Tomomi, Kou, and Natan still silently followed the two men who were on a hunt for giants. "Come on, Tomomi. Let's ask them for help, and we'll find Tim before even knowing it..." recommended Kou, only for her to decline his recommendation.
"We shouldn't... Maybe these people are dangerous. Giants may seem menacing, but remember that Tim was only taken, but we don't know if they harmed him in any way." Kou didn't feel comfortable with her decision, but something about her statement felt logical.
They heard the brown-haired man speak, "Looks like one of them is close by and just where we expected him to be; that dragon skull." That man reached for his back and took hold of a sniper rifle and hid behind the bush, then looked through and scoped ahead, zooming and soon locating the giant sitting on the floor with an exposed back.
"Bingo, we found our target" he moved his scope onto Tim's body. "Would you look at that? That giant seems to have found a human to feast on. We need to kill the giant before it's too late."
The man pulled the trigger slowly and prepare to shoot Gogo into the back to put him down and cleanse the isle from the giants. "Locked on its weak point."
The men nearly shot forward. However, Tomomi immediately jumped from the bush and skid on the floor behind them, swinging her right arm.
As she did, white cables of energy wrapped and tightened around two men, disarming him while tying both of them together. They fell to their bottom surprised to be intervened. "What the-" questioned the brown-haired man and immediately looked at her.
Tomomi stood in front, silently in a calm manner, holding the tip of the cable while looking at them casually. "Who the hell are you?!" they called, not realizing that Kou and Natan unconcealed themselves from the bush and stepped next to Tomomi. "... who are any of you?!" the man wondered, repeating his statement.
"Tomomi! What in the world were you trying to do?! They were about to shoot that giant, and you stop them for what reason?" Kou wondered, bewildered. "You misunderstood. These two aren't good people, they were trying to harm an innocent giant..., I think."
For a moment, Kou paused and then looked at her, unimpressed. "..." until he yelled out, "What do you mean - "I think"? You're not a type who boosts others' confidence."
"You brats! What's your problem?! You've most likely stopped our only chance of killing one of the giants! Untie us this instant!" the brown-haired man shouted as he tried to force his way to untie the cables; every moment he tried, the energy cables would scorch his skin and paralyze him for a second.
"Tomomi, I have an inquiry. Why did you stop these two from shooting that giant?" wondered Natan and then tilted his head to the side. Tomomi exchanged her view and replied, "These two are giant hunters. They kill innocent giants to gain a large bounty given to them by the world government. They tend to sell the corpses for their own fortune, and that's why fewer and fewer giants began to exist."
"So, what?! Those foolish giants roaming the isles in this world are too much! If we shoot them down, we can eliminate the chances of human extinction and not to mention the reward we receive."
Three of them faced the two men and ignored them. "We shouldn't let them kill any more giants. They are humans just like us but bigger, yet they have personalities and feelings like us."
"I guess," added Kou, "but how do you know so much about the lives of giants? In fantasy books, they tend to be villainous creatures?"
"You can't compare fanfic books and novels with real life; most of those books are written for entertainment. Remember what they say - "Don't judge a book by its cover," it's a simple-minded logic."
They grew silent and listened to Tomomi.
Tim continued his tale without realizing that his friends were only a few feet away from him in the distance. "I want to know more about 'Holy Arches'!" Gogo stated. "I see," Tim added and chuckled, "Holy Arches is the ancient 'utopia' that floats in the sky, invisible to human society. To enter it, you'd need to enter the 'Heavenly Gate' and be allowed in by the nobles."
Gogo's curiosity continued to build up. "It's a singular building surrounded by the clouds and heavenly pillars. It's not a big place like an island for example - it's a single structure which they call a palace where the gods reside and watch over the universes as the commands of the 'Holy Light'."
"I've been there, and it's very pretty. However, that time, when I visited the 'Holy Arches', I was accompanied by Codey, another friend I'd met along the road, and when Ayuka was under the effect of a drug, we needed to prevent that. She was supposed to marry an individual who wanted to gain glory and control over the entire world; if he succeeded, he'd have just that."
~ Ayuka stood next to Kin with a serious expression. Tim called out to her, "Ayuka! Please, you don't have to do this! Consider changing your mind!" he finished. "You don't understand a thing, do you, Tim? This world needs a guardian before it turns villainous. To be a 'Holy Light', you are required to share the noble blood with someone who holds the same quality blood."
Tim and Codey stood in a serious pose. Tim sweated from the disturbing decision Ayuka took and clenched his fists together. "So, what?! You're telling me you'd prioritize some false marriage to defend the planet?! There's no difference between doing that inside the world and up here! You must have gone crazy!"
Ayuka swung her arm to the side in her white dress as the robes waved to the sides, her golden eyes shining. "You have no right to talk to me this way! A mere human like you expects me to give into some hopeless words? You'd be a disgrace to the whole world as well as the 'Holy Arches'!"
Hearing Ayuka's change of tone, from calm to loud, was already astonishing, yet to hear her words in a meaningless way hurt Tim's emotions more. "You're being manipulated, Ayuka! Snap out of it! You've been drugged and corrupted! Do my words mean nothing to you?!"
Kin laughed next to her as he gently reached for Ayuka's chin just to aggravate Tim more, to prove to him just how helpless Ayuka was. "Don't you hear it, human? A noble goddess such as her has no feelings for you. You're not her friend; you're a mere enemy to her and the whole society of the 'Holy Arches'; an intruder who has no say in this."
"Damn you Kin! What the hell was in that drug you gave to her?!" Tim wondered, only to be mocked by Kin. "What drug? I don't know about any drugs. Come on, do you expect a nobleman to utilize a drug to rule some sort of kingdom? You can see that Lass Ayuka has no intention of dealing with a human as simple-minded as yourself."
Tim, knew that behind Kin's calm demeanor, there were harsh lies that nobody could figure out, and stayed still in anger. "You're manipulating everybody because people tend to believe you have some kind of noble blood, which you do not! Let's not mention the fact that Ayuka's too good to be proposed by you!"
He could only tell the manipulating laughs that echoed from Kin's mouth, only to be interrupted by Ayuka. "You wish to change my mind, mere human? I shall give you a chance to speak your mind out to everyone, but," Tim's mind froze as he stressfully waited for her to explain. "you will have to prove to me that you are worthy to talk. If you defeat me in a duel I shall reward you with any desire and provide you the allowance to state what you wish."
As she described the requirements, she slowly walked down the steps with her heels resounding on the marble floor. She extended her right arm to the side and moved it behind her back, opening a yellow portal behind her through which a white blade came spinning and landed in her palm. The grasp of her palm touching the handle vibrated a ringing sound and a sheer wind swirled around her body.
"What?! You're insane to think I'd risk you to get wounded! Ayuka, please, listen to me, and we don't have to duel! That way either of us could get hurt." ~
Gogo became more tense hearing the tale that Tim introduced. "Of course, she didn't back away from a duel, unlike me who didn't want to fight. I was mostly focused on surviving despite having to deal with her might. That was my biggest fear back then, to harm a friend who had no self-control, and I still despise doing something so crazy."
"R-Really? That scary... What happened?" Gogo inquired, Tim, smiling a little, making sure to hide his sorrow behind his smiling mask. "I finally managed to get through to her..."
~ Tim dashed forward with an added spin as he slashed into the sword she used to defend. Both of the blades collided as they pulsed out a shockwave that curved throughout the whole area. The energy blasted in both directions to cast up a strong whirlwind that grew wider and stronger. "Ayuka!" he shouted to her.
"Listen to me! Listen to my voice, please! Have you forgotten about the promise?!" her memories flooded back like a river that shone brighter and sweetly. Her eyes flicked from gold to a bright blue; her face sweating from nervousness. Tim could feel her grip becoming weaker.
She lost her guard and Tim's pressure overtook hers, knocking her toward the edge. "No!" Tim threw the sword to the side on the floor, then launched himself after her. He plunged at her and immediately took hold of her whole body. His arms wrapped beneath her as he pinned her to the ground; their faces nearly touching.
She was an immovable body, unable to find a solution to escape. She felt the feeling of familiar skin and received another headache. It caused her eyes to repeatedly blink and change colors between blue and golden; one side that saw the darkness, the other that wanted to keep her humanity.
"Please, Ayuka, you need to remember. You've been drugged and have no self-assurance. You're a puppet who's being manipulated to someone else's desire." He claimed, grabbing her body tighter. "You can do it. You can break through and regain your true feelings."
Despite growing softer when it came to fighting, she continued to struggle. "Just shut up! Stop messing with my mind! I'm not who you think I am!" she was taken over by the drug, once more. She pressed her palm directly into Tim's chest and charged up yellow energy that suddenly burst forth and launched Tim through the air, down onto his back.
She hurriedly hopped to her feet, her legs weak and barely able to keep her in balance. Her eyes shackled blue and instantly she reached for her forehead. "Stop it! Stop it!" she repeated to herself, "Stop hurting him! What's wrong with you?!" she screamed, the loud agonizing sounds of suffering.
She had no control, even afterward. Instead, she leaned forward and dashed straight at Tim and immediately tensed her knuckles, then rammed her fist into Tim's head. She launched him further back into one of the pillars as his body collided with the hard wall, forcing the blood to squirt out of his stomach, right onto her cheek.
She covered her right eye which shone golden while her left, blue eye, shivered, tears slowly dripping from it. She repeatedly struck her face as she tried to break herself out from under control, like a chain that would never break.
Her lower body continued to shiver, her left arm dangling in front of her. "Shut up! You know you want to kill that weak human!" she was in a disorientated state; one moment she was good the other moment she wanted to kill, but she still managed to hear Tim's next statement, despite his voice growing softer.
"Ayuka... I understand, that you're not fully yourself, but I know that the Ayuka I know is somewhere in there, sealed behind chains that won't let you break them. But, you're strong... strong enough to break them." Tim added, trying to keep a smile. "You're stronger than the silhouette of despair. You're the only one who can reopen the door to the past..."
Tim slowly started to approach her, one of his eyes closed from the injury. His arms were dangling left and right in front of him as he could barely stand his ground. "W-What are you- S-Stay back! Fight or die, don't come any closer! I command you!!" she yelled, but Tim listened not.
His blood gently slipped down his body and dropped like a droplet on the ground, splashing into the red.
"I know... You wanted to protect this planet, and that's why you tried to become the next 'Holy Light'. But, ha-ha... y-you can still do it, but you need to find the lost puzzle pieces and connect them back to complete the whole picture.
"You need to give birth to the next 'Holy Light' after you perish, but it doesn't have to be with somebody who lies and hides under the safety of having the 'Holy Blood'. You think he may have one, but in reality, he's just another mortal like me - well, that's what I've been told at least, ha-ha...
"I know that I've made a mistake and broke the rules to breach the 'Holy Arches' by force, but it was only to release you of that corruption."
Ayuka slowly started to back away, still holding her face. "Didn't I tell you to stay back?! If you're trying to be a friend, then why are you lying to me?! I do not need to be bothered by a mortal such as yourself! You're nothing in comparison to me!"
Tim only chuckled and Ayuka couldn't understand him. "If you're truly my friend, then stop trying to change me!" she shouted, only for her next sentence to become softer and quieter. "I... beg you..."
He didn't stop, despite his vision growing extremely blurry for him to be barely able to tell the colors and person before him, he smiled, and then lost his balance to fall forward.
Despite talking nonsense, Ayuka's arms made sure to catch Tim's body in her embrace and froze to feel his torso rub in hers. "He-he... do you remember this?" he asked, reminding her of the hug from the past. "you've hugged me so many times before... and... it became a sweet feeling, didn't it?" Tim's voice could barely be understandable as Ayuka held the tip of his back, feeling Tim's head pressed into her chest.
"Remember... your promise? You said you'd... never forget me who I am, even after I lost my life... ha-ha, those memories from the underworld sure come flooding back, huh?" he claimed as he felt his body slowly becoming cold and his smile slowly faded. "If you remember... please, tell me... I promise, that, even if you can't... I could never be upset or angry... I love you the same as all of my friends, no matter... how troubling your choices may be..."
Ayuka's eyes nearly shut as they shook. Her eyes slowly faded from gold to blue and stayed that color for the rest of the moment. Her grip on Tim's clothes tightened as she couldn't let go, feeling how Tim's body started to become lighter. "T-Tim, I'm... I'm... I'm so sorry!" her cry echoed out for the whole society of the 'Holy Arches' to hear. Her loud crying didn't stop as her tears dripped down like a fountain that would never stop running.
She made sure to embrace him stronger and feel his gentle chuckle. "Ha-ha... I knew it... You would never break the promise..." he added, "No matter where you are... if you need someone to trust to support you, I will always help you... No matter how far away from me, I'll find you and will look for you even if it takes my whole life."
"Even if you live for thousands of years longer than me, my soul will make sure to find you even after my death, I'll make sure..." He told, followed by Ayuka's reply. "Tim, I-" before she could finish, he interrupted her, his eyes hollow. "Hey, calm down, ha-ha... When I die, if it's today or in the future, please... promise me to never forget who I am; remember my name, remember the person who stood by yourself."
She didn't hesitate, not for a second, and hurriedly yelled in the air. "I promise! I promise!! I promise..." Tim ended his sentence with a silent chuckle and then his whole vision fell into darkness, feeling Ayuka's warm body heating the chill that he barely managed. ~
Gogo became sad from the story and couldn't hide his tears. "That sad..." he called, seeing Tim look to the side with a calm expression. "I never realized it before, but Ayuka wasn't an ordinary girl. Even after she became the 'Holy Light', she returned to planet Earth and search for her friends. She kept her promise to come back and made sure to never succumb to the corruption."
He finished.
To be continued...