"Where were you?"
The storm had passed through the night. Nova had carved a path for the families to return to the farmhouse without saying a word. Everyone was too shocked to talk to her anyway.
In the early morning, Obai followed his sister out onto the farm and towards the beach. Riruka tried to accompany Obai, curious to learn about the strange girl the adults were so afraid of, but her parents held her back.
It had been five long years. Obai was slowly losing faith that she'd ever return, but in the end, she fulfilled her promise.
The two stood in the sand looking out at the waves, the sun rising to their right.
Nova stayed silent for a minute, Obai's tension increasing until it was on the brink of collapse. Eventually, the first smile she'd worn in a long while remembered its way back to her face, and she turned to look at her little brother's shining face.
"I've missed you so much, Obai."
A tear shed down his face as he squeaked out the words he longed to say for so long.
"Why did you leave? Are you finally going to tell me? Where did you go?"
Her silent, soft hands reached forth as she wrapped her icy body around his tiny frame. Her hug filled the cold in his heart, reigniting his connection to his sister.
Nova answered softly as she rested her head on top of his head.
"I explored the world. And... I finally found some more answers."
She pulled back and looked into his eyes. Both of their gray eyes swirled stronger as their gazes connected.
"And I will tell you what I've learned."
- - -
"Iorella is a vast and mysterious land. It's another continent, just like Vweiya. However, Vweiya is named after the god of the world. This is because of its body like shape. The Kokoro Islands were a mystery for a time too, but many connected them to Vweiya in the form of old parts of it. Just like how our skin will slowly die and regrow, the islands were initially a part of Vweiya and split off after thousands of years.
But Iorella was most likely never part of Vweiya, and that's because of the Heavenly Mist."
The two were walking along the beach, hand in hand, as Obai listened attentively to Nova's story.
"The edge of our maps is guarded by the Heavenly Mist and is only found out in the ocean and through Iorella."
Nova looked down at her glowing younger brother.
"The Mist... is also very important to both of us. Obai, have our parents told you about your birth?"
The boy slowly shook his head. "I've asked once, but they said they'd tell me when I'm older."
His eyes grew wide as he stared at his sister's gray eyes.
"Do you know?"
Nova was silent for a moment, stopping in her tracks. She glanced back toward the direction of the farmhouse.
"I do. And I'll tell you eventually, but first, let me tell you how I'm connected to the Mist."
They resumed their walk.
"When I was younger—before you were born—I was fascinated by the Mist, because the island where we came from was famous for being the closest island to it amongst the Kokoro, Noelani Isla. People believe that the Mist is the border between life and death because of the vast knowledge held within, something that only a god could know. They believed that only those who pass on to the divine realm were allowed to learn from Noelani. However, the Mist still provided answers to those who were living.
And so, there were some throughout history who have ventured into the Mist, searching for knowledge. But no one has ever returned, believed to be cursed and dragged to hell by a devil."
She paused once more as a strange feeling washed over her. She hadn't felt it in a while. Was it because she was back with Obai?
Her head drooped down as she spoke softly:
"Except me."
Obai's eyes widened.
'Nova's the only one?! Why isn't she famous?! I should tell the others when I get back.'
"Do not tell people. Mom and Dad will only despise me more."
His hand clenched as he looked up in surprise.
"What? Why?! Isn't that awesome?"
Nova chuckled in response. That was the first time she heard someone say she was awesome for returning from the Mist. Of course Obai would be the one to do so.
"No... it isn't. That's because I scared people. People are not supposed to return from the land of the dead, and so they all feared me. They were quick to fear me more because the Mist had seemingly disappeared. It was simply pushed back beyond the horizon, but the island quickly believed that I was a devil. They ostracized our family, going so far as to try and kill me. I'm the reason the island hates our family. I'm the reason why we moved to Kokoronashi. It's also the reason why our parents despise me. Their ghost child."
She smiled lightly as she turned to face Obai, her eyes thin.
"But don't hold it against them. I agree with them."
"No!! You're cool! Ghost child? People should praise you! You've taught me so much, and you're fun to be around! And when you came back! Somehow moving the river! You're awesome, Nova!"
Obai let go of her hand as he glared at her. His eyes swirled in anger. He loved his older sister and had always wondered why she was always alone. No one should hate her for something so cool!
Nova giggled as Obai continued to fume. Her white hair glowed, and the world became warmer.
"You're such a silly child. Thank you, Obai."
She turned around and looked back at the sunrise.
"I've got more to tell you so I hope you keep thinking that I'm awesome."
She held out her hand again.
As Obai took it with his now sweaty hand, they each retraced their steps back towards the farm.
"My journey... one of the reasons I left was to find the Mist again. It would have been easy... but extremely dangerous to enter in the ocean, so I decided that I'd go to the Mist in Iorella.
But before I did that, I searched for my other goal. To learn energy manipulation from the Seishin."
Obai was confused once more. He'd learned many things in his ten years of life, but he'd never heard of energy manipulation.
"You wouldn't know it, and that's because it is a very sacred art that has been kept secret by the few who practice it. The Seishin are ruled by one of those few people. I only learned that it existed because I saw where to go through my visit to the Mist."
Her gray eyes sparkled as she thought about the future. Everything had gone smoothly so far.
"I plan on teaching it to you."