The loud painful sound of the slap resounds over the room. A bright red bruise shines over his cheek. Sadiki lifts his arm into the air and yelps in pain.
"Ah!"
He crosses his arms and tilts his body away from the wanderers. His tail falls, and his eyes squint in mild anger.
"I didn't have to watch you two anyways. I was doing this so I can make sure you are safe."
The wanderers tilt their heads away from Sadiki, still frustrated from the scare moments ago. A humming silence fills the room. They notice that the room is in a box shape, with dark oak-like walls on all four sides of the room. The bright natural luminance shines on the wall, revealing specks of dust floating in the air. Asahi jolts to the crystal clear window outside and sees a beautiful view of the sunrise far at the horizon.
He sees the morning mildew mist floating over the grass, with a flock of birds soaring high from the puffy clouds. A male pushing a wagon of apples blocks the view, and a woman swiftly chases a sprinting child screaming.
"Get back here!"
Asahi swiftly pulls Aletha towards the window. Her eyes dilate from the sudden brightness of the light but then relax as she views the almost treeless rolling grass hills glittering from the morning sun rays. She gasps in awe.
"Woow!"
Sadiki tries to resist speaking to the wanderers but then gives up and yells from the other side of the room.
"It's funny how you didn't even question what happened before you woke up in this room."
The wanderers leap up in realization and respond.
"Can you tell us?"
Sadiki replies with a cheeky smirk.
"Nope. Since you two slapped me in the face, I won't tell you what happened."
The wanderers then fall to their knees and plead. Feeling a strong sense of curiosity filling their minds.
"Please, Sadiki! We're sorry!"
As much as Sadiki wanted to resist, he couldn't say 'no' to the wanderers when they showed him their adorable puppy, desperate look in their crystal gray eyes. Sadiki then releases a sigh and then smiles.
"Fine. Just sit on the bed."
The wanderers swiftly plant their bottoms against the soft squishy fabric of the mattress and impatiently waits for Sadiki. As the sounds of the villagers outside slightly sound through the window, Sadiki calmly sits on the wooden chair and kneels over to the wanderers. As Sadiki's words trace out from his mouth, the vision of his memory fades in.
* * *
Sounds of a viscous roar echo through the quiet forest. Bright flashes of green, blue, gold, crimson, and violet illuminate one area of the forest, disturbing the trees and toppling them down like dominos. The earth shakes as the monster leaps into the air, swinging its large arms towards Drimi. She swiftly hoists her arm upwards and knocks the monster back with her lavender energy orb.
Belial swiftly jolts up a tree and hurls into a ball. Two wolf-like ears pop out from both sides of his head, and his emerald eyes shrink into the appearance of a canine. Belial's nails instantly grow sharper, and a large brown fluffy tail pops out from behind. Drimi yells as the slimy beast tackles her.
"Belial, it would be a perfect time for you to--
Just as she knows it, a large luminescent green streak fills the air, with three claw marks spreading from the monster's chest. Akwan nods his head, and unleashes his magical red thorny vines towards the creature's hideous legs, then squeezes it until it can't breathe.
Sally yells to Sadiki as Akwan, Belial, and Drimi fight the giant beast.
"Come on! Don't forget about these two."
Sadiki swiftly jolts through the creature and swings his dark blade into the air. He slices one piece of the monster's arm off, with crimson spewing out from the gaping hole. He tosses his dark sword into the air and vanishes it into dust, returning it to his soul storage. Sally lifts her head to Sadiki and tremblingly whispers to him as they lay on the ground.
"Get the wanderers to safety, and make sure Belial heals them too. I don't know where this monster came from, but I know me and the other three will slay the beast."
Sadiki grabs both of the wanderers and carries them on his back. Even his magic strengthened him, pushing his adrenaline to his limit. Belial and the others move the beast away from Sadiki's path while cheering him on.
"You can do it!"
Belial tosses his healing mist toward the wanderers, and then Sadiki sprints up the hill.
* * *
The memory flashes back into the present, with the wanderers backing up in shock and surprise. They glare at their hands. Asahi questions Sadiki as the sounds of the people outside fill their ears.
"So, all of you managed to defeat this beast?"
Sadiki replies while squinting at the wanderers and crossing his arms.
"Yes. And I still don't know why you slapped me. That is like showing disrespect to the one who saved you."
Aletha bluntly replies.
"You know very well why we slapped you. You looked like a monster in the dark to us! Especially with that tail of yours, it made you look like a monster."
Asahi adds to Aletha's shouts.
"Not only that, you approached us like you were trying to pull us!"
Sadiki stomps on the floor and hastily raises his voice. His face reds up for a moment while doing so.
"It's not my fault! I was trying to wake you up! And the reason why I was pulling you is that I was going to pull the blankets away from you."
A calm intelligent-sounding voice comes from behind, with the sound of a door creaking open filling all their ears. The tone of the clear voice sounds partially sarcastic.
"And yet you failed miserably. Way to go. You know how to wake them up."
The figure claps his hands as it reveals itself to the wanderers and Sadiki. The figure has blonde hair, different colored eyes, and a charming face. Sadiki clenches his fists and screams at the boy.
"Akwan?! What are you doing here shaming me?"
The boy smiles and stares at the window with his lovely face shining brightly.
"I was just checking to see how you failed miserably to wake them up. Your scream can be heard from the furthest room in the building. Scream anymore, and you will anger the rest of us."
Steam resonates above Sadiki's head. He swiftly pushes Akwan away from the door and slams it right in front of his face. He clenches his fists and grits his teeth.
"It's not my fault. Okay? Anyways. We have a whole day of training to do."
Sadiki crosses his arms once more and lifts his voice.
"I have a lot of experience with Pladtioa. I know everything from the heart! Speaking of which, do you two remember me?"
After a short silence, Asahi and Aletha stress out their anger away from their minds and relax. Asahi replies to him with a calm tone in his voice.
"Yes. We remember you. All too well."
Sadiki briefly coughs and wags his tail. He slowly approaches his chair and grabs a long sword-holder, then attaches it to his back. Aletha questions Sadiki as she reaches for the doorknob.
"So who brought us here in the first place…?"'
As Sadiki approaches the door, too, he replies with the typical soft tone in his voice when the Wanderers first meet him.
"Didn't I already tell you two? Anyways. U-Um. Let's go outside and work on training each other. We have a long day ahead of us after all!"
He gives both Asahi and Aletha a bright, charming grin and walks towards the door. Asahi quickly grabs Aletha's hand and pulls her out of the room.
After entering the hallway, Sadiki elegantly steps out of the room and calmly shuts the door while wiggling his cat ear.
In front of them is a long corridor with wooden planks, tables, paintings, flowers, and shelves. One ceiling light hangs in the center of the hallway, illuminating the entire area.
Five doors stretch from one end of the hallway. Asahi notices and asks Sadiki.
"Are those the rooms?"
Sadiki nods his head and replies.
"Yes, but be quiet. You don't want to bother them this early in the morning."
The wanderers try their best not to step too loudly, while Sadiki blatantly sprints on the floor like there isn't a single soul inside but them. Asahi turns his head to Sadiki and whispers.
"Can you be... a little bit quieter?"
Sadiki's face lightly blushes, and he tilts his head down to the floor.
"I...I apologize..."
He steadily grasps on a doorknob and slowly pulls it open. His two cat ears face down, while Aletha and Asahi stand behind him with a suspicious look on their faces. The door finally opens and allows the beaming sunlight to touch through the darkroom. Asahi and Aletha's eyes blur for a moment but then return to clarity a few seconds afterward.
Sadiki swiftly steps down a wooden stairway attached to the front door, and while approaching the ground, he yells at the two with an exciting tone in his voice.
"Come on! Let's go!"
Asahi and Aletha look at each other for a moment and then calmly walk down the stairs while shutting the front door closed. They place their feet against the ground and take a deep breath of fresh air. The wind blows over their faces and white hair while taking a view of the village.
They see a significant pathway stretching from one side of the village to the other side, a blacksmith building in the distance, a large well lying at the center of crossways to more facilities, a small farm area next to a house, a boiler pot, barrels, and boxes.
The air around the village seems to be dirt, musty, and fresh. There is quite an amount of people walking and working in the area. Some are carrying boxes, while others are clashing their hammer against a heated metal.
As they walk along the path with Sadiki, they see children joyfully playing in a small crystal clear pond while their parents work on hanging laundry.
The wanderers' eyes appear that two children are standing at the pond's shore, and two are getting pushed from the others.
One is yelling and screaming, while the other is laughing hysterically. The children wear ragged leather shirts and torn shorts, their hair seems not to be fixed, messy, and their faces are covered in mud and dirt.
Aletha and Sadiki giggle while watching the screaming one get pushed towards the pond, while the others laugh and chuckle. The child cries out as she waves her hands vigorously.
"NO! I don't want to do this! Please!"
Instead of the people not paying attention to the cries of the screaming child, the other children start to laugh and continue to push her into the pond. The look on her dark brown eyes gives an aura of pure terror and fear inside her heart. The kids laugh and chant.
"Get in the pond, where you belong! Get in the pond, where you belong! Hahaha!"
The clouds start to drift in front of the sun and cover the village in shadow. The child screams in desperation as their toes touch the surface of the pond.
"Please, stop! I don't wanna! Please!"
Asahi's gray eyes widen as he feels a strong sense pushing through his heart. As the child's screams continue, the parents race towards them and move the bullies out of their way.
Asahi spaces out, feeling dizziness linger over his head. Aletha yells to Asahi.
"Asahi, Bro? Hello?!"
Aletha waves her hand over Asahi's deprived face while the children and the people stare at him. She screams to Asahi.
"It's okay! The child is safe. Her parents saved her. The pond was shallow, and she was happy with her friends. They left the pond and learned their lesson. Come on, please… answer. It's been an hour."
Asahi escapes his trance and trembles in pure fear as he slowly tilts his head left, right, downwards, and upwards. He grabs his chest and forms tears over his gray eyes. Aletha worryingly shouts.
"What happened? Why is he like--"
A dark-haired man pushes her to the side and carries Asahi on his back.
"I'm escorting him to the hospital. He will be fine."
Asahi stomps her foot on the ground, shrieking in a trembling, caring tone.
"B-But, he's my brother!"
The dark-haired man nods his head and responds while the sounds of distant chatter fill his ears.
"AH! Well... if it is that way, I guess you can come to the room if you want."
Aletha nods her head and whispers.
"O-Okay."
They hastily jolt through the village towards the block-shaped hospital made with sturdy cobblestone and wood. Asahi's vision fades into black shortly afterward.
* * *
The perception of his view clears as my eyelids slowly part away from each other. Asahi is surprised to see Aletha smiling in relief as he awakens from the cold darkness. The blinding rays of the sunlight illuminate her silky white hair and her glimmering round eyes.
"Asahi, you are okay!"
Asahi softly rubs dust off his eyelids. He lifts his arms into the air and releases a loud, extending yawn.
As Asahi grasps back to reality, he sees Sadiki walking up to his arm, showing the best gesture of respect he can think of. His eyes peer at Asahi while holding his wrist and staring at the window.
"I'm glad that you are alright, Asahi. It's been quite a time since you fell unconscious. I'm just glad to know that you are safe and that no harm has been involved."
Aletha swiftly embraces Asahi while trying to hold her tears back. The embrace feels warm and caring to Asahi, enough to push his trance away. Asahi never knew that his sister was caring for him. It just proves to Asahi that she does care for him. He says carefully.
"Thank you."
As he lifts himself off from the mattress, a tall brown-haired girl stands in front of a doorway. She has fair skin, blue eyes, and wears a tract. She wears a small hat over her head. By my guess, I assume she was the nurse that allowed me to sleep in this room in the first place? I couldn't question it because I had a mask covering up my mouth.
Asahi starts to question himself while staring at the interior of the room. Strong wooden walls surround the area, with shelves, pots, pans, medicines, and tools all scattered within it.
The woman behind Aletha suddenly grips on the cotton mask of Asahi and slowly pulls it off. She revealed the Soulmark slowly expanding in size to his chin. Aletha gasps in shock as she warmly places her soft fingers over his chin.
"Asahi? The mark on your face got bigger."
"Huh?" Asahi mumbled as he lifted his whole body upwards.
Sadiki's eyes expand as well.
"I didn't know Soulmarks could grow in size? Oh, I didn't even realize. You and Aletha share the same mark on your faces. How did that happen?"
Aletha shakes her head and shrugs. She fiddles with her hair nervously and replies to Sadiki.
"We were just told that we received them from the blessings of our parents."
Silence forms, with the wanderers staring at Sadiki confusingly. As his tail falls, he slowly bends to Asahi and asks them.
"Are you sure that isn't a lie?"