Cold. Dark. Empty. Wind slipped through the corridors, it smelled like chalky dust, mildew, and cold stone. The broken, cool stone lay against one's back, white dust clung to his hands. Their arms, their legs, their body; they could barely move it.
This atmosphere does not even compare to the warm, welcoming air of Pladtioa. The air is thin here, somber-filled. Asahi assumed there wasn't much… and despite falling into the sky; he now stood on… solid ground?
Asahi's eyelids parted first. He saw the sight of an unusual architecture surrounding his presence. Dead clumps of grass extended from the cold stone walls. He tilted up, scratched his head, and saw cobwebs scattered all over this decrepit place. Asahi's vision was greeted with black stained brick, looking to have aged for a long time.
Darkness shrouded the room, there was no sight of light anywhere.
Only the luminance on his clothing was the only thing that shined.
He felt a hard surface, one that felt like solid eroded metal beneath his feet.
"W-Where… am I?" He heard his voice reverberate and echo continuously.
Shivers ran down his spine. Faint rays of light peeked in from the cracks, rubble, and solid black bricks scattered all over what looked to be a crater. Upon advancing along with the alien building, he saw bridges, mechanisms, and gears dispatched all over the brittle ground. He saw hallways expanding from branch to branch of this building, looking to have been a cathedral with shattered glass and debris.
"It feels so lonely here. Where is Aletha?"
. . .
Reaching the last bits of the building, among descending smoke, was a white-haired gray-eyed girl standing and analyzing the weathered pillars below. Asahi gasped and hastily, he raced over to her, reaching his arms and screaming her name.
"ALETHA!"
His voice bounced off every wall but yet, she didn't even bat an eye at Asahi. Now, coming to think of it; from up close, she wasn't wearing the attire she normally used, and her hair was a lot more short and curly. As he approached the girl, she slowly tilted her head to Asahi and raised an eyebrow; showing the look of curiosity on her face.
There was no S mark on her skin; nor anywhere on her body. She was very pale, evoking an alien appearance that separates her from the angelic appeal of Aletha. A thin voice came from Asahi.
"W-Who are you?"
The curly-whited-haired girl sneered at Asahi, showing a look of pure hatred and contempt on her tattered face. She looked beautiful, of course; but that look gave a feeling of uneasiness. As she stared at Asahi silently, he reached his hand to her and asked.
"What is this place?"
The mysterious girl swiftly lifted her hand and pressed her hands against a button.
(Click)
Suddenly, a metal door behind her opened automatically, showing a dormant beast-like mechanism lying against the tattered walls. A white light sparked out on its head, roots stretched out from its bulk dark metal shoulders, and its rusty saw blades slowly shifted upward. Slowly, it pushed itself up, staring directly at Asahi.
"In…truder… detected."
Its footsteps cloud and shake the building, slowly stepping closer and closer to Asahi. Steel scraped over the worn rock.
"Must eliminate…"
"H-Huh?"
Asahi's heart froze, he turned to the curly-haired girl and saw her vanish out of thin air.
"Where did she g--
The mechanism threw its bulk, artificial arms onto the ground and unleashed a small pit of dust. Asahi's eyes broadened as he dodged the attack. He knew that this was dangerous, and fled the area; with the massive robot creature chasing him through the hallways.
Asahi's footsteps sounded over the pitted steps and staircases, seeing faceless marble and stone statues collapse behind him.
"Who was that girl? And why did she look like… Aletha?"
But then, as he approached the last corridor of this place; he bumped into an individual with short white hair, dark gray eyes, and metal, worn armor.
She looked to have been a middle-aged woman, wearing advanced legging covered in the devouring vegetation. She said not a word to Asahi but blushed to see his presence. Asahi tried to ask her, but suddenly two tall men with long white ponytails pulled the woman away, sneering a look of suspicion. They asked in a different language.
":// :/// :/// :////:///:;//"
Asahi scratched his head.
"H-Huh?"
Suddenly, five metal doors opened; with lights flickering on and emitting a loud buzzing noise. The people faded away with a look of hatred, just like the curly-haired girl. He didn't know why they were so unfriendly, but nevertheless; Asahi continued through this alien place and decided to exit the rather strange building. What met Asahi's sight as he pushed the black, rusted metal door open was something unbelievable.
"Where… am I?!"
The sky wasn't normal, it was dark… dark… blue; with four moons behind a massive expanse of cloud-shaped pillars. There were no regular-shaped clouds in sight, only the millions of gargantuan-sized, gravity-defying cloud pillars were seen. It looked completely different from the sky he saw in Gincad.
"Asahi!" A girl screamed as she sprinted out of the building.
Abruptly, a warm touch embraced him, followed by her large chest rubbing against his back. Asahi stood there, paralyzed in shock seeing the view of this unknown… civilization. Instead of celebrating finding Aletha, he asked her with a trembling tone.
"Sis… do you recognize this place?"
She shrugged her shoulders as she gazed upon the unknown territory.
"No, I have no idea."
Both having a vague sensation of unfamiliarity, they raced further atop the massive mountain they were on and saw a large expansive kingdom of ruined buildings, towers, spires, statues, and even more beneath the cliff. The vines and foliage of this place seemed to have defied the rules of their world.
The wanderers roamed and took a look at the building's walls, and saw carvings and inscriptions of an S mark imprinted all over the stone.
"That….looks like… our mark…" Asahi mumbled as he pointed to his cheek.
Aletha's hands trembled; not understanding the vague symbols of detached rectangles, and erased drawings from the black wall.
"I don't remember this place at all. I don't recognize anything here."
"Me too…"
:// :/// :///: //::// :///
Empty hearts of shadow pits curled dead leaves scattered on the dead ground. Half-crumbled towers expanded over the place, with wings of what looked to be a massive spaceship crash scattered toward a small community of houses. The location looked to have been mixed with both old and new technology. With mechanisms and gears scattered over the shattered plains.
Leaves rattled stone, black trees creaked in the breeze, the clap of their footsteps on cobblestone as they encountered more white-haired individuals, all seemed to have worn different clothing, but shared the same similarities in their physical appearance. Despite the encounters, they continued further.
. . .
Asahi and Aletha discovered a large disk-shaped platform made of steel and deliberate patterns lying at the center of a white pond. The water looked like milk, but with black, curled remains of moss and abandoned nests scattered over its surface. It looked intoxicating as well; seeming to burn through the skin if one were to jump in.
They decided to travel across the bridges expanding over to the ruined cities and avoid the massive cloud pillars stretching upward. The cities were enormous, with meandering tree roots surrounding the cities; with sparkling white essences dangling over the metal structures that looked to have been labs and test areas.
As they finally reached what looked to have been the center place of this… mysterious, dark city… Aletha screamed in shock as her head was pointed up.
"ASAHI! LOOK UP!"
He slowly scratched his head and dared not to resist. Asahi's eyes widened in shock, seeing what looked to be the entire nation of Pladtioa upside down; behind a wall of clouds. He swiftly grabbed Aletha's hand and questioned as he panicked through the uneven roads.
"This isn't Gincad. We… are…"
Asahi hunched down to the floor.
"We are upside down… in the sky."
Aletha backed up and screamed confusingly.
"WHAT?! H-How does that even make sense?"
Asahi closed his eyes and sighed.
"Don't ask me. Come on, let's explore more of this… strange city."
"Okay…" Aletha answered.
* * * * * * * *
The sunlight filtered through the cracks of the towers. Even more, meandering tree roots expanded over the massive city; with towering spires, and sky-scrapers expanding across an innumerable amount of dead vegetation.
Cloud pillars touched down on some of the towers; swallowing the structure completely and shriveling it into dust.
The wanderers walked over and climbed a lengthy staircase; dodging traps and mechanisms along the way. As they were moving forward, they realized that the white-haired people that they had encountered; were all ghosts.
Despite being transparent and phasing through walls; the ghosts could activate mechanisms as if their consciousness were transferred to their technology.
The wanderers sprinted over the carpet of leaves and saw five to ten bulk robotic human-shaped mechanisms chasing them across a bridge.
Asahi and Aletha grasped their blades and deflected the flying lasers, racing down staircases and parkouring their way over buildings.
They turned up and saw that this… world… stretched for kilometers, with even more mountain ranges, and cloud pillars scattering along the area. But as they finally escaped, and reached the end of the massive ruined city; they approached a forest of black trees, and natural spiraling terraforms stretching up to the upside-down Pladtioa.
Without hesitation, the wanderers raced up the terraform, slaughtering and destroying ancient robots in the process. This encounter and their exploration of this alien kingdom sprawled even more questions than before. How long has this nation been here? Why are their white-haired individuals here? How did they get so advanced?
How is it possible for a nation to hide in the sky? How did this device allow this nation to appear out of thin air? And more importantly, what made the people so hateful toward Asahi and Aletha?
. . .
As they advanced up the massive mountain, they saw what looked to be a forest of castles lying atop; some floating in air, while others were engulfed in the suffocating mists of the cloud pillars. Asahi and Aletha's long white hair slowly turned black as they continued to stand there. The winds were a lot tame the more they went up.
Strange isn't it? Usually, the higher the elevation the stronger the wind. But in this place, it was inverted.
Asahi and Aletha sheathed their swords, saw what looked to be dragon statues over abandoned mining facilities, and stood by the treacherous cliffs that expanded toward the ever-expanding depth of the clouded void beneath this area.
They climbed the last of the crumbled-castles staircases and sat on a rock ledge to take in the view. It genuinely looked like a completely different world to them; the overall size was enough to grow curiosity in the wanderers; having questioned what happened to this place. A completely direct opposite parallel to the world beneath the sky and this ruined civilization.
To pay heed to what could happen in Pladtioa, the wanderers rushed to find anything that would force them up to go there.
Conveniently, a large gust of wind the size of two meteor craters was activated by Asahi pressing a large button, and was seen beneath a large bridge; extending out to the ruined cities; which were filled with activating mechanisms and turrets.
"Intruders detected. Paranormal authorization succeeded."
Though the technology was old and worn-down, they were still capable enough to complete one's duties. And thus, establish a threat to Asahi and Aletha themselves.
"Follow me…"
The memory of gliding down with Aiyana while their world was demolished filled their minds. They were so young at the time, and now having experienced so many adventures; they still kept that memory in their hearts.
Without resistance, the wanderers sprinted off the cliff and hoped to all that is holy, that they get propelled by the wind.
But surprisingly, as their bodies, and transforming white/black hair flew upward to the upside-down perspective of Pladtioa; a loud voice echoed from the distance.
"Don't even think about it."
'The perspective of the cloud pillars slowly shifted upside down; with the dark blue hue of the sky slowly transforming back to its verdant bright azure color.
Gravity shifted, and the sea of clouds obstructed the entrance to the nation; with the devices' power finally dimming and flickering. Their legs flailed as they saw themselves falling down from the sky.
But just as they could recollect what they saw; all memories of seeing that place had vanished out of their heads.
* * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, residing on the ground of Pladtioa; Drimi, Sally, Phthonus, and the others were resurrected from a strange man who emerged from the depths of Pladtioa.
He had light blonde hair, beautiful blue eyes, and wore black and cyan attire; similar to the scheme of The Creator. But this man didn't generate any suspicious aura; instead, it was a feeling of trustworthiness and faith.
His arms lifted towards the sky, forming a massive transparent blue dome around the entirety of Pladtioa. All people's eyes widened as they saw the man's majestic presence float over their heads. Drimi awakened and scratched her head; feeling numb from the continuous bombardments from the device. She was more confused than afraid. Drimi was greeted by voices.
"Rise and shine sleepy head. Actually… Never mind, get up. Um… it's hard to describe this, but after we saw that beam in the sky… we were then transported here." It's a muffled voice, but it was understandable.
Drimi's vision cleared, revealing a tan man wearing a dark scarf around his mouth. She swiftly pushed herself up, brushed her shoulders, and turned to her right.
There, she saw an extensive crowd of people; that being subject to be Narcissa, and Sally; who was pushed from the emerging crowd.
"So, where are the wanderers?"
Phthonus raised his eyebrow.
"Oh, them? Well… it's hard to say… but they are; falling from the sky right now."
"FALLING FROM THE SKY?!"
Phthonus pointed to the two distant dark figures whose arms were flailing among the blue vista of the sky. Their shining white hair gleaned from the rising sun, unconscious from the encounter of the nation buried in the clouds.
"It looks like they have some time before landing. Mind me and my precautions, I must take hold of this myself."
Scampering and entering behind Plados, was a beautiful toffee-haired woman with two horn-shaped things on her head. Surprisingly, from that look in her eyes; the man recalled.
"Narcissa, your father is up there. I sense an immense evil aura corrupting his presence."
"P-Plados? I thought you were gone? Weren't you supposed to be transformed into this nation after that ancient war four thousand years ago? What happened?"
He folded his arms and made a facepalm. A weak smile emerged from his face.
"There's a lot many don't know. I'm only here because I sense someone trespassing the territory of The Sky. No one is supposed to go into The Depths; and this device… from that merciless faction of The Ending, opened it."
Drimi barged in, spread her arms wide, and gestured.
"And… so what? What does that device have anything to do with this?"
Plados inclined his head closed his hands and answered with a serious look in his eyes.
"If that rift to the nation buried in clouds were to remain open, it would attract The Orb of Destruction to spread its destructive essence on not only this world but that world as well. In order to destroy this world, that nation; buried in the sky, would have to be annihilated as well."
He stepped forward and sneered at the wanderers.
"But now's not the time… The Original Gods of this world have returned."
"Original Gods?" Drimi, Phthonus, Sally, and the rest of the group questioned.
Plados closed his eyes and unleashed a blue beam up to the wanderers.
"Yes, The Original Rulers of Gincad. The Adtraic Family's world. I highly suspect that their memories of their past have been wiped out, along with the primordial ones, sovereigns, and Chutots as well. I don't remember of the happenings before, but I do know that whatever that curse The God of Purity has; didn't originate from Gincad…"
A massive circular blue platform was summoned beneath Asahi and Aletha's feet, thus stopping them from falling. Sadiki plunged right back, with his eyes engulfed in a luminescent purple glow. Narcissa jolted hastily to Plados and screamed.
"That's my father! Please… d-don't kill him…"
An elderly lady, wearing s-shaped clothing, stepped forward dragging her cane against the dirt and mumbled with a smile.
"Oh no no no… we aren't going to blatantly KILL the God of Purity dearie. Actually, Plados and I have been waiting quite a long time for this moment. The Original Gods interfering with him makes it all the much easier."
She hastily dropped her cane and summoned a green-like essence and converged it with Plados' magic. Plados gave a small smile to the elderly woman from Dreamtoe and whispered as the platform was enforced and the wanderers' strength had been strengthened.
"Just like old times, Milna."
* * * * * * * *
Meanwhile, standing on the circular blue platform that Plados summoned; Asahi and Aletha gulped hard, seeing the land below. They were at such a height, that if the platform wasn't to be summoned; they would have died a long time ago. However, that wasn't the case.
Since the memories from the :// :// have been discarded; the series of events was that just after the device activated, they were all of a sudden transported here.
The strong gusts blew vividly on Asahi and Aletha's silk white hair. The twilight hue of the night faded, showing a warm cotton candy pink emerging out from the distant oceans. The sun rose up from the horizon, and above they could see the stars again.
Sadiki grasped his blade, feeling frenzied pulses pounding on his chest. He couldn't help but feel this electric impulse swirl down his spine; as if something was trying to stay inside him. His eyes were fogged up by purple, he maneuvered his feet across the nearly transparent platform and struck Asahi and Aletha.
Their blades clashed and formed; the group below watched as purple lightning filled the sky. As they continued to fight in a pattern, suddenly; Asahi and Aletha heard an elderly voice echo in their minds.
"Don't slay him. If you didn't know already, that boy right there… IS the God of Purity."
The wanderers gasped, and slid to the other direction of the platform, staring at Sadiki's face. The elderly voice continued.
"He was cursed from evil otherworldly magic, and expelled from the nation of Pladtioa. He used to be a mighty and strong man; but due to his curse, his appearance shrunk and so had his memories. I waited so many years, and so did her daughter for this moment. If you must, could you converge my powers with yours? If we are successful at that, we might be able to separate the evil spirit from Sadiki."
Aletha had no hesitation to ask her.
"Who are you? And why are you asking this?"
The elderly voice replied.
"You're the Adtraic Gods, correct?"
The wanderers replied quietly.
"Yes."
"Then you must be the original owners of the world. Say, if both of you were to manage to defeat and destroy that evil entity; I will offer you a fraction of my powers. And hehe… my magic would love to be in a younger body."
As Asahi and Aletha dodged Sadiki's attacks, Asahi asked.
"It depends… what power do you mean?"
"Just a fraction of my power is enough for you to assist both of you on your travels. Though it might not awaken here, once you reach Linuxinia; you will discover what it truly does."
The wanderers nodded their heads in approval, and dropped their blades; feeling the essence of the elderly energy converge into their souls. They felt a burst of adrenaline rush and spark inside their veins; they heard voices call out to them.
"Fluctuate like a bird, and swim like a fish. For the air and space is for all."
After those words flashed in their minds, the color of their hair reflected a bright green, and their eyes flashed to green as well. A spectrum of colors encircled them; with the universal hue of white hovering above. Suddenly, magical green strings emerged from their palms and wrapped around Sadiki. His blade dropped on the floating platform, his heart thumped rapidly, and his voice trembled.
"AH! What are you doing? Don't you know how much danger there is in this world? IT MUST BE STOPPED!"
The elderly voice interfered.
"That's not the kind of pure voice I remember. Those filthy, decrepit creatures of The Ending are trying to tangle your mind! Original Gods, grab on those strings and pull as hard as you can!"
Asahi and Aletha nodded their hands and wrapped their fingers over the luminescent green strings. At such a force, abruptly; a massive purple silhouette emerged from Sadiki's body. The corrupted appearance in him decayed and disintegrated; showing his true appearance fully. He collapsed onto the floor, and dropped his blade; having just endured a corrupting curse that lasted for centuries.
Asahi and Aletha's hair flashed back to white, with their blades shining ever so bright. As dark clouds surrounded the platform, as Plados held his magic onto the platform as hard as he could, and the elderly woman burst with all her energy; the dark silhouette was fabricated in front of Asahi and Aletha.
"Now, use all of your forces, and slay that corrupted entity once and for all!"
The wanderers' nodded their heads, hurtled to the entity, and struck it at frivolous force. Their speed was so quick that their hands blurred and stood still as if it was the speed of sound. The adrenaline of the event burst in everyone, the people from below cheered and roared for Asahi and Aletha.
"FOR PLADTIOA! GO! GO! GO!"
The dark silhouette ceased its gaze, summoned two blades, and jolted to Asahi and Aletha with full speed. Two godly powers intertwined with the sky rumbling and thundering. They gashed, punctured, and lacerated the silhouette as if it was an entity, then sprung up into the air and hammered straight through the silhouette's neck. It continued to fight, unleashing all of its turmoil at the speed of light.
"Don't give up!" The elderly woman said as the wanderers' bodies illuminated with green.
And that's when they knew that all of Pladtioa was counting on them. In a hasty rush, they burst their swords and surged all their speed; clashing, and forcing the silhouette to disintegrate. Adrenaline pumped through their hearts.
The wanderers gouged, hacked, and impaled the entity with all their force throwing its swords, their veins popping out, and sweat sliding from limb through the limb.
As the real Sadiki lies unconscious on the platform, as the sun peeked out from the clouds; in one, powerful gash; the wanderers charged up their attack, compiled all their force, pressed forward to the entity, and unleashed an overwhelming strike; PULVERIZING the entity into nothingness.
As Asahi and Aletha dropped their blades, collapsed to exhaustion, and breathed heavily; everyone in Pladtioa erupted in celebration.
"THEY DID IT! HOORAY!"
But as the platform descended safely to the ground, both the wanderers passed out.
* * * * * * * *
After all the drudgery that they came across, after doing so much for this nation but with no actual reward; finally, the wanderers were able to retrieve a portion of their power. It wasn't a lot, however in actual premises, it was enough to reinvigorate them and motivate Asahi and Aletha to move on from their past, and continue on their journeys.
And even though the memories of exploring that ruined nation had been wiped; there were small smudges of it kept inside their minds.
Nonetheless, as the wanderers were unconscious after the battle, they were escorted to the nearest hospital with the help of Phthonus and Sally. Drimi was persuaded by the elderly lady, whose name was Milna; and was paid to allow the wanderers to sail with her to Linuxinina.
Of course, she agreed and even insisted that she would do it for free. Milna chuckled and sighed, turning to Plados, whose appearance was vanishing into thin air.
"Leaving, already?"
Milna's elderly appearance slowly faded to a familiar blonde-haired, blue-eyed woman for a moment. Plados sighed and pointed to Sadiki, asking.
"Please, take care of The God of Purity. I knew he was your enemy before, but please… reconsider and care for him. He's been through a lot of pain. And I'll make sure to have a TALK with the Queen of Wraileza about him. I know she manipulated that poor god somehow."
Milna nodded her head and smiled as her elderly appearance faded back.
"I'll make sure to do that. For you, Plados. The true original god of Pladtioa."
"Thank you…" He replied before vanishing to dust.
Milna released a deep sigh, closed her eyes, then demanded to the people.
"Please, escort Sadiki to the nearest hospital."
"Understood, lady Milna." Replied the group.
Luckily enough, the nearest hospital was located near Pladtioa docks; a small town that's mainly recognized for its ships and marine ideologies. After all, it was just a few kilometers away from Purefell. Brich insisted they use their carriage, and so they accepted. Narcissa parted her ways and chose to return to Deppenpond… not to grab another reflection, but to talk to The Queen of Destia about what the wanderers did, but then immediately caught the next ride to Pladtioa Docks afterward.
* * * * * * * *
A few hours later.
It smelled like white ginger, cinnamon, forge, spices, jasmine, burnt wood, and smoke. He heard the waves sighing, gulls calling, and gates squeaking behind muffled walls. Asahi was welcomed with the soft surface of the bed and quickly recovered. His eyes parted, he released a loud yawn and turned to the window.
"Daylight already?"
Beyond the square pane of the window were the sight of a massive harbor with ships, rock walls, townhouses, and sailors rotating in and out of the docks. The sun filtered through the clear windows and revealed a large wooden room around them; with a few beds, shelves, and things.
And just by that sight alone, Asahi knew that the others cared about them, and escorted Aletha and him to a better area.
He took a deep sigh and chose to relax some more.
After all, he had experienced a lot; almost dying in the process. But soon after, Aletha awakened as well; accidentally bumping her head on a shelf placed right above the bed. She even questioned why there were shelves there in the first place, but immediately settled down as she noticed Drimi, Phthonus, Narcissa, and Sally waiting on a bench on the other side of the room.
Two of the four were sleeping, while the others hastily rushed out of the bench with excitement. One was a dark-haired woman wearing a mask, Drimi, and another was a brown-haired girl, Narcissa. Narcissa knelt down, bowed to the wanderers, and praised with a look of true gratefulness.
"Thank you so much for saving my father. If it wasn't for both of you, this nation wouldn't have been here. Now that my father has been healed; the nation has become a lot more friendly."
Drimi barged in, chuckled a little, and nudged Narcissa on the arm.
"Don't worry kiddos, you're fine and okay. That elderly woman's powers' truly helped you recover faster…"
Asahi and Aletha nodded their heads silently. Drimi continued as Sally and Phthonus awakened.
"Anyways, now that I have my weapons… and once you two have got yourselves together; I'm going to prepare my ship. It's going to be a LONG ride to Linuxinia, so I hope you two don't get seasick."
Phthonus hastily rushed to two metal shelves, grabbed what looked like black blades, and gave them to the wanderers.
"My gift is thanks to both of you for changing me. I worked on upgrading your weapons and even added a hint of magic into them to make them stronger to pierce metal."
He clutched his fingers and rubbed them together.
"If it wasn't for the events of Dreamtoe, I wouldn't have changed and would have dwelled on the loss of my lover more. And also, Asahi… if you didn't know… your sister has a great voice and speech talent."
Asahi nodded his head, inclined his head, and sheathed the new blade toward the luminance of his hip. Remember, that his hip is his storage'; a backpack is another way of saying it. Aletha followed the actions of her brother, jumped up, and stared at the window.
As she stared, Drimi opened the door, greeted her sailors, and started preparing her ship.
After a few minutes, Narcissa grabbed the same suit, earring, and other attire Asahi wore back on their 'date' from her bag and willingly gave it to Asahi; blushing immensely in the process. She whispered while rolling her thumbs.
"Please, take it. You've earned it. Even though our date was an act, you managed to get me through my curse and change me for the better. So, in return… I'm giving you the stuff you wore on the date, so you can attract others better than me."
As Asahi carried the suit and placed it on his lap; Narcissa lightly giggled and said.
"I will make sure that I will find one suitable for me… someday. Oh! And also… the maids would really love you to have a visit to the palace someday. They were REALLY invested in you."
Asahi scratched his head, his face turned red, and he nodded.
"O-Okay… I-I'll keep note of that."
He stored the suit in his storage as well and smiled.
* * * * * * * *
After receiving gifts from many of their new friends, Asahi and Aletha realized that the real reward wasn't the gifts, the treasure, or their powers; but the friends they made as well. Even though they were gods, they acted just like any other human would. Sally scratched her head and mumbled.
"If only Belial and Akwan were still here. I'm sure that they know you two are doing well! Don't worry!"
Asahi and Aletha lightly chuckled and stored all their gifts in a safe place. After indulging in their success and reward, Drimi announced that the ship was ready for the wanderers to enter. As they felt the fresh breeze of the sea and docking ports touch their faces; Asahi and Aletha anticipated what was to come.
There is so much more of their world to explore. It's only just the beginning of their journey.
While stepping on the docks, they saw a massive dark ship; with eight to ten sails. There were purple stripes over the front, and in the back, there was a magenta heart. Obviously, this ship belonged to no other than Drimi.
Asahi and Aletha waved goodbye to Narcissa, Brich, and the others.
"Thanks a lot! We will miss you!" Screamed Aletha with a smile.
People jumped up and all replied.
"Thank you too!"
Drimi smiled and pulled Asahi and Aletha further into the ship; so they don't accidentally lose balance and fall. Sally and Phthonus insisted to go with the wanderers; not because of just following them, they wanted to return to their home nations as well.
So, as the bridge slowly rolled over; Drimi rang her bell, grabbed the steering wheel, and pointed the wanderers to the sight of the parting Pladtioa.
The wind blew perfectly on the sails, propelling them away from the docks and parting far from the shores. The moment the wanderers saw almost all the people of Pladtioa waving goodbye to them; it almost made the two shed a tear. But as adventures say; sometimes… you have to move on.
Before they knew it, the sight of the dock was already far from their reach. Drimi placed her captain hat on her head and turned to the vast blue sky above.
"Right, now who's READY to go to Linuxinia?!"
Everyone inside the ship hollered with joy and excitement; even Asahi and Aletha.
"WE ARE!"
. . .
Seeing the ship sail away, Sadiki waved his hand to Narcissa and Milna, smiling as he saw the ship slowly vanish to the horizon.
"Thank you… wanderers. Thank you so much... for undoing what I thought was impossible. You ARE the original gods of this world. And what you two did; is just a tiny step to what could be; a better world."