The Fallen Throne

Chapter 21.2 ✦ Rising Sun

KAI

He is growing impatient. The fire inside of him threatens to burst out and burn his surroundings, consuming even himself. The demon struggles to find its way out, to be free; but Kai refuses to let it take over. Not just yet.

His fingers grip around the viewing glass a little too hard – more pressure and it might just break from his emotions alone. As he squints his eyes in the distance, forcing one eye into the viewing glass to try and make out the situation in Theia, his anxiety only grows when he briefly hears the conch horn. The signal makes him shift in his ground, bite his lip and mess his hair up, because although the viewing glass is in his hands, all he can do is watch – and he can't even actually do so, considering he can't make out anything clearly.

"Are you done?!" Rose makes a childish sound so suddenly it makes Kai jump because he's forgotten he isn't alone out here. She paces around and is just about ready to pull her pigtails out due to frustration. "You've been using it for hours! It's my turn now!"

She makes a grab for the viewing glass, but Kai, taller than her and unfortunately much faster and swifter than her, dodges her as if on instinct, and she falls face down to the ground because she made the mistake of jumping at him despite having already guessed what the outcome is since she's been unsuccessful for countless times before.

Kai holds up the viewing glass tauntingly as he looks at her. "It hasn't even been an hour since we're here! You're really impatient, you know. Just wait for your turn."

Spitting out grass and wiping dirt off her face, Rose retorts, "When is it my turn? And you're one to talk, you're impatient yourself."

"You're the impatient one; what makes you think I'm impatient? It hasn't even been ten minutes since we've got here and you're complaining already?"

"Am not."

"Yes, you are."

Unable to stand it longer, Rose makes a grab for the viewing glass again, but this time she knocks into Kai directly, not expecting him to just stand there. He is almost knocked off balance, too, but he holds her carefully, then pulls away as quickly as she regains her balance.

"Here." He drops the viewing glass into her hands lazily, without care or a second of hesitation; it would've smashed to the ground into a million pieces if Rose had not caught it – flimsily and just barely – with her tiny palms.

"Hey! Be careful! It's Lloyd's!" She goes on inspecting it and handling it like a baby, making Kai laugh.

"Yeah, whatever. Treasure it," he teases, and she flushes angrily, turning away from him. When he glances at her, she is wiping imaginary specks of dirt off the completely stainless, sparkling gold viewing glass that shines even more brilliantly just as the clouds pass and the sun reveals itself with the hem of her shirt.

The shiny surface makes Kai flinch, and he adverts his eyes. He is unable to stand to see such bright things; there is no such beauty in the world. Even if there is, he is unable to bring himself to look at them – they are just too beyond him. Maybe Rose is one of them, shining so brightly while he merely stands in the shadows.

Just like how he supresses the demon within, he pushes aside the surging emotions.

It's odd, how he's feeling today. He usually does not feel much. But today, it's as if something is about to happen, and the ominous feeling bubbling him is irritating, making him more impatient than ever. Something feels off, but he doesn't believe in the sixth sense, so he tries his best to flush it down the drain.

Kai lifts his head, but as soon as he does, he tilts his face to the side, his hand flying to his face at once as he winces at the brilliant ray of sunlight from the sun hovering directly above them – the sun that has just escaped the haze of clouds before. It's noon.

Still, he can't make out anything, except for the Kingdom of Theia in the distance. Nothing seems to be going on; the kingdom is as peaceful as it was just last night. Of course they will not have the knowledge of what goes on inside – they are so close yet so far away.

His attention is snapped back to Rose once she stomps the ground in frustration. "I can't see anything!"

Kai rolls his eyes in response. "Obviously we can't, we're so far away." He hasn't found where the event is taking place himself, and since he has never been to Theia, it will be like trying to seek for treasure without a map or any hints or directions. Even if they do know it's somewhere inside Theia, the viewing glass doesn't seem to do them much good. But he doesn't blame the tool or Lloyd – everything has a limit.

That's part of the reason he handed over the viewing glass in the first place – it doesn't let them in on anything further than the gates of Theia.

But Rose insists on seeing something. "It's so hazy it's unclear; I can't make anything out!" she exclaims, and Kai immediately understands that she, too, is frustrated for not being able to be part of the front lines.

"Maybe it's time you get some glasses like Lloyd, then," he teases, trying to make her feel better.

"I can't see anything!"

"I've told you –"

That's when he notices the cloud of blur beyond them, over the horizon. A haze engulfing the whole of the Kingdom of Theia.

It could not have possibly be there in an instant. Kai must have not noticed before because he was simply not paying any attention to the kingdom after realising the fact that they can't even see or do anything from where they are. He hasn't a care for what's going on in Theia no longer for the past few minutes, after giving up on finding out what's going on inside.

For a scary moment, he feels like he has just fallen into a trap set by some unknown force he doesn't even realise exists, and the colour drains from Kai's face.

"Give me that." Snatching the viewing glass from Rose who is too speechless and frozen in shock herself to protest or even to say no, he forces his eye onto the glass and views the situation as best he can.

The fog seems so dense it nearly covers the entire kingdom and is still engulfing it, rising and growing each second that it is beginning to look like a formless monster swallowing the Kingdom of Theia whole.

Kai snaps his head away from the viewing glass and turns his attention towards the sky. Crystal clear with the sun still shining above them, the haze is obviously not a natural occurrence.

Can this be part of the installation? But what can it mean, if it isn't? Are the others in danger; should he step in?

He clicks his tongue, not knowing what to do as he begins pacing the ground.

But as a sudden chill passes over him, making him – of all people, who possesses the power of fire – shiver physically even in such a hot weather as he undeniably remains standing under the blazing hot sun, Kai swallows hard as he realises the haze over Theia is no longer his only problem, nor it should be his priority as of now.

Right now, he has bigger problems.