- Pablo Pica.s.so

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It"s already night when we were dismissed. Not from the first day of cla.s.s. Not from any formal gatherings. But from when everyone knew for the first time what they ended up with, and how dire their situations are.

That psychopath of a deity gave us instructions to harbor tools that we think are somewhat useful outside. Ergo, what lies beyond the perimeter of this island still remains a mystery. We are yet to set foot in this NÆthervale and we are yet to experience the new paradigm that awaits us there. Those Salamanders, Dyrads, Gnomes, Undines" facades are soon to be unveiled and it is not yonder when we will get to experience a new type of system where ethereal magic is subsistence. Why call it magic though? It"s ubiquitous. They should have had called it something else to give an unusual vibe, like "artes", "phantasm" or something.

I checked my watch to see how much time I have left and to prepare for our new pilgrimage, beyond the city gates which will soon be out of access. It"s still 7: 58 PM. I still have eight remaining hours. I"ll have to make the most of it.

The city was still br.i.m.m.i.n.g in despair. It did not seem the same from when it was on earth. the bustling streets were silent. The cars remained unmoved making the traffic lights useless and the lively atmosphere it once gave was now but a fragment of the past.

Truth be told, I expected that the people will act corruptly and violently after those several moments with Hermes. I thought that shoplifting, more havoc, and stealing would become the new deal as scarcity today is at its best. But they reacted differently anyway. For diverse races coming from different cultures, everyone was well-disciplined to boot.

I wonder how those "earthlings" back home are reacting, seeing how an entire island suddenly disappeared without prior warning. It"s probably in the news by now and as well as on the different social media platforms. They better not think that the Bermuda triangle suddenly suctioned us wholly or a conspiracy alike of those cattle mutilation got us. It just shows in retrospect the retrogression of men"s supposed-greatness. If I were to read online articles like that the moment I get home, the author might want to start seeking refuge in Area 51. "If" I"m able to go home that is.

Or maybe, the deities already had the situation covered. I mean, they have the means to outmaneuver natural laws. In a single flicker, they can erase or nullify everyone"s memories that an island such as this had existed without difficulties. Yet, I can"t be distracted by such thoughts that are void of merit. It would only spell death on my behalf. For starters, I have to retrieve some belongings in the cla.s.sroom.

Thereafter, I started to walk away from the venue point with a little girl holding my hand. If others are to see this, they might think that I"m a pedophile taking advantage of the situation, but h.e.l.l do I care about their thoughts now. I don"t incorporate confirmation bias, letting the false judgment of society affect my logic, albeit, that is far from happening. Everybody by now should probably be too disturbed by the fact that they are here rather than to think of something else, sulking on their room alone, wis.h.i.+ng that this was all a nightmare.

"s.h.i.+ro."

"What is it? Oni-Chama?"

"You have been pretty silent, are you okay? You want to sleep?"

"I"m just...hungry"

"Oh. right. What do you want to eat for dinner?"

"Fried chicken"

Again? What is it with these kids today? While in my case, I ate nothing but green-leafy vegetables way back. Well, I surely can"t act like a legitimate parent. I"m just a newly-found older brother, so it should be ok to spoil her a bit.

"Roger! But I left my wallet in the cla.s.sroom, so we will have to get it first, for us to buy some delicious food! Would you be okay with that?" I asked, having ulterior motives to retrieve some belongings left there that might be useful for our departure starting tomorrow.

"Hai! Mochiron oni-Chama" (English: Yes! Of course, brother), replied s.h.i.+ro with the same faultless expression. I"m very proud of this little girl. In the wake of such a catastrophe, she does not hesitate to let all of her fear show and then recover as if only a minimal disaster is plunging her. Maybe it"s a part of childhood innocence? I guess so, but I can a.s.sure, that not all kids of the same age have the same guts to move on just like how s.h.i.+ro did albeit being a girl.

"Yos.h.i.+, Yos.h.i.+. Ikuze!" (English: Ok. Ok. Let"s go) Wait, why am I speaking j.a.panese now? Prior anyone can enter this city back when it was on earth, proficiency in English is a must to learn, or maybe they gave exemption to kids? s.h.i.+ro is a j.a.panese-decent and she is still a child so it"s highly commendable how she can speak and understand the complex international lingo. Oh well, doesn"t hurt, does it?

With that being said, we then head to AU"s Cla.s.s 12-A8 with the roads quieter than ever. And with nothing but auxiliary street lights illuminating the impotent darkness of the night, as the moon continued to s.h.i.+ne its monochromatic radiance.

Time check. It"s exactly Eight PM.

What the h.e.l.l is that Lacrimosa doing? She better not be sleeping this entire time. We need to choose what faction we want to take a side on. Wait, does she even care? Most likely not. It might be dumb but it"s concerning. We need this to be discussed right away. This should be of the utmost priority. The things in my cla.s.sroom can wait.

"s.h.i.+ro, before getting my wallet, can we first visit Aunt Lacrimosa?"

"Lacrimosa?"

"Remember, that lady I introduced to you earlier? "

"Oh, Lacrimosa oni-chan" Not aunt huh?

"Shall we visit her?"

"Yes, but where is she oni-chama?"

"Hold on, let me show you something cool"Now if only I could reopen that warp gate.

If I remember correctly, Lacrimosa"s realm was pretty dark inside. It was almost like the deepest pit of oblivion itself, so I might be able to manipulate the s.p.a.ce that separates her realm from this waypoint, after all, I can control anything dark. So if I could only imagine the same portal we used earlier, this should be as easy as counting numbers...I got it.

While it was the very first time that I tried doing this, not to mention I"m yet to explore the extent of my power, I highly doubt if something wrong was to happen. The darkness would never betray me, his chevalier to me is beyond any loyalty.

"s.h.i.+ro try saying "Open Sesame" for me."

"Hai. Open Sesame!"

Having s.h.i.+ro to say such a trivial phrase, I managed to open a portal in front of us, a carbon copy of the one Lacrimosa makes every time she needs to enter her realm. Well, I could say it"s a success perhaps? There"s no point in too much skepticism, although I"m dragging this little girl along without prior knowledge of what lies beyond.

Wait. That realm incorporates a time disorientation spell. The time there moves viably slower. I should not waste time when I"m there. I should probably get her outside the moment I come in contact. No questions asked. Oh right, there"s no need, since s.h.i.+ro can act as the nullifier since, if a third party other than the deity and the Herrscher is to see someone entering the portal, the time disorientation spell would be impotent. I guess Siro is quite handy.

"Wow! Did I do that oni-chama?"

"Uhmm. Yes, you did! Nice spell!"

"Teeheee...Uhmm, Is that where Lacrimosa oni-chan is living? It"s dark, I"m scared to go in, oni-chama..." Having seen how obscure the portal looked like, she once again found herself cowering in unessential fear. A kid is a kid Jaiden, there"s no helping it.

It is in these types of situations where I would want to say "Oh no, there"s no point on being afraid of the dark, he"s a dear friend of mine!" It"s in the dark where I can think and reflect on some things. It"s in the dark where I can find myself secure and heck, from the dark the universe was formed and to it, it shall return. If there"s one thing anyone should be afraid of, its the light of day! It"s where those monsters appear and would go to work to have some monetary gains. But, nah, I surely can"t say that to a kid. Besides, I know how fast s.h.i.+ro can maneuver over her fears.

"Don"t worry, I"m here. And beyond that is the palace of Lacrimosa. It"s very magical, I think you would like it"

"Magical? Are there any pegasus inside?"

"Why don"t we find out?"

"Ok oni-chama"

Her tiny fingers then held my hand as she remains a.s.sured that everything is fine as a kind stranger in her side said so.

"Ok, s.h.i.+ro in a count of three! Let"s jump ok?"

"Ok, oni-chama I"m ready"

"One..." h.e.l.l, I don"t know why but I"m somewhat nervous.

"Two..." This is an invasion of privacy in that G.o.ddess"s perspective. Oh well, to make it a tie...I, might as well invade...a little.

"Three!" Without hesitation, while holding s.h.i.+ro jumped right in. Wait, what do I do if Lacrimosa is changing clothes as of the moment!? More like, why did that thought only crossed to me now?

The next thing I saw is the great darkness that enveloped us whole, with the portal at our back, starting to close. Quite the opposite of the magical internal palace that I made s.h.i.+ro expect to see. The atmosphere was so bleak as ever and there was no turning back. It would take another moment or two to imagine such a carbon-copy of the portal again, leading outside. s.h.i.+ro"s grip in my hands began to add pressure. It"s highly understandable, we can hardly see anything. I thought Lacrimosa is here! Wait, don"t tell me this place is not it. Calm down. First, let me a.s.sess the place.

Darkness? Check?

Chess-patterned tiles? Check!

Hmmm. This is a.s.suredly Lacrimosa"s realm. It"s beyond question, and I can quite pick up her presence here... Yet, where the h.e.l.l is she?

"Oni-Chama...Where"s Lacrimosa oni-chan?"

"Uhmm. Let"s wait for her a little."

"WHO"S THERE!" Out of the severe darkness, there bammed a door suddenly opening out of nowhere and from it steams came out as if the room was somewhat leading to a hot spring. A rosy fragment then came drifting through my nostrils. The light was also radiant and a silhouette of a lady figure made its appearance wondering who could have had access to this realm. It"s Lacrimosa.....fresh from the bath.

"It"s me"I answered. s.h.i.+ro, unable to identify the figure started to take cover in my rear.

"What, this place can"t be a "personal realm" if anyone besides me can enter on their own will. How did you enter here in the first place?"

"Just nothing special. First could you turn on those chandeliers, please? It"s too dark"

"Just so you know, I"ll never tolerate this invasion, you lecher. I don"t really find myself caring if you have such l.u.s.trous desires, but what"s unforgivable is how you disturbed me on my precious bath time."

"Yes. Yes. But I believe that I came here for not such perverted reasons. Especially there"s no way of telling what you"re doing here, this is pure coincidence, and who would want to peep at you anyway? "

"You of course. "

"I can"t believe this. How can a G.o.ddess even promote the idea of l.u.s.t? Look, just turn on the lights already."

"My. My. Do you want to see it that much Jaiden? You should have just said to me without holding back!"

"Huh? What the h.e.l.l are you meaning to say."

"I"m naked right now"

"Oh. Good thing I can" see anything then. Look, just dress up and turn on the lights. There"s something very important that we need to talk about ."

"Still as persistent as ever. Yes, yes, I"m coming over shortly." Having said that, the deity closed the door and clapped her hand twice, again causing the giant chandeliers to s.h.i.+ne in illumine radiance lighting up the whole realm.

"Wooaaaaahh!!" s.h.i.+ro was very surprised and as I had predicted, she forgot about the fear she felt ago like it was nothing. She marveled as she saw how vast that place was and of course to the mystique crimson chandeliers a hundred times larger than me.

"This is her palace!" I welcomed her, as though I"m the owner.

"It"s pretty clean oni-chama...but, it"s so....empty. "

"Yep, I agree with you. That Lacrimosa is very very minimalistic."

"Hm. Hm. But, Oni-Chama where is the pegasus?"

"Oh, let"s wait for Lacrimosa, she has it."

"Huh? Who are you talking to? Did you bring someone else here?" while changing, the G.o.ddess as though she was able to eavesdrop asked.

"Uhm. Yes obviously. Can"t you feel her presence?"

"Well, I can. Yet, that"s so brazen! It"s like you invited someone to a house that is not even yours from the get-go" After saying that, the door reopened with the G.o.ddess coming out from it in a red bathrobe. And the door suddenly vanished into thin air. "

"By the way, you have any Pegasus here don"t you? The kid wants to ride one."

"That"s a piece of cake."

The G.o.ddess, out of her authority summoned one in the realm via a summoning circle. It"s very playful and was pa.s.sionate about playing with s.h.i.+ro. I guess that should do it! I then let s.h.i.+ro ride at the back of the pegasus while ensuring her safety. Good thing she forgot about the fried chicken though.

"Enjoy now. And don"t lose grip to pegasus-san"

"Hai! Oni-chama. Ja Matane!" (English: Yes! Brother! See you later!) Both of them then flew high at the realm"s wide empty s.p.a.ce and s.h.i.+ro is quite enjoying it herself. Seeing the joy she is feeling is somewhat nostalgic in my behalf.

"So what are we talking about?" Lacrimosa then sat at her medieval-looking throne.

"Uhm. Yes, it"s very important. But before that, I believe that I told you to get dressed, why are you in a bathrobe?"

"Oh, what"s this? Are you too disturb of the fact that I"m half-way naked right now?"

"Hmmm. Nope, I don"t mind. Just don"t complain about sudden glimpses soon."

"Hm. Still forward as ever. So, what are we talking about?"

"That guy, Hermes. "

"Oh, so he"s done explaining everything?"

"Probably, but I believe not everything. But, there is this one concern especially for you"

"And what concern might that be?"

"You need to decide what faction we"re gonna support, right now. There are only two gates leading outside. One would be taken by that so-called "Mirage Armada", while the other one would be for the "Chaos Armada". There"s no such gate for the undecided. Tomorrow at three AM, we leave by either one of those two gates."

"Wait did this come from Hermes?"

"Yes. You might want to start thinking seriously now that-..." I was interrupted as a small grin flashed across her face and stifled continuous chuckles followed that she failed to suppress"

"What"s funny?"

"Tehee. Nothing. So basically that Hermes told everyone that we should already decide what faction we should take a side on?"

"Yes"

"And this is coming from Hermes? That Hermes?"

"Yes"

"HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. " she burst into laughter which annoyed me a little bit.

"As you can see Jaiden. I would like to give you this piece of advice. Don"t take Hermes seriously"

"Wait, someone died in front of us today by the hands of that psychotic deity. And you"re telling me to not take him seriously?"

"By all accounts yes. As you have said, he is, without a doubt "psychotic" and that"s why you should take him lightly."

"And why is that?"

"Fine. I"ll tell you. I"m surprised though that you"re unable to see this coming."

"Yeah. Yeah. Whatever."

"In his explanation about the factions. Did Hermes show you some proof to validate what he said?"

"Come to think of it. No. He just expressed everything verbally ."

"So that makes everything, nothing but verbal agreement right? A little bit more important than balderdash. After all, Hermes is also in quite the same scenario as us"

"What are you saying?"

"That Hermes is also undecided! And is still pretty good at keeping it low-key. As I have already explained it to you the first time I showed you this perfect realm, Eve, the majority of us already had decided what faction they would support several ages ago. Except me, and a bunch of others, and that includes Hermes. Hmmm...You could call us the Circle of "Indecisive", yet "rational" deities if you want."

"Say what now?" Then what was the point of that Hermes going and spouting such lengths?

"