- Heaven's Last Breath -

The Eternal Cataclysm

"R-Really? I-I mean, you don't have to or anything."

The young girl stuttered as she processed what I had told her. But before she could say anything, there was a knocking at the entrance to the basement.

I looked over, seeing Jade stood at the bottom of the staircase. She had an innocent look on her face, as if she had walked in on something she wasn't supposed to see but as she turned to me, I knew what was on her mind.

"The Elder?"

Jade only nodded, turning away as she walked up the staircase. I looked back to Raya who seemed indecisive about something.

"I should see what this is about. But I'll definitely teach you before we leave."

At that, I followed the midnight haired samurai up the stairs, Raya following me soon after. As I stepped out into the large main room, I saw a crowd of people gathered near the fireplace.

The older couple who were kind enough to allow us into their home were sat at the wooden dining table, away from the group on the other side of the room. Sat on a double seated cushioned sofa were Ariel and Death. The rose blonde was leaning on the cloaked reaper's shoulder, the two of them turning to my direction as they heard me coming up the stairs.

Jade was sat on an armchair, resting her arms on the rests. There was a shy smile on her face as she looked over to me. Standing by the open fire was a short, bald man. His long, greyed beard was tied into knots at the end, his face wrinkled and weathered. He was wearing a long, draping chestnut brown robe.

I joined the group, standing over the armchair Jade was sat on, leaning over the top. The older man turned to me and as he saw the four of us gathered, he started to talk.

"Young adventurers, what is it that brings you here?" His voice was coarse and raspy, as if he had already been talking for hours.

Ariel sat up on the sofa, leaning in slightly, "You're all survivors of what happened to Ida, right? You must know something about what happened back then."

The old man looked down slightly, his graze lowering before he turned back to the rose blonde. "Young miss, no one could survive what happened back then. I have been told it was a terrible massacre, it's impossible for anyone to have lived through that."

I glanced over to Ariel, seeing that she wasn't reacting to what the old man was saying. I was sure that she had heard it all before and there was no use in telling anyone that she was indeed a survivor. Either they wouldn't believe her, or worse, they would.

"Yeah, sure, I get that. But do you know why it happened? The Eternal Cataclysm was no mistake, I'm sure."

Slowly, the Elder turned away, looking into the roaring white flames. There was a solemn look on his face though I could see a glint of understanding in his darkened eyes.

"So, do you know what happened back then?" Death spoke up, also wanting answers.

The old man turned around, holding his arms behind his back. He looked up the to four of us, a stern look in his eyes but he was ready to talk.

"Years ago, we monks climbed the mountain to learn about what happened. But as we arrived at the summit, only the ashes of Ida remained. We took what we could find and built a settlement for those who survived the climb."

"For some years, we lay in wait of a sign. Anything that would tell us what happened to Ida. You see, we monks had close ties with the kingdom and once we heard news of the tragedy that engulfed Ida, we knew there had to be more to the story. So, we waited."