"Kinyo-sama, what is happening to our beloved clan leader?" she heard one of their members ask the beautiful pale-haired female running at the front.
She answered with quite a long and depressed sigh, "I have no clue. Aneue's been acting weird since we left the mansion and until now, I haven't heard her speak again. I am indeed worried about her." said the female called Kinyo, with the very same voice and same manner as Shizuku's little sister. But the look on her face proved that this person isn't her sweet little sister.
Fire burned within those orbs and Shizuku wouldn't dare to look at it again like she did earlier. Her robe ruffled against the other layers of clothing she was said to get in.
Fear.
That was all Shizuku felt, running along with these people who seemed so close yet so unfamiliar to her. Their outfits were weird. Some held fans. Some held swords and the person who looked so much like her little sister was one of those carrying a blade. On the other hand, what she held in her cold and trembling hands was an umbrella. It was beautiful. Undeniably. And it fitted well with the clothes she had on.
Wanting for some answers for herself, Shizuku purposely slowed down and attracted little to no attention. Her steps were light and headed towards the more shady part of the dark forest, lit up with nothing but the serene light of the moon shining from above. The crunches of leaves and branches trampled on by the bunch of people she was with earlier slowly began to fade into the distance and finally, silence was all that accompanied her.
Shizuku felt her knees grew week and slumped on the soft grass under her. Her clothes scattered around her, along with her hair which added much to her fear. It was longer than how she remembered it. Her skin was paler than usual and it was another weird thing that she was able to see just fine in the darkness.
She felt her own breath hitched, watching the cloud slowly covering the moon, and the trees swaying in the dark. A ruffle from behind startled her and Shizuku let out a small yelp. Afraid of what she'll find, the ravenette tried to stand up but when she did, the female just found herself back on the ground. Unable to feel both of her legs. It was numb.
The rustling of the leaves grew louder and louder along with the sound of leaves crushing beneath someone's foot. Somebody help. I don't want to die here. As if her prayers were answered, the large roots of the tree from underneath her slowly grew and wrapped around her body.
"W-What the..?" Shizuku's voice trembled in disbelief and in relief that she was safe from harm for now.
The seemingly alive root gently put her on the top of quite a large trunk, enough to hold her weight and let her sit comfortably before going back to the ground, undisturbed as if nothing happened. Shizuku's heart was still pumping in nervousness from how it moved but she couldn't help but get mesmerized with the view in front of her.
Light. The dark forest was filled again by the comforting blue light of the majestic moon itself. It was as if the orb of blue was blessing the land with it's presence.
Shizuku's eyes glimmered with the moonlight, "A-Am I in a dream?" She finally asked herself the very same question she seemed to forget earlier. But how should she answer herself? Is this a dream?
She's been here for too long. Everything from the chilling wind, crushed leaves under her feet, and the ruffling of the clothes against her skin felt all too real. It seemed unbelievable, and Shizuku was petrified with how much all of it seemed scary yet mesmerizing. It was a few minutes more on top of that tree when Shizuku found herself looking at the folded umbrella she held in her hand.
The ravenette never bothered to check it. It's not that she wasn't aware of it, it was more like, something warned her not to. A gut feeling. The outside design of it was beautiful, yet it screamed danger to Shizuku for some reason.
"Why am I even in a place like this?" She sighed, wanting to distract herself from the red string tying the umbrella close.
But slowly, her shaking fingers reached for it and with a nervous gulp of the forming lump inside her throat, Shizuku found herself taking it off. As the string fell on the trunk beside her, cold air suddenly blew her long raven hair away, and a mystifying howl echoed through the whole forest.
The umbrella she had in her hands lit up in a warm purple light, levetating just above her hands. Shimmers of light radiated off it. It was quiet for a few seconds and Shizuku was just admiring how it looked at what kind of sorcery made it possible to make it float.
When a voice spoke, "Priestess, how may I serve you?"
Shizuku's eyes widened in shock and she let out a terrified scream, looking around as to find where the voice came from. But she didn't see anyone. She frantically gripped the umbrella in her hands and looked around, up and down, left and right for any signs of a person o a thing, or maybe a creature.
But she found none again.
Calming down again, Shizuku sat down, breathing heavily. "W-Where did that voice came from?" She whispered to herself. As if on cue, the umbrella slipped out of her grasp and floated more in front of her.
She was going to make a run for it. The ravenette was already deciding whether to jump from the tree itself of just let herself be killed and maybe she'll wake up from her nightmare. But before she could even decide, the purple glow grew more blinding and she had to cover her eyes temporarily.
By the time she can see, the umbrella was nowhere in sight. Instead, a white haired boy, in a majestic robe of purple was standing in front of her, a fan in front of his mouth.
Shizuku was frozen.
"Priestess, I am confused."
He spoke.
"I can sense two souls inside of you."
[END OF VOLUME 1]