Although they had found a way outside of the deep pit, there was yet another gap that stood before them. One so troubling, they couldn't find a way across no matter how much they tried. But this pit wasn't even a hole at all, it was a metaphoric standard for how lost they felt when they wandered deep into Linuxinia's wildlife.
Asahi and Chloe searched everywhere for the others.
Despite the thick green bushes, the long grass terrain, and practically everything flora-related; there was not a trace of anyone else around. The only thing that had greeted them was a long "corridor" made of hard brown earth and thick vegetation that led over to an opening out the dark forest. Chloe muttered as the sunlight streamed out the bushes.
"It's been hours and we still haven't found a single trace of anyone."
"Unfortunately. I don't even know where we are." Asahi said as he passed through vines that scraped his head. "I miss my sister, now."
Chloe could feel the same for Asahi. She had always wanted to talk with her brother again, but that day never came. She thought to push that thought aside and continue onward, afterall, that's how progression could be made in life. And so was she awarded with an outstanding sight.
As she passed through the vine curtains, her bright brown eyes were greeted with the sight of a tall open grassy space standing at the center of several encircling mountains. The mist of the flowing waterfalls hovered heavenly among the fields of lush flora and vegetation, along with the tall pine trees and flock of animals.
From both above and below the surrounding hills were tall slanted bridges winding down to lower elevation. Of those bridges, four of them led directly to a massive wooden mansion with several other occupants such as a garden, fountain, farm, shed, and plenty more.
"So this place was here all the time? This house has the best spot, scenery wise."
Chloe couldn't help but giggle at Asahi's commentary. She walked with him down the bridge and gazed at the gorgeous scenery around her. It felt as if every corner of this place pulsed with life.
When they approached the mansion, Asahi and Chloe were met with a beautiful young maid with powder blue hair extended on half her neck, round sunny blue eyes, and creamy skin. Her outfit was short in length and with pretty lace drawstrings across her bust and with one white apron tied around her waist. It was nothing more than the appearance of a maid.
In Asahi's eyes, her petite and adorable appearance reminded him of Kali. Although her appearance was of one to take note; not once had she bat an eye to Asahi.
But Chloe on the other hand, was invested with her appearance. While they stood there and waited for a response, the maid bowed down and introduced herself.
"Greetings, my name is Kendra. I am a worker and maid for the Loire residence. We appreciate you two for visiting! If you want, please… follow me to the front door, where I will introduce you to the owner of the Loire Household."
Chloe and Asahi had nothing better to do, so they shrugged and went with it. The front door wasn't made of wood unlike the rest of the halls, but instead, clear glass. It felt strange for Asahi, but it looked to Chloe that she was used to this. So, as she and him stepped up the stairs and followed Kendra into the mansion, four other maids rushed down the spiral stairs and bowed down to the visitors. Telos had yet to say a word amid the arrival.
"Greetings, visitors! We are the maids of this household!"
A crimson-haired maid pointed over to the dining room which was only a long hallway away.
"Our master should be in the dining room. If you could be so kind, please follow us."
Asahi and Chloe nodded silently and jumped as they heard the glass door slam shut. It only made them wonder what this household had to store.
* * * * * * *
"Mr. Toivo, two visitors have arrived!" Kendra expressed with a cutesy voice.
A man with a square-faced chin, a long nose, and vibrant aqua blue hair pushed his chair up and watched as Chloe and Asahi entered the dining room.
"Ahh, visitors?" His squinted blue eyes widened in surprise as his eyes caught notice of Asahi's hair color. "Hold on, does that boy have white hair?"
Kendra nodded along with all the other maids. "Indeed."
"That's very peculiar. I have never seen someone so young have such a bright shade on their hair, if not… ever. Please, help yourselves and take a seat."
Asahi and Chloe nodded silently and found seats that were nearest to the windows. Instead of the sun shining on their faces like Mr. Toivo, the sun shone on Ashai and Chloe's backs.
The warmth in the room felt so comfortable to them, that they just wanted to stay here and do nothing for the rest of the day. However, Mr. Toivo was against that, and so he walked up to his maids and ordered them to "Cook up something' that would feed the visitors."
They immediately stood back up and turned over to Mr. Tovio, questioning why it was that they would accompany two visitors and waste their time and resources on them.
As to which the man replied with a warming tone.
"No, we must treat our visitors as our own. Cook up something for them, now! That's an order! Also, while you all are on that, use the meat we hunted three days ago!"
All five maids nodded their heads and bowed down.
"Yes, master."
"Oh, please. Just call me Mr. Toivo. Stop resisting to call me that."
Kendra, the blue-haired girl, stepped forward and trembled.
"B-But… that seems disrespectful to us."
Toivo made a chuckle of apprehension and turned over to Asahi.
"Sigh, do you see what I mean when I say that my maids are so stubborn?"
Asahi shrugged confusedly as he saw the maids scamper their way out from the dining room.
"No, not at all."
At this moment, Asahi had no idea what was going on, especially after he was literally tossed into a pit a few hours ago. Goes to show just how chaotic his journey would escalate.
Although he did have feelings for Kali, when he saw Kendra; those same feelings had transmitted more to her appearance. It was just something about her hair color that sprawled up a teeming sense of adoration in her.
But as the glittering sun had descended further closer to the horizon, the golden chandeliers flickered on, followed by sweet, cinnamon-scented candles enlightening the room in an orange light.
Mr. Toivo adjusted his monocle and fixed his hat, then he went over to the two and setted up the white cloth on the table, asking them with a kind tone.
"So, what is it that you need? Surely if you two chose to approach my mansion upon free will, you must know who I am, right?"
Both Chloe and Asahi shrugged with a genuine look of cluelessness. The man quickly toppled a chair down to the ground accidentally, gasped, and stammered with a look of shame on his face.
"You two can't be serious?! Then why is it that you arrived here? Do you two have any problems I could fix?"
Chloe twiddled her thumbs and gulped. Although she could understand, not once had she replied because of how little she knew about Gincad's language. With this thought in mind, Asahi could read her thoughts. He pushed his chair to the side and erupted with a look of desperation.
"Yes, my friend Chloe…" Asahi tried to be as polite as possible as he pointed to the martini-haired girl. "Had some trouble understanding our language."
Toivo caged his fingers and rested his chin on his wrist; invested and thought of how he could solve this problem.
"Oh, well… I can easily arrange a tutoring lesson from my maids, as they are highly intelligent and knowledgeable about that stuff." He chuckled as he saw the dumbstruck look on Asahi's face.
"Did you two are truly oblivious to who I am, well… I am no other than Mr. Toivo; a wise and intelligent being that grants assistance to visitors that have either stumbled upon here or searched for my mansion. It appears that you two have stumbled upon here, so… as to how my kindness works."
Toivo reached over to a solid brown pin resting atop the silk white cloth of the table, and placed it on Chloe's open palms. He then hollered out to one of the many maids and called over a crimson-haired girl to accompany her. She asked with her warm and soothing voice.
"Yes, what is it that you need me to do, Mr. Toivo?"
He rolled his eyes, cracked a grin at her, and leaned over to whisper.
"Finally, at least ONE of you called me that. A-Anyways, do you see that girl with faint red hair?"
The maid nodded.
"Indeed, sir."
"I want you to educate her and give her lessons about the world's universal language. Don't be rough now, you here? She barely knows any of the language."
The maid's brows drew together and her gaze directed over to Chloe.
"Understood. I will try my best!"
In her mind, she knew that this would be more of a challenge for her as judged by her past experience with educating people.
So, to wipe her nervousness aside, the corners of her mouth quivered with a look of confidence, and she walked over to Chloe, grabbing her hand and escorting her out the dining room. As the girl was completely unaware, Asahi lifted his hand in a dismissive greeting and alerted her.
"Don't worry, you will be fine! Just try to understand her, she will teach you the language. Okay?"
Chloe resisted at first but then as she saw the door to the grand library of this huge mansion, she gave a thumbs up and replied brightly.
"Okay, Asahi!"
As he saw her vanish into the doors, Tovio's eyes dragged over Asahi's. He fixed his handkerchief and coughed with an annual look of attention-seeking, immediately shifting his kind tone to one of seriousness and masculinity.
The blue-haired man then grabbed a wooden sword, slid it to Asahi across the table, and muttered as the sun started to descend into the horizon of trees.
"As for you, boy, I know well that the only thing you want from me is to learn how to fight. I can sense it already in you that you don't know a single way on how to use the magic in Linuxinia."
His gray eyes rounded in shock.
"H-How do you know that?"
Toivo crossed his arms and gave a snarl before he then pushed Asahi out the doors and shouted as the maids watched.
"I know many things, afterall, that's how I got this prosperous in the first place. Now, I know you have a feeling of not wanting to do this, but if you want to become stronger, the first thing to do is to immediately push you out without warning."
He pushed the glass doors open and led Asahi down the stone steps, revealing the thriving garden surrounding the mansion. His eyes were like silver-lightning, sharp, and quick-witted as he analyzed Asahi's thin and pathetic build.
"If you want to become stronger and become a man, instead of whoever you are, I am willing to give you three lessons."
Asahi tried to back up as he felt offended but shook his head and followed this stranger's orders.
Never had he thought that he would have ended up here after being senselessly abused by a certain foe. He still had growing concerns for Aletha too. As Asahi thought about the choice, he turned over and saw Toivo's eyes were closed as he felt the cold breeze of evening approach from the sunset.
"I can tell your puny self was beaten by someone. Don't worry, I'll teach you. Every boy that arrived here out of desperation and accident had at least once gone through my training." He scratched his chin with a look of perplexity, and flexed his bulging muscles despite his age.
Asahi's eyes froze still in shock as he saw that build glimmer among the orange light of the sun. It just motivated him more to join.
As Toivo's mind recollected the many memories with his past students, he pushed Asahi with an attentive tone and informed.
"Listen, some have quit because it was hard. I know you're a stranger and all, but… knowing of the aura that shines through you, I can see heavy potential. These lessons will not be explained until you pass the first test. It's guaranteed that if you are willing to go through this gauntlet, you will become a changed man in just a few days."
A faintly quizzical look came into Asahi's gray eyes as he thought about whether to trust this man or not.
"A… Are you sure--
Toivo rudely mocked.
"O-Oh… a-are you s-sure… shut the hell up and stop stuttering. See, if you were to go through my training, you wouldn't be a whiny little coward that gives up the moment that they make one stupid mistake."
As a silence dawned in the area, Toivo slowly offered a wooden sword to Asahi. He asked as stars started to sparkle among the clear sky.
"So, are you willing to take up a challenge and become a man? I promise you, you won't be depressed and dumb as you are now. That disgusting frown on your face will turn into one of a glorious smile in a couple of days."
After Asahi looked at the patches of bright, virescent cyan flowers, he tightened his fists and reached over to the wooden blade in approval. He muttered as the cool breeze urged him to put up with this challenge and brush away the concerns for Joshilyn, Canyon, Aletha, and the others.
"Fine, I'll try…."
The man gave an disgusted snarl and pulled away the wooden sword.
"The hell did you say?"
"I'll try!" He replied gently as his hands tried to reach over to the blade again. Toivo slapped his wrists and grabbed Asahi by the neck, being unnecessarily furious at the process.
"What?! I can't hear you?!"
Asahi's blood started to boil with frustration. As he extended his arm over to the wooden blade again from Toivo, Asahi screamed at the top of his lungs.
"I SAID, I'LL TRY!"
A satisfied smile dawned up from Toivo's face. He patted the boy's back and leaned over the wooden sword to Asahi's open palms.
"That's my boy! Alright, your training starts…"
But just as the wooden sword could touch the boy's hands, the man quickly pulled it away and snapped it in half, crushing it into pieces in front of him.
(SNAP)
"... now."
In response to this, Asahi lowered his eyebrows, shook his fists, and tension in neck-chords stood out from his burning infatuation from Toivo's ruthless act.
"Why did you do that?! I thought that was mine!"
(SLAM)
Before Asahi knew it, Toivo pushed him away from the mansion, slammed the front doors shut, and locked them, then the back doors, and practically every single door in the mansion away from his grasp without any explanation. Every single light in the place turned off as evening struck and loud, inhumane groans sounded beneath the soil on Asahi's feet.
"W… What in the world?! How is this training?! Why did you lock me out?!"
Asahi pressed his lips together and made a long-suffering sigh.
(KNOCK)
"Hello?! Let me in!"
(KNOCK)
(KNOCK)
"Are you kidding me?! This is stupid--
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, as the defenseless, confused white-haired boy tried to slam the door at the mansion, he felt a frigid touch of a hand grasp tightly onto his ankles.
A ghastly whiteness overspread his cheek as his eyes widened and narrowed down below.
A silent gusty breeze blew his hair about unheeded as he tried to pull himself away from the grasp. He had thought it was just some sort of grasp, but then…
"AH!"
His eyes caught a horrifying glimpse of a crooked, faint teal, undead hand clenching on his ankles. It was at this moment Asahi realized that this place was infested with…
"ZOMBIES?!"