Aya's azure eyes swept across the vast expanse of cerulean sky, her gaze lost in the infinite blue. A gentle breeze caressed her face, carrying with it the whispers of the bustling city below.
For a moment, she remained motionless, her mind adrift in a sea of thoughts. Finally, breaking the silence, she turned to Nosil, her voice barely above a whisper.
"Nosil... Something's been gnawing at me since I arrived at this city… It's... unsettling."
Nosil's eyes found Aya, drinking in the sight of her. The wind played with her silken tresses, creating a halo of dancing strands around her face. Golden sunlight kissed her features, accentuating the furrow of concentration on her brow. It was a moment of profound contemplation, a rare instant of serenity amidst their tumultuous journey.
"What is it?" he asked, curiosity and concern mingling in his tone.
Aya remained motionless, her gaze still fixed on the horizon. The words seemed to catch in her throat, reluctant to be voiced. After a beat, she shook her head slightly, as if dispelling a troublesome thought.
"I... I'll tell you later," she said, her voice tinged with hesitation. "We should return to the hut for now."
Disappointment flickered across Nosil's face, his shoulders sagging imperceptibly. He rose to his feet, moving to stand beside Aya.
Aya's eyes finally met his, a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips. She raised her hand, revealing a cloth-wrapped bundle. "I got some apples for the stallion," she said, her voice brightening slightly.
"Alright," Nosil responded, his earlier disappointment fading. "Shall we go, then?"
Without warning, Aya's hands flew forward, palms slamming together with surprising force.
"Curse release," she murmured, her voice barely audible.
In a fluid motion, she closed her eyes for a second than reopened them. Her gaze shifted onto Nosil, and with a surge of unseen power, she flung him beyond the city limits. In the blink of an eye, she followed, transporting herself with the mysterious, awe-inspiring power of her gaze.
Having successfully escaped the confines of the well guarded city of Lenine, Aya and Nosil found their way back to the secluded hut where they had left their faithful stallion. As they approached, Nosil's face lit up with unbridled joy.
"Hey, buddy... I missed you!" he exclaimed, breaking into a run. He reached the horse, his hands immediately going to the animal's muscular neck, checking for any signs of distress before affectionately patting its head.
Aya hung back, a fond smile playing on her lips as she watched the reunion. With a graceful arc, she tossed the bundle of apples towards Nosil. "Catch!" she called out. "I'm going to fetch some water… Stay here for now".
Nosil caught the package deftly, even as the horse began to nuzzle his face, its rough tongue leaving wet trails on his cheeks. "Sure," he replied, his voice muffled by the stallion's enthusiastic greeting. "Be careful out there."
With a nod, Aya turned on her heel and set off towards the south, where a small river snaked through the landscape.
It might sound just a short trip, but it was necessary for Aya to clear her head. As she walked away, her unspoken worries returned, a heavy burden she wasn't ready to confide in Nosil yet.
As twilight descended, Aya returned to the hut. Together with Nosil, she set about preparing a simple meal, their movements synchronizing in a dance born of long familiarity. The aroma of simmering soup mingled with the earthy scent of woodsmoke, creating an atmosphere of humble comfort.
Darkness enveloped the hut like a thick, velvet cloak, held at bay only by the faint, flickering light of the fire within. Shadows danced on rough-hewn walls, painting ever-changing murals of light and shade.
Nosil and Aya huddled around the fire, their bowls cradled in calloused hands. They ate with a urgency that spoke of deeply ingrained habits, gulping down the scalding liquid with practiced ease. It was a remnant of their childhood, spent in the unforgiving confines of an underground cave where every morsel was precious and time was always of the essence.
As the last drop of soup disappeared from his bowl, Nosil's voice broke the comfortable silence. "Oh, I wish there was more," he sighed, a wistful note in his tone. "I love hot soup."
Aya's gaze flickered to him before she gently set her bowl on the ground. Her eyes, usually bright with determination, now held a faraway look, as if peering into distant memories or unrealized futures.
The crackling fire before her seemed to captivate her attention, its dance reflected in her pupils.
When she finally spoke, her words were slow, measured, barely above a whisper. "Fire burns everything indiscriminately… Once it is kindled, it does't stop eating anything in its way...".
Nosil's head snapped up, surprise etched across his features. "What did you say?" he asked, his brow furrowed in confusion. "A fire that burns everything?".
Aya's lips curved into a sad smile, her eyes never leaving the flames. "You know," she began, her voice tinged with a mixture of wonder and frustration, "with my power, I can move anything, influence anything... except fire… No matter how hard I try to move it away, it simply extinguishes itself... as if it refuses to submit to my will."
Nosil's confusion deepened, his mind grappling with the implications of Aya's words. In an attempt to understand, he turned his attention to the fire, studying its ever-changing form. Slowly, hesitantly, he extended his hand towards its flames.
"I don't understand fire either," he admitted, his voice low and thoughtful. "As soon as I bring my hand close like this… it's quickly drawn to me… But then, the blood in my hand... it starts to harden on its own, right inside my veins."
Aya observed the fire's unusual reaction to Nosil, her eyes widening slightly. "Maybe," she mused, her gaze shifting to meet his, "even fire has a soul… Perhaps that's why it's attracted to you, just like the stallion did". Her eyes returned to the dancing flames, a hint of admiration coloring her words. "You truly are special, Nosil…"
Nosil's eyes widened at Aya's declaration, a complex array of emotions flitting across his face. Though he had heard such words before, they had always rung hollow in his ears, drowned out by the relentless voice of self-loathing that had been his constant companion.
Unable to bear the weight of Aya's gaze, he drew his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around them in a defensive posture. He rested his chin on his knees, his eyes fixed on the fire, its light reflecting in the unshed tears that glistened there.
Aya's voice cut through the crackling of the fire, her words carrying the weight of carefully guarded intelligence. "I heard whispers in the city," she began, her eyes reflecting the dancing flames. "Two days from now, the Kylian family will celebrate its centennial – a hundred years of power and influence. They're planning a grand ceremony, with important figures from all corners of our world in attendance."
Nosil's response was nonchalant, his shoulders rising in a slight shrug. "Yeah, makes sense," he muttered, his mind flashing back to the heightened security they'd encountered. "Explains all the extra muscle we saw prowling the streets today."
As the words left his lips, a change came over Aya. Her features hardened, eyes sharpening with an intensity that commanded attention. The transformation was subtle but unmistakable, like storm clouds gathering on a previously clear horizon.
"Nosil," she said, her voice low and charged with purpose, "in two days, we will set a fire." Her words hung in the air, heavy with implication. "A fire that will burn out the entire world." The confidence in her tone was absolute, brooking no argument.
Nosil's wandering attention snapped back to Aya, her declaration leaving him momentarily speechless. His mind raced, grappling with the magnitude of what she was suggesting. "What could she possibly be planning that would set our world on fire?"
Sensing his bewilderment, Aya pressed on "Are you with me?" she asked, her gaze boring into him, "What do you think?".
Nosil swallowed hard, his throat suddenly dry, "I... what do you mean by setting a fire?" he managed to stammer out, his voice tinged with a mixture of confusion and trepidation.
Recognizing the need for clarity, Aya leaned forward, her voice taking on a tone of grim determination. "Listen… Since the annihilation of the Rams, our world has existed in a precarious balance between the four remaining families," she explained, her words painted with disdain.
"They've fortified their power since then, each hoping they'll never need to use it against the others... All we need to do is shatter that balance, and the entire system they've so carefully built will crash down around them."
Nosil's brow furrowed as he processed her words. "But how are we going to do that?" he asked, voicing the doubts swirling in his mind. "And what about our mission? Aren't we supposed to be following that?".
Aya's lips curved into a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Our mission remains our priority," she assured him, her tone softening slightly. "As for how we'll do it..." Her voice trailed off for a moment, building suspense. "What we need to do is obvious… We'll target the most unstable piece in this elaborate game of power – Victor."
In the silence that followed, the crackling of the fire seemed to grow louder, as if nature itself was holding its breath in anticipation of the chaos to come. The warm glow that had once seemed comforting now felt ominous, a harbinger of the inferno Aya intended to unleash upon their world.
As Nosil gazed at Aya, he saw not just Aya, Her eyes blazed with a fire that rivaled the one before them. In that moment, he realized that the true inferno wasn't the one Aya has planned to set in two days' time – it was the one that had been burning within Aya all along, waiting for the perfect moment to explode.