A young Shinku stood in front of a ramble that he once called home. Tears still gushed out from his eyes relentlessly, seeing the now lifeless city around him. He lowered himself to the ground, savoring the last view he would have of his ruined abode. It was just a couple of nights when the town was filled with an orchestra of joy and laughter, but now, it has been reduced to the melancholy of destruction. He wiped his tear, trying to pull the little sanity that was left in him. He could only stare at the sky above, as the deafening silence haunted him of his helplessness.
It was a strike of fate, just while the boy was drenched in his mourning, a sparkling object suddenly caught his attention. Slowly, he stood up struggling with the sudden numbness of his legs. Approaching closely, he noticed that the glimmering object looked like the tip of a blade. Carefully, he dug his discovery, carefully removing some rocks that had buried the object beneath them. It took the boy quite a long time as it was under some huge rocks which took him a huge effort to push aside. His effort nonetheless, paid off as he discovered the object to be a familiar artifact. It was a short sword that was gifted to him by his father for completing the initial course of their training.
A glimmer of hope, finally dawned on him, realizing that the spirits were still on his favor. He grabbed the sword by its handle and raised it towards the sky as gesture of gratitude to the spirits that their clan worshiped. His soul was lifted as well, holding the one memory that at least, his family left for him. From then on, his journey to bring justice to his clan's genocide began.
"Rise and shine kid! We have to leave early today! We got lots of things to do!" Shinku woke up, blinded again by the strong light that was on the ceiling right above him. He shielded his eyes, to slowly adjust to the lighting around. He couldn't see the old man, but the sound of the latter's footsteps assured the boy that his companion is around. He lifted himself up, sitting at the edge of the bed. The soft cushion made his body so comfortable that it somehow started to fight over the young man's struggle to bring himself up.
"Here's yer' breakfast kid!" The old man finally showed up in the young man's view, approaching the table that was just a few feet from the young man's bed. The artifacts used to be on the table the day before, were replaced with the view of morning delicacies.
Still struggling with his heavy body, Shinku got up walking towards the table. "I already had mine so ye' may eat as much as ye' want. In the meantime, I'll leave ye' here to prepare." The old man once again disappeared to another room, leaving Shinku alone in the table. After a series of stretching, the young man finally decided to munch on the meal before him.
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"Oh before I forget, take these." As the two leave the old man's shack, Birke handed some earrings towards the young man, who decided to put them on his pocket. "I sure hope it wouldn't come to the time that ye would need them but well, they can surely prove a very important role on yer' journey. Oh and ye' better put them on right away." With the old man's urge, Shinku decided to pull the earrings from his pocket and put them on, replacing the old earrings he had from his old clan.
The old man's phase this time was far quicker this time than the much relaxed walk they had, the day before. The young man was used to such speed however, the relaxation from his days of dormancy, seemingly made his muscles a bit sluggish. Hence, Shinku struggled to catch after the old man's speed who don't seem to look back. After a couple of steps, the old man hailed a cab to bring them to their destination.
"Ok kid! Let's go!" The young man rushed out of the cab, following after his companion who suddenly entered a huge building. It was his first time entering one of the towering buildings in the city. He was amazed of the very size it has outside and was even more surprised at how huge it was on the inside. Even being still early in the morning, this particular structure was surprisingly crowded by a couple of people running about. His companion's phase matches the others who were all seemingly in a hurry.
"By the way, I still haven't seen any of my stuff." Shinku suddenly spoke up in concern, as he tried to catch his breath due to the brisk walk they had been taking since earlier.
"Ah don'cha worry kid! Ye'll have them once we get to our destination. We can't bring 'em here with us so I had someone else to take care of them." After a very long brisk walk, the old man stopped upon a what looked like a narrow hallway that could only fit a person at a time. After scanning another card on a wall, a glass door slid open, granting entry to the old man. "Let's go kid, entry is allowed for the both of us." Having no choice but to trust Birke, Shinku simply followed after the old man.
Upon stepping on the hallway though, the young man was surprised of the ground's sudden movement. He looked at the feet of the old man and noticed that his companion has stopped moving his legs in spite of him, continuing forward. Shinku decided to stop walking himself, finally taking a rest after a long brisk walk.
"Well where we are going would show ye an entire different world from ours but oh well, I believe ye can get by. Ye lived on the streets of Kravien so I'm confident ye'd survive in there." Being on a moving ground, the duo was able to finally converse again naturally. The moving ground was steady, having turns, ascent and descent on some section. Looking around him, as they go through a tube made mostly of transparent glass, Shinku was able to see a vast network of the same halls around them, transporting several other people with them.
"Aright here we are!" Reaching the end of the tunnel, Shinku was surprised at the sudden disappearance of his companion, followed by what looked like green lights that were shot upwards. His heartbeat suddenly raced quickly, as his turn was about to come. Finally standing on a circular pod, a sudden burst of bright light flashed before his eyes, completely blinding him for a brief moment. His vision slowly came back, seeing himself on what looked like a small pod, with the old man sitting just beside him.
"So how are ye' feeling kid!" Birke smiled, as Shinku slowly tried to composed himself. Dizziness started to kick in, stronger than the effects of the ale he drunk with Birke back at the shack.
"Just breathe and ye'll be fine." The old man remarked, who closed his eyes after.
Still struck with nervousness, Shinku remained awake as various announcements were played on the PA system. His companion on the other hand, had now fallen into slumber, noted by quite a noisy snore.
After quite a while, the sound of rocket boosters signaled the start of their take off, adding to the young man's nervousness. He finally decided to close his eyes, hoping that he would fall into slumber but of no avail. The sudden ascent gave the young man the same feeling as if he was being pinned on the ground by a pulling force. It went on for a while until everything settled down, with the view of a vast, black space visible on a circular window beside Shinku's pod. Amazement now replaced the young man's nervousness, as he saw the rich azure hue of their planet from afar. He took a deep breath, bracing himself to whatever lies on their destination. Shinku's path has indeed started to be put on a new light, getting his first bit of clue after a very long time of waiting. With that, the young man was finally able to rest easy, looking forward to the start of another journey.