Earthbound: Champions of the Future

Chapter Thirty Six

~ Azura Mizu's POV ~

My eyes slowly opened, the sound of singing birds waking me from my slumber. The last thing I remembered was watching Naoma transform into a large beast in the middle of the city. I tried singing to her to calm her down, but her newly formed claws struck me and knocked me into unconsciousness. I assumed Gaius met the same fate.

However, I was no longer laying on that crumbled street. My head and back were soothed by a soft pillow and mattress, a red velvet duvet keeping me warm. The walls of the room around me were decorated with shamrock green paint. To my right was a window, covered by white curtains. The afternoon sun poured through the material, giving the dim room some form of light.

I sat up and rubbed my eyes, my head beginning to throb. I winced against the pain slightly; I must have taken an especially bad hit to the head at some point. While my eyes were closed, I heard a door creak open. I pulled my hands away from my eyes to see who had entered the room.

It was a woman. Her skin was rather pale and untouched by any form of age. She had green eyes and electric blue hair tied into a very long ponytail, a blue water lily decorating her head. She wore a long viridian green cloak, which hung loosely from her shoulders. Underneath, she wore a teal kimono with a turquoise sash tied around her waist. On her feet were brown boots. Overall, she possessed a very pleasant aura.

"I'm so relieved you're awake." She smiled, her hands held out towards me. "Come, tell me how you feel."

I hesitated, already rather suspicious of this woman. "Where am I?" I asked, glancing around. "And who are you?"

"Right now, we are in the isolated country of Xeterra." The woman replied. "As for who I am... I think it would be better if I introduced myself in front of all three of you."

I gasped, remembering Gaius and Naoma. "How are they?" I questioned, pushing myself out of the bed. "Are they alright? My memory is rather hazy..."

"They're fine, I promise." The woman responded. "The girl, Naoma... she's still asleep. What she did took a lot of strength from her. Gaius, on the other hand, seems to be rather cheerful and relatively unharmed."

I sighed, the panic I had been feeling washing away for the most part. "May I see them?" I requested.

The woman smiled. "Of course. If you feel well enough to stand, I shall accompany you to their rooms."

I followed the woman out of the room as she held the door open for me. The corridor we entered had a cold feeling to it. It overlooked a garden, although it had clearly seen better days. We passed a duo of women who were walking in the opposite direction to us. They both briefly bowed towards the woman I was following before scurrying away.

At that point, I noticed that the clothing the woman wore had a sort of regal feel to them. "Are you in charge of this area?" I asked.

The woman nodded. "You could say that, yes. I am the high priestess of this temple, and I have many acolytes. We passed by two of them just moments ago. Lovely girls; they've kept me company when I would otherwise be alone."

We entered the main hall of the temple. It was a large room; in the back of the room was a colossal fountain. A giant stone statue of a dragon sat inside the fountain, it's outspread wings casting a shadow over the room. The windows just under the ceiling were beautiful stained glass, depicting many different people and events.

"This is breathtaking..." I whispered. "You mentioned that we were in an isolated country?"

The high priestess nodded. "Xeterra used to be full of life; a large temple surrounded by a town. It is the birthplace of the Hydrans. But... after a terrible incident seventeen years ago, the town was destroyed, and we retrieted inside the protection of the temple to continue our simple lives."

The priestess gently pushed open a door, leading a room similar to the one I awoke in. Gaius was perched in a chair, his feet resting upon the wooden table next to him as he ran his finger over one of his blades. He looked up when he heard us enter. "Oh, hey, blue ladies." He greeted.

"Hello, Gaius." The high priestess returned with a warm smile. "I see Naoma is still asleep."

"Yup," Gaius nodded. "What happened to her, anyway? She'll be lazier than me at this rate, and that's saying a lot. But... I still don't really get it. What happened to her?"

The high priestess paused before sighing. "It seems that this girl, much like myself and Azura here, is a Hydran. Although the power I sense from her... it is odd. It seems weaker than usual while she assumes her human form, meaning that she does not possess the usual strength of a 'normal' Hydran."

"So what about her is so different?" Gaius questioned.

"She is not a Hydran of pure-blood." The priestess continued. "Only one of her parents is a Hydran. However, despite this, she is highly dangerous in her other form."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked.

"Her abilities were unlocked through strong, raw emotion." The priestess explained. "Anger, sadness, fear... they are enough to trigger the power's surface, even in Naoma's situation. In other words, unless we find a way to keep her powers under control... things could be rather risky for her."

"What's this about risky...?"

The three of us turned towards Naoma as she sat up with a yawn. She rubbed her eyes and felt around for her glasses, eventually resting them on her face. She spent a few moments in silence before blinking, her eyes widening in shock. "Whoa. Where am I?" She asked.

"A temple place... thing." Gaius responded. "How'd you feel?"

Naoma shrugged. "I kind of ache." She seemed distracted, glancing around for something or someone. "Um... is it just us here?" She asked. "You didn't happen to pick up anyone else, did you? A woman? Short red hair, brown eyes?"

The priestess' eyes trailed to the floor. "I'm sorry..." she whispered. "When I arrived, she was... she was gone..."

Naoma sighed and buried her face in her hands. Gaius seemed uncomfortable in the silence, but also wasn't sure how to break it. Eventually, Naoma looked up. "Okay." She nodded. "I-I see... okay..."

I turned to the priestess. "We're all here now, aren't we? You said that you would tell us your name once everybody had recovered."

"Ah, yes, I did say that, didn't I?" The priestess chuckled. "Very well. As I said earlier, I am the high priestess of this temple. My name is Ozella Mizu."

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nyooms away

AceAttorneyFan over and out!