The loud tapping against the ground and the non-human blows forced Zephyr awake, her silver bangs intersecting her lashes.
She tilted her head as high as she could, her neck trembling to something pushing it down, and twisted her body to observe her surroundings: Dark and empty, the only glimpse of light from a small gap by the corner.
By the hard surface she rested against, and the white object wrapping the upper half of the area, "Am I.. in a cart..?
She moved her limbs, but something resisted all four. Squirming her body like a worm and looking down, her eyes gaped to the realisation.
She was bound to ropes. "Wait.. Wait wait wait.. Why am I tied up!?"
Her heart pounded against her chest as panic surged, her instincts attempting to break free. She faced the ground and attempted to lift herself up, but metal clanked and resisted the moment she stood and moved forward.
She tripped to her face, an "augh!" escaping her planted mouth. "..Seriously!? I'm even chained!?!" Having landed in front of the aforementioned gap, she shut her right eye and peeked with her left.
The ultraviolet rays slammed against her vulnerable eye, forcing it shut as it stung. She forced it open a few seconds later and peered the passing crowd, their faces variously coloured by dashes of red, blue, green, brown, yellow, and grey. "..People..? Why are they all out??"
She strained her eyes to resist the shakiness of the cart, observing the structures coated by the people. "Was Martial Law lifted..? And their marks.. Is it Magic Day already!?"
She had been unconscious for a whole day. More importantly, the events of the past resurfaced like a bucket of water splashed above her head.
The skirmish, the escape.. The moment she held her breath and believed it was her end..
Her eyes gaped open once more, her brain enlightened as if the puzzle had been complete.
The structures were oddly different from Stepanburg, as well as the tall, mighty and distant shrine of white and gold.
The influx of people and the marks on their cheeks resembling their affinity.
The fact she was bound by ropes and chains, and inside a cart.
Her body trembled with her spine as if she were clad by thin clothes in this winter period, the situation and her position becoming clearer by the second.
She was abducted and taken elsewhere.
She hurriedly slammed her face against the gap and yelled: "—HEEEEELP——!!! SOMEBODY PLEASE SAVE ME—!!!"
Not a single soul battered an eye to her, or to the cart as if they couldn't hear her. She clicked her tongue and sucked her breath, "HEY! PLEASE HELP MEEE—!! I'M LITERALLY BEING ABDUCTED RIGHT NOW!!!"
"DAMMIT! They're all ignoring me!"
She huffed, and from there she noticed a weak hue of purple as her voice slammed against the gap. She narrowed her eyes and let out repeated hums. "..It's glowing when I speak.. Is that why..?
She exclaimed "ah!" against the gap, reacting to it once more with the glow of a translucent pink. "..Is this why people aren't reacting!?"
She sat up, her heavy chest pressing against her knees. She shut her eyes and bit her lips.
She was abducted, bound by ropes, and essentially mute to the outside world. She looked down at her slave-like collar, then looked over her shoulder. "Maybe.. This will work. <Bekuparwa>." Her vessels on her arms warmed up, and as she curled her index to erect a shard of ice, the blue subtle glow of her hand ceased like a lantern lighting in its last moments.
A gasp escaped her mouth, the sound of her cancelled magic like a shattered glass, and her neck twitching and tensing as if it were prickled. "OW! What!?"
Her gaze focused on the weighing collar beneath her jaw, glimmering a purple glow that hastily vanished. A cold sigh escaped her mouth, her shoulders slumped in resignation. "..There's nothing I can do, this cart is barriered by magic, and I can't even cast mine because of this collar."
As she shut her eyes, a pink-haired figure materialised within her void. "Deleena…" she tightly clenched her fists, her brows furrowing by themselves. "Please.. Tell them everything you know…"
Having been behind Zephyr across the wall, she believed Deleena definitely overheard those bandits say something. If it was their destination, or anything, any clue, she could only cling to the hope that girl would start singing.