Brown dust spewed and scattered across the stone pavement like leaves.
"A… Akwan?"
"Do not move!" Screamed the mysterious figure as he sprung up from rooftop to rooftop, approaching ever so closer to the wanderers.
Asahi hurriedly grabbed Aletha's wrist and dragged her away from the market, dashing through the alleyways.
But what met them were the sight of five glistening knights, jabbing and pointing their spears at them. Aletha dared to intervene with her weak persuasion.
"Please, just let us go."
Immediately, another arrow steered directly toward her head. She quickly dodged it and backed away, searching for an alternate direction among this vast expanse of a city. She asked her brother with a trembling tone.
"What's happening?"
Asahi shrugged his shoulders and maintained his pace.
"Why are you asking me? I know just as much as you do."
The windows glared and casted a blinding reflection while the wanderers dashed through the stumbling crowds, hiding from the knights who searched for them.
Yet as they approached a winding stone bridge, the wanderers were met with a woman with long brown hair. Just by her appearance, Asahi and Aletha could tell she was powerful.
She lifted her hands and inquired as four more knights stepped forward at her side.
"Do not resist. You must be held responsible for your actions."
"What actions?! What did we do wrong?!" Screamed Aletha.
(BOOM!)
A brown fireball propelled straight from the woman's hands, dashing across and skimming their skin; crashing and scattering showers of stones on the walls of a restaurant. People cried and shuffled out.
A swarm of knights clashed their armor and swung their silver blades at the wanderers with no remorse. Some cried out.
"Listen to our majesty's orders at once!"
"Don't make us eliminate you!"
Instead of abiding by their orders, Asahi and Aletha fought with their fists and unleashed powerful blows with their legs, expelling swift gray strikes across the empty blue skies above, and knocking out a few.
Even though they lost most of their godly powers, they resorted to the only strength they had left; their physical powers.
"Take this!"
Suddenly, bodies flew left and right, crashing into the shallow pools of the fountains or onto the solid concrete ground on the sidelines. Citizens of all colors rushed away, but their gazes were met with two white-haired beings defending themselves from the unsupported onslaught of enemies.
"Isn't that the pansy we saw in the Library?"
Asahi's eyes widened, remembering those voices. He quickly ignored them and continued socking a punch at each of the helmets, tossing the bodies out onto the road. Aletha decided to run for it and flee from the group.
The barrage of enemies was too much for her and her brother to handle.
"Asahi, run!"
They never had to flee from their problems in the past.
Matter-in-fact, Asahi and Aletha always faced conflict head on, but that was when they had their powers. Without their abilities, the two were just mere weaklings in comparison. After all those years, Asahi and Aletha were forced to…
"RUN!"
As they approached another fountain among a block, the water started bending and coiling into strange patterns.
"W-What is going on?" Aletha trembled as her eyes shifted left and right. "Where did that man go?" It was clear to Asahi that she was speaking about Akwan.
He replied as he saw the red tiles scatter across the thick, parched brown ground.
"Never mind that. L… Let's just find a safe spot."
The white-haired girl gulped and nodded her head.
"O… Okay."
For a moment, there was silence. So quiet that anything distant from them could be heard.
Asahi and Aletha's backs turned away from the water, clueless as to what was behind them.
Then they turned around and saw those arms made of pure water drown and soak them like their awakening among their cruel and changed world.
"Listen." Said a calm but resonant voice. The wanderers' heads turned left and saw a towering woman with long platinum hair grab onto the slick water arms.
"Just listen to us and you will be spared from our majesty, Narcissa, from elimination."
The same masculine figure they met earlier, who had daunting, chipped and cold emerald eyes and a longbow; swiftly tumbled and rolled on the floor.
He jerked his thin body upward and grabbed arrows fabricating from thin air, then the dark-haired woman grabbed a swirling purple heart-catalyst and prepared to attack the two. She alerted as her mask glimmered under the rising sun.
"Cease yourselves and face the consequences."
The brown-haired woman who they had met earlier, approached the five from behind and lifted her arm nonchalantly.
"Hold your weapons still. These two do NOT deserve to be eliminated. Unlike my settlers."
"B-But, Narcissa, these two infiltrated and invaded Pladtioa City without going through the process." Said the green-eyed boy as he lowered his bow down. "Come on…"
The beautiful yet feisty brown-haired woman, whom the boy called "Narcissa" sneered at the boy and distracted herself, swaying her hands, and stomping on the ground. She commanded as shuffling footsteps sounded soon after.
"I only ordered you to capture the two, Belial. NOT eliminate them."
"Those two… they look familiar! You're correct--
Suddenly, the platinum-haired woman darted her hot-pink eyes toward the two shadows left by the tracks of the fleeing two and alerted as the spouts of water collapsed into wet puddles.
"Umm, Belial, and master, the ones you have ordered us to chase…h… have vanished."
All the group sprung up in shock.
"Huh?!"
. . .
All of it was too sudden for them. Aletha shrieked out as she panted heavily.
"Bro, look, over there!"
The siblings found a hiding spot among golden-brick walls just meters of their reach.
The blinding sunlight streamed inside and touched their faces faintly like the canals of water streaming among this beautiful yet dangerous residential area.
They couldn't believe how much had happened, and their hearts were racing uncontrollably.
Asahi recollected as he pulled out The Forbidden Book from his pockets and sat on a dark wooden bench.
(So, we lost both Akwan and that girl, got chased from these five without knowing the reason, and now end up here? I… I'm so confused. Could this book be why they have chased us?)
He looked over, seeing Aletha hunch over and pant heavily, almost gasping for air and sweating densely. She pushed her long white hair away and commented as crickets and a stray canine dashed from the dirt roads paving through this rural area, near her feet.
"I… I can't believe it.. I…" She gasped and groaned in pain. "Why were they chasing us?"
Asahi was just as confused as her. Especially when he was informed that there was no library, yet the people that stalked them from the window were there with the crowd.
The mystery of this place flooded his mind with spiraling and endless thoughts as he looked over to the tall and oversized apartments surrounding every corner of his sight.
"Why was this book given to us? I'm... s-so confused."
After the quiet breeze pushed his long white hair back, Asahi pried the golden book open and gasped in shock, seeing a blurry and smudged illustration of him and Aletha running away from those exact people in that position.
It was tainted in black ink, spreading across the page. It then blurred and vanished back into the blank expanse of the paper, as if the mysterious illustration wasn't supposed to be seen.
Teeming confusion dawned in Asahi's brain, forcing him to drop the book out of spite and mutter.
"Was that… us?"
Aletha budged in and interrupted with a playful tone.
"Huh, what 'cha lookin' at?"
Curious and confused, the white-haired girl pulled out her pencil and raced toward the book. She asked as her trembling and quivering gray eyes darted over to Asahi's pale and distraught face.
"Bro, what's wrong?"
Asahi gulped and tried to hide his fearful expression from Aletha. He stepped forward and looked over to the clouds overshadowing them, then back to the tall oversized buildings coated in brown and asked peculiarly.
"Aletha, you know those illustrations we saw back in that library? One t-that looked like us?"
She nodded her head slowly and scratched her chin.
"Mhmm..."
She then looked over and tried to take a peek without ever listening to Asahi's consent, almost like a curious and intolerant child. She pushed her brother's shoulder over and whispered as people wandered about the rural area.
"What is it?! Let me see."
Aletha cocked a brow in surprise, recollected the illustrations she saw in the library.
"E-Eh?!"
In her perspective, the girl remembered seeing five drawings engraved into the sparkling and mysterious book. One was the illustration of this current event, the other a kitsune where they have yet to encounter, another the two among this dungeon meeting with a tall man, and the others.
Quickly, Aletha grabbed the book and examined all the lines on the fading illustrations, before swiftly giving it back and commenting curiously.
"Hmm, I remember seeing illustrations of us in weird environments before, but never have I-- w… wait… i-is that--
Asahi nodded and snapped his fingers.
"Yes, that was us when we were getting chased."
"H… How?! That was… a present event. I don't…" Aletha squinted her eyes closer to the book, and turned all of it page by page to try and find any more illustrations they have yet to find.
Strangely enough, the only illustration that was left among the fading and magical ink of this forbidden page, was one that didn't even include them.
A realizing-look crept into Asahi's face. He muttered as they saw a tall masked woman soaring from one silent rooftop to the other, chasing them.
"That drawing looks so similar to that peculiar room I encountered the other day. I wonder if The Forbidden Book has…"
Aletha felt like she had no more time to goof around. Her anxiety got the best of her, forcing her to raise her voice among this quiet and tame community.
"H-Huh? Who cares?! Let's just find Akwan, and get the heck out of here!"
(ZOOM)
As they approached a steep dead end among the rural area, the masked woman quickly swooped downward and obstructed their paths. She unsheathed a glistening purple dagger out from her pocket and pushed the poor people away, accidentally destroying huts and snapping her fingers.
"You two dunderheads shouldn't be scattering about in a place like this? Don't you know how long it took for me to find you?! Now, cease and surrender before you get hurt!"
And yet, Asahi and Aletha never listened.
They didn't even put up a fight with her and instead, stood still and prepared for the worse.
Extraordinarily, in just a faint miracle of them about to be injured by the shimmering and sharp purple daggers from the woman; the forbidden book was forced and glued open to the eerie ink-drawing plastered among the left page.
(ZZZRT)
A golden light flooded, encircled, and swallowed Asahi and Aletha whole suddenly, forcing their visions to flash into darkness.
"Please, help us!"
* * * * * * * *
The sight that met them as their eyes widened, was a familiar room covered in dense vines, dirt, sticky mud, and scattered with debris, and seven frightful figures.
A voice screamed out to them as daggers pointed directly at Asahi and Aletha's throat.
"WHERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS?!"
Confused, Aletha's eyes swiftly opened to the sight of a trashed room with toppled silver brewing stands, scattered bookshelves, a chipped, vine-infested fireplace, and fallen crates. It looked more like a dirty place than a room.
After the sudden flicker of light she saw prior, Aletha found the same man lying on the floor, his body slowly disintegrating into blue, lavender, and cyan-colored piles of ash.
"Agh... uh."
Struggling next to her was a familiar white-haired boy, spilling out words of confusion.
"W-What happened?! What is GOING on?!"
While she had instantly awakened and rubbed dust off her body, Aletha felt a hard surface beneath her back. It was a solid texture that matched the feeling of a book.
Now more than ever, both Asahi and Aletha were even more confused than before. Could it be that all of what happened before was an illusion?
"N-No, it couldn't be." Whispered Aletha as she looked over to her hands. "I-I could have sworn I was in that rural place moments ago."
Unexpectedly, after Aletha mumbled, a groan sounded near her, followed by a screaming voice.
"Sis!"
A deep, grueling, and grating voice sounded to their right.
"Oh… so these two are awake too? I thought they were dead."
Asahi and Aletha's gay eyes went wild with fear as they saw five pointing silver gleaming daggers close to their neck. All the thieves clenched the hilt and leered closer, not feeling familiarity at all with this recurring scenario. They asked the wanderers again with an even more trembling tone.
"I will repeat myself again. Where are the ingredients?! Speak!"
Vines dangled above their heads, boots scattered around, and screeching voices sounded upstairs.
With so much confusion flooding their minds like an enclosed container, Asahi quickly shoved one of the bandits away and snatched their dagger, instantly piercing it through their flesh and spreading steamy green goop across the ground.
Although the thieves looked human, not once had crimson blood spilled from their wounds. Asahi pondered as he saw Aletha fend off the enemies that had approached her.
(I could have sworn I have been in this room before. But… something looks off. It's the book, I know it.)
Despite this room looking completely parallel to the one that he came across before, Asahi still felt paranoid about what could be outside.
This mind-boggling trip was enough to force Asahi to vomit out of disgust. He quickly dashed over to the last thief, pushing him to the ground among a nasty brown puddle and screaming.
"What ingredients are you talking about?! Haven't you two had enough of us?!"
A disgusted sneer came from the bandit's dirt-tattered face.
"The hell are you talking about? Are you a psycho or what?!"
"Huh?!"
Without remorse, Asahi quickly got pushed and shoved toward the bookshelves, toppling down his head and feeling the thick muck coating his face.
"Just tell us where the ingredients are!"
Aletha cried out as she lumbered from wall to wall, dodging thick projectiles of stingy mud that splattered from the gaping holes on the walls.
"We don't know what you're talking about!"
"YES YOU TWO DO!" Even with all their complaints, the thief had no memory about encountering this eerily similar conflict before.
He acted just as Asahi remembered, being as stingy and ignorant as ever. Something was clearly wrong about all of this, Asahi knew that very well.
His trembling and mucus-covered eyes darted over to the objects scattered about this mud-infested room. Instead of a few bows, there was only one; which had a bright brown color.
Its appearance matched exactly to the arched and curved one that the boy was holding.
The one with emerald-eyes and black hair.
Was it possible that the bow could serve as a gateway for Asahi to use and slaughter whatever had pried among this decrepit area? Or was there something more sinister lingering within it? Could this be a parallel place that he transported to.
Brushing those questions aside, the wanderers had no time to interfere. As Asahi could keep grasp onto his thoughts--
(SHING)
One of the bandits still managed to strike.
A silence crept inside the room. The thief's pale face steered over to the dirty stained blade dropped on the floor. He backed away fearfully and stammered as Aletha and Asahi too, have backed away.
"P… Please, we just want the ingredients. It's… for something important."
"What are they?! If you want them so badly, shouldn't you ask first before you start killing us? Stupid." Screamed Aletha as her tattoo on her face started to glow. "Tell us now!"
Without a train of thought, the white-haired boy crawled desperately to the bow on the wall, clenched the tip tightly, and breathed heavily.
His face warmed up in bright crimson, using almost all his strength to slowly pull and catapult the string tightly. The bow trembled along with his fear, losing the ability to focus precisely on the target itself.
Asahi felt so weak that he collapsed to his knees and whimpered.
"Come… on."
Although the boy he met before could have been his enemy, Asahi still felt linked and intertwined by the surging aura that had resonated within their weapon.
In correspondence to this daunting event, he quickly grabbed the bow up from the mud puddles and pushed himself back to his feet.
His sight caught luminescent green particles fluctuating and swirling within the tightly knotted string attached together.
"I… don't have experience. I don't know who any of these people are…but…" He panted heavily and gasped with his faint breaths, noticing the thief standing still. Asahi stepped closer and heard creatures flood the room. His focus was only on the bow and the thief that stood before him.
"I just want my sister and I to be safe."