Zayd suddenly shot up from her kneeling position, pushing Ruin to the ground. "What happened?" he asked, rubbing his head in confusion. The last thing he remembered was placing his hand on Zayd's shoulder.
"Well," Kimiko explained, "you walked over to the crazy lady and put your hand on her shoulder. Then you both just stood there like statues for about ten seconds. Then she stood up and knocked you down."
Ruin looked at Zayd, ready to demand answers, but she shot him a knowing look that silenced him.
"You better explain to me what's going on," Kimiko said firmly. "Ever since you woke up, you and that crazy lady over there have been acting really weird!"
"You might want to take a seat," Ruin sighed, "because this is going to be a long story." He began recounting his ordeal—from his kidnapping by Homura to how he had met Zayd—but conveniently left out anything regarding Ragnarok, as he wasn't sure what that was all about.
"Come on, stop joking! Tell me what actually happened," Kimiko laughed, but the seriousness of Ruin and Zayd's expressions quickly sobered her up.
"You can't be serious. You actually mean she's a god!" Kimiko exclaimed, pointing at Zayd in disbelief. "You mean like—" She leaned closer to Ruin and whispered, "the one in heaven?"
"I heard that," Zayd said, narrowing her eyes at Ruin. "And the answer is no. There are various celestials in this world, but only a select few humans and other creatures truly know of our existence. But since some idiot decided to cut off my connection to the celestial space, I'm not even sure if I should consider myself a celestial anymore."
"Well, Kimiko, where are the others?" Ruin interjected, laughing nervously, eager to change the subject.
"Oh, they all returned to town to get ready for the night celebration," Kimiko replied, her mood brightening. "But I decided to cover some extra ground before heading back."
"Wait celebration? Oh,if my math is corect, today is the fetival of the sun!," We should hurry! They'll probably give me special attention because of my return," Ruin said, his excitement building. As they approached the town, he spotted groups of people gathering with torches and various costumes, ready for the festivities.
Just as he was about to sprint toward the town, he paused, pointing at a bright streak of light in the sky above. "Um, Kimiko, has that light always been there?"