Chapter 19: What comes from Home ------------------ Editing Mark
The wind howls, dead silence fills, and the sea of people silently stare at the Queen. The atmosphere feels dreadful, with absolute silence slipping through the entire audience's lips and the barrage of eyes focusing only on one.
The faint sounds of waves crashing against the shore resound over the cliff. The sun shines down at the green hills and the audience.
Aletha stands at the furthest spot from the crowd. Her long white hair fluctuates back and forth, with shivers running up her spine. Asahi stands next to her, with his attire glimmering from the sunlight, feeling the breeze touching his pale skin.
Asahi turns his head and sees the entire audience, showing concrete respect by just their body movements.
From the most minor children to the tallest of giants, the bulky robots, and the tiniest of dwarves, each person kneels on their knees and shuts their eyes, waiting for the words to be drawn out from their Queen.
Narcissa glares at the audience, slightly smiles, and clears her throat. Aletha and Asahi stand there, blatantly confused about what they are doing. She swiftly turns her head behind the wanderers and roughly whispers at the,.
"Kneel!"
The wanderers nod their heads and slowly bend their right leg at a ninety-degree angle. Their spines stand up straight, and their glistening gray eyes vanish underneath their parting eyelids. As she kneels in front of the tall structure, Narcissa raises her voice.
"We lend our most profound respect to the Creator of the Fountain who lent us this magnificent creation. Even after the simultaneous wars, battles, and fights, all of us still manage to have hope resonating within our hearts. He built day after day with endless sparks of determination."
Her voice stops for a moment, trying to take a grasp on her sanity and her tears.
"He cried in pain, but he managed to keep going. His motivation is filled with the burning embers of determination fueling his veins, body, and inner soul. Rainy days, chilly evenings, the builder managed to push through all of the obstacles that stood in his way."
Narcissa pushes herself up and hovers her fists over the podium. Her loud, direct, dominant, and persuading deep feminine voice fills the audience with expansive determination and will.
The look on all their different-colored eyes is filled with glimmer as the sun peeks its way above the swollen drifting clouds.
Narcissa's words are strong as steel, her posture is what a Queen should be, and her glistening brown eyes fill with a bright glow. She clenches her fingers and slams her fist against the wooden podium.
"On this nine-hundredth Fountain Day, not only will rewards and blessings be given to the secluded nation of Pladtioa, the entire world will gaze at its phenomenon. The Watchers from high above the stars will gaze at this phenomena; for today sparks a new beginning for Pladtioa!"
The audience roars, cheers and applause. The wanderers take a look at the audience. Some have green hair, while others have red, yellow, orange, and even purple. Some look like humans, while others look like robust war machines and mythical beasts.
They realize that this ceremony is more important to the world than they once thought.
As Narcissa lightly applauds, Asahi swiftly turns his head to Aletha and briefly whispers.
"Do you hear that?"
She turns her head and replies to Asahi with a sarcastic tone in her voice.
"The screaming of the audience?"
Asahi shakes his head and sighs. He grips his fingers and perks his head up to the sky. Asahi stares next to the sun then replies to Aletha.
"No, sis. The distant thunder."
Aletha swiftly turns her head to Asahi and raises her eyebrow. She tilts her head while questionably responding to Asahi
"Thunder…?"
Asahi shakes his head and grabs her hand with both of his palms. His glittering gray eyes peer at the trembling eyes of Aletha, both of their white hair glimmer from the striking, radiant rays of the sunlight, before engulfing themselves into shadow.
"Sis, we gotta get out of here."
"Wait what are you doing—
Asahi covers her mouth, and slowly leans her against the ledge of the podium. Her gray eyes widen while she screams underneath Asahi's palm. He pushes his hand over her mouth and muffles out her screams to not alert anyone. As Narcissa halts her speech for a moment, Asahi hastily leans to Aletha and whispers.
"Sis, be quiet! Do you WANT to live?,"
Aletha slowly nods her head, while finally deciding to trust him.
"Good, now let me push you off. It's not that far of a drop anyways."
Asahi let's go of her face, while Aletha takes a deep breath to process what happened. Asahi pushes her off from the ledge of the podium. Her back clasps against the bushes, while Asahi frivolously leaps off too, diving head first towards the ground.
Aletha pulls him up, points to the dark arch-shaped hole under the podium, and both swiftly leap up, and jolt to it. They sprint towards the darkest corner under the podium, and slide themselves under the grass.
"I know it's been a few days, but I can't simply ignore this thought in my head. Ever since my sister comforted me, I felt like I was healing from the past scars in the past. I don't think she has ever done that before. The mortal realm is strange."
* * * * * *
Asahi hears the muffled voice of Narcissa above their heads. He listens to the short rapid breaths from Aletha. Her mouth slightly opens, and tiny drops of sweat slide down her warm, uneasy face.
Asahi also feels a warmth resonating within his skin, nervous on what will happen if they get caught. Even he is scared of what he is going to reveal to her. With a deep breath, he shuts his eyes and whispers.
"I don't want to be with the Queen,"
Asahi slightly raises his voice, showing his truthful gray eyes to her.
"I want to be with you sis! I want you to be safe, I don't want to abandon you right here and now. We are family, and we must stick to each other at all costs. No matter what the problem is, we can face it and solve it…together! We are meant to be the bestest of friends, we are meant to trust each other. Listen, even though all of our power is gone… we can conquer the weakness using the true strength in,"
He grabs his chest while staring into Aletha's gray eyes.
"Here… this is where Home truly rests. It doesn't matter where we live, or when; the true Home that protects and cares for us… is our hearts. Even gods have hearts, just like humans… and that may be the only thing similar. No matter if it's Dust or Crimson, The heart will always be connected to everything. Everyone has a heart, no matter how brittle or weathered it is… it is still there, and it still houses us until we pass."
He grips Aletha's shoulders and yells.
"Remember what you said about the Stars? You are my sister, and I can't let you be exposed to danger at all costs. It's my duty as the eldest sibling. Even though we fight almost all the time, we still have to remember that we are family, and we stand strong. Maybe Aiyana is still out there, who knows?!"
Asahi lowers his voice and backs away from Aletha.
"What I'm saying is… don't let the past get a hold of you. Let your future or present get a hold of yourself. Because when you have control, you have power, and when you have power, you have choices, and when you have choices, you have care, and when you have care, you have love. And Love doesn't get passed. It's the primal force that maintains everything.
Aletha grits her teeth and clenches her fists. The brilliant rays of the sun pierce through the crooked creases of the wooden planks and form a spotlight shape over their heads. As Asahi tilts his head upwards, Aletha suddenly embraces him with tears flowing over her eyes.
"Y-You're right, Asahi. I should let go of the past. Who cares if we are powerless gods? The most vital power we have is our family bonds."
Asahi cheers, claps his hands, and pats Aletha's back.
"Yeah! You go, sis!"
Aletha slowly shuts her eyes and perks her head to the ceiling. In an enthusiastic tone in her voice, she swiftly stands up and stomps on the ground while holding her heart.
"I will be the star!"
Asahi grabs Aletha's hand and continues.
"WE will be the stars to conquer and illuminate the darkness!"
The voice of a guard shouts out to them. Their eyes widen, and they clench their weapons with anger.
"Huh?! What are you doing here? Get back to the—"
The vice of the guard quickly ends. Their eyes widen, and they clench their weapons with anger.
"Hey! Are you not supposed to be with the Queen?! Get out of there before she—
The guards fearfully tilt their heads up to the podium while standing still. All of them hear the muffled, confident yells of Narcissa.
"Now, after almost a millennia, this Fountain remains standing right in front of our eyes. Although the God of Purity abandoned us, we still managed to keep the Fountain safe and sound for its nine-hundredth year. Now, I will introduce everyone to this world, our new King of Pladtioa—
As she swings her hands to the side, her voice stops. A strong wind blows through her long brown hair, and the crowd grows eerily silent. Narcissa's brown eyes widen, she grits her teeth with her smile freezing.
She turns her body away from the crowd, and her fists clench in rage. The guards swiftly tremble in fear as they hear the sounds of Narcissa's footsteps bashing down against the floor.
As the guards flee away from the entrance, the siblings' eyes widen. Asahi leans his head to Aletha and whispers.
"What is that…?"
The wanderers tilt their heads upwards and hear the screams of Narcissa.
"Guards, find him!"
Suddenly, a group of guards blocks the light from the entrance, raising their swords, spears, and bows to the air. One guard raises his voice as the wanderers look back and forth fearfully.
"As the guards of Narcissa, we kindly ask both of you to return to the podium!"
Asahi stands entirely still, paralyzed in fear. Aletha tightly grabs Asahi's wrist and pulls him toward her and away from the entrance. She stomps her foot and screams at the guards as loud as she can.
"He said he doesn't want to be the King of Pladtioa! Now p...please… leave us alone!"
Asahi escapes his trance and steps back. He sees Aletha unsheathing her waker's sword out from the luminance of her hip and swings it into the air.
Her gray eyes pierce straight through the guards' souls, and she instantly slices one of the guards' weapons out of a guard's hand. Asahi hovers his hands over the luminance on his hips and unsheathes his sword as well.
"HAH!"
Asahi charges towards the guards.
They clash their swords against the guards' weapons, a giant luminescent brown ring bursts between the scene and partially demolishes the stage. Suddenly, wood chips fly in the air, and dirt spews out from the ground, as a tall adult brown-haired woman approaches from the dust with a pure look of anger.
"What are you doing here? Listen to my knights and get back to the podium! I had to halt my speech because I couldn't find you. The audience is waiting there, and they might get angrier if I continue to doze off away from the crowd. Now listen to me, and get back to the podium!"
Asahi and Aletha both raise their swords and lower them from their opposite sides. They take the challenge and step forward. Aletha's long white hair swings back and forth before she lifts her blade once again.
"He said he isn't interested in this! Can you not accept that?!"
As Aletha tries to shove the guards away from her path, Narcissa slowly responds to both wanderers.
"I can't believe someone could be so ignorant and deny the offer to become the ruler of a thriving nation. You will do what I say, even if it is utilizing brutal force."
The dark hue on her eyes slowly fades into a dark pink, and the gems encircling her sharp crown emit an intense blooming luminance. The wanderers' shimmering eyes both fall into a dark spiraling trance; Narcissa carefully escorts both of them outside beneath the stage and upwards back to the podium.
* * * *
As both hands are grasped, and their eyes turn pink, the adrenaline pace grows strong as Aletha tries to break out of the trance. Struggling moans and yells sound over Asahi's blinded ear as the color of Aletha's eyes shift back and forth.
She swiftly unsheathes her waker's blade out from her hip and strikes one of the guards. She screams at them while their hand's grip brutally grips on their arms.
"G...Get out of my way!"
The guards harm Aletha by swinging their swords towards her arm. Asahi turns his head only given the sight of his partner dripping out small amounts of white luminescent goo from the center of her skin. He tries to escape Narcissa's grasp but can't because of the guards' inhumane grip. They roughly whisper to Asahi as Narcissa's tail dashes upwards.
"Keep your eyes at the citizens, King, and accept her rare adoration. Fourth, she has never shown such attraction in merely decades."
Asahi's gray eyes expand in pure fear.
"Decades?!"
Asahi's head forcefully turns forward as he hears Aletha shrieking in pain. He can't bear to listen to her voice spark up an aura of pure desperation. He can't listen to his own partner getting bruised just after they met.
Without a choice, Asahi begins to strike his first move. But, somehow, his power seems to be drastically altered than what it was five thousand years ago. Narcissa continues her speech as the speed of the winds takes a drastic turn for the worst.
"Today, at this moment… I am going to introduce to you… our new…"
After the second the Queen moistens her lips and begins to announce, the sky suddenly goes dark. The waves crash brutally against the shores, and an electric atmosphere surrounds the entirety of the Fountain.
The white puffy clouds swirl into dark, unnatural gloomy storms before the sun blasts its rays through the storm eye and forms a spotlight-like thing around the Great Fountain.
The audience is imbued in the shadows of the clouds and the Great Fountain itself.
Fourth, a hidden danger will take place.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone