The slum's raw energy buzzed around them, a patchwork of life both bleak and vibrant. Virumi's stomach growled as she saw those children eating by the hands of the old lady. Griswa noticed the hunger written all over her face. "Yesdar, Malaes, Virumi… I think it's time you grabbed something to eat. What do you say?" His voice was calm, composed, but his suggestion hit just right, causing all of them to snap to attention. Virumi perked up, a little embarrassed that she hadn't spoken up about her hunger, while Yesdar and Malaes, still marveling at what they were seeing, blinked as if coming out of a trance.
"Well, I wouldn't mind something to eat," Malaes said, her tone brisk, as she glanced at Yesdar. "But who's got the cash?"
"I do," Yesdar replied, he opened his bag's third mouth's pocket and pulled out a handful of faded currency, some notes dark blue, others purple and grey, all worn by time. These were the notes Fheniz had handed over to them before they left Ehayor, money that had likely been untouched for decades. Even Fheniz didn't know if these notes would work in the present. But he gave them those thinking it was better for the money to come in use than rot in his stuff. Yesdar held out a dark blue note to Virumi. "Will this currency work?"
Virumi took the note and inspected it, holding it up as though appraising a jewel under dim light. Her lips curled into a half-smile, though her eyes sparkled with surprise. "These are wafferions. This is the standard global currency, of course it'll work. Noi! You guys didn't know that?" She raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, we know," Yesdar stammered, trying to laugh it off as casually as possible. "We're just... you know, not really up-to-date with the world's latest trends and changes. These are old, you see, and well... better safe than sorry, right?"
Virumi narrowed her eyes, suspicion creeping in. She was sizing them up. "Wait a minute… I have been asking where you guys are from exactly? You're telling me you're so out of the loop you don't even know what money works where? And the things you can do... materializing out of thin air? Noi?! Who even teaches you stuff like that? Are you guys part of some secret organization? Or..." Her voice dropped, and she stared at them intently, "...are you aliens?"
The trio exchanged awkward glances. A sweatdrop formed on Yesdar's back was literally practically visible. They had no idea how to respond.
"I mean, who just pops out of nowhere and does what you all can do? Huh? HUH? Noi! This makes no sense!" Virumi's voice rose a little louder, the excitement getting to her, drawing eyes from nearby slum dwellers. Yesdar, quick on his feet, placed his hand over her mouth, trying to hush her down before things escalated any further.
"Alright, alright, Griswa," Yesdar whispered through clenched teeth, "we're gonna have to tell her something."
Griswa glanced around, noticing the curious stares. "Yeah, but not here. Malaes, let's get moving."
With a swift nod, Malaes replied, "Let's go."
In a flash, Yesdar scooped Virumi into his arms — like a gallant hero carrying a damsel in distress. Without thinking, he dashed down the winding streets, Virumi's eyes wide with shock.
"Oi! Put me down! PUT ME DOWN NOI!" Virumi's voice screeched, her fists pounding against Yesdar's chest. But he held her tight, running with purpose, his neon blue eyes reflecting a firm resolve.
"You know I can't!" Yesdar declared, looking at her with his determined eyes.
As their eyes locked, Virumi gasped loudly, the complaints melted away into nothingness. She was trapped in his gaze, her heart skipping a beat, her face turning red. Her thoughts went rogue, spiraling into a chaotic daydream filled with flowers and rainbows, Yesdar's radiant blue eyes leading her through fields of ethereal beauty.
In her mind, she screamed, "YESDAR-SAAAAAAAAAAAMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!! YOU CAAAAAAANNNNN'TTTT NOOOOOOOOOIIIIIII!!!" She pictured herself twirling in a meadow, playing with petals, her soul soaring in a dreamlike world where everything was blissful.
Yesdar, utterly oblivious to her wild imagination, asked, "Oi, what's wrong?"
Virumi didn't answer. She was too deep in her romantic fantasy.
Meanwhile, Yesdar and Malaes followed, with Griswa leading the way through the maze of streets, tracking energies like a hawk. They zigzagged past broken-down buildings and sidestepped muddy streets, but Griswa never lost focus. His eyes glinted as they locked onto a nearly dilapidated small building ahead.
"That's it," Griswa said, his voice a sharp whisper. "Up there. It's empty."
They bolted up the cracked stone stairs and burst through the flimsy door, which creaked ominously on its hinges. Inside, the room was barely lit, dust swirling in the faint beams of light that peeked through broken windows. In the far corner stood a middle-aged woman behind a counter, her tattered clothes hanging loosely over her frail body. She blinked in shock as they all entered in a hurry.
"May I help you?" she asked, her voice cautious, though polite. She stood up quickly, her eyes darting between the group.
Griswa scanned the room, noting the scattered broken chairs and rickety tables. "Is this a place to eat?" he asked, almost casually, but the tension in his voice didn't go unnoticed.
The woman stared at him for a while, bewildered at the randomness of the question, then smiled. "Yes, of course. Please, have a seat."
Griswa smiled awkwardly, motioning to the others. "Yesdar, you can put her down now."
Malaes, who was already seated, let out a teasing chuckle. "Still holding her, huh?"
Embarrassed, Yesdar gently set Virumi down, clearing his throat as he did. But Virumi, still lost in her world of Yesdar-sama daydreams, stood frozen, her cheeks flushed, her mind drifting far away from reality.
"What's wrong with her?" Malaes asked, raising an eyebrow.
"I... have no idea," Yesdar replied, snapping his fingers in front of her face. "Oi! Virumi! Oi!"
Suddenly, Virumi snapped out of her trance. "Noi? Yes! YESDAR-SAAAMAAAAA— I mean! Yesdar-sama!" she corrected herself hastily, trying to regain her composure. "Take a seat, Virumi." Griswa replied on behalf of Yesdar.
"I didn't ask you, Griswa." Virumi said, her eyes smaller, showing she was uninterested in his orders.
Griswa annoyed, shouted funnily angrily, "I SAID TAKE A SEAT, YOU DARN FOOL! WHAT THE HELL'S WRONG WITH YOU?!" His voice reverberated in the small room.
Malaes giggled at the absurdity of the situation, and Yesdar shook his head, a smile creeping onto his face.
The four of them, despite the chaotic circumstances, now sat together at the table. The old, broken-down restaurant, with its shaky furniture and faded ambiance, couldn't demand any more customers making it the perfect place for their discussions to begin.
Virumi's flushed face calmed down, her thoughts still tangled in the chaos of admiration, excitement, and... whatever emotions Yesdar had just stirred within her for a moment.
The lady came to the table to ask for their orders. Yesdar and Malaes, who had been surviving on nothing but plants on Ehayor, were unsure what to expect from Aeartha's food. It had been years since they tasted anything from this planet, and they weren't familiar with what the people here even ate for breakfast. Griswa, being a God, never had to rely on food in the usual sense, but today was different.
"Bring whatever's there," Yesdar replied to the lady, his tone nonchalant but polite.
"Right now, I can make Pilaf, sir," she responded, her voice quiet and laced with uncertainty.
"Yeah, sure. Bring that for three people," Yesdar said, to which Virumi, perplexed, asked, "Why three?"
Without missing a beat, Yesdar pointed at Griswa and said, "He doesn't eat."
Virumi raised an eyebrow, puzzled, but before she could ask why, Griswa noticed the subtle shift in the woman's demeanor. There was something in her posture, the way she held herself, the slight downturn of her lips as she looked at him. Griswa could see it clearly—this restaurant was her lifeline, but it was struggling. The broken chairs, old furniture, and the low maintenance of the place told the story of a business that had long since fallen into disrepair. She was barely making ends meet. And now, despite four people sitting in front of her, only three were ordering. Her sense of unworthiness was palpable, as if she felt she didn't deserve even this little moment of service. The lack of business had drained her spirit.
Griswa, usually indifferent to a normal being's necessities, felt a strange empathy for the woman. He took a breath, looked directly at her, and said, "I'll take one as well."
Both Yesdar and Malaes blinked in surprise, their faces lighting up with amused smiles. It wasn't often that Griswa, who never needed to eat, ordered food. The lady's face also brightened slightly, a subtle yet genuine relief crossing her features. Although she tried to suppress it, there was a faint, shy smile on her lips. She nodded, more energized now.
"Four Pilafs, then," Malaes said warmly, satisfied by the lady's reaction.
"Sure," the woman replied, her voice now filled with renewed enthusiasm. She walked back to the kitchen, and they could hear the soft clinking of utensils as she started preparing their meal.
With the order placed, Griswa turned to Virumi, who was still caught in her own daydreams. The thought of Yesdar lifting her and their hurried escape from the slums still played in her head. She had barely registered where they were.
"Virumi," Griswa's voice cut through her reverie, pulling her back to the present. Her attention snapped to him as his multicolored eyes locked onto hers. "Listen very carefully and do not interrupt as I or anyone among us three speaks. Let me begin, but do not give any loud reaction. We are not here to grab attention, not even from the lady nearby."
Virumi, who had been distracted by her fanciful thoughts, straightened up. Her gaze turned serious, and she gave a small nod, signaling that she was ready to hear what Griswa had to say.
Griswa took a breath, his voice lowering into a calm, commanding tone, "I am not from this planet."
As their story unfolded, Virumi's expressions shifted from disbelief to fascination, then to deep understanding. The trio had shared everything she needed to know—their origins, their journey, the struggles they had faced on Ehayor. Griswa had led the explanation, his voice measured and steady, while Yesdar and Malaes filled in details where necessary. They didn't reveal everything, though. There was no mention of Master Ehayor's death or Griswa's true extent of power and his subconscious. What they told her was carefully selected to keep the flow without overwhelming her with the entirety of their burden or exposing secrets they didn't wish to reveal. They told her about Fheniz, about Ehayor, and even about the Schinong Azvoria and the Gate of Ehayor.
Griswa leaned back in his chair, his eyes narrowing slightly as he thought back to the moment in the cave. His mind was still processing the numerous flaws and mysteries that had piled up once they entered in Aximia. He hadn't even shared fragments of his thoughts with his companions earlier, but now it felt like the time to lay them out clearly.
"I wish to tell you this now, what you asked about before." he began, his voice calm but weighty. "Back when we were in that cave, several things didn't sit right with me. There are cracks in this story, gaps that don't make sense. And it's more than just the chaos of this place."
He paused, letting his words sink in before continuing. "First, we still don't know how Fheniz found the Gate of Ehayor. Think about it—this gate is in the depth of a jungle, surrounded by cannibalistic tribes and deadly threats. How did he manage to not only survive but also uncover something as hidden as the Schinong Gate?"
Griswa's voice darkened, his expression growing more intense as he recounted his suspicions. "He told us he followed vague rumors, but rumors aren't enough to guide someone to a gate like that. Someone or something had to give him more information. That leads me to another question—who are these people that supposedly told him where to go? The Ondra Hadrakshis? Or maybe another group we haven't even encountered yet?"
He pressed his lips with his thumb, a habit he often displayed when lost in thought. "Then there's the question of the Schinong Azvoria. They vanished 185,000 years ago, and yet their influence lingers. They sought cosmic knowledge, and instead, they found Brighter Dark. What were they really trying to achieve? And are they truly gone, or is their legacy still hidden somewhere in Aximia, waiting for us to uncover it?"
Griswa's tone grew sharper, as if every question he raised was a puzzle that munched his mind. "The Shulvris made a pact with the Yahunyens, but the details of that pact are vague, and we only know the surface of it. Virumi said it was about power and survival, but what if it was something far darker? What if it's not just about control, but something that echoes through generations and still affects their people today?"
He rubbed his chin, his voice lowering. "All of these mysteries—Fheniz, the Gate, the Schinong Azvoria, the Shulvris' pact—are uncovered. And we don't have all the pieces yet. The only way to unravel them is by finding the secrets buried here in Aximia. That's why we, Virumi, need your help. You hold the key to the Mertromath clan, with the help of your family's connections, we can talk to the King's family. We need to get closer to the end of this country to truly understand what's going on."
As the tale wound down, Virumi sat back, deep in thought. The weight of the trio's journey, their suffering, their pursuit of freedom—something that resonated so deeply with her—left her in awe. These weren't just travelers or fighters; their mission was something greater than anything she could have imagined. And they needed her help to talk to the king's family. Her connection to the Mertromath clan, her knowledge of the royal families as she belonged to one of them, and her path to the king's family—these were crucial to their mission.
Virumi, stunned, nodded slowly, her eyes betraying the whirl of thoughts that raced through her mind. She had never heard of the Gate of Ehayor in any history books, and now to hear it was connected to her very own land was a revelation that shook her core. The trio had held back no important detail in their story, explaining how they ended up in Aximia and what they were hoping to achieve.
She took a deep breath, looking at the trio with a new understanding. The room fell into a heavy silence as she reflected on the immense weight of their struggles. A small fire seemed to light within her, as if their cause had sparked something she hadn't felt in years—a purpose far beyond her original intent.
Just then, the lady returned with their food, carrying four plates of steaming Pilaf. She set them down gently before the group, along with glasses of water, and retreated quietly, sensing that something important was being discussed. "If you need anything else, please let me know," she said kindly before stepping back behind the counter.
Malaes thanked her, reaching for her glass of water. Everyone sat in thoughtful silence for a moment, taking in the gravity of what had just been revealed. Then, as they prepared to eat, Virumi's expression suddenly hardened, as if she had remembered something important. She opened her eyes, now blazing with a fierce determination.
"I never told you guys what the Shulvrian King's name was 185,000 years ago," she said, breaking the silence just as they were about to take their first bites of Pilaf.
The trio paused, spoons hovering in the air, and looked at her, curiosity evident in their eyes. Why did she choose to reveal the king's name now, of all times, right after hearing their words?
Virumi took a deep breath and looked each of them in the eye before declaring, "His name was Gildunur… Razhack."
Pronunciations:
Gildunur Razhack: [JIL]+[DOO]+[NOOR]