Burning Embers Part II: Conspiracy [Arc 6-10]

Arc 9 Chapter 5

—Kotori's Perspective—

It wasn't cold anymore. Not literally, anyway. How long had it been now? Kotori sighed, stretching her legs.

Since they walked into the cavern, a series of bizarre events had occurred which she could not explain, even with her knowledge of magic. At first, the entrance had disappeared, and everything had gone dark, as if she were floating in a sea of darkness. She had called out for Findaris several times, and there had been no answer. After a while— she didn't know how long —she suddenly found herself in a massive cave chamber. 

It was not dark at all, despite clearly having no opening where light came in from. Instead, the gemstones and diamonds embedded in the walls, and the crystals growing out of them, seemed to be giving off their own light; something she had never seen before. It was a wondrous sight, and she would've loved to bask in it if she could, but her mind was still in a state of panic as Findaris was nowhere to be seen, and there seemed to be no clear exit. 

After a while of walking around, she had finally found what seemed to be a door made of stone. However, it wouldn't open. She tried pushing, pulling, attacking it with whatever magic she could, and even using her swords, but it wouldn't budge. After an eternity of unsuccessful attempts, she finally gave up and decided to rest, sitting against the wall close to that door. Since then, she had no idea how much time had passed.

Picking up a rock from the ground, she threw it at the door, sighing again and putting her hands behind her head, laying down... when a rumbling noise brought her back to her senses. 

"Huh?!"

It's moving! What? Was the trick to throw a rock at it the whole time?

She got back on her feet quickly, wary of what this could mean. Why would the door open now? Earlier, she had tried many different methods, but now, just throwing a pebble had worked? There was no way, it had to be a coincidence. But then, why did it open? The rocks stopped moving, and beyond the entrance-way, she could only see darkness.

Should I move? The last time I passed through a similar gate, I got stuck here. But then, there's nowhere else to go either... maybe this is the exit? 

So she thought, as she began to move, just when a familiar voice interrupted her:

"So this is where you were."

"Findaris!" 

Overwhelming relief filled her as she, without thinking, ran straight at Findaris and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly. These moments of loneliness, even if it were just a few minutes, the unbearable anxiety and stress of not knowing where she was, how she would get out, and most importantly, what happened to Findaris; all wiped away in an instant as she felt his warmth and heard his heart beating.

Findaris just stood there, frozen, taken aback and unable to respond in any way, until Kotori realised the awkwardness of the situation and pulled away. 

"S-Sorry..." she looked away, blushing.

"It's okay, I was just caught off-guard. A-Anyway, where've you been?" he also averted his eyes, asking her a question instead.

"I should be asking you that! I've been stuck here alone this whole time! Where've you been?! How could you leave me alone like—" she stopped as she saw his expression grow softer. "W-What?"

"You're crying." 

"Huh?!" She furiously wiped away her tears, glaring at him.

"Sorry... I was... it's a really long story, but I met the light dragon, Meheros," he said casually, as if that wasn't a huge deal.