"There," Kyora's voice plugged into the surroundings. She was pointing at an island in front, "That's the island Chiaki noted us about." They observed the afloat bubbles, noticing them hovering high above sea level.
"I guess you weren't kidding." Yumiko leaned over the forecastle's handrail, surveying the terrain and seeking Timothy and Chiaki. She didn't find them, "They had to have already used the bubbles to reach the entrance," she finished. Kyora agreed with her statement, "Let's anchor the ship and catch up to them. Who knows in what kind of crisis they got themselves into."
While above the bubble island, Timothy and Chiaki set foot into a rainforest. The tall and wide trees with the mass of leaves blocked the sunlight gleaming upon them. There were only minor rays of light darting through the leaf gaps, enough to illuminate their route.
"A rainforest so high in the air?" Chiaki said and began their conversation, soon to end, "I didn't think those were up here. I guess the earth is like any other land at sea level. The roots seem to act identically for these trees to sprout so high."
Timothy didn't pay much attention to her statement, nor did he really care. He accepted it as any other island he uncovered.
He responded, "Remind me, Chiaki," he requested, receiving her glare. "There are three floating islands diverged by those strange winds, right?" she nodded, "We're on the first, I assume. So, does that mean we must explore each one, hoping we can somehow get to them, or is there another way of traversing between them?"
Absorbed in the massive scenery of beauty and vibrancy, Chiaki yawned, "I can't tell for sure." She strode forward, soaking her shoes in the warm puddle of rain. She gazed into the reflection, "The thousands of gales of calamity is the one and the only detail we gained." She jiggled her foot, parching her shoes and feeling frigid air moving past her ankles.
"But there has to be a way to the different islands. Otherwise, how could people survive in a biome without nature?" Timothy considered her valid point and followed her, keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings in case another onslaught occurred, "But, let's look for a way to the Sanctum City while on our way through this forest." She shivered momentarily, embracing herself, "Not to mention how cold it is around here. I expected it to be chilly up here, but not *this* freezing."
Timothy didn't mind the chilly atmosphere, yet Chiaki didn't seem very fond of it, "I hope we can find a place warmer than this rainforest."
Timothy folded his arms, looking at Chiaki from behind in bewilderment, "And could you stop looking at me like that? It makes me feel like you're doing more than just keeping an eye on me." Timothy lifted his head indifferently and had something else on his mind, "It's just that... this fog came out of nowhere."
Chiaki looked past her shoulder with the corner of her eye and noticed Timothy's body becoming a black silhouette that soon faded into nothingness.
"Um, Tim?" she inquired but didn't receive a response. She neared her palms to her lips and yelled his name, but to no avail.
"Hey! Tim!!" she shouted as the thunder struck and frightened her. It quaked the earth beneath her and compelled her to pivot around. Then it started to pour, "This is not good..."
The two got split amidst a thunderstorm and dense fog.
It passed an hour of wandering through the rainforest, the thunderstorm subsided. It wasn't secure for either of them to stand in the center of nowhere. They tried to find shelter.
Timothy stepped into a forest town and hid behind the bushes upon seeing masked people tread and dance around a campfire. They sang, but their sentences made no sense.
"What in the god's name are they up to?" Timothy queried as Phalris arose beside him, "Those are Scanaras," she claimed, composed and grave, "people whose actions cost them the god of wind's trust." Her explanation troubled Timothy in eagerness to know more, "How do you know that, Phalris? I thought you weren't well familiar with Sanctum Islands."
"I'm not, but people in the east know about them. The last generation of pirates circulated such rumors around the world, and as was to be expected, the story expanded until it even concerned the deities." She exemplified in a soft yet loud enough tone for Timothy to understand and stay calm, "It's possible that Scanaras were the individuals who derailed the god of wind's nature."
Timothy became bothered, "Seriously? A bunch of normies caused such an impact on a deity because of breaking his trust?" he scratched the back of his head, "I thought the gods wouldn't be affected by average people. They have the power to destroy them, don't they? So why would they cause the god of wind to locomote his nature?"
"They might not influence him much, but they certainly made him believe he isn't a worthy god. They undermined him and caused him to become doubtful about his own authority." She took a long and deep breath, "You should know by now that the gods who cannot handle their people's capacity are deemed 'unworthy.' And the 'undeserving' gods can later be 'erased' by the Holy Light herself."
Timothy listened carefully, "Every god is in control of many vicious people, but Ivione has the most menacing of them all. Scanara Tribe didn't *just* assault many Seraphs. They managed to destroy the god of wind's reputation. And if the god has a terrible reputation among their people, once everyone's belief and trust in a god fades away, the Holy Light acts and erases that god from existence." Timothy became astounded, "That means that everyone who has any connection with the wind gets erased too. So, if Ivione's reputation fades away entirely..." he paused, "no, I don't want to say what would happen."
Phalris only nodded in response and suddenly sensed something approaching the Scanara people from the rainforest path. It was a Centaurus with antlers. He held a poleaxe in his right hand and a similar mask as the Scanara Tribe on the right side of his head.
The Scanaras lined on each side, allowing the Centaurus to walk among them toward the conflagration. "What are they trying to do?" Timothy looked to find an important clue and spotted a boy on the Centaurus' back.
The boy's hair was predominantly purple, with a few hints of lighter. He was dressed in a black t-shirt underneath a purple jacket with white stripes in the center. Finally, he wore black pants, long socks that reached beneath them, and white-purple sneakers.
Timothy couldn't see his eyes but could see that he was unconscious, "Hold on..." Timothy intensified his glare and stretched his right arm to the side, "I gotta help him."
To be continued...