Tear leaped forward, conjured a scythe, and kicked Sally aside. He shot up, swinging his weapon at her arm, slicing the air like a streak.
Asahi yanked Phthonus out of Tear's path and barked a command, urgency crackling in his voice.
"Phthonus, go behind Sally and merge your ember with hers! Just trust me, no one knows what they are doing, including me. It's worth the shot."
Phthonus swept his hand skyward, conjuring a flickering ember that danced above his thumb.
"Got it! This will take some time, though."
While Phthonus coaxed a timid flame to hover above his palms, Tear sprang upward and let his voice thunder through the chaos.
"You are all fools!"
Tear hoisted his arm into the air and charged face-first towards Aletha, sprawling his dark spikes through the mist. She formed her luminescent white shield from the space and blocked the attack, throwing a soil canister into the air.
Sparks erupted from the shield's glowing surface; each impact sent a jolt of pain rippling through her skin, awakening memories of every battle the shield had ever endured.
She murmured desperate words under her breath, bracing herself against the relentless barrage of Tear's blows.
"I… can take it. I-I can take it…"
Asahi turned to Aletha, his voice heavy with worry.
"Sis, are you alright?!"
She brushed the dirt from her battered shield, then drove Tear back with a swift kick. Turning to her brother, Aletha managed a weary smile.
"Yes, Asahi, don't worry about me! Worry about what is literally behind you!"
"Huh?!"
Tear shoved Sally aside and barreled toward Asahi, gears whirring and grinding in a frenzy. A deadly sphere of water crashed through his metallic frame just as his steel fingers nearly grazed Asahi, but Tear shrugged off the attack, turning on her with even greater ferocity.
"Ugh, your putrid hydro powers will do nothing to me."
He drove his foot into Sally's shoulder, bruises blooming beneath the crystal's cold glow. Her shriek pierced the air as Drimi froze, horror rooting her in place.
"S-Sally, NO!"
Never before had the wanderers heard Drimi's voice rise so high. She stared in shock at Sally's crimson blood pooling on the ground, her words quivering as Tear's wicked laughter echoed in the distance.
"S-Stop..."
Tear shoved Drimi aside and raked his metal nails across Sally's skin, leaving a swollen violet bruise glowing on her cheek. Her hot pink eyes faded to a stormy blue as tears traced silent paths down her face. She could only whisper, powerless.
"H-Help..."
Drimi fought to stifle her agony as the wanderers threw themselves between her and Sally. Tear, wild-eyed, hacked at Aletha's shield with relentless fury, desperate to reach Sally. Aletha's screams rang out as pain threatened to crush her, and Asahi seized her hand, struggling to keep her upright.
"Come on… sis… please, don't give up."
"Big Brother… it… it hurts…"
Aletha collapsed to her knees beneath Tear's final, punishing blow. He kicked her to the ground and sneered at her cries, savoring her defeat.
"Oh, it hurts me SOOO much. Please, anyone… help me from my foolishness!"
He slammed his foot into her face, his voice sharpening with renewed aggression.
.
"It's your fault, now face the consequence. My tears don't belong to you… nor anyone in this world. Most of the time… people don't know the reason for their tears, nor do I… Oh, what's this?"
Aletha's bruised face lay motionless against his steel foot, her body limp and unconscious.
"This pathetic… girl… kissing my foot is the greatest example of beggars. Worthless individuals who cry until they can't. Individuals who lost everything they held, cherished, or loved now give out their worthless pleas without ever hearing forgiveness. You white-haired creatures know nothing of what happened in the past."
Asahi's teeth ground together, and his fists trembled. Rage flooded his mind, too vast for words. He tried to shout at Tear, but only tears streamed down his face.
"No… y-you're wrong. Pleaders.... are not--"
Tear interrupted him by pushing Asahi away and scattering the dust he had spilled onto the crystals.
"Oh, quiet, little one. You were simply boasting about your stolen powers. You are no 'Owner' with that face. Speaking of, my master is about to arrive soon. She will handle the rest... You have probably met her before me. She is… awfully prettier than… that disgrace who calls herself a Ruler..."
(You can't mean…)
Asahi stood frozen, every nerve locked in place. He could not move, not with the gaping wounds tearing through his skin. The moment Aletha was struck and her helpless face appeared, all his willpower seemed to vanish.
An unseen force, heavy as a thousand stones, pressed Asahi to the ground. The sharp click of high heels echoed from the cavern's darkest corner. His vision swam, dizziness clouding his thoughts. Dust swirled as Sally and Drimi clung to each other. Gasping for breath, he crawled to Aletha's side and whispered:
"Sis… A...Are you alright?"
A tall, feminine silhouette emerged, amethyst eyes gleaming as she surveyed the wanderers, then Drimi and Sally. She ran her tongue over her lips, her attire glowing with a sinister crimson light. Phthonus shrank into the shadows, biding his time.
He thought that though the wanderers were complete strangers to him, he knew that they were also trapped here... whatever that means.
If they ever lose their lives, there will be no hope left in this world. However, that is just a valid assumption on my part. I'm not sure that anyone else would match the power… Being a spectator for an eternity
Though he believed himself a frail mortal, anger and frustration surged through him, twisting his thoughts and tugging at invisible strings. His orange eyes glowed in the darkness, watching for any sign of danger.
As a chilling silence sounds out from the cavern, a deep feminine voice resounds over the walls.
"At last, I found them. After all this time of searching, I found the cowardly daughter of Astait, the lost, obsessed, jealous lover from Zomrack, a filthy betrayer from the glorious nation of Wraileza, and two otherworldly outlanders. The Queen will be proud, but I don't think Pladtioa's ports are working."
Tear clenched his metal fist and lifted his face up to the woman. Long dark hair tied up with a purple ribbon and a slim figure. He knelt down in front of her and 'politely' asked.
"So… Now what, master Lyssa?"
"Your curse will run out eventually, Tear. Until later, perhaps you will be more useful with that curse surging through your veins. I hope this curse lasts forever, and perhaps, maybe…"
She slowly slid her fingers down his shoulder and whispered to Tear with a sadistic voice.
"... I will belong to you. But for now, until this 'curse' vanishes and your armor has finally detached from that curse… I will stay separated from you. I know what you look like under your armor..."
She lifts her voice and stomps her foot against the solid ground. She pushes Tear away and raises her voice, commanding him to do so.
"Now, escort all of them to the forest near Dreamtoe cliff. They will take care of them there. Make sure ALL of them are unconscious."
"Yes, master...."
Tear lifted his arm into the air and emitted a sizable lavender pulse that forced everyone but him and Lamia to fall unconscious. Phthonus fell down to the floor with his eyes shut. He knew he didn't have enough time after he heard his own struggling cries resound over the cavern.
. . .
Asahi, Aletha, and the others, swept up in Tear's slumber pulse, were carried off to a distant, unknown land. In their minds, Asahi and Aletha watched helplessly as their mental maps drifted away from Milmoor, into fog-shrouded regions where no one had ever ventured.
There was nothing else they could do; the forced slumber left them adrift, unreachable even by dreams. Drimi and Sally, still gravely wounded, lay huddled against the carriage's wooden walls, their groans and whimpers echoing on the dark floor.
The carriage rattled over steep hills and mossy craters, the sun hidden behind a fleet of drifting northern clouds.
Tear was… somewhere else. Lamia told him to get out of there despite the resistance, not to.
Asahi had strong disbelief in their inevitable defeat. Though he yelled as confidently as he could and tried everything in his power to protect his sister and the rest of his allies, the drastic lack of power wouldn't allow such to happen.
He and Aletha still question why and who stole all their powers that defined them as 'Rulers.'
. .
.A stream burbled as it traveled along its bed, bubbling over rocks and branches. The brook trickled and seeped into both Asahi and Aletha's hair. It felt as if Time elapsed differently every second they were unconscious. They couldn't feel much, but the tingling chill of the liquid drenching their hair and the soft bristles of grass soaking the droplets.
To Asahi, the carriage ride seemed to stretch on endlessly, each moment dragging as if the day itself refused to end.
In reality, the journey lasted only four hours, barely enough to claim the afternoon. The carriage rolled on without trouble, the path free of threats or hindrances. When they finally reached the goblin town, Lamia wasted no time abandoning the group to the goblins, vanishing toward Pladtioa's capital to chase her own mysterious business.
. . .
Asahi slowly opened his eyes and looked around. He rubbed his forehead and quietly muttered to himself as he listened to the stream. The world was calm, with only the rustle of leaves and the whisper of bushes. But inside, guilt weighed on him as he remembered failing to protect anyone from Tear. It felt like his worst defeat.
With the care of his sister, Asahi turned his head to his right and saw a white-haired twin resting at least ten meters away from him.
A sea of green enveloped them, with towering oaks rising like silent sentinels through the swirling mist. Asahi pushed himself upright and glanced back. Beyond the stream and trees, a majestic mountain peak soared, its lush slopes vanishing into the clouds' embrace.
"It's pretty hard to see from the dense mist resonating and shrouding the forests", Asahi thought. As the tranquil yet mysterious silence continued, he heard faint groans coming from his left.
"Uhh…"
She pushed her arms to her chest, then rolled over like a dog. Her legs started to twitch as she drooled while dreaming. Asahi noticed her and swiftly slid his feet away from Aletha's face. The forest was so silent that even his soft, whispering voice could be heard.
"She's dreaming…"
Asahi shook his head and faintly chuckled as he stressed the need to find the others. He overtly squinted his eyes through the distant misty horizon. He saw a sizable twirling windmill and a group of straw houses, varying in size, scattered over the forest and hidden behind the fog.
Twisted, unnatural roots clawed their way from the earth, creeping outward with the relentless hunger of a spreading infection.
As the mist slithered below his nose, Asahi whispered.
"Is this Dreamtoe?" He said, scratching his head. "Where are Sally, Drimi, and Phthonus?"
Aletha stretched her arms into the air and released a loud yawn. She rubbed the tears off her eyelids and jumped up in shock as she watched Asahi and the stream.
"Ahh!" She screamed. "Why do you always have to be towering in front of me whenever I wake up?"
Asahi simply replied while perking his chin upwards with a smirk.
"Perhaps I am too secure?"
Aletha eased up her mild frustration and said in a relaxed tone.
"Hehe… Yet you sound so proud saying that." She playfully giggles while pushing Asahi out of a trance. "Chill out, I'm not going to go anywhere…"
Asahi nervously chuckled and shrugged his shoulders. He looked left and right to examine his surroundings, then faintly responded.
"You sound different. Stop speaking like that…"
Aletha pouted and stomped on the ground. She screamed with an irritating attitude.
"Come on, Asahi! It's casual language. Stop being SO serious!"
Asahi squinted his eyes at her.
"I don't think anyone speaks like that, especially in Gincad. Did you learn this from others?"
Aletha tremblingly muttered with a slightly high-pitched and childish tone.
"Mayyybe…"
Asahi sighed and shook his head, his face contorting into a facepalm. He squeezed Aletha's arm and aggressively pulled her away from the stream.
"Come on, sis! You almost got your clothes soaked! Be more careful—
Aletha interrupted him with a mocking tone.
"Be more lenient!"
"That's it—
As the mist curled around them, a sharp slap cracked through the forest air. Aletha let out a startled squeal, sinking to the ground and clutching her reddening neck. Tears welled in her eyes, and she began to sob with a childlike vulnerability rarely seen in her.
"Y-You hit me!"
Asahi shook his head and muttered.
"That is probably the most childish thing I have seen from you in this world. Could you at least try to act serious? You don't know what's out there…"
Aletha fell silent and stuck her tongue out, mocking Asahi.
"I'm a serious man! I'm serious! Look at me all grumpy and wumpy."
Asahi faintly muttered with a slightly irritated tone, as if something anchored in him to act this way.
"I don't think that's even a word."
Wading through the dense, tangled grass, Asahi felt a strange pulse ripple through his body. His vision flickered, and he dropped to his knees, hacking as the mist clawed its way down his throat.
Aletha swiveled her body side to side, looking up at the sky and smiling blindly. In a cold, faint, high-pitched voice, Aletha randomly screamed out into the forest.
"Help me, please."
Asahi hastily covered her mouth and jerked his head towards hers.
"What has gotten into you, Aletha?"
As a matter of fact, Asahi couldn't believe those words came from his mouth.
Asahi disregarded his curiosity, wandered further through the mist, and covered his mouth from the intoxicating atmosphere enshrouding the forest. He turned his head to Aletha, seeing Aletha coughing up sparkles from her mouth. He backed away from her and asked with a caring tone in his voice.
"Aletha, a-are you alright? Should we go into that building? This… mist is growing thicker," he said, words heavy in doubt. " Not just the mist, I noticed the pores from those peculiar flowers also obstructed our vision. I feel… dizzy."
As Asahi pulled Aletha, feeling the pure scent of the mist that was dizzying him, Aletha dreamily opened her eyes, nodded with a concerned look on her face, and faintly muttered to him.
"Asahi… I… don't know...."
"Huh? W-What did you say, sis?"
As her gray eyes peered through Asahi's with fear, after inhaling strenuous amounts of smoke, her gray eyes fogged up, and a terrifying smile formed over her face.
"Let's… play."
"No, I-it's not the time for… that."
Asahi felt an uneasy feeling viewing the massive group of tall, dead, winding trees. He grabbed Aletha's hand and whispered to her as luminescent blue and yellow leaves glided near their faces.
"Stay… close to me. We can… do it."
As they approached the abandoned straw house near them, the mist slowly grew denser. The fumes rise through Asahi's nostrils; his head starts to pound. He fell to the floor and coughed roughly.
"I.... can't… breathe..."
As the mist thickened, both Asahi and Aletha teetered on the edge of consciousness. Behind them, leaves rustled, but their senses spun out of control. Laughter bubbled up, wild and unstoppable, until tears of despair streaked their pale cheeks. Desperate, Asahi crawled to Aletha and pounded his head against the earth, his mind screaming for escape.
"Make it stop Make it stop Make it stop..."
He repeatedly screamed those words over and over again, feeling absolute insanity seep through his mind. Aletha feels her head fogged up, screaming at the top of her lungs.
"Make it stop! MAKE IT STOP!"
As dark blue smoke rose from the many graves surrounding the abandoned building, a distorted sound of a familiar male voice echoed over their ringing ears.
"Asahi, ALETHA! Get out of there!"
Nails scratched through the dirt, and the sound of paws touching the floor grew vividly clear and closer to the wanderers' ears.
With one last glance, Asahi tilted his head to see who was dashing at him. The only features he can make out of the approaching figure are round emerald eyes, dark hair, and a dark mocha-colored hood.
Asahi crawled towards the boy's ankle, watching as the boy carefully picked up Aletha. He then effortlessly grabbed Asahi and blasts the mist around him with the speed of his tail. As darkness slowly enveloped the wanderers' vision, the boy's face grew more apparent to them. Aletha smiled, then fainted on the boy's shoulder. As Asahi's vision blurred and darkened, he struggled to whisper.
"B...B...Belial?"
His emerald eyes broadened while the wind's speed blew through his hair.
"I apologize for this, dear Asahi and Aletha. I will explain everything when another ally of mine reaches a safe area among the Dreamtoe cliff."
"H-Huh?"
After Asahi's last word, his consciousness, along with Aletha's, flashed into darkness.