I want to write a story about us...
Give me a sword or something to fight with...
The relentless current of the ocean dragged Lyn's frail body across a sandy beach shore. Pebbles glided through her bare shoulders, and her body glistened with wetness from the water. Her lost jacket exposed a strapless black armored top with its frilled edges glinting with steel. Her tight buckled pants clung to her top.
The muffled air continued to speak through soft and unfamiliar voices that brushed against her ears.
Longer hair...
Beautiful eyes...
What do you think...?
Lyn's eyes began to flutter open as her breath attempted to claw back against the ocean. Her nose and throat were sour, for the sea's salty brine relentless entered without resistance. As her eyes parted open, the afternoon sun's shimmer and the sky's hazy aether pressed against her fragile sight.
Of course.
Kicking up from her position, she coughed tremendously loud against the sand to clear the brine in her throat. Her lips were dry. She took slow and shallow breaths to collect herself as she turned to her right, pleased by the person who had rescued her as a familiar face.
"Dorothy..." She croaked, still weakened from the ocean's vortex. "You... saved me?"
Dorothy, who had been soaked in water as well, collected her breath earlier than Lyn had. Her breaths were loud and shallow, and her eyes were fixated on the ground instead of Lyn herself. "Wasn't going to let you die like that," She panted. "Not on my watch."
Lyn crawled toward Dorothy and pressed her hand against her glistening forearm. "Thank you." She said.
They leaned against the shore with their palms sunk in the wet sand behind their shoulders. the abyssal island erased without trace from the vortex. As their breaths steadied in unison, a sudden realization struck Lyn, contorting her face with anguish. She quickly glanced over to her left and right.
"Did you see the others?" Lyn asked, her voice heightening in worry. "Blade?"
"No." Dorothy shook her head in denial.
"Ardine? Claire? Arisz?"
Dorothy shook her head once more.
Lyn's gaze bent toward her knees as an intense shadow cast over her eyes in despair. Surely she hadn't ventured that far, she wondered to herself. Even if she had, it seemed nearly impossible to be separated from Alfaic, out of all people.
"Just you," Dorothy noted. "They must have swept up somewhere on a different shore."
"Well, we have to find them!" Lyn exclaimed, bolting up in anticipation. The sudden movement made her back muscles ache, sending her hand toward it to press down upon it in pain.
"Take it easy," Dorothy said, standing up with her. She examined the back of Lyn's shoulder. "You're injured - you can't push yourself too hard right now."
"I'll be fine. I just want to find them-"
"Their safety is not your priority right now," Dorothy interrupted. "Your priority to collect yourself and calm down-"
"None of that matters right now!" Lyn pressed, noticing Déraciné swept up several feet away from her. She bent down and grabbed it by the handle, swiping it downward in one swift motion to shake off the water. "I'm... I'm not leaving any of them out there on their own, especially with the Rot out there. If Claire's alone without the others..."
"She's a tough girl," Dorothy pointed out. "I don't see a reason why she can't defend herself-"
"You don't know her." Lyn retaliated, reminding herself of Claire's confession to the murder of her family, as well as her fragile mind being bent by her curse. "Even with her weapon, after all she's been through-"
"I know her well enough, and I know she can fend for herself just fine," Dorothy pressed her palm against Lyn's shoulders to stop her in her tracks. She appeared dissuaded by her intention. "Listen. I'm all for supporting your mission with the others to stop the Rot Mother. I really am. But right now, you're not thinking straight. You're letting your emotions dictate the better of you-"
"And so what? What does any of what I feel matter right now?"
"Because... I saw someone following me not too long ago. It was a hooded person, just about your height. It spells danger, and whatever they're up to, I don't want to risk anything right now."
A sudden burst of realization grew on Lyn's face, despite Claire's decree of the figure's identity as herself. "That's the one who separated us while we were down there," Lyn's voice grew bitter. "But you don't have to worry. The moment I set my eyes on them, I'll kill them for what they did-"
Before her thoughts could even gather about their whereabouts, a piercing ring erupted in her ears, forcing Déraciné to slip from her trembling fingers. She clutched her ears in desperation, trying to cage the pain that threatened to split her mind apart.
"Agh..." She cried.
"What's wrong?" Dorothy asked.
"Just... hearing voices again. It's been happening way more ever since we were down there... after that dream. I... I can't even remember."
"Hold on," Dorothy seemed interested in every little detail about it. "Tell me everything you know about that."
After Lyn debriefed Dorothy on the details of her dream from the abyssal arena, she gained enough time to collect her thoughts as the pain numbed down. She mentioned the carbon copied disc she awoken from, to the spring hills with sketches of locations she had previously visited, to a glorified museum with a white-haired man in her tracks that transformed into a massive titan. Speaking her thoughts managed to help much more than she had thought.
"That's... one strange dream," Dorothy said, appearing puzzled. "I don't think I've ever seen any of those places like that before. Well... there are rumors, of course, but I can't ever base any judgments on those, of course."
"What kind of rumors?" Lyn asked.
"Well, the only museum that's ever been noteworthy in our time... is the museum in my hometown. Viatal. But I've never visited it before, and haven't been back in so long ever since I went looking for that person I mentioned to you back in Gietha. But based on what you've said and the rumors of it, our museum looks nothing like it."
Lyn looked away, appearing disappointed as her eyes drooped down once more.
"Well, it was worth a try. But that's what I mean. If that hooded person was capable of doing this to you and the others, who's to say they won't do it again if they see us? Think about that."
Lyn scanned the empty shore in front of her. Her chest tightened as her instincts to search for her friends came through, but the dread of being pulled into the dreamscape at any moment worsened her mind. The thought of being trapped there once again, all alone and powerless began to coil violently around her mind, which smothered her willpower. She battled between both choices in an internal debate, seeking no discernable method to continue any further without them.
"Then... what do we do?" Lyn asked, ashamed that her mind couldn't come to a decision.
"Well, from what I see, there's only one way to go," Dorothy said, turning back toward the island they were on. "Still got some strength left in you to keep that pretty sword handy?"
Lyn's eyes caught the shimmering blue hue of a crystal-infused forest directly behind them; she wondered how she had completely missed its glorious beauty. It was a cathedral of blue crystal spires rising from the ground up like frozen lightning. Each crystalline trunk shimmered with fractured light, scattering sapphire and indigo hues across the ground.
"What is this place?" Lyn asked, stepping forward to examine its beauty even closer. She caught herself approaching it out of pure enticement, attracted to the bioluminescent colors reflecting from the sun. "It's so beautiful."
"Certainly seems like a place to get lost in," Dorothy said, approaching the woods behind her. "You never know. Maybe the others went in there looking for shelter. Wouldn't hurt to check."
Dorothy turned back and watched as Lyn stood firmly in the sand with her heels. She flicked her thumb and index finger together in reluctance and anxiousness, believing it to be a mistake. "Maybe I should stay here and wait for them..." Lyn suggested. "They could be here, and I wouldn't know it."
"It's up to you," Dorothy said, ascending toward the crystalline forest on her own. "I'm not taking my chances of the Rot or that hooded person coming here. It's not a good idea to be alone, Lyn. Pick your poison." She finished, turning her back against her.
The silence between their space pressed down upon Lyn's heavy shoulders. She knew that without her friends, the emptiness felt unbearable. Lyn drew a shaky breath and stared back at the empty ocean before making her decision to leave. She prayed they would come and follow suit.
Blue fireflies drifted lazily through the cold air, with their glow pulsing in rhythm. Lyn trailed Dorothy's fearless stride, watching as the fireflies gathered in clusters and danced through the darkened sky like flickering constellations.
Each time they moved in tandem along the crystal path, Lyn would sometimes stop to admire the twinkling scenery, like a child marveling their first toy. Dorothy would stop and observe her from a distance, grinning momentarily at the pleasure she would experience. One particular moment of Lyn approaching glowing blue mushrooms made her snicker when they retracted themselves upon touch, startling Lyn until she fell backward.
"Didn't expect that." Lyn said.
"Sure." Dorothy replied.
They passed through a wide expanse in the crystal woods with the two of them attracted to the rapid bubbling sound that transpired through the crevices of the area. From deep beneath the ground in multiple areas, crystal geysers erupted in sudden bursts, sending columns of mist and vapor into the air. Upon further inspection, Lyn was enthralled with blue crystal spotted geckos using the geysers as moments of play. They made trilling sounds with their tongues each time they soared into the skies.
By the time they reached the end of the geyser area, oddities surrounded the area. Several dome-shaped black and white spotted rocks scattered across the vicinity. Some of them were moving in the gentle breeze across the crystal forest, while some were not.
As soon as the two passed by several of the dome-shaped rocks, they popped up from the ground, revealing themselves to be amphibious reptilian turtle Rot monsters. The creatures had beak-like snouts and beard-like appendages to showcase their age. Their powerful and muscular scaled skin and clawed feet had Lyn and Dorothy aware of their adaptation abilities in the crystal forest.
"Lyn!" Dorothy called, sheltering her beside the three approaching her.
"Got it." Lyn said, sheathing Déraciné by her side.
One of the gigantic reptilian creatures leaped towards Lyn, using its bare weight to topple down on her. Luckily, Lyn targeted the fleshy underbelly of the Rot creature, sending a plethora of its infected cuts spilling out before it could attack properly. The other two began offensively rolling their hard shells toward her, tucking in their bodies to protect themselves.
Lyn parried the hard shells with her blade and leaped over them, letting them strike their bodies against the crystal trees to stun them. As soon as they unraveled themselves once more, they lashed out with their infected tongues, wrapping them around Lyn's weapon-wielding arm to disarm her with their acidic saliva.
Searing pain shot up Lyn's arm and skin, forcing her to drop Déraciné. She swiftly kicked it up with her foot and caught it with her left hand, slicing up against the tongues to dismember them. She then assaulted them while they screeched in agony at the sight of their lost tongues, cutting down upon their soft bellies to execute them on the spot.
Dropping down on the grass below, Lyn wiped the acid on her skin off with the head of her blade. Luckily, her skin healed quickly from the power of her tethers, giving her relief in a matter of seconds.
"Thanks," Dorothy thanked, kneeling to pick her up from the grass. "Let's steer clear from this place for now."
"I can handle myself," Lyn said, releasing herself from Dorothy's grasp. "Really, I'm fine."
The two separated from the Rot-infested rocky area and moved toward a separate path with higher altitude. As they reached a grassy clearing, they found themselves beside a large crystal tree with snowflake leaves glinting above like stars. Beside the tree was an expansively clear hot spring that bubbled with silver-blue water that resembled liquid starlight.
"Let's stop here for now." Dorothy said, leaning her back against the tree until she dragged herself all the way down into a seated position. Lyn did the same, but on the other side with Déraciné plopped beside her.
As the two took in the breezy and heated scent of the bioluminescent spring beside them, they unwound themselves during the journey. An entire hour had passed since the start of their entrance in the forest.
"How's Ardine doing?" Dorothy asked, gazing up at the snowflake flowers above the tree.
Lyn pressed her palm against her forearm, grounding herself as she watched the blue fireflies flicker over patterned leaves. Their glow shimmered like fragile stars, softening the shadows around her.
"Um… he's doing well," She murmured. "Actually, he offered an interesting proposition to Claire right before we separated."
"What kind of proposition?"
"He offered to take her back to his hometown to live there with him," Lyn clarified, enthralled with the idea. "He believes that she has a lot to offer."
"Does he, now?" Dorothy chuckled. "Huh. That sounds like typical Ardine, always stuck in the past."
"What do you mean?"
Dorothy's voice was steady as her eyes lingered on the steaming springs. "A proposition like that only shows he's still trapped in the past," She said. "That girl isn't his daughter, yet he clings to her as if she were. But those days are gone. Still, he tries to save Kaiden, dragging me with him... wandering the world in search of answers for his wife and child... and now this? It's just another illusion he refuses to let die."
Lyn remained silent, noticing her belligerent attitude uprising once more. It was a common reoccurring moment she noticed that Dorothy would pervade, making her reluctant to speak.
"Sorry," Dorothy murmured. "I know I've been cynical lately. The truth is, I'm jealous of him. He moves through the world with a freedom I'll never get to experience. Choosing his own path... shaping his own story with that girl. That kind of wandering, self-made path… it's all I've ever wanted. But here I am. Just bound to this endless search for the one."
Lyn shifted her gaze toward Dorothy and noticed her eyes remained fixed upward.
"Claire asked me a question earlier. She asked me what I planned on doing after we defeated the Rot Mother, and I couldn't help but think of the festival in D'Avuzel. It was one of my happier moments."
"Good to see you're experiencing something of the sort." Dorothy replied.
"But… I have to ask the same of you," Lyn pressed, her tone steady but curious. "When the Rot Mother falls, what then? If you can't find the one you seek, what path do you plan on taking? Don't you have any family waiting for you?"
Dorothy exhaled through her nose, staring off at the backs of her hands. "I abandoned my mother and father when I was young," She said. "My father was cruel and diplomatic. My mother was similar, but not as much. I had a little sister. She was the only one I ever really loved out out everyone.
"If you loved her, then why did you run away?" Lyn asked.
"Everything was an undesirable life," Dorothy clarified, pressing on. "I couldn't grow. Not with my mother and father in my life."
Lyn looked away, for Dorothy's words reminded her of Claire's family. It was all until it reminded herself of her own.
"I wonder how my mother and father would have been," Lyn said, gazing up at the crystalline tree before looking at her branded tattoo. "Mothers and fathers... people who cherish and protect you for their whole life... I'll never know how it feels. I still can't believe that I'm related to the Rot Mother. I just don't know how."
Dorothy turned toward Lyn with eyes of inspiration. She placed her palm on the back of Lyn's hand, startling Lyn toward her direction. "And I wish I could inspire you," She said. "But I'm sure the others think of you as family."
Her words forced Lyn into a blush, reminding herself of Alfaic. The thought took her own breath away. "I know." She quickly spoke.
Lyn stood up from her seat and approached the bioluminescent springs in front of her. She dipped her toes underneath after removing her heels as the warm sensation of watery heat enveloped her body in comfort. She grinned in pleasure, placing her palms by her thighs. She swayed her feet in a pendulum, watching as the twinkling and glittery sparkles upon the springs cascade in movement.
"Lyn..." Dorothy called from a distance. "Why do you choose to live?"
Lyn turned her head slightly as she searched for the answer. Out of all the many reasons, she was able to choose the one that she resonated the most with. "I choose to live... because I want to protect the world. I choose to love instead of hate, and to fight instead of remain. The people deserve a future without the Rot's influence... and I want to see it bloom to reality."
"Do you really believe that?" Dorothy asked, voice trembling to differ.
"I do," Lyn replied, clasping her palms together as she gazed toward the springs beneath her. "At least, I think I do."
"I'm searching for reasons to live," Dorothy said, approaching Lyn from behind. She sat beside her and dipped her toes in the hot spring as well. "But I feel trapped. Everywhere I wander, I never seem to find a purpose. I always feel the answer is in front of me, but I get nowhere. I hear whispers calling to me, but they're words I can't decipher. Gietha... D'Avuzel... everywhere I go, I'm feel like I am alone. There's something missing. And I can't figure out what it is."
Remaining silent, Lyn kept her voice quiet to listen in.
"But... when I see you now... and just how far you've grown since the day we met... I have some resemblance of hope in me. You're the only one who's made me feel this way, Lyn. You put your eye on something and you never forget it, no matter what it is. You devote yourself to fighting... and you always emerge victorious, as if someone's always by your side. You're a lucky person, Lyn... and I wish I could have been you."
Hearing such words comforted Lyn. Her body was warm and tender from Dorothy's presence.
"You're not alone," Lyn said, gently pressing her hand against Dorothy's forearm. "I'll be always be here... for you."
Dorothy chuckled and stared down at her knees, flaying them up and down to the water's natural motions. "I've always wanted to hear you say that to me." She confessed. Without another word, Dorothy took off her equipment and dove into the hot spring without a care in the world, soaking in its prime comfort.
"Dorothy!" Lyn alarmingly shouted, leaping alongside with her. She collided with the spring's hot surge, prickling her light skin with enormous amounts of heat that she failed to anticipate. Instead of diving further in for her, she remained still, hoping the heat would subside.
Dorothy leaned back into the water with her face tilted as she drifted through the spring. The quiet grace of it was harmonious. As Lyn watched she was drawn in by the serenity, causing her to disregard the heat and slip toward her with ease.
"I could die right now, and I wouldn't be mad," Dorothy continued. "I would be free."
"Don't say that," Lyn said, worried for her condition. "You have someone to find, don't you?"
"I feel like… I already have," She murmured. She closed her eyes as her damp brown hair fanned across the glowing surface. Each second eased the tension in her body from the soft embrace of the bioluminescent water. "I feel like I already have." She repeated.
Dorothy laid limp in the glowing spring with her body unyielding. Lyn gripped the back of her collar and hauled her out, with Dorothy offering no resistance to it whatsoever. Her behavior bewildered Lyn in the utmost manner, for she was a book that couldn't be read no matter how long she studied her. Nevertheless, when Dorothy's eyes finally opened, the moment condensed into a single, lingering glance charged with a strange, yet unspoken intention that left Lyn unsettled and unable to name what it meant.
As the two laid back soaked in the glistening wet spring water, Lyn stared up at the stars, choosing to address the one thing that still lingered in her mind; the ethereal dreamscape. it muddled the goal of destroying the Rot Mother, forcing her to remind herself of the tree overlooking the hill, as well as the museum devoid of color. All of it had to be connected in some way, she thought, for it reminded her of Nia's obsessively constructed memory machine.
The dreamscape and the machine had a liking to each other. When she was able to peer through the memories of herself and Nia, Claire's memories came to fruition as well. None of it made sense; they weren't distinctly related to each other at all.
Should we have connected? Lyn thought to herself.
All of this skepticism pointed toward one thing that she felt lacked a solid purpose in it all; Alfaic. As much as she tried to deny it, the titan who controlled the dreamscape's purpose by transforming it into a nightmare resembled a man who looked like an older version of Alfaic. With the amount of secrets being harbored against her, she had to believe there was more to the table that she didn't know. She thought of his behavior in the dreamscape, standing in front of the hooded figure that Claire proclaimed as an assumption of herself in confidence that he wouldn't be affected in anyway.
The culmination of this skepticism forced her to voice out her thoughts.
"There's something that's been on my mind ever since we were separated," Lyn softly spoke aloud. "I can't seem to piece together what exactly is happening between Blade... and the others. We were stuck in this landscape of dreams... and everything I saw there is still fresh in my mind. I'm just... having doubts."
"Doubts about what?"
"Doubts about... Blade. Fifty years, he's spent journeying the world and learning of everything beyond what the average person would know... and he never once told me anything beyond the scope of reason. I said I trusted him before... but I really don't know if I really can."
"Hmm," Dorothy huffed out, remaining silent for a brief moment. "In those fifty years, he's never told you anything about the history of METIS? Never once about how it was created or aspired to be?"
"No. Do you know?"
"Probably more than him. I'm a traveler, of course, just like him. Weird. Fifty years, and I feel like I've lived longer than him."
"Is it... wrong to be skeptical?"
"No. Your feelings are completely valid. The fact that you recognize that is a feat on its own."
Lyn clasped her hands together and placed them below the waist. The cool shimmering winds brushed against the wetness of her body.
"Nothing can stop you." She whispered.
Dorothy opened her eyes and turned to Lyn, confused. "What?"
"Nothing can stop you," Lyn repeated, turning to face Dorothy. "From... discovering the truth. Sorry, just... talking to myself. Girl talk, right?"
"Girl talk?" Dorothy chuckled. "Who taught you that?"
"Claire."
"I'm even more jealous now. You're learning all of these things without me. Before, I remember you couldn't even shake my hand, and when you told that hilariously terrible joke."
Lyn recalled the memory of when she had first met her. "I feel embarrassed." She confessed.
"You should be. That was terrible."
The two exchanged several laughs before relaxing in silence once more. This moment, rooted in time, was another moment that Lyn wanted to experience forever. Nothing stopped her from unveiling her true feelings, unrooted by her tethers. However, Dorothy stopped her in her tracks, speaking up on her own.
"Lyn. Thank you," Dorothy said with a warm smile. "During the festival, I know you were trying to cheer me up. Even now, you still are. Nowadays, I find it hard to find enjoyment or relaxation through these hard times. So... thank you for never giving up on me."
Lyn hadn't realized she had been doing what she had said. She was only doing what she learned among her friends. But now that she was addressed as so, Lyn was proud she had done it.
"Of course. We're... friends, right?" Lyn identified.
"Forever and after." Dorothy finished.
The two would escape the crystalline woods soon after, searching for their allies once more.