Darkness. It's all the wanderers can see… and hear.
Only the dark vast void is seen from their empty eyes. Yet, despite the formidable silence, it seems as if the wanderers feel comfort resonating inside their souls.
It's a darkness that both seem to have grown accustomed to in their past.
As time seems to pass slowly to the wanderers' souls, Belial escorts them out of the forest at inhumane speeds.
His pace is like the speed of a furious and determined wolf, ready to strike its prey.
Akwan and Sally follow him as an unmeasurable amount of guards charge at them with sharp spears.
They roar and scream with the godly powers of Narcissa, assisting them and amplifying their speeds to unfair amounts.
Akwan jumps over a log and pulls Sally away from an archer's arrows path. A faint blush shines over her pale face before returning to normal with Akwan's height below her shoulders. She whispers as they hear the guards yelling.
"Akwan? What are you doing?!"
He silently turns his head to the guards and snaps his fingers. Suddenly, large transparent blue shield bursts and shimmers in front of the guards, destroying the arrows that try to penetrate through its unbreakable surface.
He yells at Sally as the guards grow distant from them.
"We will be safe for now. Hold on. Where is Drimi…?"
Akwan p questions as he clenches his fists.
The guards scream at Akwan and Sally as they try to pierce their spears through the barriers.
"Come back here, and face the consequences of your actions! Unrespectable knights of Pladtioa!"
They stop for a moment, hearing loud shrieks and screams sounding from behind. They tilt their heads to see four large dark purple orbs blasting, exploding, and disintegrating the guards' presence.
Shocks, bolts, and lighting surround the entire area of the guards, all looking confused and shocked at what's happening.
Her fist literally shatters through reality for a moment, creating this immense shockwave that knocks back all the guards fifty meters away.
Her eyes glow a dark magenta as she leaps twenty meters into the air and plunges through fifty of the guards with brute force, with her dark daggers.
Akwan softly whispers as a smile shines over his face.
"I guess she found her weapon quicker than all of us. Nothing new to me. She is elegantly quick and strong."
Her deep dominant voice sounds over the area. Her fists pierce through all of their chests like a stick hitting through soft snow. Her silky black hair sways in the air like a ribbon, slapping its opponents like a tail.
She screams at the charging guards before she leaps back into the air.
"You just can't get enough of brutality, can you?!"
Her eyes shut, and her long hair sways down. Her two long legs pierce through the air, and Drimi plunges straight through the ground, thus immediately destroying all thirty guards in a fraction of a second.
Her pecking and robust smile shines straight through the dust of the guards smearing all over her cheerful face.
Drimi swiftly tilts back to Akwan and Sally, then orders both of them with her deep voice.
"Get the wanderers to safety! There will be hundreds of more guards on the other side of the forest, where Belial is fleeing. Get there now dummies!"
Akwan softly smiles, shakes his head, and whispers.
"Ah, even your masculinity within your feminine figure is enough to be as powerful as The Queen of Wraileza. You most certainly generate an aura familiar to her—
He gets interrupted with Sally pulling him away from one of the charging guards. Her platinum hair swings behind her, and her voice yells at him.
"We need to help Belial… now… Akwan…"
He stumbles for a moment in shock, then nods.
"Sure."
Both Akwan and Sally speed and race to Belial as Drimi unleashes her dark orbs upon the guards. The wanderers' hearing and vision grow clarity for a few moments.
They both hear Belial screaming in a harsh tone, guards charging, Drimi's effort-sounding yells, Akwan's soft hums, and Sally's shining tune.
"Get the guards away from us. I have more than enough energy to get to our base."
Akwan swiftly nods his head and lifts his arm.
"Approving..."
The guards yell.
"Get them immediately. We need to take all of the group to the Queen of Pladtioa's castle! It's her order, now listen to her... betrayers!"
The vision of the wanderers blurs into view as he sees Akwan unleashing powerful energy towards the guards.
They draw their last breath, then both of their vision slowly engulfs into darkness once more.
* * * *
After the moment of what seems to feel like mere seconds to Aletha and Asahi, Belial finally escorts them safely away from the city and into the forest of Nortmire with Akwan, Sally, and Drimi.
Now, the wanderers find themselves resting next to each other within a small fortress hidden and surrounded by bushes and many trees from the forest called Nortmire.
The soft, comforting sounds of an approaching evening gradually whisper to their delicate ears. The sounds of crickets chirping, the silk hops of a bunny, the sound of cracking and chipping from the rough nature of an artificial molten ember, gleam on their pale faces, and the welcoming noises fill both of the wanderers' soft ears.
Asahi awakens first.
His eyes slowly part away from each other, and a slight hot mist blows over his eyelids. Asahi takes a soft breath and rubs his head.
His vision blurs back to normal, seeing the sight of a campfire, tall fences encircling a small circular paved spot at the center, and four manufactured structures from behind his back and far from the fire.
The structures seem to have a mixture of dark wood and mud.
There seem to be buckets, barrels, and carriages within this strange area. After a few moments of taking a deep look at his surroundings, he mutters to himself in a confused tone.
"W...What happened? Where am... I...?"
He turns his head to his right and sees Aletha lying right next to him.
Aletha's silken texture of her hands clasps against Asahi's hands tightly, resonating a soft, mellow warmth between the center of both of their palms.
Her hot stifled breath lingers within the tip of Asahi's nose. When he stares at Aletha's face for a moment, after a small chiming sounds off as her pretty fingers quiver in a calm motion.
Asahi sees the sun's rays beaming on his hand.
He slowly takes a deep breath and pushes himself off the ground, and rolls his body nearest to Aletha accidentally.
As soon as Asahi tries to get himself up, Aletha subconsciously rolls her body closer to him. Asahi's arms tremble as he feels her soft, plump skin rubbing against his arm.
His confused smile freezes as the body warmth of Aletha soothes his pores.
She subconsciously mumbles, and Asahi's round gray eyes remain stiff in fear.
"Asahi… Asa...hi… you… you should… no. Don't...g...go."
The pace of his breathing increases by the second as he hears her soft subconscious whispers.
Soon after the intriguing event, a soft male voice asks Asahi.
"Glad you're safe... It seems you two have a robust connection."
A soft, high-pitched feminine voice whispers as Aletha tightly grabs his arm.
"You two look so adorable together—
Asahi confusingly shouts.
"HUH?! No, we are siblings!"
Akwan hardly chuckles and yells.
"How can one just FORGET? Strange, you two are unique compared to other humans. Do you know all of the gods in Gincad?"
Asahi shrugs his shoulders.
Aletha lifts her head upwards and shines a bright red glow over her two soft cheeks shortly after. She quietly rubs her eyes and turns her head back and forth.
Then, she sees Asahi near her and blushes heavily.
"A-Asahi? What are you do—
She covers her mouth and halts her sweet voice in realization and shock.
"Why are you whispering Sadiki's name?!"
Asahi jumps up in yells.
"Hey Sadiki! Let's likes yo--
She screams, while hastily covering Asahi's mouth, blushing heavily.
"Be quiet!"
Akwan, Belial, Sally, and Drimi all lightly laugh as the wanderers look at each other with. astonishment and a warm touchy blush on the two's cheeks.
Asahi tremblingly replies as they sit still, unable to move because of the feeling of shock.
"E...Eh?! Uh… y-yeah, but… no. Yeah, we are connected, but... you don't have to say it l-like that. We are… erm... I forgot."
Belial swiftly shakes his head and sighs.
"There you go again with "forgetting." I saw your hand clasping against her hand... You two are related, right?"
She backs up and slides her fingers through the dirt.
The red glow on her face grows brightly, her eyes glisten, and tiny dabs of sweat slide down her warm face.
"Well, of course! Couldn't you tell by our appearance?"
"No." Everyone sternly replied.
A small giggle sounds off from the back of Aletha.
They turn their heads toward the woman and see that she has pretty glimmering platinum hair that rests on her left shoulder, while some of it is cut off from her right shoulder.
She wears a beautiful grey dress with small diamonds stretching from the top sleeve to the bottom, a bright baby blue bow attached to her right shoulder, and a warm smile.
She stands in front of the wanderers, below both of their shoulder height. For a moment, the wanderers fall into complete confusion. Asahi quickly whispers to Belial as he points his finger at the short petite girl.
"I-Is that… Sally?"
Akwan softly chuckles and stands up from a log. He slowly nods his head and replies.
"Yes, that is indeed Sally. This is her form when she uses up all of her magic in one sitting. The powers in the nation of Astait are far more complicated compared to all the other regions. But, it is the main reason why she is an idol there."
The wanderers confusingly shout.
"Idol?!"
Belial bravely steps forward, swiftly shaking his head and replying with a swift and stark tone.
"Yes, Idol. That's the main reason why she fled Astait in the first place. She comes from the same family as The Queen of Astait. Her 'child' form... is adorable. Too adorable, in fact, that she was overwhelmed by the popularity of Astait's citizens and took her child form... in advantage. Her personality is shy, and she doesn't like to have anyone around unless they really are her friends. She says it is a curse from her family, who admired her unique appearance and took it for advantage. Years ago, we saw her crying in a forest, begging to be alone for just one moment.
We told her that "You will be fine and isolated when you're with us."
He takes a deep breath.
" …And that is why Sally is with us to this very day."
The wanderers' eyes expand as they glare at the young face of Sally. Her eyes are more round, comprehensive, and shimmering than her other form. Like a child, at best. It seems that even her attire shrunk, too, with Sally.
The wanderers fall into awe as they adore Sally's appearance. Akwan sighs and pushes them away from her, trying to stop them from becoming like the other citizens in the icy arctic nation of Astait.
Akwan softly whispers to them as Sally starts to shed a tear.
"Please, resist your awe. Every time Sally is recognized, it makes her scared and leads her to tear up. That itself is another reason why she is an idol in Astait. Sally crying is like a blessing from the gods to the strange citizens of Astait. So please, don't be the same. We might have to abandon both of you, and that would surely not be great if you want to know what happened during the meteor shower a few nights ago."
Asahi swiftly jumps up and yells ecstatically, blatantly ignoring the request, unlike Aletha, who paid attention to all of it.
"You know what happened during the meteor shower?! What did you see? Did you see our colors spreading across the region? Is there—
A deep-sounding feminine voice yells at Asahi in a stern tone.
"Settle down... boy. The answers will come at a cost. If this is what surely sets in your spirit presently, maybe we can take this opportunity for both of us to discover what you two are?"
Belial ecstatically adds on.
"And perhaps we can introduce all of us to the wanderers too!"