Xenoblade Chronicles 3: Beyond Fate

After The Battle

The sound of flutes being played is the only thing that can be heard as Noah and Mio finish off-seeing those who fell in this battle. I'm still kneeling down, offering a silent prayer, something I don't really do but felt like I had to, for Vandham as it feels like I was entrusted a heavy burden.

Mio:" Thank you for doing this with me." She says to Noah, grateful he joined in the off-seeing.
Noah:" Well... This is what we're meant to do. To send on the voices of the departed, is an off-seers purpose..." He says back to Mio.

Mio heard those words before, from someone who was a friend, who felt the same as Noah did when it came to off-seeing. Lanz can be seen walking behind Noah, with Eunie being next to him.

Lanz:" We're leaving. Noah, Eunie." He says as he starts to walk away with Eunie right behind him.
Noah:" What's up?" He asked Lanz, curious as to why they need to leave.
Lanz:" The mission's over. We've got an obligation. Need to report the situation." He answers Noah.

Taion walks behind Mio, wanting to say something as well.

Taion:" As do we. Mio, Sena, time to withdraw." He orders to his fellow group members.
Mio:" Huh? But-"
Taion:" "But" what?" He says, rather rudely.
Mio:" Come on, Taion don't be rude." She scolds him.

I'm still kneeling, not even praying anymore but rather lost in thought while everyone was talking/arguing. I stand up, making Lanz remember I was here.

Lanz:" What do we do about him?" He asks to Noah.
Noah:" Hard to say." He says as he walks over to me. "Mind telling us who you are? He asks me.
Sora:" My name is Sora, and...I'm not from here."

Taion looks over to me, trying to figure out what faction I belong to.

Taion:" What faction are you from?That creature, Moebius said you weren't Kevesi or Agnus." He asks plainly.
Sora:" Neither." I respond bluntly.

This caught everyone off guard as they were not expecting my answer to be that. Sena comes forward, wanting to know more.

Sena:" Neither?! How?!" She yells surprised, which caused me to wince back due to how loud she was. "Oh sorry."
Sora:" Your good and to answer that, I'm just not from here. I'm not from Aionios." I tell her.

This time, everyone was shocked to hear that as I was bombarded with questions. Taion, on the other hand, was skeptical.

Taion:" Not from Aionios? Well then, Sora, tell us where you are from then." He asks in a intuitive way.
Sora:" That's hard to explain really." I say shyly.
Taion:" And why's that?" He responds rudely.

I'm not lying when I say it's difficult to explain where I'm from. I'm from the real world, traveled-well technically, tricked here- to this world, which was from a game. How can I explain to them that this world is a from a video game?

Mio:" Taion, stop being rude!" Mio scolds him and then turns to me. "Can you really not explain where you are from?"
Taion:" Mio, don't tell me you believe he's not from Aionios? Besides from Vandham, he's the other mystery here. He just appeared out of nowhere."
Sora:" Well to be honest, I was in this world for only a day, exploring near Colony 9." I say to them.
Eunie:" You were near Colony 9?! She asked me surprised.
Sora:" I was but I decided to not enter it. And I was glad I didn't."
Lanz:" Oh? And why's that?" He asked, feeling a bit irked that I didn't want to go to Colony 9.
Sora:" Well once I passed it, I ran into a group of Kevesi soldiers so I went and said hi to them. The moment I said I wasn't with either faction, they decided to just try and kill me." I say with a straight face.
Lanz:" Oh...well okay, I guess that's fair."

I chuckle a bit at his response as I notice Noah looking at me. He walks up to me and asks a question.

Noah:" Can we trust you?" He asks me bluntly.
Sora:" I want to say yes but feather head over there said she didn't." I said teasingly as Eunie looks at me.
Eunie:" Am I wrong? We did just meet and it was under bad circumstances." She says.