Catching his breath and calming down, Akito fell onto the grass, his mind replaying the unsettling memories of recent events. Akito's hands trembled as he clutched his face and began to cry.
"Why... Why did all this happen?... Does such a thing really exist?.."
His voice wavered and broke with grief. After several minutes, Akito finally calmed down, still sniffling and whimpering, but one crucial thought came to his mind: 'Where am I?'
Akito's breathing quickened again, and his eyes darted between three things: the forest around him, an owl, and a temple. The temple was massive, its cracked stone walls covered in various greenery, from moss to vines. Remembering Cedrick's lessons about the forest, Akito felt a little calmer. The first lesson
Cedrick had ever given him was to remain calm and analyze the situation in any unexpected circumstance.
Standing up, his blue eyes surveyed the area again. Judging by the sun, it was midday. The forest around him was green, meaning it was either summer or spring, for now, that was all he knew.
Approaching the temple, Akito examined it – nothing special, just an empty, lonely, and abandoned temple. He turned to walk away but tripped over something and fell. 'What a day this is turning out to be...'
He got up and looked at where he had stumbled. It was a mask, buried in the ground but still visible. Pulling it out, Akito examined the mask. It was white, with two vertical blue lines, one for each eye-slit. The mask had no mouth opening and looked simple. Akito liked it, so he wiped off the mud. Having nowhere to put it, he put it on, feeling a slight headache, lightheadedness, and nausea. He quickly took the mask off.
'What was that?'
Deciding to try putting the mask on again, the symptoms repeated, but then disappeared. Instead, Akito now felt a certain lightness and strength while wearing it, though he still felt strange. He looked at the forest again; the owl was gone. His blue eyes seemed to glow under the mask.
'A strange feeling, pleasant... but unsettling...'
Akito decided to go straight. Maybe he would find civilization, then he could consider himself lucky. With that goal, Akito moved straight ahead. The forest smelled fresh; it was comfortable and cool. He heard a stream flowing somewhere in the valley and ran towards it.
After such stress, Akito was thirsty, his throat parched. Reaching the stream, he took off the mask and began scooping up the crystal-clear water with his hands. Akito took greedy, large gulps, as if he had never drunk before. Having had enough, Akito lay down on the ground. His mind was blank; he subconsciously didn't want to recall the past events. Getting up, Akito wanted to continue his journey, but something rustled in the bushes.
Akito quickly put on the mask and stood up. He felt a strange energy, like from the white-haired man, though weaker. Akito was highly alert. A man leaped out of the bushes at him, dressed in a dark, tattered, knee-length cloak, with a dirty shirt underneath. He was barefoot, and his pants were torn. He was pale and somewhat thin. His dark-purple eyes stared directly at Akito with pure hatred, and his long black hair seemed to envelop him. He wasn't much older than Akito.
Akito swallowed and looked at the man; the man looked at Akito. At that moment, the man lunged forward and punched Akito directly in the side. Akito, clearly unaccustomed to fighting, winced severely under the mask but remained standing. The mask seemed to give him strength. Gathering his will, Akito hit the man in the face with all his might. The dark-haired man was thrown back a bit. Akito was surprised by his new strength, but at that moment, a strange feeling overcame him. He dodged backward, and black spikes with a violet tint emerged from the ground.
As soon as Akito averted his gaze from the spikes, the violet-eyed man kicked Akito in the stomach. Akito gasped heavily but dodged again, and new spikes appeared where he had stood moments before. It seemed the man was creating them. 'Does he want to kill me?'
Akito dodged another spike attack; he seemed to sense their appearance. Akito lunged and punched the man in the face again, then jumped on him. Akito's fists pounded the man's face with all his might, but then the man got on top, knocked Akito's mask aside, and began punching his face.
They fought like this for another minute, taking turns with the initiative, or falling to the ground. Finally, Akito couldn't take it anymore. He was currently punching the dark-haired man's face but stopped. "Why did you attack me?"
The man spat blood and looked at Akito with disgust.
"As if you don't know, you bastard..."
Akito blinked and wiped the blood flowing from his nose. "I truly don't know. You attacked me, and I decided to defend myself..."
The man's eyes widened. "You really don't know who I am?"
Akito nodded. Realizing the man no longer
had malicious intentions, he got off him, and the man began to speak. "My name is Viator, and I am cursed, or so people think."
"Why did you attack me?" Akito asked, spitting blood. Both their faces were bruised, and their noses were broken.
"People like me... are usually thrown into a pit, where we die. But I climbed out and survived. If they find out I'm alive, they'll kill me."
"Why is that?"
Viator sighed heavily and wiped the blood from his nose.
"Because of one bastard... The king of this cursed, cursed country. He said that people like me are cursed, and therefore ordered us to be killed or thrown into a pit, that white-haired jerk..."
Akito's eyes widened. "Did you say white-haired?"
"Yes, why?"
"A white-haired man killed my friends... very dear to me..."
Viator's violet eyes glinted dangerously. "Then we'll kill him."
"What if they are different people?"
"Then we'll kill one, and then the other. What's your name, by the way?"
"Akito... And you're Viator... Right?"