Chapter 31: The Forgotten Lands, Part Nine

{Eve}

"See anything?" Cara called out from below.

Currently, Eve was flying through the air, several meters above the ground, trying to see if she could spot the raven-haired girl. She was sure that if she saw her she'd know. Even if she hadn't become friends with the girl, Rin had a very recognizable appearance, after all. It was one of the things that had struck her when she and the young woman first met. Specifically, her eyes. The way they'd looked at Eve, with no hint of superiority in them, because she was a fairy. She wanted to see those eyes again.

Still, she looked around, and no matter how hard she searched, the girl simply wouldn't appear.

"Uh, no," she replied to Cara, who was below her. Eve, who was wearing a small suit of leather and had a shortsword in her hands, flew back down to the older adventurer.

She sighed, as she floated in front of her.

"Still no sign of her," Eve said, with a bit of sadness in her voice.

Cara put a hand on her shoulder and another under her chin, making Eve look up at her.

"It's fine," Cara stated firmly as she did with everything else she said. "We'll find her. I appreciate your help. Having you in the air like this was way more useful than I'd expected it to be. I'm sorry for doubting you."

Even when she was clearly trying to lift Eve's spirits, she spoke with a voice that felt more appropriate on an army captain giving orders. The contrast made Eve chuckle a little.

"So, where to next?" Eve asked.

"... We've covered most of this area. I'd say, once we finish up today, heading up the hill there," she pointed ahead, "we should start looking north. Then, we can go east and..."

She trailed off, but Eve caught the gist of it.

If they didn't find her by the time they went east, it was all but hopeless. At least, as far as them finding her was concerned. The adventurer, if she was still alive, would have to come back on her own.

The two of them continued walking through a field of waist-high grass, which Eve flew over. They went up the hill some minutes later, and Cara nodded over at Eve, giving her the go-ahead to begin searching. So, Eve flew up again, going as far as she could before her wings started hurting.

[Okay, now, Rin, where are you?] She asked in her mind as she looked from her left to her front, to... [Wait, what is that?]

Some strange bird let out a piercing cry as it flew in her direction. Only, it was far larger than any she'd seen before.

"Crap, Eve, come down!" Cara called out from below, and Eve blinked, focusing on the fact that the creature was heading straight for her.

"Awuah!?" Eve let herself fall then, and the bird-like creature dove, following her.

Eve began flapping her wings again once she was near the ground and she flew behind Cara, who quickly unsheathed her sword. Nervous, Eve wondered what the hell this thing was as it landed in front of Cara.

A creature with a lizard-like head and tail, but with the body of a bird. It felt like some strange mix between a dragon, and a phoenix. It had a horn on its head, and several spikes running down its tail as well, with a body of orange fur, but with blue stripes.

If it didn't clearly see Eve as an easy meal, she would almost say it was cute.

Cara didn't flinch though. Instead, she raised her sword and Eve waited for it to come crashing down on top of the bird-like creature.

Instead, Cara stabbed it into the dirt.

[Huh?] Eve raised a brow as the creature raised its wings, in an attempt to make itself look bigger. [What is she doing?]

Then, Cara drew a complicated spellsign in the air.

Eve recognized the foundational sign in it, as the sign for lightning, but she didn't know what the rest of that was. A foundational sign, of course, was the first portion of a spellsign, which, depending on the kind of spell being cast, were all unchanging.

For example, no matter how complicated, every fire-based spell involved an upwards arrow, at some point. Every healing spell involved a circle, at some point, and so on. It was almost like a code given to the world, telling it what kind of magic you wanted to cast.

Once she was done, the bird was hunched over, looking like it was about to attack, while Cara just placed her hands on the hilt of her blade.

Then, the creature ran towards, squawking in the process.

And lightning shot out from Cara's sword, surging through the ground, and finding the creature's legs. It trembled violently as electricity coursed through it and then, Cara removed her sword from the dirt and walked up, calmly decapitating it in an easygoing motion.

The bird's head fell on the ground, and Cara turned toward Eve.

"W-What...?" Eve said, looking up at her.

"That was a yariko," Cara explained. "They're weak to lightning-based Essence abilities. Come on, let's keep going."

---

{Rin}

As Xhez healed Rin back up, Rin stretched her arms, looking down at her waist. The pain from being cut open like that, even though the wound had been healed, was still fresh in her mind.

Xhez had the bag she'd been in earlier in her hands as she spoke.

"The presence I feel is just up ahead. Are you feeling alright?"

"Yeah... Took a bad hit but, I'm alright now. Thanks."

"I am glad I could help," Xhez said. At that, Rin nodded and looked around, making sure no uninvited skeletons would interrupt their brief talk here.

"How much longer can you go for? Before you run out of Essence?"

"Maybe ten, twenty minutes," Xhez replied. "I suggest we visit the spirit that calls to me first, and then... If nothing unfortunate happens, I re-enter the bag."

"Yeah, sounds like a plan. Again, I'm sorry," Rin said.

"Hm? For what?" Xhez asked.

"For, uh, messing up like I did. I'll try to be a little faster next time."

"Rin, that spirit was abnormally powerful, from what I could tell," Xhez said to her. "You did everything you could."

"... Still..." Rin muttered. 

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"Oh, I know!" Xhez interrupted her and Rin looked up as the sprite smiled. "Once we are done, I will sing you a little song to ease your soul, Rin. Just you wait!"

At that, Rin chuckled.

[Hopefully, I live to hear that.]

"Okay... thanks."

"It is no problem, now, let us go! I cannot remain out in the open for much longer."

With that said, the two of them continued walking through the thin fog. Led by nothing more than Xhez's sense that something different was asking for her, they eventually arrived at another field full of skeletons.

To Rin's left, she saw the last thing she'd ever expected to find here. A broken-down car of sorts. All around them now were also various signs made of metal with strange words carved onto them, that Rin couldn't read.

However, Rin kept her eyes mostly on the skeletons, sure they'd rise up anytime soon.

"So... Still think it's different this time?" Rin asked.

"Yes," Xhez quickly answered. "I believe all of these skeletons are actually dead."

[... Oh.] Rin thought.

"... The presence that called out should be here, but I am beginning to believe it is not connected to any of these dead bodies."

"So, then, what are we looking for?"

"That is for you to decide, but if what you are looking for is peace, you will not find it here."

It hadn't been Xhez who answered with that. Instead, as the two of them were looking around, a voice spoke ahead of them, which both Rin and Xhez heard.

A rose-colored silhouette of a human then slowly began forming. It looked like a tall man, sitting between a pile of bodies, with his legs crossed and his back straightened. Even though he had no eyes, Rin felt like he was watching them.

"That is it," Xhez muttered to Rin. "The presence that called."

"The second, you mean," Rin replied, walking up to the silhouette. She was ready to run as soon as it even so much as lifted a hand the wrong way.

Xhez, however, didn't respond to her as she went up. She stood in front of the spirit, taking a deep breath.

"... Who are you?" Xhez asked meekly.

For a moment, the spirit didn't respond. Instead, it gazed upon Xhez, and then lowered its head.

"Hm... Little more than a foolish soldier," the spirit muttered. "My name... It has been some time since I thought of it, but I believe it was Jessen. However, I am interested in your answer to the same question though. A water sprite with the kind of connection to spirits that you possess, it is... intriguing."

"U-Uh," the sprite briefly looked over at Rin, almost as if asking for permission, before replying. "My name is Xhez."

"It is a pleasure, sprite. And, I see you brought company," he said, turning toward Rin. "A sprite and a human together. It has surely been a long time since I've passed if such a thing is considered normal now."

Hearing that, Rin took a deep breath.

[This is so weird, we're literally talking to a ghost.]

"Excuse me," Xhez continued, "before... I saw things. Things regarding this place, flashes of... of war. What happened here?"

"..." At that, Rin heard an echoed chuckle come out of the spirit, and she waited to hear the answer, just as curious as Xhez was. "I... It is strange. The memories remain fresh in my mind, and yet I can feel the time that had passed. Still, some details escape me, as it would seem I am but a fragment of myself, in this form."

The spirit then lifted its head, looking at Xhez.

"What happened here was a simple exercise in hysteria. Rumors that became conspiracies that turned into war. In my time, this place was called 'Derain'. It was a small, calm community, where outcasts from the larger cities around the world would come and settle down. That was until the Curse began spreading."

Rin took a step closer, listening intently.

"The Curse was something of a surprise to everyone when we first heard of it. Something that would kill almost all of us. Something that would spread from one end of the world to another, with no possibility of being stopped. No one really believed these things travelers would say though, until a nearby town, to the northwest, was affected. At that point," he sighed. "You could imagine the panic. We went from not believing in the Curse entirely, to coming face-to-face with it in a matter of days."

As he continued to explain this, Rin paused.

[The Curse... Is he talking about the Split?] She asked herself.

The Split, the event by which the ages were divided, was the event in which 70% of humanity was wiped out overnight, mysteriously. The hairs on Rin's arms stood up, as she felt like it fit what he was talking about.

"Different individuals had different reactions. Some left the town as soon as they could. Others, who believed that the Curse would be a physical malady of sorts, took more extreme measures. They banded together and stole rations from the rest of us. And, of course, when that act was contested... Fights broke out. One thing led to another, factions were made, and this once peaceful town became a warzone."

"Holy shit," Rin muttered. "So, all of those bodies...?"

"Yes, the bodies of my fellow comrades and enemies alike. However, the problem with events like that," Jessen continued, "is the hatred that continues festering in the area, emanating from the souls gathered here. That is why the skeletons rise to face you, and that is why I and many others are still bound."

"Wait, others?" Rin asked.

"Where are they?" Xhez added. "I only see you."

"They have siphoned their spiritual energy into me, providing us this moment of conversation. They chose me to be the one to speak on their behalf."

Nodding, Rin looked down for a second. [Okay, but, now, for the question that I really need to know the answer to.]

"Where do we go? To get out of here, I mean."

"To leave?" He asked. "Hm. I suppose if you make a mad dash in any direction you will leave at some point. However, I would not expect the bodies of my fellow warriors to make that easy for you."

"... What do you want us to do then?" Xhez asked, just as Rin was weighing the odds and considering actually just running for it.

"That much is simple," he stated. "I would have you face the source of the hatred here, and release us from its clutches. Do that, and exiting this place would not be difficult at all."

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