Excited to see her dear friend so full of life again, Saranai presses against Iramo's chest, wrapping her arms around him as she thinks of what to say to him after spending so long apart. But the warmth they share now, is more than enough to for Iramo to understand as he Instinctively pulled her closer and spoke with his eyes. Holding her soft yet so firm as if she herself was his most valuable prize. Pleading for her to never leave him again with that shattered look in his eyes. A look so pure, so innocent that it brought tears to her eyes.
An Iramo didn't ask what was wrong, he just held her as she cried. Wiping the stream of tears away that came flooding from her eyes. Waiting for Maradi to get it all out before she try's again.
"I'm so glad your finally awake! You we're sleeping for so long I thought you'd stay that way forever… and it'd all be on me!"
This is so embarrassing! How could I fold like that in front of this man?! I just gotta kill him now. Yup! That's the plan.
Raising her arms to his neck, Saranai pulls Iramo down and throws herself over his shoulder, right onto his back. An before he could fully process it she began chocking him out or at least that was her plan.
"You were up for a while weren't you?!How long did you plan on being awake and not saying a word to me?!"
Feeling the grip tightening in her tiny yet mighty arms wrapped around his neck, Iramo scrambles to think as Saranai puts her lips to his left ear. Whispering something sinister inside.
"You we're just talking up a storm, don't go quiet on me now."
Pushing her arms back as much as he can, Iramo desperately gasps for air as he copes a plea.
"Just… woke… up… Purple… Lady… can't… breath…"
An with an extremely annoyed look on her face, Saranai releases Iramo and slides down his back.
"Hmph! Sounds like you met my older sister then. What did she say? And you better not lie!"
Crossing her arms as she anxiously waits for Iramo to catch his breath and explain. Saranai's face went through a full range of emotions as she listened to him regale her sisters deeds. An by time he had finished talking, Saranai had a crazy look in her eyes.
"WHAT?!!! She said all that?!
OUUUUU Maradi! We're going to have a very, VERY long talk when you get back!
But the more flustered she got, the more Iramo began to look her up and down with a tense expression as if he was searching for a missing clue but it wasn't her silver leggings, cryptic design or her green top covered in roses, it was something more than that. He studied her with bold eyes observing everything even Saranai's long, curly hair, falling halfway down her back.
Their sisters? Well… they're both pretty and freakishly strong so actually that checks out. But if that's true why is she so low to the ground? Unless… Maradi took all the good genes and now she's stuck like that. It must be so hard being born your max height.
With a eyes full of sympathy, Iramo looks down into Saranai's eyes as he squats down and gently holds her hands.
"It'll be okay! I was short too so I get why your angry but you'll get taller one day!"
Utterly dumbfounded by the comparison he drew in his head, Saranai grabs Iramo by the ear and yanks him out the room. Right into a circular hallway, hugging the walls of the vast center with soft purple light shining down from above, into a eversing sphere. Bending each ray of light that passes through its pathways from above as they mix and churn, coming out as vibrant color from its other side, shining onto the different doorways below, illuminating the unique patterns spread across them.
Observing the many doors and looping pathway vanishing with each corners bend as he looks both way, Iramo can't help but wonder what lies behind each doorway bathed in light. But more than anything he wants to know just what changes when that light lands that give them all such a unique look after they we're just so bland.
"What— is this place? And what's up with that light?"
Smiling with great pride, Saranai takes Iramo's hand and guides him down the shifting hall with her head held high.
"This is my home, The Labrenth Of Light! I planned to show you around sooner but you passed out so suddenly and we we're being chased so until now, I guess I just never had a chance."
Gently holding onto her hand, Iramo began massaging the back of Saranai's hand with his thumb, watching her worries melt away in an instance like she'd entered a trance.
"We'll I'm here now boss lady and I'm wide awake so now's your chance. An if this light show's still going when we're done you and me should dance!"
Saranai couldn't help but blush as turned her head away.
"If we have time for it I'd love to dance with you under the lights. So let's hurry up and start or we won't finish in time!"
Turning his head to the side, Iramo shot Saranai a confused glare.
"Huh? Finish what in time?"
With a slide of her fingers across her Izoa, Saranai pulls a green light from it and throws it into the eversing sphere, sparking a a massive chain reaction, bending each ray of light towards the center of the room. Shaping into a model of Verna with a view from beyond the sky, showing every land spread across the world separated by sea.
"Well while you we're recovering, the last few leaps of light from Rava-Nine has been fading fast and once its is completely gone the White Out will begin. So before that happens, we need to get as strong as we can get! Because if we're not at least Crusaders by then we might never finish our plan."
Nodding while clearly confused Iramo stares hard at the projection, recognizing the black sands and the massive mountains keeping the black sands at bay.
"White Out? Wait… come to think of it I've never seen the sun go down on this world yet, is that like night for you guys?"
Confused, Saranai pulls two finger back from her Izoa and flicks her fingers, filling the space above the lands with stars and many massive moons.
"Night? I mean the process sounds about right but the problem itself lies in our moons. The five of them are usually far away but it is at the Farion's Arch where they converge and come closer than ever to our world. Its an event that only occurs according to the archives every five hundred loops and it is the same cycle that almost brought about the extinction of all life on this world. An it is happening again soon, I don't know exactly when it will happen, nobody does but we all know the closer they come, the more this world will become distorted."
Immediately Iramo asked a question that brought a new possibility to life.
"If nobody knows how it happened, let alone when, how do you know its really coming again? I don't know who told you that but it sounds like that was just the best way to get some many people to blindly follow there plan. But me personally, i'm gonna need to see some proof before I go all in."
Frowning as she considers his words, Saranai can't help but feel dumb for never thinking to look into it herself.
"Your… right. But it's not worth the chance of it being true. An with the constant tremors that have been shaking up the world, plenty has already changed."
As the world display begins to shake violently it echos and rumbles as the light fades away and a blinding flare of white light overtakes everything in sight.
"An if it's anything like in the archives after everything becomes pitch black, a white light will engulf the world changing everything within it, darkening our hearts, and clouding our minds. Bringing out the worst in us all as it corrupts our time."
Crossing his arms as he strokes his chin, Iramo raising an eye as he makes a peculiar expression.
"What does that even mean though?"
Reverting the view to its normal state with a swipe of her hand, Saranai brings the view in closer to the surface, dropping it beneath the sky and above the ground.
"Nobody truly understands what it means but that sole message left behind for us all in every Izoa is the very reason we go on so many scans. Each and every time we venture out to Tolza, we search for more to the story, an a new way to survive."
Focusing his view on the seven massive land masses, spatial visuals begin to appear in Iramo's eyes, fading in an out every time he looked away. But every time his gaze met the lands it began feeding him information about each land mass as if it knew he would ask.
"What… the… fuckkkkkk?! This is tripping me out right now, can you see that too?!"
Fighting her laugher the best she can, Saranai lets out a soft giggle as she takes his hand, guiding it to each mark on the map.
"I see your Izoa's working now. This handy overlay is one of its many functions available to you now that your both in perfect sync and you can pretty much share knowledge like this all the time. It's low processing power, for the basic functions at least so you can do this all the time."
Flipping his hand left around and staring at his wrist, Iramo just couldn't understand.
"What's the power its processing? I don't see any batteries on this thing?"
Looking at him as if he said the sky's made of cheese, Saranai presses her finger against his head.
"Your brain dummy! Your Izoa just like everything else in this world relies on the one source of power that can never run out, on energy that cannot be destroyed… animus. The absolute power that is within all life found across The Nexus no matter where you go. Its the last and the great discovery the founder left behind. An as of now its the only way to operate their lost technology spread across the Havens."
Grabbing his head with her hands, Saranai gently turns Iramo's gaze to the lands and then green water flowing around them.
"The once great capitals of this Verna that now serve as stomping grounds for the countless Devions that roam this world with fractured minds and the few survivors that gathered from its ruins determined to survive."
Staring at the Havens with wide eyes, Iramo can't help but wonder what its like for them being trapped in their mind.
I bet it hurts being trapped inside your head all the time. They might not be people in a mad man's eyes but I won't be going around hunting people who have already lost their lives.
Iramo zeros in on the mountain's he came from and speaks freely letting his words linger in the air.
"But why should they have to die when it wasn't their choice to go insane? I understand if they attack but if they are peaceful, if they can be saved… why not just alter their brain? Surely the ones who did this could of done that just the same."
An understanding silence filled the air, broken by Saranai's saddened tone.
"Trust me Iramo… any of us with a heart feel the same. Its not right what happened to them, plenty of us feel the same. But we're the ones who survived, who evolved beyond their ways. So I can promise you that if nobody else agrees with you… it isn't right. That's why I was out there when I found you, I wanted to see if I could bring one of them back. But I couldn't find a single and that's when I ran into you. But you didn't turn out to be one and you we're badly injured so I came back with you, because I couldn't leave you their all alone… not like that."
With a cheeky smile, Iramo pats her head.
"And even if you did leave me, I would of came to you as fast as I can! Because who knows the next time I'd see another person with their mind intact?! I rather take a chance with a pretty girl than turn to those mountains and stumble my way back."
Mushing his face as she disables the visuals restoring the lights normal flow, Saranai grabs Iramo by the collar of his shirt as she keeps pushing his face away.
"Lets go! I still have to give you this tour ! An for the next couple of leaps we'll be working hard to get in shape before the scan! So try not to be a nikkinova and watch your hands!"
I got no idea who that is but can you believe that man? Living with two aliens peacefully? He's already surpassed modern man.