The threads of his white hair drifted in the warm river. He strained to hear, heart pounding with dread, each movement hampered by fatigue. Above, light glimmered, distant and unreachable. His foot brushed gritty sand, grounding him in this liminal moment. When realization struck, memory tightened his chest, bringing grief and longing.
(I can't breathe.)
Asahi scanned the scene. He moved his eyes slowly over the wealth of seaweed, coral, and lush vegetation scattered across the lake's surface. Noticing the beautiful flowers now submerged, he realized they concealed the foliage below like a blanket. He followed the green, red, and purple hues as they blended together, everything shimmering under the shifting light.
He turned right, twisting his body in the water. There, he noticed the silhouette of tall brown cliffs behind the blue ceiling of water. Asahi pushed with his arms to swim toward them, but his body was caught in a current and forcibly pulled away in another direction.
A ball of light shone down, illuminating the leafy surface. Seeing bubbles rise from his mouth, Asahi quickly kicked upward, desperate for air. Telos' voice echoed in his mind.
(Interesting... it appears that the blue meter is depleting at a rapid rate.)
Asahi poked his head out of the water. Panic clawed at his chest as the current tugged him forward. A cold terror squeezed his throat; he coughed up gritty river water. His legs thrashed wildly to stay afloat. Rolling over, dread and desperation churned inside him. He realized he was trapped in a churning river. Shadows of treetops blotted out the golden light. Crushing isolation gnawed at him, curling cold around his heart.
Asahi kicked his legs to stay afloat, drifting like an inflatable through the current.
"I can't... hold it any longer."
This river didn't lead to another lake; it flowed toward a tall waterfall, rushing down from thousands of meters above.
The sun blinded Asahi as he emerged from the water. He glimpsed water cascading over the rocks. Suddenly, the current swept him forward. Without warning, his body plunged down the waterfall into another body of water below.
. . .
As he soared through the air after going over the waterfall, Asahi caught a fleeting view of mountains circling a massive lily-pad lake before plunging into the water below.
After his dizzying fall, Asahi crashed into the water again. He thrashed his arms and legs, fighting to stay above the surface as the world became a blur of muffled sounds and pressure.
(I have to keep swimming.)
Asahi turned and saw the waterfall thundering like a gigantic waterspout.
When it toppled into the ecstasy lake, foam formed at the bottom. The rest of the lake was as clear as cellophane; Asahi could see the rocky bottom. Fronds of forest-green plants waved gently in the depths. The waterfall looked like a sheet of blue velour, its edges hemmed in whipped-white lines.
As Asahi swam toward a shallower part of the lake, he looked up and realized a thick canopy of vegetation now surrounded him on almost all sides.
(It's so different here. I have to go to shore, now.)
Asahi gulped in the crisp air, lungs burning as the wild scents of the lake clung to him. Far off, jagged mountains carved their silhouettes against the sky.
He moved in a wide circle around the towering, sparkling waterfall, pausing now and then to catch his breath. Drawing in the tang of mineral-rich air, he forced his weary body forward through the shallow water toward the waiting shore.
Telos' voice replied in Asahi's head.
(I feel you have landed in Lily Leila's Garden. It's several kilometers from where you came. The method of travel was most likely the giant tornado you encountered before.)
Butterflies danced on the breeze, and the gentle warmth seemed to lift the weight from Asahi's shoulders. A trembling sigh escaped him as, for a fleeting moment, hope fluttered in his chest, fragile and surprising after so much turmoil.
Wading out of the shallow water, Asahi noticed a white-haired youth lying still near some trees and pointy bushes, only a few metres from where he had come ashore.
Approaching her carefully, Asahi kept his eyes fixed on the youth as he walked forward. He shook his head and whispered to Telos, his hands tucked in his pockets.
"Do you know what happened when I was unconscious?"
(Unfortunately, no. I can't recollect anything at that time.)
Telos' voice sighed.
(I can't believe that this nation could sap away the magic from others; it's no wonder why everyone in Linuxinia is weak.)
Asahi scratched his head.
"Can you explain what happened in the city?"
(Hardly. I believe the varmints you encountered belonged to The Ending. These are not ordinary enemies. They are a shadowy group, notoriously known as The Ending, who possess an ominous agenda. Their primary goal is to harness untapped powers and reshape the world according to their own mysterious ideals. Utilizing the power of advanced technology and dark magic, they strive to dominate every nation by any means necessary. Most likely, they were behind the invasion, the lasers, and the tornado. The stakes are higher than we thought, and their threat is an intricate web of danger and intrigue.)
"Oh, okay."
Asahi continued along the sandy shore, feeling rocks beneath his feet and droplets running down his hair and body as he walked.
All he craved was rest. A single day of peace had never been enough, but maybe, just maybe, this moment would finally be the one to last.
. . .
Peace. For the first time in ages, a gentle calm soothed his nerves, releasing deep tension. He held onto this sensation, wanting it to last.
A grin blossomed across Asahi's face, his eyes drinking in the sky's reflection of the world below. When he spoke, his voice barely rustled, gentle as new grass.
"I do have to say... I feel relatively more at peace here than in the city."
When he saw his sister in the distance, Asahi stopped walking, planted his feet down on the sand, and mumbled.
"Just a little longer..."
* * *
Birds trill sweetly high above. The chorus is as playful as the birds themselves. With closed eyes, Aletha's heartbeat began to drum in time to the melody.
"Sigh..."
Aletha squeezed the moisture from her white hair, the repetition calming her nerves. Each press brought peace, loosening the tightness chaos left in her chest.
Unlike Asahi, Aletha landed on a soft patch of grass just a few meters away from the pathway winding over the beautiful, crystal clear waterfalls.
Dizziness throbbed in Aletha's head as memories from the chaos surfaced—surges of fear and helplessness tightening her chest. Her sight wavered, tears brimming as she slowly picked a glistening leaf from her shoulder, hand trembling. Emotions surged close to the surface, confusion and ache overwhelming her. She mumbled just above a whisper, her voice thick with confusion and sorrow.
"Where am I? This looks nothing like Linuxinia city."
The ground was dark, cast in shadow by tall mossy pines. The sun must have been brilliant beyond them.
Every tree glowed brightly, virescent just at the edges of the trunks, forming a line across the vast mountains.
Flowers sprawled everywhere. Small glass pillars. Broken wheels. Aletha sighed, her breath shaky as she surveyed the scattered objects. She pushed her doubts aside and stepped out. Fresh air embraced her. A smile trembled on her lips as brief contentment welled up inside her.
"This place is a lot quieter than the city."
She took a deep breath and relaxed against the tree, meditating and listening to the beautiful sounds of nature unfolding.
Vigorous trees tangled their branches overhead. Aletha breathed in the tranquil air, rich with the scent of earth and memory. The warmth beneath her felt like home itself.
"I don't want to move."
. . .
"I want to stay." Asahi's voice remained as warm as early spring. He absorbed the view of his surroundings and was relieved that he had awakened here.
Asahi couldn't even hear Telos' voice anymore.
All he could do now... was RELAX.
(Sniff)
Asahi gazed at the flourishing turquoise lake, mesmerized by its rhythmic ripples. Sunlight gilded his face as he stared at the horizon, the playful wind teasing his skin.
This was the balm he had longed for: troubles melting away, replaced by the gentle embrace of nature's calm.
Compared to the busy streets of Linuxinia City and the plains of Pladtioa, this place was more of a blessing to him.
Both siblings eased into serenity, bathing in the wilderness's peace.
When Asahi finally walked over to his sister, he nestled in the soft grass and let his anxiety fly away.
(One... two... three... four.... five... six.... seven... eight... nine... ten... eleven...)
* * *
"Okay, let's see what this place has to offer."
Thoughts and feet wander, lungs fill, and time rolls by. Calm follows the storm. Asahi and Aletha wandered as usual.
A turquoise-blue stream wound its merry way through the forests. Aletha, moving closer to the water's edge, gasped in delight and pointed out the twigs flying with the current to Asahi.
"Ooo, look at how sparkly the water is."
Asahi chuckled softly.
"Haha, I can see the flowers at the bottom. I guess Sally was right when she said that this nation is the cleanest. Okay, come on. Let's go."
Babbling and burbling, the stream sprang over the limestone rocks in its way. Pebbles whisked about in the underwash like pieces of glitter. As they gleefully strolled, an old brown hut came into view, lying around the stream's passageway.
They chose to ignore it and continue along their way through the wilderness.
Despite walking away, they never noticed a person in the hut, prying her dazzling orange eyes on the wanderers, catching every movement.
She slowly stepped out, smiled warmly, and pointed while her red skirt flew in the wind.
"HA! They ARE here!"
* * *
Asahi trembled while staring at the dancing flowers, his hands tightening unconsciously. He felt the last bits of droplets on his body dry up, but a deep ache remained in his chest—uncertain, anxious, longing for comfort and fearing for the friends he could not see.
"I wonder where all of our friends went. So much was happening before that I couldn't keep track of it. I hope they're okay."
Aletha patted Asahi's back, her face warming up from the humidity lingering in the forest.
"I'm sure they're fine."
"Are you positive? There were monsters everywhere."
The white-haired girl shook her head and sighed.
"Yes. The city looked untouched when we were flying in the tornado."
Asahi raised an eyebrow.
"I could have sworn--"
Aletha interrupted.
"Stop being so anxious, bro. Follow me. Let's see if anyone has landed here with us."
Asahi's eyes leaned silently upward.
Chords of soft light speared down from above, bathing Asahi and Aletha's heads in gold. It was glinting with little sparkles like a thousand diamonds blessed by an inner fire.
Not too long after, their concerns were scrubbed away like dirt.