Rakna opened his eyes and two stars were reflected in them along with a rain of black petals. He sighed quietly and sat up with one hand over his knee. He observed the familiar scape of his soul and without warning, something leaned on him from behind and he was forced to hunch a bit.
His expression once again full of coldness softened a bit. "Higure… I can't move," he said despite knowing that it didn't matter to her.
"Really? That's all you have to say?" The woman in question put her head over his and looked down, her hair falling right in front of his eyes. He met hers with his and she smirked. "Admit it; it feels good, doesn't it?"
"…take your breasts off my head, they're heavy, thank you."
She laughed and pulled away from him, finally letting him stand up. "That's honestly sad. I wonder if you would have been more responsive in your other state. But I'm fine with knowing that you like it even if you don't show it."
Rakna clicked his tongue. "I had to say all those things…"
"Oh, I'm very happy with it," she added. "It's a real bummer though. I should have asked you what you thought of me before you used that drug."
"Well, those are some good news at least."
"Oh? Does that mean you do have something to say?" She asked impishly and he simply glanced at her without saying anything. "There is! I'll definitely make you spit it out next time."
"Good luck," Rakna said dryly and Rex landed nearby with a happy cry. He patted the large ancient bird and looked around, spotting Fen in the distance. The wolf seemed to still be tired from using the Tailed Pearl last time. "Where is Fray?"
"In the library," Higure replied as she joined him in spoiling Rexam with a smile. "He's working on your uncle's book; deciphering the encrypted text. Who knows, we might find a clue that would help us reach out to him."
"Any progress?"
"Nope. Sadly. He's pulling his hair out as we speak."
Rakna snorted and patted the Luquila one last time before probing his surroundings. He hummed and walked to the endless river representing the magic circuits he had etched onto his body and soul. He crouched next to it and watched the icy water flow intently.
"That water was boiling until a few moments ago, releasing steam and all," Higure said as she got to his side along with Rex. "The raining petals were red too. Probably your element... What are you looking at so seriously?" She finally asked.
"The rivers flow from the sea," Rakna replied out of the blue.
"That's… the hat's first hint, right?"
"Yes," he nodded and stood up. "After hearing the hints, I figured it referred to my soul realm. The primary clue is this river. Normally, rivers do not technically flow from the sea. They source from lakes, mountain peaks, rainfall, or others. However, they do often drain out into oceans and seas."
"Well… what does that mean? That the hint is not literal?"
"Wrong. It's very much literal. In the soul realm, this river cannot be applied to reality. It might in fact flow from a sea. As a matter of fact, if you had read the journal at the same time as me, you'd know that there is something called the soul sea within all beings."
Higure looked away whilst scratching her cheek. "I couldn't read that… thing."
"Can't fault you for that," Rakna agreed. "Anyway, this river over here might very well find source in my soul sea. This raises the next problem. Where is my soul sea? For some, its location can be evident; it could even hang upside down in the sky in rare cases. But mine… I would have no idea where to start to find it. The fact that this river branches in every direction doesn't help either."
"And I suppose the second hint helps with that?"
"I believe so; the flowers sway to the wind. For the first part… there's certainly not a lack of flowers in here," he jested. "As for the wind… there is one."
"True… there has always been a weak breeze in your soul realm. So, what? We follow the direction in which it blows? We follow the swaying of the flowers?"
"Hm… could be but…" Rakna mused. "If we're looking for a sea, logically, heading in the opposite direction of the wind direction should be the solution. Though who knows if it's true here…"
"Why the opposite?" She tilted her head.
"…you really lack common knowledge for a several-hundred-year-old legendary lioness."
"Hey! I resent that!"
"Anyhow, don't tell me you've never heard of sea breeze?"
"Maybe?"
Rakna sighed. "Listen, cold air is heavier than hot air. Above sea, the air is cooled down and sucked back toward land because it's warmer. Then, it heats up, gets lighter, rises, and returns to the sea, cooling down again. This is a process that creates air current; called wind."
"Uh uh… why does it get warmer on land though?"
"…have you ever tried to heat up a body of liquid the size of an ocean?"
"No…?"
"Well, you should know that heat doesn't last long above large bodies of water, thus cooling down the air and making it chilly. But on land, the soil does not heat as a unified body so it gets warmer more easily. Understood?"
"Yes, yes, you don't need to be mean about it. It's not my fault, okay? I know my way around magic and stuff that I once needed for my elements… why would I know anything about science that has to do with the sea?"
"…that is the fairest and most pathetic excuse I've ever heard."
Higure snickered. "Not everyone is a smartass like you. I told you before; we live secluded. I had never even really read a book before you showed me one. Sure, I have knowledge that comes from a long life but that is mostly from me fighting, experimenting, or exploring random Plateaus. The rest of the time, I just slept."
"Right... I personally think your race is way too sheltered for your own good."
She shrugged. "I can't refute that."
"Anyway, back on track. If we follow the context of the hints, this wind should be the compass that leads us to the soul sea. And as I said, there are chances we need to head in the opposite direction and, well, if I'm wrong, we can always try the other way," he tried and looked into the distance.
"What about the two other hints?"
"We'll think about those later. Both of them don't make sense to me yet. I also believe that they're actually one hint separated in two. But I can't find the piece that connects them both. Or I might just not know about it. We can always ask Fray about it. This must be known somewhere. If my Kzanaria was truly someone on par with the old man, he should be recorded somewhere."
Higure nodded. "You're right. It would make sense."
"Well, let's go. Rex, you don't mind carrying us?" Rakna asked and the Luquila happily jumped up to him and lied down. "Thanks," he said and rode him together with Higure who wrapped her arms around his waist with a grin. "You truly are persistent…"
"Not persistent. I would prefer if you'd call it determined."
Rakna sighed and Rex stood up and deployed his three pairs of wings. He let out a whistle-like cry and shot off into the sky with incredible speed.
⠀
* * *
⠀
Three hours later.
⠀
"This is getting nowhere," Rakna uttered exasperatedly as he got off Rexam's back and landed back on the field of flowers that seemed absolutely no different from where they started. The sky was however starting to welcome the twelve moons while the stars were setting down.
Also, interestingly, Fray's library was following them. Or, to be exact, it seemed to be incapable of leaving the side of the soul's owner.
"Oh, it was going perfectly for me. I was quite liking the trip," Higure retorted sultrily.
"…"
"Why don't you just confe-"
"No. Keep your horniness in control for a minute and help me figure this out," he said. "There's no way that we will just get somewhere by going in a straight line for hours and hours. We even tried both directions. This is useless."
"You think? For me, I find it a plausible answer. I mean, it's not like you would need to solve some sort of riddle to explore your very own soul," Higure said as she walked around a bit, viewing the landscape.
"Riddle?" Rakna reacted to the word and raised his head. "A riddle…" He reiterated and focused to see if there was anything he had missed in the past hours. As he was deep in thought, he happened to lock his eyes on one of the many black petals that rained from the sky.
His eyes widened and he glanced at Rexam and where he had landed just now.
"We're off…" He whispered and Higure's feline ears twitched.
"Hm? Did you say something?" She asked and turned around in time to see him disappear in a blur of colors. "Eh?" She exclaimed and followed his path with her eyes until the horizon. "Wha… Hey! Wait for us!" She shouted and dashed after him, Rexam flying behind.
They ran for about five minutes before Rakna suddenly stopped for no apparent reason. Higure caught up to him and scowled. "What's wrong? Why did you run off like that?"
"The wind."
"What do you mean the wind?"
"It turned," Rakna replied and looked at where they came from. He retraced his path and after a few steps, he stopped again. "The old man would laugh at me for not noticing this sooner..."
Higure watched him perplexedly and he gestured her to step back. She complied and stood next to him. "I'm confused…" She muttered.
"Step forward."
She did so.
"Step back."
She did so.
"Get it?"
"…is this a prank?" That's the only thing she could think of.
Rakna sighed. "Step forward again but this time, pay attention to the wind."
She furrowed her eyebrows and did as she was told. Coincidentally, as she moved, a slightly bigger gust of wind went by and she froze on the spot. "Oh…" She croaked out and stepped back on her own. "Oh…" She exclaimed for a second time and repeated the process a few more times.
"And now?"
"Yes… the wind's changing direction every time we go past this line," she said whilst drawing an imaginary boundary with her hand. "So, this is it? We have to move in the opposite way of the wind but also be careful of eventual changes to readjust?"
"Apparently."
"That's weird… It sounds like an exit strategy for an enchanted labyrinth."
"Well, pretty much. But… as said in that journal, souls are complicated. The way they are formed or the way they look like isn't up to you," Rakna stated. "This… labyrinth might very well be a facet of myself or something related to my Kzanaria whom we are trying to identify."
"Hm… this riddle could be another hint then, right?"
"Correct," he nodded. "But for now, let's see where this leads us to," he said and followed the new path according to the wind variations.