. . .
Asahi and Kendra stood in astonishment upon witnessing their enemy, who once seemed unstoppable, get overwhelmed by their power for the first time. They both looked forward in bewilderment, watching the dust from the collapse swirl before settling down.
"Did… we… do that?" Kendra mumbled as she felt the powerful aura travel out from her body.
Asahi shrugged and raised his eyebrows, wholly bewildered at this phenomenon. Never would he have thought to see such unfathomable power come from a young woman like Kendra. Yet, he could care less about being surprised. As long as the looming threat of The Guardian had ceased, Asahi was relieved.
"I think so," Asahi replied as he bent down to pick up his blade. "Say, what did you feel before you… did that?"
As they slowly turned away from the pile of rubble and ruins toward the distant, glowing golden light shining just barely in the distance, Kendra made a downcast expression and answered with a mumble.
"I… felt a sharp feeling enter my feet. It felt like… a glass had pierced me despite being underwater. And Asahi, I think you have also helped me awaken it."
"Really?" Asahi muttered back with a raised eyebrow. "Well, you surprised me. I never knew you had that power in the first place, let alone heal yourself in battle."
As the intensity and threatening aura of the situation ceased, Kendra nodded in sureness and answered with a small smile, hearing the loud trickles of the water droplets falling and echoing across the nameless caverns.
"Heh. Yeah. I have always had this power."
After a few moments of silence, Asahi and Kendra had approached ponds. They were thick, shallow pools of water scattered about a forest buried underneath the ground.
Once the two had reached this point, Kendra twiddled her thumbs and resumed her discussion with Asahi in an unsure tone. She said while looking down.
"L…Look, Asahi, I know I haven't told you this yet. But... long ago… When I was young and still in Destia, a strange young woman with long dark hair and blue eyes gave me a weird power. A power that only activates whenever I grab someone's hand."
Suddenly, Kendra gulped down a breath of anxiety.
Blurry memories of waterspouts, tsunamis, and rain flooded her mind. Her eyes trembled back and forth as she felt the chilling texture of liquid run down her body. However, this was just a hallucination. All of it was a hallucination. It served as a reminder to what her power was.
But Kendra never remembered her power being so powerful.
Not long after the sudden mute, Kendra lowered her hand into the puddle and continued.
"When I obtained that power, I felt as if all the water in the world was with me. There was so much I could do with that ability. I could unleash tiny streams of water straight from thin air, I could control the patterns of the waves and tides, I could even propel myself by summoning strange Geysers out of the blue! But..."
Taking another pause, Kendra remembered what had just occurred after her foot touched that strange shard under the shallow underground lake. Looking back at her hands, Kendra shook her head and continued.
"... out of all my years possessing that gift, I never would have thought to unleash whatever that was we made just now. I don't even know why I felt a sharp feeling on my foot."
After she pulled her hand out of the water, she tilted her head upward at Asahi, throwing a skeptical squint at Asahi's face.
"H…Hold on," Kendra mumbled as her blue eyes daggered at Asahi's. "The look on your face tells me you have experienced this type of thing before. Did you experience this thing too?"
Without hesitation, Asahi straightened his posture and answered with a nod and unsure tone.
"Well, not exactly." He said. "I don't have a water power like yours. However, that sharp feeling you have described was the exact feeling I felt before I used my power against The Guardian."
Kendra's azure eyes widened in surprise, remembering what she saw when she was distant from The Guardian.
"OH! So it was YOU who unleashed that deafening blow!?" She screamed confusedly, cringing at the tone of her reply shortly after.
Suddenly, a silence broke out after her loud reply. During that silence, Kendra looked back and forth at Asahi's presence, disbelieving and stunned about Asahi's response. But after a while, Kendra took deep breaths, then immediately shouted loudly once again.
"So... you were the one who had stopped time itself? How did you even do that?! The whole world was shaking from that attack!"
"It was... a primordial power of mine," Asahi calmly responded as he tilted his head up to the ceiling of crystals. While their eyes followed the glittering trails of sparkle dust, Asahi revealed something to Kendra.
"Long ago, when I was still a god, I used that power to stop incoming threats from the cosmos from invading my world. Many dangers from The Outside desired for this world to be destroyed. But my family resisted, and with all our power, just like the one I used before, everyone in my family had defended our abode to keep it alive."
Kendra's eyes shrunk in fear. She couldn't imagine what it would be like to use such power as Asahi's to defend an entire world. From her perception she struggled to believe that a boy like Asahi could do such things. And the reveal that Asahi had other family members undoubtedly made Kendra curious.
(Hmm, so Asahi has a family?) She thought quietly.
As a sudden chill entered between them, hearing the underground winds howl across the strange shape of the massive cave, Asahi turned downward to his shadow on the floor and continued.
"But, after a sudden calamity that destroyed my world, my sister and I were left alone in the cosmos. Every day that was to pass, my sister and I would feel our power slowly draining away. Until nothing of our old power was left."
Staring coldly at Kendra's eyes, Asahi clenched his fists and tried to suppress his feelings of frustration as he continued.
"We had to depend on nothing but our luck and physical strength… to keep us alive."
"Oh…" Kendra muttered as she slowly covered her mouth with her palm. "I guess you two have really, REALLY good luck then. I never knew you had a sister."
Though the moment may have been grim and dreary, that little crumb of humor radiating from Kendra's response eclipsed those feelings, verbally comforting Asahi despite the situation that had transpired minutes before.
As they stepped back from the puddle, slowly parting further away from the injured otherworldly knight buried in debris, Asahi nodded and replied to Kendra with a soft grin.
"Ha. I guess we both do." He said. "You know, I thought I had lost that power. It had been years since I had used it. That's why I am surprised to see that primeval ability return during that moment. I suppose it has to do something with the pain we both felt in our feet."
Seeing the memories of that specific, glittering shard burst into his mind, Asahi took a deep breath and asked.
"Kendra, what do you think happened when you felt that glass pierce your skin?"
Kendra had many things swirling in her head that Asahi never knew about.
Although she had won against the battle with The Guardian, she was still fighting a war inside her mind. Her glittering blue hair shimmered and sparkled as she turned to Asahi.
"I…" Kendra replied, biting her lip as she thought about her answer. "I… don't know. I… I DON'T KNOW! How am I supposed to know about that? All I knew was that I unleashed that giant water spout… That's it!" The tone in her voice gradually broke into an frustrated one as she continued. "I NEVER saw that coming. I never saw ANY of this coming! I never would have guessed that I would be in this weird place with you. D...Did you forget who I am? I'm just a maid!"
Slowly, the frustrated tone in her voice faded into one of sorrow. At a glance, she tilted downward and closed her eyes, welling up tears of guilt as she spoke.
"I'm just... an ordinary maid. A girl that cleans up the mess of others and a failure who chose to do nothing with what they learned. All I have done was simply cook and clean. I'm nothing more than that. Can't you realize? Even with my power, I'm still… nothing."
A silence awakened after her last word at that moment.
After Kendra expressed her genuine feelings, Asahi struggled whether or not to reply and take this discussion to another direction.
Kendra wasn't a god like Asahi or Aletha, nor was she a high-ranking member of some powerful organization. She didn't even seem like a hero when Asahi had first encountered her at the bridge extending toward Toivo's mansion.
Regardless, though Kendra may not have known it, Asahi had a deep feeling that there was potential in her.
"Kendra. Kendra, please. I KNOW that you are a maid. I never expected more from you." He said with a calm manner. Immediately, the blunt response made Kendra look at Asahi. At first, she gave him skeptical looks before letting him continue.
"But, have you realized what this place did to you? When I was in danger, you took the initiative to protect me. Even when you were powerless, you did your best to fend off those monsters with your strength, all to protect me. You revealed your true self and the power that was in you, even when I wasn't aware. I...If not, I... should consider you as my hero."
As the silence grew, Kendra looked up at Asahi silently.
Although it was dark, seeing Asahi's perfect face, straight posture, body, and attire reminded Kendra so much of that man that raised her in Obrus. For a moment, Kendra imagined herself standing in that jungle with the man. Long radiant white hair, smooth skin, and tattoos.
There was so much she could remember about him, that she was almost frightened about it. But, as that image faded away to the dark Caverns before her, Kendra's eyes started to well up tears.
(He… He was the father I had always wanted.) Kendra sniffled as she wiped a tear out of her eye. (And now… I… I failed him, and my real father.)
Witnessing the sad sight before him, Asahi decided to keep his mother shut.
. . .
Seconds passed, and yet not a single response was made.
The more that Asahi and Kendra stood in silence, the more that they gradually realized that this… adventure in the Nameless Caverns had benefited them both.
Firstly, stumbling upon this mysterious place had opened Kendra's perspective on the world and Asahi. The conflicts and memories that had arisen from here had almost motivated Kendra to become someone she wanted to be, instead of someone she did not.
Not only that, but on the other side of the situation, encountering the Nameless Caverns and the followers had opened a door to understanding the history of the changed world for Asahi.
And lastly, this place somehow made both of them recollect their long lost memories. After all, memories are what bring all together.
Without encountering The Nameless Caverns, Kendra would have still been a maid for years, and Asahi... would still have thought that he had lost his old world, and Aiyana.
However, it seemed that Kendra had more to speak about. Following the abrupt cut-off, she slowly stepped back, twiddled her thumbs and kept her azure eyes locked at Asahi's.
"You're right. I… had never considered myself a hero." She said as she slowly lifted her head up, pushing her powder-blue hair to the side. "I considered YOU as one."
Asahi raised an eyebrow at this unaccounted reply.
(Huh? That's a strange reply. What could Kendra possibly be thinking right now?) He thought.
As Asahi gave Kendra rapid blinks of curiosity, Kendra tilted her head up to the ceiling of glittering crystals and kept a tiny grin on her face. The anxious movements that had accompanied her slowly drifted away as a redness blemished her cheeks, remembering everything that led to this moment. As she felt a burning warmth in her heart tickling her, Kendra took a deep breath and revealed.
"From the moment I saw you on that bridge, to when I had helped feed you… to when I saw you fend yourself from those wretched zombies… to the time I saw you almost hurt yourself from working out… to the point I saw you change your style… I had always admired you."
Asahi's eyes rounded in shock. He gasped, his face turning red in disbelief like Kendra.
"R… Really?" He said in a confused manner.
"YES!" Kendra cried aloud, tears welling in her eyes. "The way you act and look reminds me so much of the man who raised me. Even though you were once a God, you still seem to have so much humanity. You have emotions. You care. You're intelligent! You… have INSPIRED ME! Unlike me, you succeeded in the trials Toivo gave you. And those are just a few things about you that I love."
Asahi's eyes rapidly blinked, trying to process what he had heard.
"So…"
Before he could say anything else, Kendra hurriedly sprinted to Asahi.
With one small hop, the blue-haired girl wrapped her arms around Asahi, pushing him close, and tightly caressing his arms.
. . .
Everything except them seemed to have blurred.
Kendra had locked her arms tightly against Asahi. Her grip growing tighter as the wind passed by them
The coldness of their surroundings had heated up as their arms locked onto each other. Their hearts had beat so rapidly that it felt to them that time had slowed down. While Asahi felt Kendra's hair brushing against his face, he mumbled.
"Kendra… What are you doing?"
Instead of answering, Kendra pressed her head against Asahi's shoulder, closing her eyes and smiling as she heard his heartbeat in his chest.
"Please… don't let go… Asahi." She whispered to him softly as tears slid down her face. "Just let me have this moment. Just for a few more seconds."
Hearing the desperate tone linger in Kendra's voice, Asahi nodded his head and grasped Kendra tightly, closing his eyes as he heard her sniffle.
In these quiet seconds, Asahi felt his heart skipping beats, feeling the tenderness of Kendra's arm brush pass him.
He knew that this embrace meant something more. And with this embrace, came all the memories of everything they had experienced here in The Nameless Caverns.
As they kept his arms locked around each other, Kendra whispered.
"Asahi. I understand now. I understand everything you have said." Her words echoed across the cavern's walls as she grasped on his back tighter "This place… has changed me. YOU have changed me, Asahi! Throughout all these years residing and never leaving Toivo's residence, I never would have guessed that wandering around this strange cave with you would make me realize… that I'm still young."
As the water droplets slipped from the stalactites and fell gracefully onto both of them from the ceiling, Kendra's smile expanded with her optimistic tone.
"It made me realize that I still have so much ahead of my life. For the years I have lived in Toivo's Residence, I never really understood that concept… until now. I... I was so lost before."
Opening her eyes, and feeling the memories pass by, Kendra raised her voice as she stared at Asahi.
"But the moment I met you, and stumbled upon this strange place, and experienced everything, I felt a feeling. Like I want to escape this cycle and start a new life. To become my person and pave my destiny."
Struck by her words, Asahi struggled with whether or not to reply.
(I know Kendra was just a maid. But after everything that had transpired, and how I imagine her life would be, I see her more as a warrior.) Asahi thought to himself.
Although he had never known of all of Kendra's past, the secret of Toivo, or what had truly happened when Kendra was protecting him; Asahi was grateful about everything she had done. He wanted to show his gratitude to not only her company, but his followers, his memory, and his wit for keeping himself together.
(So much has happened here.) Asahi thought. (But that doesn't mean all of it ENDS here. I promised my followers that I would take them to the surface. I promised myself that when I reach the surface, I will find Aiyana. And now, after seeing Kendra do this, I promise myself that Kendra will be able to pursue her desired life.)
As Kendra continued to stare at Asahi with a pleasant smile, his thoughts gradually transformed into voices.
(There is so much left unknown from me. Alaunus. My parents, my followers, and my past. The fate of my old world. Everything. I don't understand why Telos has gone quiet. Or why there's a knight from another realm here. But despite all of that, all I hope for is answers."
And so, after the warm, lovely embrace, Asahi patted Kendra's back and whispered to her as he clenched his fists.
"Kendra, I promise… I WILL get you out of here."
"Is there stuff you're thinking about? Did… did you understand what I said?"
Kendra asked as she felt her hand clench rightly onto Asahi's.
"Yes," Asahi replied. "I understood everything that you said, and I completely agree with you. If you want a new life, I will help you. You have too much potential to waste your life away being a maid, so like these millions of people dwelling underneath a beautiful world."
As they slowly climbed up the hills, traveling through the primeval forests, Asahi continued with a confident look.
"I want you to become someone better, Kendra. Not someone like me, but someone you WANT to be. If I inspire you, that's perfectly fine. As long as you are happy with who you are, I'll also be happy."
Kendra wiped the waterfalls from her wet eyes and smiled brightly. As her lips curled at the edges, it felt like she had just received the greatest of gifts, warming her heart even more than it already was.
"Thank you, Asahi," Kendra responded as she gazed at the scenery beyond the forest, watching the golden light in the distance expand.
"Thank you so much. For everything you have done for me and the others you love. I WILL be someone who I want to be."
* * * * * * *
After that heartwarming moment, Asahi and Kendra approached the other side of the hill of The Nameless Caverns in hopes to find the exit and reunite with the other followers.
Because of the battle with The Guardian, Asahi, and Kendra found themselves several kilometers away from their exit.
Upon their short journey, Asahi brought a couple of his followers left from that village he had stumbled upon from the battle. After all, if he could get some people to the surface, why not bring them all?
During his march toward the light, Asahi was curious whether or not his followers were waiting for him. He could hardly tell how long it had been since the battle had begun. He only hoped for the followers on the other side to be alive.
"I hope my followers are still waiting for us,"
Asahi mumbled as he kept his grasp on Kendra's hands.
"I'm sure they are," Kendra said as she kept her spirits high.
"After all, I don't think they would suddenly disobey the god they worshiped for several years."
"Yeah, you're right."
After hearing Kendra's sensical response, he nodded in agreement and continued his march toward the light again.
(Thank you so much for that hug, Asahi. It really meant a lot to me.)
. . .
However, trembling deep in the pile of debris and stone several meters behind Asahi and Kendra, streams of cyan light emerged.
A steel and tattered arm slowly rose from the pile of debris.
Then, a glittering and deadly cyan spear soared toward one of its hands before being clenched tightly with brutal force.
(CLANK)
In a swift and painful motion, the knight lifted its tattered arms from the pile of debris, forcing chunks of rocks outward as it swiftly rose back to its feet.
The once-pristine armor that shone with the light of a thousand stars got riddled with cracks and dents. The intricate engraving that once had adorned the armor was now barely visible, as the metal had been twisted and distorted in the heat of that devastating event.
"No."
What indeed sold the knight's utterly pitiful appearance was its exposed glowing cyan heart which palpitated despite the massive hole cut deep through its shattered chest.
"I refuse to back down." It uttered painfully with its echoing voice.
The Guardian's cyan heart bled out light as it tossed the debris out to the side. Yet its determination and willpower remained evident in its movements, even after the fight.
With each footstep, it felt as if their entire presence was breaking into a million pieces. But, even with that, The Guardian knew that something was unfinished.
"I must…"
Its movements were slow and labored.
Tracing Kendra's footsteps, the knight approached the glass shard poking out from the ground, quickly tearing it out like a weed. In an instant, several sparks of colors spewed out in a storm, spilling out of the crystal-like object like a broken hourglass. The Guardian gazed at the glass before crushing it and tossing it into the air like salt, whispering with its distorted voice.
"The Prism. ://: The Power of The Prism is never to be exploited with."
Though it was never to show emotions, The Guardian slammed its fist into the ground in rage and immediately launched itself into the air with its spear.
Soon, it began tracking Asahi and Kendra's every footstep from the distant foothills to the seething ponds. They were near.
Until finally, it revealed itself and noticed Asahi's accompanying peers. When they saw The Guardian, their confidence was long gone.
With nothing to help them, they had nothing left but their hopeless songs.
. . .
"W… What is that?!" A random villager cried out as it took two steps back.
Asahi and Kendra's mouths fell open in shock.
(No… this can't be. The Guardian… is still alive?) They both thought as they gave the broken knight an incredulous stare.
"None should ever exploit the inner power of The Prism of Creation." The Guardian uttered as it felt its cyan heart dripping with death. Once it took a step forward, Asahi and Kendra quickly straightened their postures and kept their stance, entranced by the knight's heavenly glance.
"Sin is behovely, but all shall be relieved and well even if The Sea of Light can't tell. None can tolerate such power. So let my power devour."
The Guardian's words had never been so cryptic before.
Asahi and Kendra were still stunned that The Guardian was still alive even with their powerful attacks. They were at a loss for words.
As The Guardian rooted its nearly broken boots into the solid ground, Kendra slowly conjured up a blue luminance in-between her palms and stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Asahi asked confusedly with wide eyes. "Don't you want to have a new life?"
"Yeah." Kendra nodded as she quickly clenched Asahi's hand. "But I also want to live in peace, not fear."
The broken knight proceeded to slam its feet down.
"://: The removal of human purpose is the biggest sin humanity can do!://:" The Guardian shouted as the ground below them trembled. Asahi and Kendra both grimaced at that sudden response. That saying had not at all fitted to the current situation. Instead, it belonged to someone else.
. . .
With each daunting footstep The Guardian took, a piece of their armor would crack. The once-shimmering metallic plates began to warm and twist as if under intense heat. The Guardian's body started to shudder and convulse as they felt their body beginning to break apart.
"I will not… fail!" They said as their voice repeatedly lifted and lowered to random pitches often.
In reaction to this sudden approach, Asahi, Kendra, and all the villagers were reeled away from The Guardian. All of them had noticed its cyan heart beating rapidly.
First, its arm piece shattered and tore down, exposing The Guardian's strange cyan liquid essence to everyone. Asahi and Kendra gasped in shock but retained their stance as they saw the demise of the knight continue.
The intense power and energy that had flown through The Guardian's being caused their body to splinter into countless pieces, leaving their armor to fall to the ground in a heap.
Now, Asahi and Kendra's eyes were rounded in shock as they witnessed the once-mighty knight that almost killed them transform into a collection of glowing, ethereal, floating fragments.
"What… happened?" Kendra uttered skeptically. "That was... too sudden."
" I don't know," Asahi said. "But we should get out of here quickly."
As they slowly backed up, finding another way to get away from the knight, the fragments of The Guardian's body began to assemble themselves, pulling together with each beat of their heart.
Slowly, the pieces started to reform into the shape of the knight once more, leaving the teal-green heart visible to the human eye.
While it slowly rose to their feet, their armor gleamed once more, fully restored, before cracking back into pieces. But even if it crumbled again, there was one thing The Guardian screamed before it disappeared.
"To the ruler… of The Elysian Realm… I'm… I'm sorry."
As The Guardian fell back to their knees, consumed in their destruction, they forcefully clasped their hands together and forced them through their beating cyan heart. The knight's glowing blue eyes blazed with fierce determination as it pierced its heart with its solid gauntlet. Then, feeling unimaginable pain burn in them, The Guardian anchored its gaze at both Asahi and Kendra, mumbling.
"...I… have failed you."
Then, with all the concentration and willpower it had, The Guardian screamed in a formal tone, uttering strange words.
"Wouldst thou wit thy Lord's meaning in my action? Wit it well: Love was his meaning." The Guardian's fingers intertwined as they pressed their hands harder and harder against their chest, pouring their energy into the gesture.
"Ah."
The broken pieces of their armor started to rattle and shake as if responding to the power emanating from the knight's body. Their breathing was labored and heavy, their body trembling in pain and exhaustion. But still, The Guardian refused to give up.
With a final burst of willpower, they channeled the cosmic energy within them, and their hands started to glow with a brilliant, otherworldly light. It lifted its arm and felt its heart pulsate unlike anything ever before.
"Who shewed it thee? Love. Wherefore shewed it He? For love!!"
With each sentence, Asahi and Kendra felt their hearts plummet in fear. They were clueless about how powerful this knight was and how much rested beyond reality. But they kept their stance strong.
After they had lifted their spirits, a burst of light exploded from The Guardian's cyan heart, enveloping them in a brilliant aura of cosmic energy. With that, the light expanded out from the impact, engulfing every corner of the underground expanse and dazzling everyone around it, including Asahi and Kendra.
As the fragments tried to mend the knight's existence together, its voice echoed across every wall of the Nameless Cavern.
" Thus was I learned that Love…."
As the mighty broken knight strode forward, it surveyed the surroundings before them, pausing between its sentences.
. . .
Deep in their broken mind, The Guardian knew the massive cave was teeming with one billion people.
After it had pierced its hands through its heart, the knight summoned their cosmic magic from the surface, and a brilliant otherworldly light filled the Nameless Caves.
Asahi and Kendra stood still and noticed their bodies were encircled by strange, floating cyan particles.
Speechless, they turned over, hoping they were the only ones affected, all but to notice…
"Wait… we're not the only ones affected." Kendra mumbled, "I see the light, even over there. Other people are getting surrounded by the sparkles!"
Despite being surrounded by the strange light, Asahi nodded silently in fear and turned back to his blade, noticing it start to lift into the air. At that moment, confusion struck him.
(What? How is this possible?) He thought.
Turning back, Asahi and Kendra witnessed The Guardian slowly rise above the ground, defying gravity.
The mud on its armor coldly slipped off, its shattered body levitated with the rising rocks and trees, and its heart rapidly released several trembling shockwaves around. The light from their heart shone down on the people below and above, and they looked up to The Guardian in wonder as they felt the power of its magic wash over them.
"Woah, what is that?" One said.
"Why do I feel funny?" A child mumbled.
"What's…?"
Then, with one swift motion in its arms, The Guardian catapulted everyone in the Nameless Caverns into the air, forcing many to levitate and involuntarily float around the cavern like a swarm of insects.
"H… Huh?! W…what is going on?!" Kendra screamed in absolute fear.
"What is happening!?"A voice shrieked from afar.
Although caught in the grasp of The Guardian's gravity, Asahi held his breath and tried not to look down. But hearing those worried voices of people caught in The Guardian's grasp urged him desperately to see.
Without having a chance to breathe, Asahi and Kendra witnessed as thousands and millions of people in the Nameless Caverns, distant and afar, flew around The Guardian at rapid speeds like a vortex.
The screams of millions of children and adults bounced around the endless cavern's walls in inaudible storms of panic and worry. They were helpless in this situation.
Not even Kendra or Asahi could counter this strange phenomenon.
Even the uncountable silhouettes of humans and animals far away from the Nameless Caverns were seen floating and flying with the others.
It was as if The Guardian treated every human life captured by its magic… like dolls.
"Help!"
"Get me out of here!"
"Please, God. Don't kill us."
"Am I dead?!"
"Is The Rapture finally happening?!"
Finishing its words, The Guardian hoisted its spear into the air and announced with its loud, distorted, trembling voice.
"...Love… is our Lord's meaning!!"