"The Establisher?" Asahi mumbled as he tried to remember that dark-haired woman adorned by halos. "Why bring that wretched woman up?"
Though lost to the present, her memory clung with ghostly force. Black cloaks billowed, shifting like midnight fog, haunting every thought. Above her, a golden halo seared. Shards of her presence flashed—always just beyond grasp—yet that vision blotted out all else.
"It just came to me," Aletha said. "The Ruler of the Forgotten is slipping."
"We haven't seen her in years," Asahi said. "Wasn't she behind our world's end?"
The idea that she orchestrated their ruin left a bitter, metallic taste. Her memory soured every breath, as if even the air bristled in silent rejection of her name.
She had splintered their world, or so the story went. Set adrift on an endless voyage, they wandered through a labyrinth of shadows and doubt. Wrestling with ghosts of memory, Asahi and Aletha finally let their thoughts dissolve. Surfacing from the deep waters of reflection, they stepped into the quiet promise of morning, where pale light brushed their faces. As the door clicked shut behind them, the burden of yesterday slipped away, and the present enfolded them in a fresh embrace.
In hushed anticipation, they hoped the village would offer refuge—just a breath of peace—rather than unleash its usual wild storms of chaos.
Outside, the day's clamor struck instantly. A vibrant sea of villagers—tall, squat, lithe, broad—eddied around a bustling booth where Akwan, ever patient, stood waiting in line.
"What's going on?" Asahi asked Akwan as the crowd gathered around them.
"Have you heard of an Adventurers' Guild?" Akwan said as he fixed his dark hair. "There are a few of them in Linuxinia, and two more in Destia."
"Destia?" Asahi mumbled. "Linuxinia? No, I never saw th---
A sudden spark of memory lit up his mind. He recalled the moment someone handed him a map, which he now unfurled with trembling fingers. There, on the farthest edge of the world, a tower labeled "Destia" rose amid a sea of purple blooms. Clearing the fog from his thoughts, he folded the map and hurried to rejoin Akwan.
"It might take a while," Akwan said. "Why not grab food? There's a bakery east, past the cobblestone road. They have sweets."
"Sweets?!" Aletha yelped with excited eyes. "Where?"
"Not just sweets," Akwan said as the line moved. "There are croissants, too."
"Croissants!" Asahi exclaimed. "Alright, Aletha, let's get some bread."
Akwan chuckled, watching Asahi's resolve dissolve at the mere mention of pastries. Savory treats were Asahi's undoing, while Aletha's spirit seemed to pirouette with every sweet temptation.
With curious glances trailing them down the cobblestone road, they slipped into the bakery. There, the bright jingle of a bell greeted them. Aletha's eyes sparkled as she scanned the shelves piled high with sweet bread, while Asahi prowled for the perfect croissant. After making their selections, they exchanged Gincoins at the counter before heading back toward the square.
"Have a nice day," they told the cashier.
Bakery bags swinging at their sides, they stepped into a square swallowed by chaos. The line twisted like a living serpent, and the air crackled with restless energy. Threading through the crowd, Asahi and Aletha found Akwan, ensnared in the throbbing core of the uproar.
"Got your bread?" he asked, counting his coins.
"Yup," Aletha said, viciously biting into the sweet bread. "Thanks, Akwan."
"Thanks," Asahi said, finishing his croissant.
Akwan sighed deeply.
. . .
As the sun dipped low, pouring molten orange across Milmoor's rolling hills, the group lingered in line, savoring their treats. Suddenly, a fresh commotion rippled through the square—a crowd had gathered at the notice board. Curiosity tugged at the wanderers, pulling them from the bustle as they drifted closer to discover what had seized the village's attention.
"Ruins?" Aletha read aloud. "Ruins near Milmoor, bounty—fifty thousand Gincoins, man with eyepiece. Guild members only."
They both turned to Akwan.
"You have an eyepiece," Aletha said, nodding at his lavender eye.
Then, their mind flashed to Telos, how his eyepiece stood out.
Fifty thousand Gincoins was no ordinary prize. A windfall like that could upend their destinies and rewrite the course of their lives.
Backing up, Asahi let new thoughts settle in his mind.
"Why would they want Telos? His power or something else?"
A heavy hush fell, thick with questions swirling like morning fog—elusive, nameless, and impossible to grasp.
"So… ruins or stay with Akwan?" Aletha asked, pointing at the post.
Akwan, clueless about their dreams and visions, asked,
"How about we go to the forest?"
"Forest?!" they shouted.
"I was just there," Asahi said. "Let's go to the ruins. Fifty thousand Gincoins could buy the scarf."
"The chance of Drimi giving the scarf for some rancid payment of fifty-thousand Gincoins is very low," Akwan informed as he opened his palms, emitting a cyan light. "It's going to take a lot more than that to gather her interest. I suggest going to the forest. I detect slime activity there."
"What about the slime remnants?" Aletha asked, hand on her sheathe.
"Sell them," Akwan replied. "A thousand Gincoins each."
"So… fifty slimes for fifty thousand Gincoins?" Asahi asked. Excited, they headed to Milmoor Forest.
"Precisely," Akwan replied. "The Adventurer's Guild globally has access to the grand bank in the continent of Vehemat, one for each nation. From there, they trade Gincoins and goods. They have an entire stash of gold, especially the wealthy nation of Sand, Zomrack. And speaking of stash, have you two figured out the storage in your soul?"
Before they departed the village, Asahi and Aletha were reminded of an ability they had,
.
"When you gather enough mana, you have an access point that leads to a personal space," Akwan shoved his hand through his hip, emitting a white glowing portal. "From there, you must use your mind and telepathically think of what you want from the storage, then your soul will fabricate that material, and done, you successfully used the Soul Storage."
Asahi and Aletha followed suit, just as Akwan had done. They shoved their hands through the white portal in their hip, and just as Akwan demonstrated, pulled out a golden watch and a rusty sword. The twos' eyes broadened at the display, seeing objects pulled straight through a portal in their hips.
"So, we can store swords in our souls?" Asahi asked, sheathing his blade back into the portal.
"Exactly," Akwan said. "Now, let's hunt some slimes!"
Dusk cloaked the forest in shadows, its long fingers of darkness reaching out and transforming the air from gentle warmth to a wild, shivering chill. The group slipped away from the glowing village, venturing into the unknown.
As dusk crept through the forest, hungry shadows stirred with life. First to appear was a glistening slime, its translucent skin glimmering within a cyan bubble. Next, a one-eyed serpent slithered closer, its unblinking gaze sharp and unyielding. Last came a quivering, jelly-like being, crowned by a stone that blazed at its core.
The vivid colors overwhelmed Asahi and Aletha. They unsheathed their void and star swords from Soul Storage. The cyan slime leapt, hurling rocks. Dodging, they struck back, destroying it with a blow.
Second, they reached for the cycloptic eye slime. At first, they were almost caught in its slowing pools of goo. But after just one swing, the slime divided into several tinier slimes. With nothing to use to counter, they stomped on the miniature slimes like insects.
Lastly, the slime, crowned with a rock, leaped and dodged their strikes. It hoisted its tiny arm, forming a sword and morphing into a humanoid. Spotting the transmutation, Asahi and Aletha chopped off an arm. Still, it regenerated.
Out of options, Akwan stepped forward and fired a blue laser into its core. The slime fled, but Akwan struck it with a cyan sword, finishing it.
Asahi and Aletha froze as more ferocious slimes burst from the undergrowth, swarming them.
"We have to get out—now!" Akwan shouted, dividing two slimes.
"But we were just having…"
"No ifs or buts… It's The Promise. They're entering. If we fight, we won't survive."
"Why so sudden? What could get us?" Asahi asked, grabbing his sword.
Akwan harshly coughed. "It's a lure." He shouted. " The slimes are a lure!"
Just before the two could think of getting away, a robotic-sounding hum came from the bushes.
"What is that sound?" Aletha mumbled. "It sounds like a faint hum."
A hovering cube circled the forest, scanning. Asahi, Aletha, and Akwan ran to cover.
After the device stopped scanning, Akwan informed the wanderers as the sound of metal boots scraped the blanket of leaves.
"The Promise… wanderers from Wraileza. They roam, searching to destroy or gather. We must leave now!"