"It might be late to ask but what's your name?"
"I-I'm Asaka!"
"Wooow! Look at her eyes, it's as if you two are siblings Nanako!"
"It's my dream to have a little sister...and you just made it come true!"
Nanako hugged Asaka tighter, tears welled in her eyes. Nanako looked worried as she let go of her and looked her in the eye.
"H-hey are you alright?"
"Uwaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!"
"C-calm down! I didn't say or do anything to offend you right?"
"I-it's the opposite, I've never been acknowledged in my life."
She wiped off her tears as Nanako gently caressed her hair as she calmed down.
"So where did you come from?"
"I was sent here by the fifth shogun from Azuma no taiyō"
"Is this shogun basically your leader of some sort?"
"Y-yes and she's your aunt Ms. Nanako."
"No need for honorifics, you can just call me Nanako."
"B-but..."
"Hey hey, you're like a little sister to me so it's fine!"
"U-uh okay then, Nanako..."
"Good! So that shogun person might be my relative...I'm still finding my sister and Tarus here might have a lead since he has her pendant..."
"T-the pendant?!"
"Y-yeah I have it, here it is."
I removed the chained pendant from my neck and the golden color of it shimmered in the room. Nanako and the rest were in awe of the pendant, this was the first time I've seen it glow like that...how beautiful...
"T-that pendant...that's the key to unlocking the Kaguya trials!"
"Kaguya trials?"
"I can't really explain since I don't know much but only female relatives of the shogun can attempt it...wait...Tarus, it's glowing brighter when it's near you!"
"Huh?"
I pushed the pendant near Nanako and Asaka but the glow faded a little bit and when I returned it to myself, it shimmered once more with a bright gold color...
"T-this is bizarre...Uhm..."
"W-well for now let's forget about that, Tarus you're in the custody of the pendant. We need to leave for Azuma no taiyō quick."
"Let's talk with Nadia first, it might be a long journey..."
"How many days did it take you to get here Asaka?"
"The secretary of the shogun appears to have a teleportation crown fragment, that's what I used...as for getting there maybe around two weeks or more?"
"That's a long time..."
"I think the shortest route might be along the border wall that separates the two sides of this world..."
"Interesting..."
Nadia joined in, she was standing by the door side with Jade behind her, her eye's still puffy from all the crying.
"N-Nadia! We were just talking to someone..."
"No need to hide it from me, I have some connections with the shogun and asked her to send her here."
"Well, that was unexpected..."
"When are we going to leave then?"
"This evening, sorry for the tight schedule but the duke will be arriving soon so you have to get out of the castle and prepare for your journey. You'll be provided with wind crown fragments to help you and Jade here is a master so I think it'll be fine for you guys."
"Let's get going then."
We exited the room proceeded to leave the castle, Nadia then guided us to an Inn in where we'll be preparing for our long trek along the border.
"Oh yeah, about the wind crown fragment, there should be a labyrinth of it near the border, Tarus since you and Jade can use natural crown fragments, go get it, the others will be receiving artificial crown fragments."
"Noted."
"Well this is bye for then, Asaka make sure to tell the shogun to contact me once you've arrived in Azuma no taiyō."
"Yes ma'am!"
Nadia left us and the girls went into a separate room as I, dusk arrived and we ate dinner while Nanako, Asaka, and Celene just came back in time from shopping for supplies. Since they've brought around six bags full of food we have to split the luggage around the five of us.
"This should be enough."
"Let's get going then!"
We left the Inn and we headed north of Rayonaird, through the evening we walked through the cold misty night and after we've walked for a few hours we made camp and slept in the forest full of tall trees. As we slept we took turns being on guard, we were full and worn out so we slept like logs that night. Dawn came and the first one awake was Celene, she sure is energetic for a girl.
"Wakey Wakey Tarus!"
"Goodmorning, I'm so sleepy."
"Hey! It isn't good to yawn after saying good morning!"
"M-my bad, there's a river nearby right? Let's have fish for breakfast and I need to wash my face."
"I'll come with you!"
"Wake someone up first so that there will be a person on guard."
"Nanakooooooooooo! Wakeeeeeeeeeee uppppp!"
"Celene stop yelling!"
"Sigh."
I went ahead to the river which was flowing calmly, the morning was also cold but comfortable...makes me reminiscent of my life back home...
"Tarus! I've woken Nanako up!"
"Good, the cold water sure is refreshing..." I claimed as I grabbed some water and splashed it on my face
"Say Tarus, I've been meaning to ask, what's your purpose in traveling?"
"You wouldn't probably believe me but what If I say I just want to go back home..."
"What's unbelievable with wanting to go back home?"
"I came from another planet, there are no crown user's there and I just wanted to live a peaceful life with someone but something sinister destroyed it all..."
"A-ANOTHER PLANET?!"
"Keep it down!"
"S-sorry, I just couldn't keep my shock in...so what happened next?"
"There was a meteor that destroyed and mercilessly killed all the citizens...only I and someone else was able to survive that catastrophe..."
"So where is this person that survived with you?"
"I don't remember..."
Just then, a loud roar came from the heavens, a large silhouette of something huge soared through the skies...we all stood in awe of this majestic beast...a dragon...