Six years later.
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(Seira's Pov)
The morning sun made everything glow a soft gold over our peaceful town. The tall trees around the village, all twisty and beautiful, seemed to shimmer in the warm light. Inside one of these pretty houses, I sat by the window, curled up in a large, comfy chair. My favorite book was in my hands, "Tales of the Farthest Star". It was all about a hero named Aelion and his brave adventures. I've loved this story for as long as I can remember.
The pages talked about mighty heroes, kings, huge battles, and monsters from long ago that were all long since gone. It was about Aelion, the hero from a thousand years ago, who traveled far away to the place called The Last Horizon at the world's edge. There, he fought the first demon king, Nalu. A lot of people say it's just a fairy tale, but it fills my heart with excitement every time I read it.
"Seira, honey?" Mama's voice called from the other room, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Your friend Kailu is at the door."
I looked up and my frown turned into a big smile. Kailu was my best friend, and when he came over, I knew the day would be full of fun! I quickly put down my book, leaving it open on a page, highlighting a single specific line:
"…when I rise again from the ashes of this world, I WILL reclaim the heavenly realms and bring order back to The Cosmic Plane..."
When I ran to the door, I found Kailu waiting. He was bouncing up and down on his feet, all excited, and his hair was messy from running around. He had bright eyes that sparkled with energy. Standing next to him was Arun, strong man who worked as the captain of the village guards. Arun always looked after us and the other children when we went out to play, and he had a strong, kind face that made everyone think twice before crossing him. He was the kind of person you wouldn't want to mess with, but he was always nice to us.
"Seira! Do you wanna come pick flowers and veggies with me for my mama and papa?" Kailu asked, his grin so big it made me laugh.
I nodded, smiling. "Can I go, Mommy?" I called to my mom, my voice full of excitement. "I wanna help too!"
Mom came to the door, her golden hair glowing like the sun. She smiled at me, and I could feel how much she loved me. "Alright, but you have to be careful, okay?" she said in her soft voice, but I could tell she meant it. "And don't go past the village borders."
"I won't, Mommy. I promise!" I said, running to give her a hug. My little arms wrapped around her waist, squeezing tight.
She bent down so she was eye level with me and kissed my forehead. "Good girl. Now go and have fun, but listen to Arun, and be back before the sun goes down, alright?"
I nodded eagerly. As I was about to run off with Kailu, Mama called out to Arun. "Arun, make sure you protect them with your life."
Arun gave a serious nod, but he smiled too. "I swear on my honor as a soldier, Zal. I'll keep them safe. No harm will come to them."
Satisfied, Mom waved us off. I ran up the hill with Kailu, heading for the forest just at the village borders. Arun was close behind us, always keeping a lookout for any trouble.
The afternoon sun made everything look pretty, like the forest was covered in dancing patches of light. Kailu and I picked flowers and veggies at the beginning of the woods, laughing and having fun. The fields were all located at the village borders, they were so full of herbs, veggies, and wildflowers, all the things people used every day. Beyond those fields was the edge of the village and the start of the forest, where everything changed. Beyond that line was the wild world.
I knelt in the soft grass, picking bright yellow flowers, giggling as Kailu tried to fit too many veggies into his basket. His funny, messy attempts made me laugh even more.
"Hey, Seira, look!" Kailu called, holding up a bunch of wild carrots. The orange roots hung funny. "I'm gonna take these home to papa! He loves carrots."
I smiled really sincere as I watched Kailu. "Your papa's gonna be so happy, Kailu!"
We played and worked in the fields, and it felt like time went really fast. The sun started going down, and the shadows on the ground got long. Arun, who'd been standing watch a little bit further away, looked up at the sky. "Alright, kids, it's almost time to go back," he called out. "We don't wanna be out here when it gets dark."
I was standing up, brushing the dirt off my knees when I saw Kailu. He was standing still, like he wasn't moving at all, staring straight ahead. His eyes were huge, and his face didn't look like anything. It was like he wasn't even there.
"Kailu?" I asked, taking a step closer. My chest got all tight like something was wrong.
Kailu didn't say anything. His body was still stiff, like he was a statue. His eyes were still looking at something far away. I looked where he was looking, but I couldn't see anything, just the trees far away. Then a chill ran through me.
Arun saw something was different and ran over. "Kailu, what's wrong?" he asked, his voice sounding serious, like he was worried too.
Before anyone could do anything, Kailu said something really quiet. So quiet, I could barely hear it.
"…K-Kailu… this way…"
That wasn't Kailu's voice! It seemed to echo inside in my head, like a disembodied whisper but not from him. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Kailu didn't say anything, but he turned around and started walking toward the forest, slow and like he was being pulled by something I couldn't see.
"Kailu, stop!" I yelled, running after him, but he didn't even turn. He just kept walking faster, and before I knew it, he was gone into the trees.
"Kailu!" Arun shouted, running after him. I followed too, my heart thumping in my chest. I could hear that whisper again, like it was calling us, pushing us to go deeper into the woods.
"…C-come to me…"
We ran through the woods, the trees looked spooky with long shadows from the setting sun and fog began to appear. It got darker the further we went, and it was colder too, like the village warmth was all gone.
I felt my fear getting bigger, my legs feeling heavy. "Where is he going?" I asked, my voice shaking like it wasn't mine.
"I don't know," Arun said, his face looking like a rock. "But we need to find him. Stay close."
The trees got taller, and the woods got even thicker, like we were going into some secret place. All I could hear was the leaves under our feet and the whisper that didn't stop. We ran for what felt like forever until we came to a little clearing. Right in the middle of it was an old, broken well, its edges all cracked and falling apart.
We stopped really fast. Kailu was standing right by the well, looking down into its dark depths. His body was swaying like he wasn't even there, just staring into the deep hole like he was in a trance.
"Kailu, get away from there!" Arun shouted, but before he could even move, Kailu took a step closer to the well—and he tripped.
"No!" I screamed, my heart stopping as Kailu fell into the dark.
Arun ran right up to the edge, looking down into the well. "Kailu!" he shouted, his voice echoing down into the hole.
I couldn't breathe. My eyes were stuck on the well, and it looked so deep. It went down forever, all covered in shadows. For a second, everything was quiet. Then, from the deep dark, I heard it again—the whisper.
"…yes… down here… come find me…"
Kailu was gone, and I couldn't move. The voice wrapped around me like it was holding me tight, like it was everywhere.
Arun didn't wait. He grabbed a rope from his pack and tied it to a tree nearby. "Seira, stay here," he told me, his voice serious and urgent.
I just nodded because I couldn't say anything. I was too scared to move. Arun tied the rope around his waist and started going down into the well. Each second felt like a thousand, watching him go down, his figure getting smaller and smaller until he was gone, swallowed by the dark.
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At the bottom of the well.
(Kailu's Pov)
I slowly started regaining consciousness. My eyes blinked open, and I felt dizzy and confused. I was lying on the cold, hard stone floor, and my head hurt really bad. It was like a sharp, stabbing pain in my skull, but there was something else too—something scary. It was like the air was full of something dark and heavy, like it was trying to crush me. I didn't know what it was, but it made it hard to breathe.
I tried to sit up, but my body felt shaky and weak. My legs felt like jelly. I looked around, trying to make sense of where I was, and that's when I saw it. There was this faint red-light way down at the end of a dark tunnel, and it was like a heartbeat. Thump... thump... thump... The glow was weird, like it didn't belong in the cave at all. It was sickly, too, like a dying fire. The walls were wet, and the glow barely lit anything, but I couldn't stop staring at it.
For some strange reason, I started moving towards it. My legs just started walking, like they were doing it all on their own. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I couldn't even think. My feet stumbled along the rough floor, and I could feel the cold, damp air brushing against my skin.
When I got to the end of the tunnel, I finally saw it up close. A huge, red crystal was sticking out of the stone, half-buried, like it had been there for centuries. It looked so weird, like it didn't belong at all. The surface of the crystal was really shiny, like it was covered in oil or something. It reflected the sick light, but not in a good way. The air around it felt thick and heavy, like something ominous was hiding inside it, waiting to come out.
My hands were shaking, but I reached out to touch it anyway. My fingers were just about to make contact with the cold surface when I heard it. The voice. It was a whisper at first, soft like a breeze, but then it grew louder and louder until it felt like it was shouting in my head.
It wasn't even a real voice, just... whispers that sounded so creepy. They were inside my mind, and it was like the whole world was listening, but I couldn't escape.
"When I rise again from the ashes of this world... you shall be my vessel..." the voice said, and it felt like it was making my bones shake. I wanted to scream or run, but my body wouldn't move. It was like I was stuck in place, frozen in fear.
And then... everything went dark.