The wanderers swiftly jolt down the hill, feeling the breeze blow on their faces. The sky fills with a vivid blue hue, perfect for the coming noon. Their eyes glimmer with awe. It's as if the blessing of an angel has touched the very ground.
The greenery is sizable, lush, vibrant, and rich. To the wanderers, it seems as if wildlife thrives here. Sally happily prances, twirling her platinum hair and absorbing the fresh breeze. Drimi takes a deep breath and calms down. She tilts her head towards Phthonus and asks.
"Phthonus… What was it like in Zomrack? Did you forget about Belial?"
Recollecting his memories of working with The Four Knights, he covers his mouth with his dark scarf. He knows what it was like to work with Belial, and most of the time, it wasn't a great experience. As he tilts his head to the azure sky, Phthonus faintly mutters.
"I… don't want to talk about it. There is a specific reason why I abandoned him and the team."
Drimi backs away from him, giving him the 'stare.' Even she thinks Phthonus' mind is somewhat broken from the past. Yet all is hidden from the barrier that hasn't been mentioned yet. Aletha ecstatically shouts as she touches the crystal clear pool of azure liquid.
"Asahi, come look at this!"
Asahi tilts his head and sees her face nearing closer to the water. Her crystal gray eyes peer straight through the unusually transparent mirror of liquid as if staring into a mirror. It's… unusually blue, with nothing but the reflection of… another side behind the barrier of blue liquid. With Phthonus distant from the wanderers, only Aletha can hear something from the lake.
A really… distant and monotonous high-pitched feminine voice sounds out from the water, echoing over her ears.
"Who is this? Some sort of trespasser? She is… wonderful. Even her figure is--
Aletha pauses in shock for a moment, unable to process what is behind the blue wall of liquid. To her, it seems as if the lake is a glass window, separating one being from another. Dark blue eyes form over the lake, with a young feminine face and some sort of transparent baby blue fabric hanging in between her nose.
Her dull voice sounds out once again.
"I have never been surprised in a long time; perhaps maybe I can reach her from Destia? Huh, a boy too…?"
Asahi screams from behind, with genuine worry tingling over his mind. Even he has some sort of care for his sibling.
"Watch out!"
Aletha's gray eyes broaden in surprise. She feels a heavy force pushing her closer to the shore. She turns around, but just before seeing the face, Asahi swiftly pulls Aletha away from the lake and pushes Drimi away.
"Sis, why are you just going to let her do that to you? Also, why is your face like that? Have you seen a ghost?"
Aletha replies while staring into the lake.
"More than a ghost. I think I saw… a girl."
Phthonus eavesdrops on the conversation, looks behind him, and then pulls his scarf off from his mouth. He glares at the pool of water, then realizes the reason for Aletha's look on her face. Swiftly, he jolts down the hill and tosses tiny pebbles to the side. He shuffles his feet through the fallen leaves and swiftly pulls Aletha further away from the lake.
Her rosy cheeks blush even greater, feeling his warm hands touch against her soft palms. Phthonus says to Aletha as they walk away from the water.
"What are you doing in that area, out of all the ones that you could've been?"
Aletha replies in a trembling tone.
"I-I-I didn't mean to…."
Phthonus sighs and pushes her away from him. Asahi dashes over while Drimi peers closer into the pool of water. Asahi makes Phthonus in a fit of anger, but with a fraction of misunderstanding.
"What are you doing?"
Phthonus aggressively replies.
"Nothing. I was just trying to save her from being separated from you. She was almost grabbed from The Queen of Destia and considered Deepenpond the gateway; she could have never seen your face again. Please care more for your sibling, would you?"
Asahi nervously scratches his hand and chuckles. He thinks everything is a problem, even if it is the timidest.
"O-Okay… I was just trying to help."
Asahi looks down while Aletha asks Phthonus, crossing her arms.
"So, are we just going to stand here or…?"
Sally walks up to Aletha and grabs her hand. She feels the warmth on her skin draining into a shivering cold chill. However, the chilly feeling feels… quite comfortable for Aletha. She tilts her head to the towering Sally and asks.
"Where are you taking me?"
Sally replies with her sweet, soothing voice.
"Somewhere… deep and connected to that of Asahi and your heart."
"Eh?!"
At the side of the bowl-shaped landscape, there is a small poking entrance toward a glowing underground area. Sally points to it, then pulls Aletha with her. Asahi catches up behind the two, deeply suspicious of what they are doing.
"Where are you going?"
Sally ignores Asahi. She doesn't mind his wariness and decides that the rest of the group should come too. She ignores Asahi's question.
Her silky platinum hair slides near Aletha's arm, the opening of the cavern slowly starts to narrow, and the crystal stream of water slightly darkens to the cave. Sally digs her hand through the water and splashes it on her face. Asahi questioningly tilts his head to her and asks.
"Where are you taking us?"
Sally responds with a straightforward answer.
"To a shortcut."
Phthonus raises his eyebrow.
"Shortcut?"
She says in a slightly aggravated tone in her voice.
"Just follow me."
* * * * * * * *
The entire group strolls near the shores of the clear water stream, stretching and flowing toward a large natural gaping opening near the walls of the large green bowl-shaped landscape. Asahi and Aletha show signs of fear while walking behind Sally. Hopefully, she knows what she is doing.
Crumbling rock, stalagmites, and spiderwebs scatter over the cavern. The warmth from the sunlight starts to dissipate while they approach further through the tunnel. They see luminescent blue crystals spreading everywhere from wall to wall, illuminating the cavern and the ancient debris on the floors and walls.
Within the darkness of the shadows, a small pink luminance shines in the distance. Sally swiftly pushes the wanderers away from the light's path while Drimi summons her shield to deflect the light. Drimi screams out as they are slowly back away from the glimmering, blinding light.
"That's Tear!"
Both the wanderers confusingly whisper to Drimi.
"Who's that?!"
Sally yells as the pink luminance approaches closer to them.
"The one who destroyed The Great Fountain!"
Both of them confusingly scream.
"EH?!"
Drink hastily grabs the wanderers and roughly pushes them away from the cavern. She tightens her fists and squints her eyes at them shortly after, giving silent hand signals to Phthonus and Sally. Both of them swiftly nod their heads, and slowly, they tiptoe over the small branches and twigs scattered over the cavern.
The pink hue shrouding the luminance slowly blends to dark violet. Loud footsteps resound from the walls of the cavern. The sound of chains echoes, and so makes the sound of metal pressing against the ground. Despite Drimi getting the wanderers to safety, the two quickly disregard the warning and decide to help the others out.
As the wanderers jolt behind Drimi, she swiftly turns behind and roughly yells with a mixed face of anger and fear.
"Wanderers… What are you doing here? Shouldn't you--
Before Drimi can escort them out of the cavern, the sound of a deep mechanical voice echoes from a distance.
"I don't appreciate when someone trespasses on my actions. It's insulting and disrespectful to me."
Drimi tremblingly tilts her head forwards and sees a tall silhouette slowly approaching her from a distance. Two glowing purple eyes shine through the darkness, four luminescent technological lines spread over his chest towards his hips and legs. He has some sort of massive collar wrapping around his neck and a fluctuating cape that seems to be filled with a purple nebula-shaped pattern. Its helmet looks like a dark, cube-shaped fox.
The sight of luminescent blue spikes surges out from behind Drimi. Immediately, the wanderers swiftly sprint away from its path, pulling Drimi away from it as well. The blue-pointed ice crystals seem to shatter as it makes contact with Tear's armor instantly. Sally lowers her arms, and her jaws drop.
"H-Huh?"
Abruptly, heavy laughter sounds out from each wall of the cavern. Sally leaps back and clasps her palms together to summon a massive ice ball. Drimi swiftly stomps her feet on the ground, then worryingly screams at Sally.
"Sally, what are you doing?! Get out there now!"
The laughter suddenly stops, with the sight of Tear's entire appearance shown in front of everyone. Phthonus pulls his scarf over his mouth and casts a raging path of ember on the floor. Tear immediately steals the ice ball Sally formed and shatters it with just one snap of his fingers. He pushes his palm into the air and grabs hold of Phthonus. Tear's voice yells with the sound of sickening joy.
"You three are making a show over here! Didn't your parents tell you not to approach dangerous areas? Jokingly enough, all of you are foolish for trespassing along these grounds."
His voice slowly shifts to a sad tone.
"It's quite… unfortunate that you two are nothing but scraps to me. Go ahead… TRY and fight me and see what happens. All of you knew I destroyed The Great Fountain, but that wasn't for the evil it was for--
Before Tear can finish his sentence, Drimi swings her fist covered in a purple luminance and screams while Phthonus leaps up into the air.
"You ruined everything!"
Tear hastily propels Drimi away with a massive shockwave and then pushes her face against the ground with his metal feet. Sally's eyes broaden in shock.
"DRIMI!"
Tear shouts in pure anger with the sight of… luminescent pink tears flowing through his crooked helmet.
"Oh, you poor thing. Are you going to cry now in front of everyone?
Tear slowly forces his feet through Drimi's head, pushing her cheek deeply through the ground. The wanderers hastily jump up and stand behind Sally. Tear screams at them with the sound of fake sadness surging through his voice.
"This fool never made me finish my sentence! This is why NO ONE understands the true feeling of sadness! Not even the pathetic being standing in front of me could ever feel what sadness is truly like! The Queens are a joke; they don't do anything for their citizens! Purity never existed!"
Asahi steps forward and grits his teeth.
"What do you mean? Purity never existed? Last time I checked, this nation was the kindest!"
Tear aggressively replies with a slightly aggravated tone in his mechanical voice.
"Lies! What you said is a lie! This world never had true purity, not even the sweetest of Queens! Clearly, you know little to NOTHING about the sheer thought of giving. All Pladtioa is... is greed, greed, greed!"
Aletha jumps up, slams her fist against the air, and screams while jolting toward Asahi.
"How do you know that? You're just a robot!"
After her response, Tear breathes heavily, lifts his foot over Drimi, and aggressively pushes her to the darkness. He feels a burning feeling of rage surge through his veins, gears, and steel. He furiously responds.
"What did you say, brat?! Do you dare challenge me out? lame brain? You look so weak, your arms are slender, and the mark on your face is the worst thing I have ever seen on a girl. I don't mind tearing your head off, maybe even feeding you to the wolves while I'm at it!"
Asahi, Sally, and Phthonus' eyes widen in surprise. They can't believe a living being would ever say something like that. They quickly realize that this.
Tear ruthlessly tosses the heavy ancient debris to the side, approaching closer to Aletha. Asahi had enough. After Tear pushes Sally away from him, Asahi hastily jumps in front of Aletha and stands still in front of the towering Tear.
"Light travels faster than sound, which is why you seemed bright until you spoke. I forgot the world revolves around you. My apologies… How silly of me. You mighty thin prince standing in my way!"
Tear slowly walks closer to Asahi. Though Asahi feels fear from Tear's size, he remains confident and decides to ignore Tear's words. Aletha shouts out his name.
"Asahi, don't!"
"Silence!"
Tear hastily pushes Aletha with his gravity-defying magic and screams at Asahi with pure wrath surging through his eyes.
"You're nothing different from HER, boy! Move away, phony! You're like a cloud. When you disappear, it's a beautiful day! I am one step closer to slaying you. Now, get out of my way!"
Asahi pushes himself to a brave posture and stares Tear directly at the eye, ignoring his insults. He swings his arm into the air and swiftly pulls out his waker's blade from the luminance on his hip. Though he is weak, his faith and hope for himself make him feel stronger. Aletha hyperventilates while cowering behind Asahi in fear. Sally, Drimi, and Phthonus stare at him with nervousness, unable to figure out what they can do for him. They eventually decide to leave him alone.
As silence fills through the cavern, Asahi uncaringly steps in front of Tear and tilts his head up to him. Asahi stomps his foot against the ground and places his fist over his chest, showing his bravery at its primmest state. With a deep breath, Asahi confidently shouts out to Tear with the memories of his godly speech bouncing in his mind.
"You are nothing but a speck of dust to me. You dare speak to a god in such a manner; maybe I should obliterate you and your loved ones just for doing so…"
Asahi takes a deep breath and stands tall.
"Right now, your very act is the definition of a pure lunatic. You still have yet to explain the reasoning behind your Fountain, and yet you cower in fear from the citizens because of your actions! Is that what you are trying to say when you mean that purity never existed? Saying that proves that you quickly give up on having hope for the world, which is beyond your deepest fear. And now, you still stand in front of me… showing that you let your fear take control of you."
Tear clenches his fists and shakes his head. He knows that all of Asahi's words are true. Sally, Phthonus, Drimi, and Aletha fall into shock while seeing his confidence shine through the cavern. Asahi takes a deep breath and shuts his eyes.
"Your gears are no excuse for being emotionless. Why haven't I seen you outside of the cavern? Are your fear and guilt taking control of you? Stop unleashing your wrath onto others, and instead, put it to yourself. Learn from your fears, guilts, and mistakes, and perhaps maybe then you can gain control of your body!"
Asahi slowly opens his eyes and peers his fierce gray eyes through the mechanical being's soul. Before he finishes his sentence, Tear hastily tilts his body behind and puts Asahi to sleep with a heavy pulse in his palms. Aletha jumps up in shock.
"ASAHI!"
Tear slowly lifts his head from the ground and dashes to Aletha with tears flowing down his eyes.
"Those words are false! No one understands, neither shall you--
Before Tear's fist touches Aletha's face, a massive starry white barrier forms in front of Aletha and deflects the enemy's attacks like a shield. Drimi and the others jump up in surprise!"
"Where did you get that?!"
Asahi easily breaks out from his sleep and quietly whispers with a smile.
"The awakening of our powers. We're growing stronger…"
Asahi's star on his attire shines brightly. He swiftly grabs his blade and yells out to the others like a leader.
"Sally, Drimi, go behind Aletha's shield and try to use your attacks behind it. Then use your magic and make sure not to get hit. Phthonus, stand by me! I want you to use your embers to ignite my blade."
After they hear Asahi's orders, all of them reply with no hesitation.
"On it!"
Tear's giggles turn into chuckles and then to heavy laughter. As they all approach him, Tear prepares his attacks and swings his arm into the air. He manically screams with tears and psychotic laughter.
"A CHALLENGE IT IS!"