception or interrogation, she just looked at her. As if the two were engaging in a normal conversation. ¡°S-S-... S-Suna¡­¡± ¡°Sue? Did I hear that right?¡± The girl spoke calmly and slowly. It reminded her of another patient person. ¡°No, s-sorry, um¡­ S-Suna¡­ That¡¯s my name¡­¡± She did her best, but she stammered out the words. She couldn¡¯t stop her mouth and throat from trembling, and she felt her breathing get more shallow and rushed. She felt all sorts of emotions, but mainly, a strong sense of panic. I¡¯m not supposed to talk to these people, I¡¯m not supposed to be here! Suna resisted the urge to try and dart from the group. She didn¡¯t want to arouse their ire any further. ¡°Look, Suna, can you tell me why you approached our camp?¡± Suna didn¡¯t know how to respond. She didn¡¯t know how to convey the maelstrom of emotions that had plagued her that entire night, her intense longing, her deep sorrow, she felt shame in the idea of marring this perfect group of people with such negative emotions, with a presence like hers. She wished she had never approached them, that she had simply left in the dead of night. ¡°Sigh, I mean, it¡¯s just weird, right? To do that in the dead of night? What do you want? Were you looking to steal something?¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°...Sigh¡­¡± The girl, with a shake of the head, was about to get up. ¡°I¡­ I, uh¡­¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Angie stopped, remaining crouched, listening to the soft words of the small girl before her. ¡°Um, I, uh¡­ I¡­ I wanted to join you!¡± That definitely came out weird, I¡¯m such an idiot! Out of Suna¡¯s near constricted throat, came an answer that left the robed girl before her somewhat stunned. ¡°Huh?¡± Suna¡¯s sentence came out louder than she tried to speak, and so, the attention of the other three were on her too. ¡°Wha-, what do you mean?¡± Suna struggled just to piece words together, she felt like a toddler trying to construct a complicated piece of machinery, totally unequipped, left with just panic at the seemingly herculean task before her. But she tried her best, to stammer out words, to somehow be able to convince the people before her that she wasn¡¯t a threat to them, that she wasn¡¯t an enemy. ¡°Um, I, um, uh, uh, hah, um, uh I-¡± The other lady stooped down, crouching beside Angie. ¡°It¡¯s okay. You can tell us.¡± She gently, slowly reached her hand out, and delicately, she placed it Suna¡¯s head. ¡°-Uh, wha, um, haha, wha-¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay. Breathe.¡± It was all too much for Suna. She was starting to believe a lie, a lie she told herself, that these people were trustworthy. That she wouldn¡¯t be hurt by them. Some deep part of her ignored all of her reasoning, and just committed itself to this lie. Hope. Tears began to stream down her face. Suna, who at this point was unable to form even a single coherent word, just began sobbing, emitting a sort of groan, a whimper. She had no control over it, the tears wouldn¡¯t stop, she lost all control over her emotions. And she started crying. ¡°Alright, what are you doing-¡± The long, pointy-eared lady jerked her face back, shooting a deathly glare at the lightly armored man who was trying to interrupt her. He shortly put his hands up in resignation, as if in surrender. ¡°Cyra. You shouldn¡¯t let your guard down.¡± ¡°Krax, it¡¯s okay. I won¡¯t. Angie, can you fetch me a change of clothes? There¡¯s a stream nearby, I¡¯m going to clean her up a bit.¡± With a quick nod, Angie got up on her feet and started moving in the direction they once had all come from. James lingered, wondering if he should say anything, but he ultimately decided to leave it to his companion. Crax stayed by Cyra, vigilant, his staff never leaving his hands. ¨C How much time had passed? What was this sensation? Something was rubbing over her body, but it wasn¡¯t unpleasant. ¡°Oh, you¡¯re awake?¡± Startled from her emotion-induced slumber, she startled awake. Water splashed, as she flailed, trying to escape. But her arms and legs wouldn¡¯t obey her, as if they were stuck, chained in place. She ended up inhaling a mouthful of water during her initial flail into the warm stream of water. Warm¡­ Warm? She emerged from its short depths, her head coming above the surface. She saw the familiar lady, who she remembered had pat her head. Despite just emerging from a panicked state, she remembered, clearly, how it felt, to be pat like that. A warm feeling rose within her, one that she didn¡¯t try and undermine with suspicion, one that she let herself indulge in. Inadvertently, she submerged herself back underneath the water, her shame bringing a heat to her cheeks. ¡°Hey, what are you doing?¡± The thin yet strong arms of the lady lifted her back out of the water. ¡°You have some explaining to do, but I know you¡¯re hurt. James¡­ he doesn¡¯t realize how many people are hurting¡­ Sigh, he¡¯s just trying to protect us. You probably had no choice but to steal-¡± ¡°I-, I didn¡¯t try to steal from you!¡± ¡°Hm? Well, then what did you try and do?¡± Suna fought with her emotions. But she was getting tired. Tired of being some sort of creature incapable of speech. A large part of her screamed at her, that she wasn¡¯t one of them, that she was in danger, that she had to leave, as soon as possible. But another part of her, one that feasted on her hopes and desires, was getting stronger. The idea, the notion, that she could maybe, just possibly, be an equal among these people. These warm people. Magnifying this part of her, she brought herself, with difficulty, to utter words. ¡°I-, um, I¡­ I was following you. Down the, uh, road. I, um¡­ You were laughing¡­ You were talking about, um, things. You¡­ You guys¡­ you seemed happy¡­¡± Suna could hardly make sense of her words. It seemed like irrational gobbledegook to her, a complete failure to defuse the situation, to explain anything. But, despite how it felt to her, the lady in front of her paused, and smiled, looking at her. As if in understanding. ¡°Haha, yes, yeah, we were laughing, weren¡¯t we? That stupid guy, everything would be better without him, right? Hahahah!¡± Cyra laughed. The edges of Suna¡¯s mouth perked, as if, almost as if she could perhaps share in this moment with her. ¡°Are you for real? You wanted to join us? Just why would you try and do that while we were sleeping?¡± ¡°No, um, I, um. I actually wanted to leave. I was going to leave you guys, and, well, I wanted to catch a glimpse before I did. Um, you know, to remember you guys¡­¡± The lady looked at Suna, before just laughing. ¡°Hahaha, you know what? You¡¯re weird! Hahahah!¡± Suna felt a deep blush emerge on her face, so she instinctively dipped her face into the water in a failed attempt to hide her embarrassment. ¡°Hah, but, wow, haha, James had you pegged all wrong, speaking to you like this, it¡¯s pretty obvious now that you¡¯re not a Geth¡­ You do know what the Geth are, right?¡± ¡°...Um¡­ No?¡± Cyra¡¯s expression was stunned. ¡°...You¡¯re lying.¡± Her expression instantly turned icy cold, her eyes directing sharp daggers of distrust and doubt at the girl¡¯s words. ¡°No! No, I¡¯m not, I have no idea what that is, or what you¡¯re talking about!¡± The words erupted violently and loudly from her mouth, with as much energy as she could muster. She was tired of being associated with something that wasn¡¯t her, she was tired of being misunderstood. After what seemed like a long time¡­ ¡°...You¡¯re not lying? How do you not know what they are? That doesn¡¯t make sense¡­ No one¡¯s been spared by those emotionless ravagers, that bring nothing but death and destruction with them¡­¡± Her words stirred memories within her, the distaste and disgust evidently visible on her face. Her disdain for the Geth was not shallow. Suna didn¡¯t know how to respond. ¡°Well¡­ Well, if you¡¯re not lying, and you really don¡¯t know them¡­ Then, I guess, you¡¯re from a far away place, aren¡¯t you?¡± Suna remembered. Where she was from. ¡°Yeah, I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m not from around here. I¡¯m from¡­¡± She debated. Whether she should state this one simple fact. That she was from a different world. How would this person react? Would letting someone know endanger me? Suna hesitated. ¡°You don¡¯t have to tell me where you¡¯re from. We all have secrets we¡¯d like to hide, not to deceive others, but to protect ourselves. I don¡¯t know how, or what you¡¯ve been through, but you¡¯re not from around here, and that¡¯s all there is to it. This continent is big, but it¡¯s not endless. I¡¯m sure there are plenty of lands I don¡¯t know about. Somewhere where those sick bastards have yet to lay their dirty claws on. And somehow, somehow you ended up here. Taking a bath with me.¡± A smirk and a giggle made its way onto the lady¡¯s face. ¡°That¡¯s enough for me. I don¡¯t need more than that. I already know that you¡¯re not one of them¡­ It¡¯s okay, Angie.¡± The faint rumbling in the bottom of the stream receded. She was safe. Her heart rate settled, along with her breathing. Suna couldn¡¯t help but give an inward sigh of relief. ¡°Well, I guess I¡¯ll get back to what I was doing. You¡¯re quite a dirty one, you know that, right? Oh, I guess I should ask what your name is.¡± ¡°...Suna.¡± ¡°Suna? I¡¯m Cyra. Come over here, I¡¯ll wash you up.¡± Suna felt like she was being treated like a kid. She was embarrassed, but¡­ but she gave in. Chapter 6: Exhilaration Chapter 6 Exhilaration Rejuvenation. For her entire life, Suna had never felt so clean. As if her pores, still clogged deep down with that sad ash, were finally freed, finally able to breathe the fresh air of a whole new world. It¡¯s not as if she didn¡¯t bathe upon coming here. There were streams in the river, and she even went to the effort of cleaning her clothes and pack to try and restore their dry, cracked states to normal. And, to be frank, she didn¡¯t want to see any more ash. She was especially sensitive to her smell. She knew that if she smelled like her world¡¯s ash, it wouldn¡¯t be difficult for certain animals to pick up her scent out of a several mile radius, it would be akin to walking around with a blinking beam of light that traveled up into the sky. So she desperately did her best to wash herself thoroughly of the peculiar scent upon reaching this new land, and once she did, she covered herself in dirt to mask her scent. It appeared that these people didn¡¯t feel a need to do the same, however¡­ Anyway, all that to say that this wasn¡¯t a normal stream. The way it bubbled, its pervading and soothing warmth, its fragrance that seemed to envelope her, she was starting to lose herself in it. ¡°It¡¯s feels nice, doesn¡¯t it?¡± ¡°Um, yes¡­¡± ¡°You¡¯re wondering what it is, right?¡± How did she know? That same, mind reading ability? ¡°Why do you look so surprised? I can see you examining it, with all that rigor and suspicion, yet even you seem unable to resist it, huh? I don¡¯t blame you.¡± The lady giggled. ¡°It¡¯s a neat spell, isn¡¯t it? Angie knows a lot of others, too. The kind that don¡¯t really seem to have a purpose, but don¡¯t get it wrong! Having this and not having it is everything! This bliss! Out here, in the wilds! Oh, it¡¯s amazing!¡± Cyra moved her arms through the water, letting it caress her, a blissful expression on her face. ¡°...Huh.¡± Suna simply figured that some streams have this property. After all, she had never seen a river before coming to this world. To be able to experience this everywhere, at any time? She had to admit, this was an almost obscene level of luxury. ¡°...Well, I think I¡¯ve had about my fill. Do you want to stay here? You¡¯re old clothes and belongings are right over there, on that rock, but I mean, I¡¯d really prefer you¡¯d just take Angie¡¯s spare robe, if I¡¯m gonna be honest¡­¡± ¡°Um¡­¡± Suna had a lot to say, and a lot of questions. But, before worrying about any of that, she had to say something. ¡°Um, I, Thank you!¡± She bowed her head, the water dancing and prickling her nose. ¡°Pfft, it¡¯s not a big deal. I¡¯m happy to share this experience with anyone as cute as you.¡± Suna couldn¡¯t help but blush, dipping back beneath the water. The lady exited the water. Suna, for the first time, had a chance to get a good look at her. She was lightly dressed in some clothing, or wrappings, which confused her. Why get into the water with your clothes? The steam emanating from the water stopped her from observing every detail, but not even the steam could obscure her figure. Smooth. Thin. Elegant. She could tell. That her body was explicitly trained and shaped, forged. She looked strong, but not like a brute. Like a well-composed structure, engineered close to perfection, able to withstand great forces. One doesn¡¯t look at a sturdy rod of rebar and think it weak, even if it is physically thin. But maybe she was looking too deep into it. She couldn¡¯t bear just staring at an unclothed body for so long, so she looked away, but not before realizing one particular trait. ¡°Um, Cyra¡­ Your ears¡­¡± ¡°Hm? My ears¡­? Oh, you must not have seen them before. Wow, I guess you really must not be from around here to think my ears look strange. I¡¯m an elf. You¡¯re human, right? We¡¯re different, but not that different.¡± Cyra gave a teasing smirk, before resuming her dressing. ¡°An elf? What¡¯s an elf?¡± ¡°Well¡­ I guess we¡¯re just like humans, except we live longer, and we have pointy ears. There¡¯s lots of different kinds of elves, just like there¡¯s lots of different kinds of humans, so there¡¯s really not much point grouping them all up and calling it a day. But, I mean, I guess we do have certain tendencies, and traditions too¡­ I dunno, I never really thought about it that hard. Haha, I guess I should ask you what a human is? I bet you¡¯re answer wouldn¡¯t be that different.¡± Elves. The concept was foreign to her. Another kind of human¡­ Cyra was probably simplifying it a good amount, but the subject didn¡¯t seem important to her¡­ This place is definitely more different than I thought¡­ Suna, easing a hint of sorrow, exited the warm comfort of the stream, and moved towards her clothes. She moved to pick up them up, but¡­ the faint, lingering smell of that otherworldly ash couldn¡¯t escape her now renewed sense of smell. She left them on the ground, and looked at the set of clothes that were picked out just for her. A robe? It¡¯s so heavy¡­ how am I supposed to run in this? At some point, Cyra, who had finished changing, walked over to her. ¡°Don¡¯t like it? Unfortunately, Angie¡¯s the only one who¡¯s your size, unless you want to wear my stuff. I don¡¯t really think it would suit you, though.¡± ¡°Um. How would one run in this?¡± ¡°Oh, that? I guess it seems pretty heavy, doesn¡¯t it?¡± The fabric was thick, thicker than most blankets she had seen. It was nothing like Angie¡¯s robe, hers seemed much lighter. I guess, it¡¯s some spare fabric they¡¯ve fashioned from a really thick blanket? I don¡¯t get it¡­ For a second, Suna debated returning to her old, almost nightmarish old clothes, but she gave up on that thought, pushing her body through the heavy, blanket-like wrapping. It really was as heavy as it looked. ¡°Alright, now sit still for me, okay? Avesh Avaarem Cincra There.¡± With just a few words, the blanket that weighed down on her, threatening to crush her, had all of a sudden become light, so light that she wondered if it had disappeared. Looking down, she saw the robe unfold, opening up, shifting into a different form. It glowed with power as it shrunk to fit the small frame of the girl. ¡°Wh-Whoaa¡­¡± Suna was surprised at how comfortable it was. It felt as if she was wearing a light dress, but it didn¡¯t look like it. The thickest part of the robe stopped at her mid thigh, with thinner parts extending to the middle of her shins. The robe was also quite cool, as if air was circulated throughout it. She had figured it would be quite stifling under all the fabric she was wearing. ¡°Wow, you¡¯re really impressed by every little thing, aren¡¯t you? You seriously haven¡¯t seen these basic enchantments before?¡± She was a bit in wonder. She remembered the mystical way in which they manipulated plant-life, or the way they glided along the ground. Part of her wanted to know what it was like to do the same things too. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s get going, Suna.¡± The two walked, joined shortly by the girl she recognized as Angie. It was a bit awkward. She didn¡¯t know how to interact with these people. They probably didn¡¯t know how to interact with her either. ¡°Um! I¡¯m, I¡¯m sorry for startling you guys, in the middle of the night like this¡­¡± With that outburst, their faces seemed to relax slightly, subtle smiles appearing on their faces. ¡ª ¡°So. Are you going to tell us where you came from?¡± James, muscular and sturdy, yet not burly or towering, questioned Suna, who sat on her knees on the ground, her back ramrod straight. His eyes showed signs of sleep deprivation. She remembered how he refused to let her sleep in her own tent or remove her restrictions, that he would keep watch throughout the night. The other members didn¡¯t stop him from maintaining his caution. ¡°I, um¡­¡± James gave a sharp look of inquisition, squinting his eyes, as if trying to stare through the small girl. ¡°I¡¯m not from around here.¡± ¡°Yeah. That really narrows it down.¡± ¡°Look, James, does it really matter? She¡¯s obviously not a Geth, nor is she working with them, you know how heartless they are, yet you expect me to believe this girl who cried herself to sleep last night is colluding with them?¡± Suna couldn¡¯t help but look down and away at the ground, her face reddening. She struggled against the urge to cover her face with her hands. ¡°Well, if she¡¯s so pure and innocent, how hard would it be to just give us a location? Something, anything?¡± James redirected his attention back at the girl. ¡°...Well?¡± Suna seriously considered just lying. Making up some story, something so that the group would be less suspicious of her. But, she just couldn¡¯t bring herself to do it. It felt wrong. But neither did she want to talk of her previous world, how it died, covered in ash, sparing none. She was in a rough spot. ¡°Look, why are you pressuring her? We¡¯re just strangers, why would she open up about her past? Give her some time at the very least, you can¡¯t just force it out of her.¡± ¡°Come on, guys, I think we should get a move on, it¡¯s been quite awhile already, you know. What if we miss an empty wagon?¡± Krax, once again, wedged himself between the two, causing them to take a step back. ¡°Alright, fine. We¡¯ll get to town first, and then we¡¯ll decide what we do with her.¡± ¡°What we do with her? What, are you actually serious about handing her over to the authorities, for who knows what to happen to her?¡± ¡°No, Cyra, I mean, you know, to let her go, or if there¡¯s an orphanage somewhere or something, that¡¯s what I¡¯m talking about.¡± ¡°Oh.¡± With the two opposing forces reaching a compromise, a sigh of relief from their mediator, and the last member looking up from a book they were engrossed in, the group was ready to set off. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. ¡°Oh yeah, we should probably take those bindings off of you. Angie, do you mind?¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, yeah. Gotcha. Suna, no sudden movements, okay?¡± She nodded, displaying obedience, and a willingness to cooperate. And so, with a word from the other robed girl in the group, she felt her hands free from her back, and her legs, which felt weighed down by some invisible force, were finally able to be lifted off the ground. She was relieved and ecstatic, glad that she now at least had a chance at escaping if the need arose, but she kept these surging emotions from surfacing. As promised, she remained calm and still. And so, the entourage set forth. ¡°Alright, that¡¯s that. Now, some rules while you¡¯re with us, at least until we get to town. One, no sudden movements. Two, you do as any of us say. That¡¯s it.¡± The group walked slowly down the road, carrying bags of stuff, some which seemed to carry their belongings, while others seemed to carry some sort of material. Of course, Suna wasn¡¯t spared from carrying her fair share. As she was being lectured, she made sure to be extra attentive and cooperative. She didn¡¯t want to let off that she was secretly looking for the means and opportunity to escape from the capable group. ¡°Alright. Do those two things and none of us will have any problems. Obviously, we¡¯re not going to ask you to do weird things or risk your life. It¡¯s just that, say, if a situation were to occur, for your safety, you have to do what we ask, alright?¡± Nod. ¡°Good. That¡¯s all.¡± The swordsman turned his attention back to a piece of paper he was holding. ¡°We should probably be able to make it here by¡­ Maybe, if we¡­¡± James and Krax hovered around what seemed to be a sort of map, discussing the route they were taking. Cyra walked leisurely, as if the bulging bags on her back and in her hands were filled with feathers. Angie¡­ ¡°Hey.¡± Suna directed her attention towards the voice aimed at her. ¡°Is it true? That you want to join us?¡± ¡°Huh? Um¡­¡± Looking back, it was a foolish request, one born out of a desperate hope that she was actively fighting against in her heart. Given how on guard James and Krax seemed to be towards her, she figured any chance of them treating her like a normal person were long gone. I was foolish¡­ ¡°Hey, why the long face? Do you not want to join anymore? We are a pretty rough bunch, aren¡¯t we? I get that.¡± ¡°Oh, no! Um, I mean¡­ um, yes¡­ yes, I¡¯d like to join you guys. But I don¡¯t think someone like me could be a part of your group.¡± ¡°Huh? Why not? Oh, is it ¡®cause of the way they¡¯re treating you? They¡¯re just being careful, you kind of need to be when you travel and meet all sorts of people, like they do. But I think it¡¯s all just a big misunderstanding. They¡¯re kinda dumb. For not realizing that you¡¯re just a normal girl. They treat you like some secret monster in disguise, just ¡®cause you¡¯re a bit fast and a bit good at hiding. Bleeeh!¡± She playfully stuck her tongue out at the unknowing figures that had since moved a ways ahead of them. ¡°Look, I know we got off on the wrong foot,¡± She stuck her hand out, ¡°but I¡¯m Angie. Nice to meet you!¡± Her smile was beaming. But Suna didn¡¯t really understand what she was doing, tilting her head in confusion. ¡°Huh? Oh, wait, do you not know what a handshake is?¡± A memory. She remembered Ei reaching his hand out before as well. For some reason, although it hadn¡¯t been that long, it felt like an event in the distant past. Her previous struggles in the wastelands, it all just seemed so far away. ¡°Haha, you¡¯re silly, you know that? Look, give me your hand.¡± Angie grasped Suna¡¯s right hand with her other hand, and brought it and her outstretched hand together. ¡°Here. Hand shake.¡± She shook her hand and Suna¡¯s hand, with a bit of exaggeration. ¡°There you go. Got it?¡± Suna was befuddled. ¡°Uh, um, yeah?¡± ¡°Good.¡± She smiled, in satisfaction. She released her hand from hers, leaving a faint warmth in her palm. The two continued walking. Silence, between the two of them. But despite that, Angie seemed content. She bobbed up and down as she walked, her smile still lingering on her lips. She looked up and forward, at the path, or maybe past the path. Suna couldn¡¯t help but glance back and forth between the ground and the girl beside her, trying to gauge her mannerisms and reactions, trying to understand what the person before her could be thinking or feeling. ¡°So. Do you¡­ have a home?¡± Ash. ¡°I, um, no¡­¡± ¡°What? You don¡¯t have like a mom and dad?¡± Ash, covering a lifeless body. ¡°Oh¡­ you lost them¡­ I¡¯m sorry¡­¡± Angie¡¯s face lost all of it¡¯s glimmer, sadness creeping onto it. ¡°I¡­ I did, too¡­¡± ¡°Huh?¡± ¡°Haha, yeah¡­ to¡­ to the Geth¡­¡± How could she be so happy? Is it a facade? ¡°You seem surprised.¡± ¡°...How can you be so joyful¡­?¡± ¡°Joyful? I guess that¡¯s what it looks like, haha, I dunno, I don¡¯t really try to be, or anything¡­ I guess, I guess I¡¯m just glad that I¡¯m talking to someone my age¡­¡± She looked, somberly, at the figures walking ahead of her. ¡°...I¡¯m just glad I have a new family, now.¡± ¡°...Family?¡± Angie looked back at Suna, as if emerging from sweet emotions. ¡°Yeah. Family.¡± ¡°...How can you have another family?¡± Angie rolled her eyes. ¡°Oh, come on, not actual family, no, just¡­¡± She paused. ¡°...Just people that appreciate me, I guess¡­¡± Angie¡¯s pace slowed, in contemplation. Suna matched her pace. But, quickly, Angie sped back up to her original speed. ¡°What¡¯s with all the dark talk? What¡¯s gotten into me? So what, people die, but am I going to just be gloomy about it, in self pity? That¡¯s just like losing to it, isn¡¯t it?¡± Another smile found its way onto the girl¡¯s face. ¡°Come on. Let¡¯s catch up to the others.¡± It was straightforward, traveling with the group. Carrying their luggage, the group engaging in the occasional banter, rest for the night, repeat. It was very straightforward. But Suna had never felt happier. ¡°Hey, Suna, check this out!¡± Angie would show her random things she owned, she¡¯d point out things she saw on the road. Suna found it especially funny when Angie pointed out a dumb looking cloud, or when she was mesmerized by a bug by the side of the road. She seemed easily entertained, her mind shifting from one thing to the next. ¡°What is it?¡± Suna looked at the girl who seemed to be carrying something, covering it up. Angie had a giddy smile on her face. ¡°It¡¯s my most valuable possession¡­ Look!¡± Angie opened her arms to reveal what she was hiding. ¡°A book?¡± ¡°Not just any book. A speeeell boooook~¡± Suna didn¡¯t know why she had said it like that, but she found herself amused anyway. ¡°Hahaha, so what does a spell book do?¡± ¡°What, you don¡¯t know? Well, I shouldn¡¯t really be surprised by that anymore¡­ Look, let me show you!¡± She flipped to a certain page of the book with impressive speed, skillfully landing exactly on a certain page. She sat down beside Suna, who happened to be in the middle of finishing her dinner for the night in front of a crackling campfire. ¡°I¡¯m probably not going to get it right, so don¡¯t blame me, but here goes¡­! Avidus Expedium Floren Haval!¡± The girl pointed her small hand towards the fire, with bombastic gusto, as if commanding it to leap into the air. And it did. ¡°Whoaa¡­¡± Suna couldn¡¯t help but let a voice of awe leak from her agape mouth. It was brilliant, it was wonderful, she didn¡¯t know how to describe it. The light of the fire glowed as it danced, twisting, springing to life as it leapt into the air. Lights intertwined, they merged, they made movements that seemed so fantastical to Suna. She was used to fire, but this was so much more than just fire. Angie, a beaming smile on her face, waved her hands to and fro, as if conducting the fire. Left, right, up, everywhere, she concentrated wholeheartedly on her performance, but her joy bubbled over and onto Suna, who was enthralled, captured by the sight of the flame, like a kid seeing fireworks for the first time. Well, I suppose quite literally. As the flames died down, their life spent, darkness returned to the camp. The adults around them, also witnesses to the spectacle, couldn¡¯t bring themselves to rebuke the girl for reducing their fire to ash, especially not after seeing the pure wonder left on Suna¡¯s face. I want that. I want to be able to do that. An emotion burst forth from the shut gates of Suna¡¯s heart. A longing, to be brighter. She wanted to emanate pure joy, like Angie, to be able to transmit that to those around her. She was sick of her boring, rational mind, that constantly told her what to do, she wanted to embrace this new, free feeling. Put simply, she was inspired. ¡°...How do I do that? How do I do that?¡± Suna grasped Angie¡¯s hands, shaking them up and down, as if she needed to do so to capture her attention. Angie was loving it, her laughter filling the whole camp and then some, a smile as wide as her face stuck on and going nowhere. She also shook Suna¡¯s hands, the two engaging in some sort of strange motion. ¡°Hahahaha, calm down, calm down! You¡¯re going to push me over, hahahaha!¡± But, ignoring the girl¡¯s advice, the two lost balance on the log they were sitting on, Plat! The two hit the ground, but even that couldn¡¯t stop their laughter. After a good minute had passed, and the breath started to return to the two girls, they sat up, leaving each other¡¯s embrace. ¡°Haah, haaah¡­ Whew, wow, you sure liked my show, didn¡¯t you? Hehehe¡­¡± ¡°Ahem, I mean, um, obviously! Now quick, tell me, how can I do that? Whatever that was, tell me how to do it!¡± ¡°Alright, alright, I¡¯m not going anywhere, you don¡¯t need to keep gripping me so hard, alright?¡± Suna, part of her senses returned to her, retracted her arms that seemed to have a mind of their own. ¡°Okay, see here? This is the incantation.¡± Angie showed her the book, that, through all the roughhousing, never saw so much as a speck of dirt touch its pages. ¡°And this part is the study. It¡¯s, well, it¡¯s basically the explanation for the meaning behind each word. You invoke the meaning of each word, chant it, and bam! You¡¯re doing magic!¡± Angie¡¯s wide, excited smile softened a bit, as she continued her explanation. ¡°Of course, it¡¯s not that easy¡­ it¡¯s hard to describe, you have to get a feel for the magic, for each word. You start with simple ones, and then to more complicated ones. You combine them to achieve more than just simple effects. Here, look.¡± Angie closed her eyes, a calmness taking over her. ¡°Ashaarem.¡± From her cupped hands, water mysteriously welled up from nothing but thin air. She drank it. ¡°Pretty cool, huh? Wanna try?¡± Suna paid attention to each word, unable to help but imagine and ponder the depths of her seemingly simple words, of the seemingly simple system that was Magic. Shortly, she nodded energetically, eagerly accepting Angie¡¯s invitation. ¡°Here, let¡¯s see¡­ something that suits you¡­¡± Angie flipped through the pages, her head tilting left and right as she debated internally over several choices. ¡°Ah. Here, this should do.¡± She thrust the book towards her, displaying its contents. ¡°Avaarekh¡­ Darkness Magic?¡± ¡°Yeah. You¡¯re pretty gloomy sometimes, and you¡¯re always overthinking things¡­ I¡¯m not judging you or anything, okay? It¡¯s just that the book says certain traits result in some magic being better suited to others¡­ Here, read this.¡± Suna saw the page, a detailed diagram placed on the side of a wall of text. What it meant, how could she know? ¡°I can¡¯t read this.¡± ¡°Oh, really? My bad, I didn¡¯t mean to make you uncomfortable, sorry about that. Here, I¡¯ll read for you¡­¡± Angie read, presumably word for word, the long and detailed passage which detailed the concept of darkness. It described it, with long words she didn¡¯t know the meaning of. It illustrated its interactions with other elements and forces. It humanized it, giving it traits that seemed to be a bit of a stretch in Suna¡¯s opinion. Suna knew darkness. She knew what it meant to embrace it. Its comfort, as well as its depths that needed to be respected. She long lost her fear of the dark, especially when it was the darkness that kept her safe from the threats of her world. She knew what it was like to lose her mind in the darkness, to become one with it¡­ Suna pondered darkness, half-listening to the wordy explanation that the book bestowed upon her. ¡°Does that make sense? Well, I guess it¡¯s quicker to just try and see for yourself, we gotta start somewhere, after all. Once you try, we can see what parts don¡¯t make sense for you. Here. Those are the words. Oh, I guess I should say them aloud for you. Avaarekh. Achreth. Varum. Storeth. Dypsum.¡± She slowly read off the words, enunciating each syllable. ¡°There¡¯s a selection of them, you can see which one you like the most as you try to resonate with them more and more. Whenever you¡¯re ready, go ahead and say them, their images in your mind.¡± Angie¡¯s words and eyes were pure as she sought to share her love for magic with Suna, as if beckoning her closer and closer to the world she knew and loved. She wanted to share her vision, her love for magic, with another like her. For she never had that chance until this moment. All the other people her age that she met, they didn¡¯t seem to get it, they had their own interests. And those older than her, like the group she traveled with, well, they were of course much more skilled and affluent in the usage of this ancient, sacred language. But, they simply saw it as a tool. A tool you use to survive, to get by in this world. No one ever said it, and she never pointed it out. But she knew. That they didn¡¯t love it. So, of course Angie knew immediately, as soon as she saw the glimmer, deep within Suna¡¯s eyes. The way her body moved, bobbing up and down, back and forth, with every movement of her lightshow, capturing, etching every moment into her eyes, her very being. She felt the exact same way about magic, for she loved it, too. With so much love for magic, she figured that Suna would have no trouble at all sniffing out every little detail that magic kept hidden, and she knew that sharing with such a person every single detail she knew would bring her so much joy, that she¡¯d finally get to share her love for magic with someone. She had tried her best to speak calmly and concisely during her brief explanation, but right under that surface was a roaring sea of anticipation. Pure, child-like, bubbly giddiness. Suna had similar emotions. Anticipation. But also, a slight anxiety. Slight suspicions. Am I really capable of such amazing things? Just like that? Say a word, and what wasn¡¯t will be, from nothingness? Really? But such doubts could do nothing in the face of her hope and anticipation. Her longing, to become more than she was. A desperate longing. So, without hesitation, she closed her eyes, and prepared her mind. Suna took the image, the concept of darkness, and recalled the words in the book. Sacred words that would help her manifest darkness from nothingness. She could see them, imagine them, visualize them, understand them, different flavors of darkness. I know this. She was no stranger to these things. To darkness. So she reached her hand out. It wasn¡¯t easy to move in this unconventional way, for it was more than mere imagination. But she struggled, and struggled, nothing would stop her as she approached closer and closer to darkness. The word was soon in her grasp. Then, she would utter it, and manifest darkness itself. Don¡¯t. ¡­Huh? Suna knew. She recognized that voice. She knew what he was telling her. But. But she so desperately hoped she had somehow misheard. That it was a mistake. Why. Why? Why! Why not!? Why!! ¡­ No response. Anger. She wanted so badly to say ¡®To hell with it!¡¯ and cast off his advice, plunging into the wondrous new sensation. She was seriously considering it, visualizing herself doing just that, how bad could it be? But a deep feeling within her, her gut instinct, knew that she couldn¡¯t. She didn¡¯t know why, but she shouldn¡¯t indulge herself. It was not okay to do that. She can¡¯t. Suna¡¯s clenched fists had finally released themselves. Angie sat in anticipation, waiting, wondering what kind of darkness Suna would release. They would laugh together as she congratulated her, Suna likely jumping for joy in ecstatic celebration. Or, maybe, unlike what she thought, Suna might struggle. That would also be okay. She would reassure her, comfort her that it was normal, that when she started, she spent weeks shouting magic words at the top of her lungs when she was a kid, only for nothing to happen. Either way, Angie was prepared. But not prepared enough to see Suna, who slowly opened her eyes, and turned her head down and away from her. A dark, indecipherable expression on her face. Chapter 7: Acceptance Chapter 7 Acceptance ¡°...¡± Silence between the two. ¡°...Uuuumm¡­¡± Angie fought against the silence. Sniffle. Oh. So she must¡¯ve have encountered some problem. That¡¯s okay. ¡°I¡¯m sorry, Suna, are you alright? Did something happen?¡± Angie tilted forward inquisitively, trying her best to understand her friend¡¯s emotions. ¡°...¡± Suna was going through a lot. But most of all¡­ To be led forward, by the nose¡­ To finally have a chance to escape this weakness¡­ Why? Her emotions were beginning to subside, a deep sense of confusion taking their place. And, well¡­ a sense of emptiness, too. I guess¡­ I guess I won¡¯t be able to learn Magic¡­ I¡¯m just too weak, aren¡¯t I¡­ Disappointment. At her failure. She failed to notice Angie¡¯s uncomfortable attempts at comforting her as she stewed and processed her emotions. Hit! A really loud sound caused Angie to jump in shock, the other three party members looking out of their tents to identify its source. All of their eyes eventually settled on Suna, shaking, her arm bleeding after it was mercilessly launched at the fallen tree trunk she was sitting on. Angie didn¡¯t know how to respond. The bloody hand clenched. ¡°...a-a-a-a-An-Angie¡­¡± Suna was shivering, just as much her stuttering. Angie could make out tears falling from the face that was being hidden from her. ¡°...Y-Yes?¡± ¡°...Teach me¡­ Teach me everything you know¡­¡± Angie didn¡¯t know what was going on in Suna¡¯s head. She was obviously hurting in some way. Was she unable to execute the spell? She had never heard of someone unable to cast a spell ¨C even the book explicitly stated that magic was a sacred right of every sentient being, that some people have strengths and weaknesses yet with enough time and practice everyone is able to learn the magic that is suited to them. Maybe Suna just wasn¡¯t used to failing? A smile found its way onto Angie¡¯s face. A kind one. She delicately put her hand over Suna¡¯s bloodied mess of one, which was cut in many places being hit so hard against the rough wood. She grasped it. Suna didn¡¯t raise her head. She just shook, Angie could feel her uncontrollable shaking. She grasped harder. ¡°...yes. Of course I will.¡± Angie hesitated, before bringing Suna closer, into a hug. Suna cried, her voice unable to be kept down. Ugly, loud crying that rung through the forest, but which didn¡¯t disturb the other resting party members. Angie did what she vaguely remembered someone would do for her. She gently caressed her back, and sung. She didn¡¯t know how to sing, but it didn¡¯t matter as this wasn¡¯t a performance. It was soothing. Suna¡¯s shaking and crying quickly lessened, until periodic chokes and gasps were all that was let out into Angie¡¯s shoulder. ¡°It¡¯s okay¡­ It¡¯s okay¡­¡± ¨C Suna roused from a long, heavy dream. But she couldn¡¯t remember it. Waking from it, she felt sad as the important things were fading away from her, her grasp couldn¡¯t keep them. Fate¡­? The sense of loss was immediately replaced by a feeling. A good feeling. What is this sensation? What am I touching? It was soft, and smooth. Suna peeled herself away from the dampening thoughts of her dream, and focused on what she was currently experiencing. Wait, this is¡­! Her eyes shot open, and she freed herself from the honey trap. ¡°...hmmm? Oh, you¡¯re already awake?¡± The yawning and stretching Angie gracelessly lifted herself from the tent floor, oblivious to Suna¡¯s arms which were put up, ready to defend herself. Suna just sat there, still, not ready for the situation at all. She watched Angie as she went through a basic routine, spraying something in her mouth, washing her face with a wet towel, changing into a different set of clothes, et cetera. This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it. ¡°What are you staring at, Suna, is there something on my body?¡± Suna quickly averted her eyes and face, a visible redness on her cheeks. So, so that was the source of that softness¡­ ¡°What are you waiting for? Come over here, I¡¯ll help you get ready. Look, this is¡­¡± After going through the gauntlet of Angie¡¯s morning routine, learning about and using various gadgets and performing various actions, some magical and some not, Suna emerged out of the tent feeling a new sense of refreshment. She couldn¡¯t help but breathe in the fresh air, and just feel¡­ satisfied. Suna¡¯s inner voice that warned her of this group¡­ It was all long gone. She was satisfied just remaining vigilant for any sudden changes and threats, but the chance she was being deceived by them, that they were lowering her guard to all at once pull the rug from under her when she least expected it, the chances of that? They were 0%. She trusted them. Well, she trusted one of them, with every part of her being. Angie¡­ Worry swept through her mind as she remembered how obnoxious she must have been. But she soon remembered, that sweet soothing. Mom¡­ Suna choked up a little at just the thought, but moved on. The morning went as usual. After a short meal, the group packed up, and they headed off to rejoin the road. ¡°...Hey.¡± It was James. He slowed his pace to reach the back of the group where Angie and Suna usually walked. Angie shared a look with him and departed, finding her pace alongside Krax. ¡°Hey, um, I dunno how to tell you this¡­¡± Suna stared blankly at the man, who lingered on his words, hesitating, trying to find the right words. ¡°Well, I guess first, I should say¡­ sorry.¡± Suna tilted her head. ¡°Um¡­ What for?¡± James had an incredulous look. ¡°What, do you not remember? How we, you know, tied you up and threatened you? I, uh, I¡¯m sorry. For that.¡± The explanation didn¡¯t have an effect on the girl¡¯s confusion, her head tilting to the other side. ¡°But, but I invaded your camp at night, you guys thought I was a threat. You guys did what you should have done.¡± ¡°...I mean, when you put it that way¡­ No, no, I mean. Look. You. You¡¯re just a kid.¡± He paused, looking at just how small the girl in front of him was. ¡°I¡­ I was too harsh. I¡¯m sorry.¡± ¡°...¡± Suna didn¡¯t really feel like she deserved an apology, but arguing to such lengths when the man insisted like this was a bit much, she felt, so after a slight pause, she nodded at the man, and kept walking. James, not finding anything he needed to add to his apology, kept walking. The two walked, step by step, in silence. ¡°Hey. Um. You know¡­¡± James once again broke the silence. ¡°I¡­ When I was a kid. Um¡­¡± To see such a usually confident and capable-looking man stumble over his words, it was a sight to see. Suna didn¡¯t know what to expect. ¡°When I was a kid¡­ you know, the whole village made fun of me.¡± Suna just kept walking, her gaze shifting back and forth from her surroundings to James, as she took in his words. James look up and ahead, reminiscing. ¡°I was the only one. The only one out of all those kids that wasn¡¯t able to perform a single basic spell.¡± He paused, recalling memories that seemed so far away to him. ¡°Haha, and you know what? I¡¯m stronger now than each and every one of them. Serves them right, huh?¡± James looked at the girl, who returned an attentive stare. ¡°I guess what I¡¯m trying to say is¡­ Well, magic¡¯s a weird thing. It seems to pick and choose who it gives its blessings. Angie¡­ She¡¯s a real prodigy. I¡¯ve never seen anything like it, I don¡¯t know how she can learn spells from some old book like that, she makes it look too easy! Hahaha, so don¡¯t compare yourself to her, alright? She¡¯s not normal, I¡¯m telling you!¡± James gave Suna a pat on the back. ¡°I dunno if she told you already, but it¡¯s true. That everyone can learn magic. It¡¯s just a matter of time, practice, and patience. Not everything comes quickly. Yeah?¡± Suna soon gave a smile and a nod to James. She already knew. That she couldn¡¯t use Magic. James¡¯ words didn¡¯t really apply much to Suna, who was more prepared than anyone to go to any obscene length necessary to strengthen herself. Who would be more than happy to spend the rest of her life delving into such a wonderful and mystical power, uncovering its every little secret. If only she could. She had accepted this twisted fate of hers. Suna didn¡¯t mind James¡¯ ignorance. Rather, she really appreciated him for trying to pick her up when she was down. It made her feel¡­ more like a part of the group. ¡°Thanks, James.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no sweat. Look, we¡¯re coming up on a small town, Arythia, which we¡¯ll probably hit by midday. There, hopefully we can get our hands on a spare carriage, or hire one to carry us. We¡¯ll see. Well.¡± James gave Suna a gesture before leaving to rejoin the others. Angie wasted no time sneaking her way back and rejoining Suna. She had a face, as if she wanted to ask what they talked about, but ultimately decided not to. Instead, she just smiled, and catching her off guard, took Suna¡¯s hands in hers, bopping up and down as she half-skipped. Suna blushed, looking down and away in embarrassment, but didn¡¯t let go of her hand. She gripped it, letting a bit of that infectious energy infect her, too. Soon, the two were skipping down the path ¨C well, doing their best to, thanks to the luggage they both carried ¨C all while singing, with Suna trying her best to learn and match the words of a song she never heard before. They¡¯d idly talk, and at times, Angie would teach her a magic word, and what she knew about it. ¡°Here. Try saying it.¡± ¡°Karshek.¡± ¡°Hmmm¡­ that one too, huh?¡± Suna absorbed every bit of knowledge she could, with sometimes no end to the questions she¡¯d ask that clarified every detail, rabbit holes which would inevitably lead to a helpless Angie, with no answer. But Angie also loved to theorize and speculate on the things she didn¡¯t know, she loved the way Suna brought a vastly different perspective on the things she had grown accustomed to. Like this, the two passed the time, until signs of civilization had finally shown up. A few signs. Branching roads and paths. ¡°I don¡¯t think I¡¯ll ever get used to the outer edges. I mean look, we haven¡¯t seen anyone in ages!¡± Krax looked around, gesturing to the lack of human presence. ¡°There¡¯s seriously a town, just ahead of here?¡± James and Cyra didn¡¯t have a retort to his question with the obvious answer. They too were puzzled. By the lack of carriages and people they had encountered during their travels. Yes, this was a much less populated place relatively, but this¡­ was just uncanny. ¡°It is strange, isn¡¯t it? As soon as we meet Suna, not a single carriage¡­¡± Suna was uncomfortable. ¡°I¡¯m sure it¡¯s just a weird coincidence, right, Suna?¡± Angie tried to reassure the group and Suna, but she, like the rest, was not so oblivious during her time with Suna to not note these strange occurrences. The closer they got to the town, they should have inevitably encountered at least one person, at the very least. Suna¡­ Suna wasn¡¯t really bothered by the lack of people until they explicitly pointed it out. But an unstoppable sense of uncertainty and unease pooled at the bottom of her heart. They haven¡¯t seen¡­ what I¡¯ve seen. As they approached the town, several buildings would pop into view, by the road. Shacks that lived on their own little offshooting paths. But when they¡¯d get a closer look, they all exhibited no signs of life. So they went to the next one. And the next one. No people. Soon, the town, a makeshift wooden wall, or glorified fence, guarding its perimeter, entered their view. The lack of guardsmen was the last straw, the group¡¯s suspicions amplified. Carefully, they entered the town. Chapter 8: The Town Chapter 8 The Town They stopped in front of many buildings, scanning their insides. ¡°No one.¡± ¡°Not here, either.¡± They distanced themselves from each other to cover more ground, but not so much that they lost sight of each other. Varying amounts of worry and concern started to creep onto the party¡¯s faces. Suna heightened her vigilance, rapidly scanning her surroundings for movement, or clues to the fate of the villagers. She subconsciously reached for her knife¡­ only to grab empty air. That¡¯s right. It¡¯s in James¡¯ bag. Her gaze swept to the building she had last seen him step into. She quickly made her way over. As she did, she paid attention to the buildings lining the street. They didn¡¯t look particularly advanced, just wooden lodges, some a couple of stories, varying in size. There were stores that still had their wares out for display, buildings with neat stacks of paperwork in their offices. She even saw a cell for prisoners. Of course, no one was in any of them¡­ The road seemed to be a well-traveled dirt road, so¡­ Where are the footsteps? The wheel tracks? It¡¯s as if the road hasn¡¯t been touched for days. And most of the buildings are closed with no one in them, yet no signs of a hasty exit. What happened here? She couldn¡¯t stop her mind from hypothesizing. She felt that her ability to correctly deduce the answer to this question could determine whether she lived or died, prepared or unprepared to react to whatever force or entity could have displaced an entire town of people. Reaching the doorway, she called out into the building. ¡°James.¡± ¡°Yeah?¡± James¡¯ voice was low, and soft. But clear. She didn¡¯t sense any fear or unease. Only a tangible seriousness, not unlike what she was feeling at the moment. Suna hesitated, before asking. ¡°My knife.¡± She heard no immediate response or movement, but eventually the sound of his footsteps approaching from the adjacent room reached her ears. James emerged from the open doorway, hand outstretched. ¡°Here. Watch yourself, I don¡¯t know what¡¯s going on here¡­¡± She took it. ¡°Thanks.¡± She emerged from the building, scanning for the other members of the group. Their belongings had been piled up in the center of the road, no thought given to their layout. It was a little bit down the road, where they came from. Her gaze, already happening to linger in that direction, picked up movement. ¡°Hide.¡± Her voice was soft, almost a whisper. But in the quiet, very quiet town, where only the wind and the erratic footsteps and movements of the group could be heard, it easily carried through the tense atmosphere. Cyra and Krax, who were discussing something by the front of one of houses, quickly ducked into a nearby doorway. She didn¡¯t find Angie, who must¡¯ve already been inside a building. She felt James, who already wasn¡¯t that far, quickly reach her side, observing the outside with her through the gap in the doorway. It was an extremely faint whisper. ¡°Did you see something?¡± ¡°Yeah. They¡¯re far down the road. People. Two or three. They¡¯re too far away to make out from here.¡± James fell into thought. ¡°It¡¯s important that we regroup and recover our belongings. The worst case scenario, they¡¯re Geth. I don¡¯t know why they¡¯d be all the way out here, but we have to be prepared for the worst.¡± The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°They¡¯d see us from where they are, they have a straight shot to our location.¡± ¡°So, you think we should wait?¡± Suna contemplated, before nodding. ¡°The others won¡¯t act rashly without a signal from me. As much as I¡¯d like to say we have a good chance in a straight fight, we don¡¯t know if they have reinforcements close by. I¡¯m going to look for another exit out of this building, keep watching. Try and listen for their voices. Geth don¡¯t talk when alone with each other.¡± James left her side, his footsteps light. The distant speck on the horizon became figures that she could make out. Normal people¡­ She felt somewhat relieved. She, of course, didn¡¯t call out to them, not until she was absolutely certain they weren¡¯t a member of this mysterious ¡®Geth¡¯. She regretted not getting the chance to inquire more about them, but all the members of the group never really brought up the topic. A man and a woman walked toward the town, before finally entering through the open entrance of the wooden walls. Off the side of the road were winding paths, greenery, and open areas, but these people paid no heed to them as they moved straight forward, along the main road that bisected the whole town. The pair ignored all of the buildings, heading straight through the town. When they got closer to the pile of belongings that sat in the street, however, they approached it. Why are they not saying anything? The words James left her with rung in her mind. Her previous relief was quickly turning into anxiety. One of them got real close, crouching down and looking through the bags. They looked at their partner, who didn¡¯t make a noise or expression. They resumed, sifting through the bags briefly. When they reached one of them, though, something fell to the ground. That book! It had been sticking out of the entrance to the bag, which had already been filled to the brim. She remembered the care with which Angie treated it, of course she wouldn¡¯t have jammed it at the bottom of all of her belongings. The man reached over and picked it up, examining it. Oddly, the way he flipped it every which way, letting the pages flip open and sway in the shallow wind, it was as if¡­ as if he had never touched a book before. Geth! This wasn¡¯t a normal person. They looked like one, but this was too abnormal. Her heart rate accelerated, now uncertain of the events that would soon follow. It continued examining the book. Then, it took its hand, tearing a few pages out of it. Rip! The loud, sharp sound rung out through the silent town, followed by a fluttering, as the pages floated through the wind. Suna¡¯s hand clenched. Then, behind her, she heard a faint ringing sound. Alarmed, she whipped her head back, to see James looking at her. He seemed to be silently conveying something to her. She took a guess at what he wanted her to do. She immediately, silently, moved from the door and into the other room. She couldn¡¯t see the pair outside anymore, but she could hear footsteps. One. One of them was approaching the front door. She unsheathed her knife. Step. Step. It didn¡¯t take long for the creaking swing of the front door to reach her ears. Step. Step. They made their way through the front area of the building, slowly, following the noise to its source. She followed the figure¡¯s presence, as they reached the doorway leading to the back of the building. Her heart rate quickened. Their hand touched the door. Then¡­ the ringing stopped. A vicious clang of metal on metal. And faintly, behind her outside, a sharp whistling sound. She did not hesitate. She emerged, silently, from the doorway she was behind. Her eyes locked onto the man from before, his footing off balance after deflecting the surprise attack. With his back turned to her¡­ kill. The man was given no chance to react to the soundless attack, its full attention already devoted to the threat before it. He could do nothing as the knife pierced through his neck. She didn¡¯t know if the anatomy of a Geth was the same as a humans, so she didn¡¯t go for the heart, instead opting to lop off the entirety of its head. Part of her was rooted in a fear that her knife was completely useless, but her body paid her worries no heed as it tore through the flesh, even severing the man¡¯s spine cleanly. Plop. The head, with nothing to keep it attached to its body, fell to the ground, along with its body. Thud. Confirming the kill, Suna rushed, silently, to the front door, to gauge the situation outside. Another corpse, a long arrow pierced through its head, slumped over onto the bags. Motionless. Suna allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief, a much needed one to soothe her worried, beating heart. James did not lag far behind her. ¡°Group up.¡± The clear command reached the surrounding buildings, and the party members wasted no time in assembling on top of their belongings. Angie beelined straight for her book, and then jerked her head back and forth, searching frantically up and down the street, between the buildings, worry on her face. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Angie. We have no time, we don¡¯t know if there¡¯s reinforcements. Hurry, take only what is essential. Krax, were you able to find a wagon and a horse?¡± Krax bore a solemn look on his face. ¡°No, there¡¯s¡­ nothing living in this town.¡± James bit his lip, frustrated. ¡°Then we go on foot. We¡¯re going in the forest.¡± James didn¡¯t need to hurry the members, all of them already hurriedly sifting through their belongings, no hesitation as they picked out certain objects from their packs and bags. Suna, with nothing to do, kept her eyes peeled, up and down the road, exempting none of her surroundings. She wouldn¡¯t let the slightest hint of movement evade her. ¡°...Ready? Move out.¡± The party moved in a quick run, together. Suna followed closely, sticking by Angie. Of all the members, Angie seemed the most unfamiliar with the tense situation, unable to hide certain tells of her nervousness. Her body¡¯s shaking, her jaw slightly moving back and forth as she ground her teeth, her eyes flitting back and forth, as if in anticipation of some sort of attack. Suna¡¯s instinct was to distance herself from the volatile factor, who might act randomly in an unknown situation. But her heart¡­ I¡¯m stupid, aren¡¯t I¡­ She was not going to let anything hurt her friend. Her only friend. Chapter 9: Preparation Chapter 9 Preparation The group stopped in a small clearing within the forest by James¡¯ signal. ¡°Alright, let¡¯s decide what we¡¯re going to do.¡± ¡°No. Before that,¡± Krax stepped forward into the circle of people, his eyes locked onto Suna, like an eagle. ¡°The knife.¡± Suna didn¡¯t move, unsure how to respond. ¡°Give it back to James.¡± Distrust. She had come to know what it felt to be distrusted, but she still hated it. She also hated the idea of giving up her one weapon when the group was sure to come across more danger. She didn¡¯t show it on her face, but she was starting to dislike this man that she had never shared words with. ¡°Krax. It¡¯s okay.¡± ¡°Why do you think that? I saw her, what she did. She lopped that Geth¡¯s head right off, did you not see how easy it was for her? She¡¯s a killer. She had zero reaction to it. None.¡± The group measured the man¡¯s words, throwing various kinds of gazes her way. ¡°Look, Krax, isn¡¯t that a good thing? That we have another capable fighter?¡± ¡°You guys are being naive. It¡¯s not just the Geth that can hurt you. Do you really think a killer like her would hesitate, for a single second,¡± He paused, ¡°To leave you behind, as soon as things get rough? Really?¡± The elf interjected. ¡°Krax, she¡¯s just a girl-¡° ¡°No! No she¡¯s not, Cyra. You guys are endangering us all by bringing in a random, external factor into this.¡± He faced James, ¡°You¡¯re really gonna risk this?¡± James was still, his expression still, unlike the thoughts most likely racing through his head. ¡°You¡¯re gonna risk Murr? You¡¯re gonna do that?¡± Krax said, pleadingly. James¡¯ face had tensed up at some point, eyebrows furrowed, yet still motionless. Someone made a move. Suna looked down at her hand, which had been grasped, tightly. ¡°No. If she goes, I go.¡± Angie had also stepped forward, closer to Suna, as if to shield her from the eyes of the group. James was a bit stunned, with a perplexed expression. ¡°Angie, that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°She¡¯s just a girl, Krax. I¡¯m not abandoning a girl to the Geth.¡± ¡°No, I¡¯m telling you, she¡¯s not, Cyra-, James! Tell me I¡¯m lying! You saw what she did, what she¡¯s capable of, you told me, how she was going to cut her hand off, did you not?¡± The pace of his words quickened, the worry on his face more apparent, his breathing rough. James stood still. The group waited for his next words. He looked up. At Suna. ¡°Suna. How many people have you killed?¡± Suna¡¯s heart raced. A part of her didn¡¯t mind leaving the group, she didn¡¯t like being told what to do. But her resolve on one thing was resolute. She wanted to protect Angie. She wanted to spend more time with her friend, her stomach churned and thickened when she imagined her, dying in some gruesome way, choking on the ash, like the others¡­ She looked at Angie, who gave her a tender gaze. She felt, that if she wanted to keep this friend, she couldn¡¯t lie. ¡°¡­I lost count.¡± Cyra let out a gasp. Angie¡¯s hand still grasped hers, but it shook when she heard it. She looked visibly shaken. ¡°There. There you go.¡± Krax relaxed his tense posture, feeling as if his point was proven, saying no more. ¡°¡­Is that true?¡± Cyra let out a barely audible question. James continued looking Suna in the eyes, as if trying to peer into her, and read her thoughts. She didn¡¯t look away. ¡°Why have you killed so many people?¡± ¡°Self-defense.¡± The mood shifted. ¡°¡­What nation or land exists where you lose track of the amount of people trying to kill you?¡± Suna looked down, recollecting her life up until then. ¡°I can¡¯t tell you exactly where I come from. But there¡­ water was scarce. People scavenged, banded together to control the last few remaining wells. I had to steal to survive. They had to try and stop me to survive. I don¡¯t¡­ really put it against them. We were all¡­ just trying to survive, in one way or another.¡± The group was silent, barely able to believe that such a place even existed. The rustling leaves filled the silence, but she found that to be a bit ironic. That even such an insignificant sound required water to even exist. For a long while, they all just stood there, processing what she had said. Whether she was lying or telling the truth, that was all it came down to, but of course only one person there knew without a doubt that she had fabricated nothing. To Krax, it was just too weird of a story. Too outlandish. If someone were to try and weasel their way out of suspicion, he would expect them to at least come up with half-believable lies. Instead, Suna told of a land so bleak, it surely couldn¡¯t possibly exist. Why didn¡¯t she and those people just go somewhere else where there was water? Were they stopped by something? Was he deliberating over fictional nonsense? Krax wondered if this was a deliberate strategy, to tell a story so unbelievable that it would actually gain a bit of trust. But that theory was just too outlandish for him, he just couldn¡¯t rationalize someone exposing themselves to such risk for no clear reason or reward. Suna felt a squeeze on her hand. Angie gave her a look. She seemed to have made up her mind. Cyra looked up as well, seeing the frail-looking girl in a new light. Krax looked at Suna, perplexed. The scathing distrust that was just there, was now gone. James stood still, his eyes not leaving the ground. Until, he couldn¡¯t ponder any longer. If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. ¡°She¡¯s staying with us. We don¡¯t have much time and we need to get moving. Do we need to vote?¡± He looked around, no objections were brought up. ¡°Good.¡± Suna began to feel very relieved. ¡°Alright, we¡¯re here, at Eirythia.¡± He pointed to his map, which he laid out on a conveniently sized stone that everyone had gathered around. ¡°We came from here. Any thoughts on where we should go?¡± ¡°We can¡¯t risk heading back the way we came, the Geth are likely coming from that direction.¡± Cyra stated what everyone had on their minds. ¡°We have a few options. We could head deeper into the forest and cross the Highland mountains. If we¡¯re quick, it should take us around 20 days to make it to New Vall.¡± James paused and looked around, gauging their reactions and expressions. ¡°We can continue heading down the road the way we were heading. Without rest, it should take us 3 days to reach Blackhearth. It¡¯s much larger than this town, and if all the people there have mysteriously up and vanished like Eirythia, then there¡¯s a much bigger problem on our hands.¡± ¡°We risk running into Geth, don¡¯t we?¡± Suna spoke up. ¡°If they travel by steed, they¡¯ll overtake us in no time, no?¡± ¡°Oh, uh, I guess we should tell you a bit more about the Geth when we get the chance. To be quick, in order to ride a horse, you need to connect with it, respect it. They¡¯re creatures, with strong wills of their own, so if you try and force them to obey you, like the Geth do, they¡¯ll just resist you, even to their deaths. That¡¯s why the Geth can¡¯t use horses. But you¡¯re right, if we travel down the road, it¡¯s not impossible that we run into more Geth scouts.¡± James paused again, seeing if anyone else had anything to add. When no one did, he spoke. ¡°Me personally, I¡¯d like to go down the road. We severely lack information, and lingering around when we don¡¯t know the scale of the threat we¡¯re facing is a bigger risk than a few Geth scouts. And¡­¡± He looked down, fists clenched. He turned to Suna. ¡°I have a wife and kids¡­ I need to know that they¡¯re safe.¡± Suna didn¡¯t have any words to give. She only had respect for the man¡¯s determination. She gave a deep nod, her eyes never deviating from the serious eyes of the man. Cyra spoke up. ¡°They¡¯re not close, but they¡¯re not far, either, James¡¯ family I mean. Seeing Geth here¡­ really worries me.¡± After Cyra¡¯s clarification, James continued. ¡°There¡¯s a few other routes we could take, but here, in the outer edges, the cities are really far apart. I¡¯m not confident that we¡¯ll obtain valuable info from some small village like this one, so I don¡¯t think it¡¯s worth it to go out of our way to check on them.¡± Krax interjected. ¡°Especially with the complete lack of carriages on the road. I¡¯m guessing that they¡¯ve blocked travel along this road, and are shoring up an offensive in Blackhearth to fight the Geth.¡± He looked at Suna. ¡°Geth never act on their own. There has to be a base, somewhere¡­¡± The group was quiet in thought. ¡°...What if Blackhearth is their base?¡± The group was shocked by Suna¡¯s words. ¡°That can¡¯t be. Blackhearth is a bastion, their fortifications are nothing to be scoffed at.¡± ¡°Cyra¡¯s right, if they¡¯ve taken Blackhearth¡­ There¡¯s little hope for us. We¡¯d be stranded, in enemy territory, with no other human force remotely close enough to challenge them. The Geth¡­ they¡¯d expand into every corner of this land, sparing no one.¡± Krax spoke with a dark, pessimistic tone. ¡°...The real question, is how did these Geth get here. How has no one heard of them reaching this place? How can they move troops all the way out here with no one knowing about it?¡± The group considered James¡¯ question. There was something in the back of her mind. Suna dug and dug, deeper into her psyche, trying her best to uncover what she knew lay there. I¡¯m forgetting something¡­ What am I forgetting!? Her survival depended on it, this was no time for her memory to be failing her. Suna¡¯s memory was nearly eidetic. She never forgot important things, most certainly not things critical to her survival. So she was befuddled, and completely stumped. What¡¯s wrong with me? She was drowning in unease. Her mind, the tool she had relied on nearly her whole life, something she entrusted her life to on countless occasions, was somehow failing her. She was deeply unnerved, a raw fear, spreading, burrowing itself into her head. But no matter how much she tried, she couldn¡¯t recall what she was forgetting. No matter how she twisted her mind, went over every detail of every event that had occurred since coming to this world, she was faced with an insurmountable sense of helplessness. As if her mind was fighting with itself. With herself? I¡¯m stopping myself? Why? Why don¡¯t I want to remember? It was a terribly dissonant feeling. She was lost, grasping for answers that she withheld from herself, like some lunatic. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Angie¡¯s soft voice brought her back from her ongoing mental struggle. ¡°...um, yeah.¡± She lied. She knew now was not the time to introduce a wrench into the group¡¯s planning. She didn¡¯t want to be a burden, or a liability. She wanted to stand, side by side, by these people that she had come to respect. She wasn¡¯t going to be the reason for their downfall. Not again¡­ Angie squeezed her hand even harder. ¡°...No objections?¡± The group looked with resolution at James, and he looked back at them. ¡°Alright. Let us move.¡± ¨C The group ran, at a speed a bit less than a sprint, through the gaps between thee trees, evading open areas not covered by their dense canopy of leaves. Suna moved closer to Angie, who didn¡¯t notice her approach, too focused on her her footing. ¡°Angie.¡± ¡°Ah. What is it?¡± ¡°Why doesn¡¯t Cyra cast ¡®Erykh, Avant¡¯ on us?¡± ¡°Huh? I haven¡¯t taught you that spell yet¡­ Oh, did she use it that night? That¡¯s because casting magic costs us mana. You can think of it as energy. Casting it on five people at once would exhaust Cyra¡¯s mana quickly, leaving her with none to use in the case we encounter more Geth.¡± Angie managed to fit her words between her breathing and her footfalls. ¡°...I see.¡± Mana. Energy. This miraculous power had restrictions. She had wanted to ask more but refrained, seeing how focused Angie was on her movement. Angie¡­ How am I going to keep you safe? The group continued their traversal through the forest. They elected not to travel directly on the road, but rather parallel to it. It would cost them a couple days, but Krax convinced James by bringing up the threat of encountering a group of Geth. They told her how they were lucky to only encounter a couple scouts at the town. That their real threat lies in the way they coordinate together perfectly in combat. Against even just a group of 5, assuming their composition was well-balanced and adept, they would be forced to flee. The Geth¡­ They¡¯re dangerous. But they didn¡¯t scare Suna. She remembered how it felt to cut through that Geth¡¯s head. They¡¯re made of flesh and bone. They can die. She didn¡¯t grow complacent or overconfident, but she wasn¡¯t afraid. ¡°Hey, Suna. Can I see your knife?¡± ¡°...?¡± She tilted her head. ¡°I know a spell that can sharpen and strengthen weapons. It¡¯s not permanent, I won¡¯t use it right now, or anything, but it helps a lot when I have a good image of the weapon when I use it. Just in case, yeah?¡± Suna was a bit reluctant to part with her knife, despite the trust she had in Angie. She would feel uncomfortable without her weapon in case something unexpected occurred, but she figured she could just run close enough to her and yank it out of her hands if it was really necessary. She unsheathed her knife, which gave off a bright, silver reflection. She carefully handed it to Angie, holding it by blade. ¡°...Whoa¡­ I¡¯ve¡­ never seen anything like this¡­¡± Angie was in awe, almost stumbling, distracted by what was in her hands. Suna half-expected to already need to save her, who might clumsily fall onto the sharp blade. Thankfully, such a stupid scene didn¡¯t play out. ¡°This metal, this silver gleam¡­ This edge¡­ How was this made? This doesn¡¯t look like Erythium or Adamantite, those supposedly have some sort of color to the light they reflect, if I recall correctly. Where did you get this?¡± Suna didn¡¯t really know how to respond. ¡°Somewhere far away.¡± ¡°Somewhere far away, huh¡­¡± She handed the knife back to Suna. ¡°Sorry, different metals need different spells, and I don¡¯t think that¡¯s some basic steel. Sorry, Suna.¡± ¡°No, it¡¯s okay.¡± Suna shook her head. She was already confident in its sharpness. The group steadily advanced, even through the night. Cyra, who had shortly departed from the group, had now rejoined. ¡°How¡¯s the road look?¡± ¡°Still empty.¡± ¡°Tch.¡± James bit his lip, the worry on his face growing. ¡°Angie, how are you holding up?¡± Angie¡¯s breathing was rough. But she maintained her pace. ¡°...hah, hah, I¡¯m, doing okay¡­¡± After a short pause in thought, James stopped. ¡°Let¡¯s take a quick break.¡± The group came to a stop, amid the trees. Angie plopped down on the ground, catching her breath. Cyra, James, and Krax, they seemed to be well-trained and fit, but running for roughly 8 hours straight still left them with signs of fatigue. Only Cyra kept standing, monitoring the surroundings. Suna showed no such signs, quickly taking the time she had to lower the small, grey pack she had been wearing all this time. She took out two flat stones, with an unusual shape. The party, idle as they waited for Angie to recover her stamina, watched as Suna quickly sharpened her now unsheathed knife with the stones. With a speed developed over a long time, she brushed the edge of the knife along one of the stones, a soft noise escaping into the air as the metal glided along the strange-looking, angular stone. She occasionally raised the knife¡¯s edge to her eye, closely inspecting it, up and down the blade. Of course, she wasn¡¯t completely enveloped by this task, she continued to occasionally flit her eyes and examine her peripheral vision. She noticed the curious gazes of the three adults, how Angie would periodically try and lean closer to look but was inevitably too occupied with catching her breath, and she paid them no heed. She didn¡¯t like having to do a rush job, but she had no choice and little time. Satisfied to a certain extent, she moved onto the second stone, working on the finer angle of the edge of the knife. This was something that Suna did not fail to do after every time she used her knife. Ever since experiencing the terror of a blade that was unable to pierce a rough hide or a tough material when her life was at risk, she searched far and wide for the sharpest and toughest blade she could find, and suitable whetstones. This knife was her lifeline, something she entrusted her survival to on countless occasions. Maybe, maybe she didn¡¯t absolutely need to sharpen it with every cut. But it made her feel prepared, confident. Of course, her long-lasting confidence in the blade was already strangely shaken, but this didn¡¯t cause her to lose her long-standing trust. It only opened her eyes, that the sharpest metal of her world wasn¡¯t enough to guarantee her safety. Under the eyes of the group, she finished her routine knife sharpening. She placed it in its sheath, which hung by the back of her waist. Noting that the group showed no signs of heading off, she began stretching. She knew her muscles like the back of her hand, which she knew better than most people knew the back of their hands. Ever since encountering Ei, it wouldn¡¯t be an exaggeration to say she was reborn. When she moved her body, there was none of the pain that she had come to be used to. Old wounds, scars, tears of ligaments, fractures that healed poorly, all of these things were magically gone. She thanked Ei in her head, as she checked on each of her muscles and joints, ensuring they were in top condition. No one else in the group shared in her weird movements. They could only be stunned at the weird angles her body bent at, movements they had never even thought possible. They shared looks of confusion with each other, shrugging in resignations of ignorance. ¡°I, I think I¡¯m ready, James.¡± Angie sat up, bending her arms and legs and twisting her back as she, too, checked up on the condition of her body, albeit in a far less sophisticated manner. ¡°You sure? There¡¯s no point pushing yourself when we might encounter danger. We might not be able to cover you.¡± He said, in a serious tone. Angie responded. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Resolve in her eyes. She did not want to drag the party down. ¡°Alright. Let¡¯s go.¡± The party continued their trek through the forest. Chapter 10: Horror Chapter 10 Horror After a few days of rough running and scattered short rests, the group encountered more signs of civilization as they approached Blackhearth. Groups of buildings, fields, pastures. All unattended. More and more, looks of realizations crept up onto their faces. Realizations of the worst. ¡°James, I-, I don¡¯t know about this¡­¡± ¡°I know, Cyra. But we don¡¯t know for sure, yet, what happened to all these people.¡± ¡°Maybe they¡¯re all taking refuge in Blackhearth.¡± Krax proposed his theory. ¡°...Let¡¯s stop here.¡± The group stopped after James¡¯ command, assembling into a rough circle. Angie fell to her creaking and shaking arms and knees, trying to suppress herself as she dry retched at the ground. Suna felt bad for her. She crouched down, and gently rubbed her back. ¡°There¡¯s two, no, three possibilities. One, Blackhearth has somehow fallen and is now a Geth base. The more empty buildings we pass by, the more I feel that¡¯s a real possibility. Two, as Krax said, all the people in the surrounding area have evacuated and are taking refuge in Blackhearth, likely as a measure against a Geth outpost that¡¯s cropped up. The third, is anything that isn¡¯t one of those two scenarios. Some unknown factor that we¡¯re not accounting for at play.¡± Suna¡¯s stomach lurched as James spoke those words. Krax spoke up. ¡°We should get closer to Blackhearth. We¡¯ve come across neither human nor Geth; if Blackhearth was one of their outposts, we¡¯d probably at least come across one of their patrols.¡± James responded to his suggestion. ¡°We shouldn¡¯t make assumptions. Placing everyone¡¯s lives here on a coinflip doesn¡¯t seem right. Approaching any closer to a Geth outpost could result in us surrounded. That would be the end of us.¡± ¡°Sh.¡± The standing party members all looked at Suna, who had interrupted their conversation. ¡°I hear something.¡± The elf¡¯s ears perked, twitching as they tried to make out any hint of sound that could be hiding among the soft wind. Krax and James looked to her, placing her judgement above theirs. They all stood still ¨C even Angie, forcefully suppressing her upheavals, knowing better than to obfuscate their hearing during such a critical moment. Suna closed her eyes. It was a calculated sacrifice she was willing to make, she was relying on the other party members to keep an eye out for any surprises. Focusing intently, she could almost make something out. It wasn¡¯t an animal cry. ¡°Humans. I hear voices.¡± She plainly stated her judgement. ¡°Are you sure?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± James looked at Cyra for a moment, before looking back at Suna. ¡°Towards the west?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± He stood still in thought. ¡°If she¡¯s right, we need to check on them. They could need help.¡± Cyra boldly gave her input. James looked at Krax, who looked back at James, before nodding his head. ¡°Let¡¯s move.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for the sounds to reach the ears of all the party members. It was a faint howling, almost unhuman-like. Suna glanced at Angie, checking on her. Her face was tense, she was scared. ¡°What is that¡­?¡± Krax let out his question, softly. ¡°Suna¡¯s right. Humans.¡± Cyra responded. ¡°Human¡¯s make those noises?¡± A look of suspicion creeping onto Krax¡¯s face. ¡°Yes. They do.¡± James answered. ¡°We¡¯re turning back.¡± He stopped his quiet run. None of the party members were ready for those words. Cyra didn¡¯t hesitate, transitioning her run into a strut, right up to James, her face a morphing mixture of shock and fury, mere inches away from him. ¡°James-!¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°James, they could be in danger-¡± ¡°I said, no.¡± Cyra wore a flabbergasted look, as if she couldn¡¯t believe what she was hearing. After a brief pause, as if time had stopped momentarily, she started walking away. If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement. ¡°Then I¡¯ll go by myself.¡± Her walk quickened into a run. ¡°Cyra! Get back here! Ugh!¡± He let out a heavy sigh of frustration as he ran to catch up with her. Krax and the other two exchanged startled looks as they processed the situation in real time, before shortly after also running to catch up with the other two. Suna held her hand out to the anxious, fearful, worried Angie. Angie gave her a grateful look and took the outstretched hand, allowing Suna to pull her along. As the group, which naturally reformed closer, approached the distant howls, their true nature became more apparent. Howls of pain, hollow screams, groaning, incoherent sentences, unintelligible noises, they filled the air, a hollow chorus that shook the party¡¯s hearts. ¡°Cyra-¡± ¡°No.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a trap, Cyra.¡± ¡°We can help them!¡± Cyra¡¯s voice was frantic, her run had at some point turned into a hasty sprint, and the others were failing to keep up. Suna was not going to leave Angie, who was already lagging further and further behind, on her own. She gripped the hand that was in her grasp stronger, strengthening her resolve, preparing herself for anything. James, who let out strings of curses under his breath; Krax, who had a deep worried look and disposition that Suna hadn¡¯t seen from him before; Angie, out of breath, her steps becoming more and more uncoordinated, dragging along the ground; Suna, with a steady breath and a plain, serious look that she never had the chance to see for herself. The group made their way at varying speeds through the thinning grove. A field. When Suna and Angie had come up to the edge of the treeline, they saw Krax standing there, watching. When they reached his side, Suna pulled on Angie¡¯s hand to stop her, causing her to almost stumble. Angie stooped down, her free hand on her knee, catching her breath. Suna didn¡¯t let her hand free, not even giving her the chance to wipe off the wall of sweat that pooled in the gaps between the pairs palms and fingers. Angie looked up, seeing what Suna and Krax were looking at. A field. Of crosses. People nailed, by their hands and ankles, to each one. They looked makeshift, poorly made. Some had fallen, some missed a horizontal beam, others were bent at weird angles and made unorthodox shapes. But they all bore a person on each one. Angie vomited, little more than spittle coming out. She had already vomited most of her last meal. She looked up again, she had to know how Cyra and James were doing, if they were safe. Her eyes sifted through what should have been a green plain, that was blanketed in massive splotches of red and white, blood and pools of guts and innards and limbs scattered about. She vomited, again. She couldn¡¯t resist. Suna¡¯s eyes had already long spotted the two. Fools. Their voices reached her ears amidst the rising choir of coarse pleas and hollow screams. ¡°Cyra, get back here!¡± ¡°It¡¯s okay, stay right there, I¡¯m going to get you guys down!¡± Suna was already stepping back, away from the uncertain area, but Angie was rooted in place. Her whole body shook, her head looked as if it had loosened from her neck, as she struggled to even process what her eyes were showing her. Suna could hear faint muttering escape her lips, too incoherent to make a word out of. Krax wasn¡¯t panicking, but it was clear he was more than uncomfortable with the situation. She noticed his back foot, too, starting to retreat the way they had come from. ¡°Fuck, Cyra, what are you doing!?¡± Before Suna could make out any more words from her acquaintances, it was all drowned out by a sonorous, horn-like sound. Everyone¡¯s instincts kicked in. Suna pulled with great difficulty the frozen-in-place Angie. Krax began chanting, his staff emitting a faint glow. James turned around and dashed, not even looking behind him for a moment. Cyra only hesitated for an instant, before she too dashed at full speed, following behind James. ¡°I-I-I-I-I have-I have to start- A-A¡± ¡°Angie, come on! Move!¡± Suna, not achieving any results by trying to pull Angie¡­ Slap! A crisp, loud sound rang out. Angie¡¯s panicked muttering stopped, she looked at where the slap had come from. ¡°What are you waiting for!? Move!¡± Nearly stumbling forward, she let herself be pulled forward by Suna, her legs somehow finding their way under her. Suna heard sounds. Clanking metal, movement¡­ Too many. She started to consider ditching Angie and making a break for it. Something in her, though¡­ her heart¡­ it stopped her from doing such a thing. It rebuked her for even considering it. Yet the thought remained still and heavy, however, over her consciousness. Suddenly, the bumbling and meandering that was Angie started to speed up. No, not speed up, glide. She shot a quick look at Krax, who quickly turned his attention to the others remaining out in the plain. There was no time to convey gratitude, but in her heart, she did, nonetheless. Suna, holding Angie¡¯s hand, had broken into a semi-run. After several seconds that seemed like eternities had passed, Angie seemed to start coming to her senses. The muttering lessened, and she heard her name, Suna, pop up a few times amidst the other unintelligible sounds she was making. She gripped her hand harder, pulling her forward with all of her strength. The others weren¡¯t far behind. They assembled, dashing, around Angie. They exchanged frantic looks, but they saw Suna, continuing to hold Angie¡¯s hand, dashing for her life. They didn¡¯t leave the pair behind. It was harder to make out sounds with the heavy breathing and footsteps of the group not far from her ears, but she successfully was able to identify sounds that weren¡¯t natural. ¡°We¡¯re being chased.¡± She stated the obvious. ¡°The mountains. That way!¡± James fit the words between his heavy yet paced breathing. ¡°James, I¡¯m so-¡± ¡°Not right now. We¡¯re going to get out of this.¡± James and Cyra exchanged a meaningful look. Surprisingly, it was Angie who spoke up next. ¡°Tho-... Those bodies, why? Why?¡± Krax remedied Angie¡¯s unfortunate curiosity, which seemed more like rhetorical pleas to a God rather than actual questions. ¡°We don¡¯t know exactly why. But they have rituals. Bloody ones. And they sure like the way humans bleed.¡± He spat on the ground, in disgust. ¡°Angie, I¡¯m sorry you had to see that-¡± ¡°No! NO! Noooo¡­¡± Angie had broke out into crying, the word ¡®no¡¯ filling her throat, as if saying it was somehow enough to reject the entirety of the horrors she had just witnessed. ¡°Just keep running, Angie. We¡¯re making it out of this.¡± James tried to reassure her. Suna couldn¡¯t tighten her grip on Angie¡¯s hand anymore. She actually loosened it, worried that she was hurting her, but the hand gripped back. Hard. But she had to release it. She knew what was coming. She dashed, like a blur, away from the group and Angie. Angie outstretched her hand, as if a precious thing was leaving her, as if her sole light in the darkness was fading. Cyra picked up the slack, pulling on Angie much harder than Suna was, almost dragging her along the ground as her feet tried their best to keep up with the sudden increased speed. James and Krax were startled by Suna¡¯s sudden departure from the group, their eyes tracking her, trying to figure out what she was doing. She soon was covered by the veil of leaves and trees between them. Clang! The sound of reverberating metal entered their ears. ¡­! The group reacted immediately, readying themselves for combat, still sprinting in their same direction. After a short period of time, they saw a figure approaching them. Tension at its height, it lowered, and they gave a sigh of relief. Suna returned to the group. Blood spray on her face and robe. The group, witnessing this feat, felt¡­ assurance. They spoke no words, but their steps became more ordered and less frantic. Their expressions remained serious and uncertain, yet lacking despair. Suna returned to Angie, and stretched her hand out. Angie was ensnared in Suna¡¯s plain look of seriousness, a warm feeling spreading into her heart, that had just been shaken to its core. She tried to release her hand and reach out, but its constraint and the pull on it remained. ¡°When we¡¯re safe, okay?¡± Cyra spoke gently, and gave a grateful, kind look towards Suna. Suna understood, yet remained close to Angie¡¯s side. The nice moment couldn¡¯t last forever, though. She spoke out. ¡°Multiple from the front and the left. I¡¯ll take the left.¡± Her voice was calm, devoid of emotion. All there was in it was will. The will to survive, to overcome the adversaries. She left the group once again, no further information needing to be conveyed. Chapter 11: The Highland Mountains Chapter 11 The Highland Mountains Two figures came into view. One armoured lightly, with a bow. The other covered in plate mail, wielding a longsword. Basic. Her evaluation was changed, however, when she saw the bow wielding man take out what looked like some sort of device. He pulled a string coming out of it, and tossed it at the girl. Tch. Two sounds rung out, followed by another. A hollow clank as the unfamiliar projectile collided with something in the air. The sound of tearing, followed by blood spray and a thud, as the archer collided with the ground. The knight didn¡¯t bear an expression, but she saw it in his eyes and the way his body moved, he was reevaluating her, taking no chances. She too did the same, and dashed at him. The sword quickly and deftly cleaved through the air, intercepting the girl, only to hit air. The vision of the swordsman went black. She lamented that she had lost one of her throwing knives. She hadn¡¯t found anything suitable as replacements in this world yet, so she didn¡¯t like the idea of wasting them, but she had no choice. Instead, she collected nicely weighted and shaped rocks she came across, putting them inside her pack and robe. Her robe had convenient folds, and pockets in those folds, that were well-designed, allowing her to quickly reach them with no trouble. They were the perfect place to store her hidden weapons, much more accessible than the hidden compartment in her shoes that the group members had never found. Satisfied with the kills, she quickly returned to the group. She was glad to see no enemies in sight. They were a capable bunch. They looked at her with respect, once again seeing her in a new light. She didn¡¯t bother returning the looks, instead maintaining her focus on the surroundings and its faint sounds. No words needed to be exchanged. The group ran, exchanging only the sound of breathing and footsteps. With the exception of Suna, of course. The land changed. The trees lessened. The dirt changed from a rich brown to a more gravelly greyish-brown. Hills appeared, their pace inevitably slowing when they had to traverse uphill. More and more rocks of varying sizes entered and left their view. Thankful, internally, to not come across anymore enemies, the group exited the forest, entering a mountainous region, still not daring to slow down their pace. Suna was much more used to this terrain. Bare rock, slopes of silt, cliffs and overhangs, boulders, it felt familiar to her. A part of her felt reunited with a long lost acquaintance. Unable to use anything for cover, the group simply ascended up the mountain as fast as they could. There wasn¡¯t a path, but they found another way to traverse the rough land: following Suna, the most simple and straightforward form of navigation. As they gained elevation, Suna caught glimpses behind her of the land. The land was vast and open, like Yrma was, before she had become covered in ash. She could make out the lake she remembered, now seeing how large the river that ran through it truly was. She saw a mystical beam of color, likely some strange Magical phenomena. She saw a towering mountain range on the horizon, obscuring her view past it. She truly regretted not being able to stop and take in the view. She actually considered for a fraction of a moment to tell the others to go on whilst she sat and took in the sight. She could only imagine the incredulity on their faces if she were to actually suggest such a thing. Swatting away her temptations, she regained her focus and clarity. The group needed to find a suitable place to hide. ¡°Are any of you familiar with these mountains?¡± The various group members exchanged glances. ¡°I don¡¯t think any of us have been up here personally, but there¡¯s a well-known cave system here. In an age before ours, it was used to mine up ferrum, it¡¯s supposedly like a labyrinth inside. It should be difficult for them to find us in there.¡± James paused shortly to catch his breath. Even he was starting to feel fatigue. ¡°There should be an old trail up on this ridge. If we head down it, it shouldn¡¯t take us long to come up on one of the mine entrances.¡± He took the chance to look at the party members, gauging them. His vision lingered on Angie, who clutched at her chest, still being pulled along by Cyra. ¡°We can rest there.¡± He redirected his attention back on the terrain and Suna, who was at the head of the group. ¡°Got it. I¡¯m going to go scout up ahead. I need to clear the ridgeline. If no one is following behind you, until you see me come back, don¡¯t go over it. If I take longer than 30 minutes, assume I¡¯m dead.¡± James absorbed the grim words, spoken plainly and succinctly. ¡°...Got it.¡± Suna ascended the mountain at a blistering pace. She was thankful that the robe she was wearing was grey rather than some conspicuous color, but she felt it wasn¡¯t enough. It had to match the color of the rock here. Surprising the others who still had her in their line of sight, she dove and rolled in the gravel and silt. Not an inch of her hair, face, and limbs were spared from her fierce, yet frankly silly-looking frollicking along the ground. She efficiently covered every inch of her body with the powdery, fine dirt and rock. Satisfied, she darted off. The members were left in the dust, Suna becoming a smaller and smaller dot that moved up the large, curved mountainous slope. When she reached the top of the incline, she found a suitable boulder to walk up behind. Her gaze covered every inch of the mountain. In the distance, the tallest mountain of the range towered. It was truly massive, its total height obscured by a layer of clouds far up. The range was sprawling, plenty of smaller hills and larger mountains springing up from the ground she was standing on at the moment. She was satisfied with the smaller mountain that was relatively close by. It didn¡¯t take long for her to ascend it. Even at parts where the slope was nearly vertical, utilizing risky maneuvers that she executed to perfection with zero hesitation, she made quick work of the climb. Soon. she found her way to the peak of the small mountain. The author''s tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon. Here should do fine. Her eyes glazed over the surrounding area. She was determined to find even a hint of movement. Many times she thought she found enemies, only for it to be some critter or animal. Unable to locate any Geth or human, she then the mountain again, this time searching for caves or these supposed mine entrances. She saw the path, how it wound up and down through the flat plateaus between peaks. Hm. That should do. Satisfied with her survey of the land, she quickly descended the peak. Almost like some kind of goat, she hopped down onto various rock holds that stuck out, descending at a rapid pace. She was very thankful for her small body and light weight ¨C if she was born taller, she knew that she couldn¡¯t perform much of the whole slew of athletic maneuvers she had come to rely on throughout her life. She made it back down to the ridgeline and peaked over it. The others still had a ways to go. Making sure she caught their attention, she stuck her thumb up in front of her, one of the signs that the group taught her. As she waited, she continued surveying, carefully, the plateau and its surrounding elevated areas for any sign of movement. Eventually the others reached her. They were out of breath, all except Cyra who was able to maintain some of her composure. She let Angie down onto the ground, whom she had been carrying over her shoulder up the steep incline. Angie was too exhausted and tired to bother expressing her embarrassment. ¡°I found one of those mine entrances. I didn¡¯t see anyone, but I can¡¯t guarantee anything, there¡¯s too much cover.¡± James was preoccupied, catching his breath. Suna looked at his armor and sword. She thought about offering to carry his sword, but she realized she wouldn¡¯t like being without her weapon when there could still be enemies around. As James was unable to catch his breath, Cyra took it upon herself to speak up. ¡°Let¡¯s head over there. We¡¯ll follow you. Thank you, Suna.¡± She gave Suna a thoughtful look, which Suna returned, before momentarily resuming her plain expression, like a mask she could take on and off. She nodded, looking at all of the group members, before taking off, albeit at a fittingly slow pace to accommodate the exhausted group. Soon, thankfully without intervention, the entrance to the old mine came into view. They did not hesitate to delve into its dark embrace. ¡°La Viera!¡± With a softened bellow, Krax raised his hand into the air, with it, a manifestation of light. It¡¯s light wasn¡¯t particularly bright, but Suna noted the familiar, peculiar reality of being unable to look directly at it. The magical light brightened the inside of the shaft. It was fairly wide, wide enough to allow the whole group to walk side-by-side if they wanted to, with room to share. This mine, it clearly wasn¡¯t a small-scale project. Dilapidated wooden beams, among them those that still, after untold years, continued to fulfill their duty. Remnants of fixtures that presumably carried torches. Deteriorated remnants of containers and devices, likely used to transport minerals and rock. Suna imagined what the mine must have looked like in the far past, if it would look similar to the brief images of mines that she knew of. Her dad had died working in a mine. She hated them. This particular mine was spared from her loathing, though ¨C she knew it was blameless. Chances are, it might have brought prosperity and happiness to the people here, rather than the suffering and death it brought in her world. As her mind drifted, she thought of a relevant question, turning towards James. ¡°Are there any threats in these mines you know of?¡± The group walked at a slow pace through the mines. Angie was asleep in Cyra¡¯s arms. Krax stumbled forward, using his staff as a walking stick. James wasn¡¯t much better, but he at least continued to walk in a somewhat normal-looking fashion. ¡°There¡¯s critters, there¡¯s the occasional monster. As long as we avoid the territories of large groups of monsters, we¡¯ll be fine. The Geth¡­ well, to be completely honest, the Geth could be anywhere. Normally, the Geth just stick to their bases, like some sort of hive, but¡­¡± He raised up his hands in defeat, shrugging, ¡°Clearly, I don¡¯t know enough about their movements and habits to say anything for certain. At the very least, we¡¯ve made it to this cave. Our chances of survival have shot up, far past what I thought they could be.¡± He was plain and honest with the delivery of his words. ¡°Thank you, Suna. Without you, I¡­ I don¡¯t know. It wouldn¡¯t be pretty.¡± He looked at his party members around him, still alive. His face was marred by the heavy weight of exhaustion, but Suna could still make out, faintly, a smile from it. She felt good. The kind of good you feel when you do the right thing. She hadn¡¯t had too many opportunities to do such things, so the feeling was relatively unfamiliar to her. But she liked it. Sooner rather than later, James tiredly beckoned for the group to stop in one of the branching tunnels of the shaft. Krax, still stumbling, moved slowly out of sight, Suna with a good guess for what he was doing. Cyra lay Angie down, spreading out her pack as a makeshift pillow for the girl. She got to work, managing a pack of dried food, and splitting it into small portions for each member. ¡°James.¡± Her call was met with silence. ¡°James. I¡¯m sorry. I was caught up in my emotions, and I put everyone¡¯s lives at risk. I¡¯m sorry.¡± Silence. James interrupted it by cracking his neck and fingers. The silence was almost a bit painful, even just to listen to. Suna had little to distract herself, to distance herself from the uncomfortable atmosphere. She got out her knives and whetstones, and made herself busy. Aside from the soft, rhythmic sound of the knife scraping against the stones, the two sat in silence. James sat against the wall, his hand propped up on his knee. His face was dimly lit by the faint magical light, little of his expression could be made out. Cyra simply sat still, in silence, brooding over her words and their lack of response. Krax eventually came back, with nothing to add or take away, simply laying down quietly against the ground in exhaustion. ¡°You know, Cyra, I¡¯m¡­¡± The quiet, gruff sound of his voice filled the quiet hallway. Cyra¡¯s ears twitched. ¡°...I¡¯m actually twice-married... You know that?¡± Cyra sat in silence. Maybe she felt she didn¡¯t even have the right to respond to the question. ¡°My previous wife and kids¡­ I had two of them. Jacob and little Johnny¡­ Haha.¡± A choked up laugh escaped his throat. ¡°Oh, little Johnny, haha¡­¡± The words were choked, his voice cracking, as he struggled, yet with such care, to utter those creaking words. Cyra was silent. When enough time had passed for his breathing to somewhat steady, he continued. ¡°They¡­ I was out. On a hunt. Theeey¡­¡± he exhaled, ¡°, they got to the town. As soon as I heard they were moving, I rushed back, as fast as I could.¡± He stared, blankly, at the stone ground. ¡°...It wasn¡¯t fast enough.¡± He clenched his fist. ¡°I was so¡­ FUCKING, close. So, fucking, close.¡± James fist didn¡¯t slam into the wall, instead stopping right in front of it. His voice had tapered to a whimper. Cyra had no response. She couldn¡¯t respond. ¡°I made it to the town just as the Knights reached it. They had to focus their numbers on a nearby city that was under siege, it was only after that that they actually sent anyone to my village. But by then, it was too fucking late.¡± James continued. ¡°I got there, I slaughtered anyone and anything that stood in my way. But, as soon as I saw them, I, I¡­ I lost it.¡± James¡¯ voice was empty and hollow. Devoid of any energy. He tried. To come up with words, to force them out of his throat. But all that emerged was air. He put his palm on his forehead, simply unable to express the images that were coursing through his mind, the events that played themselves back, memories that he had pushed deep, far down. Cyra was shaking. Her expression quivered, pained and sad. ¡°Look, Cyra, I¡¯m hard on you guys because I want you guys to be safe, yeah? That¡¯s all I want. That¡¯s it. I¡¯m sick, and tired, of people dying, I¡¯m sick of it.¡± The words hung in the air. ¡°And you know what? You guys¡­ we¡¯re safe now. I can¡¯t ask for much more than that, can I? We¡¯re all, actually, here. Right now. Safe.¡± That word was like a shack in the storm; it brought a certain peace with it. ¡°I can¡¯t ask for more than that. I have never wanted anything more than that.¡± At some point, the rhythmic sound of scraping had already stopped. Angie¡¯s soft, rhythmic breathing as well. There was just silence. They all sat. In silence. Chapter 12: Reassurance Chapter 12 Reassurance It was the middle of the night, or at least Suna estimated it to be. She felt the girl, whose arms were clasped tightly around her waist, start to stir. She was being squeezed, but she didn¡¯t mind. ¡°Suna.¡± ¡°Yes?¡± It was pitch black, so she couldn¡¯t make out a single thing in the darkness. But she felt Angie tilt her head up towards her. ¡°Am I going to die?¡± Angie trembled. ¡°Are they going to¡­ are they going to do that to me?¡± Suna wanted to reassure her, confidently, promise her that no such thing was ever going to happen. But that would just be a hollow lie, hollow hope. Angie sensed her uncertainty, squeezing even tighter, as if hanging onto a piece of driftwood in a stormy ocean. ¡°I¡¯m going to die¡­¡± Angie¡¯s voice cracked, assaulted by despair. ¡°Angie, listen to me.¡± Suna placed her hands on the sides of Angie¡¯s face and brought her own face closer. ¡°I am NOT going to let you die. I promise.¡± Angie shook with emotions that Suna couldn¡¯t decipher in the dark. ¡°Mm. You promised, right? Hehe¡­¡± Angie wiped her tears off. ¡°You¡¯d better not break that promise, okay?¡± She scooched up Suna¡¯s body, like a worm, and brought her face close to Suna¡¯s, pushing her face up to the side of Suna¡¯s, touching their ears together. She pushed the side of her head into Suna¡¯s, as if burrowing into it, her chin rubbing against the space between Suna¡¯s shoulder and neck. This was an extreme amount of intimacy for the frozen Suna, who had no experience or countermeasures to deal with this unexpected attack. But, she made no effort to disengage or push Suna away. ¡°You¡¯re so cool, Suna¡­¡± Her voice a delicate whisper, close to her ear. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m such a¡­ haha¡­¡± Self-deprecation dripped from her somber voice. ¡°I¡¯m¡­ I¡¯m going to help too. I¡¯m not just going to be baggage anymore. I hate it.¡± Suna felt Angie¡¯s grip on her tighten. With no words to share, the two lay still, absorbing the silence, absorbing each other¡¯s warmth. Suna was flustered, eyes wide open, cheeks hot. Soon, she could feel Angie¡¯s breathing slow, a slight push and pull against her stomach, like waves. She was glad. Glad that Angie was feeling better. Remaining calm and still was difficult, and an unknown amount of time had passed, but eventually, sleep found the small girl with black hair, too. She slept very soundly. The group¡¯s rest was cut short all too quick by Krax¡¯s whispering voice. ¡°4 entered the entrance¡­ 8¡­ 12, 15, 17¡­¡± The tension in his voice rose quickly, he cut off, leaving no comment on if or how much the number continued to rise. The group roused, except the still resting Angie, who Suna had to pat on the head a few times to get to wake up. James spoke sharply, trying to shrug off the exhaustion. ¡°Let¡¯s go back to the main shaft, before they reach us.¡± ¡°I suggest we continue going down this one.¡± Krax spoke up. ¡°These tunnels are notoriously long and interconnected, like veins of ferrum. I think the chance of it being a dead end is low.¡± James was quiet, in the darkness, weighing the odds. So too did all the group members. They¡¯re lives were riding on this gamble. ¡°Okay. We¡¯re heading down this tunnel. Come on.¡± The group wasted little time in gathering their packs and starting again their hurried walk. No matter how well in-shape they were, their bodies had simply been pushed too hard and too fast for too long. In the dim light of Krax¡¯s reconjured spell, Suna noted how each party member moved¨C the steadiness and lengths of their strides, their breathing, their posture. Even she had begun to feel a dull ache of soreness from her legs, but it was a laughable joke compared to the pains she was more accustomed to. All in all, their combat reliability, in descending order, was James and Cyra, followed by Krax, and then far below him, Angie. She knew, though, that Krax relied more on his spells to contribute, so she didn¡¯t know how to reliably judge his combat ability. ¡°Angie,¡± she whispered, ¡°tell me all of the spells you know.¡± She paused. ¡°The useful ones.¡± Her whisper was met with a response of equal volume. ¡°Is now really the time?¡± ¡°Yes.¡± Suna didn¡¯t look for confirmation from James or anyone else. Keeping their voices at an absolute minimum should be okay, it was a worthy risk. ¡°Mignen Ipten Shavaal.¡± Krax uttered the spell. Huh? What¡¯s going on? Suna¡¯s mind felt a pull, almost like an invitation. Puzzled, yet seeing Krax¡¯s assured look on his face, she gave in to the sensation. Can you hear me? It was off putting. It was her voice in her head that she heard, one that spoke up without her consent. Um¡­ Yes? Good. This method of communication is a bit costly, so I¡¯ll try to be quick. I¡¯ll tell you all the main spells that each of us are fluent in, as well as a few of the ones we¡¯re not as familiar with using. A list of foreign sounding spells and their effects, stated concisely and quickly. The string of words was shorter than she thought. Learning spells must take considerable time, then¡­ at least well enough to to use in combat readily, I suppose. Suna was pleased with the much needed information. She was also thankful for Krax¡¯s convenient method of relaying it to her, dropping the need to create more noise. The group¡¯s rushed footsteps echoed through the tunnel. After traveling a decently long distance, they reached an intersection, much to the relief of everyone. They had emerged into a bigger shaft, not as big as the one they entered, as well as another small tunnel on the other side. The main shaft had an incline to it. One side went up and the other went down. ¡°Which way do we go?¡± Cyra asked the question on everyone¡¯s minds. ¡°This mine has many entrances and exits, of varying sizes. I wouldn¡¯t be surprised if the Geth made a move to try and cover some of the larger exits, ideally we can leave through one of the smaller ones, if we¡¯re lucky.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t the Geth leave us alone at some point?¡± Suna put forth the question on her mind. ¡°No. The Geth are known for their meticulous ruthlessness. They go to illogical, extreme lengths to achieve their objectives. Normally, if there were a reasonable amount of them, they¡¯d probably be too occupied with other things to focus on a small group of five. But¡­ It¡¯s certain at this point. They have Blackhearth. I don¡¯t even want to imagine how many of those things are currently swarming in that fortress, what happened to all the people living there¡­¡± A helpless tone of dismay underlaid a tired voice. ¡°So, unfortunately, I¡¯m not going to bet on them letting us off the hook. These tunnels and mines are truly vast, but there¡¯s only so many entrances on this mountain, their true size lies in their depths that delve far underground. Going down does not seem like the right idea to me.¡± ¡°So, up?¡± Cyra looked for James¡¯ opinion. ¡°No. Chances are we¡¯ll just run into a main exit if we follow it. If we¡¯re ambushed by a squad of Geth¡­ I doubt even you¡¯re capable of defeating 30 of them at once, right Suna?¡± ¡°It depends. If there are environmental factors I can utilize, or if I can split them up and fight two or three at a time, then it¡¯s not impossible. But all at once, with ranged weapons in the mix, I would have to get lucky and have access to good cover to escape with my life.¡± James gave a dry laugh at the answer, which was in line with his expectations. ¡°Haha, if only you were some kind of invincible immortal, right? We¡¯d get out of here just fine.¡± He coughed, bringing the subject back to what was important. ¡°Let¡¯s take our chances with the smaller tunnels. Let¡¯s take it slow and evade detection. We¡¯ll eventually find a suitable exit if we can just do that.¡± Decided on their path, the group descended down the dark, thinner tunnel. ¨C ¡°Hey, Suna.¡± ¡°...? What is it, Angie?¡± ¡°Um¡­ How are you so good? I mean, like, how are you so fit? And strong, and agile, and everything?¡± Angie looked down in shame. ¡°What can I do, to be like you?¡± Suna wrestled with the difficult question. ¡°I think the question is how can I be like you? You know so many spells-¡± Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. ¡°I¡¯m not a kid! I¡­ I know how much of a burden I am. I know that I¡¯m risking everyone¡¯s lives, slowing them down¡­¡± Suna had no response. ¡°I¡­ I keep telling myself, that I¡¯ll be ready, but when I try to say the spells in my head, when things get tense, I-... I just freeze.¡± She grimaced. ¡°Like some kind of dumb, stupid, spoiled kid... I¡¯m useless¡­¡± Suna struggled to come up with a response. Angie was a burden, but she didn¡¯t blame her for it. She simply hadn¡¯t come across such situations before. ¡°Angie¡­ When I was younger, no group of people accepted me.¡± Suna recalled the past. Angie looked at Suna out of the corner of her eyes, her face still downturned, too ashamed to hold her head high. ¡°I was the weak one, Angie. I tried, over and over, desperately pleading with people to join them. I offered all that I had, but I simply had all my belongings taken, and they cast me out. I offered to do anything, for anyone, but they simply paid me no heed. They¡­ they all left me to die.¡± ¡°...¡± ¡°Angie, I was able to develop my body and skills because I had no choice. It was that or death, for me. You¡­¡± She turned towards Angie, who soberly looked down at the ground. ¡°...You have people that care for you. That are willing to risk their lives for you.¡± She saw Angie blink, unsteadily. She took Angie¡¯s hand. It was reluctant, it wanted to let go, but Suna gripped it tightly, the hand giving up on its escape. ¡°I¡­ I envy that, Angie.¡± Angie looked at Suna, confused at what she was trying to convey to her. ¡°Sometimes, I think, what if I had that? Where was that love, when I was dying of thirst, all on my own?¡± Suna herself didn¡¯t really understand what she was trying to say. Her emotions simply expressed themselves, as if she had little control over them. ¡°I don¡¯t know. I don¡¯t know what I¡¯d be like, if that happened.¡± Angie didn¡¯t have a response. ¡°Angie, the way I see it, it¡¯s not your fault that you¡¯re weak, or freezing up. I did the same things, too, when I first started coming across corpses. Eaten up. It was surprising how much water people were able to extract from human bodies.¡± Angie was disturbed. ¡°But, I still kept fighting. I still hung in there, somehow. I got lucky, way too many times to count. I kept learning, trying to grow stronger, trying to find anything I could leverage to my advantage to overcome any enemy. And then¡­ I was the last one. There were no more remaining.¡± Suna looked over at Angie, who was looking at her thoughtfully. ¡°Who am I to blame you for such things when I was no better than you before? Especially¡­¡± She gripped Angie¡¯s hand tightly. ¡°Especially if you¡¯re fighting. Trying you¡¯re best. Failing, but scrambling to get up, especially when it¡¯s hard.¡± Angie looked touched, her lips quivering, as if she wanted to let out tears but fought to keep them back. ¡°And when you¡¯re struggling to get up, Angie¡­¡± She walked in front of her, stopping her, ¡°I¡¯ll be there to help you up.¡± She hugged Angie. There was no deeper reasoning, or calculated strategy. These were her raw emotions, that she wanted to express. As the two hugged, no one could bring themselves to rush them or separate them. The group stopped, taking in the tender moment. Suna wouldn¡¯t delay the group¡¯s progress for long, so she broke away from Angie, continuing her walk. Her face was flushed, she was far too embarrassed to look at Angie and gauge her response. But she felt reassured by Angie¡¯s tight grip on her hand, whose steps started to feel more lively again, like they had once been. As they were walking, they came across another intersection. Suna stopped, no one else seeming to notice it. She knelt down to the ground, double-checking in the faint light. ¡°Steps. Recent.¡± ¡°Shit. I didn¡¯t think they¡¯d be this deep already¡­¡± James cursed under his breath, anxiety invading his usually confident-sounding voice. The other party members shared similar looks of worry. Angie looked at Suna. A smile, a look of hope, of reassurance, as she gripped her hand, amidst the whispered curses of the other party members. ¡°Everyone, be careful. Be prepared to fight.¡± A simple command that conveyed no new information, but which was necessary. The group silently rallied their will to fight, to struggle, and they marched on, their footsteps echoing their resolve. Suna didn¡¯t want to, but she left Angie and took the lead of the group. Angie didn¡¯t wear a worried expression, but instead a look of trust. She walked steadily on her own, and Suna often felt her gaze on her back. No one argued or took offense with Suna¡¯s independent action. Whenever the group came across an intersection, Suna would carefully inch up to the corner and peek her eyes out, scanning both angles, before advancing. One such time she did so, though¡­ Fwip! An arrow, headed straight for her head. She retracted back behind the wall before it could reach her. ¡°Tch.¡± ¡°Fuck. How many, Suna?¡± ¡°Two on the right. I don¡¯t know about the left.¡± ¡°Krax, barrier. We¡¯re crossing!¡± ¡°Got it. Cincra Yvaashem.¡± Suna saw a faint reflection in the air, as if an image was layered on thin air. She turned her attention towards the left side, and quickly peeked around the wall, quickly retreating her head back. ¡°Left is clear.¡± ¡°Move!¡± The team rushed through the intersection. As they did, two blindingly fast arrows appeared, bouncing off the invisible wall that hung in the air. As Suna, ahead of the group, moved through the intersection, she was able to make out faint silhouettes, figures that seemed to be approaching from down the dark tunnel. The group only took a handful of seconds to reach the continuation of the smaller tunnel through the other side of the larger shaft. They were lucky there was an escape route, but things still looked rough for them. ¡°Suna, how many?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know, the footsteps are echoing off the walls. It¡¯s not a small amount. ¡°Shit, Shit! Come on, Move!¡± The group dashed, sprinting as fast as they could to outrun their pursuers. Krax let out a deep breath. ¡°They broke my barrier.¡± They saw our light, and heard our footsteps¡­ We were naive to think we¡¯d be safe without cutting those things, but we¡¯d lose a lot of speed¡­ Suna was deep in thought, looking for solutions. ¡°Shit, up ahead!¡± It was another main shaft, and from it a group of men and women, clad in varying levels of armor, wielding various melee weapons, were coming right for them. Everyone¡¯s heart sunk, except for Suna, who was preparing to push her body to its limits. She emitted an intangible killing air, one that caused everyone in the shaft to involuntarily shudder, prompting some of the approaching enemies to rush at her, attempting to match her aggression, and others to slow their steps in hesitation. Good. Suna hated this risky approach, but getting caught in a pincer attack was an even bigger risk. Suna dashed, blindingly, her body up close against one of the walls; her eyes zeroed in on the Geth closest to her, one that wielded a spear. As she was doing so, she quickly analyzed each of the ten figures that were running down the relatively small tunnel, specifically looking for above average displays of speed and power. She looked at the walls, and felt good about their roughness. Her left hand brushed up against one of her throwing knives, but that hand left her robe empty. She unsheathed her knife, its size twice as long as her forearm. She felt its grip, long worn down, her fingers rolling comfortably along the sunken grooves and imprints, a result of years of heavy use. Her grip on the knife was rather loose. She pumped herself with adrenaline, preparing herself for the onslaught of sharp weapons that were going to come her way. No one in the passageway could anticipate the movements of the small girl as she jumped off the ground, kicked off the wall, and propelled herself at an unbelievable speed through the air, passing diagonally over the Geth who were wholly unprepared to react to such an unorthodox movement. When they tried to obstruct her path, their strikes were either too late, deflected by her knife, or glided close to her skin as she contorted her body, barely keeping her vitals out of harm¡¯s way. When she reached the opposite wall, she shot to the ground, her body prone along the cold, hard floor. Safety often lies in danger¡¯s blindspots. One of her aphorisms echoed in her mind. Surrounded, in the midst of the entire group of soldiers, she focused on the half of them that were away from her team. She knew they would at the very least do a good job distracting their half of the enemies. Faced with roughly five enemies, she dashed at them. They swung their weapons, but their movements were made awkward by their close proximity to each other and the cramped closeness of the walls and ceiling. Their swings had little speed as the soldiers didn¡¯t have enough room to build decent rotational power. She aimed for the neck of one of the soldiers. He jerked his head and body to the side, narrowly evading a fatal wound. Suna didn¡¯t bother checking on him as she was already preparing to react to the two slices and one stab already coming her way. She went between the two slices, and redirected the stab with her knife. Now, an onslaught of kicks and punches were coming her way that, if received, would pulverize her and crush her bones. She reached for the extended polearm that had just went past her with her left arm, and gripped tightly. She let her body, led by her feet, move upward toward the ceiling as she stopped her momentum with her clenched hand, transferring all of her speed into a rotational force that pivoted via her arm. As she made this movement, dodging the strikes that came her way, she extended her legs out to her sides, making a ¡®T¡¯ with her body, and activated the mechanisms in her shoes. These old shoes of hers, proper craftsmanship from her world, were capable of extending blades the length of her feet out from their tips. She swiped at the necks of the two closest enemies, who were in no shape to dodge after extending an arm and a leg, both of which had connected with air. Preparing for follow up slashes aimed at her body, which was in the air, she retracted her legs and extended them towards the ceiling, her feet touching against it. She kicked off, propelling her whole body towards the ground, onto which she landed on all fours, like a cat. Targeting the enemy that seemed to overcommit the most to their attack, she pounced directly for them. Reaching their close vicinity, she didn¡¯t immediately take their life. She slashed at their strong hand with her left hand that now carried her knife, using her right to grab onto and mount the head of the tall man, like a monkey. She used the reprieve afforded by the other Geth¡¯s hesitation to slash at their teammate in order to collect information and catch a much-needed breath. 4 left, Angie¡¯s okay, 3 shallow cuts and 1 medium cut, no immediate reinforcements. After quickly examining herself and her surroundings, the man she was on, unable to grasp her as she evaded and redirected his attempts to grab her and strike her, started backing up into the wall in an attempt to bash her against it. Stupid. Her legs outstretched towards the wall, bending as they made contact. Before the man could put her between the wall and his back, she let go of the man and extended her legs, once again propelling herself, like a jumping spider, towards one of the remaining soldiers. With their numbers greatly dwindled, it was simply a matter of cutting the necks of the two soldiers before her, their footing impeded by the bodies and weapons on the floor and their swings still impeded by the relatively small space, cutting the neck of the soldier that bashed the back of their own head against the wall, and lastly sneak attacking the back of one of the distracted remaining soldiers. Everyone seemed to be unharmed. ¡°Suna!¡± Angie called out in concern. She rushed up to her. ¡°Sha-¡± ¡°Not now. These are just cuts, we need to move.¡± Angie gritted her teeth as she and the rest of them continued their dash through the corridor. Echoes of distant footsteps reached their ears from both sides of the tunnel. At the very least, maybe their numbers can help mask our presence. They rushed, making random turns in an attempt to shake off their pursuers. They encountered small groups of enemies, but Cyra was invaluable in threatening other archers, her aim swift and true, more so than any of the Geth they encountered. This let James and Suna dispatch any melee opponents. Krax and Angie both elected to conserve their mana, Krax using the downtime to instruct Angie what to do in certain scenarios, of certain signals and phrases, of the importance of focusing on one singular spell, bringing it to the forefront of her mind, so that when the time comes she¡¯ll be mentally prepared to cast. Eventually, bit by bit, the sound of other footsteps grew fainter and fainter. The party did not slow down their sprint, however; rather, quickening it, in an attempt to put as much space between them and the Geth as possible while they had the chance. Up ahead, before them, the small tunnel seemed to open up into a larger room, already lit up by fire. Suna had a bad feeling. ¡°Angie, armor.¡± ¡°H-Huh? Uh, got it! S-Sa-S-¡± Angie stuttered, but she stopped herself. She took a deep breath in, and exhaled, repeating it enough times to where her breathing was steady. ¡°Sanctus, Phevienne tu Sachtal!¡± A light glow emitted from James¡¯ body, who drew his sword. Cyra nocked an arrow, already grasping two others with her draw hand. Krax focused with intent, preparing for any situation. Angie forced down her sense of accomplishment, remembering Krax¡¯s words. Suna unsheathed her blade, scanning what she could of the upcoming room. Together, they emerged out into the room. Chapter 13: A Fierce Fight Chapter 13 A Fierce Fight The group emerged into the room, immediately met with a barrage of arrow fire. An invisible barrier covered Angie, Krax, and Cyra, who were closer to the back. James dashed through, ducking and weaving, those that did hit him deflecting off him, as if hitting a set of invisible plate armor. Suna¡­ was Suna. She dashed forward, low to the ground, and those that were about to hit her, she either dodged or hacked away with her knife. In the middle of the room, in the midst of the line of archers and knights, was a Geth that cut an imposing figure. Off sense alone, Suna evaluated him highly. Suna couldn¡¯t see it, but the looks on the faces of the three adults, were shaken at best. They didn¡¯t dwell on their thoughts, but their feet were weighed down by a faint hint of despair. They knew what they were facing, and they knew the danger that encroached behind them. But, seeing Suna, so small and frail, dashing so resolutely against all odds¡­ The image resonated with all four of them on a deep level. There was no time to reflect upon such sensations, but they certainly felt it. They felt their hopes rise, the weight on their chests lift, their expressions start to become tinged with something they had been sorely lacking lately: confidence. ¡°Sarn Act: Befall!¡± ¡°Previus Tanse!¡± ¡°Akh¡¯Shava¡¯alya!¡± ¡°Avaarem!¡± All four of them spat out their chants. Disruption in the ranks of the archers. A surging fireball that soared through the air, impacting their front line. Cyra¡¯s arrows that shone green, emphatically drawn and released with satisfying twangs multiple times per second, arrows that roared to life as they soared through the air, taking many Geth lives. James, quickened by his spell, kept up with Suna¡¯s blistering approach. ¡°Watch out! He ca-!¡± ¡°Sava¡¯ctus, Pehrolyuse Embolaare.¡± The soft, calm chant did not escape Suna¡¯s keen ears, alarm bells rang in her head. She dove to her right. BOOM! A blast of air impacted her, her leg was in pain. It¡¯s a flesh wound! Suna rolled along the ground once, her ears still ringing madly from the explosion she narrowly escaped, halting her momentum and resuming her mad dash for the commander. She scanned the enemy front line, some parts of it faltering from Krax¡¯s barrage of spells, other parts of it preparing to intercept their approaching enemies, others focused on protecting the commander. She calculated. And dove forward, between spears and swords, shields and arrows, through tiny, tiny gaps in their line. She made it through, no doubt suffering many cuts, but still in one piece. She was glad she made it. If she was repelled, she would have to somehow dodge that explosion again. ¡°Embroliaare!¡± Scorching flames sprouted from underneath Suna. Too slow! She dodged, her legs once again singed by the flames that were just a little too quick for her to completely avoid. She ignored her legs¡¯ complaints, forcing them to work even harder for her. She threw a couple knives at the commander, dashing once again toward him, bridging the gap. He tilted his head and raised his forearm, covered in plate, her knife falling off with a plink. She readied her knife. The Geth drew his saber. ¡°Tch.¡± She could just tell. This wasn¡¯t an easy opponent. They kept their cool and rationale, they analyzed her with their eyes, she could feel their poise. This wasn¡¯t going to be straightforward. Still dashing, she took the initiative, entering his swinging range. Quick! She narrowly dodged a kick to the face, launching herself to her side and onto the ground. The Geth closed in, towering over her. As he did so, Suna waited, biding her time, looking for a hint of an opening. The towering man stepped in, preparing his strike. Now! She launched herself off the ground towards him, attempting to get close enough such that his blade wouldn¡¯t be able to hit her. Her eyes and knife closed in on the man¡¯s neck. ¡°Kuuuuh!!¡± All of her air was immediately forced out of her, and then her vision darkened. She was tumbling. She was intercepted by a knee and launched by a vicious left hook that hit her square in her jaw. Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Her brain rattled, she struggled just to breathe, she couldn¡¯t tell up from down as her vision grew blurry and flickered. Her body didn¡¯t need any of those things to function. She found her footing, and dashed back at the commander, a vicious heat emanating from behind her. If she didn¡¯t recover in time, she would have been reduced to ashes, but her mind didn¡¯t even bother processing and presenting this detail to Suna. All unnecessary signals in her brain were not fired. I need to occupy this guy, long enough for the others to deal with the infantry. I can¡¯t beat this guy head on, he¡¯s too fast. This opponent was the strongest she had ever faced in her life, aided no doubt by an extensive arsenal of unknown magic spells, of which she had no interest in testing the effects of with her body. She yelled at the top of her lungs, which were already burning and scrambling for any air they could get. ¡°ANGIE, ARMOR! LIGHTWEIGHT!¡± She didn¡¯t have time to look at Angie, or down at her body. ¡°KRAX, THE LIGHTS!!¡± It was a gamble. A necessary one, though. Suna smiled. As the torch lights were all snuffed out, in quick succession. This was her playground. Suna¡¯s ears were barely starting to recover from their impairment. She filtered out the white noise that her left ear was producing, only relying on her right ear. She referred to her mind¡¯s hastily formed visualization of the room. ¡°Las Vieras Noctuous!¡± A small field of glowing lights illuminated the pitch-black room. ¡°Los Ampres al Aakshiva! So¡¯ara!¡± Just as quickly, their light was robbed from them. No one could see the sinister, emotionless smile that Suna wore on her face. ¡°Argh! Su¡¯Amptus Espigno!¡± The room was filled with flashing light. An orb of lightning flashed erratically and randomly, cleansing the room in a flash of white and dunking it back in darkness at unpredictable intervals and lengths. You¡¯re just making my job easy. She felt the Geth¡¯s eyes track her. ¡°Fel Ampht Scor¡¯ Su¡¯echkt Your Ghir, Fla¡¯vekt Amphet Hiel Myen Bicht Aurcht¡­¡± She quickly wrapped up killing the last helpless Geth soldier. ¡°Suna! Get out of there!¡± She thought about heeding James¡¯ advice, but¡­ Sorry, I only listen to my gut. She dove straight for the sole, last remaining Geth. ¡°...Aumf Vein Bicht¡­¡± The electricity snapped and cackled, almost as if laughing at Suna. ¡°...Auren Bicht Dauchschen!¡± She was too late. From the right hand of the commander, whose vicious, fierce, primal expression flashed sinisterly with the lightning, a deep sense of foreboding emitted. This¡­ She jumped toward the commander. As if pulled in, by a fierce magnet, her body floated and snapped into his grasp. Clench. The commander¡¯s big, wide hand nearly grasped half of Suna¡¯s entire waist. ¡°Aaakgh!!¡± She let out a yelp. ¡°SUNAA!!¡± She heard Angie, and the others, yell her name. ¡°Aahaahahaaaha, Die! Wurm! Ratte!¡± The Geth gloated in ecstasy. ¡°Aaaakgghghh!!!¡± Suna squirmed and struggled in the man¡¯s grasp. She saw, up close, his deranged and distorted face. She was going to struggle not seeing it in her nightmares for awhile. Waiting for a moment where the man¡¯s eyes were completely given in to the drunkenness of victory, Chop. The onlookers struggled to make out what was happening in the flickering light. The Geth commander also didn¡¯t really realize what was happening, either. One second she was there, the next¡­ gone. ¡°Bitch!¡± He whipped his head around, looking left and right for the girl. As he did, he realized. His arm was gone. His expression morphed into one of seriousness. Evidently, he felt no pain, he only wanted to locate the girl as fast as possible. But it was already far too late. Sshhhh¡­ The satisfying sound of a head being chopped off, rolling down the body¡­ plap. The body stood still, never to receive an instruction again. ¡°La Viera!¡± Worried about Suna, and unsure of if they needed to continue combat against the fearsome foe, Krax released a light into the air, a bright one that did not fail to illuminate the entire room. There, right in the middle, a headless body, the lightning above it fading. Next to it, a head, as well as a girl. They rushed to her. ¡°I¡¯m good, we have to move on-¡± Suna¡¯s body failed her. No, it wasn¡¯t her body, it was¡­ her energy. That was the best way for her to put it. Some intangible part of her was failing her, she forced her limbs to move but they were sluggish. She tried to stand up, but she had no sense of balance, falling over. She was losing consciousness. Oh no. But no matter how much she told herself to stay awake, that she needed to check on Angie, keep protecting her¡­ none of it¡­ seemed to keep her from an all-encompassing rest¡­ from the embrace, of darkness¡­ Chapter 14: Move On Chapter 14 Move On Suna dreamt. Of primal entities, with insatiable appetites. They dwarfed her, their massive maws, no smaller than stacked mountains, sucking her in. They¡¯re gonna get me, I need to run! Suna was startled awake, covered in a cold sweat. ¡°Oh, Suna, oh¡­¡± She was greeted by Angie¡¯s voice. It was tired, but now, as if seeing an oasis in the desert, was filled with a desperate hope, yet not quick to fully submit to it. Suna felt, frankly, terrible. Her body wouldn¡¯t readily listen to her. Her mind felt sluggish, as if part of her was still living that terrible dream. ¡°Kuuuh¡­¡± Suna let out pained groans, even just the motion of slightly attempting to sit up sparking enough backlash that she was forced to lay back down. She was not used to this feeling of helplessness, she was growing restless. ¡°Suna, Suna, Suna¡­¡± She felt Angie¡¯s hands wrap around and grasp hers tightly. She repeated her name, as if she was praying to some goddess. It was a struggle to get words to come out of her failing body, but she needed information. ¡°Ah, ah¡­ Angie¡­, Angie, what¡¯s going, on¡­?¡± She looked around, briefly, ¡°Where are we?¡± Suna was trying to determine if she needed to be ready to fight in this condition. If so¡­ she felt she was going to die. ¡°Oh, Suna¡­ Suna¡­¡± Angie just kept repeating her name thoughtfully. ¡°Angie, blurgh¡­¡± Suna struggled against the urge to vomit, she was gagging. Angie simply kept repeating her name, as if not caring. ¡°Fuck, damn it, Angie, tell me! Cough, cough¡­ fuck, what¡¯s happening¡­?¡± ¡°Suna¡­ Suna¡­¡± She was getting tired of the same nonsense. ¡°Angie!! Arghghhh¡­¡± That yell was the loudest she could manage, her pain rising up and preventing her from even breathing. ¡°Suna¡­ Suna? Suna!? Oh my God, Suna!! Oh, Oh my God¡­!¡± Suna, waking from her trance, pounced on Suna, wrapping her in a very, terribly painful embrace. ¡°Suna, you¡¯re okay!!! You¡¯re okay, right?¡± She started to come to her senses, although she wasn¡¯t particularly quick about it. ¡°Angie, cough cough, where are we? Tell me.¡± Angie, seeing how much pain Suna was in, immediately relented from her planned physical assault, a guilty look on her face. She still seemed unsteady, struggling to look straight or even sit straight without wobbling, but at the very least it seemed she was able to communicate with her now, at the very least, a slightly aware look appearing in Angie¡¯s eyes. ¡°We¡¯re, we¡¯re deep¡­ We¡¯re deep in the mountain, Suna¡­¡± She lay down, resting her head on Suna¡¯s body, eliciting a wince from her victim. ¡°In this room. In this room. In thi-¡± Suna rustled, trying once again to get up, getting fed up with Angie, who seemed to be talking more to the ceiling rather than to her. When her vain efforts achieved no results, Suna, again, gave up, her body flattening up against the cold hard floor. Angie, at some point, had sprawled herself all over Suna, not helping Suna¡¯s attempts whatsoever. ¡°Ugh, Angie, can¡¯t you Aurgh, speak to me like, cough, a normal person?? What¡¯s wrong with you?¡± ¡°Huweh, what¡¯s wrong with me?¡± Angie flopped down, again, onto Suna¡¯s body, who tried her best to suppress a small scream. ¡°Mmmmmmm what¡¯s wrong with you? Hehehehehe¡­¡± Suna wasn¡¯t getting anywhere trying to question the barely lucid Angie, and neither was she getting anywhere in her attempts to move her body farther than a few inches. I¡­ I guess I¡¯ll just rest. I can¡¯t do much else¡­ Hopefully I feel better tomorrow¡­ Suna gave in to the urge to just rest, and deal with it all the next day. At the very least, they seemed to be in an enclosed room. ¨C ¡°Suna. Suna please. I don¡¯t know how much more I can take. I don¡¯t¡­ I don¡¯t know¡­ sob¡­ you¡­ you promised¡­ you promised me¡­¡± The pathetic, miserable cries and pleas roused Suna from her peaceful slumber. She tossed and turned, as if fighting against the need to awake. ¡°Suna? Suna! Suna, please, open your eyes! Say something, please!!¡± Angie¡¯s desperate cries reached her ears. ¡­Huh? What am I doing? Why am I sleeping like this, Angie needs my help¡­ Suna fought against the overwhelming urge to fall back asleep. To accept her fate, whatever outcome that occurred. I need¡­ I need to get up! Now! Warmth. Suna felt warmth. She followed that warmth. All the way out of her reverie. ¡°...H-...H-, Huh? Angiee?¡± Her eyelids were heavy, her arms heavy, her entire being was heavy, and she struggled to move any part of her. But eventually, even though she felt as if she was in a bath of molasses, she moved. The warmth she felt spread. From just her hands and forehead to her body, as well. She liked this feeling. So much so that she could sleep in it¡­ No! I¡¯m getting up, right now! As if barely managing to lift an extremely heavy weight, she opened her eyelids. She saw Angie. Destitute. So thin and sallow that her immediate thought was ¡®corpse¡¯, or ¡®zombie¡¯. Angie¡­ Her heart was torn apart. This¡­ I let her get like this¡­ I¡¯m a failure¡­ Angie looked up from her desperate pleas, seeing Suna¡¯s open eyes. ¡°Oh, please, Suna, please, tell me I¡¯m not dreaming, please, I¡¯m tired¡­ Just be awake, Suna¡­¡± It was a monumental task that was thrust upon her. But Suna knew she had to succeed. This task was harder than her fight with the Commander. But she undertook it, with a serious resolve. ¡°Cough, cough, cough¡­¡± They were mere faint sounds of struggle, but they didn¡¯t escape Angie¡¯s ears. Angie peered at Suna¡¯s face, desperate to find any sign of consciousness. ¡°...gie¡­¡± The faint sounds didn¡¯t escape Angie¡¯s perked, hopeful ears. She focused intently on Suna¡¯s rough breathing. ¡°...An¡­gie¡­¡± ¡°Oh my God, Suna? Suna!?¡± Angie quickly quieted down, trying once more to hear the voice of her dear friend. ¡°My¡­ My pack¡­ the red¡­¡± Angie didn¡¯t delay. She too was tired, but not too tired to reach for the pack very close by, and look through it. She had already done so, so she had an educated guess for what Suna was asking for. She took out a small, red, oval-shaped object. ¡°...-ere¡­ -ie¡­ -outh¡­¡± Suna¡¯s breathing was rough and ragged, and it was hard to tell which sounds were her trying to breathe through her constricted mouth and airways, which were coughs that she didn¡¯t have the energy to exhale through, and which were actually words meant for her. But she had an idea of what she wanted her to do. She placed the small object between the gaps of Suna¡¯s lips. But, seeing just how dry her mouth was, she didn¡¯t know if Suna was actually capable of swallowing it. She was hesitant, for multiple reasons, but she felt she had no choice. ¡­! Suna felt the tablet go down her parched throat. She got my message! It went through! I did it! At this point, the hard, hard work was done, and Suna could rest easy. For soon, she felt a fierce burning. Her heart rate immediately doubled. She felt her blood flow throughout her body. She felt that tiredness she had grown so, well, tired of, start to fade away. She¡­ was starting to feel alive, again. Her breathing grew deeper, quicker. On the outside, it was hard to see any other changes than that. So Angie couldn¡¯t help but let out a yell as Suna shot up! Her body moved and creaked like a puppet. She twisted her joints, all in weird, unnatural bursts of rotation. She opened her eyes, which moved every which way. She breathed in a sharp, terrifying amount of air all at once. Fwaaaaahhh¡­ Angie could feel the room start to get warmer. Suna¡¯s head jerked towards Angie, all at once. ¡°Angie. Information.¡± The words were forced out, with barely any tone behind them. But Angie didn¡¯t hesitate to respond. ¡°We hit a dead end, there was a small crevice, too small for the others. They were hot on our tail, so they told us to stay there, that they¡¯d lead the Geth away, that they¡¯d¡­¡± Angie wiped away dry tears from her face, recomposing herself. ¡°Sniffle, that they¡¯d, meet us, at New Vall¡­ That they¡¯d treat us to, to seafood, that they, they knew a good restaurant¡­¡± Angie couldn¡¯t hold back her crying. ¡°Angie, why are you, so thin?¡± Suna stood up, or more accurately, shot up. She twisted her neck and joints all around, the motions were getting smoother, her voice was more steady and less inhuman. Angie stammered. ¡°I, I, um, I¡­ I wanted to make sure you had enough food¡­ for when you wake up¡­¡± Suna turned to her. She moved erratically, but the way she knelt and crouched in front of her, how she brought her closer and embraced her, it was all so gentle¡­ ¡°Angie, you silly girl, I need way less food than you.¡± She shot up from the ground again. ¡°Eat. We¡¯re getting out of this shitty mountain today.¡± Angie was stunned. Most of her had already given up. She wasn¡¯t ready for those words, for that declaration. ¡°Hurry. We have to hurry.¡± Food and water disappeared down Angie¡¯s throat. She had never been so starved before, she was not prepared for the sheer amount of concentrated pleasure that her mind was receiving. ¡°Not too fast. You¡¯ll choke and vomit back out all that food and water. Slow down¡­¡± She felt Suna¡¯s gentle caress, of her back, her hair, her hand. She slowed down. ¡°Suna¡­ what did I feed you? What¡¯s happened to you?¡± Suna sharply looked at Angie. ¡°It¡¯s a stimulant. My body doesn¡¯t feel right, Angie. This was the only way I could move. I have a time limit. In 24 hours, I¡¯ll go back to being immobile, I¡¯ll suffer withdrawals.¡± Suna was not looking forward to those. ¡°That¡¯s why we have to hurry. Come on. Let¡¯s walk.¡± Angie, never happier to be pulled along up to this point in her life, wore a bright smile, one that couldn¡¯t be suppressed by her fatigue or pains. The two exited the narrow crevice that separated the small opening from a familiarly shaped and sized tunnel. They walked. Suna¡¯s brain and body grew more and more accustomed to the stimulant. Angie started to feel better and better, renewed with energy from her small meal. Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings. ¡°Walk more quietly. Let your heel come into contact with the ground first, followed by the rest of your foot.¡± The sound of their footsteps diminished greatly. ¡°Good. Let¡¯s keep going.¡± The two walked in total silence, together. ¡°Angie, how long were we in that room?¡± ¡°I, uh, I¡¯m not sure. It was hard to tell how much time passed, if a lot or a little. Sorry¡­¡± ¡°No, that¡¯s okay.¡± The two talked in extremely quiet whispers. Perhaps just reassuring their company through a means other than touch in the pitch-black darkness of the mines went a long way for them. ¡°Are you okay, Angie?¡± ¡°Um, uh, yeah, I feel a lot better.¡± ¡°No, are you doing okay?¡± Angie paused. ¡°I¡­ If you¡¯re with me¡­¡± She squeezed Suna¡¯s hand, something that she had started subconsciously doing periodically. Suna squeezed back. Her heart felt its pain and worries a bit assuaged. ¡°Sh.¡± The two stopped, both listening for noise. Echoes. Of footsteps. They were far away. They receded back into silence, where they had come from. The soft, methodical footsteps of the girls resumed. ¡°Oh, I forgot to mention. I overheard the others talking as we were running, they mentioned ¡®Bolsur¡¯, I think that¡¯s a type of fruit¡­¡± Suna had no comment. ¡°They¡¯re notoriously poisonous, you can immobilize even a Roppa with just a bit of it, or so I¡¯ve heard¡­¡± It made sense. If she had to take a guess¡­ the arrows. The Geth seemed to like using basic human technology and tactics. Did they steal them all? Just copying humans? ¡°...James¡­ he was limping near the end¡­ Do you think¡­ Do you think that¡­¡± ¡°Angie, let¡¯s just focus on getting out of here alive, for now, okay?¡± ¡°...Mm¡­ okay.¡± The two made idle chatter, stopping when they thought they heard noises, and continuing when they went away. Their conversations were superfluous, but it was all they had to stave off the despair that seemed to stalk them, in the shadows. At some point, the two girls, having gone through many tunnels, came across something different. It was a large room, one that looked like a sort of hub, with various tunnels leading from it. It had multiple stories, and they were on the bottom. The two subconsciously looked up, up, as if they were transfixed by the mere concept. Locating an ascending ramp that circled the large room, they made their way over to it. ¡°You think you can leave so easily?¡± The twos¡¯ hearts dropped miles. ¡°Killing all those people. Not a shred of remorse. How cruel.¡± The voice emitted from a figure in the dead center of the tall, circular room. There was no way for them to have missed it. It was too fast, or it had teleported, somehow. Suna¡¯s mind was still sluggish, her body the only thing that was working somewhat normally at the moment. But her resolve did not lessen. Her flame was softer than it usually was, but it was stubborn, refusing to go out no matter the situation. That was how she operated, it was who she was. ¡°Ugggghhhh, these stupid quotas are just too damn high, lately. Can you believe it? They don¡¯t even pay me more for all this overworking. Unbelievable.¡± Suna recognized this tone of voice. She allowed herself to remember the armored figures she had encountered once, a while ago. This one¡­ wasn¡¯t the same. The way the dark lustre of its armor seemed to meld with the dark room, only faintly lit by Angie¡¯s ¡®La Viera¡¯. This enemy was definitely much more imposing than the other armored figures she could recall. Suna unsheathed her blade, putting some distance between herself and Angie. ¡°Avaarem. Sanctus, Phevienne tu Sachtal. Engster.¡± Angie calmly cast her magic. It was all she could do. ¡°Hahaha, you guys are rude. Does this mean, that you¡¯ll play with me?¡± Quick. Too quick. Almost too quick. The force was terrifying, Suna somehow able to deflect a thrust that tore at her without warning. Clang, clang, Suna and the dark-clad armored figure exchanged blow for blow. Following his movements was tough ¨C it was as if he lived in the darkness itself, as if she was fighting darkness itself. Attacks would come from unexpected angles, forcing her to keep herself on her toes. Deep down, her warrior¡¯s heart knew. They¡¯re playing with me. She felt pitiful. Weak. Just as she was starting to gain a bit of confidence, her last battle taught her a painful lesson for her risk-taking. But, at the very least, even if the outcome was not ideal, she put up a fight, and won. This, though¡­ This was a terrible feeling. She was surviving, for now. For as long as this figure would allow her to. ¡°It¡¯s no fun if only one of you does the fighting, why don¡¯t I include our other friend?¡± He made a motion, gliding towards Angie¡¯s direction. Angie steeled herself. Not on my watch. Clang! Another vicious exchange of blows, even faster and louder than before. ¡°Hey, not so loud, do you want to attract them? Heh, heh¡­¡± Suna cursed in her breath, no spare amount of it available to curse out loud. She was already crumbling, already failing to think, to move like she was used to. When she sought to use adrenaline to push herself even faster, there was barely any reaction. The stimulant¡­ When she sought to dip into her reserves of will power, she found her supply of it just lacking. No matter how much she cared, no matter how much she was invested, no matter how hard she tried, none of it seemed to reflect in her speed. ¡°Hmph. Boring.¡± A kick, all too fast, to her torso. She was sent flying. ¡°Alright, no interruptions this time.¡± The figure moved, once again, towards the defenseless girl. But she didn¡¯t cower. She wasn¡¯t afraid of death. She had already faced that fear. ¡°Auflicht einzer Puuchlricht, Floren!¡± Roots emerged from the ground, their width surprising Suna. She did not let up on the opportunity Angie created. ¡°Ugh, annoying, dirty!¡± The figure writhed among the growing, twisting, smothering roots. Suna was close by, honing her killing intent. Like a flash, she swung her knife into the open vertical slits of the figure¡¯s helmet. ¡°AAAAAGHHH!!!¡± They writhed, and screamed, in agony. Suna pulled out her knife, the figure clutching their head, as they rocked back and forth, unable to comprehend what just happened. ¡°Aaaaagghhh¡­ What, did you think I¡¯d react like that?¡± Angie was dealt a blow to her psyche and composure, her knees shaking from the futility of her efforts. Suna¡­ she just wished for this farce to end. It was humiliating. ¡°Hmm, here, as a reward¡­ I¡¯ll show you a little trick.¡± Darkness oozed, painting the walls and floor a dark, murky black. Angie¡¯s small ball of light looked like a firefly up against the dark, night sky, one not graced by any stars. Pure blackness. And then, the darkness writhed. It wriggled, and the figure disappeared. Suna had no way of predicting where he might pop up next. Perhaps by some miracle, or because they let her, Clang! She parried an attack that came from her blindspot, from the darkness. ¡°Whoa, not bad! Hehe, alright, let¡¯s stop playing games. I don¡¯t think anyone would miss a couple of country bumpkins that got lost in some cave out in the middle of nowhere. Like, what are you guys even doing out here?¡± Killing intent. Her life had mere seconds remaining, such was the inevitable outcome as soon as the dark figure decided to get even a little bit serious. It was heavy. The weight of impending death. She thought about Angie, and the nice little moments they shared. How nice it felt to be hugged by them, to hug them. She thought about the other party members. The way they stood up to their deaths, most likely until the bitter end. She thought about her mom. Who gave her all that she had, until there was nothing left of her. She thought about Yrma. How pitiful. She thought about Ei. It was unfortunate. He was going to lose on his bet. She wished she could¡¯ve done a better job. Should she have done anything differently? No. She didn¡¯t really regret anything. She was proud of her accomplishments, of being the last human to survive an apocalypse, of her deftness in killing the Geth, of her tie with the Geth Commander, all the exhilarating moments of her battles. She remembered all the times she brushed with death on Yrma. The times she fought with hunger and thirst, two truly worthy opponents. The way she learned skills rapidly, consuming knowledge like an endless abyss, crystallizing it and transforming it into her own. She was proud of all of it. But it wasn¡¯t enough. It was clear. None of it was enough to get her through this encounter. She had met the end of her line, she got involved with the wrong group of people at the wrong time. It was just unlucky. There was nothing else she could¡¯ve done. There was nothing more she could do. If she was lucky, she¡¯d die first, so she wouldn¡¯t have to watch Angie die. This thought made her sad, though. Sigh. I guess¡­ I guess that¡¯s my stop¡­ A part of her simply stopped there. Giving in to the situation, to external factors. A part of her gave up. She could feel it as it did so. She¡­ was disappointed in it. Yes, there were excuses, but¡­ She was still disappointed. Like she could have done better. She was dissatisfied. The killing strike came. This is it, huh¡­ No. Haha, who are you trying to deceive? This is it. No. What are you talking about? This is it, the end of our journey. No. Anger rose in her, from both sides. Just give up, you¡¯re life has been pathetic, you never actually accomplished anything, you just got lucky. Give up. No. Do you hear yourself? How stupid you sound? How stupid it is to go around in circles like this? You¡¯re dumb. You¡¯re worthless, now¡¯s the perfect time, just go die already. No. Disdain. A look of superiority, looking down on something beneath her. That was how a part of her felt, looking down on the rest of her. That other part of her¡­ was stubborn, to say the least. It was unthinking. It was an algorithm, that took in any variable and spit out the same conclusion. To keep trying. To never give up. There was no thought behind it, no reason. She was unable to simply choose between one of the two sides; whenever she gravitated toward one, the other would flare, keeping her stuck in the middle, stuck in what really felt like purgatory to her. She was getting tired of this farce. ¡°Neither. I choose neither. I guess I¡¯ll¡­ just stay in the middle I guess. It feels about right.¡± Clang. ¡°I¡­ Some things are out of my control. All I can do is try my best, I guess?¡± Clang. Clang. ¡°That is what I¡¯ve been doing up until now¡­ No, I can¡¯t think of it like that. If I¡¯m serious about helping Ei, I need to get much, much stronger.¡± Clang, Clash, Clang! ¡°I can¡¯t just keep revelling around in my old mindsets and habits. They might¡¯ve worked for me on Yrma, but even then, barely¡­ I was weak. I am weak. I need to get stronger.¡± ¡°W-What¡­¡± The armored figure was baffled. How could a mere mortal, no, a mere girl swat aside her strikes? He wasn¡¯t entirely serious yet, but he wasn¡¯t joking around anymore. What happened to her flimsiness? To her fear of being slashed? Right now¡­ it¡¯s as if she couldn¡¯t even register his presence. ¡°Insolent!¡± The strikes grew faster, increasing in frequency, power, speed, but none of it mattered. They were all swat away, as if they were just passing air. ¡°Argh!¡± The strikes began to move, towards the girl who was collapsed on the ground, on her knees, mouth agape, watching a true spectacle. ¡°No you don¡¯t.¡± The figure seemed to be materializing out of thin air, but he was simply merging with the darkness, using it as cover, it was obvious to Suna. ¡°That¡¯s not how you use the darkness. Let me show you. Real darkness. Avadakh Holferim.¡± Light disappeared. There was nothing. The figure was confused. Was he transported somehow to some different place? This was just too unusual ¨C this wasn¡¯t darkness. It was nothing. Then. He felt it. Fear. No¡­ Impossible! His thoughts rang out into emptiness. Then¡­ All truly went dark. Chapter 15: Growth Chapter 15 Growth Heavy. That was all Suna felt. She collapsed to the ground. But she wasn¡¯t out of it. She still had some energy left, she still had her consciousness. She could barely make out the noise of Angie rushing towards her, casting spells, trying to close the worst of the bleeding wounds. This heaviness¡­ I guess I should get used to it. It was a part of her, just as much as her bounding energy and willpower. Instead of trying to brute-force my way through it, to eradicate it¡­ She reflected on herself. I should try and accept it, merge with it, mold it from the inside out. It¡¯s not a useless part of me¡­ ¡°An-Cough!!-ngie, Angie, we gotta move¡­¡± Suna rallied her legs, that pushed aimlessly against the ground in some sort of attempt to move. ¡°No, Suna, you¡¯re-¡± ¡°Come 0n. Blech, cough, cough¡­¡± Suna didn¡¯t pay much attention to her body, that screamed. Whose screams she always ignored¡­ I¡¯m sorry. Once we get out of here¡­ She somehow ended up on her feet, stumbling, with Angie doing her best to support her, all the while hastily chanting healing spells. ¡°Shaanek, Shaanek, Shaanek¡­ ¡­Oh God. Suna. You¡¯re arm¡­¡± Suna didn¡¯t pay much heed to the girl that was practically under her. When she stopped, Suna couldn¡¯t progress forward. ¡°Suna, what are you doing?¡± ¡°Oh God, oh god, oh god, oh, oh¡­¡± Angie¡¯s breathing was growing rougher. She was losing control of her words, of herself, her body would not sit still, shaking like a newborn fawn. ¡°Angie, stop. We have to move.¡± ¡°No, no Suna, no, I, I have to, I have, I-I-¡± Angie began to fully hyperventilate. ¡°Angie, breathe, it hurts¡­¡± ¡°Ah! I¡¯m s-s-s-so-sorry!!¡± Angie let Suna down, gently, to the floor, whose normally featureless expression was beginning to show winces, cracks of pain. Angie started shaking her head back and forth, her body back and forth, as if stuck in some repeating loop of frantic movement. It took her multiple tens of seconds to begin to feel the sensation on the side of her head. Blood, blood was dripping down it. Her hand immediately went to investigate the disturbance, only to find Angie¡¯s hand there, somehow raised despite all odds, whose fingers were bent out of shape, whose arm had parts of her bone exposed at certain cuts and gashes. This was the better arm. ¡°...Angie¡­¡± Angie¡¯s attention slowly focused on Suna. ¡°...go¡­ go¡­ and live¡­¡± An immense well of emotion exploded within Angie. There was too much to say, too much to do, and so little time to do it. This geyser, of nameless, powerful emotions, she took it. Grasped it, all of it. And redirected it. Angie¡¯s hands shot for her pack, taking out a book. She frantically flipped through the pages, wordlessly, back and forth, before shortly locating the one she needed ¡°Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh, Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh, Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh, Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh, Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh¡­¡± Like a mantra, she recited the words under her breath. Endlessly. Over, and over again. Suna was starting to come under siege by whole new waves of pain, as more and more time passed. ¡°...-gie, cough! An, Ang-, Angie¡­ go¡­ leave¡­ hurry¡­¡± Angie didn¡¯t acknowledge Suna¡¯s muttered pleas. ¡°An¡­An¡­Angie¡­Stop¡­¡± ¡°No! Shut up! Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh, Eirykh¡­¡± Suna was stunned by the forcefulness of Angie¡¯s words. She just lay there. Soon, the luxury of even being able to talk was robbed from her, inescapable groans, gasps for air, and fits of choking, all collectively assaulted the poor girl, who could escape none of it. At some point, Angie raised her hand. ¡°Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh! Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh! Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh! ¡­¡± A sharp green flicker emanated occasionally from her hand, trying to come into existence. Angie¡¯s face quickly became strained, her breathing rough, her body quivering, as she continued chanting, channeling mana through to the failing spell. A long while passed. Filled with chanting. Angie took small breaks periodically to catch her breath, but she would always go straight back to chanting, wasting not a single second. Her expression was pained, she was pushing herself to her limit, but it was filled with determination. She didn¡¯t even consider the possibility of failure, that she was wasting her energy, that she would let Suna die. No, the only thing found on her face was pure focus, willpower, and determination. It wasn¡¯t a shallow hope, anymore. Suna, whose breathing got worse, whose pain got worse, who couldn¡¯t even keep her eyes open any longer, started to dip in and out of consciousness. It was a long time, seemingly no end to it as everything she was feeling ramped up to eleven, then 12, then 13, 14, 15¡­ Suna found the most comfort in just counting. 29¡­ 30¡­ 31¡­ 51¡­ 53, no, 52¡­ 53¡­ 54¡­ 101¡­ 102¡­ At some point, she lost count. She had no idea what number she left off of, she didn¡¯t even have the wherewithal to guess the ballpark. But, adrift in the emptiness of her mind, it all returned to her. Gasp!! Cough, cough, cough¡­ She sharply inhaled as consciousness was returned to her. The sudden intake of air set her lungs on fire, and she couldn¡¯t stop coughing. Angie! Her eyes were open, her mind still adjusting to the images that seemed to rotate and twist all around in some unhinged manner. This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°Cough, cough, Angie!¡± She eventually located the girl in the mess of her distorted, shifting peripheral. She was slumped onto the ground. ¡°Angie!!¡± She gave no response to her desperate, hoarse scream. She willed her body to her, to check on her, to see if she was still alive, the answer to that question had to be yes. With great difficulty, she eventually was able to free herself from the cold hard surface of the ground. In a haze, she saw her arm approaching Angie¡¯s side. With her mind, that seemed to shake uncontrollably in her head, as if her brain was being rattled, she telepathically willed her arm closer to her, feeling around for her arms, and then her chest, desperately looking for a pulse. Fuck, what¡¯s happening to me¡­! She could barely feel through her arm ¨C no, she felt too much through her arm, or rather, she was unable to parse and identify the signals her arm was sending her. ¡°Fuck!¡± She flopped her body to the side of Angie¡¯s and started using her head like a bull to flip her onto her back, as gently as her body would allow her to. With great effort, since most of her energy and motions simply refused to listen to her, at times even counteracting her, she eventually was able to get Angie to lay on her back ¨C she was sprawled out, curved, splayed out like someone who tosses and turns in their sleep. But it was enough. Like a fish, she flopped her head and shoulders onto Angie. Please, Please! She did her best to identify a pulse from the motionless girl, or movements of breathing. As her body started to calm down more, no longer being pushed around, she grew stiller. As she did, she felt it. Sniff. Suna couldn¡¯t help but let out tears of relief. She celebrated, ecstatic in her mind. Oh, thank goodness, thank goodness¡­ And, finally giving in to the pleas of her mind and body, she lay still, the subtle, smooth rise and falls of Angie¡¯s body like a pleasant bobbing of the water. She slept. ¨C Angie felt something wet, nice, and cool go down her throat. It brought much needed energy to the parched and deprived lands of Suna¡¯s body. It roused her, bringing her out of the deep pool of slumber, of unconsciousness. She opened her eyes. Her eyes met Angie¡¯s. They both sat, in silence, staring into each other¡¯s eyes as if they had miles of pages of stories and emotions that they longed to convey to each other, wordlessly. Their eyes grew blurry. But they still looked at each other¡¯s eyes. Angie broke the staring contest, a smile emerging onto her cracked, pained, tired face. It beamed so brightly. Sounds of rapid exhalation were starting to emerge from her mouth. From both of their mouths. Steadily, like a group of cicadas joining each other one by one in grating harmony, their noises grew louder. The smiles on their faces rose, like grass sprouting from a parched land that needed life. Angie got closer, placing her arms on Suna¡¯s shoulders, yet still locking eyes through their duet of emotion. Then, they burst out into full blown laughter. At least, as close to laughter as their bodies let them get. They¡­ were alive. Together. They had made it through, in each other¡¯s company. They reveled in that fact, first tossing that idea back and forth before joining hands and diving into the depths of their ecstasy. We made it! We¡¯re alive! The two embraced. Suna didn¡¯t cough on her laughter, she didn¡¯t wince when Angie placed her hands on her. Actually, she was able to grip Angie, too. Together, they just laughed. The two walked down a tunnel. They gripped each other¡¯s hands tightly, but they felt no anxiety. Quietly and softly as they had done, before, but with renewed vigor and life, nonetheless. The two heard no footsteps echoing throughout the mountain. No one was chasing them. They allowed themselves to relax, slightly. They had earned it. ¡°Suna¡­¡± Angie¡¯s words drifted, ¡°That¡­ That thing you did back there¡­ Do you remember it?¡± Suna recalled the vague feeling within her mind. Darkness, it pooled in her mind, almost seeking to drown her from the inside out. She pushed away the encroaching concept, reflecting on the more superfluous of her recollections. ¡°I do.¡± ¡°So¡­ So you can do magic?¡± Angie¡¯s puzzled voice filled the quiet corridor. Suna thought to herself. She knew the cost of that spell. ¡°No¡­ no, it was a fluke. If we encountered a similar enemy right now, I don¡¯t think I¡¯d be able to pull it off again.¡± Suna recalled the state of her mind as she fought off the armored figure¡¯s onslaught near the end. I can remember! I remember how he looked! Suna was pleased to be rid of what felt like a disability. I guess¡­ I guess because I killed him¡­ Her convenient amnesia was extremely annoying and demeaning ¨C she was glad to finally be able to claim a small victory over it, it was monumental progress. ¡°Is that so¡­¡± Angie looked down. ¡°It¡¯s okay.¡± Suna squeezed her hand. ¡°We¡¯re getting out of this place.¡± She paused. ¡°...It¡¯s thanks to you, Angie. Thank you.¡± Suna knew. Looking at her body, which she knew had been riddled with cuts and gashes and burns not long ago, she knew that its current condition, while not anywhere close to her peak, was all entirely due to Angie¡¯s efforts, her difficult battle against her own enemies, which she had come out on top of. ¡°N-no, it¡¯s, it¡¯s because of you, Suna¡­¡± Her voice didn¡¯t taper out of shame. It tapered as she recalled all the things she had went through. All the struggles, the many, countless times she had given up, resolving herself to die, to wither away. She knew, that Suna knew, just how much she had gone through. She allowed herself to feel a little sense of accomplishment. She felt Suna¡¯s gaze in the darkness. She could feel the respect Suna had for her. It was a nice feeling¡­ Like this, mostly in assured silence, the two advanced through the tunnels. A faint sound reached their ears. They were getting closer. Crunch. Crunch, crunch¡­ The two looked each other in the dark, feeling their resolve, and the resolve of the other, and they advanced down the shaft. The reason they approached the noise, was because they could smell fresh air. They didn¡¯t let desperation cloud their minds or actions, but they were done with the dank, damp, arid, dry, stagnant airs of the caves. They walked forward. Crunch. Burp¡­ Munch¡­ Something was eating something¡­ They didn¡¯t have a good feeling about it. As they advanced, bodies started appearing. Angie was clearly worried to see a familiar face among them, but she glanced anyway, not faltering in her footsteps. With each body they passed, she felt more and more sure that her dear companions weren¡¯t among them. Click, Clack, Burp¡­ Suna knew. She just knew. Something was different about her. It wasn¡¯t strength, it wasn¡¯t energy, it was something, something that filled her with confidence, like a ship, a small, small ship, that she now had to traverse the uncertain, murky, and dangerous waters of the world. A profound sense of spirit. One that she knew was so, flickeringly small, yet so powerful. ¡°Angie.¡± Angie simply looked at her. No fear, or anxiety was on their faces. ¡°Let¡¯s go.¡± ¡°Let¡¯s, hehe.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for them to come across it. It was a towering beast, sitting on some wide, flat stone. It roused. It knew it had company. It stood tall, its height nearly reaching the entirety of the tall, main tunnel shaft. ¡°Sanctus, Phevienne tu Sachtal. Avaarem. Engster.¡± The beast made no effort to disrupt the chants, slowly picking up its long, crude, dangerous-looking weapon. Snort. It let out a crude, nonchalant laugh, as it turned around. Angie¡¯s mind recalled the name of the famous beast. Minotaur. She recalled what little she happened to know about it, none worth sharing with Suna in the moment, though. She remembered just how terrified she was of them as a kid. Stories of them eating whole hunter groups, and stalking dark caves coming back to her, stories she was told when she was very young. But that fear. There was none of it. Suna readied her knife. With a subtle swagger to match the minotaur¡¯s emotions. It might not be easy. It might almost cost them their lives. But Suna, and Angie, both knew. That they were going to emerge victorious against the beast. ¨C ¡°That spell, which one was that? Krax didn¡¯t tell me about it.¡± ¡°It¡¯s a secret. That I¡¯ve kept from him. Don¡¯t worry, I¡¯ll tell you about it when the time comes. You have to let me keep a liiittle secret at least, alright?¡± There was a joviality to the two¡¯s conversation. A light-hearted air, one that didn¡¯t reflect the severity of the injuries on one of their bodies. ¡°Eirykh antra Im, Feredoh. There you go.¡± It was almost miraculous, the way that Suna¡¯s skin and torn arteries mended themselves, en masse. It wasn¡¯t a miraculous cure-all, Suna could tell from the way the aches and pain remained, underneath her skin. But it was impressive. A tool that would allow them to encounter great danger and walk away with their lives still intact. And of course, Angie didn¡¯t forget this spell, and how it had already saved her life. ¡°Thank you.¡± Suna said, with great meaning. ¡°Hehe, it¡¯s nothing.¡± Angie smiled. ¡°It¡¯s¡­ It¡¯s my new favorite spell, now.¡± Angie looked down and blushed in slight embarrassment, as she recalled the great emotional struggle that was just a couple days prior. Under that exterior, were certain¡­ warm feelings. The kind she hadn¡¯t really felt before, had little experience with. That kind that was evidently causing her gaze to shift, and her cheeks to redden. ¡°Come on.¡± Suna beckoned. ¡°Aren¡¯t you excited? To see what wonders there are in the world?¡± Suna outstretched her hand, to an Angie that saw the pure expression on her face, the wonder on her face, a strength on her face. She looked in awe, and in desire. ¡°What are you waiting for? Come.¡± Suna grabbed her by the hand, and pulled her, all while Angie fought with her emotions, trying to suppress the affection and care and¡­ something else, that roiled in her heart. And the two, the two walked towards the bright, bright opening. To the Unknown, one that they were more than happy to face, Together. End of Part One: Survival Chapter 16: New Vall Chapter 16 New Vall Calm. Peaceful. Suna, in a deep meditative state, seemed to blend in with the surroundings, devoid of a vicious onslaught of Geth, or a towering monster. But inside, she was anything but. Life, infused with lethargy. A slow, heavy, lethargy, that dulled the mind, one that was so easy to become lost in. A heavy, tantalizing nectar, one that promised peace, fulfillment, the End. Suna was spending her idle time trying to wrap her head around this feeling inside of her. This part of her, utilizing it and understanding it was not going to be a simple, straightforward feat. Exhale. It wasn¡¯t about losing herself in it, it wasn¡¯t about harnessing it. There was no power in it, merely a lack of it. So how was she supposed to utilize it? Harness it? Suna grew frustrated at her lack of understanding, her lack of ability to delve into deeper regions of her being, to reach for true strength. She would have to simply rely on a chance encounter, or inspiration, if she wanted to mold herself so directly it seemed. Suna remembered the fugue-like state she entered when she was on death¡¯s door. Suna¡¯s conscious mind, on the other hand, seemed so ill-equipped to actually affect change in her, as if its purpose was more for describing and interpreting the events around her rather than actually being able to do anything. It seemed a bit superfluous to her. Slow, heavy lethargy¡­ It was these thoughts on Suna¡¯s mind as she endured the uncomfortable ride in the back of a wagon which, relative to their past couple of weeks, was almost like some laughable paradise. Suna hurt, as she snagged a part of herself on something, inside her, She was getting lost in herself, submitting, to the heavy, oppressive, lethargy¡­ ¡°Hey, Suna, look!¡± Suna fought the lethargy, tilting up her hung head. Yet another grand view. A view that the people of Yrma probably would have associated with heaven. ¡°The ocean!!¡± Angie giggled, bobbing side to side in excitement. Suna looked at her, and smiled. Out in the distance, having just passed over a hill, they made out the Vast Blue. It seemed infinite, the way it stretched all the way to the horizon. ¡°Look, New Vall!¡± Several ships could be seen, traversing the vast blue swathes of ocean, and some of those ships were entering and leaving large strips of wood, ¡°ports¡±, Suna recalled. Suna had few words. She took in the sight of the ocean. Of the city that seemed to love the ocean, the way it sprawled out along the coast, hugging the wall of blue. This heaviness¡­ would it interfere with her ability to enjoy the ocean and its wonders? To enjoy her time with Angie? Suna couldn¡¯t reach a conclusion, quickly. The two approached closer to the city, the only two in the wagon other than some goods that the merchant was peddling. The girls looked¡­ as if they had seen better days. It was no surprise that a passing merchant was eager to transport them to the nearest city that he happened to already be heading for. He was kind-hearted, Suna noted. Seemingly unlike those armored figures, that always seemed to be after her, trying to kill her any chance they got. She kind of hated it. She remembered Ei¡¯s promise of a peaceful world, and what wonderful things she received, instead. She didn¡¯t hold it against him, she just held it against this world, yet another world that she felt like she needed to survive. Up until recently, she had been entirely focused on survival, and hadn¡¯t really had the chance to reflect on such things. But her heart told her that the conclusions she reached, regarding this land and its people, about her enemies, about herself, those would be crucial. For her growth. To repay her debt to Ei. She did not allow herself to rest on her laurels at a time of peace. They got closer. They passed by other moving carriages as they made their way down the soft incline, they passed branching paths that seemed to lead to buildings and establishments, to ranches and fields. The life, was overwhelming, people of all different paths in their lives, congregating in one large area, sharing with each other, interacting with each other, building their lives with and among each other. This sense of livelihood was an absolute far cry from what Suna was accustomed to. It was unfamiliar, unknown, she had misgivings and doubts, doubting that every person here was as kind-hearted as the merchant that was giving them a ride, as kind as Cyra, James, and Krax, it was an overwhelming feeling, all at once, too much at once. ¡°Hehe.¡± Angie had at some point traversed to the other side of the wagon, beside Suna, and grasped her hand. ¡°You worry about all sorts of things, don¡¯t you? Don¡¯t worry,¡± She pulled Suna¡¯s head to her shoulder, ¡°I¡¯m here, hehe.¡± Angie seemed to purify the heaviness, it dissipated in her wake, it crumbled and evaporated before the feelings that Angie would evoke in Suna. Suna let herself enjoy the soft, delicate touch of hers that ran down, slowly and rhythmically, down her head. That felt her hair and its softness, that danced and played when Angie had the slightest of whim boil up from her heart. Suna was becoming absorbed by Angie, who seemed to pull on her thoughts, pull on her heart, pull on her physically, and Suna never had the urge to stop her indulgence. She simply rested. After a life of pain and suffering and fear, she rested under the cool tree, by the warm fire, under the gaze of the stars. When did she become so emotional? So attached? Was it safe? These questions would inevitably be pulled under the surface of Suna¡¯s heart, dragged under by the growing sea creature that occupied its waters, that feasted on Angie, Angie, Angie. She was self-aware, but it had absolutely zero effect on her proclivity to indulge, whenever given the opportunity. Suna was annoyed when the blissful carriage ride started to near its end, the bumpy undulations of the carriage steadily lowering its frequency. One of the main gates of the city had a few guardsmen stationed, but they did not thoroughly inspect the wagon or its passengers. They were cleared to enter, and so they did. ¡°Thank you, it would have taken us a long while to walk to New Vall.¡± ¡°No, no, I don¡¯t think there¡¯s a man out there that would just leave two poor girls, all alone, on the side of the road.¡± The man, who wore a refined and humble moustache, leaned in closer. ¡°My usual route takes me close to Blackhearth, but¡­¡± He looked in the distance, as if through the city walls, at a place that lay beyond them. ¡°Some things just aren¡¯t worth the risk. Sorry for doubting you, before. I¡¯ll pray for the people of Blackhearth.¡± He gave a deep, solemn nod. ¡°Are you sure there¡¯s nothing else I can do for you?¡± ¡°No thank you, we¡¯re good, right Suna?¡± Suna gave a suppressed nod, her head already downturned. ¡°Thank you, mister, may you have safe travels!¡± The two waved their hands at each other, and the wagon set off for its destination within the city. ¡°Suna, you can¡¯t just keep looking down all the time, that¡¯s not good manners!¡± ¡°B, B-but¡­¡± Angie gave a cute pout. ¡°No buts!¡± She took Suna¡¯s hand, and the two began walking. ¡°Okay, so first, we¡¯re kind of broke, haha¡­ Hopefully these horns can sell well¡­¡± Angie looked at her pack, heavier than it had been when they entered the mountains. ¡°And then next, we have to tell whoever¡¯s in charge around here about the Geth!¡± Seriousness melded with her previous light-hearted expression. She¡¯s cuter when she smiles¡­ ¡°Oh, and¡­¡± Angie¡¯s bright expression darkened, her jubilant spirit shaken. Suna grasped her hand, and gave her a look. Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. Angie mustered a somber smile. ¡°Alright. I don¡¯t know about you, but I¡¯m hungry!¡± Almost as if to fight the dark atmosphere, she rebounded. ¡°Let¡¯s go sell these things and get some food, I¡¯m starving.¡± Angie, who knew the meaning of that inconspicuous word now, still elected to use it out of habit, a startling lack of negativity and regret residing within that word. A few brief inquiries later, the two had managed to find their way to a large, white building that housed the city¡¯s branch of the Hunter¡¯s Guild. Angie walked through the doors with the confidence of someone who had evidently walked through such doors many times. Suna fidgeted, her eyes darting around and her head downturned. Even though it may not seem like it, she was most definitely constantly scanning her surroundings for threats, especially when entering unknown areas for the first time. It was a habit that, let¡¯s be honest, would probably never be broken during her lifetime. They were greeted by an open area, at the back of which was a receptionist desk, or row of them, actually. There were not particularly many people, only a scattered group here and there discussing things and inspecting equipment, or huddled around a message board of some kind. People took notice of their entrance, but their gazes didn¡¯t linger for a particularly long while. Their clothes were riddled with cuts, yet they still walked with confidence. That was probably enough for most people to reason that they weren¡¯t simply lost kids. The two walked up to a counter, the only one with a receptionist attending it. There was a small, short line, a couple parties long. The two joined it at the end. ¡°Hmm, Suna, do you think we should find a pawn shop instead to sell these things? I know we¡¯re already here, but I dunno, I¡¯ve never sold anything like these before¡­¡± ¡°...Hey, you think I could take a look at those, for a quick sec?¡± Suna didn¡¯t notice his presence. She didn¡¯t know when he entered the room. It seemed most of the people there didn¡¯t, either, only now reacting to his presence. They were startled, as if seeing somebody that didn¡¯t belong, they treated his presence like some sort of abnormality, a rarity. She resisted the urge to put her hand on her knife. She knew better than to escalate for no reason, in such a public place. She didn¡¯t know the rules and customs, but this was just common sense. Despite it all, though, it was hard for her to hide how startled she was. ¡°Hm? Oh, I didn¡¯t see you there, Mr. Knight. These things?¡± The other hunters in the line ahead of them found the opportunity to distance themselves from the tall, armored man in the middle of the room. It was not the full, body covering armor of the enemies she remembered, they had a more unnatural curvature to their shapes, as if their body was the armor instead of a shell that housed a person inside of it. No, his armor was bombastic, elegant, adorned by a red cape and an eye-catching red symbol engraved on its chest, that of crossed swords. ¡°A Red Knight¡­¡± It was hard not to hear the words, muttered by more than one person in that room. He gave a nod. The knight ¨C who wore no helmet, exposing his short, slicked back black hair, bearing a youthful appearance yet also enough features for Suna to place him around his late 20¡¯s ¨C leaned closer to inspect the object that Angie had innocently pulled out of her pack. ¡°Oh, miss, while you¡¯re waiting, d¡¯you think you could fetch me the biggest Mark? I¡¯ve been dying to stretch my legs ever since they posted me here¡­¡± That tone. She didn¡¯t like it. The Knight looked at Suna. ¡­ Shit. She had gotten complacent again. Thankfully, the short moment, which seemed like forever to Suna, quickly passed. The Knight redirected his attention at a broken off horn. ¡°Where¡¯d you guys get this?¡± He raised his eyebrow, looking at Angie. ¡°Off a corpse, of course!¡± Their small audience couldn¡¯t help but smirk and laugh; they weren¡¯t so rude as to do so boisterously, but to them, the image of two small girls taking down a towering minotaur was just comical. The Knight didn¡¯t show such a reaction, his inquisitive expression only deepening. ¡°Hooh? Far from here?¡± ¡°In the mountains¡­ That¡¯s right!! There¡¯s Geth in that mountain!¡± As soon as the word was uttered, the air intensified, not a single hint of the earlier humorous atmosphere could be found. ¡°They¡¯ve taken Blackhearth! You have to do something about it! The people¡­¡± As she said that word, Angie, who suddenly recollected what she saw, couldn¡¯t help it as her voice trailed off. Suna stepped in front of Angie, dominating her field of vision, and grasping her shoulders. She did not like the idea of her cheerful friend being completely taken over by such a demon. ¡°Haha, I¡¯m okay, Suna¡­¡± Angie gave a hurt, grasp of Suna¡¯s hands, before turning her body back towards the Knight. The Knight, who looked just as serious as the onlookers. The Knight wasn¡¯t quick to speak, simply observing the two in silence. ¡°Those damn Geth¡­¡± His fist clenched. ¡°...Girls. I¡¯m sorry.¡± His stalwart disposition and confident demeanor couldn¡¯t stop the pain and sympathy, and other emotions, from leaking out in small ways. He gave an almost helpless sigh. ¡°I¡­ I¡¯m not strong enough to cleanse that city.¡± He looked at Angie, a weakness showing in his eyes. ¡°I¡¯m just here. The city¡¯s last line of defense against the threat.¡± He placed a hand on Angie¡¯s shoulder. She wore an expression of pain and sadness that just pained Suna to look at. She couldn¡¯t even look at her, she had to look away. ¡°I¡¯m sorry. It looks like you guys have gone through some rough things. You should be proud of yourselves. Most people don¡¯t just get to walk away from the Geth like that.¡± He looked at Suna, raising his arm, ¡°Makes sense why you¡¯d be so rude now, haha,¡± and he flicked her, on the forehead. He flicked Suna, who couldn¡¯t evade it. ¡°Tell you what, I¡¯ll buy those horns off of you. Twice their price.¡± He pulled out some sort of pouch, which jingled with the sound of metal, a sound Suna could not immediately decipher, but she eventually remembered. Coins lose their value really quick when everyone is out for themselves. The Knight pulled out a few coins, which gave off an alluring gold shimmer. ¡°It¡¯s the least I can do.¡± Suna saw. The onlookers, their expression. He was giving them much more than twice their price. Angie, still shaken from before, was able to put herself together well enough to respond. ¡°I, wow, th-thank you, Mr. Knight.¡± She trembled slightly as she received the coins, handing him the two heavy and fierce-looking horns. ¡°It¡¯s no big deal. It¡¯s Ferrix.¡± He pointed his thumb to his chest. ¡°Ferrix the Slayer.¡± He gave the girls a nod and a reassuring smile, and walked by them, over to the counter. The lady behind it gave a deep bow, her arms outstretched and holding a wax-sealed scroll of parchment. He took it, and walked out, leaving the girls with a slight gesture. Suna stood dead still. She couldn¡¯t even pay attention to Angie¡¯s words, who was asking her if she was okay. Later. I¡¯ll investigate this later. As much as she wanted to do so right now, she didn¡¯t want to concern Angie and abruptly stop what they were doing. She looked back at up at Angie, who was starting to express worry for her. ¡°I¡¯m good.¡± Angie, a confused look on her face, spoke up. ¡°Well, I guess we don¡¯t need to worry about that anymore¡­¡± She looked down at the gold coins in her hand, and hurriedly placed them inside her own pouch. ¡°A-Anyways! Um, I guess while we¡¯re here, we should register you, Suna.¡± She took her hand, Suna allowing herself to be guided to the open receptionist desk. Suna briefly recalled Angie¡¯s words. How she and her companions were Hunters, who¡¯d take commissions to deal with certain troublesome monsters, or sometimes just do odd jobs or investigate certain areas and phenomena. That now that they were alone now, they¡¯d be able to sustain themselves with commissions and quests if it was really necessary. Suna didn¡¯t really mind or care what Angie pulled her along to do. She just¡­ wanted to be with her. ¡°Come on, Suna, write your name there.¡± She directed her attention to an official looking paper and a pen that lay against it. She picked up the pen, but didn¡¯t really know what to do with it. ¡°Oh, come on, Suna, no one¡¯s ever taught you how to write your name?¡± Angie could hardly believe it. Faced with the threat of the shame of ignorance, Suna resolved herself, and put pen to paper. She tried, with great difficulty, to replicate the symbols she recollected, that spelled her name back on Yrma. She put the pen down, looking at Angie, who just bore a look of confusion, of doubt and a raised eyebrow. ¡°...Huh. Look, can I just write for her?¡± Suna was unable to avoid the shame of ignorance. The pair walked out of the building. ¡°So, our evaluations are this coming Ir. I should be able to bump up a good amount, I¡¯ve been learning a lot of spells.¡± Angie looked down at two paper slips in her hands, before tucking them away in her pack. ¡°What do you think? Should we eat first, or maybe find some better clothes to wear?¡± She looked down at Suna¡¯s robe, riddled with cuts and dark stains. She felt bad. It was the first gift that her family got for her. Suna tilted her head at Angie cutely, in confusion, ¡°I could go without food for the next week, Angie.¡± She booped Angie on the nose. ¡°Hey, that doesn¡¯t mean you should, though!¡± She let out a short sigh, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go find a clothing store. ¨C It took awhile, but the pair finally found their way to what looked like a tavern, an image of food drawn on its signboard. Angie was¡­ picky, to say the least. It didn¡¯t take long for Suna to pick out a robe that she thought was comfortable and effective, a black robe, but not marred in pitch black. She considered grey, or other colors, but, well. Black was more her color. Angie, on the other hand, was absorbed in testing out the effects of every enchantment, and how they felt. She couldn¡¯t help it, she was going to splurge. But Suna didn¡¯t mind, these robes seemed to be a quality product meant to last for years, that provided all sorts of interesting Magical effects and many different designs to choose from. Suna didn¡¯t mind waiting for as long as Angie took. She didn¡¯t mind, at all, watching her face make different shapes and expressions as she pored over every single design and tried every enchantment, never losing its glee and excitement. She could watch it all day. The two stepped through the doors, wearing their new outfits. ¡°I¡¯m soooo hungry, I¡¯m starving!¡± Angie rubbed her stomach, a new-looking red robe covering it. The establishment was not busy, but it had its patrons, who didn¡¯t even notice the girls walk in. The place had tables, and a bar. And at that bars end, slumped and barely recognizable, was¡­ Angie let out a gasp.