Hey Vivshi! You take that side, and we will take this side," Lander called out from a distance.
His voice echoed through the dark mines, breaking the silence that enveloped us. Hearing Lander's reassuring voice calmed me down, alleviating some of the unease that had settled within me. The darkness in the mines made it nearly impossible to see, but we had a small oil lantern that Kenshi had crafted for us, providing a faint glimmer of light amidst the oppressive blackness. Even with the lantern, the claustrophobic mine felt terrifying to navigate alone. After our father's neglect and our mother's mysterious disappearance, we were determined to forge our own path and not rely on "his" money. Independence was our goal, and to achieve that, we needed cash. Although I had suggested stealing money from unsuspecting individuals on the streets, Ken and Lan adamantly rejected the idea, claiming it would be no better than accepting our father's money. I struggled to understand why they chose the harder path when an easier option was readily available.
One day, they stumbled upon a job opening for excavating carpinite in a newly discovered mine. After some convincing, they managed to persuade me to join them. With scraped-together funds, we acquired a glove and a pickaxe. Ken took the glove, and Lan wielded the pickaxe. As we explored the mines, we would call out to each other whenever someone discovered a carpinite vein. We took turns extracting the valuable mineral from the unforgiving walls, swinging our pickaxes until exhaustion set in, and then switching places.
Now walking around alone I heard Lan's voice echo throughout the mines. I hurried over, my breath ragged from the sprint. Lan stood proudly, his gaze fixed on a colossal carpinite lode embedded in the walls. With his arms on his hips, he smiled, proclaiming that we wouldn't have to worry about food and shelter for a while with this discovery. Excitement filled the air, and the three of us exchanged a joyful high-five before setting out to excavate the surrounding earth. The lode stretched as long as Lan's arm and was as wide as his head.
As Ken hacked away at the surrounding walls, I couldn't shake a growing sense of unease. The mine seemed unstable, and small creaks echoed through the tunnels. Pebbles and stones began to rain down from the ceiling, intensifying my worries. I voiced my concerns to Ken and Lan, but they reassured me that everything was safe. With the earth cleared, Ken held the carpinite in his gloved hand, and as I illuminated it with my dimly lit candle, its darkish hue gleamed.
While Ken and Lan marveled at the carpinite, uncertainty gnawed at me. Was it truly safe for us to remain here? Lan placed his arm around my shoulders, offering comfort, while Ken set down the ore. Suddenly, gloves flew through the air, and I caught them instinctively.
"Hey Vivshi, feel how heavy the carpinite feels! Don't break your back." Ken teased, smirking.
I put on the glove and braced myself into a squatting position to pick up the carpinite. I reached down and grabbed the ledge on the ore and slowly pulled it up.
"Heavy, isn't it?" Ken scoffed.
With this one, we could enjoy momentarily peace for a short period. But that all changed as I heard a deafening explosion deep within the mines. Ken and Lan's expressions turned into horrified panic as they screamed out to me:
" RUN VIVSHI, RUN YOU RETARD!" Ken's voice pierced through chaos.
"VIVSHI WHAT ARE YOU DOING, START MOVING" Lan's desperate plea joined the fray.
The walls started to crumble and the loud crashes reverberated through the tunnels, drawing closer with each passing moment. Fear gripped my heart as I sprinted, following in the footsteps of my brothers. Ken noticed my sluggishness and, with determination etched on his face, grabbed the carpinite ore and hoisted it onto his shoulder, with the glove still clutching it tightly. The three of us ran, driven by a primal instinct to survive, but the claustrophobic corridors seemed to close in around us, threatening to consume us whole.
Rocks and debris cascaded from above, and one unfortunate boulder struck Lan's leg, sending him sprawling to the ground. Blood mixed with dirt, covering his face and knee. Ken reacted swiftly, seizing Lan's arm and dragging him forward, refusing to abandon him. Ken's strength was immense, but even in this cruel world, there are limits. We caught a glimpse of the light filtering through the mine entrance, our only hope for escape. With sheer determination, we charged towards it, believing we could outrun the relentless collapse. Yet, fate had other plans.
As we neared the exit, the wall caught up with us, trapping us in its merciless grasp. Ken's instinctual protective nature kicked in, and without hesitation, he flung Lan forward, urging him to safety. Lan, with a bloodied smile on his face, kicked my back as I looked back at him, his expression satisfied. Ken, wearing a broad smile, pointed his middle finger at me defiantly before hurling the giant carpinite ore outside. And then, the rocks fell, engulfing them both.
I stumbled backward, my body overcome by exhaustion, and collapsed onto the grass, staring at the once familiar entrance now barricaded by boulders and swirling dust. Desperation fueled my actions as I frantically dug at the rocks and earth that entombed my brothers. My fingernails broke, blood staining my hands, but it was futile. The earth continued to pour into the pit, burying them deeper beneath its weight.
I stopped in exhaustion and fell back. Lan, Ken, why did you guys not take the pickpocketing job as I suggested? I lay there covering my eyes with my arm. The wind blew softly and the dust settled. The sun began to set and insects started to buzz. The birds stopped chirping and I just lay there. Tears flow like time, never ending.
Waiting for Ken to carry my ass back home but Ken never came.
I suddenly felt something wet and sandpaper-like rubbing against my face, I open my eyes to see Oslovi on my face licking tears off my face.
As the cat was purring whilst licking my face it suddenly stop to look up.
It leapt off my chest and ran out of the room but waited for me by the exit.
Sitting back up I started to realize what had actually happened when I saw Emovi sleeping peacefully on an old rough sofa.
But then I heard it for myself, there was some commotion outside of the room and I ran out with Oslovi to check.
We were in a dark narrow alleyway and there were two muscular men with tattoos pinning a well-dressed blue haired girl against the brick wall.
One of them had their elbow pinned against her throat another held her by her hair and shoving her head into the wall.
The girl was panting heavily as she tried to push away two much stronger people than her.
The thugs searched her pockets and found her wallet which had barely enough money for a lunch.
Frustrated they cursed at the girl before saying that she would need to pay in other ways. She was clearly in the nobility class with the way she dressed.
As their lecherous hands moved closer beneath her skirt she desperately shook her body but that's when I yelled at them.
The cat hissed ferociously at the thugs and puffed up its tail.
Oslovi charged straight at them and pounced onto one of their faces and messing it up badly.
They let go of the blue haired girl and she immediately ran towards me before collapsing onto her knees for air.
Being scratched up by the cat the thugs finally managed to grab it by its collar and throw it away from them.
"You filthy cat… how dare you mess up my face like this…"
They took out a knife and pointed it at Oslovi but that's when I stepped inbetween them.
"And who are you, twink."
The mark of Freedom appeared on my cheek as an ominous aura changed the atmosphere and drowned the alleyway in a think smog.
My eyes narrowed as I stared them down, as soon as they met my gaze the authority of freedom swallowed them in fear and obedience to be free.
"Turn your backs and leave this place."
They slowly nodded before graciously turning around to walk away stiffly. Sweat poured down their faces as they walked away. With his body trembling one of the thugs decided to sneak another look at what that was but as he managed to get another peek at what it was his eyes filled up with fear as he started to hyperventilating next to his buddy.
"That thing isn't human."
The flower of Freedom slowly wilted and I returned back to normal. Every time that mark appeared on my cheek it feels almost like i'm losing my body to another being. Like someone else starts to pilot my body and I just stand there and watch.
I turned around and saw that Oslovi had the green flower on its cheek and it was licking the girl's face who was on the ground.
The wounds on her knees vanished as she stood up. She looked at her injuries and saw that there was really nothing there.
She then looked at the cat and then at me. I tilted my head to the side wondering what she was about to say but there was this awkward silence instead.
And that's when she finally said something.
"I need your help…" she said quietly almost so I couldn't hear.
"With? What could a rich girl as you want from a poor wanderer like me?"
"You can heal anything right?" She asked nervously while fidgeting with her fingers.
My eyebrows narrowed as she asked me that asked. What did she mean with that I could heal anything?
"What do you mean?"
"Earlier when I was attending the bouquet I witnessed you and that little girl getting severely injured but the next second both of you were unharmed. You must have some sort of healing spell right?"
I stole a quick glance at Oslovi who was licking itself and pointed at it.
"The cat healed me."
"The cat?"
She crouched down onto her heels and looked closer at Oslovi. The place that the cat licked earlier had been completely healed and that's when she realized that it was actually the cat who could heal people.
"Can you and your cat come with me to Nautilus!"
I completely rejected her offer and told her that I had stuff to do in Fukviyu.
"Please! My sister has an incurable disease, if you could just let the cat heal her then I won't bother you!"
"A sibling?"
"Yes, she will…" she clutched her fists. "She will die in a few months if we don't find a way to cure her disease."
"How far away is the city of Nautilus from here?"
"Just a few days with carriage," she said brimming with joy as she realized I would help her.
I picked up Oslovi in my hands and started to walk back to the hidden room.
The girl saw that I was walking away from her and hurried after me.
Her mouth opened but no words escaped her mouth as she thought of an appropriate way to call out to me.
"The name is Vivshi."