Meanwhile...
With his vision engulfed in darkness, Asahi questions inside his mind.
(How could I possibly be in that current state? I never knew that I was this weak. It must've been Drimi who did this. I fell unconscious the second I was pummeled into the ground. Is this the result of my weakened powers? I don't understand. I am no… 'god,' anymore.)
He didn't know that he was swiftly taken away from Aletha, so Asahi still thinks he was lying on the ground, near the circle of stones. Nevertheless, one sound reveals the truth about where he is.
The sound of sizzling.
Not only that but also a pleasing smell of bacon; rising up to his nostrils. He can't resist the aroma lingering underneath his nose; he just had to wake up. He lifts his body upward, and his eyelids swiftly part, revealing a bed and wooden walls surrounding him.
"What the?—"
As Asahi analyzes his surroundings, he doesn't even question Aletha's location; It was probably too late anyway. Searching far from within his bed, he sees a small human-like silhouette standing in front of an oven.
Asahi squints his eyes, his vision clears, and the silhouette changes to a petite girl with an alluring hue on her short hair, a mix of forest green and dark lavender. She wears tight attire with a blend of black and blue, a small brown hat is cutely attached on the right side of the back of her head, a unique green fuzzy object is connected, and her hair is neatly tied up in a circular braid.
Adorable.
That's one word Asahi can describe her. He doesn't recognize this girl. However, this was the first time he ever felt attracted to someone since he and Aletha returned to this world. He can't even process the rising and burning emotions he has just by looking at the girl.
As she hears Asahi pulling the blankets, she turns her head behind and reveals her glistening emerald-cyan eyes toward Asahi. The girl gasps in shock.
"Huh? You're finally awake. I thought you were a goner…"
Her voice even seems to match her appearance. It's high-pitched and sweet.
"Eh?"
As Asahi mindlessly stares at her in awe, he whispers to himself out loud.
"She looks pretty… Wait, is SHE the one who saved me? Where… am I?"
"Of course. I saw you on the ground earlier. I thought you were in trouble fighting the demons in that forest—
The way she replied made her sound as if she was already friends with him. Yet, within her confident voice are quivers of anxiousness. She notices Asahi's appearance, recovering from his wounds. Her eyes widen, her face blushes in pink, her heart thumps rapidly, and sweat slides down her skin. Her mood and tone grow uneasy.
"I-I um… a-are y…you… hi—"
The girl swiftly turns her head down and stands with her toes touching the dirt, like wearing heels. Asahi shakes his head and crawls out from the bed, trying to approach.
"Hey. Are you alright? Where am I, and… why are you blushing?"
Her voice sounds even more uneasy.
"N-Nothing! Nothing at all! P…Please, s-sit down and— n-nevermind, I already got a meal r-r-ready for you. Just sit at that table and—
She quavers behind a cabinet, hoping Asahi's gray eyes won't stare at her again. She can't handle the emotions stirring within her mind so quickly. Asahi bends over and sees a plate of four strips of steamy bacon, placed horizontally and delicately on the plate. As Asahi pulls the chair and sits down, he turns his head to the cabinet and sees the girl's arms poking out.
"Hey? Do you mind telling me your name? After all, you saved me."
The girl gulps and tries to hide as far away from him as possible. She doesn't want to expose her face, especially in the state she is in. As Asahi pulls one strip of bacon from the plate, a trembling, nervous voice sounds out from behind the cabinet.
"Kali… K-Kali Leila…"
Asahi smiles as he nibbles on the steamy strip of bacon.
"That's a beautiful name."
The girl blushes even harder. She whispers to herself.
"He's even prettier when he's awake…"
She remembers healing Asahi's arm, with his face and wounds recovering from her magic. The girl can't believe that Asahi recovered utterly in just a few minutes. It almost made her skeptical seeing him that way.
As if he transformed into a different person when he was healed. However, that idea was false.
It was only the wounds that covered his true identity, which made Kali Leila attracted to him. With the scars, Kali Leila wouldn't be so anxious around him because he would be utterly unrecognizable to who he is present.
As Asahi swallows two greasy strips of bacon, Kali Leila deliberately walks out from the cabinet and swiftly jolts to the bed, trying her best to hide her warm face from him. She feels embarrassed.
"You're in the goblin village. A-And others that said that were with you, a-are also present here. They were looking all over for you."
"Really? Why aren't the goblins attacking?"
Kali's green eyes widened in shock. She utters in a surprised tone.
"Goblins… attacking?! No, no, no, you don't even know what you're even saying! Goblins don't hurt people. H-Has your mind been affected by that hit as well?"
Asahi jumps up in surprise and shouts.
"What? No! I think I was knocked out because of—"
Kali awaits his answer.
"Because… what?"
"—Because… okay fine, I admit it. My mind might have been affected as well. However, I don't feel much different, except for the fact that my magic vanished while fighting Drimi."
As Asahi is about to munch on the last strip of bacon, Kali Leila shakes her head and steals the bacon right from his fingertips. She taunts him with it by dangling the bacon strip in front of his face.
"Drimi? I haven't heard that name in a long time. Why were you with… Drimi?"
Asahi's gray eyes broaden.
"You KNOW her? What do you mean you HAVEN'T heard her name in a long time— Do you even live in Pladtioa?"
Kali remains silent and blushes once more.
Asahi mutters.
"Kali…?"
She leaps up and tilts her head towards the entrance. Asahi squints his eyes to the seemingly blinding rays of the sunshine; he can barely see the view outside. Kali Leila murmurs to herself while trying to calm herself down.
"This is too much for me to handle. I can't reveal to him this secret just yet. I don't even know what his name is."
As a long silence continues, Asahi shares.
"I'm grateful that you saved me despite getting separated from my sister. I wish I knew where sis is…"
He pushes his chair to the side, takes a deep breath, and adds a cheerful tone.
"Anyways, that bacon you made was SO delicious… that it made me forget to tell you my name."
Kali's eyes widened, eagerly awaiting his answer. She slowly places the bacon back on the plate and dashes behind the cabinet. Asahi chuckles quietly, thinking that Kali is just messing around at this point. He beams his face towards the entrance and peers his clear gray eyes into the glittering sun. As the birds hum their great melodies, he reveals.
"My name is Asahi…"
Kali Leila affirms.
"—Asahi? That's a unique name."
Asahi calmly questions her while wearing a faint smile.
"Do you know what it means?"
Kali Leila shrugs and quivers in anxiety. She doesn't want to reveal it in this state; it would be pretty embarrassing for her. So, trying to remain confident, Kali responds.
"N-N-No idea."
Asahi points to the sun behind the entrance of the building.
"It means rising sun. I remember my mother delivering that name to me before I was purified. Aletha and I were the first to ever arrive in Cleira. When I was born, I was resting near the rising sun in our kingdom. My mother was also a world traveler…
Asahi points to his gray eyes.
"That's where I got my features from. My skin and my hair."
Kali Leila mutters in her head.
"His mother must be beautiful. Asahi has smooth, radiant skin; his eyes are so clear and vibrant. It's nothing like the eyes of humans. A-And the bright shade of his hair— I never saw that before. And his attire—
She reckons.
"Wow, Asahi. I never knew you were this flexible to a person you just met!"
Asahi cries out.
"H-Huh?! What do you mean by that?"
Kali happily hops into the air and prances around. Her bright, silky mixture on her hair, all seems to attract the boy. Asahi thought Aletha would never believe that the one who sparked true attraction to him was this playful girl— Kali Leila.
Asahi's face plummets into warmth. With his skin glowing to a bright red, he slowly curls his sweaty hands and takes one long, deep breath.
"Kali… I…"
Just as Asahi's sudden confession gets revealed; a towering feminine figure with long platinum hair, hot pink eyes, and a gray dress— stands in front of the sun's rays; her eyes widen in shock. She looks delighted to see Asahi again after going missing for a night. She quickly dashes to Asahi and embraces him with all the love she has.
Asahi almost gets smothered by her body, unable to breathe. However, Kali quickly pulls Asahi away from Sally's embrace and accidentally nears him. Both her and Asahi's face slowly glows in a pinkish-red.
Asahi faintly tremble while Sally squints at Asahi.
"U-Um… t-thank..."
Kali Leila quivers, seeing Asahi's face close to her lime eyes.
"S-Sorry… w-w-what am I even doing?"
"I-It's okay, Kali. Just… g-get off."
Suddenly, as they try to get off each other, Sally jumps into the pile and squashes both of them. Aletha and Kali scream for help while feeling their warmth suffocate them.
"Help us! Please help us! We're stuck."
Squirming to escape the pile, Asahi's blurry vision gradually grows clear. Approaching from the bright rays of the entrance are two dark silhouettes. One has a tall, masculine size, while the other has a slightly average, feminine appearance.
While the intimidating manly figure stands behind, a beauty with long dark-azure hair, fair skin, crystal indigo eyes, wearing a torn outfit that looks to be made out of leather and cotton, impatiently walks into the building and orders Sally with a calm, fluent voice.
"Sally, I demand you to get off of them at once. This isn't some runty joke. You DO have knowledge on who I am, right?"
As she slowly crawls off of Asahi and Kali's bodies, she responds with a serious tone.
"Yes, understood. I was trying to joke around because I haven't seen the boy for too long."
A deep, masculine voice sounded out from outside. The man's voice sounds menacing, weighty, and burdensome. It seems he doesn't take too kindly to jokes and laughs.
"That doesn't mean you can blatantly pile on top of them? You're not a child; get used to it."
A man with long aquamarine hair, purple eyes, a muscular build, and slightly tan skin walks in front of the woman, then shakes his head. His dark purple eyes peer straight through Sally's soul, then towards Asahi. With his deep, manly voice, the man continues.
"And this boy… I don't recognize him at all. Who is he? Get lost here thief, there is no gold for you."
Sally hops in and blocks the man from approaching Asahi.
"He isn't a thief! Asahi is a special boy with powers that you can't even imagine!"
The dark-haired woman adds.
"Yes, and I just realized the shade of his hair. A bright white. I had never seen this type of shade before, not even in Obrus. Deniz, don't interfere. This slightly tall, young white-haired boy doesn't pose a threat. His aura gives off a strong allied feeling, an aura that doesn't even match to even the most powerful individuals we have met."
Deniz clenches his fists, grits his teeth, and sneers at Asahi.
Even at first sight of seeing him, Deniz knows that he already strongly dislikes Asahi. While Asahi backs away to the counter with Kali, Deniz replies to the woman aggressively.
"Are you serious, Marina? You're just going to allow this random individual to trespass upon our boundaries? What if they secretly steal something?"
Marina shakes his head and slaps Deniz straight in the face. Sally and Kali jump up in shock, while Asahi crosses his arms and gives a long smirk toward the man. Though the attack shows no effect for Deniz, he still feels absolutely disrespected by being hit by Marina, of all the people.
After the long, awkward silence, Marina states with her stern, flat voice.
"I apologize for the immaturity of my cousin. My name is Marina Narellen. I am with the goblin race, who guarded and protected this village for years. I come from the tropical forests of Obrus, looking to find the ones who stole everything from me."
She turns toward Deniz and shrugs.
"This man right here is my cousin. He didn't want to join me until he saw our hometown get flooded by that malicious purple sea serpent twenty-one years ago. It looked nothing like the sea creatures we encountered.
Deniz shoves Marina out of the way and interrupts in an impatient tone.
"Yeah, yeah. Get to the point already."
Marina slaps Deniz again, this time with a more vital force. A blistering red bruise forms on the left of Deniz's face. Asahi, Kali, and Sally, stand there absolutely shocked to hear these two argue.
"They don't act like how they look."
Kali Leila replies while closing her eyes.
"I know, right."