Disclaimer: I hereby disclaim all rights to all characters (save for those of my own creation) in this bit of dialogue… especially for the one to whom spring is like an old friend.
~保護者
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Hello, MelGamingPlays! It wasn't Wave, promise. Just a random Babylonian woman, which is still sad of course. But yeah. Good guess, though! :) Anyway, yeah, that chapter definitely was dark, but actually you'll see why it was important.
~保護者
"Prologue Part 5: Star Sky"
~保護者~
It was silent outside save for a cool summer's night breeze. The grass was soft, lush, and the tree above towered into the night sky. Cherry blossoms so pure that they seemed aglow in the moonlight drifted down now and then, coming to rest around the two figures seated amidst the roots of the tree. Two pairs of eyes, both blue, gazed deeply into the stars, as though those distant lights held all the answers to everything. Yet, they knew the stars could do little more than evoke hope… Hope, a weapon that had long since proven to be far from enough. Nothing was ever enough anymore.
A voice gradually broke the silence, it's tones soft and undeniably female. "My kind has always survived by the grace of nature," she murmured. Her words were a reminder, a truth as ancient as she. "It is through nature that my people returned, even when I was once the only one left." Her eyes closed as another breeze sifted through the clearing. A lone blossom drifted down the hill. "This creature… this entity… there seems nothing natural about it."
The other individual seated here, a male young in appearance yet ancient beyond what most could comprehend, blinked slowly. When he spoke, his words were just as hushed and as a reminder of his own. "It is natural…" he argued, "and I cannot kill it."
Her head dipped down. "Not as you are now," she agreed quietly.
After a moment, he turned his head to look at her. "I seem to recall," he said slowly, "having this conversation once before."
His words evoked a small smile from her. Not because he was right - though he was - but because he was speaking more than he normally did. That was a rare thing, and she always enjoyed it when he opted to indulge her in conversation. "That would be because we have… and it is not like you to forget much, when you forget at all." A soft hum served as his only response to that. "Guardian, are you so certain that you will never be the one to end our foe?"
At this, he turned his gaze back to the stars, quietly contemplating every faint glow. She didn't doubt that he saw more, understood more, about those distant lights in the heavens than she ever could. "It is… unreasonable to assume that I will be strong enough to kill it before it is too late. As you are no doubt aware, even my kind can only gain new strength so quickly."
Of course, she understood the implications. Though he wasn't looking at her, she knew he could sense how troubled she had been growing this evening. Her aura would give her away as surely as the grass was green. "But the only being out there who is strong enough is…"
He cut her off, tone deceptively calm and unconcerned. "I know."
She shook her head slowly, dismayed. "If he is the one to kill that monster… he will then take the beast's place as the most powerful evil entity in existence." She looked directly at him, hoping to gauge the subtleties of his vague responses. "You would have to kill him instead."
Though normally loathe to repeat himself, he soon closed his eyes and did just that. "I know." This time, the response was soft, almost pained, but the hint of emotion his voice had betrayed was hidden away no sooner than it had escaped. "But that fight is not due to take place for many, many years. Our more immediate concern is-"
"Your student, I know."
It seemed as though he actually sighed. "Yes." She watched him as he moved to stand, bracing a hand on his knee to push himself up. The purity of his white attire caused him to glow softly in the moonlight, much like those pink cherry blossoms that still littered the grass all around. In lieu of a proper farewell, he simply told her, "It is late. I need to return to A'latria."
"I understand." Shifting, she rose to her own feet. "Will you visit again?"
"Soon." From him, this simple response was a promise… One that lingered, long after he vanished.
In the silence that followed, her eyes again drifted out into the starry skies. A hand clasped lightly over her heart. Time is running out… and he knows it. Closing her eyes, she allowed her head to slowly dip down in sorrow once more. Ythene, if you can hear me… Now, more than ever, we need help… Deep within the heavens, the light of a distant star suddenly flared bright enough that it startled her into opening her eyes. The Voice spoke then, filling her thoughts and seeming almost to smile.
"Young One… you needed only to ask."
~保護者~
816 words this time. Main story starts tomorrow, guys! The prologue is officially over now, and I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. :D Posted (at about 7:20 a.m.) 10-28-18.