"I'm sorry, Asahi and Aletha," The thief revealed as his face turned to the warm golden rays of sunlight. "But it's been too long since you two were last seen in our home world."
Ahead of him, mountains stretched endlessly, giving way to sweeping grassy plains and crystalline lakes.
A sweet scent floated in the fresh open air as he slowly exited the forest.
He sighed and stepped closer to the cliff's edge, his lavender eyes tracing the rim of a vast chasm overflowing with foliage, mesmerized.
Absorbed in the scent and murmur of the quiet day, the man's expression hardened with seriousness as he spoke.
"This is the place where I wanted them to go. It took years to reach this moment."
His long black cloak swayed gently in the wind as he strode forward, the sound of his boots echoing with each step. He glanced over his shoulder, tense, as the heavy footsteps behind him grew louder.
Still, he gazed at the vastness of this unknown world, feeling a sense of composure run down his veins.
"After all, this is just another world," He said, giving a light shrug.
The aura that radiated around him no longer resembled that of a simple thief; instead, it conveyed the manner of a wise and mysterious young man.
This transformation resulted from the eyepiece fastened to his face; paired with his dark hair, it made him conspicuous. He kept his hood up to mislead wanderers. He had deceived Aletha, making her believe he was merely a thief. In truth...
Deep down, he knew how important that scarf really was.
With a pale face, he closed his eyes and whispered.
"I know how much those two value this scarf," he said as his fingers skimmed the fleecy fabric. "But... it is the only method I can think of to lure them here."
After he said that, the hooded figure turned around and headed toward the vegetation-infested crater.
Not long after, Asahi and Aletha approached the cliffside, searching for the man.
As they stood on the cliff, Aletha pointed at the other end of the crater and smirked proudly.
"The thief went over there," She informed Asahi, "Just across that crater, through those dense patches of trees."
As she hastily sprinted down the divot, Asahi nodded his head and answered,
"Okay."
. . .
In no time, Aletha and Asahi arrived at the opposite side of the crater. There, they found the thief standing tall and proud, facing the ground, mumbling something under his breath.
"I did it," He said, "I successfully lured the wanderers."
Inwardly celebrating his success, the young man grabbed a knife.
"Hey, can you give us that scarf? I won't hurt you." Aletha asked as she approached the man. "It's very important to us."
Hearing her voice, the thief glanced at Aletha, froze mid-step, clutched the brown scarf tightly, and his eyes widened in recognition.
The man quickly recovered from his shock, drew his blade, and held it pointed downward, ready to defend himself.
"Below us."
Then, with a sharp motion, he hurled the blade downward, striking the ground at his feet. Cracks splintered out from the impact.
"No matter what you do," He mumbled with determination. "...we ARE going home."
Seeing that the man refused to answer, Asahi unclenched his fists and let out a steady breath, choosing to speak calmly rather than lash out.
"Silence," he said calmly, defusing the tension. "All we desire is the scarf. Return it, and everything will be resolved."
Clearly, the cloaked individual wanted nothing more than to bring these two home.
In addition to the cracks that appeared and scattered across the surface beneath them, tremors followed in their wake.
The thief locked eyes with Aletha as the ground quickly began to shake beneath them. Whatever they did now, escape was impossible. He stood his ground, resolute.
Trees rocked violently, gradually sinking into the soil. Everything in the crater trembled fiercely, including the mountain range.
"No, stop!"
It was at that moment that they noticed this was a trap made by the mysterious man.
Recognizing the imminent collapse, Asahi dashed to Aletha, pulled her into his arms, and whispered urgently, "Stay by me."
Rocks, tree branches, and rivers collapsed and slid into the giant hole, vanishing into the dark abyss below.
The only sounds that accompanied Asahi and Aletha during their descent were the echoes of their screams.
. . .
Much of what happened remained unexplained.
Their eyes bulged in a wet space surrounded by bubbles and clear turquoise water. Silence and a pressing weight enveloped them.
Aletha was the first to break the surface. She gasped for air and tried to take a deep breath, regaining her senses. Her eyes were wide open, seeing nothing but vast darkness.
Chills crept up everywhere she moved. Rubbing her shoulders, she took a few steps forward. She looked around, searching for any sign of life.
"Where... am I?"
Asahi was the second to surface, coughing and gasping for air. At first, he saw only darkness, stone, and a few holes of light. But as he climbed out of the pool, he realized much more awaited them.
Standing before them were several mountains of steel structures encompassed by a tall and colossal open rocky cavern. They stuck to each other like stalagmites.
Rusted mechanical gears lined tiny pools, and a huge glossy black cube stood under a round ceiling opening, letting sun shine on it like a spotlight.
A faint, strange scent filled the hot, close air. Aletha stared at her feet, unable to move, stunned by this odd place.
"What is this place?" Aletha wondered aloud.
"It's called 'The Cradle,' a voice said as something rose from the water. "It used to shelter millions."
Immediately, Asahi and Aletha leveled their glowering looks at an individual cloaked in a sharp and dynamic cloak, rolling out of the water.
Without explanation, the man approached Aletha, his gaze piercing hers. He took a deep breath, and as the silence continued, he provided an explanation to them.
"There are many cradles dispersed across our universe," He said. "Many devices were lost to abandonment. However, what you see behind me will be the only device alive that will bring us all home."
Wrapped around his wrist was a scarf, a sparkling soft scarf coated in shades of brown. The man knew just by seeing Asahi's cold and hardened face that he couldn't have it anymore. So, before Asahi could land a hit on him, the cloaked man revealed.
"Pardon me for stealing your scarf." He said as he placed it back on their hands, pulling his hood back. "It's the only method I could think of to lure you two here."
Given the strange response, Aletha raised her eyebrow and asked.
"Who are you?"
The thief, or rather man, looked back at her with a grim expression of realization dawning on his face.
"Oh, right," he muttered. "I almost forgot."
With no other choice, he sighed deeply and took off his hood.
Long, silky dark hair framed his jewel-like purple eyes, and his attire was as dark and celestial as the stars. A lavender eyepiece was attached to his right eye, matching the pattern of waves in the sea.
Swiftly, Aletha jumped out. "Hey, you look like someone I know…" Her gray eyes broadened in realization. "Wait a minute, Akwan?! How did YOU get here?"
Akwan was a ruler of pretentious and mysterious origin, one of the many that once ruled over Gincad at the time.
Much like the siblings, he too came from their world.
But during their world-traveling after they fled from the engulfing light, never would they have expected that Akwan would appear in such a distant place in the universe. Could it be that he was tracking them down ever since the calamity?
Recalling the calamity, Aletha lowered her voice and twiddled her thumbs.
"I thought you joined the... other Rulers."
Filled with doubts and regrets, Akwan looked at his hands, recalling the calamity.
A time at which their world lost itself to a consuming luminance.
The sheer thought of such a sight haunted him.
No one had an idea who or what caused it; all they knew was that they lost everything.
"Let's not speak of that," He said, scratching his head. "It has been a long time since that happened."
To avoid sparking a situation, Akwan accelerated their pace and led them through the ruined city.
Ruined towers lay scattered across the area. Wires twisted from deep pits in the empty expanse up to the sharpest rocky ceilings.
"Much has happened since you two were gone," Akwan seemed upset as he spoke, muttering. "And I'm afraid that there is more I have yet to tell you."
His glare swept the ruined city's edge. Capsules lay smashed, spires toppled and split. Nothing seemed glamorous about this area.
They approached a colossal device of glossy black glass standing atop the circle of debris and stalagmites.
Green stems crept from the cold, hard surface, climbing the cube. White gears ground and tore, trying to spark.
Five to seven wiry, long, steel arms extended from every side of the cube, folding itself like a card. And, slender, narrow lines of white light flickered on the surface of the glass.
Their eyebrows rose as they looked up, noticing the device's size. It was almost as tall as the ruined city. Although it did not move, Akwan led Asahi and Aletha toward the surface of the device. The cube's glass was so shiny that it easily reflected their reflections.
"Whoa!" Aletha said with sparkling eyes of fascination. "This device looks... cool!"
Asahi's eyes were on the surface as he carefully observed the device from all angles. His voice was quiet and serious, but he still complimented the intricate wiring.
"I have never seen such complex constructions before," He said.
Turning back to Akwan, Asahi abruptly redirected the topic.
"Akwan, tell me, what is there to come back to?" He took a deep breath and continued. "Nothing is left of our world, not even our kingdom. It's the only reason why we're in this situation in the first place. There's nothing we can do other than to wander the stars."
As Aletha narrowed her gaze to Asahi, he clenched his fists and expressed a stifling expression of pain in his voice.
"You don't understand how much we have lost to that catastrophe," she said. "So many loved ones, so many places we cherished, so many traditions we held dear."
Asahi fought back tears as he stepped forward, his voice shaking. "All for it to go to waste! Our parents are gone, our sister is left behind, and most of the lesser Rulers have vanished. Tell me, just one reason to go back to a world of ash!"
Silence erupted after his voice echoed across the cavern's walls.
"Because hope exists, Asahi," Akwan replied. "The lies we tell ourselves are what get us this far. By just accepting the truth without resistance, there is nothing you can possibly be."
Aletha couldn't help but agree with Akwan's response.
"Yes, stagnation leads to decay," she said. "You can't just avoid something without trying it first."
Asahi felt his heart flutter. He hadn't considered the luminance as a threat because deep down, there were voices in that luminance. Something had changed in Asahi. He wanted to believe in Akwan. But in truth, he knew that his words of hope were hollow.
He looked away from the device and gazed around the ruins.
The entire scene made him feel like he was walking inside a graveyard.
The ground was streaked with dried blood and strewn with mangled metal. Shattered crystals were scattered everywhere, as if pulverized by an earthquake, while the air brimmed with the stench of death.
Fallen into urgency, Aletha looked over to Akwan and urged him..
"So… let's try it," She said as she approached the device. "Let's return to our homeworld and see what truly awaits us."
As a silent reeking wind flew by, Akwan nodded his head in agreement, and soon, Asahi followed.
. . .
When they approached the device, Akwan acknowledged both siblings.
"Place both of your hands on the device."
They then place their hands on the device, as Akwan said.
"Because of your appearances, there is a possibility that activating the device might be easier than the intended activation process. "
And so, they acted in accordance with what they were informed.
After a simple countdown, Asahi skimmed and prodded the black surface of the device with his fingers.
Suddenly, a white spark pulsed through the layer of glass, sending out glowing digital ripples across the cube like dropping a stone into water. In reaction, Asahi backed up, turning over to Akwan to see if this was right.
He couldn't have been any more correct.
"Ripples have surfaced the device. The activation is successful!" Akwan praised as he saw the flickering, glowing white lines flicker into a stagnant position. "Now, Aletha, touch the device as well. There may be a chance that we don't have to do anything other than that."
Asahi didn't know what to say when Aletha took off her gloves and placed her gloved hand on the surface. This action made him nervous. He was afraid that whatever happened next would cause some sort of fatal damage to them.
Surprisingly enough, the device did not explode or blow up.
Instead, the surface became warm against their hands.
"What's happening?"
A deep robotic voice suddenly spoke from it.
. . .
[Unbroken from time: Aspect 102]
"It's the forgotten language from the ruined civilization," Akwan said. "The once-universal language now forgotten."
Aletha turned over and asked Akwan with a genuinely confused tone.
"What are you talking about?"
"Doesn't matter," Akwan said as he heard loud digital growls sound behind him. "Just continue touching the device."
[BEEP]
Millions of white iridescent lines and dots exploded from the device.
[Host Identified]
Akwan, eager to see the results of his labors, shoved Aletha and Asahi's hands up against the side of the gadget, setting off a powerful pulse that powered the entire machine.
[Second Host Detected]
[Universal Scanning… Complete. Protocol for Planetary Navigation initiated. Execute?]
Slowly unfolding from the device's top, five black "arms" emerged. After expanding the hologram, it reached the ceiling and rotated erratically.
"Yes!" Akwan said, desperation anchoring his voice.
Akwan seemed enthralled by the gadget's motions, as though he, too, wanted to touch it.
To his dismay, a blast blew him away just as his hands were about to smooth up the surface.
"I'm deemed incompatible for a device such as this," Akwan said. "Just... stay put."
The apparatus let forth another volley of holograms in the form of a gigantic white light explosion, and the constant droning of the apparatus caused their ears to ring.
[World Name: Gincad. Hosts are rendered with familiar genes. Opening Sequence for Cosmic Teleportation]
[10…]
As the device jiggled and their bodies swung rapidly to the left and right, the ground underneath them began to shake.
[9…]
[8…]
[7…]
The immense cave was illuminated by a blinding ray of light.
[6…]
[5….]
Tension clung as the device's white lights illuminated its four corners.
[4…]
[3….]
[2…]
[1…]
Instantly, a deafening sonic boom rocked and hurled the three upward as their eyes were dazzled by an encompassing white light.
[0…]
In less time than it takes to blink, the massive spectacle of the cavern, the device, and the ruins trickled down and replaced seamlessly by a vast white abyss.