A cold sensation suddenly brushed against his face, wiping one teardrop off his face. His eyes widened, transporting him from a black void and into a lavender one. He sat up with his hand on his cheek. He was warm and alive.
"Where am I?"
"You're awake. Thank goodness." A soft voice called out to him. He turned to see a woman smiling at him.
"Who are you?" He leaned back to keep his guard up.
"Relax. I won't hurt you." The more he heard his voice, the more he realized that the person in front of him was not a woman, but a man.
The man had an androgynous appearance for he had round doe-like eyes, a thin, straight nose bridge, and sweet smile accentuated with thin, plump lips; his facial structure contrasted his overall delicate, feminine features for he had a sharp jawline. His loose golden blond hair reached down towards his shoulders and tied back in a loose half ponytail that showed his ears. Arcturus found himself drawn towards his eyes. They were very unique, for his irises were lavender.
The man pressed his cold hand onto his forehead. The sensation made him react poorly as he swatted it off him and he sat up. The man gave him a worried expression. "You had a bad fever, so I was just checking up on you."
Realization kicked in; he was in the presence of another human. He hadn't had human contact in months. Carefully, he repeated, "Who are you?"
"I'm Nova, a wanderer of sorts." The gentle tone of his voice had eased Arcturus of his worries.
"I'm Arcturus." He felt a chilly breeze wafting through him as he found himself trapped in a dimly lit lavender room with smooth surfaces. He placed a hand to the surface and noticed how it felt like ice, to his surprise.
"Is this place…?"
"This is Castle Lavender."
Excitement overwhelmed him as he stood up. He had finally reached his destination. "This place is Castle Lavender! I can't believe it!" He rummaged into his bag and got out his journal. He quickly jotted down notes.
Nova chuckled, making Arcturus's attention fixate on him. Nova looked rather clean for someone who was inside a ruined ice castle. He wore a thick violet sweater with a cuffed turtleneck that looked rather big on him; it had no signs of fraying anywhere. He assumed Nova had a slender build given how thin his legs were; Nova wore gray pants that accentuated his thin legs very well, but made him look lightly dressed for the outside weather. His bare hands and feet were bare and unusually pristine.
"How did you get here?" Arcturus inquired.
Nova started thinking before responding, "It's a secret." He placed his index finger on his pursed lips to gesture that he wouldn't say anymore.
Arcturus sensed a strong stubbornness within him, so he quickly asked another question. "How did I get here?"
Nova pointed towards the ceiling, to which Arcturus looked up and saw a rectangular hole. He stood up to get a better look; he noticed that it was the same shape and size as the trap door from above.
"Did you get caught by the bat alarm?" Nova asked.
Arcturus, surprised, asked, "How do you know?"
"I put it there for intruders. This room we are in is a trap for intruders. Once they enter here, they cannot get out. That was how I constructed it." He huffed while smiling.
Worried, Arcturus asked, "Does that mean I'll be stuck here forever?"
Nova raised an eyebrow. "Nonsense. I came to this room because I heard someone enter from the trap door and that was how I found you. I know my way around this castle. It's like a second home to me."
The fear quickly changed into excitement. "Then, can we leave? I'd like to see more of this castle! I want to know if the wish-granting dragon's spirit resides in this castle!"
Nova looked intrigued with his behavior and words. "Wish-granting dragon? Do you mean Souhait? He gasped as he quickly clammed up by slapping his hand to his mouth.
Arcturus's eyes widened. "Do you know about Souhait's Lore? Are you a believer too?"
Nova looked rather hesitant to speak up, but gazing upon Arcturus's passionate eyes caused him to lower his guard. He lowered his hand as he cautiously asked, "Do you believe in him…?"
"I sure do! I've been reading the lore ever since I was young! I always believed the world was created by Souhait and his companions. People always ridiculed me and such, but I never let that get to me! I really believe he existed! That's why I came here! I want to prove to the world that he did exist and if his spirit is here, maybe I can get my wish granted from him!" He froze up when he realized he had been rambling towards a stranger; he hoped he didn't come off as too weird.
Nova started chuckling. The way he smiled made Arcturus's heart flutter; that expression made him look beautiful. "I can tell that you really like the lore. I'm happy about that." When he calmed down, he then asked an abrupt question; his expression changed from happy to serious, "Can I ask you something? Why is it that you want to find Souhait?"
The way he was staring at him so intensely, Arcturus could tell Nova was testing him in a way; it was as if his eyes were probing into his soul. He knew he had to be honest with his answer.
"The folklore made it seem as if people were happy when they got their wishes. The world in its current state isn't a happy place. There's constant war and conflict between the three nations and because of that, the birth rates have lowered and death rates have increased. If this keeps up, civilization will cease to exist. I refuse to die in such a world. If Terrenter won't change, I'll change it with the power of wishes."
Nova hummed in response. "Wishes are magic formed from the heart. They are formed when someone wants to be happy. Tell me, Arcturus. What is happiness to you?"
Arcturus became deep in thought. He had never considered what true happiness was for him. "Happiness for me is something that is achieved if I keep moving forward."
"If you keep moving forward?"
"If I don't look back and keep moving forward, happiness will surely come." He wondered if that was a satisfactory answer. That's what he truly believed happiness to be.
Nova gave him another sweet smile. "That's quite an unusual answer." He then knelt down and started searching the floor, leaving Arcturus quite confused.
"What are you doing?"
"I'm finding a switch. There's a hidden one here that can get us out of this room."
Arcturus's eyebrows furrowed. "Wait a minute, didn't you say that this place is like a second home? How do you not know where the button is?"
"Castle Lavender is a very confusing area. When you activate a door and enter a room, it immediately closes, so you have to find either another way out or a hidden button that can reopen the door. This room was to trap intruders, so there is no other exit. This is why I am searching for a button."
That sounds like bullshit. Although he had his suspicions, idling about was not going to get him anywhere. "I'll help you."
He slightly stumbled on the ice before he knelt down and helped Nova search for the supposed switch. He got excited observing the lavender hue and feeling the ice.
"This isn't normal ice!" Arcturus blurted out as he flipped through his past journal entries and stopped at a certain page. It was about three special types of ice only found on Ilacier. They were incandescent, iridescent and pearlescent ice. All three types were unique in the sense that they lacked the ability to melt.
Incandescent ice was known as glowing ice due to its unusual ability to glow; it also came in a variety of solid colors. It was durable, so many artisans liked to use them for their trade. Iridescent ice was known as colored ice due to it being able to show a variety of color despite being a solid object—many had referred to it as 'frozen bubbles'. It was known to be quite brittle, thus mainly used in the food industry. It also had a tasteless flavor—it tasted like normal ice—but also had a strange power to make the consumer feel full; the empty jar Arcturus had pouted about earlier used to contain that ice. Pearlescent ice was ice with a pearl-like luster. It was very fragile. It had strong healing effects, which made it dominant in the medical industry. However, it was also dangerous due to powerful and addictive after-effects equivalent to drugs; addiction to pearlescent ice was quite common to read about on the news.
"So, Castle Lavender really is made of incandescent ice like my research shows! This is another small proof that Souhait had existed. He made this place, so he must be a skilled artisan! I heard that this place is really wide on the inside despite looking like a skyscraper outside. Such finesse!"
His eyes sparkled. Nova couldn't help but to chuckle at his enthusiasm. "You must really love the folklore."
"I do! Even if I was ridiculed in the past for believing and hearing things other people do not and cannot, I never faltered."
One specific word piqued Nova's curiosity. "Hearing things other people cannot?"Arcturus clammed up. He wasn't supposed to blurt that out; nobody would believe him if he did.
Nova approached him. "What's this about hearing things other people cannot? I want to know."
Seeing Nova's round eyes staring at him made him flustered as he took a step back and looked away. There was something about his expression that made him feel weak to his knees; he refused to say something about his unusual ability.
Nova had realized Arcturus's silence, so he decided to not pester him further. They both resumed their search for the button.
"How big is it?" Arcturus asked.
"It's quite tiny. Sort of like a speck."
Arcturus then looked at his fingers. They were nowhere as thin as Nova's. He wasn't sure if he could even press the button if he found it. An idea popped up as he reached a hand out to his earring and pressed it. The hologram screen popped up as he commanded Kori to materialize a knife. When it materialized, Nova gasped and took a few steps back. It was the first time Arcturus had seen anyone so guarded and afraid of technology. It was only for a brief moment as Nova held it in; instead, he became intrigued.
"What just happened?" Nova questioned with curiosity.
"I used this earring to let knives materialize from my bangle."
"I've never seen such a device before." Nova approached Arcturus and grasped his arm. "How does it function?"
Arcturus rolled up his sleeve so that Nova could get a better look. He noted the height difference between them; Nova reached up to his eyebrows.
"Wow, I've never seen such technology! Is this from Lamina?"
"Yes. It's a bit of an older model, but it still works fine. These don't materialize weapons unless the user has a weapons license. Although knives aren't the best weapons of choice, they have saved me from tough situations."
Nova's eyes glistened. "How does this work?" His eyes were glued to it.
Arcturus then gave a detailed explanation of how his bangle worked. A software was used in his earring that allowed a hologram screen to appear and abide by his every command as he is the owner.
"Wow!" Nova tried to poke the screen but it permeated through his finger.
Arcturus chuckled. "Your hands can't touch it. Only the owner can touch it via fingerprint data." He showed off his ability to use the hologram screen by moving it around with his hands.
Nova chuckled. "Technology sure has advanced. I feel like I can't keep up."
"Although the hologram screen can be tedious, I can command Kori, the earring, to go into audio command mode so I won't have to fixate on a screen. It's especially handy when I am on the run."
"It's very otherworldly."
Arcturus raised an eyebrow. "Otherworldly? This type of technology is the norm."
Nova tilted his head. "What year is it?"
"620."
Nova then gasped. He then started mumbling to himself. Arcturus heard him say, "Has it been twenty years since then? I've lost count of the time."
"What are you talking about?"
Startled, Nova forced out a giggle. "It's nothing."
Nova's behavior was strange, but he didn't want to probe any further. Their search for the button resumed. Nova relied on brute strength to find it while Arcturus relied more on thinking. He would jab the tip at every spot he'd deem unusual looking. He found it hard to concentrate when Nova was pounding his fist and feet everywhere.
"Stop that!"
"Stop what?"
"The pounding and stomping! You're not a toddler."
Nova muttered, "So uptight…"
He did comply with his request. Nova started searching for the switch with his hands and feet quietly. Arcturus searched meticulously until he heard a soft clicking noise. The room shook as a portion of the wall opened, revealing a descending staircase that led to darkness.
Nova started applauding him. "Wow, you managed to find the switch! You're very smart!"
Arcturus became flustered. "I don't think intelligence plays a part in finding a switch, but this is no big deal for me. I am just a meticulous person by nature."
"But, knowing to use the tip of your knife to find the switch is a very intelligent plan." Nova took a step forward and leaned in towards Arcturus to observe his face once again. He hummed in fascination. "Your eyelashes are as red as your hair. I thought you were Laminan, but you are Plasmian."
Arcturus took a step back as he cleared his throat. "My hair is scarlet; also, I am half-Laminan from my father's side and half-Plasmian from my mother's."
Civilians of the three nations had unique hair colors that made them unique from each other. Ilacians had light colored hair, ranging from any light shade of brown to any shade of blond. Laminans had dark hair, ranging from black to dark brown hair. Plasmians had bright and bold hair colors, like how Arcturus had a bright shade of scarlet as his natural hair color.
Nova seemed rather surprised to learn of his mixed heritage. "You're mixed? How unusual. Don't mixed children usually have a blend of their parents' hair colors?"
Arcturus stroked a lock of his hair as he was reminded of his sister. "I was supposed to be born with auburn hair, but my hair came out scarlet like my mother's. My mother once told me that my hair is like this because I was born with tremendous good luck." He then glanced over at Nova's hair. Since his hair was blond, Arcturus assumed Nova was pure Ilacian; his golden blond hair was the prettiest shade he had ever laid eyes upon.
"How unusual…" Nova muttered.
"It's a long story. It would take days for me to tell it."
"I'd love to listen to it, but later on. Our priority is to get out of here and onto the throne room."
"Throne room? There's a throne room?" He asked with joy. His eyes were glued to Nova's passionately.
Nova smiled. "I know what you're looking for. Follow me and we'll get there in a jiffy."
"Okay…" Arcturus raised an eyebrow when the last word rang in his ear.
Who says 'jiffy' in this generation?
Arcturus focused on following him down the staircase.