Raya had finally managed to close the door. She knew she couldn't go after her friend because it was already too late. Raya could feel hot tears begin to pour down her cheeks. She was silently weeping. "I'm such a garbage friend! First, I force my best friend to go skydiving with me knowing about her fear of heights and now this! I didn't even dare to go after her! I'm such a weakling!" Raya yelled at herself while crying her eyes out.
"Hey! It's not like you planned for this to happen, at least I hope so?" Nick said trying to comfort Raya. Needless to say, he sucked at it.
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T!!! WHY WOULD I WANT TO KILL MY OWN BEST FRIEND!!!" Raya yelled at the blonde.
"I don't know? Well if you knew about her fear why did you keep pushing her to skydive with you?"
"Because she gives up too easily without a little push. We've been best friends for as long as I can remember. After her mother died she stopped talking to everyone, even her father and me. The only times her eyes would light up was when she'd talk about the stories her mother used to tell her. It was like the Serene I used to know had come back. I promised her that I would always be her friend and to help her find the place she was looking for." Raya said starting to tear up more remembering the past.
"And what was this place called?" Nick said out of curiosity.
"It was called Astros, a realm you could only find in the sky. She always dreamed of going there to a city called-"
"I could take you there!" Nick said cutting Raya off.
"W-What?"
"I can take you to the Realm of Astros, we can go now and your friend might still be alive!"
"W-Wait what?! Hold on a minute explain! Nick, what are you talking about?! YOU BETTER NOT BE LYING!!!"
"These are Alizeh clouds, they appear randomly every once in a while. If you're flying during days like these and get caught in one of them you could find yourself in the Realm of Astros!" Nick said as he starts to frantically press buttons. "They disappear quickly and there's no telling when the next will appear, so we have to be fast!"
"Wait how do we make it to Astros with these clouds then? WAIT, HOW DO YOU KNOW ALL OF THIS STUFF?!" Raya said getting into her seat and putting on her seatbelt. Good thing she did.
"The only way you could make it there is through the same way your friend did," Nick said looking back towards Raya.
"And how is that?!" Raya questioned, even though she knew what he was getting at.
"By falling out of the sky." And with one sly smile, he turned the helicopter off mid-air. They started to fall at insanely fast rates into the Alizeh Clouds, darkness consuming the aircraft.
Meanwhile, Serene found herself engulfed in water. Frankly, she was drowning. Serene tried to swim up but felt as though she couldn't make it to the surface in time. Her vision started to fade and she could see the light nearing her. Right before she blacked out she saw someone dive into the water. That was the last thing she remembered.
A few minutes later, Serene was awoken by the sound of arguing. She looked around to take in the scenery. Everything looked so unfamiliar, she didn't know whose how she was in or how she got there. When she tried thinking back on what happened before she woke up, she couldn't remember a thing. Confused by who she was and what she's doing here Serene starts to feel her eyes water. The poor platinum blonde-haired girl couldn't even remember her own name.
In the midst of her tears, the door opened, making the arguing more audible. Serene flinched by the door suddenly opened and immediately backed away from the person standing at the door. It was a small child with short black hair and purple eyes. She wore glasses and looked petite, yet she had a scary glare. It felt almost as though the child was studying her.
"Why are you crying? Are you in pain" The small child said to Serene. Serene quickly wiped her tears and shooked her head, no. "Are you not able to speak?" the girl asked. Serene tried to say something but was unable to. Her voice was worn out from all that had happened so she just shooked her head, no. "I see, do you remember your name at least?" the child asked walking closer to Serene. Once again, Serene shook her head, no.
During this whole encounter, the arguing had died down. Serene wondered what they were arguing about, but decided to just ignore it. Soon enough the young girl introduced herself, "My name is Nabbia Aster. Considering how you don't remember anything, welcome to Azure, one of the many cities in Realm of Astros."