High Society: The tales from Victory

HOPE [Part III] (Chapter 24)

The hot earth beneath warmed her body. Her exterior clothing was dried, but her inner layers were damp. She slowly came to, dim light emanate from the jewels embedded into the walls. The warmth wasn't unlike a mother's cradling caress. She pushed herself up and looked around the area.

The earth beneath her was dusty and the rocks seemed to be a touch away from crumbling. Dried plants and roots plastered the edges of the walls, all having grown toward the gems. The air seemed dusty, but safe enough to breath in. Even so, she was hesitant.

She turned herself around and sat down. She sat with her knees up and wrapped arms around them. She stared at the water before her. It looked as if a channel was carved for the water to flow, but she immediately noticed something off, green plants clumped together where the water seemed still. Both ways the channel flowed, only away from the plants.

She could hear the faint jingle of bells. The faint nostalgia of the Ranseian shrines. Idols and the blessings they hold. All until she heard her voice. No; a battlecry. She reached for her blade, but only landed on her hip. Despite the clothes on her back she felt naked, she was unarmed.

She grew hesitant and tensed her body. She shut her eyes, expecting a blade to cut clean through her torso. She expected to fall to the earth, blood free from her body. She expected her screams of agony to be taken in my her assassin, who would sing songs of their victory. She expected to die without having a proper chance to hold her ground honorably. 

Then nothing. 

There were no other sound. Only the quiet sounds of chimes. She hesitantly opened her eyes, expecting to see an Oni. She frantically peered around. 

She called out in her tongue, but no other response could be heard. She was unsure if she was relieved or more terrified. Then she remembered, Lacy. She felt no weight on her back, so she knew they were separated. Despite their grip.

She slowly got to her feet and marched forward. She placed a hand on her pokeballs, only to notice that these too were absent from her.

She patted herself down and noted nothing of her own belongings were with her. She was alone. She fanatically looked around herself to see if anything were around. Although, she was instead gifted with nothing, but the clothes on her back.

On her feet she took a few deep breaths, inhaling a large breath of air. She stared at where she was, it was relatively dark, but sufficient enough to see, like the surface of a still lake beneath the hue of the hanging moon.

To her back she saw a large stone slab pressed against the wall at the level of her head. It simply read ' HOPE' in characters similar to those Pine-senpai called the alphabet, yet seemed to have eyes. She reached out and was tempted to touch it, but turned away and looked to the stream. The water flowed smoothly.

She hesitated. She was given two differing paths to follow. She looked to the earth and picked up a flat stone. She weighed it in her hand and briefly remembered John's loud voice. "Alrighty! Heads for pizza. Tails for a salad!" He flipped the coin and proceeded to curse a lot when he got 'tails'.

She looked at the path. It wasn't pizza or salad, but the idea could easily still be applied. She flipped the stone and the darker, moist side ended up. She cheered for herself then froze. She hadn't chosen which side was which. She turned to where the stone was closer and marched left.

Battousai walked into a narrow corridor that the stream carved through. She looked around as she walked, nothing to notice. There was a serenity involved with the nothingness. A peace that could only be achieved by the resting heart and desireless mind. 

She turned the corner to see something odd. It was an old decrepit gateway. It had strings with bells and talismans hanging from it. The wood was rotten and seemed to barely support itself. She read the words on it, Hope.