Qiony pushes Evelyn onto the floor, her head causing a soft thud.
"I know it's rude, but you're really heavy."
Qiony slaps his legs trying to get them to wake up, but Evelyn doesn't seem to have the same problems as she had immediately gotten up.
She approaches the window and looks down into the islands expanse.
From here she can see the entrance to the marble hall, across from the clearing they were in a forest spanning about half the island, billowing smoke from something inside the forest, and a the head of something resembling a door made of black stone.
(God damn, this island is huge. I might as well take advantage of this though.)
She nervously steps back towards Qiony after scanning for any docks, or boats.
"We aren't escaping this island, probably ever. So we should get to know each other better."
She crouches back down to Qiony, and just is there.
(I should… should I? It would be so nice, but if he doesn't feel the same… it would just ruin it.)
"Hey, Eve- Evelyn stop, please stop what you're doing."
Suddenly she is snapped back to reality, she is right on top of him mere centimeters from his face and practically pinning him to the floor.
Her ears burn hot, her face, nose and ears are almost like a tomato.
She feels a hand on her cheek, and looks toward Qiony.
"Evelyn, are you okay? The rain and cold of Mida must've got you sick."
She jumps back off of him and covers her face.
"I'm- I am really sorry, those employers of ours they must've placed some kind of enchantment on this tower and… yeah."
(Ah, I just want to curl into a ball… but he looked so, just so…)
She takes deep breaths and finally manages to calm down her raging heart and thoughts.
Still, she doesn't speak perfectly normally, her voice a little rattled and embarrassed from that.
"Evelyn just stay here I guess. You should rest if you're unwell."
He offers a small smile and his jacket.
"Take this and I'll be back soon."
Evelyn's eyes follow him to the door, watching his every move until he leaves. The moment he exits the room she breathes a sigh of relief.
(He's gone now, this should be fine right?)
Just for reassurance she looks from side to side before curling into his jacket.
(I had wanted to do this for so long at school, but I didn't know how to befriend him, and now… I guess I'm just obsessed. But I thought he looked at me like…)
Instead of coming out as thoughts she speaks breaking the silence of the small room they were placed in.
"I should've just confessed my feelings, that would've probably been so much better."
In her embarrassment and some weird kind of self-pity she curls further into a ball and drifts off to sleep.
She wakes up at the desks in her room falling asleep on top of her science work, the room itself is small barely able to fit a bed and a desk.
(Damn all of that must've been a dream.)
She scans the room and puts her head back down to work on her math work.
"Hey Evelyn! It's time for dinner come on."
Evelyn looks around the room that her and her siblings share.
But she doesn't seem to notice the changes only for the room to shake, everything falling into darkness with one giant jade-like cat eye in the back.
By the time she wakes up she is sitting straight up against a wall, and through a parting in the trees it seems to be night.
The warmth of the mysterious island has long since disappeared, substituted by the warmth of the human body instead.
Somewhere in the distance something crashes like explosions and the sound of tearing ground and tossing stones.
(Huh, I wonder where I am now, and why do dreams take so long to happen. That was my third source of comfort.)
She yawns and curls further into the persons grip.
"Evelyn, wake up already it's just very… tiring to have carried you for so long."
He stumbles to the right and trips over a root, a gush of wind like a vehicle passing by on the road hits them shortly after trees crash and a ivory white silhouette passes by in a blur.
On the ground Evelyn gets up, for some reason feeling a big sense of fear as it passed.
"Long story short, it's a big snake now get running."
She had started running even faster than she had ever moved before, the feeling of wind passing by her face turns into a vertical fall as she trips over something.
An ivory white line about the size of a tree trunk passes by in a blur, and something hits her shoulder.
The weight of a tree branch hit her shoulder, with cries of pain she doesn't get up and before she knows it she's being dragged along by her jacket hood.
Too concentrated for conversation he drags her along, occasionally accidentally hitting her other arm against the sides of a tree.
"Can't you be a bit careful, and I can still run you know."
No matter how hard she rustled she was unable to loosen his grip.
"Well do you have any ideas how to lose a giant snake that somehow always knows where you are?"
She only is able to watch as the snake tunnels for them once again.
A voice as thunderous as an explosion booms throughout the loud night.
A small bone rips open the world, and in a flash it impales the snakes eye and then stops it moments later.
"So those lovebirds Vera told me about are getting chased by a Mile Parasite?"
He sighs, and tears off his own hand each joint, bone, muscle, blood vessel, and other parts slowly tearing off.
"We have no contracts printed at the moment, so this will serve as my agreement."
Words form from the blood flowing from the missing hand.
"I Cyrell Von Alexander, declare that for my sisters act of ignorance I will give you a better lesson."
His voice which had just boomed mere seconds ago disappeared.
They had suddenly appeared in the coast, grains of sand that are still in the air getting kicked off into the coast with speed like a sandstorm.
Back in the forest the man's eyes have a disappointed look in them.
He hovers in front in the moon, not moving a single inch.
His white trench coat charred black on the edges sways in the light breeze.
His two tone hair that fades from black to red with a purple inside flutters in the wind.
"Anything to spite my sister, isn't that right little mile worm… now I shall feast, the blood from the one who feasts on dragons must be delicious."
His trenchcoat ripples just like the world had and many mouths slowly open up in the coat.
Then he reappears back in front of the two who hadn't moved a single inch.
Qiony recoils in fear and Cyrell looks at a pure black bird that appears to be made of ink and waves with a friendly smile.
"Hello Endrit, thank you for taking my friend as your old vessel, also I do think you'd be surprised by the abolishment of God slaves."
He thoughtfully nods his head and appears to be talking to the air.
"Yes, yes I promise I'll direct them towards my personal ferryman when they are ready. There they will gain full access to their specialties."
He gazes to the night sky, watching a star which appears to streak across the sky.
"Alright, here is the simple lesson I had for my previous students." He points at them and continues.
"You use essence, the existence of all things. You have two pools, the first is your existence and cannot be used or manipulated. Hm… the other I guess it can be called the existence of your actions, but in the end it is still essence."
He breaths heavily, each breath appearing to send him into pain.
"Sorry…" Cyrell coughs, and reaches his hand out. The sand turns maroon in colour, and it slowly towers up by itself.
The sand turns completely solid and he grasps it in his hand.
Evelyn watches with concern in her face, realizing that the beast known as the mile worm was fighting this man who seemed to grow more and more frail with every moment.
"Mr. Alexander, are you okay?"
Cyrell stands up and walks towards them and pats both of them on their heads.
"Yes… I'm okay it's just that, the air is different here." He leans on his cane clearly having gotten up too fast. "You're both good kids. Try not to change, the world needs good."
"That is besides the point because you two still need proper rest, it is easy to explain but hard in practice. Your abilities are reliant on your essence control as essence is everything. Because of this, you have to isolate infinity to get the variable you want and only then can you use your powers."
He points at Qiony and then leaves the cane hanging in the air which the crow flies into.
"This crow here was formed from the sacrifice for the stormeye, which makes it part of his existence as it itself is his eye."
"This ability means he doesn't need reserves unless the crow is destroyed, if it is destroyed we'll need to get someone who's essence is fit for healing."
He lets the cane disperse back into sand.
"Your essence has innate attributes, because you can train as hard as you can but you won't always be able to do what others can."
He walks over to a small rock and presses the stump which has somehow already closed against it.
The rock is crushed and compressed and when Cyrell turns around he has a perfectly normal hand.
"As you can see one of my personal attributes are transformation. Your abilities are dependent on these attributes, but some techniques are exclusive to your existence."
He returns to the rock he was sitting on earlier and sits down with a groan.
"That's all I can really explain at the moment. If you have made any progress or need guidance come to the gate of Respite. Unless the town is busy I should have the time."
Before they can voice any questions a weight feels like it's been lifted off their shoulders, the fear that had stunned Qiony's face had vanished for moments.
"Eve, just run for it while you know nothing. Get out of here, just find a way even if you have to leave me here."
For some reason every slight movement had made Qiony jump, every shadow extending or retracting made him run.
(Why, why does he want me to leave? I thought he saw me the same, so why, why can we not stay together?)
Despite her hesitation her body had moved on its own. At this point she had pulled him into a tight hug that he could not escape.
"Qiony, it's okay. Just talk to me, just tell me what happened."
Qiony's breathing had calmed down, and tears streamed down his face noticeably but he had not uttered a word yet.
"Please, talk to me. Whatever happened it's not okay and I want to see if I can help you."
Qiony hesitated, his mouth opening and closing.
"I-I'm I don't want to talk about it yet, I'm sorry."
She lets her grip of Qiony go and looks towards the moon.
"It's alright, just talk to me if you need any help. It's just… worrying seeing you so scared."
Qiony closes his one eye and his crow flies over to nest in his head, using hair as branches.
"Please… just let me forget. Too much has happened today, I'm tired. Just- leave me alone."
With every gush of wind hitting his skin he shudders.
She looks away dejectedly and mutters.
"Oh… okay. I'll go, the water is bothering me anyways."
Qiony still has is eyes closed but it's clear that he knows she is leaving.
"Hey Eve, make sure you comeback this time."
She looks back to him and stops walking.
"This… time? Qi-Qiony what do you mean by 'this time'?"
He's silent and hopelessly looks at the moon.
"I figured you'd say that." His tone is solemn like he is at a funeral.
"This God, just like the flow of a river he controls the flow of knowledge. I've started knowing more, the knowledge of things I see flowing more naturally into my head."
"Oblivion is peace, but it is also cruel process."
He smiles and finally stands up, waiting for his vision to come back after standing up too fast. Then he walks over like he was no longer fearful of anything.
He places his hand on her shoulder. A hopeless tone of voice when he speaks.
"That ability of yours, it does nothing but make people forget the existence of something. So this time you'll be the one to remember something Leis."
Just like if it was a command she grabs the crow, and she feels something like blood course into the tips of her finger.
"Nonononono. Please, I don't want to do this. I don't know how to help you, I've never had to do this even for my siblings."
He pulls her hand closer to the crow, then sheepishly smiles, and takes a letter and 2 boxes from the backpack.
"I had planned to give it to you after reminding you of your past. You made me promise in the past, this time you'll be the one who promises."
"Don't be suprised, you'll find a way by the end of the week. That I believe with my entire heart."
Her free hand shakes but it takes the ring, but with that action she forgot to resist using her ability.
Qiony's crow had disappeared and Qiony collapses to the ground like he's in a deep sleep.
Before he is able to hit the ground she crouches down and catches him.
She had managed to keep the letter and a box in hand but one of them had fallen to the ground.
The boxes were clearly weak and flimsy so once it had hit the ground a promise ring had fell out.
She carries him in her arms like he had died.
"May oblivion bring you rest and may your journey be short and sweet."
She looks at the ring which had fell to the ground and the corner of her mouth had curled up.
Taking it in her hand she slipped it onto his finger.
"We're too young to be married, but I guess I could promise this to you."
With Qiony into sleep the cooler night had become increasingly lonely, with each passing second she had wandered in the direction she remembered they started at it had piled onto her.