CHAPTER 40: SENSELESS BLANKETS OF SHADOW

After Akwan was captured by the enemy, the wanderers and their companions trudged back to the village, burdened by their discoveries. The sun dipped low, casting a smoky veil over the rolling hills.

Asahi whispered urgently to Aletha as the pair dashed up the steep precipice, their breaths quick and their hearts pounding with anticipation.

"The Ending. The Princess... who could that be?"

Aletha stepped forward, her eyes alight with a single clue that tied everything back to The Establisher.

"Who are they and why do they want Akwan?" Aletha asked, clutching onto Asahi’s hand. "How do they know about The Establisher?"

Sadiki and the others traded anxious glances, the shadowy figure’s identity slipping through their minds like mist.

Suddenly, visions of the dark-haired figure flickered through the minds of Asahi and Aletha—a being who conjured prisms in her golden hands, her presence unmistakably otherworldly, draped in shadowy, flowing garments that belonged to no known realm.

"The universe reels in disgust at this wretched planet and its wicked owners." She said as she closed her fists. "Be gone and banished unto oblivion."

All they could recall was the moment they hovered helplessly, watching Aiyana hurled back into the radiant world, her form slicing through the smoldering air.

This memory served as a constant reminder of why they had. At last, they reached the edge of the village, but an eerie sight awaited them. Purple flames devoured the buildings, cobblestone roads lay broken across the meadows, and a jumble of clothing, furniture, wagons, and carriages littered the village like the aftermath of a storm.

Barely had they caught their breath from one ordeal when a fresh, unknown menace rose before them.

"What happened?" Aletha asked as Asahi remained silent, shocked.

As Asahi, Aletha, and the others approached the alleyway from the debris, their eyes caught sight of Belial, Sally, and Drimi, who were forming a barrier and fending off countless purple, goopy monsters leaping from a portal. Sadiki gritted his teeth in anger.

First, Akwan vanished, and now the villagers were gone too. None of it made any sense.

"Why do the monsters want to do this?" Aletha asked as she unsheathed her sword from her Soul Storage.

Despite her wounds, Clover erupted in a fierce rage. Her green hair unfurled down her back, whipping through the air and leaving trails of green and purple light. With a wild leap, she hurled herself into the fray, blocking the monsters’ advance.

Instead of wielding Soil magic, Clover unleashed conjuring magic—a rare art reserved for the most seasoned of magic users.

"She’s using... conjuring magic," Akwan said. "Only the elite of elites use that. It drains their mana indefinitely."

Suddenly, a towering humanoid beast bellowed across the chaos.

"There they are!" It said, "Capture those two white-haired beings at once. Expel everyone else."

In response, the monsters slowly nodded their heads and pulled out their blades. Belial tilted over, seeing Asahi and Aletha racing toward him.

"Where in the heavens have you two been?" Belial said as he pulled his brown hood from his head. "The village got ambushed. I don’t understand why, but I’m glad you two returned. Drimi is struggling. I have never witnessed that nature."

Asahi dropped to his knees, plunging his hands into the battered earth, feeling both its lingering warmth and the scars of battle beneath his fingertips.

"Why have they ambushed here?"

Before the answer could come, the soil crumbled into green motes, and his palms blazed with vivid purple light. White-hot energy surged up his arms as he unleashed a punch powered by his long-lost abilities.

"Take this!"

His fist crashed into the ground, sending a colossal green shockwave rippling outward. Buildings soared through the air, and the Ending creatures were obliterated in its wake.

For a heartbeat, Asahi wielded his old power—a force strong enough to bring giants to their knees. But it vanished as quickly as it came. If only it had lingered, he might have changed everything.

Aletha, wounded but resolute, summoned her shriveling power for a fleeting instant before it, too, faded away.

"Asahi, what was that?" Belial questioned as they saw one of the creatures shriek.

Instead of Drimi worryingly yelling, she deeply chuckled and clapped her hands.

"Whoa there, vanilla boy." She said, "You do have somethin’ strong in ya’ after all."

Sally, after conjuring blue luminance, deeply muttered.

"I have never seen power like that before."

Belial, after throwing piercing arrows, calmly said.

"Drimi, now is not the time."

As the portal snapped closed and the giant withdrew, Asahi and Aletha crumpled to the ground, utterly spent. It was as if unseen threads knotted their minds and hearts, leaving them adrift in exhaustion.

Clover and the others noticed this awakening. And swiftly, Clover ordered the group.

"Someone, anyone?! Take them to the hospital, please!"

Drimi and Belial answered Clover in unison.

Fortunately, the same nurses who had once cared for Asahi and Aletha whisked them away to the hospital. The building stood untouched by fire, tall and steadfast, a silent guardian over the battered village below.

...

Later, the moon shimmered above a sea of stars. The grassy plains rested in tranquil silence, wildlife stirring as the night wind whispered through the bristling grass, erasing all traces of chaos.

Warm, hazy orange light poured from every window while lanterns and torches cast a gentle glow over the village. The remaining villagers moved softly, gathering debris along the torn cobblestone roads, slowly stitching their world back together after The Ending’s sudden assault.

Asahi and Aletha finally found rest in their own beds, soothed by the sight of Clover safe and sound. Sadiki slipped away to tend the wounded fields, while Drimi brought laughter back, leading the children in a game of tag.

Though Akwan’s absence weighed on them all, Asahi and Aletha’s return brought hope. Together, they chose to spend another night lending their hands to the villagers and the adventure guild.

...

The room was blanketed with shadows and moonlight.

A gentle, peaceful silence filled the room.

Asahi stared up at the ceiling, lost in thought, while Aletha, half-asleep in a wooden chair, tapped her toes on the floor and let out gentle snores, her head drooping lower with each breath.

Her eyelids shut, her eyelashes glimmered, and she softly whispered.

"You will be okay."

After reliving the day’s ordeals—the clash with Lyssa, the terror of The Ending, and the giant’s fury—it was finally time for a well-deserved rest.

"You know Asahi... it just doesn’t feel the same,"Aletha whispered as she twiddled her thumbs, recalling nostalgic moments of their once-peaceful world. "Without our family. Without Aiyana. Without mother and father. Even if we fight, we do our best to protect each other."

"Shortly after Asahi and Aletha slept in their corresponding beds, while Belial, Drimi, and the others fell asleep, waiting until dawn, a new day to arise.

. . .

At last, the sun crept above the endless grassy hills, its golden rays stirring the village awake. Birds filled the misty plains with song, and wagons rattled along freshly mended cobblestone roads. The village gleamed, almost as if it had been reborn.

The church bells rang, resounding over the quiet, tame walls. The villagers began another day, attending to their daily duties, such as washing clothes, cleaning, and harvesting. To no avail, the crops seemed to be absent from the farm, no traces left anywhere.

The sunrise’s luminance pierced through the transparent windows and onto the bed, where both Belial and Sadiki’s white hair glimmered in the radiant yellow sunlight as they walked in the hallway of the small hospital.

"What do you want?" He asked, puzzled by Sadiki’s actions.

"I was going to greet Asahi and Aletha. Remember, Akwan is still missing."

Belial’s wide emerald eyes broadened.

"Akwan? Missing? No wonder I hadn’t seen his face that night." Belial said as he looked over to the paintings hanging on the wall. "Do you know how he went missing?"

"He had been captured by a giant humanoid," Sadiki said, unraveling information in one blow. "From this faction known as The Ending."

"The Ending?" Belial retraced Sadiki’s words. "That faction that brooks no care for anything. That faction?"

Sadiki nodded silently.

"Now, I understand," Belial said, fixing his dark hair. "The Ending captured Akwan because of his power." He took a deep breath. "See, Akwan isn’t just some alchemist, he’s a creator."

"Creator?"

"I won’t give any more information, since it’s secret," Belial muttered. "But know this, Akwan is far more important than meets the eye."

"If Akwan is in the hands of The Ending, we absolutely must go to their outpost at once," Belial said. "It would be dangerous to even allow the creatures from The Ending to lay a hand on Akwan." He took another pause, looking up to the sun. "This world, no, rather, the entire universe is at risk, with Akwan in the hands of The Ending. If only you knew how important he was."

At a glance, he swiftly pulled Sadiki further into the hallway, hurrying to Asahi and Aletha’s door.

"Wake up!"