"Don't!"
For the first time, Akane's playful mask seemed truly shattered.
Akane's voice was so sharp, so out of character, that I instinctively jerked my hand back from the enigmatic orb, my fingers lingering near it as I watched Akane's reaction.
She had always been an enigma wrapped in playfulness, but in that one whispered word, all whimsy vanished.
Her fiery eyes, which typically sparkled with mischief, were now momentarily devoid of their usual spark.
The magnetic pull of the 'estence' orb was momentarily broken, "Akane? What's wrong? Why shouldn't I touch it?"
"Just don't." Her voice was barely audible, almost drowned out by the distant hum of the sanctum. She deliberately turned her face away from the pulsating orb, "I don't want to be near that thing." She shot me a look, her fiery eyes momentarily devoid of their usual spark. Without answering, she began walking away, the echo of her footsteps growing fainter in the vast expanse of the sanctum.
Her abrupt departure, leaving me alone with the cryptic term 'estence,' solely fueled my curiosity further. She undoubtedly had something against it, but that only made me more determined to understand its importance.
I decided to chase after Akane, looking for answers.
"Wait, Akane!" I called out, my voice echoing back at me. The atmosphere felt heavier, as if the very walls of the sanctum were warning me to tread carefully.
I jogged after her, trying to catch up, "You can't just leave me in the dark. I need to know."
Akane stopped abruptly. The soft glow of nearby runes illuminated her profile, casting her in a soft, eerie light. "Some things," she whispered, "are better left unknown."
I attempted a direct approach, "Akane, stop playing around. What is 'estence'?"
Akane, shifting her gaze, gave me a non-committal response, "It's just a word, Takeshi."
But I couldn't let it go so easily. 'Estence' was more than just a word carved onto the stone; it was a piece of the intricate mystery that was this journey.
I tried confronting her, "Every time I mention 'estence', you go distant. Why are you hiding it from me?"
Akane sighed, "Not all powerful things are blessings, Takeshi. Some are best left forgotten."
"I won't stop until I have answers," I stated firmly.
She sighed, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly, "Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you so secretive?" I shot back, feeling frustration gnawing at me, the words resonating through the area.
For a moment, silence hovered between us, thick and palpable. The vast expanse of the Sanctum suddenly felt suffocating, the weight of centuries of history pressing down on us.
Akane hesitated, "There are aspects of the infinite planes and sub-planes that should not be revealed, Takeshi. 'Estence' is one such enigma."
I frowned, taking a step closer, "You've brought me into a sanctum, promising answers and the means to save Takako. Now you want me to remain in the dark?"
Akane's gaze drifted off, momentarily lost in her thoughts.
[Illustration]
"Not everything I hide from you is out of malice. Some truths are simply... too heavy."
I took a step closer, the runes beneath my feet pulsating with energy. "I can handle it. Whatever it is, I need to know."
Akane's playful demeanour completely faded, replaced by a seriousness I had rarely seen.
Akane's gaze remained locked on mine, and for the first time, I saw a trace of vulnerability in her eyes.
"..."
But then, as quickly as it had appeared, her vulnerability retreated, and she once again wore the mask of enigmatic playfulness.
"Let's just not talk about it, okay?"
"But—"
"Let's. Not. Talk. About. It. Okay?" Her smile was bright and unsettling, and her words felt like she would rip me to shreds if I pressed on any further.
Akane's sudden shift wasn't just unsettling; it was like watching a day turn to night in a split second.
Her usually cheeky and mischievous manner was replaced by a demeanour that was almost... mournful?
I studied her carefully, searching for a hint—any inkling that would shed light on her abrupt change.
She seemed distant, her gaze fixed on a point far beyond the Sanctum's confines.
I sighed and decided to respect her wishes for now, though 'estence' continued to gnaw at my curiosity.
"So are we going to leave now or what?" I asked.
Silence persisted for a moment before Akane's features relaxed, her lips curling into a teasing smile, "Well since you're so insistent on moving forward, lead the way!"
Hesitating for a moment, I took a step forward, the runes beneath my feet pulsating with energy. The farther we ventured into the Sanctum, the more intense and mystifying our surroundings became.
Strange, luminescent symbols floated in the air, and the whispers grew louder, forming a cacophony of unintelligible murmurs.
We walked in relative silence, the only sound being the whispers and our footsteps.
Every now and then, I would try to engage Akane, but she would give vague responses, masterfully avoiding any questions about 'estence'.
"I'm bored, so here's a fun fact about me: most of my abilities are disabled."
After Akane's casual revelation about her disabled abilities, a sudden chill washed over me. "Your abilities are...disabled? Why?"
"My mother said I can't be trusted with them and disabled them as a 'punishment'." Akane responded with a flippant shrug.
The air between us grew heavy. That was a lot to take in. It wasn't just the statement but how she'd said it.
Like it was an everyday occurrence to be stripped of your innate magical talents.
I couldn't help but probe further.
"Your own mother disabled your abilities? That seems... harsh."
Akane sighed, leaning against a nearby pillar. The playful glow in her eyes dimmed, replaced by a far-off, contemplative look, "My mother, she's... well, powerful is a massive understatement. Her status alone should make that obvious."
"Right, you told me she's a supreme primordial goddess."
Akane let out a soft chuckle, although it lacked her usual playfulness.
"Supreme primordial goddess. Sounds so grand when you put it that way." She said, looking away, her eyes distant.
As Akane leaned against the pillar, I hesitated, sensing the depth of the story she might unveil, "If you're okay with it, tell me about your mother."
Akane took a deep breath, and a heavy sigh followed, contrasting her usual lightness.
"My mother, Tsuyomi, is the oldest being in existence. She's witnessed the birth of all the planes and the fall of multiple physical and abstract existences. She could end the infinite planes with less than a fraction of her power. And she carries it all with a stoicism that's frightening."
"Now being her descendent, I was guaranteed to inherit her powers soon enough. Which I did."
Smiling wryly, she added, "However, having a child inherit even a fragment of that power, especially one as... spirited as I am, was perhaps not the wisest choice."
Akane's voice dropped to a whisper, her usually vibrant eyes shadowed. "After inheriting a fragment of her power, I... may have caused a bit of havoc..."
Akane's lips curled into a bitter smile, her eyes shadowed with a mix of regret and nostalgia.
She paused, taking a moment to collect herself, "My actions weren't just reckless; they were dangerous. In her eyes, I was a child playing with fire. She couldn't risk me doing it again. So, she took the only step she thought was right."
Akane's fingers traced an intricate, glowing rune in the air, a symbol of her limited power.
"So my mother disabled most of my powers. Sad right?"
As I absorbed this revelation, a question gnawed at me, "Why didn't she just take away all your powers if you were such a threat?"
Akane's eyes met mine, and I saw a flicker of pain, as if that very question had haunted her for ages, "Because, Takeshi, even in her sternness, my mother still loves me. She believed that by leaving me with a fragment of my power, I could learn and grow, perhaps find a way to redeem myself."
As Akane was revealing her story, I felt a brief, chilling gust of wind brush past us. My eyes darted around, trying to trace its origin.
That's when I noticed it: a fleeting, darting shadow, barely perceptible but distinctly present.
The subtle movement, almost like the dance of a candle's flame, drew my gaze.
"Akane," I whispered, not wanting to disrupt the quiet ambience, "Do you see that?"
Akane replied in a hushed tone, her usual playfulness absent, "That, Takeshi, is something we might want to follow."
I had considered that option, but every moment I spend doing something that doesn't help with saving Takako makes me feel more and more guilty over time.
"Lets go see what it is! It might be beneficial." Akane broke the silence.
Hearing the word 'beneficial', I decided to join Akane on her quest to catch the weird shadow.
We ventured deeper into the sanctum. The air became heavy with an unexplainable energy, and the soft hum of the Sanctum resonated in our ears.
We followed the shadow through the seemingly infinite labyrinthine maze of corridors, each turn leading us deeper into the Sanctum's unknown.
The occasional whisper grew louder, forming into faint, fragmented voices that spoke in languages I couldn't decipher.
I couldn't help but wonder if this was related to 'estence.' Perhaps this shadow held the key to unlocking its secrets.
Each turn through the Sanctum's winding passages felt like stepping into another world.
Stone walls gave way to shimmering curtains of light, and cold corridors opened up into vast chambers, where floating islands rotated around massive glowing orbs.
As we followed the elusive shadow, it seemed to become more tangible, taking on a more humanoid form, yet remaining just out of reach.
It danced mockingly a few steps ahead, disappearing behind corners or melting into the walls, only to reappear further ahead.
Akane, usually the source of jokes, grew silent. The deeper they ventured, the more treacherous our path became.
In one particularly vast hall, the shadow fragmented, multiplying into a dozen duplicates, each darting off in a different direction.
"What now?" I panted, feeling the weight of their relentless chase.
Akane pondered for a moment.
"Let's split up. Cover more ground that way."
I hesitated, "Are you sure? It feels like this shadow is leading us into a trap."
"That's the fun part." She teased, before dashing off into an unnaturally closing passageway.
"That idiot wants me to rip my hair out seriously." I mused, before running through a random corridor.
The rooms and passageways seemed eerily repetitive. It most certainly wasn't as big from the outside perspective.
[Illustration]
I sprinted forward, my heart pounding, "This time, I've got it!" I thought as I neared.
But just as I was about to confront the elusive spectre, it splintered into a myriad of smaller forms, scattering in all directions, each fragment beckoning me to follow.
In one long hallway, lined with ancient statues, the shadow flitted from one to another, playfully peeking from behind them, its amorphous shape morphing to mimic the statues, mocking me with its agility.
"Are you playing games with me?" I shouted, my frustration evident. But the shadow merely laughed, a haunting echo that seemed to come from all directions.
It danced around, twirling and spinning, always just out of reach.
At one point, it led me to a vast room with mirrored walls.
The reflections were distorted, and I could see multiple versions of the shadow, each more elusive than the last.
It was like a maze of illusions, and I felt lost, trapped in a never-ending game of cat and mouse.
"This is pointless!" The shadow seemed to laugh, its mocking echoes reverberating around me.
It was as if the very walls of the Sanctum were joining in its sinister amusement.
Upon arriving at a crossroads of corridors, I almost collided with Akane, who seemed equally dishevelled from her pursuit.
"Any luck catching yours?" I asked, trying to catch my breath.
"No. It's like chasing a mirage. The moment I think I've cornered it, it simply... dissipates."
I slumped against a wall, feeling the cold stone against my back.
"Same here. It led me into a room with mirrors. Everywhere I looked, it was there, but... not really."
Akane's eyes sparkled with mischief, "Mirrors, huh? Did you like what you saw?"
I rolled my eyes, "This isn't the time for your jokes."
She leaned in, her playful tone never waning, "It's always the time for jokes. Especially when you're lost in an ancient sanctum chasing after wily shadows."
Looking down the left corridor, a seemingly endless pathway of arches and dimly lit runes stretched out.
"Do you think it's leading us somewhere specific? Or just playing games?"
Akane, pushing off the wall and stretching, contemplated for a moment. "Both? The sanctum is alive in a way. Maybe it's leading us somewhere. Maybe it wants to show us something."
I frowned, remembering the word that started all this. "You mean like 'estence'?"
Her gaze sharpened, the momentary playfulness replaced by a violent retort.
"We're not discussing that."
I stared at Akane for a while, knowing I wouldn't be getting any answers from her, "I don't think there's any point chasing this shadow. I think we should leave."
I expected Akane to object, but she just sighed and nodded. She began to take the lead but abruptly stopped in her tracks.
"How do we get out of here?"
Staring at the vast expanse of the sanctum, I couldn't help but feel a pang of anxiety.
Akane's light-hearted nature always made me feel that we could handle any situation, but her sudden uncertainty was unsettling.
"Akane," I began cautiously, "you've been here before, right?"
"I'm always here. But this is the first time I've been so deep inside it. And it likes to change it's path every now and then."
I found myself looking at Akane, her playful demeanour always adding a dash of levity to tense situations.
"We'll find our way out, right?"
She gazed back, eyes scanning the intertwining corridors and vast halls.
"I'm familiar with parts of the sanctum, but its depths...they're a different story."
I stared into the distance, an unsettling realization setting in.
We were lost.
Akane's sudden chuckle caught me off guard.
"What's so funny?" I asked.
She shrugged, "In every story, the characters find themselves in some predicament, and then something unexpected happens. I just didn't expect us to be in one."
"Speaking of stories," I ventured, "Tell me more about you. About your past. With this 'Estence'"
Akane's eyes glimmered mysteriously, "There's not much to tell. I'm ancient; Estence is ancient, and that's about it."
I pressed further, determined to break through her enigmatic façade.
"Ancient? That's quite the understatement—"
"Just shut up about it!" Akane exclaimed, her outburst echoing through the echoing chambers of the Sanctum.
The weight of the silence following her words felt oppressive, pressing down on me.
"I'm sorry." I whispered, not sure what I was apologising for—pushing her or for a past I was ignorant of.
She turned her back to me, her frame stiffening, "It's not your fault, Takeshi. It's just... there are memories that aren't easy to relive."
Curious, I cautiously probed, "Did they involve 'estence'?"
She didn't respond.
Feeling the weight of Akane's silence, I took a deep breath and cautiously approached her.
"Akane," I began, placing a hand on her shoulder, "I won't ask you about your past anymore."
She stiffened under my touch but didn't pull away, she felt hot.
"Let's just find a way out of here." I continued.
Akane slightly nodded, and we began looking for a way out.
Walking through the sanctum's vast, eerily lit corridors, the cold feeling of the stones beneath our feet seemed to amplify the weight of Akane's earlier revelations and the burning questions I still harboured.
"I never imagined the sanctum to be this vast," I commented, attempting to fill the silence.
Akane responded, "On the outside, it looks like a normal sanctum. On the inside however, its size is almost infinite."
Akane's gaze often wandered, lost in thought or perhaps memories of times long past.
Seeing her like this, a sudden pang of guilt hit me. I had pushed too hard, probed too much.
"Akane," I started, "I'm sorry about earlier."
She looked up, a forced smile on her face, "It's fine, Takeshi. Everyone has a past they don't want to revisit."
The weight of her words hung heavily between us. There was so much she wasn't saying, so much I wanted to understand. But for now, it was best left unsaid.
Suddenly, a soft whisper broke the silence. A shadow flitted across our path, drawing both our attention.
Unlike the previous shadows, this one seemed more solid, as if it had substance, yet still retained its ethereal nature.
It glided effortlessly, weaving between the stone pillars, appearing and disappearing with each turn.
"Akane, look," I whispered, pointing to the ever-moving shadow.
"Let's not follow it." Akane whispered, but her voice was filled with an emotion I had rarely heard from her.
The shadow, rather than dissipating, began to coalesce in the middle of the corridor. Slowly, it transformed into a solid, stone-like creature, its body intertwined with patches of green moss and creeping ivy.
It emanated an aura, otherworldly and ancient.
I looked at Akane, her once mischievous eyes were now filled with a deep reverence, and perhaps...fear.
"That aura..." she started, her voice quivering, "It's Estence..."