The nurse grabs a shimmering glass of water from a tall shelf and gives Asahi it. He slowly wraps his fingers over the glass and pours it down his throat. He feels a tingle stimulating his body as the liquid seeps through his pipes and enters the bloodstream. The heavy feeling lingering inside his body all of a sudden vanishes after Asahi takes a loud yawn.
"Huh? I feel… a lot better. W-What did you do to my drink?" He asks the nurse.
As she grabs the glass back from Asahi's hands, the nurse lightly giggles and replies.
"Belial insisted on sharing his healing powers to help you today. He said, 'don't make him go to sleep until he and his partner understands the way of ascending.' His face looked worried and careful. So, I accepted it and walked down to this building to help heal you…."
The nurse silently stares at his gray eyes for a moment and then gasps.
"Wait, are you that wandering god that the writings mentioned in those ancient temples 5,000 years ago? When I encountered ancient writings from the ruins far in Pladtioa, I saw small illustrations, following by some wording. 'At a time of ruin and mischief from the unknown, 5000 years later, The God who lost his beloved will return to the world, bring light unto the false, and finally bring peace among the eight nations. The morning sun will come, and the world will not enter dusk once more. For a hero shall be reborn from the blessings of the Soil and reform the door.' Are you, the being that is mentioned in that ancient prophecy?"
Asahi falls silent as he tries to process what the nurse tries to explain. He looks at his hands and sighs. Aletha tilts her head confusingly and faintly mutters.
"The morning sun will come, and the world will not enter dusk once more. For a hero shall be reborn from the blessings of the Soil and reform the buried door. Morning sun… Asahi. Yes, that is Asahi! But how did ancient writings predict that 5,000 years ago?"
Aletha places her palms against Asahi's shoulders and whispers to Asahi.
"Bro… just who are you? I never knew any of this. Are you hiding something?"
Asahi shrugs his shoulders and pulls the blankets off his legs. He stands up and stretches his arms while Aletha and the nurse stared at him cluelessly. Sadiki roughly grabs Asahi's hand and yells.
"Answer your sister! I am having my suspicions at you now."
Asahi takes a deep sigh and shakes his head. He places his palms against the wall and tilts his head back to Aletha. He tries to resist replying at first, but after seeing the glittering gray eyes of Aletha, he had no choice but to answer.
"I don't remember. I know that I was a God, and other gods respected us before the calamity. But I never knew that the ruins and scripture still existed?! If that is true, then I wonder if Aletha has been mentioned in the writings. No, even better… maybe we should visit those ruins right no--
The nurse interrupts by slamming her fist against the bed and yelling.
"You can't enter the ruins anymore! It has been closed off from those pesky Chutots and these strange hooded humanoid creatures covered in the cosmic aura. It seems that the Chutots are working with the humanoid creatures, trying to stop anyone from entering those ruins. I had my encounters with those humanoid creatures in the past. We call them Marchers since they march worldwide, blocking everything and interfering with anyone who dares to fight them. If you really want to enter the ruins, you have to have connections with 'The Soil' they keep mentioning."
Sadiki's eyes widen, and he places his finger over his lips.
"The Soil? Isn't that the energy surrounding the entire world and the main reason we can use magic?"
He turns his head away from the nurse, stares back into the window, and crosses his arms. The nurse nods her head and replies while crossing her legs.
"Yes. What I have heard is that The Soil is powered by the divine blessings of the deceased gods in the past. Beings at a specific power can control every available element. But that doesn't mean everyone can handle it. It's only for those who have cosmic blood in their bodies...
She rolls her thumbs and sighs while shutting her eyes.
"I don't have that much knowledge about the elements of the Cosmos. I learned all of this back at the large academy in Destia. That is the place where they gain all their knowledge about the world and its history. The students there are knowledgeable and ambitious there. That is how I got my career as a nurse. Now I can have outstanding payments while still supporting the funds of the academy.
The nurse opens her eyes and walks to the door. Asahi and Aletha back away towards the window and pay attention to the nurse as she smiles brightly.
"Anyways, I have been speaking for all too long. You three are free to go. There will be no costs, as a potential savior is among the room right now, hehe.
She leans towards the wanderers and whispers.
"I won't let the higher-ups know. I promise."
The wanderers and Sadiki nod their heads in approval, then follow the nurse to the exit of the building.
* * * * *
The wanderers and Sadiki walk out from the polished doors and get greeted with the welcoming rays of the noon sunlight. Asahi mutters to himself while he walks behind Aletha. Staring at the prominent star symbol imprinted onto the back of her clothing.
"Cosmic… blood. Is that the reason why we can't see red anywhere from our bodies?"
Sadiki shakes his head and sighs. The wanderers take their attention to see small fences on the right, with a pathway leading into a thick, dense forest. They turn their heads to their right to see large mountains and suspended terrain on the edges of a massive cliff. Above them rests the usual bright blue sky, with hardly any white puffy clouds stretching above them.
Only the most brilliant and puffiest of clouds rest above the horizon of an endless azure ocean. The sun is seen blazing high at its brightest. Emitting its bright rays out to the lush green grasslands of Pladtioa.
As they hear the busy churning of countless individuals from the village, the wanderers and Sadiki continue to travel through the sea of people.
The wanderers' gray eyes fill with a look of awe as they stroll through the village's streets. They see green trees standing behind a few houses, a vibrant green grass field, and the same pond leading down to a large river unusually climbing upwards to the large forest standing on a large grassy hill.
Both of the wanderers' dark outfits glimmer. Their white faces feel the warmth from the blazing sun as they feel the heat lingering within the village's roads.
As they walk around a large well, a familiar feminine voice shouts out to the wanderers from afar.
"Asahi, Aletha?! Is that really you?!"
They swiftly tilt their heads behind him to see a short green-haired girl sprinting at them at full speed with a smile. Her emerald eyes peer straight through the wanderers' eyes as the dirt from her face slips off of her skin.
"What are you doing here?! I thought you were in the city of Pladtioa?!"
Aletha lightly replies to her with a cheerful tone.
"OH! I didn't know that you lived here?!"
Sadiki leans to Asahi's ear and faintly whispers.
"Who is the green-haired girl? Have you two met her before… or…?"
"Yeah, we met her while we were trying to find an inn inside the capitol.
Clover ecstatically screams.
"It's so fascinating to see travelers like this. For a small town in a calm region like Pladtioa, I never thought outlanders would visit here! Well, Aletha… you are absolutely correct! I live here with my family. I was at the capital to purchase food for my family since we ran out of crops for some reason. Soooo, now I worked in the city and returned to my family so that we can all get fed! So, how have you two been?!"
Asahi loudly replies to Clover in a silly tone.
"We have been doing… good. Wow, I never knew you would live here! It felt like forever, but it has only been a couple of days!"
Clover looks up to the sunlight and wipes sweat off from her face.
"Oh, that's good! Weeeell, Asahi… Aletha, how about I introduce you to my--
Sadiki hastily interrupts Clover.
"Sorry...girl, we are busy."
Clover tilted her head sadly and muttered.
"Really...?"
Sadiki pushes the wanderers away from Clover and answers her in a natural tone.
"Yes. Really. We have the training to do, and the Fountain has been destroyed. I suggest you wait until evening."
Clover slowly slides her foot against the ground and faintly mumbles.
"Okaay…"
Sadiki raises his voice towards Clover.
"Actually! Maybe... you can let one of the twins come with you. My training goes well if there is only one person. I can work on Asahi's training later."
Clover's round green eyes widen.
"Really?!"
Sadiki slowly nods his head and smiles.
"Yes, really!"
"Okay!"
Clover swiftly grabs Asahi's hand and pulls him away from Aletha.
"W-What is going on?!"
Clover turns to Asahi and whispers.
"You're coming with me to the forest! I need help with a certain task my family gave me."
Asahi confusingly nods his head and replies.
"O-Okay."
The sight of Asahi and Clover slowly vanish into the distance.
Sadiki looks back and forth, with his gleaming silver hair shining brightly. He turns his head back to Aletha and whispers.
"Okay. We will all return to the village on evening. If you ever want to know what happened during the meteor shower, Aletha, you have to grow stronger and train with me. Come on. We're almost there anyway."
Aletha grunts and pouts while pushing her hair to the side.
"Ugh, fine…"
Sadiki nods his head and weakly smiles.
As Aletha and Sadiki slowly walk through the large village, Sadiki suddenly sprints away from her to the other road and yells at the wanderers.
"We're almost there! Come on! Endurance is one way to get prepared for combat. It's an important element to combat too!"
Aletha nods her head and follows Sadiki's pace. They sprint through the sunlight and the birds while also gazing at their surroundings. Aletha and Sadiki race away from the village and onto a dirt pathway. She feels the breeze blowing through their hair and faces. They feel the warmth and the minty mist of the rich air.
As Aletha sprints up the hill, she turns her head to her left to see that the land under them is suspended nine hundred meters in the air, and a large natural rocky wall is carved in the cliffs. She considers the entire region of Pladtioa below the tall topography of the strange landscape.
Aletha can see the giant tree they saw from the beginning of their journey, far at a distance near a glistening crystal clear ocean. They see many rivers carving through the fresh grasslands, empty and non-empty villages, huts, ruins, trees, and floating islands. It seems that the landscape and the town that the wanderers are in are actually higher than they thought.
Below the cliff are flat grasslands, rolling green hills, tall towers, and a massive forest called Nortmire. In contrast, the other half is mythical gold forests, slimy swamps, tall windmills, piercing mountains, and steep trenches surrounding all corners of the massive coasts of Pladtioa. Aletha's gray eyes widen in awe as they sprint along the edges of the cliff, gazing at the richness Pladtioa has to offer. Aletha screams in surprise.
"Woah! This region looks beautiful! I never knew how large this region was. I never knew it was an island?!"
As Aletha cheerfully wanders with Sadiki, she turns her head to her left and sees five tall wooden human-sized structures next to a river and at the left side of a pathway that leads to a large forest.
As Aletha sprints away from the edges of the cliff and runs up another rolling grass hill, she sees a large square-shaped carved area with wooden tools, targets, human-shaped targets, and weapons scattered across the edges of the floor in piles.
As Sadiki lowers his pace, Aletha yells out to him.
"Is this it?"
Sadiki turns his whole body to Aletha and smiles.
"Yes. Welcome to the training area!"