She catches her breath, covering her eyes from the blazing sun. A massive pile of sturdy wooden swords lays at the right, while a bundle of bows and arrows rests on her left.
Aletha hops upwards and sees many targets are stretching from the far ends of the wooden picket fences of the training area. She thinks that this training area has excellent quality compared to the rural atmosphere from the village.
But, she takes one step backward and tries to remember her combat skills. Nothing but fuzz and static fill her mind, blocking the memories she has.
As she blindly wanders around the perimeter of the training area, she steps on loose twigs and kicks a few leaves off from the ground. The puffy white dandelions sway back and forth, like the trees.
She sees squirrels running up the picket fences, taking acorns, and scratching a few targets. Aletha doesn't mind since she doesn't own it."
As she silently gazes at the beautiful nature of her surroundings, Sadiki swiftly charges behind Aletha, yelling.
"Hey, you've found it!'
Aletha jumps up in shock, then sighs in relief, grasping her breath.
"Sadiki, don't shout like that! You scared me!"
He nervously hackles and scratches his head.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry."
Aletha slowly shakes her head and forms a slight grin.
"It's okay. Anyways, how are we going to train? By using those bows over there or…?"
Sadiki nods his head and pats Aletha's head.
"Don't worry about it; I have got you covered. Just follow me."
He takes one small step forward, next to Aletha. Then another, before stopping to feel the chilly breeze.
Aletha tilts her head up and sees the glistening sun shining from a vast azure sky with drifting white clouds.
"So, Sadiki… what was it like for the Queen to rule Pladtioa?"
Sadki hesitates to answer at first but then gives a large sigh and peers his amethyst eyes at Aletha.
"There are many buried secrets hidden underneath this flourishing nation. I can't tell you much, but there is one thing I can say about her,
A long, uneasy silence forms as only the wind blows. Sadiki tilts his head away from Aletha towards the distant mountain towering over Pladtioa.
He clenches his fists and traces his words with few hints of rage in between.
"She does… NOT like imperfection. If there is anything deemed 'disgusting' to her, she will try whatever it takes to get rid of it."
Aletha's gray eyes broaden.
"Huh?!"
Sadiki soughs and deliberately shuts his eyes.
"Nevermind. I don't want to talk about it."
Sadiki hastily pulls Aletha towards the training area and shakes his head. Aletha grunts and struggles to back away. Sadiki whispers.
"Please… don't ask any more questions about her. Well, at least… not to me. Do you understand?"
Aletha silently nods with a concerned look on her face. She thinks that Sadiki's tone and mood changed ever since she asked that, so she did her best not to mention the Queen again.
* * * * * * * *
Staring at Sadiki, Aletha tries her best to stay concentrated.
"Okay, Aletha. Could you please grab a sword from that pile over there?"
Aletha nods her head.
"Yes."
She jolts towards the pile of swords and grabs the hilt of one of them with her two fingers. She grits her teeth and slowly pulls the sword out from the bank, like yanking a branch off from a tree.
She then dashes back to Sadiki, with the sunlight touching her warm face. Aletha whispers while staring at Sadiki's appearance.
"It's just something about him… that generally forms an attraction to me."
His gleaming, silk silver hair, his deep amethyst eyes, his slim slender figure, and his thin violet and black attire generate an uneasy feeling around Aletha.
She stares back into the sky and nervously whistles to not give the sign away.
Aletha covers her smile, seeing Sadiki slowly unsheathing his glowing lavender blade out from his hip.
Sadiki looms towards Aletha and points to the targets.
"The brightness of a blade serves as a reflection of your actions. A hidden eye beyond the worth of anything, doing you a reminder of how you treat it,
He leans the blade down to the small dirt patch surrounded by thick windswept grass and stone, then informs her.
"Anything of that value is a sign to all your actions. If it is rusty, the blade is reminding you to cleanse it. If it is covered in crimson, it serves you a reminder not to go too far. If it is polished, the sword is showing you its most incredible gratitude, and it's the ultimate sign of care,
He peers his eyes towards Aletha with a look of complete seriousness.
"Those were the words from The Greatest Warrior who fought during the Dream War. A warrior, who didn't have a name…."
Aletha softly interrupts.
"The Nameless Adventurer."
Sadiki staggers, then give a faint smile towards her.
"Yes. Heh, I see that you also have information about her too. She was the one who taught me her unique fighting style and magic. Now,
He shuts his eyes and sighs.
"Her soul is engraved by the pages of her very item that she loved and used throughout the entirety of her long journey."
Aletha's eyes broaden, knowing what Sadiki is talking about. She grabs her chest and tilts her head to the ground.
"Y-You mean, The Original Adventuring Guide?"
"Correct. Her love turned to her detriment."
A sudden chill runs up Aletha's spine. She slowly nods her head and breathes heavily. Sadiki curiously tilts his head and asks.
"Are you alright?"
Aletha's eyes shrink, unable to explain the absolute horror from Sadiki's words. A soul engraved into an item, trapped for eons, was the same book she and Asahi held.
"How many more lies are there in this world? This isn't like home at all. And now, we have the book."
"W-What are you saying?
Sadiki startles, his purple eyes shrink, and he gasps.
"Wait, are you saying that YOU had possession of her book?!"
Aletha fell silent, frozen still in surprise and realization. Sadiki shakes her continually, shouting at her lifeless eyes.
"Answer! Please? I need to know if you have possession of her book or not!"
Aletha stomps her foot against the dry ground and screams in a trembling tone.
"Alright, here!"
Aletha pulls the book out from the luminance of her hip and flies to Sadiki. The book hastily opened up, and its white pages flew in the air.
A flickering violet luminance shines off from it before Sadiki hastily shuts the covers.
As Aletha stands there, cold and afraid, thinking about what other twisted magic could be in this world, Sadiki yells.
"Where did you find this?!"
Aletha nervously replies.
"I… I…"
"Nevermind. I'll handle this later."
He grabs Aletha's hand and slowly pulls her and the blade towards the training area. Aletha still can't discard the thought of someone's soul being trapped in an item.
She presses her foot against the dirt and holds her blade firmly, with tiny drops of sweat sliding down her skin. The damp earth, the freshly grown herbs, and the dusty soil touch Aletha's feet.
The wind settles down, cloud drifts across the sky, like a leaf getting caught in the wind. Floating shadows hover over the green hills. The scintillating rays touch the hills.
As the breeze blows through her hair, Sadiki pushes Aletha forward while holding her wrist and blade.
"Now stand still. Focus on what is ahead of you. Eliminate any signs of distraction, concentrate."
She takes a deep breath and stares at the center of the tall target.
"Do not hold your blade too soon, or else the opponent might know that you are about to attack."
Aletha nods her head and wraps her fingers over the blade. She tramples on a branch and hears it break. Sadiki shouts from behind.
"Don't worry about that. Continue what you are doing!"
Aletha nervously nods her head and shuffles her feet on the ground. One soft step after another, her nervousness gradually increases.
Sadiki shouts out one last time before Aletha approaches the target.
"Charge!"
After that one call, the static slowly repels itself from a tiny corner of her mind. Memories flood back into her. She remembers the swift swings to monsters, shooting cannons from a ship, and firing a massive laser gun at slender creatures.
These memories… are all from the many travels she and her brother experienced in other worlds.
Immediately, as the winds halt, the birds stop singing, and the sunshine returns from the clouds; Aletha swiftly jolts towards the target and swings her wooden blade in a straight horizontal direction.
The attack was so swift that her movement streaks stains into the air. The two halves of the target slice in half split into pieces, then brutally shatters into the ground and dissolves into dust.
Sadiki's amethyst eyes broaden.
"Huh?!"
After a strong feeling of adrenaline pulses in her veins, strengthening her soul and memory, it swiftly burns out, and the memories fill with static once more.
Sadiki confusingly screams.
"What was that?!"
Aletha replies while dropping the blade.
"I… don't know."
"It's… okay. Let's continue training; I'm sure you can gain or regain the skill."
Aletha slowly nods her head and sighs in defeat.
"Okay."
As much as the action from Aletha showed true strength, it seems she struggles to wield the blade.
* * * * * * * *
One swing after another, she fails at directly hitting the target. Not a scratch was made on them, but only on her and the wooden blade.
Sadiki shakes his head, hunches forward, grabs the wooden sword, and kicks his purple sword towards Aletha.
"How about you use my sword? Surely, you won't have difficulty wielding it, right?"
Aletha faintly mutters while slowly crawling towards the blade.
"R-Right."
As silence fills the area, Aletha slowly tilts her head behind and sees birds trilling, moss, insects, and two trees standing among the vibrant grass field.
Wildflowers spread from side to side, butterflies flutter over the frolicking grass, and mushrooms slowly grow from the dark healthy soil.
Sadiki softly reminds Aletha.
"Pay attention to your target, not the distractions!"
Aletha nods her head and steps closer toward the wooden target, pushing leaves away from her feet.
The breeze ruffles through her attire, brushing through her long white hair and over the skin. She feels a few insects biting her arm but dies before trying to slurp up her Dust. (The Blood inside a god.)
She breathes heavily while drawing a sweat over her face. Aletha faintly mutters as Sadiki observes.
"It's... too heavy..."
She quickly releases her fingers off of the blade and tries to lift it again. She groans but then trips over a rock and falls to the ground.
Sadiki walks up to Aletha and bends her head down.
"Aletha, are you alright? M-Maybe wielding a sword is not good for you. I can't believe you slew a target seconds ago, and now you are on the floor, sweating and showing weakness."
Sadiki pulls up Aletha and forms a small smile. He lightly chuckles and kindly asks as the sun shines on his fair face.
"Maybe we should try Archery?"