The rain seeps in through the lime treetops of the forest. It feels as if the entire atmosphere has changed from a bright, tranquil landscape to a… strange, peculiar, uncanny alien place.
The blend of green slowly turns to a bleached shade. The wanderers peer down, holding onto the rim of the carriage. Their eyes broaden in dread, guessing the fate of The Exordium was taken from The Creator as well.
As the rain taps on their heads, Drimi sprints to them from behind.
"What's up? What has gotten you spooked about?"
The wanderers point to the white grass, recollecting their horrible memories of their dream. Drimi stares and gasps while watching the bright luminescent blue flowers scattered over the grass plains. The look on her face looks genuinely shocked.
"Huh? That's… strange. I have never seen anything like that before."
Phthonus leaps up from the other side of the wagon and curiously asks.
"What are you seeing?"
Drimi takes a deep breath and sighs. Thinking about the certain slothful things she has done, she looks up to the sky and prays out of an absence of understanding.
"Is this your gift?"
The wanderers glare at her with confusion, and then as they look down to the white vegetation, Phthonus hoists his arm upwards. He says as he feels raindrops sliding down his dark skin.
"Strange how it has been raining non-stop. I never realized this, but the rain only occurs in Pladtioa when the God of Purity isn't around."
He inhales the fresh scent of the rainstorm and exhales his disturbing thoughts away from him.
"I really wanted to tell you the story about The God of Purity. I think everyone in Pladtioa knows about it, except you two."
He analyzes the looks on the wanderers' faces. In honesty, he can't tell if they are upset or confused; no one could tell, not even Drimi. Phthonus taps his foot against the wagon. As the vehicle takes a sharp turn to the left pathway stretching far up the hill, Phthonus takes a deep breath. Asahi hastily interrupts just as Phthonus is about to tell the story.
"So... are you going to share it or what?"
Aletha roughly bumps her shoulder against Asahi, swiftly shakes her head, then releases a weak sigh. She faintly mutters to Phthonus as the rain strengthens.
"Just tell the story. My brother is being very idiotic right now."
Phthonus' mouth slightly perks upwards, showing a concerned grin to her. His rich amber eyes stare at Aletha's crystal gray eyes and the shimmering white pupil on the center of her iris. Phthonus bends over to her, then asks, ultimately ridding the idea of telling the story to them.
"What are those two white things over your iris?
His cheeks slowly redden while staring at her face, eyes, and attire.
"D-Don't get the wrong idea. Your eyes look… super pretty and adorable with the white eye pupils. It's as if you have the eyes of an elf. But, I see you have human ears, so I'm sure it's just some sort of trait I don't understand."
Asahi's gray eyes deliberately widen in shock. He slides away from her and points his finger.
"Sis, I have never noticed that until now! Your eyes are… different from what I remember."
In a fit of embarrassment, Aletha bends her head down and hovers her palm over her eyes. Phthonus slowly approaches the wanderers. Drimi didn't care at the slightest, nor did Sally. Instead, Drimi is playing with two broken branches that she grabbed three days ago, and Sally is busy staring into the view of the forest. Phthonus rubs his chin and thinks while the vehicle rolls up a hill.
"Hmm, care to give me an explanation?"
Aletha falls silent, still shy about revealing her true colors in front of Phthonus. Asahi pats her shoulder and then replies to Phthonus as a raindrop falls from a branch.
"I think it's a possibility that her divine powers have all been held captive within her two white pupils in her eyes. That explains why her attire doesn't glow as much… but now that I think of it, where would my power get stored if my eyes are not the same as my sister's?"
Drimi bats her amethyst eyes to Asahi, points at the massive glowing star symbol attached to the gigantic dark flap near his chest and then replies in a sarcastic tone.
"I don't know! Maybe, your power is stored on the only glowing thing on your whole attire; that white sun-shaped symbol that everyone can blatantly see."
Phthonus takes a deep breath and nods his head.
"She's… right, but she didn't have to put it in such a rude tone though."
He raises his voice.
"Drimi, what has gotten you so grumpy recently?"
Silence fills the aura of the carriage, with nothing but the melodic chime of rain filling their ears. Asahi stares at Phthonus, glaring at the dead look on his orange eyes. Drimi peers at Asahi, with a sight of pure rage surging through her eyes.
She thinks in her mind as she clenches her fists, patiently waiting to unleash pain.
"Why… I don't understand how Akwan could die. I never saw him die… not even once. How I don't u-understand why…"
Her amethyst eyes broaden, recollecting the images of her past self, Akwan, and a few others like Belial and even Phthonus. She hyperventilates, grabs her chest, and shuts her eyes, tilting her head away from both of the wanderers.
"Akwan, you f-failed me! You broke our promise! You can't die… you can't--
A young face of Akwan in his child form fills her mind. He had two beautiful crimson eyes, with long dark hair and fair skin. His appearance looked very different from what he was now. That's mainly because of the events that happened afterward throughout his longing life. Those sweet, warm memories seemed to perish right from her very eyes.
As the wagon dashes up the hill, Drimi swiftly crawls up to Asahi and swings her fist straight at his jaw.
Portions of dust spilled off from his wound, then Aletha swiftly covered it and pushed Drimi away from them.
"What are you doing, Drimi?!"
Phthonus stomps his foot against the wagon, stopped it, and raised his voice.
"Do you have any idea why you just did that?!"
Drimi hastily pushes Phthonus off the wagon and kicks his face down to the ground. Sally hastily leaps up and wraps her arms against Drimi. She roughly pushes Sally's arms away from her and struggles to break herself free from her grasp.
"They know their reason! Pathetic. They are both pathetic."
Phthonus grits his teeth, and swings his arm into the air. He forms a burning amber flame over his fingertips, then shouts as the wanderers back away behind a tree trunk in fear.
"Settle down Drimi! Don't force me to use this."
Portions of the ground heat up into a warm glowing hue. Small leaves disintegrate into tiny ashes, spreading into the thick air. A burning, rageful aura surrounds his entire figure. A glowing molten hue blends in through his dark hair. He pulls his scarf upward while seeing Drimi charge at him at full speed.
"You left me no choice, Drimi. I knew you were such an arrogant fool."
He flings a shimmering stream of pale flames through one of the trees. Drimi swiftly dodges it, then leaps upwards with her long dark hair wrapping up into a fluffy ball. Her eyes glow a dark purple luminance, her legs dangle over the air before she swiftly plants her fist deep through the ground. Sally hastily got up and forms massive glittering bubbles toward Phthonus.
He tries to dodge them, but fails and instead, gets engulfed in the sappy liquids from Sally's magic. Her platinum hair shimmers from the sudden downpour of the rain. She feels her veins soak in from the lingering aura from her shimmering marble. Sally then unleashes a hydro plunge attack through Phthonus, instantly pushing him into the ground and extinguishing his flames.
"That shimmering marble… what's inside it is the powerful Soil from Astait, isn't it? Huh, I never thought the people in that cold barren region could be so intelligent, harnessing the energy in the Soil. Anyways, enough fighting. I don't want to make this quest longer than it has to be. If you continue to do this, I will abandon everyone right here."
The wanderers' jaws dropped, fearing the consequence. Sally lowers her arms, sighs then falls into her small form. Drimi breathes heavily, clenching her fists in a fit of rage. But before she tries to step up and fight Phthonus, she hears the faint high-pitched voice of young Akwan resounding over her mind.
"Violence will never solve anything. It will only bring more anarchy."
That quote alone forced Drimi to stop what she was doing and rethink her actions. The wanderers sigh in relief, feeling the raindrops rush through their hair. Phthonus hops up and lends her hand to Drimi. He gives a warm smile to her amidst the showers of drops.
"Come on Drimi. I know it has been five years since we last saw each other. I wanted to say this to you, but I could never find you anywhere in Pladtioa up until now. So… let me just say this one time…"
Phthonus approaches Drimi and stands in a confident posture. His amber eyes stare through Drimi's trembling face. He takes a deep breath and pulls her away from the wanderers. Under the shadows of the treetops, away from the dense rain showers, Phthonus whispers.
"Drimi, I show you my greatest gratitude for pushing me to be the way I am currently. The white-haired beings don't know how much I went through with you to get to this point. You taught me the basics of sailing, fighting, and using magic when I was younger. You fed my family after the Queen of Pladtioa stole everything from me. You even went as far as to entertain and protect my siblings too, which you didn't have to."
He takes a deep breath, and shuts his eyes, remembering the bright memories they had together as friends. Drimi falls silent, with her mask glimmering from the falling droplets of the rain. The wanderers can hardly hear them. They were curious about what they were discussing, so they stalked them behind a large tree. Phthonus pulls his scarf up revealing his bright smile.
"I don't know who you lost, but they were probably important to you. Unlike the others, Drimi, you treat me…"
The tone of his voice shifts to a trembling and caring tone.
"... as if I was your brother. If that doesn't wake you up from your grumpiness, I don't know what will. You were always so playful, comedic, and brave. You were like the leader of the entire group, standing tall and bold with your mask and eyes."
Drimi's eyes shimmer with small tears forming over her eyes. The wanderers can't understand how impactful this current situation was. But they could understand the feelings Drimi and Phthonus had.
"Please, understand. That I am really grateful for you changing my life. I'm a whole different person than I used to be."
Drimi sniffles and tears up, with a trembling smile under her dark mask. As tiny rays of sunlight pierce through the clouds, she shakes her head and swiftly hugs Phthonus tightly. The wanderers were shocked at first, but then gave an adoring smile. Phthonus feels her hands rub on his back, and feels her tears sliding over his scarf. As the birds begin to sing, and as the rainstorm steadily reaches to a halt, Drimi quiveringly whispers.
"Phthonus… you were like a brother I never had. You are truly… a different person from what I remembered. T-T-Thank you… I never wanted to reveal the weak side of me right in front of the wanderers, but I simply couldn't hold it any longer. I believe that what I did was wrong, and I dearly apologize…"
Phthonus shuts his eyes, and the clouds drift away from the glittering sun. The raindrops slowly evaporate from them, as the sight of happiness surges through the area.
"I was doing what I thought was right. If my father couldn't get treated well, I will treat others better to make up for them. If I want to be treated well, I must do the same. That is how the heart of a Knight in Pladtioa runs."
As they return to the wagon, Drimi pats Phthonus' back. He tilts his head behind him, and sees Drimi slowly peeling her dark mask off from her mouth. A smile shines to him, with her tears evaporating into the air. As the sounds of the mechanical steampunk vehicle start to generate, Drimi whispers to Phthonus.
"I owe you my greatest gratitude as well, Phthonus. Thank you… so much for showing me what could still be out there."
Phthonus simply replies while stepping into the wagon.
"You're welcome."