Very friendly smiles.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Chapter 5: A Suspiciously Warm Welcome
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Kid landed on a small clearing in the village, a small empty square with a few pine trees emerging from the cobblestones. Black Star thrashed in his hold and Kid let him go with a grimace.
"Hey," Black Star said the moment his feet touched the ground, "what are you doing-?!"
"Finding us proper shelter," Kid cut him off. "Along with food and water."
Kid ignored Black Star's ensuing pout to take note of their surroundings. They had landed in the middle of an empty square, surrounded by a few buildings. Most buildings were one-story high, some of the bigger ones reaching two full stories. They were built next to one another, next to narrow cobblestone alleyways, where wildflowers grew.
Most importantly however, said alleyways were empty, and the buildings were shuttered off. The area was silent, save for the distant crashing of waves and warm dry wind.
Black Star kicked a pebble. "Area's empty, can we go now-?"
Kid out a hand up and focused on his Soul Perception. His vision lit up with blue souls. They were in the houses, away from the windows. A few were moving away from them. The only exceptions were...
A tall robed person appeared from one of the alleyways, followed by a small ensemble of other people.
Black Star crossed his hands in recognition and Kid took a step closer to him, ready to grab him and leave if things were wrong. He couldn't tell from the masks, but the people's tense shoulders and quick footsteps made him doubt the people's openness towards them.
"Champion?" the taller figure asked, his voice old and gravely. "Is that you?"
"Great, these dudes," Kid heard Black Star mutter under his breath before giving the people a nonchalant wave. "Heya!"
Kid frowned, but repeated the greeting with a 'hello' and a polite nod.
The figures looked away from Black Star and towards Kid. The Grim Reaper glanced at Black Star. Should he have not have come here? This place was the closest thing to civilization on this island and Kid couldn't trust Black Star to survive safely in the wilderness by himself.
The elder inclined his head to Kid. "Who is this with you, Champion?"
"Oh, that's my friend, Kid," Black Star said despite shooting said friend a quick glare, probably because of that stunt he'd pulled. "We know each other from before, and uh..." He paused in consideration. "I think he's the other Champion dude."
The ensuing silence that stretched among them was deafening.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
"I think they took it well," Black Star said, breaking the silence Kid so desperately craved.
"I believe that would have taken it better if you hadn't called me 'Champion dude'."
Black Star thought for a few seconds. "Nah."
Kid let out a groan as he fell back into the bed. At least this mattress was soft, much better than what Kid had improvised with the sparse supplies he'd had yesterday.
The house they were in was a modest building, made up of thick walls, small windows with colourful wooden shutters and a flat roof. It was split up in four compartments, made of a connected living room and bedroom, a kitchen and a bathroom. The architecture was awfully familiar of a Mediterranean island, but small details, like the absence of glass on the windows, the roughness of the wooden door and shutters, the kitchen lacking any electrical appliances and instead being made up of a fire-pit, gave Kid the impression that he was in some alternate version of said architecture.
He looked over to Black Star who was currently eating his way through a sizable fruit basket.
All in all, it was comfortable. They had food, which Black Star was eating through at an alarming rate, water and a roof over their head. Kid had made the right choice to come here, right?
The door of their abode creaked opened and Kid stood up as Black Star looked away from his food and at the newcomers.
The tall from figure from before entered, this time followed by a single fellow, a thin and much shorter robed figure holding a few sticks of incense.
"Champion," the tall figure addressed Black Star, with a bow of their head.
Black Star, halfway through eating a slice of watermelon, wiped his mouth with his forearm and Kid barely managed to keep himself from cringing. "Hey."
"I hope you find these accommodations to your liking."
"Yeah, I guess," Black Star said with a shrug. "Kid brought me here anyways."
"It's better than the wilderness," Kid spoke up and crossed his hands at Black Star.
"Yeah, yeah," Black Star said with a nonchalant wave as he continued scarfing down what was left of the watermelon slice.
Kid let out a sigh and pinched his nose. Looking up, he found the two figures facing him, silent. "And you are...?"
"Right, you guys don't know each other..." Black Star said, chewing with his mouth open. "Like I said, this is my friend Kid, Kid these are..." He gulped the last remnants of the watermelon and raised an eyebrow at the figures. "What are your names again?"
Kid barely held back a grimace. Black Star didn't even know their names. Goodness sake, now was a good time for the Earth to open up and swallow them whole-
"You are not from here," the taller figure said, apparently unperturbed by Black Star's complete lack of manners.
"Correct." Kid looked at the window of their house. Its placement on a hill gave them a wide berth of the western side of the island, the black mountain range visible to the naked eye. "I woke up over there."
Looking behind him, the cyclopean architecture was strange but not unnerving, definitely up to par to simultaneous architectural impossibility and marvel that was the DMWA. In Kid's opinion the Temple was just a large carved structure by the side of the mountain; impressive but not supernatural in origin. Now, when it came to the dark clouds and lack of fauna and flora, that was another matter entirely.
The figures stared at the mountain transfixed, then at Kid, equally speechless.
Kid cleared his throat. "I have to say, this is a much more pleasant welcome," he continued with a polite smile.
To his eternal frustration, the figures kept staring at him blankly.
"Champion," the tall figure addressed Black Star who was now making his way through a slice of melon, "are you sure this is the other Champion?"
Kid briefly closed his eyes. "Excuse you?"
"The Champion of the Dark?" the shorter figure said, their voice, softer and high-pitched. "Raised by its followers on the Great Temple?"
Kid narrowed his eyes at the shorter figure, who took a step back. "First of all, I am not an 'it'. Secondly, I have no idea what you're talking about."
The shorter figure slunk back, looking at their fellow. "But the two Champions are supposed to be enemies..."
Kid crossed his arms. Enemies? Sure, he wouldn't describe Black Star as his best friend but they weren't hostile to each other... Despite Black Star's sudden disappearance-
Before Kid knew what was going on Black Star wrapped an arm around his shoulder, giving the figures a wide grin. "Oh, yeah we're definitely rivals, but Kid's a cool guy."
Kid rolled his eyes. Still... it felt nice to hear. Heart-warming even.
Then Black Star's hand reached up and ruffled his hair, and any warmth Kid had towards him was replaced with mild annoyance. "Stop that."
Black Star gave him a grin. "Make me."
Kid gave Black Star a light poke which resulted in an arm around the Grim Reaper's neck. Kid grabbed Black Star's free hand and slipped out of his hold, only for the assassin to the manoeuvre around him, getting him in another headlock seconds later, like a game of cat and mouse. It would be amusing, had it not been completely inappropriate.
"This is ridiculous," Kid let out as he slipped out of the hold again, only for Black Star to grab him again with both hands this time.
"Just admit defeat Reaper," came Black Star's playful voice and Kid couldn't help but smile.
"Sure, now let me breathe," Kid said, managing to keep his voice even. Black Star let out a victorious cry but did let Kid go. "Much better."
Black Star gave Kid a pout. "You weren't even trying."
"We have other things to worry about…" Kid trailed off, avoiding Black Star's disappointed expression to look at the figures. They had stepped back closer to the exit, watching them in silence. Like spectators of a sort.
It was… unsettling.
"So," Kid spoke up causing the smaller one to jolt in place while the taller tilted their head in curiosity. "Who are you? Do you know why we are here?"
The smaller figure glanced at the taller one, who then took a step forward. "We are but humble inhabitants of this land."
Kid crossed his arms. This wasn't exactly a 'hi, our names are Bob and Sally' introduction, but it was something. "Does this place have a name?"
"Yes," the older figure supplied with a small bow. "Atlantis."
Black Star's resulting grin could blind the sun. Kid only felt his stomach drop. Great, the more time they spent here the more of an 'adventure' this situation turned out to be.
So, this mysterious inescapable island was Atlantis. Kid knew he barebones of the supposed lost island' mythology, and it was consistent with this island's Greek architecture… somewhat.
"Wait, isn't Atlantis supposed to have sunk or something?" Black Star spoke up, looking as if he was seeing this place for the first time. "And like, aren't you guys supposed to have this huge super-advanced city?"
Kid placed a hand to his chin, looking at around house, gaze falling to the pre-modern kitchen. "I suppose this would be considered advanced in an ancient era…"
The tall figure let out a tired sigh. "Alas, the fate that befell our home is a tragic one."
The smaller figure nodded along. "A great curse it is."
Kid glanced at Black Star, whose excited expression hadn't subsided one bit. At least one of them was having fun.
"When our island was still in the old world, our island was created and protected by a God and a Goddess. They were both lovely, fair and generous," the elder figure began, voice coated with a hint of fond remembrance. "It is said that their love made the land fertile, the people and animals healthy, and the seas calm. By their blessings, our ancient Capital flourished, a center of art and technology." They sighed. "But that peace did not last."
Kid help himself back from making a snide comment about it never doing so. It would be rude.
"There was an attack," the figure continued and gestured to the mountain. "One that rose those terrible mountains and made the land infertile. The God perished and left the Goddess alone."
The short figure muttered a prayer. Kid glanced at Black Star; his face was neutral.
"The Goddess mourned and mourned, and her tears turned into fierce floods blocking us from the outside world. It tore up the ancient capital, and our ancestors prayed and prayed for their lives."
Huh. So that explained the lack of a city and the presence of this village.
"Eventually, the Goddess heard the cries of her people," the tall figure continued. "She despaired over the destruction she had caused. As penance, the Goddess sealed the island away and went into a deep slumber."
"I wouldn't call that a penance," Kid spoke up. "It sounds more like self-exile."
The figure gave him a long look and Kid reciprocated the stare.
Eventually, the tall figure looked away. "The Goddess left us with one wish, one way to resolve her grief and return us to the old world."
"What, revenge or something?" Black Star asked.
"An understanding," the tall figure offered. "To feel her sorrow, to understand her mourning, one way or another…" they trailed off. "Become one to overcome."
Kid narrowed his eyes. "This sounds ominous."
"I believe it refers to love," the short figure spoke up, looking between Kid and the taller figure.
"How do these so-called Champions play into this?" Kid asked.
"Ah yes," the tall figure continued. "There are people who hate the Goddess for our exile. Every so often they leave our village and barricade themselves the darklands." He gestured to the mountain and Kid remained the person there who had lain prone, unconscious. Should he have checked up on them? Perhaps even brought them back? "Their aim is to raise the same being that took away the God and unleash them on the Goddess." The figure paused and gave the Grim Reaper a long look.
"Death," Kid said in the figure's behalf, feeling his mood sour. "Well, that explains why I'm here-"
"Please, don't kill the Goddess!" the short figure spoke up, taking a step towards Kid. "It will destroy the island."
"And the Goddess," the tall figure quickly added.
The Grim Reaper scoffed. Always the worst assumption. "I have no intention of killing anyone."
"Hey, what about me?" Black Star spoke up. Oh good, a change of subject. "Like, you said supposed to kick Kid's ass or something?"
"For the last time, we're not having a fight-"
"Ah, if I may…" the short figure hesitantly spoke up. "The Goddess's wish is for love."
Kid switched his mild glaring from Black Star to the short figure. "What now?"
The tall figure gave Black Star a small bow. "You are our Champion. After…" they gestured at Kid, "Death comes to the island, so will our own Champion rise up."
"To do what exactly?"
"Love!" the shorter figure spoke up with a cheer. "Well, the Goddess supposes that the Champion will make Death fall in love with themselves and the people here..."
Kid blinked, wondering if his ears were playing tricks on him. Looking back at Black Star, he seemed equally confused. Was this so-called Champion supposed to… romance him?
Ok, this was enough.
"...and they will leave the island unharmed," the shorter figure continued unperturbed, "as they'll understand empathy and-"
Oh, for fuck's sake-
"Thank you, your talk has been quite illuminating." Kid walked towards the figures who took several steps back until they stepped outside the door. Kid grabbed the doorknob and gave them a polite tight-lipped smile. "Now, if you'll excuse us."
Kid promptly shut the door at their face.
\*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*/
Feedback is appreciated.
