"Alright, there you go." Coral set Ryuu down at the entrance of a cave as rain began to pour down from above, sheltering themselves. Ryuu watched with half-closed eyes as fog was kicked up by the roaring waters outside. Coral sat down across from him, knees pressed against her-- She paused, looking down at herself before sighing, realizing that she was half-naked, only wearing what looked to be a bra made of a hide of some creature and a loincloth of sorts.
Coral looked over at Ryuu, who was too distracted to notice, barely clothed as well, his body torn to hell from all of the brutality he had experienced within the Underground nearby. She watched as a radiant energy pulsed within him, changing from an orange to a bluish glow.
Coral cleared her throat. "Are you alright?"
The remaining eye, still sharp, sporting his iconic neutral scowl as he always did, looked to her. "Better... than in there." He looked back out to the rain. "I suppose."
"What the hell happened to you, Jo?"
"A lot."
"What about the eye?"
"Knocked out its socket. Can't see from it anymore."
Coral clutched herself and shivered, looking back out to the rain as the cold began to seep through the entrance of the cave. Ryuu looked at her, showing a slightly flustered expression for a moment before motioning for her to come closer. Confused, she abided, kneeling in front of him.
Ryuu took out the armor, and it immediately disappeared. He looked confused before plucking a hair from his head, placing it on Coral's shoulder. She almost recoiled, but soon after, clothes appeared on her body. Loosely-fitted black threads provided her with a small bit of comfort. She returned to her place as she watched as he put on similarly black clothes with his hair.
"Ability?"
"Upgrade."
Coral became slightly frustrated. "You used to be more talkative a couple of months ago."
Ryuu's expression darkened a little, averting his gaze. "Sorry."
Coral sighed from her nose, an apologetic expression appearing on her face. "Nah..." She sighed, "What happened? You need... I dunno. Sorry."
"Is Cyril alive?"
Coral chuckled, "Yeah, he's leading a bunch of people in some massive canyon that we've housed ourselves in. Monsters don't go in there cause the entrance has a bunch of plants that can kill 'em. Luckily they don't seem to be as volatile to us as it is to whatever fucking creature we see lurking about nowadays."
"Why were you here?"
Coral grimaced. "I... I led a party here in an attempt to clear the way out for Cyril... I'm the only survivor."
"Sasha?"
She shook her head. "N-No."
"Clear the way?"
"Y-Yeah... he's..." She sighed again. "He and his group, Sam, Dominic, Elise, Sasha, and some others, are following some sort of beacon. We believe it's the way out, but it's a difficult journey. In all honesty, it's more like we're all collaborating on making the journey a little bit easier, especially for the... weaker-ilk amongst us, like children, et cetera."
Ryuu nodded in acknowledgement, looking back out to the rain-washed forest that surrounded them. "I heard a story. A story about the rain. Is there a reason? Is there something out there?"
Coral nodded. "Y-Yeah. We don't know what it is, but a lot of people died to whatever was in the rain."
"Are you okay?"
Coral's nose screwed up in frustration for a moment. "Don't ask people that while you look like that."
Ryuu chuckled. "Fair."
Coral thought to herself for a moment. "Ryuu. How did you come to get so strong? I'd imagine you're dormant but... are you an 8-Star, or...?"
"4-Star ability, 8-Star Class."
"S-Shit... you got a Class?"
He nodded slowly. "Not 6-Star Ability, 8-Star Class."
"W-What the hell!? Your ability went up stars!?"
"More like it changed completely."
"So... what is it? Power and Class? You know mine! Don't cop out on me!"
"Weaver, Barbarian."
"Shit... I don't even have a class yet."
"Does Cyril?"
"Yeah." She pushed some hair away from her face.
Ryuu blinked, observing her. "Your hair is longer. Normally used to having shorter hair."
Coral scoffed. "Like you're one to talk. You've got longer hair than I."
Without looking at her, he chuckled and responded. "Guess I do."
Coral looked Ryuu up and down, almost embarrassed, she looked away. "You look... different. I can't tell if I should be impressed or worried." She paused, looking at the small goatee that sat on Ryuu's chin and the hint of a moustache coming in. "Facial hair is a good look on you... I guess."
"Thanks? You look... uh... Why the compliment?"
"More just surprised... I dunno, felt like it was worth pointing out. It... I dunno, the change is sorta scary as well."
"Should I shave it when we reach civilization?"
"Uh... don't let me or anyone else determine that, I guess... t-that would be my response."
"Hm."
"Aren't you the same age as me anyway? What are you doing with facial hair?"
"Genetics?"
She chuckled. "Not like it matters."
They both remained silent for a moment before Ryuu spoke up again. "I... I want to make sure, but... Coral... do you know if my sister came to this world?"
Coral was slightly surprised. "I'd hope not. For my survival, don't focus on that until we're safe and sound."
A beat. "Okay."
A long stretch of silence followed, Ryuu spacing out, staring at the rain, almost enamoured, while Coral shuffled awkwardly on her side of the cave. "So... hey... are you good? Like... up... mentally?"
"Probably not."
She nodded. "O-Okay, yeah, fair." Coral paused. "A-How are you feeling right now?"
"Relief."
"Well... I-I dunno if that'll last too long. There are beasts out here, too, probably even more deadly than the Cakranoids."
"At least I get to breathe clean air."
Coral gave up, shrugging, not being able to stop herself from smiling at the comment. "Yeah... I guess." Coral rubbed her knees nervously. "You're... way stronger now. Congrats, I guess."
Ryuu looked over to Coral. "You don't need to be nervous."
"I-I... I just can't grasp around the fact that you... You're here. I-I'm... I dunno. It feels wrong. Even though I know you're way stronger, I have... I have an itching feeling, a worry... a worry that you could... get killed. A lot of people have died... even others who were stronger but... I... I can't get the powerless you out of my head."
Ryuu shrugged. "Well... at the very least, you... realize...? Or communicated it? I dunno. I'm a bit too tired to think about it."
"Y-Yeah, let's sleep..." She looked at the hard stone floor hesitantly and attempted to lie down.
Ryuu took his pelt, throwing it over to her before pressing himself against the wall behind him, slowly drifting off into his slumber.
***
[Replay: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆]
Kaya cocked her head at the ability that appeared before her, Sakura leaning onto her shoulder as she created a homemade weapon from some wood scraps and sharpened flint.
"Replay," Kaya repeated what she had gotten from the system.
"Replay? Does it say what it does?"
[Replay a moment of damage dealt to a target that had occurred within the last few seconds]
"Seconds?"
"Hm?"
"I can replay a moment of damage dealt to a target that had occurred within the last few seconds."
"Interesting. Does it specify how many?"
"No."
Sakura cocked her head in confusion. "W-Well... I guess we can start experimenting with it then?"
"It sounds super useful... but if it ain't that much time..." Kaya looked hesitant.
"Well... powers are known to be able to grow, plus, that'd have some great utility."
"Don't doubt that... guess I'm just overwhelmed." Kaya chuckled. She let out a short sigh, looking at what looked to be some sort of spectral wolf guarding the entrance of a cave they had dug for themselves, watching the outside intently as rain fell into the forest below. "Your ability truly is amazing tho..."
Sakura looked to her summon and nodded. "I... I do think it's impressive. I... hold no strength though. Honestly, I feel just as weak as I did before."
"Maybe we just need to warm up to our abilities a little?"
Sakura pressed her lips together. "I dunno. If I do get any boosts to strength... I don't think it'll be significant enough to allow me to start doing things on my own." Sakura sighed and then looked at Kaya. "I need my summons... and I doubly so need you, okay?"
Kaya nodded. "Okay."
"Plan stays the same, summon occupies a target, and we run. My spirits can respawn after some time, after all."
"100%."
"I hope we're going the right direction..." Sakura sighed.
Kaya paused, looking at Sakura with a look of exhaustion and worry, nodding once again. "I... I hope so, too. I hope we find Cyril and the others... I hope Elise is alright..."
Sakura's spirit jumped in response to something in the distance, backing itself into the cave slightly to provide a wall for the girls, the beast growling at the approaching figure.
Both of them retreat to the back of the cave, Kaya holding up one of the many homebrew weapons she had made on their journey, watching as a monster made of hands clambered for the entrance before being pulled back into the ever-stretching dark that was this dark and stormy night.
The alertness of the spirit increased sevenfold, backing deeper into the cave, kicking out the light of a campfire that they had themselves surrounded by.
They remained silent, and a large figure lowered itself, its eye looking into the small hole they were in. The pupil was a horizontal slit, almost like a goat's-- wide and nearly unblinking as a thin filament wrap itself around the eyeball like a reptile before raising itself from the ground and leaving.
The spirit let its guard down, and it was only then that the girls themselves realized that they were safe.
They could only assume that, whatever that was, it was the monster that all beasts fear when it rains.