Raya Marin
I was falling, falling into utter, mad darkness. But the fall didn't last so long. I hit the ground right when I thought all would be over.
I welcomed the ground face first, I expected immense pain, but there was none. I was actually completely fine, there wasn't even a single scratch or agony. I quickly got up from the awkward position I was in and looked around, trying to recall what had happened.
Aspin`s image jigged in every corner of my mind. Aspin`s staff was the reason. But I saw more in those scenes. I saw an angel and a shadow. I saw a beam of light that transcends the laws of the very dim world, a light that seeked justice. And, I saw her. The Enigma that wanders the world. Where was I? Why would I be the lucky one to get sent here? To this place of no renown.
My eyes could only see a vast lavender sea. I was on a beach with dark blue sand beneath my feet. The sand was too cold to touch, too warm to let go. My hair was all messy, my hands were shaking violently.
"Where am I?" I whispered to myself.
I don`t recognize this place. I don`t like this place. This land was enormous. Behind me was a forest of violet-leaved trees. And a gargantuan volcano dwarfing me and everything on here. I couldn't decide what to do. I couldn't understand what to do. But my scattered attention was completely refocused when I heard the sound of footsteps. It was coming from a short distance from me. I quickly backed away when the owner of the sound found my eyes.
"Ah, it's nice to see another fellow Awakened here. All the others departed to the Golden Lowlands." His voice was raspy and steady.
He looked like a middle aged man. The man was tall and strong. He had dim pale hair and dead yellow eyes. He had a faint beard on his face. The guy held a silver longsword that looked sharper than most steel blades I`d ever seen. And worst of all, there was fresh blood covering it. Why? How? But then again, why was he here as well?
I narrowed my eyes in haze, positioning myself in defense like I can do anything to the man.
"Who are you?" My voice came out much smaller than I intended.
The guy arched a brow in confusion, then he looked at the bloody sword he was holding.
"Oh, sorry." He quickly dropped the sword to the sand and laughed awkwardly. "I didn`t realize I was holding my blade." His voice became much softer. He raised his arms to the air, surrounding. His eyes darted around indifferently. "Forgive me, mistress, I should`ve been more careful. Don`t worry, I won't hurt you. Derald is the name, Derald aeth Jujumo. I am a Descendant of Arsha."
I blenched away even more.
"What... What are you..." I don`t know what to do. Will I die here? Will he kill me? I want to return home and sleep. I want to eat and drink. I don`t want to be here. "are you talking about?"
The guy smiled pally.
"I see, which realm are you from? Maybe we can sort things out easily like that, eh?"
I shook my head.
"W-What`s that supposed to mean?" I gazed at the blue aetheric particles, seeking guidance from those little unpredictable parasites. "Where am I?" I asked again, this time to Derald.
Derald looked baffled, he was not sure what to make of me. The man slightly bowed forward to examine me. I felt a drop of sweat falling down from my cheek as he did.
"Hmm... Thee don`t look like a Descendant of Arsha nor Ion," His dull eyes dropped down and then back at my face. "You lack the killing intent of a Subject of Tarn. And you certainly are not a People of Space, those are extinct after all." His eyes widened in realization. A crooked smile spread across his tired face. "You`re of the People of Destruction!" He said enthusiastically. "How wonderful it is to finally meet with one of thy kind." His smile grew bigger. "I always wanted to see what a Subject of Destruction looked like."
I nodded my head trying to play along with whatever this is. I wanted more answers than ever before. This time I actually needed them. I don`t want to spend any more seconds here than necessary.
"Why am I here?" I asked my voice lower than it should be. "Why are you here?"
Derald`s smile dropped to something more friendlier.
"You say you don`t know. Child, we are here not to rest or stay silent. We are here to fight."
I glanced between him and the vast sea. My fingers were fidgeting my hair unconsciously.
"F-Fight with who?" I asked as the feeble valor inside me slowly began to be accompanied by vigor.
Derald`s hand shoved from himself to me, then to the enormous forest and its beyond.
"A battle against this island, against the other Awakened and against ourselves."
I didn't know what to do or ask. What was that supposed to mean now? Why can`t I understand?
Derald slowly picked his sword back, brandished the blood and placed the sword back in its sheath. He appeared more a little different then the humans on Earth. He looked more worn and torn. More firm and dark.
Derald`s hand guided my eyes towards the forest before us.
"Shall we?" He asked, his tone ready and set.
I shook my head.
"N-no. I need to learn why I am really here." I gestured for him to sit down. My eyes narrowed and I followed after him. "So please Mr. Derald, elaborate."
Derald looked unsurprised. Like he knew something like this would happen. He sat down silently, not even making a sound while positioning himself on the sand. His dead eyes tried to find mine. I didn`t give him what he wanted.
"You are a bold one, eh?" He said, sounding more proud. "So what you`d want to know about, child? Enlighten me." He says with the smallest presence of fad.
I leaned forward, hiding the Rune of Freedom attentively.
"Where are we? Why are we here?" I repeated the same questions all over again, and I`d do so until I got the answer I wanted.
Derald was not afraid to answer any of my questions. I asked him where we were, why we were here, what we had to do to escape here and many, many dozens of questions. I learned everything in a flash that I was left shaken by all the information I just endured. Realms and more realms. Other worlds and people living in them. Pillars that guide us. The Pillar of Arsha was one of them. The Arbiter of Life and the Eternal Grace of Souls. I don`t know why there is a statue of her, but I would like to know.
I learned from Derald so much new conveyance about aether. I learned that I was here to complete my trial and reach the notorious Third Awakening. The status before everything begins to change and shift to a higher dimension. I am here to achieve my Myth Branch and Aetheric Weapon. I ponder what it`ll be. What I`ll be after this is over.
"Do not fret, hereby fear is the only obstacle that is stopping us from completing our trial." Derald says as he stands up.
I tilted my head at him while standing up as well.
"The 'Voice' said not to trust anyone, why shouldst I trust thee though?" I shifted, indisposed. "Why should thou trust me?"
Derald`s eyes narrowed down to a river, he slowly unsheeted his blade and leveled it to my throat. His voice as cold as ice.
"If I wanted you'd be dead already." His sword lowered and now was pointing at my palm. "And if you wanted I`d be dead already. And thereto, the 'Voice' is a fool."
I instinctively stepped back, covering my palm with my other hand. Derald sighed and stabbed his sword to the sand beneath.
"Do not be afraid, child, I do not kill children. Besides..." Derald smiled gently and bent a knee, bowing to me. "I, Derald aeth Jujumo, son of Robert, son of Cersei, Solar Saint of Archon Spellforged, hereby pledge my sword to thine very essence. To ye, the bearer of the Rune of Freedom. May all life be sanctity. May thy life be reverend. Until my final breath shalt I protect you, the Sovereign of the Latitude, the Liberator."
For some reason I felt safe at that very moment. Derald was vowing to be my sword. Because there was a rune carved onto my palm? Why? I didn`t know what to say or do, so I just nodded my head. I didn`t even care that he had known about the rune.
Derald chucked amused.
"You now have to say: 'Rise son of Life.'"
I raised a brow but did as he said. What a weird tradition.
"Rise now, Rise son of Life, and thou be my witness, I Raya Marin will secure my promise."
The last part was not necessary, but I said it anyway, a promise I made to an enigmatic friend one time ago. Derald arose from his knee and sheeted his sword. His eyes were still dead like a corpse, but the rest of his face had a fleck of hope.
I was scared of something he said, I just wanted get back what mine was. I did not want to be here. I did not want to roam this island until I fathom every region on here. Maybe, still Derald will be a help.
And so we marched through the entire forest, the "Sargula Forest" as Derald called. The forest was filled with corpses, these Awakened, all from different worlds. I cannot grasp how large of an existence we all have. Though, I still wonder why there is near to no Awakened on Earth, or in Green Realm as Derald called my world. I need more information and the logic behind them.
"Hhuh," Derald took short breaths."Finally" He gasped. "We reached Mount Eckly." His eyes drifted up to the gargantuan volcano."Imagine someone`s inception point being this bad boy`s peak."
I was breathless in the presence of the volcano. It was huge and beautiful. Calmer than emotions.
"Yeah," I agreed, "That would be bad."
Derald turned at me and then looked around.
"We have to move to the east, to the Golden Lowlands."
I confirmed with my head, but before I could say more I felt my stomach growling. I flushed with embarrassment at the sound. Derald smirked like an eager teen boy.
"Don`t worry Lady Raya, I`m sure there are many beasts around here. We can just catch one and eat it with delight."
I grimaced.
"How big is this forest?"
Derald shrugged.
"It is recorded that all the Battle Islands are the same in magnitude. And considering that this is my realms Battle Island, I say its about fifteen thousand yards across."
"How lively." I uttered under my cold breath. "Then, can`t we rest?"
Derald shrugged again.
"If you want to then fine."
Derald lit a fire from the fallen tree branches we had gathered. Standing in the presence of fire was soothening. Both Derald and I refused to sit down. Derald warned me that there could be dangerous insects around. He was just standing a little afar from me, cleaning his longsword. Out of curiosity I asked him a question that had lingered in my mind for a time. I was a bit diffident but I wanted to know more about him.
"What... kind of an experience you lived to Awaken?" I asked my voice almost like a whisper.
Derald was no longer cleaning his keen blade. He was directly staring at me, his eyes were even more dead than dead. He was a dead man walking. Derald`s brows narrowed, his face was dark. He clenched his fists, gripping the sword very tight.
"There was a moment every Awakened must face," He paused for a moment, looking at the setting Azure Sun."I was a father once, I was a loyal Saint once. And I also was a disgrace once. My brother is an Archon and I was just a normal Slumberer. My family saw me as nothing," His teeths were forcing the words out. "Untill I Awakened. Then only was I looked upon as a 'son'." And for that to happen I had to watch a daughter fall." He went silent after his last sentence.
I looked down, guilty of ever asking him the question. After a couple of minutes of pure repose past, Derald did finally gaze at me.
"How about you? What`s your story?"
I looked at my rune. Then to the blue aetheric particles surrounding us. I spoke in a whisper, in obscurity:
"I... don`t know."
Derald arched a brow and crossed his arms apathetically.
"What do you mean 'you don`t know'? Every Awakened knows why they Awakened."
I looked away again not wanting to meet his dull gaze. A stretched second had to pass for me to finally answer him.
"When I was a girl, there was aether. At least I believe so. But I still don`t know the reason for my Awakening. They were there and then gone. Just for a moment I saw them back when I was little."
Derald placed a hand on his face.
"There could be reasons I conjecture. I don`t know how Green Realm`s aetheric core works."
I thought of what he said for a second. I did live through something horrible. Something I don`t want to say.
"I killed someone." I confessed, the words ripped out of me as a single tear fell down my cheek.
Derald leaned back, curious but also there were hints of shock and surprise as well.
"I killed a devil dressed as a girl." The words escaped from my mouth with a pressure of guilt.
"And, who was she? Was a—" Derald went quiet when he saw my face full of tears.
"I killed her. A girl who always wanted to be free while wanting to look good in front of other people. She was a small child and I choked her to death. She laughed in an order made in despair and dishonor. She took my freedom by withholding me in her vicious chains of lies!"
Derald`s jaw tightened slightly and sat down heavily onto the grass.
"There are some rulers in my realm. They are called: 'Endless Greatness of the Five'. Each controls a part of the world. They were the reason. I realized long ago that my persona was just a stolen identity. Happy moments did not disappear but shifted, they became uncomfortable, my mirror doesn`t even match." I smiled faintly. "Do you know, I have a boy.. boyfriend, and he is nowhere to be found. Lost in the realms we call 'home'. Lost in the bloody madness of aether."
Derald`s face fell to dirge.
"Was he also an Awakened?"
I nodded roughly.
"Yes, he even had two runes."
Derald gasped in bewilderment.
"What happned?" He posed. "How can a Awakened with two runes be lost?"
My shoulders sunk.
"A thing dressed in darkness sent him away, to who knows where."
Derald finally smiled a little.
"Did Pillar Destruction never guide his folk?"
I shook my head.
"It was today that I even learned of him as my 'Pillar'." Past memories arose. "I saw him a couple of times actually."
Derald looked interested.
"Face to face?"
"Face to face."
Derald blew amazement.
"I believe there is none in the five realms who had a direct contact with their Pillars." He scratched his faint beard. "How intriguing." he mumbled.
I smiled as well, embracing the moment we were in. The conversation`s matter shifted quickly. Derald was not a bad man in the slightest. At least I want to believe he isn`t.
We embarked on our journey through the night too. Derald told me that there was no time to waste. We only stopped if I ever needed to rest. We only ate small foods like those disgusting big lavender fruits. We really did walk so long that I forgot we had a trail to complete in the first place. How can we even journey across this entire island? Derald was fine, he was fine until he started cursing when we realized that we were just circling around the forest and once again came to see the volcano up close.
"For the tits of Arsha, why the damn are we still here?"
I covered my face with lassitude.
"Don`t tell me we were just making a circle all this time."
Derald slowly turned his head around, a hilarious smile on his idle face.
"Don`t worry, I encountered worse."
I rolled my eyes.
"And this is your realm`s Battle Island." I mocked.
Derald scowled, his eyebrows lifting briefly.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Don`t taste my patience, child."
I clasped my hands in front of me like a lady would.
"You pledged thy sword to me. Don`t be so, hmm, dramatic."
Derald sneered a chuckle.
"Looks like the bearer of the rune is so full of herself." He smirked. "Tell me, have thine ever even used the Rune of Freedom?"
I avoided his gaze when the enquiry escaped his mouth. I only used the Rune of Freedom once and it was on the day of Grey`s disappearance. My face fell to irritation.
"Yes!" I growled in a furor tone.
Derald` s mouth opened but he then closed it without saying anything. I inhaled the fresh air of the pretty island. I felt bad for talking to him like that. He helped me, he was my elder. My fingers were fidgeting with my fringes. My shoulders were hunched.
"I`m sorry, I just was—" Derald raised a hand, making me pause. He nodded slightly, his gaze soft.
"It's okay, Raya, I see and understand you. You experienced great loss. Just like me and I—"
"Shut the damn up, you retarded!" An alien voice hissed. "You`ll pay for what you did to me!" He shouted, salvia gushing out his dirty mouth.
He was a short boy, looked just a year younger than me, had blazing white hair and wrathful yellow eyes that were breathtaking. He held a flamberge in his small hands and wore a black clock that covered most of his body. But beyond all those physical quirks, it was the long scar on his cheek which had caught my attention.
I heard the gruff sighs of Derald. He had an annoyed look on his face, a tight smile covering his puss.
"Oh, hello Coop." Derald said with an unfriendly tune. "I was starting to wonder where you were."
So the boy`s name was "Coop", what a weird name. Coop in all means looked mad and cantankerous. Coop`s eyes suddenly left Derald`s and met with my gaze. He tilted his head and furrowed his eyes.
"And who in the name of Arsha are you?"
I stood where I was, I did not know if Coop was a friend or not. I recalled the bloody blade of Derald quite easily. The blood may have meant that there were more than rivals here too. I simply ponder why we would kill each other here. There is no need for bloodshed.
"I am Raya...uhh," I glanced at Derald once, he nodded his head and so I turned my eyes back to Coop. "Raya and I... come from the Green Realm."
Coop immediately focused all his interest towards me. His voice was bitter:
"I didn`t know a Subject of Destruction was here. It's unusual for an Awakened to see one of thine kind. I should say, I figure your kind was pretty ugly."
I tried to smile.
"T-Thank you, I guess."
Coop straightened, his voice full of severity:
"I`m Coop aeth Jujumo, nephew of the bastard standing next to thou." His eyes glared at Derald, judging the man with disillusionment.
Derald turned his head away from Coop not wanting to see his nephew. Coop clenched his jaw as his fingers, which were covered in blood, pointed to Derald like an arrow.
"This man killed his own nephew over limited food. He has no honor. He has no rights as a Saint. Only fate mayest fathom how he even became a Saint only while being a Secundus."
Derald merely shrugged his shoulders, finally turning towards the mad nephew. Coop reminded me of Lulu for plausible reasons.
"And look, you are still alive and well. Should I remind ye that we have five loop backs here?"
Coop`s eyes were filled with fury over his uncle.
"Do not dare to find a plea over thy monstrosity!" he hissed.
Derald brushed the sense of annoyance from his face.
"At least we found each other and I found this phenomenal lady o`er here."
Coop glared at me again, centering himself, trying to find the tiniest cause of why would his uncle even travel with a girl who has almost no renown. Derald sneered at his nephew.
"Do not try to dig the reason too deep, you might fall. She has the Rune of Freedom."
Coop took a look at my body, I let the rune of bare witness readily. Coop when he spotted the rune, his face changed into something more bizarre. He probably never could`ve guessed that I had a rune on me.
"How the fuck could you have the Rune of Freedom? H-How?"
I almost laughed.
"Some things are meant to be unanswered" I said trying to hide the amuse inside me.
For some reason and I don't know why, all this was so amusing. I... I almost forgot I was in between two people that hated one another.
We stood on the root of the volcano for a time. None of us dared to speak until the cold around us died out. And after the cold was gone, we still were silent. It was contagious. Coop was someone that I wouldn`t have liked in the Earth or whatever they call my home. If one calls their home. His demeanor reminded me of Nico`s hate, but the anger he held was not just for his uncle.
Derald was the first to move. He sat down on the ground looking tired and mundane. Coop followed him as he also sat down. I was the last to stand, but after I let my frivolous thoughts driven away, I too sat down. I leaned back in the air, looking at the dark sky. I miss Grey`s company. I liked Grey`s face. Grey`s hatred for the Five. I yearn for his face. I yearn for his love of me. I yearn for everything about him. I don`t care about his stupid superiority complex, I forsaken the goal of converting that long ago.
"So, what now?" Coop asked, his voice full of distaste. "Wilt we just sit here and wait over nothing?"
Derald, who had one eye closed, looked at Coop with no heedfulness at all.
"We`ll move when the time comes. I don`t want those war-hungry Tarn wannabes upon our asses."
Coop snorted:
"Oh, come on! The People of Death have no dominion over us. We`re better than them."
Derald placed a hand on his temples looking down, disappointed by his nephew`s eagerness.
"Did the Vigor Academy never teach you any forbearance? Don`t act like an idiot, brat." Derald said.
Coop went silent just for an instance and in that very instance his face shifted into different emotions. He was angry but also scared at the same weary time.
"If," Coop spit. "If we don`t move now then we`ll waste so much time. For what? Nothing."
His gaze focused on me. I had no intention to join their weird familial conversation.
"What about thee, bearer of the rune, what do ye think we shouldst do?"
I sat there, looking at the sky and ignoring the boy`s query. Coop sighed deeply, crossing his arms with a radiance of annoyance coming from him. I had no plan obviously. This was their realms Battle Island, they would know better.
"I don`t know," I answered avowedly. "I`m just a small girl with big dreams."
Coop scowled:
"Don`t act like you know nothing!" he huffed. "You are the bearer of freedom."
I shrugged indifferently.
"And? What does that make me? A goddess?"
"N-No. I..." He looked away, to his uncle. Though, Derald did not look back at him. "Its just... In the Soul Realm, only the strong have a rune. Only the strong have a presecne." Coop`s face looked calmer than he usually was. More demanding than he shouldst be. "In the name of the three continents and the Arbiter of Life. I, Coop aeth Jujumo belive that you have the power to send us back at our home." He looked down, eyes glossing over. "I already tasted death twice here. I don`t want to die again. I never ever want to die again."
Derald finally turned to look at his nephew. Derald looked guilty, his fingers curled inward.
"I... I am sorry." he finally whispered.
Coop didn`t talk back. He watched Derald with a timid gaze. Coop only answered when Derald`s eyes pleaded.
"Every scar you take in this trial stays with you until the day you reach your Apotheosis."
He slowly raised his dark clock, showing his belly, only enough skin for both of us to see the two deep scars he wears. I almost looked away from the scars, Derald did. He looked away like he was the reason. Maybe he was. And maybe he knew it all very, very well.
Derald stood up abruptly, his eyes locked onto everything that was not Coop`s scars. In the rush Coop stood too.
"Enough of this!" He screamed to Derald. "Enough of you!" His finger leveled at Derald`s neck. "We need a plan. You need me. I need you and she needs us." He finished, his finger now showing me. Coop`s face fell when Derald`s face full of despair, sang a song of lamentation. Coop`s face fell to fret and melancholy.
"Aria was my cousin," His shoulders lowered. "But I loved her like a sister."
Derald shut his eyes as a single, lonely tear fell down from his closed eyelids.
Derald`s eyes only opened when I reached out to his arm and hugged him, embracing him in a gentle hug. Derald at first flinched at my touch, but as he realized that I wasn't pulling away, he returned the hug. Courteously but also cautiously.
"I lost people too." I whispered. I pulled away as both the uncle and the nephew looked at me with expectant gazes. "I am Raya Marin, the bearer of the Rune of Freedom, the Mistress of Liberation. And I promise to you both, we will get out of here as soon as possible." I turned to the volcano, my fingers brushing the air. "But first we have to be quick." I reached for the aether around me. "When the trumpet sang their song and angels charged in valor, all that came out of their mouth was a name. They cried in the name of their god. The Lord of the World sent forth his angels with a mighty sound of a trumpet, and they will gather his elect from the four winds." I held a lone particle with both of my small hands. "I will way the world on a new path. My choice will always be the same."
Coop churns, his face full of trepidation.
"What? What the hell are you talking about?"
My head turned only enough for the corner of my gaze to watch them. I let the tiny particle go. I spoke in an utterly cold, utterly merciful tune:
"I will light up this volcano. And you two will help me do it."
A chill went down Coop`s spine as his eyes went small then wide.
"Wha- What? Why?" His blond eyes glared at the gargantuan volcano, his mouth twitching in fear.
"If we do that, the entire island will be covered in smoke and dust. The entire forest and presumably the rest of the island will be swallowed by lava." Derald warned. "This can lead to the death of thousands."
I didn`t turn around, yet my voice was as gentle as it was, just like how a lady`s should be.
"I will use it as leverage for bursting up. Witnessing the whole island from up there." My index finger leveled towards the sky. "I need it so that I can travel and learn faster." My tone softened. "And if something like that ever happens you two will stop Mount Eckly from consuming the island."
Coop`s voice became much dreadful:
"And how are we supposed to achieve that? We may erupt it, but we can`t stop a volcano of this scale."
The aetheric particles began to surround Derald, the men`s eyes were full of persuasion.
"We can if we use Tears and Requiem." he said.
Coop faltered.
"What in the name of the Greatlife? We are only Secundus, we yet have the insight to use the attribute."
Derald smirked mischievously.
"Oh, my dear nephew, shouldst I remind thee that I am a Saint under the command of Archon Spellforged?"
Coop`s face flushed in a bash:
"I know that," he forced.
Derald then glanced at me, still the same impish smile on his idle face.
"Tears and Requiem is an aetheric ability which anyone who grasps the quirk can use."
That was unheard. So everyone could use a couple of the same abilities and onto that, all the Awakened have their own aetheric weapons and Myths? How much more ass this aetheric system is?"
Derald jested for me to give my right palm, where my rune was carved. I was hesitant at first, I myself had no idea of what my Concept Rune was capable of. I used the rune only one time and that was the day I got it. Derald was terrifyingly gentle with his motions.
"Don`t be frightened, Milady, Tears and Requiem is a spell of aether used to imprint one`s own tears in silence where even the holiest of flames obey to thy commend." He looked at Coop. "Of course a normal Secundus would not have the power nor the insight to fathom the attribute." He grabbed his blade in a swift motion as then a single, soft, clean, shallow slash was made to his left palm, the hand that held my palm. "But for thine fortune, I am not a simple Secundus. I was trained in the arts of King`s Dance."
Coop interrupted him:
"If we fail, you have the chance of losing an eye. And she, her life." He pressed his cause. "Its too dangerous. And she is the bearer of a reverend rune!" He snapped.
Derald`s brows knit together but before another fight could break out between the two kinsmen I stepped in between them, both of my arms wide to keep them afar.
"There is no time for this." I said, my eyes glaring at Coop. "Please, l beg you both, help me and I shall promise you both that I will help you in the nigh future."
Coop scoffed.
"Fine damn it." He looked away, towards Mount Eckly. "But I warn you, may the Venerable Djinns be my witness, if this leads to a catastrophe, none of us shall survive."
Coop and Derald came face to face, looking at each other in a daze. Aether surrounded them both, they were getting ready for the spell they were about to use. Derald and Coop`s mouths moved in sync.
"Didst dost seest most. Anon begone thee fearest of the aureate. Bereft of hate and woe. Shorn of Darkness."
As their eccentric chant came to an end a single, sole tear fell down from Derald`s unattached eye. Aether shifted to the colors of gray and a grayish aura covered Derald. Coop stepped back in perplexity. Right after, Derald`s eyes flashed wide and the manipulation of aether spread across the volcano. Coop standeth beside me, watching his uncle with a sort of what most would call "elation". We watched Derald in maze as he and the volcano made contact with just a faint brush of his fingertips.
"Tears and Requiem`s a spell that is used for immense aetheric manipulation. One`s Will in their maximum capacity but only if the tears continue to come, only if thy aether reserves are not dry." Coop explained in a smirk.
I looked at him with a wicked smile.
"And what exactly... can Derald do with it?" I asked.
Coop answered almost incontinently:
"He can control the aether inside Mount Eckly if he has enough pressure to do so. And if he does in fact succeed, the volcano will erupt."
Coop was right, I could see the change in the volcano with naked eyes. Derald will succeed.
Derald, who was almost one in the same with the volcano, turned towards me, his eyes full of grace.
"Raya! The moment the magma in the chamber is nigh released, use the rune and cover the entire mountain, so then you can use its kinetic energy to latch onto the sky."
I nodded my head indifferently as I got ready to unleash the outlandish power of the Rune of Freedom. Blue aetheric particles begun to get consumed by the rune itself.
I felt wider.
I felt lighter.
I felt freer.
It was only a mere instantaneous second to comest. The magma arose and now was to be lava. But before I can perceive any more, Coop placed a hand on my back and used aether as a provenance. He pushed me and used his own aetheric potency and then... I was pushed towards Derald. The Saint grabbed me by the arm and threw me into the air. I only had sole, precious seconds. The volcano was about to burst. I was thrown so fast up in the air that at first I thought I was in a dream, perhaps I was, but it didn`t matter. When I reached high enough I used the Freedom Rune to balance myself in nothing but straight air. It wasn`t hard. Like my mind and body already knew what to do. Looking down to the peak of Mount Eckly, I felt reborn.
I was flying like a bird. It was beautiful. I felt the cold wind breezing my face. I felt the fresh oxygen around me. I saw clouds that were in various shapes. It was pretty, all was beautiful and amusing in all possible ways, even death was pretty.
I began to giggle and soon that giggle turned into a laughter. And that laugh quickly became a whimper.
"I am free." I whispered.
Smoke was coming, I could see the ground trembling. I didn`t know how the rune worked fully, but I was about to. My hands moved as if I were dancing. With every move of my limbs I felt more of the world around me. The smoke was all around, the island the lava was to come now. I used my freedom to take away its own. Chains of blue wrapped around the entire gas of smoke, and beneath me I saw the lava flowing, without wasting a pure moment the chains wrapped around the lava as well, stopping it from burning all that is on here. I waited for the right and mere moment of hope. Mount Eckly screamed. I used the lava, grabbing it with my chains like it was water. I flew even higher. And... I was alive. I was safe from the lava`s heat. It was Derald, tears in his eyes, cooling the lava`s heat and somehow defying everything I thought to be the laws of the universe.
I saw so many places. My eyes were as sharp as an eagle`s. I saw the shore, the Sargula Forest, the Redlord Ruins and it, the place that was to be my next destination. The Golden Lowlands. I thought and I was above it. There were dozens of Awakened on the plain. All with different aetheric presence. But my eyes caught one. There he was... Klein. I made no mistake, I saw him all clearly. It was him in flesh and bone, standing next to a girl. I saw a familiar face and in response the rune made me follow their way. I accidentally reached them, for a moment I thought everything was alright. Until I realized that I wasn`t standing still, I was falling, right on them. I couldn't stop my fast descent. I was stressed. My hands reached the air like it was a brick to hold onto. There was no brick.
"Damn it!" I cursed. "How does this rune work!?"
And before I can wonder more of how to stop myself. I already hit the ground face first.
I groaned in pain as I flipped to my back, lying down and facing the stars.
"I... Damn... Never doing that again. Never ever again." I muttered.
My eyesight was covered by two heads. One of them belonged to Klein. And the other, to a girl I had no recognition.
"Are you alive?" she asked.
I nodded my head even though it hurted so loud.
"R-Raya? What the heck are you doing here?" Klein asked, his voice full of surprise but for some reason also with relief.
"T-T-That is my line." I said through a low voice.
Klein bent down and offered a hand for me to get up from the crater I had conjureth. I grabbed his hand only after my fourth try, failing to do the simple action three times before.
I stood up, my head shaking, my muscles itching and my eyes dying.
"T-Thanks." I uttered.
The girl next to Klein eyed me up and down until she noticed the Rune of Freedom. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it before actually saying anything. Her expression turned into a frown. Klein sighed deeply and turned his head towards the girl.
"So Lizzie, she is one of my friends back in the Green Realm." He said with an enthusiastic voice. "Her name is Raya Marin."
"Lizzie" was the girl`s name? Good to know new faces.
Lizzie had a bow in her hand and held it closely. I had no energy to speak so I just let the time flow. At least until several different Awakened competitors surrounded us in a half wide circle. They all had an awful yet dreadful expression on each one of their lord-like faces. Instinctively Lizzie pointed her bow at a couple of them. Klein came closer to Lizzie. And I just stood where I was in a rush of emotions. My eyes were wide, my fingers clenched into a fist. Lizzie`s hand on the bow tightened drastically. And then one of the Awakened who looked like a strong warrior man shouted in demand:
"Kill them. Kill them all!"
Another screamed:
"They are ruiners! They are a threat!"
"Kill them!" Someone else cried out.
Lizzie`s puss was full of rue and fear, she almost let the string of the bow go.
"What will we do now?" Klein reposed. "There is no way out of here."
The horns on Lizzie`s head lighten up as if they had sentience.
"We`re fucked." she whispered.