The place was warm, and a dazzling light from nowhere shone brightly in the area where one angel lay on a hay-filled mattress. The wind blew as though it was whispering in the ear of the unconscious angel.
"Uuhh… What?" While slowly opening his eyes and slowly regaining his consciousness, he instantly rose up and hastily turned his head in every direction of the place, as if trying to find something. "Perch...?" he spotted Perch in the right corner of the room, sitting on a stone chair made of gypsum while talking to another angel. Even though he cannot hear the two angels' discussion, he knows that they are discussing something in a serious tone, which is evident in their facial expressions.
He tried to move his feet to approach them and ask Perch, but Perch noticed him in the midst of his approach and halted him.
"Oh, you're awake. How are you?" Perch asked, showing concern in his tone.
"I'm alright, but what happened? Where are we, and why was I unconscious earlier?" the angel wonders aloud, curious and confused about everything that happened.
"Haven't you remembered anything?" Perch asked.
"I remember that after arriving at the desolate place and entering one of the mountains, we walked another step before arriving at the beautiful stone chamber where your master is waiting." The angel that woke up from unconsciousness and who is talking to Perch right now is Jashwi. He remembered being in a stone chamber room with the black-haired angel in king's costume sitting on the throne, and after a female angel handed him something, he suddenly felt hazy and fell unconscious.
After the response, a sudden silence was heard in the room. Perch and one of the angels with whom he was conversing earlier exchanged glances. After that, the angel made a simple gesture at Perch before leaving, while Perch nodded at the angel.
"Is that all you remember?" Perch inquired once again.
"Yes... why?" said Jashwi, puzzled as to why Perch had asked him that question.
"You fall unconscious upon entering the mountain, the moment after you ask me about Fahrudin." Perch said, reminding him of what really happened.
"Wait, what are you talking about?" Jashwi was taken aback by Perch's words.
"You hear me, that's exactly what happened," Perch replied.
"But... didn't we enter a stone chamber where your master is waiting?" Jashwi's face is becoming increasingly perplexed.
"It's supposedly what will happen in the future," Perch said in a serious tone while looking at Jashwi's eyes.
Jashwi's confusion deepens as soon as he hears the word. He couldn't comprehend a single word Perch had said. He attempts to figure out what Perch meant by those words, but before he can ask another question to pique his curiosity, an angel appears, interrupting their serious discussion.
"Sir, the Master is calling for you," the angel remarked politely to Perch when he came.
"Alright fine, I'll hand him over to you."
"Yes, Sir," the new angel said. "Wait..." Jashwi tried to stop Perch because of his insatiable curiosity, but...
"Don't think too much about what I said. A time will come when you will understand everything. For now, you can stay here. I'll fetch you later." Perch remarked as he walked away.
After Perch has left, Jashwi sits in a corner and continues to think of his conversation with Perch, hoping that he will understand it. He was also hoping that the fruit of Yellow Prime would take effect the second time so that he wouldn't spend much energy thinking about it, but he knows that the power of the Yellow Prime Tree's fruit is nearly hard to activate.
After a long time of thinking, he still doesn't understand what Perch meant when he said those words, and in turn, he decided to give up. Perch said that a time will come when he will understand everything, and since he doesn't appear to be able to compel Perch to say what he wants, he decides to free his mind from overthinking and instead focus on the angel standing by him.
The angel had been standing alongside Jashwi since Pearch had left the scene until now, and it had not moved until then. Jashwi thought the angel next to him was another weird angel. He's been seeing bizarre things since he arrived, from the black-haired angel he saw earlier to Perch and everything else in this place.
Jashwi is particularly intrigued by the angel's build, which is oddly similar to Perch's. The only difference is that it has long hair and a cat-like face. He wonders what the angel's relationship is with Perch. He also saw certain similarities between the angel's and Perch's bodily actions, such as how they make those cryptic and hard-to-read facial expressions.
"Um... Hi?" Jashwi says hesitantly as he approaches the angel. He didn't know if it would respond to him or not, but he welcomed it anyhow.
"Hello, Sir," the angel said with a small nod and a grin at Jashwi.
Jashwi was shocked the moment the angel responded. He didn't expect the angel to respond. He thought that the angel was like a statue that was devoid of feeling. But now, he thinks that the angel may just be a shy angel or someone who doesn't communicate until asked first.
"Ahm.... What's your name, by the way?" Jashwi inquired of the angel, thinking that since he has nothing better to do here at the time, it would be wonderful to have a conversation with the angel and learn more about the place where they are.
"My name is Keres, Sir," the angel said.
The moment the angel responded, Jashwi didn't hesitate to continue the conversation.
"That's a wonderful name. My name is Jashwi," he said as he rose up and extended Keres a handshake.
Keres paused for a moment, staring at Jashwi's hand before accepting it
The moment both of them shake hands, Jashwi remembers the exact situation that happened the first time he met with Perch. He remembered Perch offering to shake hands with him and how he, like Keres, hesitated at first. He wonders if he adapts to those traits from Perch while traveling together.
Keres merely nodded when he acknowledged the handshake, so Jashwi asked a follow-up question to keep the conversation flowing.
"Ahm... what's your relationship with Perch?" Despite the fact that he travels with Perch, he still has a lot of things he's curious about. However, he believed that openly asking about Perch was impolite, so he begins by inquiring about their relationship.
Keres said, shaking his head, "We don't have."
"You don't have any?" Jashwi didn't seem to understand the response of Keres. He thought that if Keres had willingly followed the orders of Perch, they might have had some kind of relationship, but upon those responses, Jashwi also thought that Keres might also be some kind of guard in this place, similar to Fahrudin when they ascended the mountain in the Roisin Accouchement. But what's the point of keeping an eye on him? At some point, he realizes that he is a foreigner in this reality, which is why Perch urges Keres to seek him out.
"Um," Keres nodded with an emotionless expression. Jashwi did not notice it, but the gesture has a little melancholic tone to it.
"Can you tell me about Perch?" Failing to get the response he wanted to his previous question, Jashwi decided to directly ask Keres. He thought that it might not be rude anymore since he came up with the first question before asking directly about the subject.
Keres pondered for a while before answering Jashwi's query. "Hmmmm... I'm not sure what to tell you, sir." While saying these remarks, his face was somewhat down. It's difficult for him to think about what aspects of Perch he can share with Jashwi.
When Keres answered, Jashwi might have caught a few of those gestures, but they were too inconsequential for him to understand what additional meaning Keres was portraying in those words.
Jashwi persisted in his quest to find out what was going on. "Like what Perch always does in this place?"
"He is constantly away or at the Master Place," Keres stated flatly.
"Always away to where?"
"I don't know, Sir."
"How about the things he does at the place of what you call Master?"
"I also don't know, Sir," Keres answered, showing an expression that is hard to read.
Jashwi wasn't sure whether it was just him, but he had the impression that the folks in this place were secretive or that Keres was clueless. From the black-haired angel he met before and from Perch, who both hide something from him. Every time he asks something pivotal about the place, they always respond that he will know something about it later. For an angel who thinks intellectually, lying is an unexplored word, but little did he know that angels in this realm already undergo changes that defy those ideas about angels.
Despite his repeated failures to learn anything about Perch, Jashwi persisted in questioning Keres. He was intrigued by Perch, and he believes that learning more about him will help him grasp other aspects of this location. He has no idea why he thinks this way, but one reason is because of certain information Perch shared with him previously that made him more curious about a lot of things about this place.
Jashwi continued asking a number of questions and continued to receive the same response until he arrived at the last question.
"Was Perch originally living at this place?"
Keres' face shifted when he heard those questions. His expression was similar to when someone asked someone a random question that had a deep connection with him. He didn't know if he would answer that question or not.
On the other hand, Jashwi had noted Keres' changes in expression and had great hopes.
Time was ticking by, and Jashwi was still waiting for a response from Keres. Jashwi didn't understand why it took Keres so long to respond. Right now, Keres is just standing beside Jashwi with an expressionless face.
After a moment of silence, Keres' lips made a slight move, which Jashwi took as a sign that he was going to respond now.
For Keres, those questions reminded him of something that held so much value in the past, so he hesitated to share them with someone he had just met. Also, he didn't know if it was okay for Perch if he told Jashwi something about Perch's past. He knows Perch and telling Jashwi about it wouldn't sound good.
"I'm sorry, I don't know sir."
From high hopes to disappointment, Jashwi thought that he would finally know something, but as usual, it is always hard to gain an answer in this place.