His long black cloak swayed gently in the wind.
"I'm sorry Asahi and Aletha. It must be done."
Before the thief, mountains stretched out endlessly, giving way to plains. He sighed and walked closer to the cliff's edge, staring at the colossal crater spanning over a hundred kilometers.
"This is the place where I wanted them to go."
As he mumbled, the thief stood still for a moment and gazed at the vastness of the crater. Swamp-like areas bestrewn over the location, with bushes, thick jungle-like vegetation, and clean water. He closed his eyes and whispered to himself.
"I know how much those two value this scarf." He muttered as he fiddled with the scarf. "But... it is the only way to lure them here."
After saying that, the masked figure turned around, heading deeper inside the vegetation-infested crater.
Asahi and Aletha approached the cliffside and stood beside it, immersing themselves in the beautiful view. Although Asahi couldn't see where the thief went, Aletha knew where he went.
She pointed at the other end of the crater and smirked.
"The thief went over there." She chuckled as she hastily sprinted down the crater.
In no time, Aletha arrived at the opposite side of the crater. There, she saw the thief standing tall and proud, facing the ground, mumbling something under his breath.
"Hey, are you alright?" Aletha asked as she approached the man.
Upon hearing the voice, the thief glanced at Aleatha and froze upon recognizing her, clutching the brown scarf.
"Y-You're...!"
At once, the thief pulled out his knife and pierced it through the ground, forming cracks on the surface. He glared at Aletha with fury written all over his face.
"Whoa, whoa, calm down," Aletha said to diffuse the tension. "We just want our scarf back. We don't need any trouble, right?"
The thief stared hard into Aletha's eyes, sensing the ground tremor rapidly. Trees rocked back and forth, slowly slumping into the dirt. Everything began to shake violently, including the surrounding mountain range.
"No, stop!"
Asahi quickly rushed towards Aletha and grabbed her hand.
Before she could say anything else, the earth beneath their feet split open, swallowing them into a bottomless dark pit. Boulders, tree branches, and other vegetation collapsed on the surface and fell into the giant hole in a storm, vanishing into the dark abyss below.
The only sounds that accompanied Asahi and Aletha during their descent were the echoes of their screams.
* * * * *
Ominous, dark, cold. His breathing stopped, silence surrounded him, and he felt pressure push against him anywhere he moved. Their eyes bulged out to a wet space surrounded by bubbles and a clear turquoise color.
Aletha was the first to break the surface. She gasped for air and tried to take a deep breath. Her eyes were wide open, seeing nothing but vast darkness. The light from the moon shined upon her face, illuminating the scenery around her. She took a few steps forward and looked around.
"Where... am I?"
Asahi was the second to break the surface, coughing and gasping for air. At first, all he saw around him was darkness, stone, and a few holes giving away light. But then, climbing up the natural pool of water, he realized a lot more was waiting for him.
Standing before them were several mountains of steel structures encompassed by a tall and colossal open cavern, rusted-over mechanical gears across tiny pools, and an enormous glossy black cube standing underneath the sun rays like a spotlight.
"What is this place?" Aletha wondered aloud.
The thief emerged from the water, his hooded cape fluttering in the breeze.
"It's called 'The Cradle. One of the many advanced civilizations that once sheltered millions."
He walked towards Aletha, his gaze piercing hers.
"Although much of it is ruined, one remains working. That cube over there will be the same device that..."
He walked towards Aletha, his gaze piercing hers.
"...will bring us home."
He held the scarf tightly in his hands, feeling its soft fabric brush against his palms. His heart beat rapidly in his chest. Blood rushed through his veins as he saw Asahi clenching his fists. Immediately, he stepped back and disclosed.
"Pardon the intrusion of stealing your scarf. It's the only method I could think of to lure you two here."
"Who are you?" Aletha asked as she looked around.
The thief looked back at her with a grim expression on his face. With no other choice, he sighed deeply and took off his hood. Long silky dark hair framed his jewel-like purple eyes, and his attire was as dark and celestial as the stars. Immediately, Aletha jumped out and mumbled.
"Hey you look like someone I know."
Her gray eyes broadened in realization, drastically escalating her voice.
"Wait a minute, Akwan?! How did YOU get here? I thought you joined the... other gods."
Akwan laughed at the absurdity of her statement.
"It's been a while since we last met, Aletha and Asahi. I can't believe I could put up an act of being that thief for so long. I was almost about to give up. As I said, I only stole that scarf to lure you two. You can have it back."
Akwan handed the scarf back to Aletha. She smiled happily upon receiving it.
"Oh, thank you very much! Thank goodness we didn't end up fighting over it."
Asahi looked at Aletha with curiosity.
"So why did you come after us anyway?"
"Well, I'm not exactly sure myself," Akwan answered. "I guess it could be the disappearance of you two. You have been absent from Gincad for quite some time, so I did anything I could to try and find you two."
"You're nice for doing that," Aletha said. "Thank you."
Akwan shook his head.
"I should be thanking you for following me. Again, sorry for stealing it."
Suddenly, faint, deep robotic hums sounded around them.
"Wha—?"
Both of them turned around in surprise. A substantial metallic structure stood right behind them, towering above them. Its large, rounded base resembled a gigantic machine gun turret.
"W-what is that thing?" Aletha stuttered.
"That is the most advanced weapon ever made by humans," Akwan explained. "It is supposed to be friendly, but for some reason..."
He trailed off as the metal construct raised itself into the sky. Its arm extended itself high, creating a giant beam of light. It aimed straight for the trio.
"Hang on!" Akwan shouted.
Without hesitation, he ran toward the three of them and grabbed onto their shoulders.
"Don't worry! Just keep running!"
They dashed away from the beam, sprinting and dodging the several lasers targeting them. Explosions scattered rocks into the air, scraping just a hair from Aletha.
"This way!" Akwan yelled, leading the trio down a narrow path between the cavern. The group sped by many small pools of water and countless weird, metallic structures. They ultimately came to a halt in front of a gigantic gate made of solid steel. It had a small round hole at its center.
"I've never seen something like this before. Is that the door?" Aletha asked.
Akwan nodded. He placed both hands on the ground, pushing himself forward.
"Those are not doors. They're..."
More mechanized hums and growls reverberated about them, bouncing over every surface of the cavern. As several figures ascended from the ground, surrounding the three, lights flashed on and off, revealing most of them.
Each bot had a humanoid form and shape, assembled with a solid and glossy metal substance. Yet there were so many that it made it almost impossible for Asahi and Aletha to identify them all.
Several robots approached them, each one sporting a different type of weapon like, a sword, spear, and even laser cannons.
"What do you want?" Akwan inquired, his voice rising.
One of the robots aimed its spear squarely toward Asahi and Aletha. From its square-shaped black metal job, it spoke.
"Eliminate. Destroyers."
The bot steadily rose into the air, aiming its weapon toward Asahi's throat.
One would have never dared to lay a finger on Asahi. But since these were artificial beings, it was no surprise they would have done so.
Before it could stab Asahi's throat, he engulfed his fists in a white luminance and cleaved the machine dry, leaving nothing but wires and fractured metal pieces in its tracks. Then, as more robots arose, Asahi unleashed a powerful shockwave, knocking a layer of robots back and spurting out mechanical parts everywhere.
Another wave followed suit, sending another batch of enemies flying. Some crashed and destroyed buildings, while others broke into pieces.
Aletha, feeling weak as she was, hurriedly fled to and ran up a tower of steel pillars, just to witness how colossal this event truly was. Her heart palpitated in fear as she saw a huge cluster of robots flood the pillar, wobbling it as if it was some sort of toy. With no other choice, although she refused to use her magic, Aletha tossed and beset a storm thrashes at the ocean of robots with her explosive white orbs.
Then, when she found herself to be cornered, Aletha conjured up a gigantic glowing white blade, disintegrating and mangling hundreds of the bots with just one slice, forming holes in the wall of vulnerable enemies.
With her strength waning, Aletha used her last reserve of energy to teleport herself to safety.
Meanwhile, Asahi and Akwan fought against an endless stream of robotic assailants. Despite being outnumbered, Asahi and Akwan managed to destroy dozens of robots together, but the sheer number of which Asahi slaughtered was so baffling, it managed to surprise Akwan. He said.
"Your power seems familiar."
Asahi shook his head and disregarded the thought. Instead, he took advantage of a robot's momentary lapse to deliver a devastating punch directly on its chest. When the robot collapsed, he then cut its legs off, tossing it into the air like a dead goose.
However, after a few seconds of fighting, another machine growled furiously from the dark in the corner. In a sudden, the eyes of the machine pierced through the shadow and howled towards the sky/ceiling.
It leaped out from the shroud, immediately revealing its big body crawling on four.
With razor sharp jaws leaking with hydraulic oil, it crept up through the sea of bots, targeting directly at Asahi and Aletha.
"Destroyers detected."
Asahi and Aletha sprinted away from the two robots and escaped the onslaught of violent explosions. But even as they did, a strange sound started to echo throughout the cavern. It was a low and grating noise like a deep, heavy rumble that seemed to shake the very earth.
"What is that?" Aletha yelled as she tossed several robots into the air.
Glowing white lines extended out to every corner of the cave, illuminating the place as if the sun was transported there. The very look on Akwan's face expressed that this was what he needed.
"Follow me!" He said. Just before any more bots could intrude upon their scene, Akwan escorted Asahi and Aletha through a secret passageway carved deep into the middle rock, with glass-like stairs leading directly upward to the mysterious black cube at the center.
The sounds of digital hums and roars resounded off every edge of the place. As they settled their bearings, Akwan answered Asahi.
"This is The Cradle. It's an ancient navigation tool forgotten by an ancient nation. Touch it, and we can escape."
"Touch it?!" Aletha said. "Why would you want us to touch it?!"
Akwan lowered his shoulders and sighed.
"Because. This will be the very device that will bring us back home."
"Home?" Asahi said with an eyebrow. "I… am positive that we witnessed our world being annihilated."
Akwan shook his head and pushed Asahi closer toward the glossy black surface of the cube, nearly skimming his skin across it.
"There is much left unexplained." Akwan said. "But trust me. I know what I am doing. Touch it, now!"
Asahi, with no other choice, shrugged his shoulders and leaned his hand into the cube. As his finger prodded on the black surface, suddenly, a white spark pulsed under his touch like a stone dropping into a calm body of water. Aletha raised her eyebrow and mumbled.
"Eh? What did you do?"
Asahi shrugged his shoulders. "I haven't a clue. I only want to escape."
Glowing white lines extended out from the impact point toward the top of the device, a loud chime sounded out, and a deep robotic voice suddenly spoke from it.
[:// ://: ://:]
"It's the forgotten language from the ruined civilization." He mumbled as he heard a deep hum echo out of the activating device.
Aletha turned over and asked Akwan with a genuinely confused tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Doesn't matter." Akwan said as he heard loud digital growls sound behind him. "But to keep it short, this ancient civilization harnessed the ability to create living worlds."
A look of bemusement and wonder came from Asahi and Aletha's faces.
"H…Huh? A civilization that can create their own worlds?" Aletha said.
[BEEP]
As the device sprawled out several holographic white lines, Akwan pushed himself away, covered his mouth, and threw a cyan luminance at it.
"Yes. An ability that mocks creators." Akwan shot his eyes up at Asahi and Aletha, specifically, their white hair. "Both of your hair– your appearance; it almost seems like you were part of the civilization itself."
Just before anything could be said, the device erupted millions of holographic white lines and dots and expelled a robotic voice out to the cavern.
[Host Detected]
With great anticipation and excitement, Akwan pushed Aletha against the wall of the device which created a massive pulse that activated it fully.
"W-What are you doing?"
"I want both of you two to touch it. It appears that device recognizes you as that ancient race." Akwan said.
"But, I could never remember being with a civilization like that before." Aletha said as she touched it.
[Second Host Detected]
[Universal Scanning… Complete. Initiating World Navigation Protocol.]
Five black arm-shaped objects slowly emerged and folded out from the top of the device. It extended out to the ceiling and made circular motions, then proceeded to expand the hologram which represented the universe.
Akwan was awe-stricken by the device's movements, as if he wanted to touch it too. But as his hands were about to gloss over the surface, he was propelled away from it by a blast. It seemed that he wasn't compatible with it.
[Hosts' Origin World Found]
A massive white light exploded from the device which unleashed yet another barrage of holograms. The siblings caught on that the white dots that encircled the contraption represented each individual world.
The device's voice continued.
[World Name: Gincad. Hosts are rendered with familiar genes. Initiating Interstellar Teleportation Sequence.]
[10…]
The ground trembled, the device flickered, and their bodies rapidly moved left and right.
[9…]
[8…]
[7…]
An engulfing light flooded the colossal cavern.
[6…]
[5….]
Suspense grappled onto everyone as each corner of the device was lit up with white.
[4…]
[3….]
[2…]
Although there was a shrouding memory introduced to the wanderers, none of that mattered as after the last second, all three would be transported to the world they thought they lost.
[1…]
At that moment, as their eyes were blinded by an engulfing white light, a loud sonic boom trembled and tossed the three upward.
[0…]
Suddenly, the colossal sight of the cavern, the device, and the ruins vanished and eerily flickered to a vast white expanse at a speed so fast that it matched the sheer swiftness of blinking with your eye.