Nomu woke up. He abhorred waking up. Ever since he met Adei, he had recovered the love for life he had lost so long ago... when Kusu died. But now, Adei was growing so far away, he had nothing to teach her anymore. However, now he felt more peaceful than before, maybe he was finally dead, because he never felt so alive. His insides burned, but not the burn he had felt for so long. In fact, the insuperable pain which had plagued his flank was replaced by a hallowed flame which quickly consumed him like hellfire. And at that moment he knew that like everyone, his purpose he must seek and find. Seek and find.
"Thank you, Balans, your services are always appreciated."
Nomu sprang to his feet, his swords drawn. He quickly scanned around. White spherical room. Two people without weapons. He finally exhaled.
"Whoa there take it easy, nobody wants you harm, just put the swords down and we can have a friendly discussion, Pasmathan." It was one of the two people.
He looked like an elongated, less colourful brachy with a magnificent segmented tail which ended in a plethora of flippers, not very threatening for a soldier. Nomu felt shame for his hostile reaction, but he was kidnapped after all.
"Hello, Nereian" started Nomu "I must say that I am puzzled, did your people save us from our kidnappers?"
"No, at first, we thought you were affiliated to the incarnation of anarchy, so we captured your entire group. Thankfully, we realized thanks to your uniform that you, leader of the Pasmathan defence force, was simply bringing her as a captive, thank you for your work"
The warrior shivered.
"Y-Yes, thank you, it was very hard, travelling so far to finally be able to lock her up."
He looked around so the soldiers would not see the unmistakable terror which shot through his face
"Curiously enough, this is the first time I have been to Nerei, where are we exactly?"
"This is Lamadeia, inhabited by these marvellous creatures which saved your life, Balans." Nomu now realized that the white of the walls were constituted of weird rock-like organisms with an opening that appeared like a large tongue. "They purify mind and body. Unfortunately, it kills them, so we built those incubators where they have perfect living conditions. They wouldn't live without our shelters; we wouldn't survive without their lives. Here is the one that saved you."
On the ground was a small shrivelled up Balan. It had lost its colour, showing a dull grey. Its entire shape was a deflated excuse for a being. Nomu kneeled.
"How can I repay their sacrifice?"
The guard smiled.
"Do not be sorry, a Balan's sacrifice is the start of their lives. Their entire organism is simply a soul, an essence, and when they put that into your body, they heal you and keep on living inside your organism. You might never realize it, but you now have a soul following you."
They then quickly left, as staying too long in the incubator could compromise the Balan's growth. As they walked out, Nomu understood that his perception of the world was about to change forever. Huge brown vertical plants extended everywhere. They had thick stalks with thousands of leaves attached. The plants ended several dozens of meters above where they formed a translucent ceiling. The city was a dome. Around the plants, great transparent glass buildings were seen, and Nereians of all types worked in them.
The second guard turned to the warrior.
"Well, welcome to the inner circle of Nerei, Pasmathan, here everyone works an intellectual job. This is the place where laws are made and where Nereians heal."
"And so where are we going? I would like to meet up with my group, and if possible, see where my captive is. After all, I am attached to this mission of mine to capture her."
"First of all, slow down, there's no rush, we're taking you to our queen."
Nomu finally had time to think. Internally, the warrior was split. He knew what he was about to do: betray his people, evade this city with Adei. But those people seemed so honest, what pushed them to lock her up? What is that 'incarnation of anarchy' they talk about? Should he really deny the city from which his population was born without even knowing their logic? The dichotomy between genes and friendship was too much for him to handle.
Before he knew it, he was in front of the queen. In her big room ornated with hundreds of statues, she was a small blue-yellow Nereian with black stripes, white spots and slender limbs, screaming orders to creatures many times her size from her high throne. She seemed unprepossessing, but efficient, like a Damocles sword was constantly at a threat of falling onto her if she took a break. She looked at Nomu. And spoke to everyone around her.
"I will take the next requests in ten minutes, now leave us alone" Everyone around, annoyed, parted.
"So," exclaimed the queen "you're that new Pasmathan arrival. Thank you so much for capturing her, we can't let Vica be in danger."
Nomu smiled
"My pleasure, your honour. If I may, what exactly is Vica? I knew the girl was dangerous, but they never told me why."
"I don't have much time… but you are the one who brought her, so I'll explain. Vica is the being which saved us from Triton. A quintessential power which now embodies our lives. It is what is in the Balan, what allowed us to melt sand into glass and much more. Though we have never seen it, Vica talks to us, and it told us that a warrior was coming to end its life. We called it the Incarnation of Anarchy or simply Incarnation, as if it did reach Vica, we can only assume our entire civilization would break down. This warrior is identifiable by its black and white colour, and although Vica seems convinced that the Incarnation will reach its goal, we will do anything in our power to stop it. Finally, you should know that Vica is simply a placeholder name. It has never told us its name or anything about it, the information we know is scarce. Does that quell your curiosity, Pasmathan?"
"Y-yes, thank you for your patience. I do have one last inquiry, where have you put the Incarnation's blade? It is a special brand which withholds many secrets and should be handled with care. If you may allow it, I would like to personally make sure it does not land in the wrong hands."
"Is that so? Nothing strange appeared when we handled it." Remarked the queen. "We simply sold it to a local armoury shop. I'll have a person guide you to it. Sorry, I don't have much more time for you, but if you wish to see the Incarnation for whatever reason, know that it's off limits. We have our rules."
She swiftly stepped down from her throne and walked up to the Pasmathan before attaching a medal to his uniform.
"Here is your reward, people shall recognize you as a beacon of courage."
She approached to whisper in his ear.
"And don't go on doing anything dodgy, I am not a fool, I'm giving you a single chance, seize it."
She then calmly walked back to her throne and people rushed back to attack her with their requests. Though the queen's whisper was as silent as the landing of a fly, her words burned deep into his cephalon and broke his confidence. For that split second, he was almost ready to quit and live a peaceful life here, but he knew he would never forgive himself.
"You survived" said a guard, immediately bursting Nomu's bubble. "Good job. She likes you. Don't get too intimidated, queen Palae puts pressure onto everyone just in case, to dig their deepest secrets and bring the best out of them, but just by looking at you I know you're trustworthy. Now let's go see about that sword. Oh, and you wanted to see the rest of your group, we can see them after."
Things were going surprisingly well for Nomu. Surprisingly well.
They entered a small rectangular building built out of brick, another material made from Vica's incandescent power, as the guard explained. A bulky man held the shop and took Nomu to the back of it.
"There you go, mister, your blade. I couldn't sell it, it has this weird feel about it, the metal seems strange, but precious."
"You're not the first blacksmith to say that. I'll be taking it for further inspection if that's alright. I'm the best warrior on Pasmathe, I'll take good care of it"
"Wait! You need to pay for that! It's 500 pearls!"
"What?"
The guard stepped in.
"You'll get compensation, blacksmith, from the queen's treasury."
"I better" He let go of the sword.
They left the shop before he changed his mind. In the way out, he saw the green poda dagger he gave to Adei on the wall for 5 pearls with a little 'exculsive sale' panel attached under it. "Do they have no sense of value? Or is one of the best weapons in Pasmathe a vulgar toothpick to them?" thought Nomu before snatiching it.
"Compensation?" questioned Nomu.
"You don't have money in Pasmathe?"
"Umm... no"
"Well, it's the way we make exchanges, each object has a value in pearls, and when you buy an object, you give its value in pearls to the seller. When you do work, you get the equivalent of the value of your work in pearls. It's a new concept, so it makes sense you did not hear about it."
"Oh… we just did tasks for the city rather than ourselves in Pasmathe" The old warrior was not used to learning anymore, but it made him feel alive. He kicked himself for sympathizing with someone he was planning on promptly betraying. He needed a way to talk with Étafazo. Alone.
"Where could I have a room for myself? I need to instantly check the blade, and if you could direct the members of my group to this room, it would be greatly appreciated."
"As you wish. I will guide you to an appartement. Do not worry, since you need privacy, I won't put you in a glass room."
As they arrived, Nomu shut the door as quickly as possible. He ignored what the room looked like and simply put down the blade on the ground. He took a deep breath.
"Étafazo?"
As if resonating to the frequency of its name spreading through the air, the blade lit up, and the usual ominous black ambience filled the room.
"Greetings, Nomu. Last I saw you, you were being taken away, may I ask, where is my master?"
"Before I answer your questions, you will answer mine. Powerless as you are. Does a holy power ring a bell to you?"
"Yes, why?"
Somehow, Nomu knew he was saying the truth, it felt like a stranger mind was telling him that.
"Does Adei know you are trying to kill it"
Étafazo's glow deepened.
"No, but how did you know that?"
"I'm gonna have to ask you to abandon the idea of killing that power."
"Now there's just one little problem with that… innocent little Nomu, it is that same holy power you seem to want to save which called me to find it. Now if you may…" Étafazo floated, the room was now pitch black. Even the light from the sun could not cross the windows. "tell me where my master is before I change my mind about helping you, and how will you escape without Adei's second half? She doesn't have any controlled power. Also, tell a single word about this to her and you as well as your two precious librarians will get a free abdomen removal service. Nothing against you, I just was made this way. Don't try your luck, I will know."
Nomu smiled. He somehow knew none of that was a lie.