storm - a sky cotl au

chapter 23 - moon

We awkwardly stand up to follow Mizuto.

I wonder if it's even safe for me to go out there in the rain. It drains light...doesn't that mean it's technically darkness? And darkness could affect whatever 'my darkness crystal' is. Maybe I should name him.

I trail behind the group as Mizuto leads us down from the healer's. Apparently, Vale managed to trade some of his extra herbs from the random healer we found beside the river to pay for the fees.

Fox hesitates, glancing back towards me. They've warmed up a lot more to me since the incident. Maybe that's because the healer explained to them what my 'darkness crystal' is. "Hey, you okay?" they ask quietly.

"Yeah," I nod. "Just thinking."

They pause. "About what?"

"...nothing." My gaze flashes back to Mizuto and Vale, who seem to be discussing the plan. And the backup plan. And the backup backup plan.

Those two really are overthinkers.

Mizuto suddenly holds up a hand and looks back at us, before pointing at a bridge. It stretches over a huge river of cloud. I look over to the left and the right, and it just seems to never end, separating the city from the outside world.

"That's the boundary between the city and the wilderness, where the temple is," he states quietly. "The rain starts again there. You guys ready?"

"Yeah," Vale answers softly.

Fox turns to me and nods silently, holding their hand out to me. "Stick together...we won't lose our light as fast."

I hesitate, then take it awkwardly. The two of us slowly walk behind Vale and Mizuto, as we cross into the rain.

It starts pelting onto my skin, each drop draining my light by a little bit. And at the rate that it's pouring down, it's not going to be long before our light is completely drained.

Thankfully, I don't feel that cagey feeling again, which means that I'm fine in the rain — thankfully. We walk through the rain, passing a few travelling merchants, ducking into the shelter every now and then.

Finally, we come to a tunnel, and it's clearly not a natural one either. "If the Forest Elder doesn't want anyone getting out of the forest, why build a tunnel from the capital to the temple?" Fox asks curiously.

"They weren't always like that," Mizuto mutters quietly as he swipes a candle to his light source. It bursts into flame, casting its mellow glow along the intricately engraved walls of the tunnel.

He points at a small carving of the capital. "We used to be open to traders from all realms. Before the Forest Elder made a...I would say rash decision to close off the realm."

He hesitates, before mumbling, "They sent all the guards to protect the temple as they worked on a 'project', and the crime rates skyrocketed. There was theft. Arson. Murder, even...that's how my parents died."

I hesitate, wondering what to say to this. Thankfully, Fox manages to speak for all of us. "That's...man, this makes me hate the Forest Elder even more."

Mizuto smiles sadly and shrugs. "Nothing I can do about it, though. I'm just a common scout, doing odd jobs."

We all go quiet, as the end of the tunnel comes into sight, and the sound of the rain, the cacophony starts pelting at our ears.

We emerge in a small hollow, shaded by huge tree roots, the faint blue light filtering through the clouds and painting the landscape before us. Trees, more trees, and a huge stone structure in the middle of a lake. The temple.

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hi ;-;
I know this chapter really sucks, and it's also shorter than usual. I've kind of lost some motivation to write...I dunno if it's a one-day thing or if it'll last longer, but I might end up updating lesser. I will still try to write these chapters to the best of my ability :) I might just not update as much. Thanks for understanding :D