As the sky blue being picked itself up shortly after its sudden descent, it brushed off its clothes and looked around. Though the child couldn't see very much around him, there was a light some meters away from his immediate position.
The light wasn't bright per se, so the child had to squint a bit as it made its way over. The air around the place felt murky, almost weighing down on it. It was with noticeably heavier footsteps that the child had finally reached the light.
"Hi…there…"
The kid's voice was strained under the overbearing atmosphere that permeated the place. A shaggy mess of lavender hair slowly nodded before the young man in front of him rose to his feet.
"Childe, you took way too long to get here! Better late than never, I guess."
The glowing mint green eyes settled on the similarly glimmering topaz pair the child owned. With a smile illuminated by the wand in his hand, he reached out towards the kid.
"I'm Lapil. What's your name? Trust me, saying it will make this a little bit easier on you."
The kid placed a digit on his lavender lips in contemplation. With one eye closed and the other's iris roaming about the upper part of its confines, the visible pupil suddenly expanded in realization.
"Bie."
Bie grabbed Lapil's hand after struggling to spit out his name, noticing that the air had become a bit gentler. Lapil nodded again and led the way forward through the dark space, his wand lighting up a meter in front of him.
The trudge has turned into a stroll as Lapil regulated his steps. As the man before him was silent, Bie gazed at his surroundings, trying to make sense of where he was now.
This area was vastly different from the caverns he fell from. There were no walls in sight, just a pitch black expanse as far as the eyes could see. The air beyond the wand was hazy and louring, looming forwards ominously. The longer he spent here, the more Bie felt…peaceful? He did not know why, but his hand loosened its grip.
"It's weird, isn't it? This is where we belong, Bie. In the deepest part of Uthreth lies our Mother."
The silence reigned once more as they wandered even further into the darkness. It became so tenebrous that even the illumination the wand in Lapil's left hand was overcast. The man's steps quickened even further.
"We'll be there soon. You'll meet our Mother soon. And after that, there will be a lot of things you need to learn, newborn."
A couple minutes later, they arrived at a towering leaden door. There were no walls around it, nor did there seem to be anything on the other side. Bie's eyebrows were arced in confusion, yet the tips of his fingers felt tingly. He noticed that beneath his uncertainty laid excitement as his mouth formed a small smile.
Knock.
Lapil rapped his fist against the door once and then let Bie's hand go. The entryway slowly opened as dark mist surged from its crevice. Instinctively, Bie walked into the mist as Lapil calmly observed.
Click.
The looming black door closed behind Bie, and he was bathed in the darkness. The suppression on him eased quite a bit, and he felt something that couldn't quite be explained.
It was a warmth welling up in his chest, and his still heart started pumping slowly and steadily. The soft heat surrounded him as he walked further, melding with the shadows around him. Soft brushes caressed his skin with familial love, and a soft whispering filled his ears. It was unintelligible, but he could make out two words.
"Good morning."
—
Outside of the black door, Lapil witnessed the entryway opening once more. Nodding to himself, he sought to leave this layer as it wasn't a place he needed to stay in for long. The Guide had other duties to attend to, and the Childe had already been moved to where he was supposed to go.
With a prompt turn, he took the long top hat off of his head and shook it, before jumping in feet first. The last thing that could be observed of Lapil were the rabbit ears atop his head and the noticeably missing hair clip.
—
A woman who's skin color was quite similar to his was the first thing Bie saw upon awakening. The tall lady was standing over him, her light teal hair flowing and mustard yellow antennae intermittently twitching. It was a fierce smile the woman presented, full of confidence and valor.
"Wake up, dead-shine. I'm yer new and improved impression of your own kind! Come with me, newborn."
The woman did not wait for an answer, and hoisted the befuddled Bie atop her chiseled shoulders. The boy was out of sorts, still reeling from the sudden stir that beset him. He stared sharply at the land above them.
They were in a set of caverns, as the ceiling was craggy and stalactites hung down. Unlike the tunnel he was in before, it was much lighter as the stalactites flowed with a light akin to sunshine. Bie was mesmerized by the illumination.
The blue woman soon interrupted his wonder, however. She spoke with a voice as rough and burly as her body, cutting through Bie's spacing out.
"Newborn. I don't know yer name yet, but yer gonna have to answer a question fer me. What do ya think is most important in a fight, ey?"
Bie didn't know a thing about fighting, but he did remember the sensation his hand felt as he broke a wall. The give that yielded to the force that it could not withstand, the force that brought about a change. These intricate words were not ones he fully knew the meaning of, but the information he gleaned from it was simple.
"Strength, right?" The childish voice gave a simple answer. The big woman smiled, though her head was situated away from the boy upon her shoulders.
An unknown amount of silence passed, until Bie saw a shabby hut amidst a veritable forest of stalagmites. There was an oddly smooth grey clearing in front of the hut, to which Bie was quickly placed.
Before he could look up to meet the eyes of the blue woman that gazed down on him, she crouched down and brought her line of sight to his.
"My name's Amitha. I'm gonna teach ya exactly why that answer you gave me was wrong, ya? From now on, you'll learn what fighting REALLY is."
The valorous smile never left Amitha's face.