Brown dust spewed and scattered across the stone pavement like leaves.
"A… Akwan?"
"Do not move!" the mysterious figure screamed as he sprang up from rooftop to rooftop, approaching ever so closer to the wanderers.
Asahi seized Aletha's wrist and yanked her from the bustling market. Together, they tore through twisting alleyways, Asahi forging a desperate path to freedom.
But their escape was cut short by five gleaming knights barring their way, spears thrust forward like silver fangs. Aletha, heart pounding, stepped forward and tried to reason with them, her voice wavering.
"Please, just let us go."
Immediately, another arrow was fired at Aletha's head. She ducked and quickly dodged, backing away as her eyes scanned for an escape route among the city's maze of streets. She turned to her brother and asked in a trembling tone.
"What's happening?"
Asahi shrugged his shoulders and maintained his pace.
"Why are you asking me? I know just as much as you do."
Windows flashed with blinding light as the wanderers weaved through stumbling crowds, ducking and dodging to stay hidden from the relentless knights on their trail.
As they neared a winding stone bridge, a woman with flowing brown hair blocked their path. Power radiated from her presence, unmistakable even at a glance.
She lifted her hands and inquired as four more knights stepped forward at her side.
"Do not resist. You must be held responsible for your actions."
"What actions?! What did we do wrong?!" Screamed Aletha.
(BOOM!)
A brown fireball erupted from the woman's hands, streaking over Asahi and Aletha and singeing the air above them. It smashed into a restaurant wall, stones raining down as panicked screams filled the street.
A swarm of knights thundered forward, armor clashing and silver blades slicing through the air toward the wanderers. Cries of battle echoed all around.
"Listen to our majesty's orders at once!"
"Don't make us eliminate you!"
Refusing to surrender, Asahi and Aletha fought back with fists and fierce kicks. Their swift, gray strikes cut through the open blue sky, felling knights left and right.
Even though they lost most of their godly powers, they resorted to the only strength they had left: their physical powers.
"Take this!"
Suddenly, knights were sent flying, crashing into shallow fountains or slamming against unforgiving concrete. Citizens scattered in every direction, catching glimpses of the white-haired siblings locked in a desperate, ferocious defense.
"Isn't that the pansy we saw in the Library?"
Asahi's eyes widened when he recognized those voices, but he quickly focused back on the fight, punching at helmeted knights and tossing them onto the road. Meanwhile, Aletha broke away from the chaos and sprinted to escape tThe relentless onslaught of enemies threatened to overwhelm her and her brother. to handle.
"Asahi, run!"
Never before had they been forced to run from their problems.
In fact, Asahi and Aletha always faced conflict head-on, but that was when they had their powers. Without their abilities, the two were just mere weaklings in comparison. After all those years, Asahi and Aletha were forced to…
"RUN!"
As they neared another fountain, the water twisted and coiled into eerie, unnatural shapes.
"W-What is going on?" Aletha trembled as her eyes shifted left and right. "Where did that man go?" It was clear to Asahi that she was speaking about Akwan.
He replied as he saw the red tiles scatter across the thick, parched brown ground.
"Never mind that. L… Let's just find a safe spot."
The white-haired girl gulped and nodded her head.
"O… Okay."
For a heartbeat, silence fell—so profound that even the faintest distant sounds reached their ears.
Asahi and Aletha's backs turned away from the water, clueless as to what was behind them.
Then they turned around and saw those arms made of pure water drown and soak them like their awakening among their cruel and changed world.
"Listen." Said a calm but resonant voice. The wanderers' heads turned left and saw a towering woman with long platinum hair grab onto the slick water arms.
"Just listen to us and you will be spared from our majesty, Narcissa, from elimination."
The same masculine figure they met earlier, who had daunting, chipped, and cold emerald eyes and a longbow, swiftly tumbled and rolled on the floor.
He jerked his thin body upward and grabbed arrows fabricating from thin air, then the dark-haired woman grabbed a swirling purple heart-catalyst and prepared to attack the two. She was alerted as her mask glimmered under the rising sun.
"Cease yourselves and face the consequences."
The brown-haired woman whom they had met earlier approached the five from behind and lifted her arm nonchalantly.
"Hold your weapons still. These two do NOT deserve to be eliminated. Unlike my settlers."
"B-But, Narcissa, these two infiltrated and invaded Pladtioa City without going through the process," the green-eyed boy said as he lowered his bow. "Come on…"
The beautiful yet feisty brown-haired woman, whom the boy called "Narcissa," sneered at the boy and distracted herself, swaying her hands and stomping on the ground. She commanded as shuffling footsteps sounded soon after.
"I only ordered you to capture the two, Belial. NOT eliminate them."
"Those two… they look familiar! You're correct--
Suddenly, the platinum-haired woman darted her hot-pink eyes toward the two shadows left by the tracks of the fleeing two and alerted as the spouts of water collapsed into wet puddles.
"Umm, Belial, and master, the ones you have ordered us to chase…h… have vanished."
The group sprang up in shock.
"Huh?!"
. . .
All of it was too sudden for them. Aletha shrieked out as she panted heavily.
"Bro, look, over there!"
The siblings found a hiding spot among golden-brick walls just meters from their reach.
Blinding sunlight spilled in, brushing their faces with a gentle warmth, like the canals winding through this beautiful yet perilous neighborhood.
They struggled to grasp the whirlwind of events, their hearts pounding wildly in their chests.
Asahi recollected as he pulled out The Forbidden Book from his pockets and sat on a dark wooden bench.
(So, we lost both Akwan and that girl, got chased from these five without knowing the reason, and now end up here? I… I'm so confused. Could this book be why they have chased us?)
He looked over, seeing Aletha hunch over and pant heavily, almost gasping for air and sweating densely. She pushed her long white hair away and commented as crickets and a stray canine dashed from the dirt roads paving through this rural area, near her feet.
"I… I can't believe it.. I…" She gasped and groaned in pain. "Why were they chasing us?"
Asahi was just as confused as she. Especially when he was informed that there was no library, yet the people who had been stalking them from the window were still there with the crowd.
Questions swirled endlessly in his mind as he gazed at the looming, oversized apartments crowding every edge of his vision.
"Why was this book given to us? I'm... s-so confused."
A quiet breeze swept Asahi's white hair as he cracked open the golden book, only to gasp—there, blurred and smudged, was an illustration of him and Aletha fleeing from those very pursuers.
Black ink bled across the page, swallowing the image until it faded into blankness, as if the forbidden illustration had never existed.
A surge of confusioncrashed over Asahi, makcing him drop the bookin frustration and mutter under his breath.r.
"Was that… us?"
Aletha budged in and interrupted with a playful tone.
"Huh, what 'cha lookin' at?"
Curious and confused, the white-haired girl pulled out her pencil and raced toward the book. She asked, her trembling and quivering gray eyes darting over to Asahi's pale and distraught face.
"Bro, what's wrong?"
Asahi gulped and tried to hide his fearful expression from Aletha. He stepped forward and looked up at the clouds overshadowing them, then back at the tall, oversized buildings coated in brown, and asked peculiarly.
"Aletha, you know those illustrations we saw back in that library? One t-that looked like us?"
She nodded her head slowly and scratched her chin.
"Mhmm..."
Eager to see for herself, Aletha leaned over to peer at the book in Asahi's hands. Without waiting for his permission, she pushed his shoulder to the side and whispered with impatience as passersby roamed the rural area.
"What is it?! Let me see."
Aletha cocked a brow in surprise, recollecting the illustrations she saw in the library.
"E-Eh?!"
Aletha recalled glimpsing five engravings within the sparkling, enigmatic book: one mirrored their current ordeal, another depicted a kitsune they had yet to meet, and another showed the siblings in a dungeon with a towering stranger.
Quickly, Aletha grabbed the book and examined all the lines on the fading illustrations before swiftly giving it back and commenting curiously.
"Hmm, I remember seeing illustrations of us in weird environments before, but never have I-- w… wait… i-is that--
Asahi nodded and snapped his fingers.
"Yes, that was us when we were getting chased."
"H… How?! That was… a present event. I don't…" Aletha squinted her eyes closer to the book, and turned all of it page by page to try and find any more illustrations they had yet to find.
Strangely, the only image that remained amid the fading, magical ink was one that did not feature them at all.
A realizing look crept into Asahi's face. He muttered as they saw a tall masked woman soaring from one silent rooftop to the other, chasing them.
"That drawing looks so similar to that peculiar room I encountered the other day. I wonder if The Forbidden Book has…"
Aletha felt like she had no more time to goof around. Her anxiety got the best of her, forcing her to raise her voice among this quiet and tame community.
"H-Huh? Who cares?! Let's just find Akwan and get the heck out of here!"
(ZOOM)
As they neared a steep dead end, the masked woman swooped down, blocking their escape. She drew a glistening purple dagger, scattering bystanders and toppling huts with a sharp snap of her fingers.
"You two shouldn't be wandering in a place like this. Do you know how long it took to find you? Now, cease and surrender before you get hurt!"
And yet, Asahi and Aletha never listened.
They didn't even put up a fight with her and instead, stood still and prepared for the worst.
In a miraculous twist, just as the woman's shimmering purple daggers threatened to strike, the forbidden book snapped open, its pages fixed on an eerie ink drawing.
(ZZZRT)
A golden light erupted, swirling around Asahi and Aletha and swallowing them whole, plunging their world into sudden darkness.
"Please, help us!"
. . .
As their eyes adjusted, they found themselves in a familiar room choked with dense vines, sticky mud, and scattered debris—seven menacing figures looming before them.
A voice screamed out to them as daggers pointed directly at Asahi and Aletha's throats.
"WHERE ARE THE INGREDIENTS?!"
Confused, Aletha's eyes swiftly opened to the sAletha blinked in confusion, taking in the chaos: toppled silver brewing stands, scattered bookshelves, a chipped fireplace tangled in vines, and crates strewn everywhere. The place felt more like a ruin than a room.or, Aletha found the same man lying on the floor, his body slowly disintegrating into blue, lavender, and cyan-colored piles of ash.
"Agh... uh."
Struggling next to her was a familiar white-haired boy, spilling out words of confusion.
"W-What happened?! What is GOING on?!"
While she had instantly awakened and rubbed dust off her body, Aletha felt a hard surface beneath her back. It was a solid texture that matched the feeling of a book.
Now, confusion gripped Asahi and Aletha tighter than ever. Had everything that happened before been nothing but an illusion?
"N-No, it couldn't be," Aletha whispered as she looked over to her hands. "I-I could have sworn I was in that rural place moments ago."
Unexpectedly, after Aletha mumbled, a groan sounded near her, followed by a screaming voice.
"Sis!"
A deep, grueling, and grating voice sounded to their right.
"Oh… so these two are awake too? I thought they were dead."
Asahi and Aletha's eyes widened with fear as they saw five pointed silver daggers close to their necks. The thieves clenched the hilts and leaned closer, feeling no familiarity with this recurring scenario. They questioned the wanderers again, their voices trembling.
"I will repeat myself again. Where are the ingredients?! Speak!"
Vines dangled above their heads, boots scattered around, and screeching voices sounded upstairs.
With so much confusion flooding their minds like an enclosed container, Asahi quickly shoved one of the bandits away and snatched their dagger, instantly piercing it through their flesh and spreading steamy green goop across the ground.
Although the thieves looked human, not once had crimson blood spilled from their wounds. Asahi pondered as he saw Aletha fend off the enemies that had approached her.
(I could have sworn I had been in this room before. But… something looks off. It's the book, I know it.)
Even though the room mirrored the one he had seen before, unease gnawed at Asahi, making him dread whatever might lurk beyond its walls.
The dizzying ordeal churned Asahi's stomach until he retched. Gritting his teeth, he lunged at the last thief, shoving him into a foul brown puddle and shouting.
"What ingredients are you talking about?! Haven't you two had enough of us?!"
A disgusted sneer came from the bandit's dirt-tattered face.
"The hell are you talking about? Are you a psycho or what?!"
"Huh?!"
Without remorse, Asahi quickly got pushed and shoved toward the bookshelves, toppling down his head and feeling the thick muck coating his face.
"Just tell us where the ingredients are!"
Aletha cried out as she lumbered from wall to wall, dodging thick projectiles of sticky mud that splattered from the gaping holes on the walls.
"We don't know what you're talking about!"
"YES YOU TWO DO!" Even with all their complaints, the thief had no memory of encountering this eerily similar conflict before.
He acted just as Asahi remembered, being as stingy and ignorant as ever. Something was clearly wrong about all of this, Asahi knew that very well.
His trembling, mucus-covered eyes darted over to the objects scattered about the mud-infested room. Instead of a few bows, there was only one, which had a bright brown color.
Its appearance matched exactly the arched and curved one that the boy was holding.
The one with emerald eyes and black hair.
Was it possible that the bow could serve as a gateway for Asahi to use and slaughter whatever had pried among this decrepit area? Or was there something more sinister lingering within it? Could this be a parallel place that he transported to?
Brushing those questions aside, the wanderers had no time to interfere. As Asahi could keep a grasp on his thoughts--
(SHING)
One of the bandits still managed to strike.
A silence crept inside the room. The thief's pale face turned over to the dirty, stained blade that had dropped to the floor. He backed away fearfully, stammering as Aletha and Asahi did too.
"P… Please, we just want the ingredients. It's… for something important."
"What are they?! If you want them so badly, shouldn't you ask first before you start killing us? Stupid," Aletha screamed as her tattoo on her face started to glow. "Tell us now!"
Without a train of thought, the white-haired boy crawled desperately to the bow of the wall, clenched the tip tightly, and breathed heavily.
His face warmed up in bright crimson, using almost all his strength to slowly pull and catapult the string tightly. The bow trembled along with his fear, losing the ability to focus precisely on the target itself.
Asahi felt so weak that he collapsed to his knees and whimpered.
"Come… on."
Although the boy he had met before could have been his enemy, Asahi still felt linked and intertwined by the surging aura that had resonated within their weapon.
In response to this daunting event, he quickly grabbed the bow from the mud puddles and pushed himself back to his feet.
His sight caught luminescent green particles fluctuating and swirling within the tightly knotted string attached together.
"I… don't have experience. I don't know who any of these people are…but…" He panted heavily and gasped with his faint breaths, noticing the thief standing still. Asahi stepped closer and heard creatures flood the room. His focus was only on the bow and the thief that stood before him.
"I just want my sister and me to be safe."