Asahi, Aletha, Belial, Sally, Drimi, Akwan, and Sadiki, all wander around the trail stretching through the tall trees of the thick forest.
Sadiki remains close to the wanderers. He thinks it's best if he stays close to them, so he can make sure that they don't wander elsewhere in the forest.
The dazzling, crimson burning flagrant sun slowly descends down the hazy, distant horizon. A bright red mellow hue stretches from all horizons of the vibrant sky, leaving a brittle chill of the start of a cold evening. The sounds of the forest approach to a quiet halt, the sounds of the natural bushes, leaves, and trees fill the air. The chilly breeze blows through the trees, and tosses fallen leaves into the air.
Akwan walks close to the wanderers, still oppressed because both of them were compatible with having a mind map, while he is left there to suffer.
He had strong gratitude to them for helping him stand up and arrive at the Great Fountain on time, which has now been blatantly destroyed. Akwan asks the wanderers.
"Hey, wanderers! Can you check your mind maps and see where we are located or if the fog has been pushed back?"
Asahi faintly whispers.
"Fog…?"
Akwan nods his head and replies.
"Yes, the fog. Shut your eyes for a moment, both of you, then think of the mind map. The vision of it will appear and show the location of where both of you are by two blue circles."
The wanderers both reply as Akwan shouts at the others to stop for a moment. Asahi and Aletha slowly shut their eyelids and watch darkness for a moment. Then, a barrage of colors splatters across the dark canvas and reveals the explored land and fog surrounding the unexplored areas.
Faint mirages of an ancient language hover over the forest they are in now. The text translates to 'Nortmire.' Aletha faintly mutters as the others gaze at both of the wanderers' faces confusingly.
"It says… Nortmire. And that we are approaching a large suspended area that is covered in this mental fog. We are getting close to our destination. We need to walk further into the forest."
Asahi nods, and so do the others. They continue to walk along the path while gazing at the beauty of the otherworldly forest. They see vivid luminescent insects dashing around, glistening flowers lighting up the pathway, and the beaming moonlight illuminating the land like the sun.
Asahi faintly mutters as he stares at the moonlight, while Aletha follows him and glares at the gorgeous night sky with him.
"The moon's luminance is just like the light of the sun. It's strange because I have never seen it before. Perhaps, there is no true night, and instead, the two cycles of daylight and moonlight may be considered days. The moonlight shines bright like the sun but dim like the darkness of space. The sun shines bright like the moon, but enough to enlighten the darkest of spots in the world. Is there truly a 'night' in this world, or could a night be sealed away underground? A perpetual day that has no night."
Akwan nods his head, and his eyes expand in fascination.
"That… may be correct. I and the others were trying to solve that too. Perhaps there is no night."
Aletha slides her hands through her silk white hair and faintly whispers.
"I have encountered that typical false day cycle too... in another world. This world seems a lot nicer in comparison to THAT world I encountered. That world has a false sky, and this world has its similarities. Though, I have yet to explore any of this new world yet. That's another reason why I want to wander with Asahi."
Sadiki and Akwan nod their heads and fall silent as they approach a small stream. Belial, Drimi, and Sally swiftly walk over it while Sadiki and Akwan blatantly drag their feet against its cool crystal clear waters. The wanderers try to step away from it, but instead, they both drag their feet to within the waters. After a few moments of walking, they approach a dead end within a pathway.
Belial turns his head behind him and yells at all of them.
"It seems we approached a dead-end in the pathway. It's better if we continue and follow the stream behind us. Perhaps, that could take us to the other side of the forest?"
Sally swiftly covers her mouth and pops into her small form. Her eyes tremble in fear as the others remain clueless about what is behind them. Belial's emerald eyes expand too in shock, but then he swiftly approaches a fighting stance.
As the sounds of a large beast echo over the forest, Belial shouts to the wanderers.
"Get out of that place now!"
Sadiki swiftly unsheathes his sword and charges quickly through the dark silhouette. The beast tosses Sadiki to a tree and knocks his sword away from his hands. The beasts' yellow eyes glow as it swings its arms straight on the wanderers' heads.
A sudden chilly feeling surges through the wanderers' minds before their vision slightly fades into darkness. They lay on the floor, staring at Belial, Sadiki, and the others fighting the large furry beast. Sally transforms back to her normal form and tries to use her ice magic onto the beast.
But it looks like the magic made no effect.
Asahi turns his head to Aletha before both of their visions are swallowed up into the darkness. He sees her cold eyes glaring and reflecting the light of Belial and Sally's luminescent magic attacks. Asahi grabs Aletha's hand, and coughs before his vision fades into black.
He feels his body emptying out faint hints of warmth, while Aletha too, feels the same. Asahi whispers in his mind while he draws his cold breath.
"Our journey has just begun…."
Immediately after, the wanderers' vision gets engulfed into darkness.
After the wanderers fainted, Belial and the others escort them out of the battle and travel through the natural rock formations. His feet shuffled through the fallen leaves, seeming to abandon the others. However, all of them knew that he wasn't doing this to abandon them, but to escort the wanderers to safety.
Akwan, Sally, and Drimi fight the beast, casting their lethal magic powers, and shedding its fur off. The last thing the wanderers hear is the loud pain-filled shrieks from the monster.
* * * *
The glistening ball of light slowly rises over the horizon. The sky had now become pink like a sea of cherry blossoms, with the light of the sun coloring the clouds above with a pinkish hue. As the sun slowly ascended from the leftover shadows of last night, the sky in the west became a deep neon blue as the light reached further out. By the time the wanderers awaken, the pink had become a pale yellow mixed with blue.
The windswept misty grass hills glitter with the sunlight, a few wildlife wander through the chaparral and golden bristles of grass hills, with another half utterly treeless and another rich in forest. The unkempt and lengthy village stretches out for a few blocks, ending halfway from a running stream. Though it is quite rural, limited and quiet, the village still casts a peaceful yet lonely aura within its boundaries.
The birds' partly muted chirps sound over the creaky walls, while the wind blows out on the roof. A thick yet cool atmosphere of a warm sunny morning shines its aura over the room.
Asahi's eyelids slowly part away. He sees a window with the morning sunshine beaming through the grass. He then feels a warmth laying on his chest down to his legs, and a soft, comfy fabric that matches the texture of cotton touches his skin. Asahi faintly mutters as his vision steadily starts to clear.
"This is dawn. Where am I...?"
Asahi lifts himself off the bed and slowly rubs his eyes. He hears the sounds of birds chirping once more and a soft breath touching his face. He inhales and then slowly exhales. He feels a soft plump surface pushing against his arm while another surface touches his chest.
Asahi turns his head and examines his surroundings.
He sees a small wardrobe placed right next to a desk at the far right corner of the room, a lamp glaring brightly next to a bed, a tall wooden door near the left side of the room, and a dark shadowy figure standing close to him. Asahi feels the two plump surfaces pushing closer against his body and whispers touching his ear.
"Good… morning…"
Asahi's face reddens up as he realizes who is next to him. He whispers to her as he glares at the curvy figure.
"A-Aletha?"
Immediately Aletha's eyelids part, her gray eyes widen, her face blushes up, sweat starts to form over her skin, and her heart starts thumping uncontrollably. She swiftly pushes herself away from Asahi and bumps her head against a wall. Aletha confusingly screams.
"EH?!"
She grips her heart and takes a deep breath.
Then, as she takes a look at the room, Aletha sees a large silhouette sitting next to the bed, glaring at both of them menacingly. Aletha doesn't know what to do in this situation but to remain tame. Asahi leans next to her and whispers as her face glows.
"It's okay, sister."
Aletha faintly whispers back as she tries to grab hold of the situation.
"Where are we? I don't understand what happened? Did some—
Asahi hastily grabs her chin, interrupts her, and roughly whispers to Aletha while staring at the intriguing silhouette sitting next to the bed.
"Do you know who is sitting next to us...?"
As he tries to bend his head toward the shadow figure, Asahi feels a loud slap burning on the back of his head. Asahi swiftly shouts and then covers his mouth, realizing it might alert the shadow figure. Aletha shakes her head and crosses her arms.
"Please be aware that another person is here. I-I'm sorry."
She calms down and takes a deep breath.
Asahi turns his head to the window to see a cloud drifting away from the sunlight. He turns his head back to Aletha and sees a warm red face. She faintly apologizes to him with a trembling tone in her voice.
"I-I'm sorry."
Asahi rubs her head and sighs. He whispers to Aletha and calms himself down.
"It's okay, Aletha. I know it was a mistake."
Asahi takes a deep sigh and shakes his head. He whispers to Aletha while glaring at both of her bright pupils.
"Did you see that shadow too? Or was that my imagination?"
Asahi awaits her response. Aletha's gray eyes widen as she sees the figure walking. Her wide gray eyes expand and point to the approaching shadow figure.
"It's moving!"
Asahi slowly perks his head to the shadow and sees its features. It has two large horns, two glowing eyes, a long spiky aggressive tail, and a wicked smile glowing over its face. Aletha swiftly grabs Asahi and pulls him underneath the covers. Asahi roughly whispers to her as their body warmth clasp against each other.
"Aletha, what are you doing?!"
He pops his head out of the blankets to see the creature. Asahi's eyes tremble, and the pace of his heart increases. As it approaches closer, Asahi fearfully yells at the shadow.
"W...Who are you...? What are you doing here?!"
Aletha peeks her head out from the blankets and sees the silhouette approaching closer towards both of them. The wanderers both lift their arms and prepare to swing their hands at the figure. While the clouds drift past the sun's path, the wanderers swing their hands at the figure's face and scream.
"Hah!"
Suddenly, the rays of the sun touch the shadow. A loud smack sounds across the room after, and sunlight starts to shine brightly across its face.
The wanderers' eyes widen as they see the figure.
The figure isn't a beast at all.
Instead, it has a pale face with glimmering lavender eyes, shiny silver hair, and a streak stretching from one side of his face to his chin. A blistering red bruise glows over his cheek, and he screams.
"W-What was that for?!"
The wanderers relax and lower their arms down to the bed. They take a relieved sigh, then cross their arms. They both glare at him angrily while whispering in confusion.
"S...Sadiki...?"
The silver-haired cat-boy replies while the sun shines through the window.
"Yes, that's me. Belial told me to keep watch of you overnight, okay. We fought the beast, and Sally got injured. We didn't know who the beast was, but we finally found a way over the natural rock formation. There was a large staircase and... Ugh, there is just so much I need to explain to you..."
A long awkward silence forms. Asahi and Aletha gave him an annoyed look on their faces, with both of their cheeks emitting a heated blush. After a few moments of silence, the wanderers slap Sadiki again while screaming.
"Idiot!"