Burst_Swords to the Skies

by Adam Wan

  Along with the knocking, a voice said "It's time for dinner" as I walked to open the door. It was the voice that belonged to Riery.

  I opened the door and saw her at the door. I turned around and looked at Vergus who was placing his tunic on the stand. He had a white shirt on too. I walked out of the room.

  "Let's go" I said. "Alright" he replied after placing the tunic. He walked to the door and followed us. He closed the door, making some sound and walked downstairs.

  We entered the dining room. It was a round table that would usually fit three people. There would be some room if the chairs were placed closer to each other.

  The chief walked in, bringing two wooden chairs and placed them at the dinner table. He then sat down and invited us to sit down.

  We sat down on the two chairs that he brought in. Riery and her mother were serving the food. They sat down after serving the food. I looked at the food that was served on the table.

  They were all in wooden bowls and plates. There was a bowl that had clear soup in it. There were some vegetables in it too. Next to it was a tiny bowl that had a red paste in it.

  There was a plate with fruit on it. The fruit was brown in color and had a smooth outer surface. The inside was white with some black dots.

  In front of us were wooden plates and a wooden spoon. There was no fork but I could understand that it was harder to make than a spoon. The plate had a few pieces of bread on it.

  "Let's eat" said the chief.

  "Thank you for the meal" said Vergus and I.

  I took a little bit of the fruit and tasted it. It was cold and it had a sweet taste. The dots were being chewed in my mouth. I had no idea what they were but a pleasant crunch to it.

  "That's Mounia fruit. Like it?" asked the chief.

  "Yea, it is kind of sweet" I replied. Vergus was eating the bread.

  "Oh, I never introduced myself. I'm Roulen, chief of Rupin Village"

  "Nice to meet you" I said. Vergus said the same words slightly after.

  "Take some of the soup. You should eat it with the bread, it would make softer. The Fier paste should give a little spice to it" said Roulen.

  "Alright. I don't really eat spicy though"

  "K"

  I took the spoon in the bowl of soup and placed some soup on my bread. I did not put on the paste, just like any other spicy sauce, paste or anything else.

  I bit the bread and chewed. It was softer than the parts that did not have contact with the soup. The soup gave a soft and smooth texture. It was an alright taste, sub-par with the food the castle cooks but I could not compare. This is food from a village like this.

  "The one who cooked the soup was Riery" said the wife.

  "It tastes good, Riery" I commented. "Yea" said Vergus out of a sudden.

  "Thank you!" she said smiling. Her cheeks were slightly red, which should be normal from being praised.

  I continued eating my meal after that. It was a meal that made me feel full. I did not know why, I felt like I did not eat that much. But I did finish the meal.

  We went to bed after dinner. I helped by washing my plate and spoon in the kitchen. I drank a cup of water before bed as well. The night was pretty cold but it should be due to being in the forest and that the house was made of wood.

  The meal allowed me to sleep in peace that night but the thought of Sora still made me anxious. I knew that I needed to get to her fast. I was worried about her. I would wake up early the next day.

  "Good night" wished Vergus.

  "You too" I replied as I closed my eyes shut and drifted into my sleep.

  CLO 25: That Morning

  "Cel?! Where are you?! Cel?!"

  I only saw darkness as I heard a person calling me and asking where I was. The voice echoed in the dark unknown. I was pretty sure that it was a female's voice.

  "Cel?!"

  The voice shouted louder. I tried looking around but all I saw was darkness. I could not even feel my body, it was like I only had my hearing sense. I knew who the voice belonged to, it belonged to Sora.

  "Sora?! I'm over here! Somewhere..." I shouted hoping for an answer.

  There was no answer. There was only silence in the place that had a size that I had no knowledge of because I could not even see nor feel what was around me.

  "Sor-!"

  I said as I tried to take a step. I could not feel my feet but I imagined moving my body. I was interrupted by a sudden event, I felt like I tripped and fell. I felt like I was falling down an endless pit.

  I jolted up. I looked around and saw the room Vergus and I were sleeping in. I let out a breath of air as I concluded that "It's only a nightmare..."

  The wind sighed as it entered the room through the open window that I opened the night before. The wind touched my face and cooled me down.

  I was sweaty. It was not because of the heat because the window was open, which actually gave off quite a cool breeze. I was sweating from the nightmare.

  I placed my hand on my chest as felt my beating heart, i was beating pretty fast. The nightmare was not that scary if you think of it but made me feel like I was in a panic, and I did not know why.

  I slowly calmed down after sitting on the bed for a while. I was taking breaths that were longer than what I usually do. By doing this, I calmed down after a few minutes.

  I looked through the window and saw a small amount of light in the dark sky. The light made the sky slight red on the edges of the sky that were obscured by the trees.

  I decided to get up early. I got off the bed and stood up. I stretched my body as I stood there. I stretched both of my arms up and stood on my tip toes. I stop stretching along with letting out a large breath of air.

  I turned to my right and grabbed my uniform that was on the clothes stand. The uniform felt cold and dry when I held it in my hands. I put my uniform on immediately.

  Vergus's tunic and armor were placed on the stand too. It looked dry as well, I expected it to be a little cold as well. His armor was tied together by its straps and were hung on the stand.

  There was no bathroom located near our room from what I knew. I was guessing that there was only one bathroom for the family downstairs but I was not so sure. I did not want to use the family bathroom.

  As I was putting on my uniform's buttons, I heard Vergus's breathing. He took deep breaths every time he breathed. His face was clear of any sweat as oppose to my face that had sweat on it, the sweat was drying though.

  I also noticed that he hung his scabbard belt along with his sword in the scabbard on the clothes stand as well. It was hung on the right of his armor.

  I walked towards the other side of my bed and sat down next to the drawer that was placed in between our beds.

  My gloves were placed on the surface of the drawer. I took them and put them on. The gloves were a little cold like my uniform and gave a cool feeling to my hands, I kind of liked it.

  I noticed that the sunlight was flowing into the room. The once dark room slowly got lit up as the sun rises. The darkness that was present the night before was being pushed aside.

  "Knock knock knock*"

  There was knocking on the door. I stood up and approached the door. Just as I was about to grab hold of the door knob, someone was talking outside.

  "Hey, Cel, Vergus... It's time to head out"

  It was Riery. I opened the door and saw her outside the door. She was wearing a grey shirt and black pants. She peeked and saw Vergus still asleep. I turned around and decided to wake him up.

  "Vergus! It's morning. It's time to go"

  Vergus turned to me while still in bed and opened his eyes. "Come on, let's go" I said. "Oh, alright" he said as he sat up sleepily.

  It was going to be a while for him to be full awake. I went downstairs to eat breakfast as I waited for Vergus to get ready.

  I ate the Mounia fruit that was placed on the dining table. The taste was as good as it was the night before. Vergus eventually got down and join me for breakfast.

&nb
sp; CLO 26: Leaving Rupin

  The birds chirped in the trees, chirping a simple song that would cheer many people up. The morning sun was at a position that I would describe as 9 o' clock in the morning. It was just a simple guess that might be wrong, I only estimated.

  Early in the morning, Riery, Vergus and I walked into the woods. Riery was guiding us to the edge of the forest. I guessed that she was the only one in the village who dared to enter the woods and find the edge.

  The scent of dew that was coming from the leaves of the trees made a fresh morning smell. The smell was a refreshing scent that I rarely got to smell. It may be due to me living in a concrete castle that was slightly far from the forest that surrounded the castle.

  "How long would it take to reach the edge?" I asked when I was walking behind Riery.

  "Around 2 or 3 hours. If we get hungry, we could always pick a fruit from the trees" she replied with her head slightly turned towards me.

  "That's quite a long time..." said Vergus from behind.

  It may take a long time but it was better than wasting time and not doing anything, and I have to get to Sora as soon as possible.

  The trees were a pretty convenient food source in the forest. We pretty much had a grand supply of food all around us. We did not have to worry about food anymore.

  "So... You guys come from the outside world" asked Riery.

  "Oh. Well, we come from a world separate from yours. I originally came here with many others to help this world's inhabitants who were under attack from certain creatures" I explained.

  "Oh, the outside seems to be pretty dangerous..." she said as she looked down at her feet.

  "It's pretty much dangerous when danger hits the world. Though it has been pretty unpeaceful these past few years..." said Vergus scratching his head.

  "Haa... It seems that what father said was true. The outside world is a world filled with danger"

  "Danger comes and goes. When it does come, there should be someone who would stand up to it. Anyone could change the world, even a little bit" I said.

  "I was restricted to the village for most of my life. I may have more freedom now but I could not explore the rest of this vast world"

  "You could not just stay in one place forever. People must explore and expand, do not just stay in your comfort zone for the rest of your life" I said.

  "We may not know what the world out there would be like but... Well, you'll see when you get there" said Vergus as he shrugged after continuing his sentence.

  "Yea... Thank you for the advice but I do not think father would agree..."

  "I could tell. Your father does not seem to be an open kind of guy" I said tilting my head to the left.

  Riery stopped walking, she breathed in and out. She then looked up at the sky. I looked up as well, I saw the sunlight penetrating through the gaps in the leaves. It was a glaring light that would temporarily blind some people for a few seconds.

  "Let's take a break" said Riery as she started to climb the tree on her right.

  She climbed up and picked out a fruit that seemed to be the Mounia fruit. She did not only take one, but she started to pick the rest. She picked whatever fruit that was reachable.

  "Haha!"

  Vergus let out a short laugh as he jumped and climbed up the tree nearby. He also started to pick the fruit in the trees.

  When I looked at both of them climbing the trees, I just thought of something. "I'm screwed. I could not climb a tree and I did not know that the Mounia fruit trees were pretty tall. So long convenience" I thought.

  I never climbed a tree in my life. I knew that I could fly but I did not want to scare Riery. I actually did not like using them for flight anyway. The excitement of flight disappeared throughout the years.

  "Hey, Cel! Want some?!"

  Vergus shouted as he was picking some fruit. "Yea, that would be nice" I replied. He threw two of them at me, I catches them in my arms.

  "Thanks" I thanked.

  As I was holding the fruit in my hand after catching them with my arms, I heard a sound that made me take action.

  "Ahh!"

  It was a scream from a girl, and I knew who it was. It was non other than Riery's voice, she was no where to be seen.

  I dropped the fruit on the ground and activated Crystallite. I looked around and shouted her name out loud.

  "Riery?! Where are you?!"

  I saw a silhouette running passed the trees. I ran as quickly as I can. As I had him in sight, I did a spell that I learned a few years ago. It was the spell called "Trace", a spell used to trace down people. It was a spell I learned from the new royal wizard, Nilrem.

  The person disappeared from sight after I casted the spell. The spell gives a trail of golden dust behind the person that only I could see because I was the one who casted it.

  "Where's Riery?" Vergus asked as he ran from behind with fruits in his arms.

  "I lost her. But I could track the kidnapper down. We just need a plan" I said explaining the situation.

  We needed to find her, and quick. I could not leave someone in a situation like this immediately. That was not what I wanted to be a knight for. I wanted to be a knight to protect the people of the world, and now, not Cielo but the other three worlds as well.

  CLO 27: Return from Cylius

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  I joined the search team after a few moments. The team and I searched through the city's buildings thoroughly, but it was a futile attempt.

  The only ones we came across were victims and other citizens, which was good but the people we were searching for were no where to found in the wrecked city.

  We basically came back empty handed because we did not succeed in our goal; find Cel and Vergus. Although finding the victims made me slightly happy, my heart was extremely saddened.

  "Sora?" said Ayla as she approached me.

  I was walking with a droop as I approached her. My face was like a sad child. There was a slight frown floating on my face too. My eyes were half closed like I was about to lose consciousness.

  In a depressed manner, my body dropped in forward motion. My limbs became powerless and I was ready to have my face planted as I fell helplessly to the ground.

  "Your Highness!"

  "Sora!"

  I was catched by the person who called out my name, Ayla. I did not feel like moving anymore, as if I had lost faith. The feeling of weakness was a feeling that I hated.

  "Sora... Stay strong, like how you have always been. I'm sure that Cel would returned soon" said Ayla as she held me in her arms.

  My head was in a blank state, I could not think. The words Ayla said felt meaningless until she mentioned Cel's name.

  "Cel... He won't give up. He would fight for me no matter what, like he did those many years ago, when I was captured by Arsceil. He did not give up and fought bravely. I should be like that, I want to be like him. So, I won't give up even if I'm not in Ayrus to search for him!" I thought.

  My plan was made. Cel gave me motivation to continue the search, even if I was not the one searching. Obviously, I would search for him myself if I was allowed to.

  I gathered the strength to stand up again. Ayla backed away slightly as I stood up.

  "I'm leaving for Cielo. 25 of you shall stay here and look for Cel Alt and Vergus. I appoint Sir Gelan as your leader. You shall devise a plan with him" I said when I stood up.

  "Yes, Your Highness"

  After saying those words, a thought had entered my head. "The explosion sound that was made as all those things shattered... That might be related to their disappearance" I thought.

  "And while your at it, please investigate about the reason those crystal creatures mysterious deaths. It should be related to the explosion sound, which might be linked the disappearance of those two" I said.

  I walked towards the carriage with Ayla by my side. The coachman opened the carriage door and bowed to me as I stepped into the carriage.

  "Ayla, get in" I said when I turne
d around and invited her to ride together.

  "Sure" she said stepping into the carriage.

  Half of our men were left behind to search for them. The carriage Ayla and I were on left along with the rest of the men. The carriage with the supplies stay behind with the 25 men. We would have to stop at a village or town when we wanted to eat.

  The sleeping supplies like blankets and large pieces of cloth were packed behind our carriage, but I doubted that we would have to sleep for the night.