RISEN || The Keepers of Astraela #2

7.0 || MYSTIA

|| CHAPTER 7.0 ||
|| MYSTIA ||

HAVENWOOD WAS DEATHLY SILENT.

For a world riddled with new beasts and magic, the streets breathed no life. Mystia watched the alleyways and darkened storefronts of the shopping district with a sharp eye. Every shadow and trick of the glaring sunlight made her quicken her pace toward plumes of dissipating smoke in the distance, with Sage and Bobbi close behind.

After she first visited Earth months before, she'd never forgotten its bland disappointment. As a child, she'd been told stories of Earth, and she'd drank in tales of the mythical, horrific beasts known as "Others." As an adolescent, she grew skeptical yet curious at the stories that leaked from Luxanima.

However, when she heard Thana's firsthand encounters through dreams, she began to wonder if the Others' realm was truly that different from her own. It lacked the lustrous magic that the Blessed carried naturally, and even the Earth's own properties and resources were dulled, as if nature itself succumbed to slow death from the Others' power-driven greed. She couldn't have imagined a world more lifeless.

Until now.

Necromancy had her used to living amongst the dead, but with such few heartbeats in a town that must've once been lovely, she understood how the girls feared what the outside world would look like soon. Or what it may have already become.

She supposed the silence could have been filled—or at least made slightly more comfortable—with light conversation, but she couldn't bring herself to exchange pleasantries. She could hardly even look at the woman flanking her right side, whose own eyes had not dared wander Mystia's way.

Bobbi had been lying to her for months about Emrys' fate. Rage boiled Mystia's blood, as if he wasn't gone at all, but instead living within her veins.

"What was it like here? You know, before all Hell broke loose." Sage's light tone attempted to lift the heavy atmosphere.

Mystia and Bobbi snapped to attention. Bobbi caught Mystia's eye before immediately pulling the hood of her jacket over her voluminous hair.

"Quiet," said Bobbi, "but not so quiet that you'd lose your mind. They restored our downtown area a decade or so ago, some kind of beautification project... and it worked. They lined the streets with trees and flowers, restored the older buildings, even relandscaped most of the park. Almost every shop was locally-owned, and you could count on everyone to know your name and smile. Or gossip, but..." Her gaze drifted off, and she laughed. "Small town gossip can be amusing. Frustrating at first. But you don't know what you have until it's gone, I guess."

Mystia could almost imagine it, but she couldn't lose herself in her companion's recollections. She was supposed to be angry, not enamored by Bobbi's words.

But it was something she'd found lovely about Bobbi right from the start: she was observant. A human sponge. Bobbi could see something once and describe it back in intricate detail, given the proper time and attention—a situation far from what they were in now, trying to stay hush and move quickly through the streets.

"You have shops that... aren't locally-owned?" asked Sage.

Mystia had forgotten how much Sage wouldn't remember about Earth. Part of her wished she had been around from the beginning of it all, from Eva's sudden appearance in Astraela to Thana's betrayal. Sage was smart as a whip and a beautifully eccentric thinker. Mystia wondered how much Sage may have been able to solve if life would have allowed it.

Mystia cleared her throat. "We can talk about corporate greed and factories later."

Sage wrinkled her nose, and Mystia braced herself for an argument that didn't arise. Sage was a spitfire. One of the few people aside from Bobbi who wasn't afraid to talk back to her.