(In the past...)
With Asahi's fading words, his body quietly collapsed onto a thick grass bed surrounded by waterfalls.
The soft bristles peacefully cushioned his fall. All surrounding heads reeled back in stupefaction.
They watched as their lord fainted without any explanation.
"Lord Asahi?" Said one as he kneeled.
"Has something happened to you?" Said another.
All followers surrounded them, sharing indistinct murmurs as he lay there. A fiendish expression twisted Kendra's lips.
Unable to speak, she panicked; she jerked her arms sharply left and right and darted toward the resting body with a look of disdain.
"A… Asahi?" A blush rose from her face as she placed her palms against his shoulders and rocked him back and forth. "Asahi, answer me!" And yet there was silence, not even a moan or a murmur could be heard.
Soon after, panicked screams echoed across the walls. Reverberating tremors sent shrill roars from the chasm below.
At the sound of climbing arms, they jolted upright and shuddered. Some paced anxiously; others stood frozen, all fixing their gazes on their silent lord.
For most, they hadn't cared or had even ignored those tremulous, husky, and low disembodied squalls, feeling secure in the presence of their lord.
But then, when a disturbing cry escaped from the proposed leader of the followers—a thin, slender man with a brown beard and a necklace—the others suddenly shifted uncomfortably, glancing at one another and fidgeting in their places.
A light appeared first. It was neither small nor large. Then, squirming, tingling arms, rattling as they gathered, reached for the cliff's edge.
Each arm was rigid, nasty, and veiled in unearthly purple and white essence.
The tall primeval trees on the cliffs rocked eternally with a mighty crash. The grass echoed their convulsions. Kendra stood beside Asahi, keeping close as the screaming winds passed her.
She knew that on this toilsome journey in the forgotten underground world, conflict was inevitable.
No words can describe this incident.
Fear gripped the followers—a violent, soul-snatching dread, like being trapped in a nightmare. Amid the ghastly presence, one follower screamed.
"The decayed are here!"
Yet, had the group not departed, everything would have been well. A pendulous cluster of creatures approached, prying with claws.
Terrifying, their irregular, prism-shaped faces were consumed by blackness and corruption. Their arms rooted to the ground.
To accompany this strict embrace of shadows and the unknown, Kendra hurried beneath a canopy of vegetation near a stone mouth. Her trembling eyes followed the creatures that reigned nearby.
Their loud croaks and repulsive movements made them unearthly.
And yet, Kendra wouldn't dare to leave Asahi in this indistinct conception of throbbing danger. She stood up and unleashed several blows. Each furiously impeded the folding creatures.
One by one, magenta stained her body, bleeding from pores as it repulsively flew away from her legs. Shreds of those wicked monsters floated in the air before collapsing down and shredding into dust.
She hadn't even known how she had done this, but embraced the action nonetheless.
. . .
Unable to take it any longer, Kendra gripped Asahi's wrist and dragged him from the creatures.
Their anger only fueled this act. One finally seized him, pulling hard, like a tightrope snapping.
Kendra cried out, dodging purple lines on their faces.
At her lowest, as she saw others retreating from the monsters, white arms flashed through the air, fingers striking at the monsters with iron grips on the ground and their hands.
"Stranger, allow me to escort Lord Asahi."
Kendra turned to the voice. A short girl with mousy brown hair, a dragon-shaped tail, leather armor, and a black belt stood nearby.
She carried a shield, quiver, and pouch. Her clear eyes sparkled, and her warm voice soothed.
"Are you sure?" Kendra asked, her brow raised, her expression conveying judgment about the girl's height. "You don't…"
"Dare to doubt me, stranger?" The girl said as she hoisted her bow. "I've known a lot, and have lived a lot through millennia of absence of sunlight. You dare to provoke me?"
As silence followed the fight, the short girl pushed Kendra aside, then swiftly lifted Asahi with both arms.
She carried him toward a downward slope leading to an ancient palace, her motion deliberate.
Kendra, shocked by this assertive move, quickly hurried after the girl while shouting her question.
"Where are you taking him?"
"To safety." The girl said as she showed no sign of struggle carrying the boy. "I'm certain that The Decayed will not lay a finger on Lord Asahi if I were to escort them there."
. . .
"After two days, we arrive at this moment."
The girl finished the recitation, keeping her head down as she looked at Asahi.
"We grant you our greatest hospitality, our lord, with respect. We never expected such creatures beneath these skies."
Left speechless, Asahi tried to imagine the scenario inside his head.
He couldn't fathom how such a petite girl could carry him. It made him question her strength.
But he realized that thought doesn't matter.
What mattered was that Kendra escorted him, ensuring his safety.
Looking at Kendra with a different perspective, Asahi grew curious about what she had done whilst he was in his dormant state. He leaned over and asked her with his usual tone.
"Kendra… What have you been doing for the last two… days in this place?"
"I wandered," she said, eyes trembling. "Exploring, meeting these people. You're worshiped, it seems. It's… strange, honestly."
"Don't worry, this is normal for me," Asahi replied, glancing at the white stone hallways. "My sister and I got used to it." He paused, recalling his old world. The walls here matched those of the church he'd visited thousands of years before.
Shaking that thought aside, he redirected his gaze back to Kendra and continued.
"See, if you were to know just how much power my family and I held, you would react the same."
"Oh, really?" Said Kendra with a disbelieving look. "I feel like you're lying to me."
"That's because you haven't really seen how I was before. Of course, you would feel that way."
"Um…"
Kendra realized the weight only after nearly speaking. Hearing Asahi's voice, she saw him—white hair, fair skin—a Ruler.
Not human or just anybody, but a celestial above humanity—or even her. She couldn't look at Asahi the same after dragging his body to safety.
. . .
After a while, silence enveloped the atmosphere.
Not even the followers' voices could be heard.
Kendra struggled to imagine Asahi in ancient times, but silence kept that vision blurry.
(I… can't believe he's a Ruler. How is… how is…)
Sweat poured down as she noticed Asahi's unsure gaze at the ceiling. She looked left—followers lingered.
She looked right but saw darkness shrouding the stone hallway. With nowhere else to look, her blue eyes fixed on Asahi's torso. Her face warmed as she noticed he was topless, but her anxiety faded as she remembered something.
Upon her glare, Asahi stretched forth an arm and quickly flinched, noticing Kendra's observant face.
"Kendra, is there something wrong?"
"No… not at all…" Kendra replied as she redirected her gaze back at the gloomy floor. "It's just… the way you look reminds me of someone."
Thoughts flooded her mind as she kept her eyes anchored on the glimmering brilliance of Asahi's silken white hair.
"Someone… that saved my life, years ago."
Memories reconnected as she delved deep, recalling long-forgotten moments. Without pause, Kendra shared her swirling thoughts with Asahi.
. . .
Your white hair, those gray eyes, that fair face… Your features have reminded me of a man who saved me before.
Before I arrived at Toivo's mansion, I was a citizen of The Nation of Destia.
I lived in the rural areas, next to a hallway of waterfalls like the ones we saw in this underground place.
I had always wondered what lay beyond the horizon, but my parents stopped me, caring too much for my safety.
At that time, I was little… unable to even travel a single kilometer without my parents screaming at me. Honestly, without them, I would have been better off traveling.
My older brother, Jal, always loved adventuring, so he took the initiative to attend Destia's Academy, focusing solely on adventuring, which allowed him to wander the world as well.
Younger me always dreamed of attending the academy, but I suppose my parents thought I was too immature to do so.
One day, while walking down our road with my mother, she said, "I want you to be careful around here."
She pointed her finger towards an old wooden building. It looked as if it hadn't been touched since it was built hundreds of years ago.
We walked over and went inside; it was dark because all the windows were covered up. There wasn't anything else except a few chairs placed near each other along one wall.
On a wooden table stood a lamp, providing us with enough light to see clearly. When I asked my mom why we had come into such a creepy house, she told me not to worry about it and focused instead on getting home quickly.
That's when I heard someone call out my name. It sounded croaky and uninviting, nothing like the citizens of Desita.
"Kendra, your powers are more connected than you think."
He spoke again, saying something like: 'Don't worry about it.' Then everything became blurry…
When I woke up, I found myself being cradled in the hefty arms of my brother, surrounded by a crowd who stared at someone from afar.
"Don't worry, Kendra, I took you out of that house. We will be here for a moment. It's just an assembly." He whispered to me as I felt the rain droplets tap my head.
"After this, how about we go home and eat some cake!"
Oh, cake. That tasty dessert.
Of course, being young, I never knew what happened at the time and only wanted my favorite treat. So, I nodded back and agreed.
"Okay!"
But little did we know that this night would be more than just some discussion.