She stood along a place that terrified me.
Moss covered boulders stacked up on each other, brummit fir trees surrounding the vicinity. She wandered into the forest complex, where tangled paths and ancient trees hid many memories. A trail covered with more moses and small greenery that it hid the pathway below. Nestled among the stacked rocks, a narrow, dark entrance beckoned, though it seemed to vanish to nothing. Tiny lights swirled like stars, hovering at the mouth of the opening. The air was thick with the earthy scent of mushrooms and moss.
I directed my night lamp towards her. She was soon gone into the beneaths of the world behind the threshold. With the little amount of bravery I had left, I directed my feet to go after her. The lamp in my hand had little use in the arms of the dominating dark. My pupils dilated, and my palm searched for any vines to hold onto.
I hovered down to point my light at the ground. Thankfully, I had done so. The pathway had converted to slippery broken stairs. As I climbed down, the dark had been painted with little lights of purple neon mana, and a sound of dangling beads filled the cave. A peachy soft scent brushed past me and sent chills down my spine.
My eyes adjusted to the neon soft light, and there she was....?
I blinked my eyes countless times to remove the entity beside her. I did all I could, yet- it stayed unyielding and unforgotten by me.
I stood still, breaths caught midway between awe and disbelief. For a fleeting moment, it felt as though the boundaries of what I've know had been rewritten in my history. Complex emotions surged within my veins, the dangling beads sounds rang in my ears, or was it my uneven heartbeat. The only attempt I had made was to pinch my cheeks. It wasn't a dream. I refused to understand it, yet something deep below my soul stirred - an instance and an encounter that would forever change me.
The dbouts I had accumulated and beamed from my soul. Breathtaking creature. A creature that didn't walk on the surface of the world, I knew.
Right at the corner, Kyoko's surroundings started being painted with pink flushed mana, Behemist magic? Was that an illusion then? I need to know.
My next step sent a rock skittering across the ground, enough to alert them of my presence. The sheer shock on her face was obvious, I was never meant to see them. I gave them no expression and stood there expecting her questions.
"Aniel?"
"I followed you,"
My eyes roamed around the cave and then fell onto the magnificent creature.
She stood nearly two meters tall, her skin painted as the night itself. Her eyes were nothing but hollow whites, and her long curly hair shimmered like strands of silver. Draped in a black cloak that mirrored the cosmos, she seemed less a woman, and more a piece of the universe made flesh.
(Tomb?)
She didn't reply, or she couldn't?
No matter how long I stared into those hollow whites, she didn't disappear. Instead, she became clearer and radiant. The tiny lights danced around her, and the neon mana circled within the edges of her long fingers. The cave prevented my eyes from seeing her beauty.
My mellow friend had words stuck up on her throat. She couldn't give an excuse, but the entity spoke for her.
"It's good to see you Aniel."
A voice no one could ever mimick or pronounce. My name sounded more elegant and luxurious from her mouth. A sound that didn't belong to this world. My eyes trembled, not out of fear but with astonishment, my throat tightened, robbed of moisture. Was I ever allowed to speak to her.
"Your friend fears me..."
She said with a bitter tone, her hollow gleam squinted and formed a frown.
I licked my upper lips and mouthed as loudly as I could in hopes to let out a whisper at the least.
"Um...what...are you?"
She smiled at me with warmth, her long white lashes lowering gently over her eyes. Her every action was significant to me, I tried to study her and answer my curiousity. The thing I noticed far to late was that her voice didn't bypass her lips, they just echoed in my head repeatedly.
"Zerius...talk later," her mellow voice directed more towards me than the one she said it to.
Zerius pouted and started walking away towards the dark. The lights went completely dim as soon as she faded away in purple black fumes. The only light was from my lamp, I couldn't see my friend anymore.
Instantly a hand grabbed onto my wrist and started dragging me away.
"Kyoko..?"
"Don't worry, I can see in the dark."
"Sorry....."
"For what? You were just driven by worries again."
Her tone didn't carry any hint of anger, she was far too calm on contrary to me.
"Zerius?" I asked
"Haha, she's gorgeous isn't she?"
"Absolutely, never have I laid my eyes on such a beauty.
"You would be willing to know, there are quite a few of them actually."
"Hard to believe, "
"Trust me, been through the same thing here."
We smiled at eachother and I held her hand tightly.
"You look better now." I added smiling.
"Hmm?"
"The moment we took a step in this region, it's as if you could never smile again."
She cast her eyes downward, a faint bitterness playing across her smile and she let out next.
"Not many fond memories lies here, you see."
"Can tell. You know, I'm the best listener you have got."
She also held my hand and laughed out loud.
"What makes you think that!"
The chatters didn't end until we got out of the cave, I took my last glance at where Zerius stood before.
Unexpectedly, she was there, waving her hand at me with a smile. I retured the gesture back and mouthed to her.
"See you soon Zerius."