"What-wh-what are you doing?" Aether asked, leaning on a nearby tree.
"Something is telling me to jump," Mirakos said as he continued running, his scarf floating up and down with each stride. His eyes seemed to narrow, becoming slightly slitted. "The edge."
Aether kept pace easily, noting subtle changes in Mirakos—his feet appeared to thin, his hind legs elongating almost imperceptibly.
"I see something... ways of a dragon's ferocity," Mirakos said, speaking as if in a trance. "I'm seeing a man jumping, leading me, laughing." A thin trickle of blood began to seep from his nose.
As they ran down the cliff toward the grassland, Mirakos kept speaking, his voice strained. "There are numerous entrances around each floor," he began.
Aether picked him up and carried him on his back. "You're getting tired, huh? These floors are massive to their edges," he said, increasing his pace—left, right—moving faster with each step.
Mirakos tried to speak. "Altan—" but was interrupted.
"How about we call him 'long-haired pony'?" Aether suggested suddenly, trying to lift Mirakos's spirits.
Mirakos nodded frantically, a smile breaking across his face. "Long-haired pony is showing me various ways of punching people..." He stretched his arm forward, turning it clockwise. He demonstrated a motion targeting the chest or just below the ribcage. "A punch to the body is one thing, but a punch to the core is something more."
They finally reached the edge. Aether touched the end with his left arm—it seemed painted, yet eerily realistic, like a dream that knows it should end but still tries to build, to create imagery. He exerted more physical power.
Mirakos hopped down, placing both palms on the wall. "Big bro—" he began.
Aether, taken aback, responded quickly. "Yeah?"
"When we find Dad and all, can I have an outfit similar to yours?" Mirakos stuttered. "I'm not trying to steal your flow or anything, but I find it cool the way it floats when you move..."
Aether chuckled, tapping the boy's back. "Don't worry. I'll have to ask your dad for permission first."
Mirakos rapped his knuckles against the wall, alternating between single-finger taps and quick double strikes. Each sound echoed faintly in the stale air, punctuated by the occasional hiss that slipped through his teeth. "Long-haired pony does it with one hand," he muttered under his breath, irritation in his voice.
Aether stood beside him, watching in silence, his gaze steady and unreadable.
With a sharp final tap of his knuckle against the edge, the wall responded. The stone folded away as if the floor itself had swallowed it whole, vanishing without a sound.
Darkness.
Aether stepped into it first, his grip tightening on Mirakos's hesitant hand. "Into the darkness, yet again," he said, his tone soft but resolute.
"You should really stop finding yourself in these situations," Text replied, its tone light with mockery.
"There you are. You've been gone for a while now."
Together, they crossed the threshold, their forms swallowed by shadows. The open wall sealed itself as if it had never moved, leaving no trace of their passage.
Aether's eyes widened slightly as he began speaking. "What were you doing before you met Altan?" He gestured around, trying to find something solid to hold onto.
"I wanted to go to the library, then they said they'd take me to the mall, but I wanted to go to the playground too. Dad said no... I forgot why. I think I forgot a lot of things. I want to forget about the long-haired pony... but if I do, I'll forget about you too," Mirakos replied, his voice softening.
Aether gripped Mirakos's hand tightly, surprised by the flood of words. He had only asked where his father lived, but Mirakos had shared everything. "He really is like Ronald," Aether said, smiling as they finally found a solid surface. He spread his arms wide, searching for anything familiar. "Do you see anything from your starter pack?"
"Starter pack?" Mirakos echoed, confused.
"The thing you're seeing," Aether explained, just as puzzled. "It's called a starter pack. Don't they teach you that in school?"
Mirakos pulled at his jacket, shaking his head. "No, I only hear about... forget the church's will and embrace technology, along with my subjects."
Aether paused, considering that. "Is that really what they say?" He couldn't believe it—such a simplistic view of the world. "Technology is good, alright... at least since I got here. Oh, wait—the bathroom..." Aether shivered at the thought, muttering, "Open." A door slid open before them.
"No... but I hate Rolls-worth," Mirakos said, his voice tinged with disdain. "If they hate the church, don't they hate God too?"
Aether fell silent, unsure how to respond. He didn't know what to say about God, or the deity people spoke of. "If there is a God," Aether said, "I'd like a long conversation with him about faith." He shook his head, lost in thought. He pushed the thought aside as the door they had entered through vanished in a flash of light.
He blinked, eyes stinging from the brightness, and coughed as the dust settled around them.
Skyway Hub. The usual thick air still lingered in the area. He turned back at the door which now closed on its own. The station desk man was right, he thinks, staring at the desk. It is a good form of traversing the realm, but one can get lost easily. The lift is better, and tubes for the floor-to-floor travel.
Aether glanced at Mirakos, who pointed to a street. They walked for a while, turning a few blocks, but stopped instantly when it came into view.
"The church..." Aether murmured.
The cathedral rose from the earth, its spires stretching heavenward in defiance, shaped by hands long gone. Its walls were darkened by centuries of rain, yet they stood unyielding. Great buttresses stretched out like wings, bearing the weight of human ambition. No skyscrapers dared crowd it; the cathedral towered above all else, sovereign and alone. The lush grass around it was meticulously tended, a stark contrast to the dark stone. Inside, hymns echoed, filling the air with reverence. At the top of it all, a figure of a man hung on a cross. The cross was marked with an additional line at the bottom—the unmistakable symbol of the First Faith.
"Is that the guy Marquis talks about?" Aether asked, his tone dismissive. "Man-made God... I don't understand it." He tried to shrug it off, glancing at Mirakos, who closed his eyes.
"Lord, have mercy upon me, a sinner," Mirakos whispered.
Aether was taken aback by the words. He quickly shook it off and began walking faster. "Your dad's waiting. Maybe you can explain to me about the guy up there?"
"Okay!" Mirakos said eagerly as they walked past the church.
At that same moment, a figure emerged from one of the many doors of the cathedral, descending the long staircase. They stared at Aether's cross, a smile stretching on their face.
Aether and Mirakos began talking again, already a considerable distance from the church. Mirakos was breathing heavily, struggling to keep up.
"Are you okay?" Aether asked, holding onto him.
"You walk too fast! It wasn't much of a problem before, but now you're basically running," Mirakos said breathlessly.
"You heard, didn't you?" a woman said from behind them.
"I did..." another woman responded.
Aether heard them but didn't pay attention—they were gossiping. They passed a street near Mirakos's house. More people were out now, passing by. As Aether and Mirakos made their way through the crowd, the talk grew louder, shifting from whispers to words they couldn't ignore.
"You heard, yes?"
"I didn't."
"He died—"
"Who?"
"Mirakos's father—"
"What? When?"
"Last night. His house—"
"Destroyed. Gone."
"Did you see it?"
"The fire? Bright as day."
"Was it an accident?"
"Or was it them?"
"Them! You mean—"
"Shh. Don't say it aloud."
"He's here."
"Mirakos. Does he know?"
"Why would he?"
"Should we tell him?"
"Quiet, he's listening!"
"Let them pass."
"Stay back. Don't look."
"He's just a boy. Poor boy."
"Someone's with him."
"Does he know too?"
"Someone has to tell them—"
"They'll find out soon enough."
"Just look at his face."
"He has no idea."
"None at all..."
As the people passed, Mirakos's eyes widened. His mouth fell open. His claws elongated, his hair began to rise unnaturally, and his aura flared.