The elemental beasts weren't the only non-human beings roaming the earth. Alongside them were various other creatures, including lesser beasts that humans had managed to tame. Surrounding the elemental beasts' lands were terrains filled with average animals and birds that, through skillful training, evolved into powerful supreme forms. A group of tamers resided in the hilly regions of the northeast, where humans lived in harmony with these minor beasts, raising and evolving them for their benefit. Though the elemental beasts' domain was currently isolated, in ancient times, humans had once controlled them. But, as time shifted the balance of power, the elemental beasts overthrew their tamers and claimed sovereignty. This rebellion didn't happen overnight, nor without consequence; the beasts underestimated the strength of the scriptures and the reasons behind the order that once existed.
Armin sobbed like a child, his face salty from tears as the scorching sun beat down, his eyes swollen and occasionally hiccuping from his drunkenness, which roused Raiden.
Raiden lightly hit the back of Armin's head, steadying him. "You woke me up, bastard."
Armin groaned, rubbing his head before looking at Raiden. "Are you a lightweight?"
"Eh?"
"You look like you're about to pass out," he slurred, struggling to focus on Raiden.
"I'm a drunkard, you're the one who passed out," Raiden scoffed, downing another shot of rum while catching Armin from face-planting onto the table. They were sitting outside a lonely bar with only a few other patrons drinking away in broad daylight. Raiden was always in this inebriated state, for him it was his "sober." He had nothing—no home, no family, no ties. Armin was the well-meaning, foolish friend who'd dragged him under a roof; otherwise, he would've slept in a barrel like Diogenes.
Armin sobered up briefly. He'd been cycling in and out of clarity for half an hour, asking Raiden random questions whenever he resurfaced.
"Why are you here?"
"To drink, obviously," Raiden answered, not the least bit annoyed. Maybe the alcohol was getting to him, too.
"Drinking just to drink, huh?" Armin mused, sipping his own rum. "I always come here to get drunk and forget my problems."
"Right." Raiden scratched his beard, slightly irritated; he knew the next thing out of Armin's mouth would be about his girlfriend cheating on him—with a horse.
"It doesn't always work..." Armin's face shifted from neutrality to sadness.
"Then solve your problems; that's how it'll work," Raiden muttered, feeling the alcohol hit him as he tapped his fingers on the table.
Armin chuckled wryly, imagining himself as some stoic philosopher. "Not all problems can be solved."
Raiden gestured for the bartender to bring another round. "What are your problems?" he asked, knowing all too well what Armin would say.
"You really want to know?" Armin's eyes widened, as though Raiden had asked him his life's purpose.
"If you want to know if they can be solved," Raiden retorted, taking his drink from the bartender and gulping one down immediately.
Armin sighed, "I don't know if it can be solved... Life feels unbearable. I keep looking for meaning, but nothing ever shows up. The things I like, or the people I care about, are either pointless, fleeting, or they just disappear." He slammed his head on the table. "Nothing in life is good."
Raiden pulled his head back up and sipped his rum. "Then die."
"Excuse me?"
"Just kidding."
"Oh... You almost had me," Armin replied, a crooked smirk forming. "You say that so casually."
Raiden stretched, looking at him. "If you're searching for meaning, you won't find any."
Armin took another swig. "I've tried to find meaning—in relationships, in work, in everything I could think of. There's nothing to live for."
Raiden looked at him curiously, holding his glass. "If you died right now, what would you miss most?"
Armin thought hard, his head sobering as he concentrated. "I'd... miss my friends."
Raiden smirked at the answer. He downed the rest of his rum. "That's why you should live. They're your meaning."
Armin chuckled, a dry laugh. "My friends are my only reason to live, huh?" He sighed, resting his head in his hand. "Life is strange."
"You said you had nothing to live for, and now you've figured out one thing. You'll find more reasons as you go," Raiden replied, his voice steady despite his tipsiness.
"I suppose you're right," Armin said, staring blankly into the distance.
Raiden tapped his shoulder, rising from his seat. "I paid. Let's go," he said, walking a few steps ahead, his pace slow enough for Armin to catch up.
Armin staggered after him, calling out, "Wait—you paid? But you're homeless!"
"Paid with your coins," Raiden said casually, instantly sobering Armin up.
"You drunkard! You're dragging me into your vagrancy!" he yelped.
Raiden laughed, his legs wobbling from intoxication. "I am leaving."
"To where?"
"Far."
"Why?"
"No reason. I'm always moving. You held me up," Raiden snickered.
"Well, tell me where you're going. I'll come with you," Armin said, giving his friend a firm pat.
"Wherever my legs take me, I guess."
Armin scowled, "How do you manage to live like that?"
Raiden shrugged, then changed the subject, "So, have you managed to evolve that horse into a centaur yet?"
"I did. Big mistake." Armin shook his head, his eyes welling up with tears once again.
Raiden's confused expression shifted to one of horrified realization. "Wait... your girl and the centaur?"
Armin broke down like a child, sobbing. Raiden knew it was a horse but hadn't realized it was the one Armin had fed, watered, and mucked out for. Now he understood his friend's pain, though Armin seemed oddly less furious about it—maybe he hadn't liked his girlfriend that much after all.
"And he kicked me!" Armin choked out, pulling up his shirt to reveal a horseshoe imprint on his torso.
Raiden cursed under his breath, "What in the Vermilion Bird..."
"He kicked me—his tamer, his master. I cleaned his poop when he was just a horse!"
The two friends bantered as they headed to their comfort haven, oblivious to the gathering storm in the elemental beasts' realm, where powerful forces were searching for one of them.