"What's wrong?"
"I'm just bracing myself for what I might see."
Sighing, Ikky closed his eyes and stepped through space. He heard soft crunches when his bare feet touched the grass of the forest, while shifting his leg around to find the remains of his wooden house.
"Of course it's gone." He sighed, finally looking down at the remains of his broken home. He decided to take a seat on the ground to at least rest his back. But alas, destiny had other plans.
All of a sudden, a loud trumpet shook the entire forest, rallying attention from the animals that lived there.
The habitat had been exposed to such a familiar sound, especially during the last 24 hours. Yet non had shaken the ecosystem from such close proximity and loudness.
After the eerily loud and threatening blow of the trumpet, bellows of the panicked habitat followed.
Those faraway into the city below could only notice the birds leaving their trees in alarming numbers of flocks, to realise the disturbance.
But those closer could see it: the dark tunnel that had split the rays of sunlight apart, calling down a Messenger from the higher Lokahs.
A Seer had been born in the wild forest... one who did not ascend to the higher heavens in a tunnel of light, but was summoned in a void where light was not.
"What is that?!"
The same question was in the minds of all who could see.
The fade tunnel of darkness soon began to grow blacker and connect more clearly to both the heavens and earth, like a pillar connecting all the good of Svarga, to its inevitably disastrous future.
And after whatever that dark Messenger had come to transport, was out of the world, the clouds finally burst with the rain they had been holding in for weeks; the weather leaving the sky grey, and letting that eerie chill the dark tunnel had caused, stick around a little longer.
———
Meanwhile to Ikky, an inhuman whisper tickled his soul as it pleaded for him to shut his eyes. He obeyed.
Everyone knows that certain spirits comes to deliver Seers who have just completed their first omen/ ordeal to the higher Lokah— the trumpets of the Messengers' arrival was the music of the day of Ascension.
If one's mind wasn't at the level of certain comprehension, they would just collapse from the sight of such a magnificent creature. Most say, this is because, although this mysterious creature was a good spirit, it certainly didn't look as beautiful and as ethereal as one — it was grotesque, like a tame evil spirit. But most agreed that Messangers were beings on a higher level of existence than what mortals could comprehend.
Regardless, the feeling of inferiority Ikky had within was instinctive. As he was being lifted into the heavens, he knew he had the choice to either keep his eyes closed, or lose his sanity.
Fortunately, his ride was fast. In no time, the amber-eyed man soon began to descend.
Feeling it was safe to open his eyes, Ikky took a deep breath and then his eyelids flickered open.
A question had made it into Equinox's mind intermittently when he lived in Sumeru. It was one he expected lots of people to be asking too. But with nothing else to go with, he had made his own mental images and theories.
And as his eyes scanned upon the magnificent landscape he met himself, the answer to that question— How did the higher Lokahs look?— was gradually getting answered.
From the clear azure ground with winged whales swimming underground beneath his feet, to the sky littered with flying people on clouds and various spirits, Ikky gasped in wonder and awe.
The edifices were even more beautiful than the ones in Sumeru, their alabaster surfaces glimmering with twinkles under the twilight sky. Humans were walking around like normal, surrounded by spirits that seemed to man their own food stands and shops. The technology here also looked more compact and more crystal-use efficient; this place was clearly ahead it's lower realm. But there was only so much Ikky could comprehend with his illiterate self. So for the technology, his only take was, it looked cooler.
"Huh? What is—"
A wide shadow suddenly stopped right below his feet, followed by the air whistling. Ikky had fortunately realised that an object was coming towards him from above and moved away.
And as the object, or rather person fell down to the ground, they sat flat on the ground with their legs folded. There was no progressive drop in speed from that fall, this man had just landed so casually from the height of the clouds, making not even as much sound as a thud.
"Hello Seer. I'll be your guide and yada yada. Here's a scarf to cover your sh#t. You're naked." The strange man's voice sounded bored, demotivated and a bit annoyed. But, he was making a point.
Ikky's clothes... Ikky practically had no clothes on. It was just his one legged pants and a barely existent shirt. And if he did decide to open his legs wide, the tool attached to his groin would definitely peek out to say hi.
Before laying his hands on the scarf though, he asked, "Who are you?"
"I'm a hired hand." The man answered. "The usual guide spirit are away for some reason, and I'm one of the people here to stand in for it.
"..." Ikky looked at the man suspiciously. That seemed more like a convenient story than one that actually makes sense. He wouldn't just follow a random stranger to—
"We provide food and temporary lodging."
Like a religious monk in that scarf, Ikky stepped down the elevated ground and followed the strange man to wherever the heck he was going.
———
The two men walked down a fairly busy street. The relationship between the humans and spirits varied with each passing stranger; some resembling the relationship between men and their pets, others as equals and even business partners.
Of course, Ikky wanted to ask a lot of questions about this new place, but as he looked up at his guide's jaded face, he was a little hesitant. Not from fear, but from doubting whether the man would even give him a reply. With the kind of fatigue pressing down on him, Ikky wasn't really keen on asking vain questions.
But there was one question that Ikky would be bothered asking, and that would be how long they had to trek till they got to the food. But before he could, a group of three men and a leading woman stopped them.
While she took unrestrained glances at Ikky's body, the woman strutted over to his guide. But Ikky wasn't really shutting his eyes closed at her either.
The scene was vivid. The beautiful lady, was standing a little too close to the guide, gently pressing her fingers on his chest. She stood on her toes, and with her smirking red lips barely touching the man's chin, she whispered,
"What can it do?"
"Lay off, Arley, it's a human... He."
"Eh?" The woman fell on her feet before taking another look at Ikky.
What was in front of her was apparently a person. His body was thin, and she could even see the outline of his ribs clearly. What human, not to talk of a Prophet, looked this starved?
His skin colour was more of white pigment than a complexion. And his unblinking eyes were a glowing pair of amber. His hair was quite literally the same colour as his skin, making his picture from a far perspective look even more inhuman as it was like his head was stretching all the way down to the back of his waist, scattering into thin threads.
From that clear view of him, it was really hard for a person who lived here to think he was a human at first glance and not a spirit.
"Aye, dear are you okay?" The woman's behaviour suddenly flipped in half a second worth of time.
Sliding over to Ikky, she grabbed his sticks— arms and wiggled them to the side.
"Oooh, his bones are as dense as mammoth's husks, and his flesh is rubbery! What harsh battle did you this bad niño? Is there even blood in your body?"
"Yeah, I've confirmed that." Ikky nodded before adding,
"I have fought relentlessly in my first omen and ended up like this— with the hair and all. So please, if you have something for me to eat, I might live long enough to see tomorrow's dawn."
Ikky got a little carried away after hearing the unfamiliar accent of the beautiful lady and decided to speak dramatically, adding little lies to match. It was a common habit for him to try and fit into group before proceeding to beg them for food. But he failed every single time... almost.
The guide suddenly pulled back the woman and spoke into her ear,
"I know what you're thinking, but no—"
"Oh don't give me that Patrick!" The woman snapped at him. "If he's a new Seer and hasn't been given a place to stay yet then, I will have him."
"Huh? What about the other one we have at the restaurant already?" Rick, the guide complained.
"She's ascending soon."
"Ascending? You mean she's gone on her second Ordeal? Why didn't you tell me about it? How would you have explained it to me if she didn't come back out?"
"Mmh hm. I thought you didn't care about her." Arley folded her arms as she turned her back at him.
Rick sighed. "I didn't— ahhh. You're a piece of work."
Spinning around to pinch his nose with a grin, Arley added, "Yes, a juicy one, and you love it!"
Rick couldn't find the words to continue their argument, so he dipped his hands in his pockets and walked ahead. "I'll be at the bar."
From what little he could pick from their conversation, Ikky felt he should ask,
"Am I being trafficked?"
The woman chuckled. "Traffic is a strong word, no?" She didn't confirm his thoughts nor deny it.
"Say, you look compact enough, and with some effort, I could make you into a fine bartender, or a waiter since both of those posts are open."
"Will I get paid in meals?"
"Money would be better, won't it boy?" She looked at him with a raised eyebrow. But understanding what he really wanted for now, she clapped her hands.
"Boys, carry him to my restaurant."
"I can walk on my own—" Ikky tried to refuse. Alas...
"Oh please, no one wants to see those skinny legs go." She waved her fingers with a slightly angry glance at his body.
"Timi, you carry him, Lev, go get some clothes his size. Buy a bunch. And Kite, stand by me."
The three muscular men nodded and immediately did as they were told.
Ikky could only whisper, 'what the fffff' in a disoriented state as a buff man lifted him in his arms.
Arley continued to talk at light speed as she asked him all sorts of questions, but Ikky's mind was pretty much blank at this point, so he answered none.
"I'm so hungry I could die... again."