Sally worryingly screamed as she pulled her dress away from the corrupted floating particles.
"Drimi, are you alright?!"
The wanderers were terrified of Drimi's power, especially after learning she hid her title 'Supreme Maiden of Darkness.' Suspicion grew among them as they approached a hill and kicked stones out of their way to avoid the spreading corruption. However, as they reached a cliff, they realized this was the edge of Pladtioa island.
A steep drop was below their feet, leading to the extensive shores of the massive sea. Within the horizon was an oversized silhouette that appeared to be a triangle.
It was difficult to make out what the object was due to its distance from us. Aletha squinted her eyes and mumbled to herself.
"What… is that in the distance? Asahi, do you see that?"
He replied, listening to the waves crashing onto the shore.
"Yes. But it's so far away; it looks like that place is on the other side of the world. I... can't believe we survived that encounter."
As Aletha relaxed, Asahi leaned in and whispered to her.
"I don't feel like we should continue. Maybe we should give up."
Aletha jumped up and yelped in disbelief.
"W-What?! After all we have been through, you want to give up?"
Fear overwhelmed him; his heart pounded, and his eyes darted, as hopelessness flooded his senses.
"Yes, Aletha! I want to give up. There's no point in traveling in our unfamiliar world if we know that we have lost everyone. This world is meaningless; we experience pain that is unimaginable. I even managed to hit you, for crying out loud!"
"But Asahi… you know that was a mistake… it wasn't you."
Asahi gritted his teeth, unable to comprehend the number of emotions flowing through him. It felt as if his whole world had turned black and white, time had paused, and everyone else was still, as Asahi continued to scream at his sister in a trembling voice.
"Yes, and that's exactly why I want to leave. We are weaker and less powerful compared to our previous selves. We lost everything. Don't you understand?! Our world, our kingdom, our mother and father!"
He looked down at the ground and clenched his fists.
"Even… e-even Aiyana. We lost our friends, most of our memories, and almost each other! That's why we should quit. We should have never returned. Let's live in a random town like humans. There's no reason for us to continue…."
"A...Asahi… I don't know if we sho--
Just as they were about to run away from the cliff, Drimi sprinted to them, covered her face, and pointed straight towards the seemingly empty sea, unaware of what the wanderers discussed. They tried to forget the problem and act normally.
The sunset's fluorescent light touched the sea as if it were a spotlight revealing something, with dense, turbulent airborne clouds wandering around the fiery haze. Drimi approached the wanderers from behind and mumbled.
"That right there… is my home, Wraileza. It may look like it's close, but just like the moon… It's far more than it seems. Some say the Queen established watchtowers on artificial lands to stop trespassers from reaching the nation."
Aletha and Asahi couldn't comprehend the nation's sheer size that Drimi described, but they also had an urge to leave.
While touching her white hair, Aletha commented.
"So, if we were to find a boat that would let us sail toward Wraileza, we would be demolished before we could even reach its shores?"
Sally approached, tied her hair up, and replied with a gasping breath.
"Yeah. I… don't think t-that we would e-e-ever reach that place even with Drimi's boat. The Queen doesn't take too kindly to trespassers. C-Come on, people might be in da--"
Drimi cut her off.
"Yeah, yeah, I know, Sally…
She released a deep sigh and sat against a tree.
"You know… if it were not for my father, the nations that exist now wouldn't have been alive to see the light of day. He was such a great leader…."
While they heard the distant waves crash against the shore, Drimi slowly turned her head toward the wanderers and silently admired them. Like the sky, Asahi and Aletha's hair reflected the vagrant white, puffy clouds, with their beautiful, fair skin shimmering underneath the thin pink haze of the approaching sunset.
Despite wanting to leave, there was something that was stopping the wanderers from doing so.
Drimi took a deep breath, stared at the vast ocean, and spoke to the wanderers.
"Asahi, Aletha, this world is a lot bigger than you can imagine. Even I doubt I could travel it all and discover every secret."
Asahi and Aletha turned their heads to her, peering their beautiful gray eyes toward Drimi. Asahi still had a feeling of abandonment coursing through his beating heart.
Drimi gave a smile and continued speaking in her soothing voice as he was about to say.
"The world of Gincad is massive, with varieties of cultures, morals, and laws throughout. Where you two are standing right now is only a minor fraction of this world. Humanity prospers heavily under the rule of the nations, and I'm excited to see what your views on the people around this vast world can provide."
Aletha nodded her head and gave a warm smile. Athenia slowly slithered down to her chest and transformed back to her material form, knowing that both the siblings were safe. While the wind blew on their hair, they heard Belial sprinting from behind and heard Asahi discussing.
"There is one thing I want everyone in the current world to know…
Belial hovered nearby, eavesdropping intently. Drimi and Sally perked up, focusing on Asahi. In his gentle, soothing tone, he went on.
"Thousands of years ago, this world belonged to us. This world belonged to Aletha, I, and the rest of our family from each nation to each kingdom. We were essentially the gods of Gincad, watching and examining humanity as they grew. It was only then that we watched all of it get destroyed from the unknown, and we were driven to leave this world."
Everyone fell silent as the waves crashed against the shore and the birds continued to chirp, realizing what the wanderers were.
As Asahi covered his mouth, Aletha continued for him.
"But, it… It wasn't horrible. We had the ability to travel to different worlds, thanks to our mother. We had many adventures and enjoyed a lot of what happened in the variety of journeys we came across!"
Belial stepped forward and asked,
"Did you meet amazing people?"
Aletha happily replied with a warm smile.
"Of course!"
Sally edged closer and asked,
"Did you travel through wonderful places?"
Aletha nodded.
"Absolutely!"
Drimi nodded and whispered,
"Did you eat great food?"
"Yeah!"
Asahi interrupted Aletha.
"But… that's not the point. Even traveling through countless worlds, all of them share the aura of 'home.' Have you ever felt a sense of longing for home? When it was cheerful, did you have family and enjoyment?"
All three, Sally, Drimi, and Belial, nodded. Asahi continued.
"Well… we don't have that anymore. We don't have a reason to keep traveling. We are failures…."
The group grew quiet. The waves, the sun, and the calm winds made the situation uncomfortable. Most thought about their past, childhood, and the events that had led to this moment. A warm feeling thumped in Asahi and Aletha's hearts—a sense of love and hospitality.
As Aletha and Asahi tried to hide their tears, Sally walked up to them and wrapped her arms around the two. Her warm embrace soothed both their pain, followed by her lovely voice.
"We all know what it is like to lose something we love. It's okay if we lose them; it's the memories of our lost loved ones that shape us to become just like them, hopefully. Even if they are not around, they are still around in our memories."
Belial walked up to the three and added.
"If you want a reason to continue wandering your world, here is one: Family. Though your actual family is gone, your world still exists. Stop moping down, pouting, and stand up! Regain what you have lost. Retrieve what is most important to you and what shaped your presence throughout the past. You two are gods! You're supposed to persist, even despite the challenges!"
He took a deep breath and pulled his hood off. His emerald eyes sparkled under the bright, fiery flames of the sunset.
"Don't toss your family away. Make them see the true leaders and gods that you claimed to be! Regain everything, persist even despite the monsters that stand in your way! Make friends, reconnect with the world, and follow your good morals instead of weakness! Solve problems and become heroes. If you can do that…
He patted Asahi's back and whispered with a confident smile.
"Maybe someday, we will bow to you when you sit back on the Throne you rightfully retrieved."
As Belial continued to stare straight through Asahi's eyes, Aletha jumped up, pressed her hand against her chest, and stood tall in front of the glistening sunset. Her long, white hair fluttered like the dappled maple-seaborne clouds of the evening. Then Aletha raised her voice, her eyes glimmering with hope.
"All of you are right! I shouldn't stand here, weeping over our failures. If my big brother and I want to reclaim our world and find our sister, we will connect our hearts with humanity and form an insurgency against aversion! We shall not repel ourselves from dangers and instead walk toward them. Because no matter what time we are in, we are all connected."
Asahi was in disbelief, seeing this side of his sister—a brave, confident young woman who had stood up despite having cried previously.
The symbol of a true leader with will and a heart. Asahi's body filled with burning adrenaline, an active feeling of motivation and persistence.
Despite thinking of his mistakes, Asahi washed all of that away from his head and stepped forward. While grabbing Aletha's hand, he stood tall toward the glittering sun and pointed to the heavens.
"We are gods. We will persevere and move forward, leaving what happened in the past behind us. We have a reason now. Not to find someone but to reclaim what we lost. If it is us they want, we will give it to them!"
He tightly clasped Aletha's hand and raised his voice as the three watched.
"Let's grab that Fruit, bring it back to Milmoor, and retrieve what everyone lost!"
Belial, Sally, and Drimi raised their arms into the air and rejoiced.
"Affirmative!"
With the memories of all that happened in the forest, the kitsune, the goblins, and the missing children, Asahi and Aletha pulled out their Swords of Eventide and dashed down the hill, back toward the forest. Drimi and the rest followed them, their hands and powers engulfed in a bright, gracious glow.
While the wanderers dash through the trees, they hear a loud, trembling howl sound out from the depths of the village's direction. Belial pulled his hood up and hollered to the wanderers.
"The Kitsune… It's attacking the village!"
Asahi jumped over a collapsed tree and jolted toward the direction of the village with Aletha. As Drimi and Sally patted their paths to return to the town from behind, Asahi responded to Belial with a loud, firm voice.
"Okay!"
While Aletha rushed through the bushes with Asahi, she turned her head to the ground and recollected what had happened with the man.
The children's sketches, the curse of this forest, and the fate of the Kitsune — Aletha remembered it all.
The memories just gave Aletha and everyone else another reason to fight The Kitsune.
As soon as the first sparks of flames surrounded the village, Asahi eagerly leaped from the bushes and jumped onto a wooden roof.
"Let this curse of this forest lift!"