Rae
The several piles of wealth had turned into small hills over the past month, and Rae had made it his mission to sort it all.
Rae had grown quite close to some of the beetles, and those few were now adorned with gems and various metals. Even their shells had transformed to match their new accessories.
There was one beetle in particular whose shell had become completely golden. Its eyes looked like emeralds, and Rae considered it his most valuable possession. It felt like there was a strange connection between them, as Rae could feel its presence whenever it was near. It slept atop a pile of gems, sinking in to the point that Rae could only see its head at the top of the hill.
'Sleep well my golden prince.'
Rae rubbed his hands together as he waited for the next shipment of precious bounty. Normally there would be a trickle before a big piece was brought in, but today there had been nothing.
'There must be something huge this time.'
Rae waited and waited, but there was nothing as the sun began to set.
'They better not have abandoned me.'
The jeweled beetle shook off the wealth on its shell and followed Rae as he exited his cave. Rae's eyes took a moment to adjust to the sunlight, especially since his prize companion's shell reflected light everywhere.
It was much hotter than Rae remembered, and he smelled smoke. He didn't see anything until he faced the mountain once more.
It was as if he was looking at a volcano about to erupt, as the sky above the mountain was filled with dark smoke. Flames licked around the edges of the mountain, and Rae began to panic.
'I need to evacuate all my riches!'
Rae rushed back towards the cave, but his piles of shiny metals flowed out of the entrance like lava. The jeweled beetle dove into it, clacking its pincers with glee. Rae didn't feel like he would survive such a thing, but he was tempted to join his companion nonetheless.
. . .
Dorin
"You let the infinity run through you?"
"I didn't have much of a choice."
Vale seemed deeply upset. "What happened?"
"I . . ." Dorin didn't know what to say, he could probably make something up but it was probably better to stick to the truth somewhat. "I saw a vision from my past. My mother and father."
"And?"
"My father was trying to kill me and my mother."
Vale hesitated for a moment as the gears in his deranged head turned. Dorin was about to speak again but Vale started laughing maniacally like always. "I don't doubt that. If I was your father I might have similar plans for you after seeing your idiocy. I lost a life just by touching the thing, so you're lucky to still be here."
"I had no idea what was happening."
"That's the point." Vale regained a serious look. "In this world you will be thrown into the unknown at every turn, and from what I can tell, you will need to overcome mountains where to some it would be like running downhill."
"You keep saying that, why can't you just tell me how everything works so I'm not at a disadvantage?"
"I might know this world, but I don't know you. How your desire interacts with the world will influence everything. Now, what did you see before risking your life for no reason?"
"I saw hundreds of colored streams leading towards three orbs of differing colors and sizes, all filled with water."
"You said you saw colors?"
". . . yes?"
"When did that start happening?"
"The entire time I was in there-"
"No." Vale facepalmed. "When did you awaken your soul sight?"
Dorin was surprised that Vale thought that was special. He thought it was just a quirk of looking inside his ego. "When I devoured a demon."
"A demon?" Vale jumped up and started dancing. "You've been hiding yourself, boy. You should've told me when you introduced yourself. That's what any normal person would do. No wonder you became a virtue."
"Compared to Ara, it was nothing."
"Ara . . . that's the girl who's fighting the sin, isn't it?"
"Yes, and I have no doubt she will prove victorious."
"What did she do to garner such trust?" Vale had a curious glint in his eye.
"She killed me eight out of the nine times."
"That's . . . disappointing. I had hoped there was a connection between you."
Dorin thought back to all the interactions he had with Ara ever since his forging. They had never truly been friends, but they had teamed up to deal with Rae when the time came. Dorin wondered how powerful she would be the next time he saw her. A shiver went through his body at the thought, the pain of getting his eyes burnt out still lingered in the back of his mind.
"Anyway, we can work with this. Your soul sight will come in handy on our journey."
"I haven't been able to activate it since I got into this world."
". . . dumbass."
. . .
To anyone who got this far, I am sorry to say that this is the end . . . Of my work. Anyone is free to take this and complete my work, no matter how shitty it may be. I give full rights to all of my ideas so far. While I still love writing, I have lost my joy for life. I hope you all live happy and fulfill your dreams, no matter how big.