From out of the rustling bush, Valen stepped out, or rather tumbled out.
Leaves and branches clung to him, persistent.
Watching him struggle out of the bush, Calistis relaxed her posture, her tail resting on a leaf.
Tracking each of his clumsy movements, she wondered, 'What is this fool doing.'
Placing her sword down and assuming a knight stance with an elegance that mirrored that of a knight, an elegance which Valen clearly lacked, Calistis spoke. "To think I lost to a clumsy fool such as yourself." Glancing to the side, she clicked her tongue.
Slowly raising his head, their eyes met.
Silence reigned between the two. Valen stood blinking in bewilderment, leaves and small branches tangled in his silver hair and horn.
"H-how long have you been standing there?" Valen asked, his voice a hesitant muffle.
"Long enough." Calistis replied, her words laced with contempt.
Valen began walking shyly to Calistis while plucking the leaves and branches from his hair.
Stopping at an acceptable distance, he flashed her his usual bright smile. "How are you doing?" Valen asked, attempting to lighten the mood.
However, Calistis was not interested. She remained silent, just staring at him.
Scratching the back of his head uncomfortably, Valen glanced at his Viking war hammer. 'What to say.' He thought.
Valen was a natural social bird, able to make conversation with almost anyone, with Calistis being the only exception.'What do I even talk about?' He thought harder, racking his brain for answers.
An idea sparked in him. Smiling, Valen asked, "You heard the roar last night?" His eyes sparkled in hope.
However, to Valen's dismay, Calistis only nodded. 'What have I done to deserve this.' He thought, his smile crumbling.
"I was tracking the source." She answered. Glaring at Valen, she continued, "Until you blundered into my path." Her tone was as cold as her gaze.
Valen's smile regained its light; after all, he might have already found a travel partner.
Taking a step closer, Valen prepared to ask the question. "You know, I'm also searching for the source of the roar." He paused, taking a deep breath. "So what do you say to an alliance?" he asked.
Shielding his racing heart with a calm face, Valen awaited an answer he dreaded.
Calistis's gaze fell on Valen.
Examining him like goods on sell, she thought, 'That roar was most definitely made by a Tempest. Defeating a Tempest alone is practically impossible.'
Looking down at her calloused hands, she clutched her sword's hilt. Second place, the memory throbbed like an old wound. 'An alliance with this fool is a greater stain than losing to him.' She thought. Her father's smile and approval were a lure she yearned to fall for.
She looked back up at Valen, this time she was no longer examining him, suppressing her Zyros pride, she reluctantly answered, "Yes."
Instantly, Valen's smile beamed, growing bigger and brighter as he ran to Calistis, laughing his heart out.
However, before he could even get close to hug her as he had planned, a sharp reflection of light caught his eyes, and immediately he stopped.
Inches away from Valen's throat was Calistis's knight sword, the radiant light of day dancing upon it.
Looking down at the sword, Valen swallowed, raising his hands. "Okay, okay. No hugs, understood." He chanted, his chest raising and falling in an erratic rhythm.
He had seen the truth in her eyes; there was no hesitation in them. If he really hadn't stopped, he might have been seriously injured or worse.
Hesitantly, she lowered her sword. "I agreed to an alliance, not friendship." She muttered, the words hissing through her teeth.
'How did I lose to him.' Calistis thought, biting the inside of her lip hard.
She walked away, leaving Valen stunned.
He knew there was more to her than she let on; he could just tell. 'I will crack that little shell of yours.' He thought, turning around.
Returning to the wretched bush, Valen wrestled his Viking war hammer free before trudging after Calistis.
Both of them began making their way blind, hoping to stumble upon the Chaos Monster, or find any clues that could set a more clarified path for the two.
Not far from where Calistis and Valen just spoke was the clearing, no longer the same.
In front of the spider's corpse, the ground was torn. Boulders and fallen trees sprawled around; green stains and webs painted the area.
At the center of the clearing lay the Poison Spider's corpse.
A lone, slick jian with no guard rested in one of the spider's many eyes.
In its sack floated two candidates: one had brown curly hair, the other long black silky hair.
The bright light of the sun shot through Talen's light-sensitive pupils, causing his eyes to squirm under his eyelids, a groan escaped his sleeping lips.
Turning to the side, trying to avoid the sunlight, Talen plunged his face into the spider's cold healing poison, immediately jolting him awake.
Looking around the spider's sack, Talen thought, 'What do you know, one day I'm sleeping in a cozy bed and the next I'm sleeping in healing poison.' He chuckled, a dry chuckle.
Swimming around, Talen noticed Henry floating asleep peacefully beside him. Remembering his survival strategy, he smiled. "Time for some answers." He groaned, swimming to Henry.
Floating beside him, Talen smirked.
Raising his hand, he delivered a sound slap to Henry's face.
Screaming, Henry splashed awake.
'I deserved that, don't I.' He thought, watching as Henry's panic flailing drenched him.
Placing his hand on Henry's shoulder, Talen tried to calm him down. "Hey, hey, hey."
Hearing his voice, Henry's hands slowed resting on the water surface.
Looking at Talen with eyes on the verge of tearing. "Oh, you handsome devil, you saved us." He sobbed, hugging Talen.
"We're al-" Henry paused mid speech. Slowly, he pulled himself away from Talen examining him. "Nothing just scars, too many of them." The words slowed out of his mouth as Whispers.
Then he scanned his own body; just like Talen's there were scars, albeit he only had a handful.
Looking up at Talen, his face whitened, and he cried, "Noooooo, we died!" He began violently shaking Talen, crying hysterically.
Talen kept his empty gaze on the wailing Henry. 'I guess not everyone can graze death's door and remain sane.' He thought.
Talen entertained Henry's antics for a while longer, finding them amusing, until they no longer were.
Raising his hand again, he delivered another sound slap to Henry's face, calming him down.
Looking at the trembling Henry, he smiled. "Yeah, you were almost dead." Talen answered.
Raising his hand and pointing behind him. "I found you as a corpse." He paused, placing his hand on Henry's shoulders he continued. "And I dragged you here, where you were revived." Talen paused, his empty smile disappearing.
"I also almost died saving you." He continued, the words slipping out of his slips heavy.
Lunging himself at Talen again, Henry hugged him tighter, sobbing. "W-we're alive." He cried.
Gazing down at Henry, Talen clicked his tongue. 'I liked him better when he was scared or sleeping.' He thought, raising his hand and preparing to deliver another slap.
Noticing Talen's hand in the air, Henry hurriedly pushed himself away from Talen, splashing more water on him.
"Hey, hey, calm d-down." Henry said, waving his hands.
He sighed, turning around wondering where they were. "Where are we, anyway?" Henry asked.
Opening his mouth and preparing to answer, Talen froze. 'He's definitely gonna give me a fourth shower if I tell him in here.'
"I wanna stay dry, so why don't I show you?" Talen replied, stepping into the Zone.
Unnatural strength surged through his body and mind. Willing the power, Talen leaped out of the spider's poison sack.
The wind rustled through his hair.
It was a simple act to Talen; however, it left Henry's mouth hung open.
After all, he had never seen or heard of anyone having Purple Zone eyes not Blue, not Red, but purple. "W-what?" Henry stuttered.
'Blue's mind, Red's body. What the hell is purple, then?' Henry thought, scratching the back of his head. 'First, he can slay a Tempest by himself, and now this.' Glancing to where Talen previously floated, Henry continued, 'Who is this guy?'
Standing outside the sack, Talen shouted, "Hurry up, will you." Clicking his teeth, he muttered, "He better have some enlightening answers."
Hearing Talen's shout, Henry pulled himself from his thoughts, swaying into the Zone: the whites of his eyes turned black, his iris and pupil mixed into a dark shade of red.
Power surged through his body. Using the power, Henry leaped out of the poison spider's sack, stumbling next to Talen.
"Hey Talen, what type of Zone do you have?" Henry asked, the words tumbling out.
He had been too curious for his own good for a long time, and it seemed today he was going to be reminded of the consequences of curiosity he had forgotten.
Talen turned around, his eyes locked onto Henry's, his face in its natural emotionless state.
He spoke, his voice low and rumbling. "I'm gonna be asking the questions, Henry." His empty gaze lingered on Henry's for a while longer, threatening.
Henry trembled, his legs taking an involuntarily step back.
Following Talen's eyes, he turned around.
"W-we." Henry stuttered in a whisper, stumbling back. "We slept inside there."
"We s-slept in the spider's damn p-p-poison sack." Henry spoke, managing to force the words out of his mouth.
His eyes on the spider, Talen replied, his tone flat. "Yeah." He paused, glancing at his jian, plunged in the spider's eye. "Which brings us to my first question." Glancing at Henry, he asked, "How's that possible?"
Henry glanced back at Talen; their eyes locked.
His mind was empty; however, fear had too strong a grip on him to allow his declaration of ignorance, so he pretended in hope of stalling the inevitable.
Henry returned his gaze unto the corpse, stroking his chin in theatrical deep thought.
Talen remained silent, leaving Henry to his thoughts.
'Who does he take me for, the great librarian.' He thought, his heart beating so wildly, it threatening to break free from his rib cage. 'He's really going to kil-.'
However, before he could finish the thought, a lesson from school surfaced in his mind. 'I actually remember what I was taught.' He thought, standing in relieved bewilderment.
Glancing back at Talen, Henry cleared his throat. "Ever heard of the Corrupted Chaos Monsters legend?" he asked, a smile forming on his lips.
Talen repeated the words, searching through his battle-oriented mind, but there was nothing.
This was his first time hearing of Chaos Monsters without a kill order attached. "What's that?" he asked.
Chuckling, Henry looked up at Talen's jian.
"It's a legend that says some of the Chaos Monsters in the Physical Realm didn't start off as Chaos Monsters." he said.