The Legends of Anigma: Ethiel Archer | ONC 2023

PART V

Gigantic, lush green trees with broader than life and mossy barks were outside, towering over the entire place like some scary giant. Even their overly raveled branches were thicker than the thickest tree trunks Ethiel had seen. The ground had a carpet of grass that reached almost up till his knees; it was soft as velvet and ash green in colour, nodding calmly in the gentle gusts.

A mild fragrance mixed with the peaceful scent of wet mud and rocks that hung in the air. The moment he stepped out of the wooden cabin and breathed in the air of Anigma, something in him changed. His mind and thoughts gained clarity. His sadness didn't feel so heavy, his body felt stronger, and his soul felt lighter. That feeling, like some dense negativity got peeled off of him.

The change was so drastic that he paused for a second.

"What is this feeling?" Tifa asked, looking at her hands. Probably she felt it too.

"I don't know," He shook it off.

The vast water pool was a little away on the right, roaring peace. It looked more beautiful and enchanting up close. Luminescent flowers like lotus floated on its surface.

However, it was no time for sight-seeing.

"Throw it hard, huh?" Ethiel readied his arm for a hard swing. "Alright, here we go!" He tossed the sphere glass at ground.

The glass broke and turned to ashes, spilling out the water inside. Up rose the scarce water and started whirling into a tiny circle. Thick streaks shot out of the pool like whips and splashed into the whirling circle, making it bigger.

"What the – woah," Ethiel took a few steps back.

The streaks stopped when the circle was as big as a door.

The circle became thick with rushing water on the edge and the thin film of water in the center started to glow dimly. A blurry image formed and started to become clear, showing little movements. The center became still as the image became vivid. Foamy water still whirled on the edges.

It was a portal to some place different from where they were.

There was someone sitting on a cliff, some slim girl with blue hair that fluttered in the wind like sapphire flames. Bat-like wings came out of her back and were laid out beautifully on the ground. She was looking at the skies, her arms around her knees; it felt as if she was sadly remembering someone, just like him.

"Who's that?" Tifa whispered to him.

Something moved in the outline of the girl's head. It was then that Ethiel realized those furry, pointy things on the sides were her grey ears.

Her head turned and she looked over her shoulders straight at them. Shadows made it difficult to see her face, but they also highlighted those enchanting, indigo eyes that gleamed like beautiful gems.

To Ethiel, spooky it was to stand and gaze upon such a being, but he didn't feel any fear in his heart for some reason.

She got up and whispered something, seemingly in shock. A flap of her wings brought her closer to the portal.

Instinctively, Ethiel put Tifa behind himself and frowned, trying to think what to do and how to react. That was supposedly the person his mother wanted him to see, but he still didn't want to drop his guard near an unknown person – he wasn't even sure if that was a person.

The girl flew to the portal slowly, her head tilted; maybe she was puzzled. She came out of it and landed a little away from them.

The light shone upon her confused face; it was like an angel.

"Who – Who are you?" Ethiel asked, still alerted.

"Are you..." She lifted her hands to her agape mouth in awe, "Ethiel and Tifa?"

That was another hard hit on Ethiel's mind whose sanity he had started to doubt by then. "How do you know our names? Who are you?"

"Oh my God!" She gasped. "It is you two!" Immediately she was excited and happy and took a step closer to them. "You two look good as always!"

"Don't come close!" Ethiel shouted.

She stopped, but there was no offended expression on her face; she was still smiling gleefully. "Please don't sweat for nothing. I'm not going to steal your food, you know."

"How do you know our names?!"

"Oh, that! Your mother told me more than that about you two. I'm Maya Solanum; your mother was my mentor in many things." She chuckled and looked around. "Speaking of Mrs. Alice, where is she? Didn't she come? Hope she brought some surprise gift for me as always – other than your arrival I mean! I really look forward to it!"

One thing was clear to Ethiel: Maya wasn't lying and she was indeed not a threat – that was clear before since it was his mother who guided them to her in the first place, but he wasn't one to blindly trust. Another thing that he realized was that poor Maya wasn't aware. Inadvertently, she had reminded him of his pain. All that guard he mustered dropped in an instant.

"Why the long face? Did I say something wrong?" She asked.

Not afraid anymore, Tifa stepped forward to her and said dully, "Mother has... she is gone..."

"Gone? G-Gone where?" Maya knitted her brows, her eyes having a fear. "Back to Earth?"

"She..." Ethiel sighed, "passed away..."

"What? What did you just say?" She was trying not to believe them.

Clearly, she loved his mother as much as he did. He couldn't repeat his words and so clicked his tongue and looked away; enduring so much was beyond his tolerance.

Strongly flapping her wings, she floated to him and glared. "I asked what you said?!"

He still didn't say anything, busy holding together his collapsed state of mind.

"Tell me that isn't true!" She shouted.

"Do I look like I'm lying?" He pursed his quivering lips. "It's already been a long, bloody, shocking day. Why will I lie in such an ugly way about my mom?! I'm not that kind of an ass."

"No..." She dropped to the ground and fell on her knees. "This... can't be true..." Her hands hid her twisting face as she wept miserably.

Crying was something he was tired of, and yet when he saw her cry, his own tears came back with a revenge. He felt sadder. Without looking, he knew damn well Tifa was crying too. She hugged Maya and wept more miserably. Seeing them both cry, he remembered how his mother always came to hug him and console him whenever he cried or got hurt. But then, there was nobody to console him or hug him and tell him that everything was going to be alright – at least she wasn't going to do that anymore; her absence was the unbearable pain in his heart after all, starting tears that didn't want to stop. All he could've done was offer to others what his mother offered to him.

He knelt by them and patted their shoulders, "I'm sorry... But don't worry... everything... will be alright... I hope... I wish..."

"How... is this... possible?" Those indigo eyes fixed on him again, sadness rendering them so innocent. "What... happened..."