Opening her eyes and feeling the memories pass by, Kendra raised her voice as she stared at Asahi.
"But the moment I met you, and stumbled upon this strange place, and experienced everything, I felt a feeling. I want to break free from this cycle and start a new life. To become my person and pave my destiny."
Struck by her words, Asahi struggled with whether or not to reply.
(I know Kendra was just a maid. But after everything that had transpired, and how I imagine her life would be, I see her more as a warrior.) Asahi thought to himself.
Although he had never known of all of Kendra's past, the secret of Toivo, or what had truly happened when Kendra was protecting him, Asahi was grateful for everything she had done. He wanted to show his gratitude not only to her company but also to his followers, his memory, and his wit for keeping him together.
(So much has happened here.) Asahi thought. (But that doesn't mean all of it ENDS here. I promised my followers that I would take them to the surface. I promised myself that when I reach the surface, I will find Aiyana. And now, after seeing Kendra do this, I promise myself that Kendra will be able to pursue her desired life.)
As Kendra continued to stare at Asahi with a pleasant smile, his thoughts began to take on a voice.
(There is so much left unknown from me. Alaunus. My parents, my followers, and my past. The fate of my old world. Everything. I don't understand why Telos has gone quiet. Or why there's a knight from another realm here. But despite all of that, all I hope for is answers."
And so, after the warm, lovely embrace, Asahi patted Kendra's back and whispered to her as he clenched his fists.
"Kendra, I promise… I WILL get you out of here."
"Is there stuff you're thinking about? Did… did you understand what I said?"
Kendra asked as she felt her hand clench tightly onto Asahi's.
"Yes," Asahi replied. "I understood everything that you said, and I completely agree with you. If you want a new life, I will help you. You have too much potential to waste your life away being a maid, so like these millions of people dwelling underneath a beautiful world."
As they slowly climbed up the hills, traveling through the primeval forests, Asahi continued with a confident look.
"I want you to become someone better, Kendra. Not someone like me, but someone you WANT to be. If I inspire you, that's perfectly fine. As long as you are happy with who you are, I'll also be happy."
Kendra wiped the waterfalls from her wet eyes and smiled brightly. As her lips curled at the edges, it felt like she had just received the greatest of gifts, warming her heart even more than it already was.
"Thank you, Asahi," Kendra responded, gazing at the scenery beyond the forest as the golden light in the distance expanded.
"Thank you so much. For everything you have done for me and the others you love. I WILL be someone who I want to be."
* * * * * * *
After that heartwarming moment, Asahi and Kendra approached the other side of the hill of The Nameless Caverns in hopes of finding the exit and reuniting with the other followers.
Due to the battle with The Guardian, Asahi, Kendra, and the others found themselves several kilometers away from their intended exit.
Upon their short journey, Asahi brought a couple of his followers who had left the village he had stumbled upon during the battle. After all, if he could get some people to the surface, why not bring them all?
During his march toward the light, Asahi was curious to see if his followers were waiting for him. He could hardly tell how long it had been since the battle had begun. He only hoped for the followers on the other side to be alive.
"I hope my followers are still waiting for us."
Asahi mumbled as he kept his grasp on Kendra's hands.
"I'm sure they are," Kendra said as she kept her spirits high.
"After all, I don't think they would suddenly disobey the god they worshiped for several years."
"Yeah, you're right."
After hearing Kendra's sensible response, he nodded in agreement and continued his march toward the light again.
(Thank you so much for that hug, Asahi. It really meant a lot to me.)
. . .
However, trembling deep in the pile of debris and stone several meters behind Asahi and Kendra, streams of cyan light emerged.
A steel and tattered arm slowly rose from the pile of debris.
Then, a glittering and deadly cyan spear soared toward one of its hands before being clenched tightly with brutal force.
(CLANK)
In a swift and painful motion, the knight lifted its tattered arms from the pile of debris, forcing chunks of rocks outward as it swiftly rose back to its feet.
The once-pristine armor, which shone with the light of a thousand stars, was now riddled with cracks and dents. The intricate engraving that once had adorned the armor was now barely visible, as the metal had been twisted and distorted in the heat of that devastating event.
"No."
What indeed sold the knight's utterly pitiful appearance was its exposed glowing cyan heart, which palpitated despite the massive hole cut deep through its shattered chest.
"I refuse to back down." It uttered a painful cry with its echoing voice.
The Guardian's cyan heart bled out light as it tossed the debris out to the side. Yet its determination and willpower remained evident in its movements, even after the fight.
With each footstep, it felt as if their entire presence was breaking into a million pieces. But, even with that, The Guardian knew that something was unfinished.
"I must…"
Its movements were slow and labored.
Tracing Kendra's footsteps, the knight approached the glass shard poking out from the ground, quickly tearing it out like a weed. In an instant, several sparks of colors spewed out in a storm, spilling out of the crystal-like object like a broken hourglass. The Guardian gazed at the glass before crushing it and tossing it into the air like salt, whispering with its distorted voice.
"The Prism. ://: The Power of The Prism is never to be exploited with."
Though it was never to show emotions, The Guardian slammed its fist into the ground in rage and immediately launched itself into the air with its spear.
Soon, it began tracking Asahi and Kendra's every footstep from the distant foothills to the seething ponds. They were near.
Until finally, it revealed itself and noticed Asahi's accompanying peers. When they saw The Guardian, their confidence had long since vanished.
With nothing to help them, they had nothing left but their hopeless songs.
. . .
"W… What is that?!" A random villager cried out as it took two steps back.
Asahi and Kendra's mouths fell open in shock.
(No… this can't be. The Guardian… is still alive?) They both thought as they gave the broken knight an incredulous stare.
"None should ever exploit the inner power of The Prism of Creation." The Guardian uttered as it felt its cyan heart dripping with death. Once it took a step forward, Asahi and Kendra quickly straightened their postures and kept their stance, entranced by the knight's heavenly glance.
"Sin is behovely, but all shall be relieved and well even if The Sea of Light can't tell. None can tolerate such power. So let my power devour."
Their cryptic words hung heavy in the air, leaving Asahi and Kendra in profound unease. Asahi felt a chill run down his spine, as if the Guardian's declaration had unlocked some hidden truth within him. He glanced at Kendra, whose eyes betrayed a mix of fear and defiance. The weight of their enemy's words charged the atmosphere with an intensity that was unnerving; a stern reminder of the power and mystery they faced.
Asahi and Kendra were still stunned that The Guardian was still alive, even with their powerful attacks. They were at a loss for words.
As The Guardian rooted its nearly broken boots into the solid ground, Kendra slowly conjured up a blue luminance in between her palms and stepped forward.
"What are you doing?" Asahi asked, confused, with wide eyes. "Don't you want to have a new life?"
"Yeah." Kendra nodded as she quickly clenched Asahi's hand. "But I also want to live in peace, not fear."
The broken knight proceeded to slam its feet down.
"://: The removal of human purpose is the biggest sin humanity can commit!://:"
The Guardian shouted as the ground below them trembled. Asahi and Kendra both grimaced at that sudden response. That saying had not at all fitted to the current situation. Instead, it belonged to someone else.
. . .
With each daunting footstep The Guardian took, a piece of their armor would crack. The once-shimmering metallic plates began to warm and twist as if under intense heat. The Guardian's body began to shudder and convulse as it felt its own body starting to break apart.
"I will not… fail!" They said as their voice repeatedly lifted and lowered to random pitches often.
In reaction to this sudden approach, Asahi, Kendra, and all the villagers were reeled away from The Guardian. All of them had noticed its cyan heart beating rapidly.
First, its arm piece shattered and tore down, exposing The Guardian's strange cyan liquid essence to everyone. Asahi and Kendra gasped in shock but remained in their stance as they watched the knight's demise continue.
The intense power and energy that had flown through The Guardian's being caused their body to splinter into countless pieces, leaving their armor to fall to the ground in a heap.
Now, Asahi and Kendra's eyes were rounded in shock as they witnessed the once-mighty knight that almost killed them transform into a collection of glowing, ethereal, floating fragments.
"What… happened?" Kendra uttered skeptically. "That was... too sudden."
" I don't know," Asahi said. "But we should get out of here quickly."
As they slowly backed up, finding another way to get away from the knight, the fragments of The Guardian's body began to assemble themselves, pulling together with each beat of their heart.
Slowly, the pieces started to reform into the shape of the knight once more, leaving the teal-green heart visible to the human eye.
While it slowly rose to its feet, its armor gleamed once more, fully restored, before cracking back into pieces. But even if it crumbled again, there was one thing The Guardian screamed before it disappeared.
"To the ruler… of The Elysian Realm… I'm… I'm sorry."
As The Guardian fell to their knees, consumed in their destruction, they forcefully clasped their hands together and forced them through their beating cyan heart. The knight's glowing blue eyes blazed with fierce determination as it pierced its heart with its solid gauntlet. Then, feeling unimaginable pain burn in them, The Guardian anchored its gaze at both Asahi and Kendra, mumbling.
"...I… have failed you."
Then, with all the concentration and willpower it had, The Guardian screamed in a formal tone, uttering strange words.
"Wouldst thou wit thy Lord's meaning in my action? Wit it well: Love was his meaning." The Guardian's fingers intertwined as they pressed their hands harder and harder against their chest, pouring their energy into the gesture.
"Ah."
The broken pieces of their armor started to rattle and shake as if responding to the power emanating from the knight's body. Their breathing was labored and heavy, their body trembling in pain and exhaustion. However, The Guardian still refused to give up.
With a final burst of willpower, they channeled the cosmic energy within them, and their hands started to glow with a brilliant, otherworldly light. It lifted its arm and felt its heart pulsate, unlike anything it had ever felt before.
"Who shewed it thee? Love. Wherefore shewed it He? For love!!"
With each sentence, Asahi and Kendra felt their hearts plummet in fear. They were clueless about how powerful this knight was and how much rested beyond reality. But they kept their stance strong.
After they had lifted their spirits, a burst of light exploded from The Guardian's cyan heart, enveloping them in a brilliant aura of cosmic energy. With that, the light expanded out from the impact, engulfing every corner of the underground expanse and dazzling everyone around it, including Asahi and Kendra.
As the fragments tried to mend the knight's existence together, its voice echoed across every wall of the Nameless Cavern.
" Thus was I learned that Love…."
As the mighty broken knight strode forward, it surveyed the surroundings before them, pausing between its sentences.
. . .
Deep in their broken mind, The Guardian knew the massive cave was teeming with one billion people.
After it had pierced its hands through its heart, the knight summoned their cosmic magic from the surface, and a brilliant otherworldly light filled the Nameless Caves.
Asahi and Kendra stood still, noticing that their bodies were encircled by strange, floating cyan particles.
Speechless, they turned over, hoping they were the only ones affected, all but to notice…
"Wait… we're not the only ones affected." Kendra mumbled, "I see the light, even over there. Other people are getting surrounded by the sparkles!"
Despite being surrounded by the strange light, Asahi nodded silently in fear and turned back to his blade, noticing it start to lift into the air. At that moment, confusion struck him.
(What? How is this possible?) He thought.
Turning back, Asahi and Kendra witnessed The Guardian slowly rise above the ground, defying gravity.
The mud on its armor coldly slipped off, its shattered body levitated with the rising rocks and trees, and its heart rapidly released several trembling shockwaves around. The light from their heart shone down on the people below and above, and they looked up to The Guardian in wonder as they felt the power of its magic wash over them.
"Whoa, what is that?" One said.
"Why do I feel funny?" A child mumbled.
"What's…?"
Then, with one swift motion in its arms, The Guardian catapulted everyone in the Nameless Caverns into the air, forcing many to levitate and involuntarily float around the cavern like a swarm of insects.
"H… Huh?! W…what is going on?!" Kendra screamed in absolute fear.
"What is happening!?"A voice shrieked from afar.
Although caught in the grasp of The Guardian's gravity, Asahi held his breath and tried not to look down. But hearing those worried voices of people caught in The Guardian's grasp urged him to see desperately.
Without having a chance to breathe, Asahi and Kendra witnessed as thousands and millions of people in the Nameless Caverns, distant and afar, flew around The Guardian at rapid speeds like a vortex. The air was a chaotic whirlwind, filled with the deafening roar of rushing wind and the cries of countless souls lifted off the ground. Around them, the cavern walls blurred, glowing with the dance of reflected light from the heart of the vortex, casting everything in a surreal and almost dreamlike glow. The sensation of the ground slipping away from beneath their feet was both terrifying and exhilarating, as gravity seemed to loosen its hold, leaving them weightless. Every sound was amplified in the cacophony, each shudder and gasp a testament to the power that swirled around them.
The screams of millions of children and adults bounced around the endless cavern's walls in inaudible storms of panic and worry. They were helpless in this situation.
Not even Kendra or Asahi could counter this strange phenomenon.
Even the countless silhouettes of humans and animals far away from the Nameless Caverns were seen floating and flying with the others.
It was as if The Guardian treated every human life captured by its magic… like dolls.
"Help!"
"Get me out of here!"
"Please, don't kill us."
"Am I dead?!"
"Is The Rapture finally happening?!"
Finishing its words, The Guardian hoisted its spear into the air and announced with its loud, distorted, trembling voice.
"...Love… is our Lord's meaning!!"