Everything within the device shattered and spewed into black fragments, tossing wires and gears into the air and dissipating into dust, leaving only silence in its tracks.
After three of the Wrailezan Soldiers were slaughtered by Alai's forbidden magic, Aletha stepped back in shock, overwhelmed as she absorbed the new information from eavesdropping.
Her mind overflowed as she processed the conversation between the Wrailezan soldiers.
From the mentioned prophecies to the healer creature Alaunus, all these memories embedded themselves deeply in Aletha's consciousness.
An insatiable craving for knowledge emerged from Aletha's curiosity after that encounter, as though she wished to uncover every detail—about who Alaunus was, the destructive twister General Strodhell had mentioned, or the true nature of this Protector.
But before she could even grasp the details, Alai approached Aletha, exclaiming with a worried and disappointed tone in her voice.
"Don't lose yourself like that ever again!"
She said with sweat sliding down her pale face.
"You shouldn't have gone off course from the track. Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be alone here?"
Aletha had trouble responding to her question. It seemed to her that the prideful lands of Linuxinia were indeed safe, but at the same time, something was invading the lands.
Something sinister that could suck the life from the land.
Emerging from the smoke, a man in sharp metallic armor hoisted a large black device onto his shoulder.
His physique was imposing and strong, near flawless except for his feet, which pulsed with purple light that traveled up and down his form. Her eyes shrank in horror, her heart beating with every footstep he made.
With a cold and brittle voice, the mysterious man unleashed a purple beam to skew through the bushes, piercing and shredding several leaves.
"One would rarely believe that The Promise only goes in groups of three." He said as he caught sight of Aletha, Aurelia, and Ubel fallen onto the ground. "To think that such beings could stop an interaction is beyond absurd."
Suddenly, several figures scattered into the air from behind, each sporting dark, intricate technological weaponry in their hands.
A graceful and aggressive readiness and vigor erupted from the leading individual as he lowered his cannon, scraping the remnants of the device as he shoved his feet through the metal.
"Our ever-expanding faction known as The Promise harnesses an OUTLANDISH power beyond this world's comprehension."
He said, his voice poignant, his fists clenched tightly.
"And to think some prefer to go against it is absurdly incongruous to this universe's fate."
A new, overwhelming impulse surged through Aletha and the others as the man threw back his head and let loose a powerful, earth-trembling laugh. His cackles pierced the air, causing the entire forest to stir.
Entirely powerless, Aletha hunched her shoulders and gulped a cold breath of fear, struggling to meet the man's gaze. She glanced to her left, searching for anything she could use to defend herself.
Nonetheless, the only people nearby who could potentially protect her were Ubel and Aurelia.
(Who is he?) She thought. (What… c-can I possibly do to go against him? Surely Aurelia or even Ubel may help.)
Yet, despite their powers, Aurelia and Ubel froze at the sight of the man, remaining in muted silence. Aletha shook them and screamed for help in their faces, but they stayed stunned and refused to move.
No one dared answer the man.
Aletha prayed hard, the only course of action left to her.
"Fools." He said with a chuckle. "Do you know who I am? I'm the ruler of
Then his voice trailed off as his smile faded.
He frantically tilted his head back and forth, carefully scanning the land in hopes of finding the person.
But before he could detect any trace of movement.
"Stay out of their business, will ya?"
A gigantic warm beam of light plunged from the skies, unveiling a familiar gray-haired, crimson-eyed girl from the impact sight.
In an instant, the bombardment overwhelmed everyone, sending each person flying into different corners of the forest—except for Aletha, Aurelia, and Ubel, who remained where they stood.
As the large ribbon of ruby light dimmed and dissipated, a silhouette could be seen from the ashes.
"Whoops, silly me for abandoning ya." She said, scratching her head. "Obrus is too far away anyway."
The sight of her was somewhat unclear, with only one blade seen poking out from the clumps and clouds of thick brown dust.
Yet even with it, a round and optimistic smile could be seen plastered on her face.
As she noticed Aletha pushing herself up, the girl hurriedly dashed through a dozen guards, then rooted her feet into the ground, clashing her two sleek dark blades as if they were one hardened shield.
Then, her eyes flew over to Aletha's, and with a careful voice, she uttered.
"Just stay put… okay? I'm callin' my bird."
Suddenly, a giant bird crashed down.
The impact of such a strike knocked down two soldiers with ease, reeling and propelling the others like falling leaves.
Given this momentary chance to escape, Aurelia hurriedly pushed herself to her feet and staggered to Aletha, gripping her hands tightly.
Tears and sweat flew across her face as she used all her remaining strength to drag Aletha to safety.
"Don't worry." She said as she conjured a red luminance between her hands. "I'm here."
As the sound of footsteps resounded over the wall of wood, Alai ran through the bushes and placed Aletha on a soft bed of flowers and shrubbery.
Judging by the look on her face, she was terrified for her, doing everything in her best to protect her as much as a sister would.
She pushed herself so much that her eyes blurred, running out of water to thrive upon.
Although paranoid, she was determined to keep her smile on her face in battle, favoring fun over safety.
"I don't care. This training was supposed to be fun, not hurtful."
As she looked over to Ubel, who was somewhat confused about what to do in this situation, Dina barged in and yelled, with sweat dripping down her face.
"Alright… I got a couple of them down with my bird." She said with trembling breaths. "Man, those guys are tough. Anyways… the name is Dina. Nice to meet you."
Alai's eyes steered over to Ubel, then back to the silver-haired girl. She saw her place her hand over her heart while also simultaneously pinching herself.
"Heh. I pinch myself whenever I find myself in serious situations like this. No time to mess around, am I right?!"
While silence enveloped the area, Dina tried her best to break it, almost noticing she was going to yawn.
"See what my bird and I did there?"
Aletha slowly shook her head in denial and shrugged her shoulders. The abrupt, rude reaction made Dina shrug and sigh repeatedly, looking down at the ground as if she had committed some act. She said with a sigh, her eyes fixed on the dense shrubbery behind her.
"Ugh, lemme guess. You guys are scared of me, aren't ya?"
Although it may have been one of the reasons they reacted like this, that wasn't the real reason. They were concerned about whether they should lie to her.
In all honesty, Aletha, Ubel, and Alai, because the bushes were blocking the way, all that could accompany them— or even give them a single idea of what Dina was doing in the background — were her loud, piercing screams and the yells of her giant bird.
Instead of giving her a weird, judging look, Alai ignored it and thanked her for her actions. She said, with a careful, forgiving smile.
"Thank you for helping us. This was never expected from us at all."
"Oh, my intervention SHOULD be expected,"
Dina answered with a straight pouty face as her scarlet eyes steered over to Aletha.
"Especially from you. Did you really think I would leave ya' behind like that? NO! I'm not that stupid. Obrus is too far from me anyway."
As an abundance of footsteps came to a complete stop, Dina stopped pinching herself and hoisted her arm into the air.
From her fingertips, a burning crimson flame emerged, sparking and nearly setting the environment around her aflame.
She continued as she pushed her feet through the bush.
"Now, if you want to get outta' here, we have to defeat these junk heads. They have NO business intruding upon whatever the hell you three were doing back there."
After she took another step forward, Aletha replied as she slowly got up from the flower bed.
"Oh, we weren't doing anything important."
Alai hurriedly turned back and sneered at her.
"Sure about that?"
Silence crept up on them as they stood openly behind the bushes, needlessly waiting for whatever was to approach them.
A voice echoed through the area, causing all the hair to stand up on their bodies.
The same kind of voice that matched the deep, rumbling tone of thunder.
"STAND YOUR GROUND OR SURRENDER TO THE PROMISE!"
. . .
The moment the voice rang across the shrubs, Aletha dropped onto the ground, her knees and elbows touching the ground as her face pressed against the grass.
Weakness settled in her.
She knew that the only reason she was in this situation was to improve her skills. However, if she were to act like this, there would be no chance of her strengthening.
While her arms and legs shook, she slowly rose to her feet. Alai grabbed her hands and pulled her back up.
A warm and confident smile radiated on her face as she picked Aletha up, whispering as they heard Ubel pass through the bushes.
"I know it may be tough now, and you may be at a disadvantage, but I promise. If you stay with me, you will reach my level. But for now. I want to see what you can do."
The second Alai gathered a cluster of luminescent pink flowers atop her hands. Aletha clenched her fists and took several deep breaths.
The shivers on her spine that came from her fear came to a halt as she felt the warm rays of the sun touch her face.
The accumulating unnerving redness on her face slowly faded away. Memories flooded her mind with each step she took.
The very first encounter with the eight-eyed, goopy creature was all the way back in The Forest of Plados.
The time she met face-to-face with someone who used her memories as a means of utility, and was defeated miserably.
A moment in which she was pummeled to the ground in Clearstar.
All these memories, along with others, fueled Aletha's desire to step forward and try. She wanted nothing more than to defend herself again. All she wanted…
(Let me be strong like my brother so that I can defend him as well.)
With these words, Aletha grasped onto her determination and sprinted out of the bushes.
(I don't want to sit on the side. I want to be one who can defend myself without being seen as a fool.)