Raya Marin
"What do you even want from me?"
The black-haired boy yelled at the girl in front of him, anger cutting through his voice.
"I don't even know you."
He crossed his arms and avoided her eyes. The girl let out a sigh, reached a hand toward him, then pulled it back the second she noticed us watching. She turned to look at us instead, and a smile formed on her face.
Klein leaned closer to my ear and whispered, "Do we know her?"
I shook my head. I had no idea who either of them were. Did I want to know? Yes. But not that badly, not when we had bigger problems right now.
The girl started walking toward us, and as she got closer, her features sharpened. Her eyes were gold, the exact same gold as Grey's, and her face was mature, but still soft. I noticed Klein's expression twisting into this weird, smug smile, and at the same time, the golden-eyed girl's smile grew wider, brighter.
"Raya!"
The golden-eyed girl called my name.
For a heartbeat, my thoughts tangled all over themselves. Who was this girl? How did she know my name? Why did she know my name?
Useless, messy, confusing questions and riddles.
I was still tired. Still shaken. Still hurting. But with every passing second, that hurt was turning into curiosity.
A curiosity I needed if I was going to find Grey, and break this world's chains.
She stopped just one step in front of me. In her eyes I saw myself: exhausted, expressionless, drained. Seeing my own face reflected like that dragged my mood down even more.
Before aether came into my life, I was always smiling. Now… what was I even doing? At first I appreciated aether. At first...
The golden-eyed girl was holding a small bag in one hand. She held it out to me.
"I got this for you and Grey. I hope you both like it."
Her eyes moved off me and wandered around like she was searching. After a few seconds, she turned back.
"Where's Grey?"
She tilted her head and asked it so simply I froze. I didn't know what to say. I didn't even know who she was.
"Uh. He's… not here right now, why?"
I tried to force a smile, but I failed miserably.
The golden-eyed girl blinked a few times, like she hadn't understood me. Then she frowned, a little irritated.
"What?"
Her vioce raised.
"Grey didn't tell you about me at all?"
Annoyance crept into her voice.
"What kind of idiot doesn't introduce his amazing big sister to his girlfriend?"
Her face fell into a pout.
"Idiot Grey."
She pouted for another second, then eased her expression back into something softer, more polite.
"Anyway. I'm Opie Nirmala."
Opie held her hand out toward me. I stopped for a second. Right in front of me was Grey`s older sister. Opie Nirmala. It was at this moment that I knew. I fucked up.
I looked at Opie`s hand. Her hand made me think of Grey's. Just like his, hers was flawless.
I reached out and shook it. Opie let out a small breath as she smiled.
"I can't believe you've probably been with him for who knows how long and he still never told you about me."
I opened my mouth to answer, but shut it again without saying anything.
I was scared to talk to her.
Because maybe if she didn't know what happened to Grey, her life would be better.
Opie's other hand tightened around the bag for a moment, then she let it go and gently set it down on the ground.
"Raya, my brother can be a little stupid. I hope he hasn't caused you too much trouble."
Every word out of her mouth was tearing me apart.
But the truth always finds its way out, doesn't it?
I took a long breath in. Then out. Tried to steady myself.
"Well, actually… Grey and I only got together just recently."
My voice came out low and soft.
"Huh? But I thought… hasn't he been meeting with you for weeks? I just assumed you two were already together."
Opie's sweet face went red.
"Ugh, now I feel like an idiot."
I wanted to laugh at how flustered she looked, but I couldn't bring myself to.
Next to me, Klein sighed. "We're sorry."
His voice was quiet and thin. Opie raised one eyebrow.
"What for?"
She sounded honestly confused.
"You don't have anything to apologize for. Nothing happened."
Klein looked at me, like he wanted me to help him. But I had nothing left to give.
"We don't know where Grey is. He…"
Klein's voice faltered. He couldn't finish.
Opie's eyes widened for a moment then went back to normal.
"He's missing."
She finished for him. Klein looked at Opie as his eyes widened then he nodded.
"We don't know where he is. We and he… that thing did something."
"What thing?"
Opie's voice sharpened.
"What happened to my little brother?"
Behind her, the black-haired boy started walking toward us. Klein fell completely silent the moment he noticed him. Opie glanced over her shoulder, just for a second, and gave the boy a look. He hesitated, stopped for a heartbeat, then kept walking towards us.
Opie's brows tightened. The aetheric particles dancing around us, all those little blue sparks, began to drift toward her.
"Calm down," the boy said. "Neither of us even knows what those particles are yet. So please don`t do anything stupid."
He took another step and stopped between Opie and me.
"I've only known Grey for, like, a few hours, but I can tell you this: that idiot's gonna find a way to come back. Because he's the kind of person who fights against fate."
His words hit all of us at once.
The boy sighed and took a step back so he could look at all of us at the same time.
"My name's Sunny Ademir."
He grinned wide, big, stupid, shameless.
"It's not nice to meet any of you, honestly, but whatever. This is my dumb little life."
"I agree."
A voice that didn't belong to any of us replied. It came from somewhere off to the side.
But apparently I was the only one who heard it because the others seem unnoticed.
I scanned around, trying to find where it had come from. Nothing.
"You're looking in the right places, sweetheart," the voice said. "Just at the wrong times."
I tried to trace it with my ears. Sunny was still talking about something next to me, but I wasn't listening to him anymore. I just wanted to find that voice.
I checked everywhere around us, then, as a last hope, I tilted my head up and looked to the sky. Nothing but blue.
And then, I felt it.
A hand on my right shoulder.
I spun to the side, fast.
There was a nose right in front of my nose. I jerked back in shock, one step, two steps.
She was standing there.
A woman.
Her hair was ice blue, and her eyes were a pale, piercing, gleaming shade of the same color. She wore a white dress threaded with tiny blue crystals, sleeveless, slit high enough at the legs not to hide much.
She tilted her head and smiled at me.
"Hello, Raya."
"Who… Who the hell are you?!"
I shouted, fear laced through my voice.
Klein, Opie, and Sunny all turned to look at me like I'd lost my mind. I could feel a bead of sweat sliding down the side of my face.
None of them could see the woman standing right in front of me and between them.
The woman sighed lightly, then lifted her right hand into the air. The blue aetheric particles began gathering around her. Even the particles that had been circling Opie and the others were being dragged toward her now.
Opie's sudden flare of anger was nothing next to this.
The particles compressed, and in her hand they formed into a staff made of ice. She lowered her hand and gently struck the ground with the icy staff.
A shockwave rippled across the floor. I couldn't tell how far it spread.
I turned toward the others to see the others reactions, and my breath caught in my throat.
They were frozen.
All of them. Klein, Opie, Sunny, even the clouds in the sky were dead frozen. Everything except the woman was still, locked in cold, like time itself had been sealed in ice.
I stared at her in confusion. She just smiled.
"You froze time. How?"
I asked, voice shaky but full of raw amazement.
She shook her head.
"Nothing to stress about. It's just one of the little tricks you can do with aether."
She wrapped both hands around the staff.
"Now, introductions. My name is Aspin, Apostle of Ion."
"Ion?" I repeated her with confusion. "Who's that supposed to be?"
Aspin giggled softly.
"Ion. Pillar of Time. Monarch of Incomprehensibility."
My mouth fell open.
Aspin went on calmly.
"Believe me, I've been watching you for a long time. That's why I wanted to speak to you directly."
She glanced around us with mild disappointment.
"Though, to be honest, this wasn't exactly the setting I'd pictured for the conversation."
Aspin let out a dry laugh.
"Don't worry, your friends and the world will be fine. Time just isn't moving for you right now."
I met her eyes.
"This isn't my first time messing with time."
Aspin smirked.
"Yes, I know."
I looked around once more, but even then, I couldn't pull my gaze away from the sky. No matter what, my eyes always ended up back on the blue above us.
Aspin snapped her fingers.
"Raya? Are you still on Earth with me, or did you drift off?"
I immediately dragged my eyes back down to her.
"Yes. I'm here. Definitely here."
Aspin laughed softly at the state I was in.
"Even in your darkest hour, you still think about freedom. You really are the Girl of Freedom."
My eyes didn't meet hers. Instead, I found myself staring at her ice staff.
"Is that thing actually ice, or is it aether?"
It was a real question. If I knew whether it was matter or not, I could understand what it really was. Aspin's gaze flicked to her staff.
"It can be anything you want it to be. Destruction or creation. It depends on your mind and your soul. That's all."
I stepped toward her, closing the distance. I opened my palms and lifted my eyes to the sky.
"Anything," I whispered, stunned.
Aspin held the staff out toward me.
"Go on. Try it."
I took the staff from her and held it with both hands. Even though it looked like ice, it wasn't cold at all. It was warm.
I studied it for a few seconds. The head of the staff was different, brighter, almost blinding. I swang the staff a couple of times. It was weightless.
"Have you ever fought before?" Aspin asked me gently.
I stared at her, confused.
"No. I never had a reason to. I'm more the type who likes tearing people apart with words than with fists."
Aspin smiled.
"Words don't win wars, girl."
I shook my head.
"There's no weapon in this world more dangerous than words. Sure, fists can get you somewhere, but only so far."
The Apostle's eyes narrowed.
"You are such a fake person."
Aspin's tone dropped, turning low and sharp.
"You're just a girl who wants to live however she wants. And once you're free, you won't care about anybody else. A hypocrite.
Her ice-blue eyes cut through me.
"You're someone who can destroy anything in your way. But you've never shown that side to anyone, not even yourself. But don't underestimate us, Girl of Freedom. The Organizer is only the beginning, and this war won't end with words nor fists."
Her face hardened.
"It's obvious why Eclipsera chose you. You and Eclipsera fit perfectly. You complete each other."
"Eclipsera?"
That was one of the only words that actually stuck in my mind from everything she was saying.
Aspin paused. A strange, unsettling smile pulled at her lips.
"Ah, right. I got too serious for a moment and forgot to speak in terms the Pillars' little mortals use."
She let herself laugh.
"Eclipsera is the true name of aether. At least, that's what the Dimensionless call it."
"What are you even talking about?"
I asked. Almost nothing she said made sense. Aspin sighed and her smile broke.
"Things your current mind can't understand yet. But don't worry, the more you awaken, the stronger your bond with Eclipsera will become. You're only at the start of the path, Raya Marin. And Eclipsera will keep spreading around you like a plague."
A smile appeared once again on her face, but this time it was a cruel one.
"And there's nothing you can do to stop it. Not in the Green Realm, not in any realms."
"But I reject that," I shot back. "I don`t want aether to spread to everyone like that.
Aspin just kept smiling.
The staff I was holding began to tremble. The shaking grew stronger and stronger by every second, slipping out of my control. I tried to steady it in my grip, but it shook harder. Then, a sharp pain flared in my right palm.
I dropped the staff with agony.
It flew right back into Aspin's hand like it had a will of its own.
When I looked down at my palm, I saw it: a rune burned into my skin, the same way Grey had runes carved into his. It looked like both a symbol and a word at once.
"The rune of Freedom," Aspin said, answering the question I hadn't yet asked.
I looked up at her, and felt myself shrink under the Apostle's gaze.
"A rune that suits you."
Aspin lifted her staff high, then slammed it hard into the ground.
A shockwave tore outward.
Time began to move again.
"Until next time, Raya Marin."
Aspin's voice was playful, almost mocking. And then she vanished. No trace. Just nothing.
Klein, Opie, and Sunny were all staring at me with complete confusion. But I couldn't look at them yet. I was still staring at the rune engraved into my palm.
"Did… we miss something?" Sunny asked, his tone ridiculous.
I stared at him, dazed.
"Yes…"
That was all that came out. Nothing after it.
Klein's eyes narrowed. "You messed with time."
He spoke before I could even open my mouth.
"How did you pull it off this time?"
"This time?" Opie repeated, answering his question with another question. Sunny tilted his head and raised an eyebrow.
I tried to make sense of what Aspin had told me."And once you're free, you won't care about anybody else. A hypocrite."
Was that really who I was?
I asked myself.
I looked at the three people in front of me, confused, anxious, waiting.
Yes. That's exactly who I am.
I answered myself.
I've always been like that, haven't I? A two-faced piece of shit.
A insane, broken laugh tore out of me, and I looked at the rune of freedom.
"Yes!" I shouted. "I really am."