“Hey, you’re running too fast!” I could hear something. “That’s so unfair, stop!”
“Ha ha, I’m not even trying. You’re too slow.” Then another voice appeared, echoing a bit further away from the first. “I can’t help it when I’m tall, **k***-chan! You just need to continue drinking your milk and you will grow big and strong just like me.”
My senses once again looked over at the first voice, swinging its shadowy arms around in frustration. “How much do I have to drink, cousin? Mama is forcing me to drink so much, already.”
Slowly the haziness of this whole scene cleared up, vividly showing more details of the scene. It felt like I was waking up after a tiring day, and my brain was still half-asleep. However, at the same time, this place felt too familiar to be real, right now. Was I dreaming?
Looking around, I noticed a grass area with trees, benches, and also a playground for kids. It was most likely a park from how organized and clear of shrubbery it was, not even close to the mess that was the Belzac forest.
The two voices came from two shadowy individuals, far shorter than I was. Probably elementary students. Their faces and bodies were covered up by a black mist, making it impossible for me to identify who they were, but their clothing was exempt from this.
The one lagging behind the other was wearing a pure white dress with flower embroidery, making me imagine the little shadow person as a cute girl. It was also wearing a backpack with an animalistic theme on its back, probably carrying essential items for this outing. Somehow, I felt a bit of a kinship with it.
The other one was slightly taller, like an older sibling. They were wearing an outfit consisting of a pullover and jeans. It was carrying a thermos in its hand while it ran, although I was not sure what the content was.
Both continued running on an unpaved road, while I followed them against my will. Then again, I wasn’t even resisting. I didn’t even think I could do anything besides watch. Well, it was better than to stare at nothingness, I guess.
“Look, **k***-chan!” the taller shadow person began pointing at a large colorful totem. "You don't come to Japan very often, so you have to see everything you can in this short time! This is the most memorable sight in this whole park."
“Wow, are those robots?” As more of my consciousness returned, I was able to confirm the white dress indeed belonged to the girl as her high-pitched voice made me sure of it. Weirdly enough, it sounded familiar. “They are all stacked on top of each, and there are so many colors! It’s like a totem rainbow, cousin!”
“I told you already, **k***-chan.” The taller shadow had a fairly high-pitched voice, too, however, theirs was breaking a bit. Most likely it belonged to a prepubescent boy. “It’s not ‘cousin’ but it’s ‘big brother!’ Japanese is hard but you have to make sure you get it correct, ok?”
Gak! Cringe!
I hadn’t noticed it before, but both of them were speaking in Japanese. It felt so natural I didn’t even consider that possibility until now. “Itoko” for cousin and “onii-chan” for big brother made me sensitive to that fact. Strangely, just hearing the boy call himself “onii-chan” made my skin crawl.
“My Japanese isn’t that good but you’re my cousin so I’m addressing you as ‘Itoko!’” the girl rebuked her cousin. “You’re really weird for wanting me to call you ‘onii-chan,’ *****-san.”
Hearing that, the boy stopped moving and turned around in shock, “N-No, no! I apologize, you can call me anything but please don’t use -san!”
However, the girl didn’t respond and simply ran past him, only turning her head around to stick her tongue out with a wink, having successfully fooled him. The boy stood still, probably embarrassed from being fooled by his younger cousin, before shouting “W-Wait, was that a joke?!” as he tried to catch up.
The two eventually made it to a playground, filled with slides and other equipment to entertain active children. There were quite a few other shadowy kids and some adults there, playing around and having a great time.
“Hehe, I won. You’re too slow~” The girl was breathing heavily but nonetheless cheered for her own victory, having beaten the boy in this race.
“Urgh, I can’t believe I was tricked…” The boy scratched his head in frustration but shrugged it off, allowing his little cousin this small win. “So, were you also joking about the whole ‘Itoko’ stuff? I bet you were, **k***-chan~”
“No, I wasn’t.” The girl was merciless to the poor boy. “Why are you like this anyways, *****? You always behave normally around Mama and Auntie, just like last Christmas, but why are you treating me differently? Have I done something wrong?”
The boy’s bitter expression couldn’t be ignored, sighing deeply before he responded, “I… this is a bit embarrassing but recently I wished I could have more family around. Sorry, **k***-chan, I-I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. Please, don’t hate me.”
“Hate you because of something like that? Hmph, you’re overthinking too much, cousin!” The girl had a slight holier-than-thou tone, but I could still feel some warmth and care from the way she said it. She sounded like a real teaser. “Still, what happened, dear cousin?”
“Nothing really.” However, his troubled face told me otherwise. “It’s just… It’s just…Chichi-ue has been personally tutoring me, as the entrance exams for junior high are in one year, and it's quite… difficult. I envy you for being in America. There is also… well, Haha-ue and Chichi-ue aren’t getting alo… woah! ”
Suddenly, the girl grabbed her cousin’s arm and pulled it towards her. “Enough! It’s such a fun day and you’re bringing it down. Come on, come on! Let’s go have some fun at the playground before Mama and Auntie pick us up!”
Jeez, stop being so ‘tsun’ about it, it’s annoying when you act so dismissive of your emotions. The boy is being so polite. Somebody needs to tell her to dial it down a bit…
Still, “Haha-ue” and “Chichi-ue”, huh? Those were the Japanese words for “my mother” and “my father”, respectively. Compared to “Okaa-san” and “Otou-san”, you would use the two former terms to address your own family, while the latter two were used to address the parents of others… or, well, when you were speaking with your parents.
It seemed like the boy seemed to prefer calling his parents with the Japanese terms, while the girl favored using the western nickname “Mama” for her mother. Where was my translation skill so I didn’t have to self-translate everything in my head?
However, who would use the “-ue" suffix nowadays, anyway? I was pretty sure only old-fashioned or super strict families would have their children say that. "Haha” or “Chichi” would be perfectly acceptable, even in the formality-hell that was Japan.
Regardless of my thoughts, the two kids entered the playground and started playing in it. Sliding down the slides, playing tag with the other kids, and rotating on the roundabout.
The tension on the boy’s face completely washed away, vanishing from existence as if it never existed in the first place. The merrily laughs of little children playing and their mischievous nature of competing with others tightened up my heart and soul.
Is this… nostalgia?
It didn’t seem like they would stop any time soon. Having somehow gained a sliver of control over my body again, I moved towards a nearby tree, wanting to wait over there. Under the shadow of its branches, I sat down, feeling the heat of the sun waning. The grassy ground cushioned me, allowing me to lean my back on the tree’s trunk.
I relaxed and watched the kids play, losing my sense of time as it seemed like this moment would never end.
“*****, you haven’t drunk from your thermos yet. Aren’t you thirsty?” the girl asked the boy while drinking from her bottle of juice.
“Oh, this? I-I actually forgot to fill it up today,” the boy admitted.
“What?! No, wait… uhmm… aha, here!” After rummaging through her backpack, she took out another bottle of juice, offering it to her cousin. “It’s sunny, Mama says you need to drink when you play. Take it.”
“Thank you…” the boy said timidly, clearly embarrassed his little cousin had to state the obvious.
“Hehe, of course.” The girl smiled with satisfaction, happy to hear her cousin liked her gift. “Anyways, why are you carrying the thermos when it’s empty? You should have given it to Auntie.”
The boy looked down at his thermos, before meeting her eyes. "You see… Chichi-ue would always drink coffee before he went to work. I thought, even if it’s empty, I could mimic him to understand what he wants from me. It always feels like I’m a disappointment…”
“U-Uh, I’m sorry for bringing it up again. Let’s stop talking about it.” The girl suddenly clapped her hands together, forcing up a smile after what she said.. “I know! When we get back to Grandpa’s and Grandma’s house, I’ll show you my 3DS. If you’re feeling stressed, then playing games will help you out a lot.”
“Your Obaa-san and Ojii-san, right? Hm, I don’t know if Chichi-ue will allow that…” the boy said. “Arcades are alright, since he thinks we’re going to the park, but he doesn’t like me ‘ruining my sharp mind with irrelevant activities.’ Or something like that.”
“Obaa-san” and “Ojii-san” are the Japanese terms to address somebody else’s “grandmother” and “grandfather,” respectively. These two were related so that had to mean the girl mentioned the grandparents they weren’t sharing together.
The girl waved her arms around, appearing cheery. “But, if you do well on your exams then you can persuade your Otou-san about it, right? Your grades are so good, *****, so playing a little bit shouldn’t hurt.”
“… Yeah, I guess I can at least try it a bit. Especially when you’re offering to share it with me.” His shadow cheeks point up, probably ‘cause he was smiling. “Thank you, **k***, you’re good at making others feel better, despite your clumsiness. You will make an amazing idol.”
“Clumsiness?! What?! Grrrr,” the girl glared at her cousin.
“Haha, sorry.” He didn’t look very remorseful for teasing her. “Still, you were only here because of the concert, correct? How was it?”
“Amazing!” Like an explosion of emotions, the girl spread her arms out and smiled, showing off her sparkling white teeth. All the annoyance of being teased was completely gone. “The Misses were awesome, awesome, awesome! When the spotlights appeared and showed off all the idols, it was amazing, amazing, amazing!”
“Ahh, **k***-chan, you shouldn’t shout that much.” Noticing how the other children and some adults were looking at them, the boy quickly calmed down his cousin. “Phew, it was your first concert, correct?”
“Yeah, and that’s when I decided I wanted to become an idol. I want to stand on a stage and make people happy, too!” the girl proclaimed.
First concert? Ahh, I still remembered how I attended my first when I was seven. Mama was so nice to comply with my wish, despite how far away New York is to Tokyo… And how out of the blue the request came from.
I believe she also wanted to visit her parents so that helped me persuade her.
“If that’s true, then… does that mean that you will move over here? I-I believe Japan also has an idol culture, right?” the boy asked.
“… I-I don’t think so.” The girl looked apologetic as she saw her cousin’s disappointment. “Papa and Mama seem to like it in New York, and both like their jobs there. Besides, if I ever have the chance then I would like to go to South Korea. I prefer K-Pop idols over J-Pop…”
“I-I see…” The boy mustered a fake nonchalant tone of voice, but nobody was fooled by this, easily seeing how crestfallen he felt.
“But! When I become an idol then I will come to Tokyo for my tour, alright? When that happens then you must come cheer for me, alright?” The girl attempted to cheer her cousin up. “Please, it will make me so happy if you came!”
"… Yeah, you will become an idol and I will come to cheer for you." The boy's sadness didn’t wane.
The girl, however, did not give up, pulling out all the cheeriness she had in store. "And… and, you can always call me! Your Okaa-san has my Papa’s number so you can always ask her to call me. I will always answer, alright? I will always be there when you need me, just like a shining light in a dark concert hall. And… when I come back during Christmas, then we can spend so much time together, alright?”
“… Do you promise, **k***-chan?” he questioned her warily.
“Of course! I haven’t broken a single promise in my life yet, and I don’t want to disappoint my family.” The girl clenched her entire right hand, except for her pinky finger. "Promise me that you will come to my concerts and I will be there when you need me the most. Yubikiri, Onii-chan~"
“... Yubikiri. If you promise then I will too, **k***-chan.” The boy also performed the same gesture.
“Yubikiri”, also known as the “pinky promise” to westerners. The two cousins simultaneously said “Yubikiri” and then locked their pinky fingers together, signifying how a promise had just been made.
“… However, ‘Yubikiri’ means ‘finger cut-off’ in JapaNESE! You.”
Wah?!
I jerked back as the girl snapped her head around to me with her shout, glaring at me as two black eyes appeared from her shadowy face.
“You promised to become an idol.”
The girl, still locking her finger with the boy, slowly walked towards me. She was dragging her cousin with her, despite the clear size difference. He was neither resisting nor supporting her cousin, simply staying silent as his little cousin effortlessly lugged him with her.
… I still want to become an idol, I replied after composing myself.
The shadowy girl maintained her slow walk, responding immediately to my response, “Yes, we must keep our promise… but he isn’t here anymore. We aren’t with him anymore.”
I can’t give up on my dream. I can’t fail my parents, I continued insisting, despite how uneasy it made me, as I watched this abnormal girl walk.
“Don’t be sad about it. Stop hurting yourself. It just happened.” As she advanced, the whole scenery cracked.
The whole playground, the robot totem, and even the park itself cracked. The surroundings were breaking apart into little pieces and melted into a dark void, consuming everything inside this dream. The only unharmed place was the tree I was sitting at and the path the girl was walking on.
What? as I contemplated what to say next, I noticed something wet falling onto my legs.
Touching my face, I could feel water leaking from my eyes as it flowed down my cheeks. It was an uncontrollable stream that despite my will to stop, wouldn’t disappear. Looking down at my lap, I noticed a small pool of salty water forming, large enough to fill a sink.
N-No, I can’t cry. I promised not to cry. I can’t cry. I can’t cry. Stop it!
Swiping away the tears, clawing my eyes out, pressing my hands to stop the flow; none of the methods worked. That was when the little girl placed her hands on my face and pulled it to hers, gazing at me as if she could see my soul. I noticed from this distance how reddened her eyes were.
“Forget it all…” she whispered. “Let it all stay in the past… Sealed away in the cracks and live your new life.”
With those words, seven more shadow people appeared, wearing the same dress as the shadow girl.
They all whispered, “Forget it all.”
Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all.
“Forget it all… Hestia.” the boy said.
“**ke u*, H**t*a.”
“Mhmm….” I could hear something… but it wasn’t clear.
“C*me *n, w**e up, Hes**a!” The voice was becoming more audible by the second, as the haze in my mind cleared up.
“Urgh… urgh… urgh…wha—?!” as I continued moaning, not having the energy to respond, my body suddenly started to rattled like a maracca.
“Oh, you are finally awake.” The first thing I saw once I opened my eyes was Saori’s face.
Looking down, I noticed how her hands were under my armpits, holding me up like a baby. “Wha-What happened?”
“Nothing really,” she said nonchalantly, putting me down on the ground and releasing me. “You somehow fell asleep while I was carrying you through that monster stampede, and as you did not want to wake up, I shook you awake.”
“Ahhh, I see…” Stretching my arms, I yawned with one hand blocking my opening mouth. “Then does that mean that we escape that?”
[“Yes, Prin… H-Hestia,”] stuttering my name, Tasianna drew my attention to her to answer my question. [“Mad… Sao… Miss Saori, has brought us to a safer spot. We can rest here for now.”]
Am I still that dreaming, or did I just hear Tasianna call me by my first name only?
Checking out the surroundings, there wasn’t anything special about it. It was just the same old forest layout we’ve seen time and time again… although, it did feel a bit more humid around here.
[“Hmm?”] Saori approached me and placed her face close to mine, slightly invading my personal space. [“Did something happen while you were sleeping? Your eyes look a bit reddened and puffy.”]
“Wha-?” Not understanding what she meant, I touched my eyes but as I couldn’t see them, I wasn’t able to confirm her words. I had to ask my companions through [Telepathy]. [“D-Did I cry?”]
Something inside me was telling me to ask them but why? I promised myself I would never cry until I was able to perform before a crowd. Still, my heart tightened at the possibility I might have broken my vow.
["Your skin is not parched, so no,"] Saori said, shaking her head before giving me my space back.
[“Your head was swinging in front of me as you slept under Mada… M-Miss Saori’s arm, so I can confirm that you did not weep, Prince… H-Hestia,”] Tasianna added, struggling with calling me by my name.
[“Why are you asking that? Did you have a nightmare?”] Saori tilted her head as she looked at me, inquisitively.
However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring up what my dream. [“I… actually have no idea.”]
It was a complete blank. Neither my parallel minds nor I were able recall what we dreamed about. Which was weird as shouldn’t it take longer than a few seconds to forget the details? Not to mention, I couldn’t remember anything at all. Annoyingly, that was the truth, although I could give a guess.
[“I can’t remember it but the last time I felt this terrible after waking up was when I remembered about the vow I made to myself,”] I responded.
[“Oh, the reason why you stopped crying, correct?”] I nodded to Saori’s answer, which prompted her to put her hand on my hand, caressing it with a sigh. [“I am repeating myself, but stop overthinking everything too much, alright? If you require somebody else’s opinion, then ask them. You literally have two adults with you, so rely on us more, got it?”]
I nodded. I couldn’t exactly escape from her lecture now.
[“You are too young to carry all your worries by yourself. Is that not correct, Tasianna?”] she winked at me before looking at Tasianna, gesturing to her to say something.
Tasianna, noticing this, corrected her posture and responded with fervor, [“Ah, yes! I’m here to serve you with all my body and soul, Princess Hestia. I only wish to see you happy so please allow me to offer my knowledge and ear!”]
[“I see… thank you, you two.”] Maybe it was ‘cause I felt a bit emotionally weak right now, or maybe I felt some invisible bond between us growing stronger from this, but I couldn’t help myself from embracing both of them.
Saori snickered a bit, patted my back. [“Alright, we might be safe, but the possibility of those wyverns staying in the forest is high. Come on, we have to flee from this forest and enter the elves’ territory soon.”]
Acknowledging her response, I released them and clapped my cheeks, shaking off any remaining drowsiness. Using this moment, I told my two companions about my worries, concerning the wyvern. I also told them about my theory linking Kargryxmor and the two wyvern groups together.
Tasianna looked mortified, hearing how a god might be hunting me, while Saori immersed herself in thought. I guess the way I worded it would horrify anybody.
[“Yeah, that might be a possibility, I agree,”] the first to speak was Saori. [“However, it makes absolutely no sense for him to consider killing you. What has he to gain from that?”]
[“Yeah, I know.”] I scratched my head. [“I know it could all be a coincidence and the original wyvern group was just hunting. If I were in those wyvern’s shoes then I would also prefer hunting here, instead of contesting against other apex predators like griffons and hippogryphs. That is correct, right, Tasianna?”]
[“I believe so?”] Tasianna said with little confidence. [“I cannot say much about how monsters behave, unfortunately. However, I can confirm that the Avitor Peaks, where those wyverns should originate from, is populated by the mentioned monsters. The mountain range borders Belzac forest, so your suggestion might be correct, Princ… Hestia.”]
[“Then it would be better if we do not blame the God of Dragons without concrete proof,”] Saori kept shooting down my conspiracy, trying to make me look at it realistically. [“We should consider it as a coincidence for now, and that the current wyverns are seeking revenge for the deaths of their companions. If I were Kargryxmor, then I would see more benefits from keeping you alive, despite your reluctance to cooperate. It was not your choice to ‘usurp’ [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood], after all.”]
[“Yeah, exactly.”] Saori immediately detected the flaws in my idea. [“It just happened out of nowhere. The word ‘usurp’ also appeared on [The Light] but I can’t remember ever denying the gods outright. Before it happened, I wasn’t keen on them, but I didn’t hate them. They did give me a second chance to fulfill my dream.”]
Being selfish was part of being a human if you were to ask me. I didn't hate the gods, but I also didn't want to associate myself with them. I might not have asked them to reincarnate me, but they did give me a second chance to live my life and to become an idol.
I still had some misgivings, for example, possibly ruining my memory, not contacting me despite how dangerous this place was, and not kicking my dragon “parent’s” ass for abandoning me. I didn’t have an extremely favorable opinion of them, but this shouldn't be enough to warrant me “usurping” or even “hating” them.
In fact, a part of me was thankful to them for my second life. I wasn’t ungrateful.
[“Princess Hestia,”] Tasianna suddenly turned a bit serious, having a deep frown. [“Please, allow me to warn you that Peolynca as a whole is quite religious. The Origin Gods are worshipped in nearly every corner in this world, I was told, especially by their patron races. The elves, while courteous, are highly religious. Our destination Saelariel is ruled by a royal family, however, the leaders of the six Origin God churches have immense influence to the point you could call the Kingdom a theocracy.”]
Noted, improve [Aerokinesis] so I can block sounds perfectly. Or use [Air Shield].
[“Urgh… theocracy, huh? That sounds like we would get into trouble with zealots calling us heretics… Miss Tasianna, I have a question. You have seen us speak about the gods, do you dislike us for that?”] Saori asked, curious about Tasianna’s opinion on us considering she is a resident of this world.
[“No, distrusting and betraying my mistress will be the last thing that I will ever, ever do!”] She grimaced at the implication Saori shot at her, returning a glare with her reply. [“I may belong to this world, but I have made my vow. Not only are you both my saviors but you have shown me trust, even though I don’t deserve it. Princ… Lady Hestia and Miss Saori, I pray to the Depth Goddess, Plesia, but my loyalty belongs to you two alone.”]
[“Thank you, Tasianna,”] I earnestly smiled, happy to hear she prioritized us over her faith.
[“I appreciate it also, Miss Tasianna. Having allies reassures me. I apologize for assuming, otherwise.”] Saori then clapped her hands together, signaling the end of our first team meeting. [“I know we must reach the elves as soon as possible but rushing it will be detrimental. Winter is coming and we still have not finish preparations yet, especially our food supplies will not last through it. I suggest we continue with our original plans, however, let us avoid causing any more spectacles that may attract the wyvern's attention.”]
Saori then looked at me. [“Control yourself, please. Do not overdo it with your fire spells and take care during your practice sessions, especially when you sing. That also means that any idol concerts are forbidden at this point, alright? We need to lay low.”]
I nodded. It should be easy enough.
[“Good, let us move forward until night falls. I will check our location then.”]
Having finalized our plans, we began following the monster tracks left behind from the stampede, which guaranteed we would move away from the wyverns.
Looking at my [Detection Sensor], monsters were spread around the whole area and some of them weren’t looking too well. Either they were left behind or were weakened from fleeing the wyvern’s roar. Seeing as we were moving with [Stealth] and [Presence Killer] activated, these monsters would’ve been dead if we were in a hunting mood.
Survival-wise it would be correct to do so, but our whole party was exhausted from running. We could sympathize with them, considering we did all participate in the same event. A single day of peace, like a gentleman's agreement. Tomorrow, once we rested our minds and bodies, it will be hunting season again.
As we continued onwards, I could faintly hear a monster’s cry. It was small, weak, and it sounded like it was in pain. As we moved in closer, the cries got even louder and even more desperate. It sounded like a weak animal very close to dying, which was nothing surprising in this situation.
However, it seemed like the monster was too weak to even move out of our path, continuously yelping as it sat at the same location. I felt slight pity for it.
[“Should we check it out?”] I asked Saori.
She shrugged her shoulders but did say “Sure.”
As we approached the location, we noticed the signal was behind some thick vegetation. We pushed the shrubbery away, revealing a small creature twitching feebly.
It was a small feline monster lying on the ground, covered in mud, dirt, and its own blood. The young animal’s green fur looked terribly unkempt, showing some trample marks, probably an unlucky victim who barely survived the monster stampede.
Identify.
My eyes caught Saori shrugging her shoulders, looking a bit troubled. “Why does this scene seem so familiar?”
I had to agree. It was a young, probably newborn, monster sitting in a nest of twigs and leaves, looking helpless and mortified from locking eyes with us. It trembled and cried out in fear as I wanted to touch it.
“Shhhhh, it’s alright, little one. I’m not here to hurt you. Let me help,” I soothed the little creature before letting out a small sigh in exasperation. “First, it was a dog and now it’s a cat?”
Welp, that’s my second “Abandoned Animal in a Box” trope.
AbyssRaven Dream sequence into cat moment. Worship the cat. Mew.
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“Hey, you’re running too fast!” I could hear something. “That’s so unfair, stop!”
“Ha ha, I’m not even trying. You’re too slow.” Then another voice appeared, echoing a bit further away from the first. “I can’t help it when I’m tall, **k***-chan! You just need to continue drinking your milk and you will grow big and strong just like me.”
My senses once again looked over at the first voice, swinging its shadowy arms around in frustration. “How much do I have to drink, cousin? Mama is forcing me to drink so much, already.”
Slowly the haziness of this whole scene cleared up, vividly showing more details of the scene. It felt like I was waking up after a tiring day, and my brain was still half-asleep. However, at the same time, this place felt too familiar to be real, right now. Was I dreaming?
Looking around, I noticed a grass area with trees, benches, and also a playground for kids. It was most likely a park from how organized and clear of shrubbery it was, not even close to the mess that was the Belzac forest.
The two voices came from two shadowy individuals, far shorter than I was. Probably elementary students. Their faces and bodies were covered up by a black mist, making it impossible for me to identify who they were, but their clothing was exempt from this.
The one lagging behind the other was wearing a pure white dress with flower embroidery, making me imagine the little shadow person as a cute girl. It was also wearing a backpack with an animalistic theme on its back, probably carrying essential items for this outing. Somehow, I felt a bit of a kinship with it.
The other one was slightly taller, like an older sibling. They were wearing an outfit consisting of a pullover and jeans. It was carrying a thermos in its hand while it ran, although I was not sure what the content was.
Both continued running on an unpaved road, while I followed them against my will. Then again, I wasn’t even resisting. I didn’t even think I could do anything besides watch. Well, it was better than to stare at nothingness, I guess.
“Look, **k***-chan!” the taller shadow person began pointing at a large colorful totem. "You don't come to Japan very often, so you have to see everything you can in this short time! This is the most memorable sight in this whole park."
“Wow, are those robots?” As more of my consciousness returned, I was able to confirm the white dress indeed belonged to the girl as her high-pitched voice made me sure of it. Weirdly enough, it sounded familiar. “They are all stacked on top of each, and there are so many colors! It’s like a totem rainbow, cousin!”
“I told you already, **k***-chan.” The taller shadow had a fairly high-pitched voice, too, however, theirs was breaking a bit. Most likely it belonged to a prepubescent boy. “It’s not ‘cousin’ but it’s ‘big brother!’ Japanese is hard but you have to make sure you get it correct, ok?”
Gak! Cringe!
I hadn’t noticed it before, but both of them were speaking in Japanese. It felt so natural I didn’t even consider that possibility until now. “Itoko” for cousin and “onii-chan” for big brother made me sensitive to that fact. Strangely, just hearing the boy call himself “onii-chan” made my skin crawl.
“My Japanese isn’t that good but you’re my cousin so I’m addressing you as ‘Itoko!’” the girl rebuked her cousin. “You’re really weird for wanting me to call you ‘onii-chan,’ *****-san.”
Hearing that, the boy stopped moving and turned around in shock, “N-No, no! I apologize, you can call me anything but please don’t use -san!”
However, the girl didn’t respond and simply ran past him, only turning her head around to stick her tongue out with a wink, having successfully fooled him. The boy stood still, probably embarrassed from being fooled by his younger cousin, before shouting “W-Wait, was that a joke?!” as he tried to catch up.
The two eventually made it to a playground, filled with slides and other equipment to entertain active children. There were quite a few other shadowy kids and some adults there, playing around and having a great time.
“Hehe, I won. You’re too slow~” The girl was breathing heavily but nonetheless cheered for her own victory, having beaten the boy in this race.
“Urgh, I can’t believe I was tricked…” The boy scratched his head in frustration but shrugged it off, allowing his little cousin this small win. “So, were you also joking about the whole ‘Itoko’ stuff? I bet you were, **k***-chan~”
“No, I wasn’t.” The girl was merciless to the poor boy. “Why are you like this anyways, *****? You always behave normally around Mama and Auntie, just like last Christmas, but why are you treating me differently? Have I done something wrong?”
The boy’s bitter expression couldn’t be ignored, sighing deeply before he responded, “I… this is a bit embarrassing but recently I wished I could have more family around. Sorry, **k***-chan, I-I didn’t want to make you feel uncomfortable. Please, don’t hate me.”
“Hate you because of something like that? Hmph, you’re overthinking too much, cousin!” The girl had a slight holier-than-thou tone, but I could still feel some warmth and care from the way she said it. She sounded like a real teaser. “Still, what happened, dear cousin?”
“Nothing really.” However, his troubled face told me otherwise. “It’s just… It’s just…Chichi-ue has been personally tutoring me, as the entrance exams for junior high are in one year, and it's quite… difficult. I envy you for being in America. There is also… well, Haha-ue and Chichi-ue aren’t getting alo… woah! ”
Suddenly, the girl grabbed her cousin’s arm and pulled it towards her. “Enough! It’s such a fun day and you’re bringing it down. Come on, come on! Let’s go have some fun at the playground before Mama and Auntie pick us up!”
Jeez, stop being so ‘tsun’ about it, it’s annoying when you act so dismissive of your emotions. The boy is being so polite. Somebody needs to tell her to dial it down a bit…
Still, “Haha-ue” and “Chichi-ue”, huh? Those were the Japanese words for “my mother” and “my father”, respectively. Compared to “Okaa-san” and “Otou-san”, you would use the two former terms to address your own family, while the latter two were used to address the parents of others… or, well, when you were speaking with your parents.
It seemed like the boy seemed to prefer calling his parents with the Japanese terms, while the girl favored using the western nickname “Mama” for her mother. Where was my translation skill so I didn’t have to self-translate everything in my head?
However, who would use the “-ue" suffix nowadays, anyway? I was pretty sure only old-fashioned or super strict families would have their children say that. "Haha” or “Chichi” would be perfectly acceptable, even in the formality-hell that was Japan.
Regardless of my thoughts, the two kids entered the playground and started playing in it. Sliding down the slides, playing tag with the other kids, and rotating on the roundabout.
The tension on the boy’s face completely washed away, vanishing from existence as if it never existed in the first place. The merrily laughs of little children playing and their mischievous nature of competing with others tightened up my heart and soul.
Is this… nostalgia?
It didn’t seem like they would stop any time soon. Having somehow gained a sliver of control over my body again, I moved towards a nearby tree, wanting to wait over there. Under the shadow of its branches, I sat down, feeling the heat of the sun waning. The grassy ground cushioned me, allowing me to lean my back on the tree’s trunk.
I relaxed and watched the kids play, losing my sense of time as it seemed like this moment would never end.
“*****, you haven’t drunk from your thermos yet. Aren’t you thirsty?” the girl asked the boy while drinking from her bottle of juice.
“Oh, this? I-I actually forgot to fill it up today,” the boy admitted.
“What?! No, wait… uhmm… aha, here!” After rummaging through her backpack, she took out another bottle of juice, offering it to her cousin. “It’s sunny, Mama says you need to drink when you play. Take it.”
“Thank you…” the boy said timidly, clearly embarrassed his little cousin had to state the obvious.
“Hehe, of course.” The girl smiled with satisfaction, happy to hear her cousin liked her gift. “Anyways, why are you carrying the thermos when it’s empty? You should have given it to Auntie.”
The boy looked down at his thermos, before meeting her eyes. "You see… Chichi-ue would always drink coffee before he went to work. I thought, even if it’s empty, I could mimic him to understand what he wants from me. It always feels like I’m a disappointment…”
“U-Uh, I’m sorry for bringing it up again. Let’s stop talking about it.” The girl suddenly clapped her hands together, forcing up a smile after what she said.. “I know! When we get back to Grandpa’s and Grandma’s house, I’ll show you my 3DS. If you’re feeling stressed, then playing games will help you out a lot.”
“Your Obaa-san and Ojii-san, right? Hm, I don’t know if Chichi-ue will allow that…” the boy said. “Arcades are alright, since he thinks we’re going to the park, but he doesn’t like me ‘ruining my sharp mind with irrelevant activities.’ Or something like that.”
“Obaa-san” and “Ojii-san” are the Japanese terms to address somebody else’s “grandmother” and “grandfather,” respectively. These two were related so that had to mean the girl mentioned the grandparents they weren’t sharing together.
The girl waved her arms around, appearing cheery. “But, if you do well on your exams then you can persuade your Otou-san about it, right? Your grades are so good, *****, so playing a little bit shouldn’t hurt.”
“… Yeah, I guess I can at least try it a bit. Especially when you’re offering to share it with me.” His shadow cheeks point up, probably ‘cause he was smiling. “Thank you, **k***, you’re good at making others feel better, despite your clumsiness. You will make an amazing idol.”
“Clumsiness?! What?! Grrrr,” the girl glared at her cousin.
“Haha, sorry.” He didn’t look very remorseful for teasing her. “Still, you were only here because of the concert, correct? How was it?”
“Amazing!” Like an explosion of emotions, the girl spread her arms out and smiled, showing off her sparkling white teeth. All the annoyance of being teased was completely gone. “The Misses were awesome, awesome, awesome! When the spotlights appeared and showed off all the idols, it was amazing, amazing, amazing!”
“Ahh, **k***-chan, you shouldn’t shout that much.” Noticing how the other children and some adults were looking at them, the boy quickly calmed down his cousin. “Phew, it was your first concert, correct?”
“Yeah, and that’s when I decided I wanted to become an idol. I want to stand on a stage and make people happy, too!” the girl proclaimed.
First concert? Ahh, I still remembered how I attended my first when I was seven. Mama was so nice to comply with my wish, despite how far away New York is to Tokyo… And how out of the blue the request came from.
I believe she also wanted to visit her parents so that helped me persuade her.
“If that’s true, then… does that mean that you will move over here? I-I believe Japan also has an idol culture, right?” the boy asked.
“… I-I don’t think so.” The girl looked apologetic as she saw her cousin’s disappointment. “Papa and Mama seem to like it in New York, and both like their jobs there. Besides, if I ever have the chance then I would like to go to South Korea. I prefer K-Pop idols over J-Pop…”
“I-I see…” The boy mustered a fake nonchalant tone of voice, but nobody was fooled by this, easily seeing how crestfallen he felt.
“But! When I become an idol then I will come to Tokyo for my tour, alright? When that happens then you must come cheer for me, alright?” The girl attempted to cheer her cousin up. “Please, it will make me so happy if you came!”
"… Yeah, you will become an idol and I will come to cheer for you." The boy's sadness didn’t wane.
The girl, however, did not give up, pulling out all the cheeriness she had in store. "And… and, you can always call me! Your Okaa-san has my Papa’s number so you can always ask her to call me. I will always answer, alright? I will always be there when you need me, just like a shining light in a dark concert hall. And… when I come back during Christmas, then we can spend so much time together, alright?”
“… Do you promise, **k***-chan?” he questioned her warily.
“Of course! I haven’t broken a single promise in my life yet, and I don’t want to disappoint my family.” The girl clenched her entire right hand, except for her pinky finger. "Promise me that you will come to my concerts and I will be there when you need me the most. Yubikiri, Onii-chan~"
“... Yubikiri. If you promise then I will too, **k***-chan.” The boy also performed the same gesture.
“Yubikiri”, also known as the “pinky promise” to westerners. The two cousins simultaneously said “Yubikiri” and then locked their pinky fingers together, signifying how a promise had just been made.
“… However, ‘Yubikiri’ means ‘finger cut-off’ in JapaNESE! You.”
Wah?!
I jerked back as the girl snapped her head around to me with her shout, glaring at me as two black eyes appeared from her shadowy face.
“You promised to become an idol.”
The girl, still locking her finger with the boy, slowly walked towards me. She was dragging her cousin with her, despite the clear size difference. He was neither resisting nor supporting her cousin, simply staying silent as his little cousin effortlessly lugged him with her.
… I still want to become an idol, I replied after composing myself.
The shadowy girl maintained her slow walk, responding immediately to my response, “Yes, we must keep our promise… but he isn’t here anymore. We aren’t with him anymore.”
I can’t give up on my dream. I can’t fail my parents, I continued insisting, despite how uneasy it made me, as I watched this abnormal girl walk.
“Don’t be sad about it. Stop hurting yourself. It just happened.” As she advanced, the whole scenery cracked.
The whole playground, the robot totem, and even the park itself cracked. The surroundings were breaking apart into little pieces and melted into a dark void, consuming everything inside this dream. The only unharmed place was the tree I was sitting at and the path the girl was walking on.
What? as I contemplated what to say next, I noticed something wet falling onto my legs.
Touching my face, I could feel water leaking from my eyes as it flowed down my cheeks. It was an uncontrollable stream that despite my will to stop, wouldn’t disappear. Looking down at my lap, I noticed a small pool of salty water forming, large enough to fill a sink.
N-No, I can’t cry. I promised not to cry. I can’t cry. I can’t cry. Stop it!
Swiping away the tears, clawing my eyes out, pressing my hands to stop the flow; none of the methods worked. That was when the little girl placed her hands on my face and pulled it to hers, gazing at me as if she could see my soul. I noticed from this distance how reddened her eyes were.
“Forget it all…” she whispered. “Let it all stay in the past… Sealed away in the cracks and live your new life.”
With those words, seven more shadow people appeared, wearing the same dress as the shadow girl.
They all whispered, “Forget it all.”
Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all. Forget it all.
“Forget it all… Hestia.” the boy said.
“**ke u*, H**t*a.”
“Mhmm….” I could hear something… but it wasn’t clear.
“C*me *n, w**e up, Hes**a!” The voice was becoming more audible by the second, as the haze in my mind cleared up.
“Urgh… urgh… urgh…wha—?!” as I continued moaning, not having the energy to respond, my body suddenly started to rattled like a maracca.
“Oh, you are finally awake.” The first thing I saw once I opened my eyes was Saori’s face.
Looking down, I noticed how her hands were under my armpits, holding me up like a baby. “Wha-What happened?”
“Nothing really,” she said nonchalantly, putting me down on the ground and releasing me. “You somehow fell asleep while I was carrying you through that monster stampede, and as you did not want to wake up, I shook you awake.”
“Ahhh, I see…” Stretching my arms, I yawned with one hand blocking my opening mouth. “Then does that mean that we escape that?”
[“Yes, Prin… H-Hestia,”] stuttering my name, Tasianna drew my attention to her to answer my question. [“Mad… Sao… Miss Saori, has brought us to a safer spot. We can rest here for now.”]
Am I still that dreaming, or did I just hear Tasianna call me by my first name only?
Checking out the surroundings, there wasn’t anything special about it. It was just the same old forest layout we’ve seen time and time again… although, it did feel a bit more humid around here.
[“Hmm?”] Saori approached me and placed her face close to mine, slightly invading my personal space. [“Did something happen while you were sleeping? Your eyes look a bit reddened and puffy.”]
“Wha-?” Not understanding what she meant, I touched my eyes but as I couldn’t see them, I wasn’t able to confirm her words. I had to ask my companions through [Telepathy]. [“D-Did I cry?”]
Something inside me was telling me to ask them but why? I promised myself I would never cry until I was able to perform before a crowd. Still, my heart tightened at the possibility I might have broken my vow.
["Your skin is not parched, so no,"] Saori said, shaking her head before giving me my space back.
[“Your head was swinging in front of me as you slept under Mada… M-Miss Saori’s arm, so I can confirm that you did not weep, Prince… H-Hestia,”] Tasianna added, struggling with calling me by my name.
[“Why are you asking that? Did you have a nightmare?”] Saori tilted her head as she looked at me, inquisitively.
However, no matter how much I tried, I couldn’t bring up what my dream. [“I… actually have no idea.”]
It was a complete blank. Neither my parallel minds nor I were able recall what we dreamed about. Which was weird as shouldn’t it take longer than a few seconds to forget the details? Not to mention, I couldn’t remember anything at all. Annoyingly, that was the truth, although I could give a guess.
[“I can’t remember it but the last time I felt this terrible after waking up was when I remembered about the vow I made to myself,”] I responded.
[“Oh, the reason why you stopped crying, correct?”] I nodded to Saori’s answer, which prompted her to put her hand on my hand, caressing it with a sigh. [“I am repeating myself, but stop overthinking everything too much, alright? If you require somebody else’s opinion, then ask them. You literally have two adults with you, so rely on us more, got it?”]
I nodded. I couldn’t exactly escape from her lecture now.
[“You are too young to carry all your worries by yourself. Is that not correct, Tasianna?”] she winked at me before looking at Tasianna, gesturing to her to say something.
Tasianna, noticing this, corrected her posture and responded with fervor, [“Ah, yes! I’m here to serve you with all my body and soul, Princess Hestia. I only wish to see you happy so please allow me to offer my knowledge and ear!”]
[“I see… thank you, you two.”] Maybe it was ‘cause I felt a bit emotionally weak right now, or maybe I felt some invisible bond between us growing stronger from this, but I couldn’t help myself from embracing both of them.
Saori snickered a bit, patted my back. [“Alright, we might be safe, but the possibility of those wyverns staying in the forest is high. Come on, we have to flee from this forest and enter the elves’ territory soon.”]
Acknowledging her response, I released them and clapped my cheeks, shaking off any remaining drowsiness. Using this moment, I told my two companions about my worries, concerning the wyvern. I also told them about my theory linking Kargryxmor and the two wyvern groups together.
Tasianna looked mortified, hearing how a god might be hunting me, while Saori immersed herself in thought. I guess the way I worded it would horrify anybody.
[“Yeah, that might be a possibility, I agree,”] the first to speak was Saori. [“However, it makes absolutely no sense for him to consider killing you. What has he to gain from that?”]
[“Yeah, I know.”] I scratched my head. [“I know it could all be a coincidence and the original wyvern group was just hunting. If I were in those wyvern’s shoes then I would also prefer hunting here, instead of contesting against other apex predators like griffons and hippogryphs. That is correct, right, Tasianna?”]
[“I believe so?”] Tasianna said with little confidence. [“I cannot say much about how monsters behave, unfortunately. However, I can confirm that the Avitor Peaks, where those wyverns should originate from, is populated by the mentioned monsters. The mountain range borders Belzac forest, so your suggestion might be correct, Princ… Hestia.”]
[“Then it would be better if we do not blame the God of Dragons without concrete proof,”] Saori kept shooting down my conspiracy, trying to make me look at it realistically. [“We should consider it as a coincidence for now, and that the current wyverns are seeking revenge for the deaths of their companions. If I were Kargryxmor, then I would see more benefits from keeping you alive, despite your reluctance to cooperate. It was not your choice to ‘usurp’ [Bearer of Kargryxmor’s Blood], after all.”]
[“Yeah, exactly.”] Saori immediately detected the flaws in my idea. [“It just happened out of nowhere. The word ‘usurp’ also appeared on [The Light] but I can’t remember ever denying the gods outright. Before it happened, I wasn’t keen on them, but I didn’t hate them. They did give me a second chance to fulfill my dream.”]
Being selfish was part of being a human if you were to ask me. I didn't hate the gods, but I also didn't want to associate myself with them. I might not have asked them to reincarnate me, but they did give me a second chance to live my life and to become an idol.
I still had some misgivings, for example, possibly ruining my memory, not contacting me despite how dangerous this place was, and not kicking my dragon “parent’s” ass for abandoning me. I didn’t have an extremely favorable opinion of them, but this shouldn't be enough to warrant me “usurping” or even “hating” them.
In fact, a part of me was thankful to them for my second life. I wasn’t ungrateful.
[“Princess Hestia,”] Tasianna suddenly turned a bit serious, having a deep frown. [“Please, allow me to warn you that Peolynca as a whole is quite religious. The Origin Gods are worshipped in nearly every corner in this world, I was told, especially by their patron races. The elves, while courteous, are highly religious. Our destination Saelariel is ruled by a royal family, however, the leaders of the six Origin God churches have immense influence to the point you could call the Kingdom a theocracy.”]
Noted, improve [Aerokinesis] so I can block sounds perfectly. Or use [Air Shield].
[“Urgh… theocracy, huh? That sounds like we would get into trouble with zealots calling us heretics… Miss Tasianna, I have a question. You have seen us speak about the gods, do you dislike us for that?”] Saori asked, curious about Tasianna’s opinion on us considering she is a resident of this world.
[“No, distrusting and betraying my mistress will be the last thing that I will ever, ever do!”] She grimaced at the implication Saori shot at her, returning a glare with her reply. [“I may belong to this world, but I have made my vow. Not only are you both my saviors but you have shown me trust, even though I don’t deserve it. Princ… Lady Hestia and Miss Saori, I pray to the Depth Goddess, Plesia, but my loyalty belongs to you two alone.”]
[“Thank you, Tasianna,”] I earnestly smiled, happy to hear she prioritized us over her faith.
[“I appreciate it also, Miss Tasianna. Having allies reassures me. I apologize for assuming, otherwise.”] Saori then clapped her hands together, signaling the end of our first team meeting. [“I know we must reach the elves as soon as possible but rushing it will be detrimental. Winter is coming and we still have not finish preparations yet, especially our food supplies will not last through it. I suggest we continue with our original plans, however, let us avoid causing any more spectacles that may attract the wyvern's attention.”]
Saori then looked at me. [“Control yourself, please. Do not overdo it with your fire spells and take care during your practice sessions, especially when you sing. That also means that any idol concerts are forbidden at this point, alright? We need to lay low.”]
I nodded. It should be easy enough.
[“Good, let us move forward until night falls. I will check our location then.”]
Having finalized our plans, we began following the monster tracks left behind from the stampede, which guaranteed we would move away from the wyverns.
Looking at my [Detection Sensor], monsters were spread around the whole area and some of them weren’t looking too well. Either they were left behind or were weakened from fleeing the wyvern’s roar. Seeing as we were moving with [Stealth] and [Presence Killer] activated, these monsters would’ve been dead if we were in a hunting mood.
Survival-wise it would be correct to do so, but our whole party was exhausted from running. We could sympathize with them, considering we did all participate in the same event. A single day of peace, like a gentleman's agreement. Tomorrow, once we rested our minds and bodies, it will be hunting season again.
As we continued onwards, I could faintly hear a monster’s cry. It was small, weak, and it sounded like it was in pain. As we moved in closer, the cries got even louder and even more desperate. It sounded like a weak animal very close to dying, which was nothing surprising in this situation.
However, it seemed like the monster was too weak to even move out of our path, continuously yelping as it sat at the same location. I felt slight pity for it.
[“Should we check it out?”] I asked Saori.
She shrugged her shoulders but did say “Sure.”
As we approached the location, we noticed the signal was behind some thick vegetation. We pushed the shrubbery away, revealing a small creature twitching feebly.
It was a small feline monster lying on the ground, covered in mud, dirt, and its own blood. The young animal’s green fur looked terribly unkempt, showing some trample marks, probably an unlucky victim who barely survived the monster stampede.
Identify.
My eyes caught Saori shrugging her shoulders, looking a bit troubled. “Why does this scene seem so familiar?”
I had to agree. It was a young, probably newborn, monster sitting in a nest of twigs and leaves, looking helpless and mortified from locking eyes with us. It trembled and cried out in fear as I wanted to touch it.
“Shhhhh, it’s alright, little one. I’m not here to hurt you. Let me help,” I soothed the little creature before letting out a small sigh in exasperation. “First, it was a dog and now it’s a cat?”
Welp, that’s my second “Abandoned Animal in a Box” trope.
AbyssRaven Dream sequence into cat moment. Worship the cat. Mew.
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