Slime sapped and dripped from the ceiling, coating Aletha and Asahi's bodies in toxic mucus.
"Eek!"
(SHING)
The bandits yanked out their daggers and hollered in gruff voices.
"Just tell us where the ingredients are!"
"I told you once, we don't KNOW what you are talking about!"
Asahi's sight targeted directly at the approaching thieves like a laser pointer. He had no time to think. All he felt was rage.
(Swoosh) A silver dagger cut through the air and nearly missed Asahi's arm. Dull gray eyes under the precipice of his brows struck the thief's head like daggers, focusing his shot. Out of the blue, Asahi launched a spear-tipped arrow from the bow and watched as it pierced through the thief's throat, then through the second's heart.
(SPLAT)
Quickly, a stream of green goo gushed out of the open wounds, spewing out from wall to wall like tomato juice. Screams of horror followed and alerted a group of four-legged, no-faced monsters to their location.
"What is that?" Asahi mumbled as they collapsed to dust. "Why does this place look familiar? How did it become like this? What is their problem? Why do they need those ingredients?!"
A loud shriek sounded behind Asahi.
"Help!"
He turned over and saw a white-haired girl crying and kneeling in pain.
Asahi dropped his bow and ran to Aletha, cornered by beasts. He punched a creature, causing five to spew more thick goo, then grabbed Aletha and led her to the stairs.
While the creatures started crawling back, Asahi snapped his fingers and shouted.
"Sis, wake up!"
"H… Huh?!" She gasped as she noticed the creatures. "W-What are those?!"
Asahi gave off a lenient but fearsome voice.
"I don't know. S… Something's off about this place. It's as if we have been here before, but everything is comparatively different. Aletha," He gulped down a breath of fear and swiftly turned over to the faint sunlight streaming through the open doors. "Grab that book and follow me. We need to find somewhere safe. I believe I know what's going on."
Aletha inhaled a breath of anxiety deeply and mumbled back.
"O…Okay. Whatever you say."
Asahi and Aletha bolted down the slippery stairs, grabbed the bow and a golden book, skittered from puddle to dry ground, and then dragged their feet through dense vines.
Though they'd been here before, it felt like another world. Asahi whispered as he heard snapping noises nearby.
"Aletha, grab the book, now!"
"Yeah, I'm on it!"
Before they were caught in the storm of goo, Asahi hastily pulled Aletha away from the monsters, grabbed both the bow and the forbidden book, and then raced up the stairs.
. . .
Nothing could have been more confusing than the sight they first saw when they exited the bunker.
The sea of polished buildings they found before now looked smothered and weathered away.
Stones were scattered, boxes were torn apart, and trees swallowed the roads. Rotten vegetation lurked within every corner, emitting a scent so disgusting that Aletha found it to be worse than the goo.
Adrenaline and mystery surged as they rushed from street to street.
They were chilled by surprise. The city's change felt real and impossible.
Reeling from shock, Asahi whispered to Aletha as they wandered the infested city.
"I… can't believe it. This looks exactly like that city we found the other day."
Aletha scratched her head and raised an eyebrow as nasty substances wrapped around her clean skin.
"It's so disgusting here, too." She pinched and flung off a leech that squirmed around the flooded streets, nauseated by this area. "Eww, there's so much nasty stuff everywhere."
Asahi squinted and sighed, dragging Aletha into swampy water and muttering.
"Just come on, sis. A little patch of mud isn't going to kill you."
. . .
The more The Wanderers walked around this wretched, stingy place, the more they realized how strange it really was. Asahi thought it was some sort of illusion magic, while Aletha thought she was on mushrooms.
Approaching an alleyway among the tilted and run-down buildings, Asahi and Aletha dodged one of the creeping vines and fled from an emerging, poisonous plant that was seen among the tilted fountain.
After wandering through every cranny and juncture within "Pladtioa City", Aletha found a bizarre place that stood out from all the dreadful flora. The area was polished for cleanliness, with a fountain at its center and bricks untouched by mud.
Crystal streams flowed through brittle roads and vegetation. Aletha's eyes sparkled with relief.
"Hey, bro, look! There's something clean over there! Come on!"
Asahi grumbled as his sister dashed ahead of him.
"Really? Alright, I trust you. Don't say anything dumb, alright?"
Aletha gave a cheeky, prideful smirk and made a thumbs-up.
"I won't!"
. . .
Gray smoke filled the air with poison. They followed the fog's trail toward a tidy spot.
Their devastated eyes darted to a gray fountain, encircled by a few tables and an open deli. Despite the refreshing scene, the surroundings never matched this place.
The fountain stood out from the circle of rotten flora, crumbled buildings, and torn boxes.
Aletha uttered as she and her brother emerged and dashed through the thick bushes.
"There it is!"
Asahi looked at the debris with disdain and sorrow.
"It looks… so out of place. Why? I don't understand why we have to experience all of this. I thought our world was supposed to be… You know."
Asahi doubted himself. All he wanted was peace, but pain and loss haunted him. He questioned his return.
(Was returning really worth it?) The haunting thought brought fear. Could this be the real world?
"No. I-It can't be. I refuse to believe that this is our world."
Lost in thought, Asahi spoke aloud, prompting Aletha to question him.
"Hey, what's gotten into you? You looked traumatized."
This sentence strongly burned and annoyed Asahi's thoughts. All his sister had done was escalate and weaken his faith in his future even more.
"H… How can you be so careless, Aletha?"
"I am NOT being careless! I just don't understand, okay?" Aletha shouted back as her mouth flew open in rapid directions. "How about you stop being so angry and just follow me for once! I don't even know what's happening."
Asahi's frown curled up into an irritated grin.
"Me too. But I guess now that we are in a safe spot, I can tell you what I think is happening right now."
Aletha sat on the bench, glancing at the sunlight filtering through the treetops, then back at Asahi, who stood frozen, impatient.
"Okay, spit it out, then!"
Asahi took a deep breath and threw himself to his feet, prying open The Forbidden Book on the cold pavement and aggressively responding.
"Ever since we obtained this book, everything around us has changed. I experienced what looked like this exact place, and… I thought you were aware of it as well. Our lives have been ruined because of that anomaly. I wish I could just tear this book apart, but each time I do…"
He threw the Forbidden Book, which bounced, scattering blank pages before landing on Asahi's head.
"It just doesn't destroy itself."
The white-haired girl snickered and spat on the floor, then grabbed the book and answered.
"Why would you ever THINK of destroying the book? Didn't that man warn us of a power within it? And also, bro, I thought you were the bookworm?"
Asahi fell silent, his serious expression unchanged.
"I am… I always was. It's just… Aletha… I WANT a peaceful life. I don't want to experience all of this strange stuff. I just want to live peacefully at home, surrounded by a world that doesn't have magic and is at peace. And yet we can't even have THAT!"
Aletha sighed deeply and patted Asahi's back with a light smile, answering him with a sarcastic tone.
Yeah, I feel the same. But come on, don't you want to know what happened? Weren't you the mystery geek? You're a problem solver, not a whiny crybaby!
Asahi pursed his lips and sighed coldly.
"Yeah, I know…"
"Okay, and…?" The girl said as she picked up the book. "You know, I remember you acting so cool and all. You were always mature, lenient, and cold. Not this warm, temperate man-baby. Why don't you act like who you used to be, and find a way to get us out of this situation?!"
The color drained out of Asahi's face after he heard that. He knew his sister was right, but he never wanted to admit it. In all honesty, he was shocked knowing that his sister knew this much. So, as Aletha awaited an answer, Asahi pushed himself back up, snatched The Forbidden Book from her hand, and explained to Aletha with his normal, cold, and frosty voice.
"I guess… if you want me to be that way. Then so be it…" He pointed over to the empty pages and saw Aletha's eyes and took note of his hand movements. A relieved smile curved up her lip, and she sat in a relaxed posture, waiting patiently for Asahi's explanation.
"Go ahead."
Asahi nodded, letting Aletha's words motivate him as his mind raced with details.
"Firstly, remember when the Librarian gave us this book? I believe that she is a user of some type of illusion magic. There's no other reason why Akwan would say that the library doesn't exist. Clearly, everything was tangible. So either he was brainwashed, or it was illusion magic."
Aletha nodded, cheeks puffed, her mind racing with thoughts.
"Okay, so then what do you want me to do about it? Would you like me to find that librarian? "
Asahi snapped his fingers and smiled with confidence.
"No, it's too late for that. Remember when Akwan said that this book has the power to transmogrify time and alter space? What if it is doing that?"
Aletha nodded silently, following Asahi's words. (Hmm, I never thought about it that way.)
"What if the pages of this book serve as some sort of source or warning for us to follow? The drawings are not made by us, but by the book itself. Could it have a mind of its own? Maybe it is trying to tell us something and we don't understand it?"
"All you are saying is questions, Asahi," Aletha uttered as she fidgeted with her hair. "We don't need any more questions; we need answers! Give us some facts so we know what we are doing."
Asahi's cheeks furrowed with strong purpose and feeling. He saw dignity and patience in Aletha's insightful look, making him prouder of this investigation. Although his mind could harbor several thoughts, Aletha was the one who could spark an answer. She spoke as the dead trees flocked with the sharp wind.
"If you really want to know what I think, firstly… we should find out whatever the heck those thieves meant by 'ingredients'. Secondly, let's actually follow the locations of what the book is trying to tell us, and maybe we could get answers there."
She grabbed and rubbed her thumbs on the silky, empty pages, looking over at her brother and continuing.
"If you're saying this book has some sort of consciousness, then let's treat it as if it were a real person. Perhaps our primary objective is to identify the person who gave it to us. Then, after we went to all the locations, let's hunt down that library and ask her what is happening!"
A faint quizzical look came from Asahi's incisive stare.
"And just how would we be able to remember all of that?"
Aletha scratched her chin and muttered.
"Oh, you're doubting me?" Her gaze cast around her surroundings, taking in the mist that had accumulated over the city, as if it were awakening from a dream. She pointed out as she and Asahi got back on their feet. "Fine, I'll show you. I'll write it down in the book."
"What?"
Aletha pulled out a golden pencil and quickly wrote a checklist in the book.
---------------------------
1. Find out what the ingredients mean.
2. Follow the places where the drawings are.
3. Look for the lady who gave the book.
---------------------------
Asahi facepalmed, tapped her shoulder, and said,
"You know, if this IS some sort of dream, all of that will be erased. Since… Well, it's temporary."
Aletha slapped Asahi lightly and pointed at her forehead as mist shrouded them.
"Pfft, you're not thinking hard enough, bro. Remember that thing in our heads? That stuff called memories? Yeah… we'll use that!"
"How will you remember that when we--
"Shh, just trust me, bro."
Before the mist could swallow them, the book glowed gold, blinding and then darkening their vision.