Dark and Light – Chapter 2
By Ultima66
We walked through the snow that felt so familiar to me; I being someone known to travel a lot. I felt joy and entertainment in the destruction of monsters, a fact that I pitied myself for, and I loved to just travel around, pushing myself to my limits to see what I could handle. Crystal hung by my side the whole time, I, allowing her time to keep pace with me while I dashed a bit ahead. Being an assassin taught many things most people didn't know, and it was a tough discipline, but an extremely rewarding one. For example, the discipline to maneuver through the air in jumps was a skill many overlooked, as most people could do nothing but stand their ground with their awkward weapons.
Indeed, a claw was simple, but to me, it was a thing of beauty. Of course, what did I know about aesthetics? A person who sees destruction as a passion? My train of thought was interrupted when Crystal suddenly called out to me from relatively far behind.
"Hey, Jace. Mind holding on a second?" she said, with a casual tone in her voice. I looked back to see where I left her, but all I managed to catch was a small blue flicker in the air. Suddenly, something grabbed me around my neck lightly and I heard Crystal's innocent laugh behind me. "Wouldn't want to leave me now, would you?" she giggled.
Still unsure of why she seemed to be so attracted to me, I simply smiled and told her we should keep going. We made our way up the path of the El Nath mountain, reaching the dark mountainous forest where zombies were known to reside.
"Well we're at the zombies. Let's keep going. Most of the walk is over," I said to Crystal, who had a flushed look and seemed a bit nauseous. "Are you okay, Crystal? You haven't been up here much, have you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. Need some air, that's all. I'm not used to the air being this thin. Only been here a few times before," she said.
:"Need rest?" I asked her.
"This area is pretty flat, I think it'll go away as long as we don't keep going up," she told me. I nodded and continued on.
This area of the mountain used to be lush forest, but since the zombies appeared, it's been mostly plain area with a few trees here and there, and of course the travelers always willing to test their mettle against these creatures. But I wasn't here to mess around. I was only passing through. Walking across the flats, people standing around entrenched in their battles so that they barely noticed us, I took in the sight of so many people working themselves. It was this kind of fighting spirit we needed in everyone to make this world a happier place.
"Oh, hey Jace! Nice to see you here too. Who's this that I've never met before, eh?" I heard a voice call out behind me. Turning around I saw my friend, Alex, the fighter, with his usual oriental clothes and helmet. With a thrust he sent his sparta deep into the chest of an advancing zombie, as it disintegrated into dust.
"Oh, hey, Alex. I'm just passing by for now. Gonna find me some cerebes. And this is... well she's kinda just here, I guess. Her name's Crystal and she's been following me around ever since I talked to her just a little while ago," I told him, a little jokingly.
"Hey..." she started to say, but was cut short by Alex.
"So you've found yourself a girl. Cute one, too," he said.
"Shut up, Alex. I told you, she's just really here. I'll have a girl someday. I just... I'm not lonely yet," I said, still thinking about it. All this time I had barely let the thought go through my head that this girl really liked me. "In fact... I can't believe I didn't even think what it would seem like for people who saw us to be traveling together, Alex. You had to point it out."
Crystal looked down, then turned away from me. "I wanna go back," she said.
Shaking his head Alex looked away from me and sighed, "You don't let down people that want to be with you, man. Crystal... he's sorry. I know he is. Trust me, he's my friend, and I know you like him. He just doesn't understand right now."
She turned around and flatly said, "I just want you to be by my side. If you don't care... I can say goodbye and we'll never see again."
I sighed in thought. Already things had gone terribly wrong. I was so worthless to other people around me. "Crystal, I want you with me, as a friend for now. I can wait for the future; if you're willing to wait, that is," I said slowly, thinking about my words.
She nodded in agreement, and we silently traveled through the forest, leaving Alex behind to himself and the zombies. We arrived at the mines, where presumably all the zombies in the forest had come from. Countless decades ago this mine had been active. Then the miners apparently had unearthed the great beats Zakum, and with it, released monsters into the mine. In time most of it had transformed into a burning passage, where we were headed. The miners who worked there had apparently taken to what was left of the mine, and infested it, along with the surrounding forest.
"Are you mad at me?" I asked, not knowing if she would be willing to talk to me or not.
"No, I'm not mad at you, and I have no reason to be. It wasn't right for me to just assume you were mine," she said, still deeply thinking. Then I heard a gasp from her and looked in front of me. We were at the cliff that separated the infested mines from the heart of the cavern. "Wow, didn't expect this..." I heard her say.
"Don't worry. Here, hold my hand," I said, "If we're holding on to each other, my dark sight should let us both be protected from physical harm."
I offered her my hand and she held on. Focusing for a moment, I let the shadows envelop the both of us.
"This is pretty cool," she said, watching everything turn a little bit dimmer and feeling shadows float around her, slowing her down a bit. "We jump?"
"We jump," I replied, clutching her arm tightly as I leapt off the cliff, Crystal following seamlessly.
It was like flying, only so much more this time. This time Crystal was there, and I took notice of her warm grip, almost washing through me, instilling confidence in me, no, wait, instilling confidence in us.
We landed with a light tap on the ground, the shadows nullifying the impact. We felt the effects of the cave heat immediately after I let go of her arm and let the dark sight break. It was hot, scorching hot.
"Wow, this place is making me a little flustered. It's so hot..." she said. "You know, I never felt so much peace and tranquility in shadow before. It's like light, only the opposite yet the same exact thing almost. It's so weird."
"Yeah, you've got a bit to learn about shadow. It's not really bad. It's a thing is beauty, I think," I told her, "But you know how poorly I interpret beauty, right?" She sucked her teeth, letting me know not to reference my own indignity to her.
"You've got quite a bit to learn about light, then, I guess. We go in?" she said.
"Uh huh. Come on, Crystal," I told her, walking into the sweltering chambers. A small grin went across my face as I thought for a second. Alex, you might just be right about this.