Beyond the importance of schools and needless quarrels, in a vastly different world, things are much more dire. In this notorious land, the stability among the worlds is being enforced by 4 important figures, known as Angels. These "heroes" use their Holy Energy to form a Barrier among the worlds and separate them, in this way maintaining some sort of "Balance".
I often find myself lost in thought about this unholy land. Prosperity? Catastrophe? Peace? War? I truly wonder, what future does the Lingering World have? Time shall only tell.
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Inside one of of the four small sacred churches of the Lingering World, widely known as Holy Shrines, lives a 19-year-old (now grown up) girl, who spends all of her time with her miraculously alive Angelic Veil. These characters I'm speaking of I believe need no introduction.
The beautiful white haired girl, named Yonuro (Tokiyama) is a human with the duty of the Angel of Holy Energy. And her light purple veil, that matches the girl's eyes, is none other than Ramael, her only friend and companion, with whom Yonuro has been through a lot.
This particular "Angel" is new to the idea of "Worldly Balance" and has not bowed to the Barrier for more than 2 years. In comparison, Yulim, the Mighty Angel, has served the Barrier's cause for almost 400 years. As a result, things aren't always going smooth over in Yonuro's shrine.
Yonuro- Wait a sec, Ramael. If I have a headache, then how am I supposed to withstand the drain to support the Barrier?
Ramael- Yeah about that... Angels usually don't get headaches, as they are not using their brain power as much as you are...
Yonuro- Oh my god, doesn't this place have painkillers at least? I only wrote two pages and I feel like throwing up now..
Ramael- It's genuinely the first time I've heard an Angel taking painkillers! Like, you're not supposed to be feeling pain at all!
Yonuro- But the thing is, I've written more than two letters in a day before and this hadn't happened!
Ramael realizes that what Yonuro just said is a matter of fact.
Ramael- Get out of the glass chamber. I need to check something.
Yonuro touches the rectangle shaped chamber she is surrounding with and she gets out of it. The barrier keeps on absorbing her Holy Energy, but at a less impactful rate now.
Yonuro- Phew. I feel kinda better now.
Ramael- Alright, you take a small break while I test something.
Yonuro does some stretches and tries to relax with meditation before going back in. Ramael on the other hand seems to have left Yonuro's shoulder and wanders the room on her own. She gets to the right corner of the room, where a ruby shaped energy container is located and touches it with one of the four edges of her blanket-like body.
"It's really warm" she ponders.
In order to ascertain her doubts, she goes to the left corner. "Same thing"...
Within that small break, Yonuro has regained control of her body and is ready to go back inside the chamber. Seeing that Ramael has not returned howerver, she goes looking for her.
Yonuro- What's wrong..?
Ramael- See it for yourself.
Yonuro touches the one-meter-tall ruby crystal.
Yonuro- Fuck! This is not time for pranks, Ramael! That thing burns like hell!
Ramael- This is not a joke, though... I didn't do anything to it...
Both of them stop talking and take a moment to think. Why are the containers so hot?
Ramael- I think this is the reason why you weren't feeling okay earlier. Not due to your excessive use of your brain in writing.
Yonuro- Due to what then?
Ramael- The Barrier itself..
Yonuro- Wait.. Is this so hot because of my holy energy?
Ramael continues speaking in a serious tone.
Ramael- Yes, these containers need to be filled each day with your holy energy. But for whatever reason...
Yonuro- The Barrier absorbs more energy than it usually needs to?
Ramael- Precisesly... But this isn't normal... Why would it need more energy?
Yonuro- No clue...
The girls cannot explain this event and they seem to have a bad feeling about it.
Ramael- I can feel that something is going to happen...
Yonuro- Yeah, and it doesn't sound like good news to me...
They are both skeptical about this. But since Yonuro is doing perfectly fine with only a 5 minute break, they give it no further thought and they get back to the chamber to meet the daily energy requirements.
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Meanwhile, in the Overworld...
It's been a few days now that the High school has opened. Samei and Aniik have now gotten used to going to school together and things have been going fairly smoothly. The first weekend is just around the corner, too, so the girls feel less burnt out during the last period of the week.
While streching, Samei utters the following to her friend.
Samei- Ahhh. Phew. One more hour, and we're free for the weekend, Aniik.
Aniik- Yeah, let's do our best, Samei! And with that I mean you... I'm not that good at taking notes, so I'll copy them from yours later. Hehe..
Samei- Hah.. Alright, but you promised that you'll be writing down stuff on your own starting from next week, right?
Aniik makes a thumbs-up gesture and lets out a lifeless "Yes.."
Samei- I'll gladly give you the benefit of the doubt once again! It's not like I can do anything else..
Aniik grins and says "Thanks!"
Then, the teacher comes back to class and takes attendance one last time for this week.
Teacher Gidenir- Alright, as usual the only absent student is Ikki?
The students say a united "yes" and the teacher nods a couple times before writing down the student's name once again.
"Absent students: Ikki Kendomo."
"God, this boy... It was dumb of me to praise him... What on earth is he thinking..?"
Teacher- Alright everyone, let's finish the day off with a bit of History. Open your books to page—
The lesson continues. Similarly to most students, I find it quite boring. This part of History is so shallow and trivial, it's not worth anyone's attention in my opinion. Certainly not mine.
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Saturday, September 19, year 400 P.B.
Aniik seems really excited about something that she is going to do this Saturday night. And as she can't hold this rare absolute excitement in, she talks it out with Samei.
Aniik- It's been 30 days, Samei, right, right?!!
Samei- Oh yeah! Our monthly dose of dopamine is incoming!
Aniik- Yesss! Alright, when it gets a bit more dark I'll be on my way. I'll need to lay low when I'm there, so nighttime is a must.
The author's tale has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
Samei- Alright, I'll stay up late today, since we don't have school tomorrow. But don't overdo it, please. I want to have some energy left as we open them together. I'm not as much of a night owl as you are.
Aniik- No worries, if I'm not killed in the process, I'll be back before 3 am.
Samei- K-K-Killed?! What th—
Aniik- Just joking, Samei! Tsk* you never get my jokes. Absolutely disappointing...
Samei- What do you want me to do?! Your jokes are always so obscure!
Aniik- Jeez, Samei. You're really bad at this you know. I sometimes wonder how on earth we see eye to eye with anything. That was yet another joke!
Samei face palms for not getting it earlier and says
Samei- Alright, it's— It's dark enough. Leave me alone please...
Aniik- Copy that, boss. Lingering World, here I come!
The Lingering World?! I hear you ask in a normal tone of voice. Yes, Aniik is paying her monthly visit to the Lingering World to catch up with... *drum roll* You guessed it, Yonuro!
In the parting letters that Yonuro wrote to her friends, she mentioned that they were mere 'parting' letters and not the last ones to ever write. She promised Aniik and Samei that she would write them letters every month after finding a solid pace with her new life.
And as Samei said earlier, it is the third time for this excessive dose of dopamine. Another 30 days have passed, so Aniik is going to teleport to the Lingering World in secret to receive Yonuro's letters! Sweat, right?
Aniik- Alright, I'm back to this messed up world. Oh how many mixed feelings I have with you..
Necessary as it is, Aniik wears her hood with cat ears of one of the many identical outfits she has bought over the years. Why does she do that though? Simple. It is imperative that she is not recognized as the ex-lord of the Accursed, the Girl basically responsible for the Great Lingerian War and the deaths of countless Believers. She would at least get a fine for that, right?
Aniik- Alright (Yoshi.) I've been here before, so the post office box should be... this way.
Five minutes of discreet walking later, Aniik finds herself before the lockers of the huge post office box.
Aniik- Now, where's the name Yonuro... Yonuro, Yonuro, Yonuro... Here it is!
(Yes, Yonuro sends the letters to a locker named Yonuro, even though it can only be opened by Aniik herself)
Aniik pressed her finger against the locker, which automatically recognizes her fingerprints. The locker swiftly opens all the way and surprisingly Aniik's reaction isn't "Yay" or something of that sort, but instead "WOAH WOAH WOAH!"
An unfathomable amount of letters fall off the container and scatter around everywhere, especially on top of Aniik's body and face.
Aniik- Ghk Ghk, you "hate" me that much, Yonuro?! Hahaha! Where do I begin!
Aniik gathers the majority of the letters together and stuffs them inside her school bag.
Just before leaving, Aniik unconsciously takes a look at the name of the next locker. She recognizes the name and says to herself
"Wait, isn't that the name of that woman I worked with back when I had sided with the Accursed?"
Aniik- Yeah, it definitely is... I remember her well.. All these fake smiles, and unnecessary acts of supposed kindness... What a great timing to ruin this special day.. These damned (literally!) Accursed!
Aniik lets out a furious sigh and throws a punch right next to the locker. Despite that not being her intention, though, the locker magically opens. A screw may have come off or something from the punch.
Aniik- Wait, is it open?
Out of curiosity Aniik takes a peek inside the woman's locker and finds a single quite simple letter that reads "Shansoku 3, ippeko, pharaoh's speech. September 19th. Midnight."
Aniik- Are they still using the same old code I came up with? Tsk. What are the Accursed up to with an underground meeting at this time of day?
She looks left and right and sees noone nearby. She then checks her watch. It's 12:30 am.
Aniik- Screw it, I'm going.
Having the knowledge to decode the message, Aniik knows exactly where the meeting is held. She can't help it but check it out for herself.
Aniik utilizes the invisibility abilities of her demonic ring and safely makes it to an underground basement where the Accursed are having a meeting.
The basement though is just the beginning. Aniik needs to pass through many challenges to actually find it—
Aniik- Yeah, this classic bookcase mechanism, a hidden wall here and let me guess "open sesame?" Yeah, everything's the same. Oh shoot! I hear footsteps. Zanir! *clink
Aniik finds herself inside a spacious oddly structured medieval-looking room. Around 20 people are present in the room, besides Aniik, and they all wear hoods to cover their faces.
"What cult-like shit is this? I didn't do meetings this way!— I- I mean this is so odd!" are Aniik's current thoughts.
???- Attention, everybody. Our supplier has offered us a great amount of money for our cause. The Accursed have finally found a new light! A new stepping stone! We all will be rewarded in time, when the fateful day arrives. We will all be resurrected from the depths of the hell we're in. Spread the word, everyone! Gather up new followers! I, Lord Freilon, son of the first leader Marden, will guide you all to victory. And with the kind help of our mysterious funder, we will be victorious! Be prepared, brothers and sisters! Judgement Day is near...
A certain sound echoes throughout the room and everybody stops paying attention to Freilon.
"Shit, was my face palm this loud?"
As if they are mere NPC's, the people in the room totally disregard the possibility that an outsider might be among them and they all resume praising their lord with an applaud.
Aniik regrets following her curiosity and is about to leave.
Aniik- What did I expect? Silly me..
Aniik suddenly stops on the spot. She has a splendid idea apparently. And her "devious" smile, although invisible, can be noticed easily.
"He who laughs last, laughs better!"
If there is anyone in the room who knows its layouts better, than that's undoubtedly Aniik. Back then, when Aniik was their leader, she had implemented to every single meeting room a hidden mechanical gong. If tapped even slightly, this gong will produce rhythmically repeating loud notes, meant for immediate evacuation. Only the higher ups know of this, so if somebody hit it, then it would spell bad news for the Accursed.
Aniik- Chaos is my middle name!
*tap
Aniik- Hehehe.. I'm outta here...
Chaos spreads everywhere in the room, yet Aniik is casually mediating in the air, trying to teleport back to the Overworld.
————————————————————————
Overworld time.
Aniik teleports back to the Overworld and finds herself inside Geord's. Although the room is quite dark, I'll admit, all is going according to plan.
Aniik- Home sweet home!—
"grnn*... Alice... How much deeper do we need to go? grnn (...)"
Aniik hears this faint soft voice that she knows well and shuts her mouth completely.
(whispering) "Shoot! This is Geord's room! who is he talking about btw?"
On her tiptoes, Aniik makes her way out of the room without waking him up.
But as soon as she opens the door, she sees a figure at the end of the corridor. Standing still, the young woman has her soring eyes half closed and her hair scattererd around as if she was previously hit by electricity.
The dim light that makes it possible for Aniik to notice her, together with the figure's lifeless expression, the clock showing 3:05, and the dead silcence, makes it all look really scary.
And considering Geord's murmuring earlier, Aniik makes a dreadful realization.
"WAIT. Is this the ghost of Geord's past lover, Alice?!"
And out of pure terror, she shouts
"AHHHHHH! AAAAA-AAAA-AA- ALICEEEE!"
Samei lifts her head, opens her tired eyes and finally her mouth.
Samei- Alice?
GRNN*
Geord- ALICEEE!
Oh no, it's a disaster. Aniik widens her eyes. She has done a big oopsie.
But don't worry. She has got a clever plan this time around to fix everything.
As if her life was on the line, Aniik instantly comes up with a way to deal with this situation in an instant. Her reaction time is impeccable and the execution of her plan on a whole other level.
Without calling out her Demonic self, Aniik perfoms the following at lightning speed.
She closes distance with Samei and presses her index finger against her lips, she then rushes to Geord's room, wears her wood and comes up with a theatrical play on the spot. She makes her voice sound more mature and whispers the following
"Everything is okay, Geord. It's me Alice, I'm here. You can go back to sleep now. I won't go anywhere..."
Geord falls asleep.
And lastly, Aniik gets out of the room so quickly that the soundwaves of her footsteps are unable to translate into any decibels of audible sound. The only slow thing that she does is that of closing the door.
Samei- I will pretend that this never happened. Ahem*
Aniik makes a wry smile and scratches the back of her head.
Aniik- Ha ha...
Samei- On another note, what took you so long Aniik? Whatever would have happened if I didn't urge you to come back early...
Aniik- Let's pretend that that didn't happen, as well!
Samei- (...)
Aniik- I'm glad we agree! Let's go to the living room and read Yonuro's letters now.
Samei tilts her head backwards and says an undertoned "alright"
The girls then proceed to open Yonuro's letters and forget everything that happened prior. Samei's sleeplessness is replaced by liveliness and Aniik's excitement is also immense.
They go through each and every letter and smile all the way while reading them. Some comments like "Ow... Yonuro..." or "That's so sweet from her." and even giggles are all present.
Getting this amount of excitement just from opening the next mail and reading the letter inside is incomprehensible to most of us humans. Surely the girls were telling the truth about that "monthly dose of dopamine". They're having a blast.
The letters are so many that it takes a long while for the girls to go through all of them. Yonuro's handwriting is as clean and beautiful as ever. And the feelings conveyed through those letters are really strong and vivid. They give the letters a distinct sense of liveliness that cannot be explained with words. It feels as though the page itself is alive and talking to Yonuro's friends on its own.
On the last few letters however, things are gradually getting different. Her handwriting is steadily losing its diligence and becomes rusher. The letters become shorter, with less impact and effort put in them. And on the last letter, things get a bit concerning. The letter ends off in a weird way that leaves an uncertain feeling out in the open.
"I really miss you, Samei, Aniik... I want to see your faces again sometime. Even with Ramael here to keep each other company, this is getting kinda lonely and exhausting. I will try to continue writing letters but I really wish I could talk with you in person agai—"
The last stroke of the word 'again' jumps 2 to 3 lines before ending.
Samei- Ow... That, I did not expect...
Aniik- I really wish we could talk with her again, too...
Samei- She's having it tough... I feel sorry for her...
Aniik- Yeah, I really hope she gets better...
With a pensive expression on their faces, the girls call it a "day" and go to bed. Thinking about their uselessness in this kind of situation makes them stay up at night for longer than anticipated.
"If only I could do something to ease her burden even for just a little... What a shame..."
Thoughts like these pop up in Samei and Aniik's heads all throughout the night. They can't stop thinking about Yonuro and their eyes are slighly wet from tears... At some point, though, despite all this uneasiness, their severe lack of energy forces them to go to sleep.
For now, they have to swallow this fact. "They cannot help Yonuro."
From my experience, when you can't do anything to change a sad truth, then you should just swallow it and move on. However, if you keep on "scratching" the "wound", you will be the one swallowed. And that's when a delicate situation becomes a delicate issue. I'm sure the girls won't do the same mistake I did. They won't lose self control. They won't ruin their lives over something they cannot fix.
Nevertheless, Yonuro's letters made them realize the direness of some things. Life's never been fair. A reality check like this is an important balancing factor and a key part of moving forward.
𝕍𝕚𝕤𝕚𝕠𝕟 𝟛— ℍ𝕒𝕫𝕪— 𝕌𝕟𝕔𝕝𝕖𝕒𝕣. "𝕊𝕖𝕝𝕗-ℝ𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕒𝕚𝕟𝕥. 𝔸 𝕧𝕒𝕝𝕦𝕖 𝕠𝕗 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕖."