“Hibiscus is in danger?! I got to go!”

“Wait!”

I immediately stand up despite my aching body and run towards the water. Hibiscus is my precious sister and the most treasured person in the whole world. I don’t know what will happen if I lose her and just thinking about it makes me insane.

“I said freaking wait!!”

BAM!

Owiee…

Captain grabs me by the waist and I fell flat on the muddy soil with my face accompanied by the loud sound of splat. Once again, pain courses throughout my body through the impact and it greatly reminds me that I am sore.

I hurriedly lift my face from the mud and Captain loosens her clasp on my waist and aid me in lifting my body. Captain had my sit again on the same spot where I woke up and firmly grasps my shoulder while gawking at me.

“I told you to wait, right?! Now look at you, your face is dirty!”

“But you said that Hibiscus is in danger! Shouldn’t we go now to save her!?”

“Haa…this is exactly why young people are problematic…”

“Eh…?”

“Stubborn, problematic and loses their supposed pragmatism when it is needed the most, or you haven’t yet learned such value.”

“What do you mean, Captain?”

“Look, we are in an underground cavern, several or even dozens of meters below the surface. You just have barely survived and the reason your body aches is because of water pressure. It miraculous enough that your lungs didn’t explode.”

“Lungs? What is that?”

“Eh? Ah, that’s right, you’re too young and you haven’t learned about it. It’s a respiratory system, well, you can say that keeps you alive and breathing.”

“Vague…”

“I don’t want to start a class in this place! Anyway, we do not have any other choice but to suck it up. My submarine broke down and going back in the water is equal to suicide.”

“But Hibiscus and Asagao too…!”

“Don’t be stubborn. I know that you are worried about them, frankly, I am worried too but, we can’t do anything right now. Let’s stay put, okay?”

“No way…”

I lost my zeal and lifelessly sit back as I stare blankly at Captain’s face. She nudges my face with her palm to remove the dirt. The touch brings nostalgia to me as Hibiscus would usually do this for me whenever I have something in my face.

Fear and dread fill my chest when I think about losing Hibiscus or if she left me. She won’t be able to touch me like this ever again.

“*sob*…auu…”

“Hey…Ca, I know that you love Cus so much. I know that what I am going to say is harsh but, what’s the point of crying now?”

“C-Captain…”

“Don’t shed your tears now where it won’t help. Don’t think something bad will happen to them.”

“But…Captain!”

“Sixteen.”

“Eh…?”

“That’s the total number of my crew.”

“Yes…”

“That’s the number of people I am worried about. If you add Gao and Cus, there are a total of eighteen of them. That’s right. I have more people to be worried about. What about you, you already lost your composure being worried about a one or two person.”

“I…uh…*sob*…no…I just…”

I just felt my chest tightening.

My tears are in vain as Captain told me that she has more valuable comrades, friends, and crew that she cares for. The thought of Hibiscus leaving me is scary but… but… I still can’t ignore this agony that my heart harbors.

“Uwaaah! *sob* Captain…! I’m sorry…! I am being…*sob* inconsiderate…!”

“Ah..! No! It’s my fault. I really don’t mean to make you feel grim about it.”

“But…”

“That just shows how you dearly loved your twin above everything else.”

The author's narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.

“Really…?”

“I’m sorry for making you feel bad. I guess a little girl’s wishes and hopes weigh more than anything in this world, huh…It is something I shouldn’t underestimate.”

“Captain, what are you talking about?”

“I was saying how strong single girl’s pursuit of their honest desire could actually be wonderful and terrifying.”

“I don’t get it Captain but you sound awfully funny.”

“Ahaha! I don’t get myself too but, look, you stopped crying.”

“Ah, you’re right Captain. Thank you!”

“I’m glad but, for now, why don’t we get going.”

“Go? Where?”

“Look at there, this cave goes deeper. We might find something here to help us.”

“S-Scary…”

“It’s fine staying here too if you’re scared. I’m just here with you.”

I peer at the place where Captain pointed but it is dark and I can barely see anything. The whole place is muddy and I am sick and tired of caves.

What if weird creatures come out from there?!

I wish Hibiscus is here…

………

No…

Even if I wish for it, Hibiscus or even Asagao won’t come here. I can’t always be overcome by loneliness and worry. Hibiscus is the one who is in danger right now. She is burdened with trouble now and I can’t always hope for her to cater to my feelings.

I…

I should be the one going to her side when she needs someone the most. I cannot push my selfish desire of being pampered by her forever. If I am truly worried for her, I should struggle too for her and I should try to change myself not just for myself but also for her so I can understand her better, that she would show more of her new self to me.

“C-Captain!!”

“What is it? Have you decided?”

“I’m…I’m scared! But…the thought of losing Hibiscus is much frightening!  That’s why, even if it is pitch dark, let’s move forward!”

“Yes, that’s the spirit! But you know, I really wouldn’t propose a dangerous thing like walking in a pitch dark cave like this if I don’t have anything that I could use to brighten up the place.”

“Eh…?”

From my query, Captain reaches out to her pocket and brings out an orb. She places the orb in her palm and fills it with magic power. The orb begins to emit a strong light that dispels the darkness at a certain range. The one that she holds in her palm, I think that was the ether something core that she showed us.

“Eh…? Captain…? That’s…”

“See? It’s bright as day!”

“You should have told me earlier!”

I feel embarrassed as I remember how I spoke earlier. I begin lightly pouncing at Captain’s shoulder with both of my enclosed hand while pouting.

“Ahaha! I just felt nostalgic seeing you trying to overcome your fear!”

“That’s not funny!”

“Ahaha! Ow, wait, your pounding is getting stronger!”

“Geez, Captain! It’s not hilarious!!”

“Sorry, it’s my bad again!”

With that, Captain and I proceed deeper into the cave. The place has the worse footing as it is muddy so tripping and falling on our faces might be inevitable. For some reason, I feel at ease with Captain.

Also, about that orb…I guess I won’t be asking anything about it.

.

.

.

Captain and I are walking together while holding hands since falling over in this place are easier than I thought and we want to prevent that as much as possible especially if the possibility of losing the orb in Captain’s hand can be our demise.

It hasn’t been that long since we started walking but there was something that immediately came to my mind.

“Captain.”

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“You said earlier that I reminded you something nostalgic. May I know what you are referring to?”

“Oh, that? It’s not a remarkable story but if you are looking for something to kill time while walking, I guess it is not bad to tell you.”

“Yes, please do tell.”

Captain scratches the back of her head while gets a bit flustered. She musters the courage by heavily inhaling and exhaling.

“Do you know about Lore of Dwarf Esoterica?”

“Dwarf Esoterica?! That Dwarf Goddess?!”

“Yes, yes. That’s the one!”

“Esoterica is said to be an extremely smart and wise goddess. Stories told that she has the capabilities to temper any kind of weapon and armor and that she is famed the most because of her ability to do the same to soul weapons! In a sense, Goddess Esoterica is also upgrading a human soul or someone who is half human! But in the end of her lore, she was exiled from the celestial plane because she mingled with people in this world. It is said that she was stripped off of the majority of her powers.”

“Oh, you’re quite knowledgeable!”

“Yes! I read a lot of stories about lore, myths, and legends!”

“Do you also happen to know about the dwarven hero?”

“Ah, the half human half dwarf that is also the half brother of the current Dwarven King, Ish’ranor Talon!”

“Do you know how he became famous?”

“In the book, it said that there was once a race called titans thousands of years ago. Those titans have taken over the continent which now we call the Mountain Range of Metal, the dwarf continent. Blessed by Goddess Esoterica, Ish’ranor Talon braved the brute horde of titans and reclaimed the continent!”

“Ahahaha! They really called that blessed, huh… When all I did was to teach that young boy a few tricks or two…wait…I guess it’s wrong to call him a young boy at this point.”

“C-Captain, what are you mumbling about?”

As Captain seems to enter her own world by mumbling things to her own self, a glint of glowing light other than the orb she is carrying shines over us. Also, before we realized it, the place where are walking on becomes paved.

Eh..?!

The rocky structure of the cave changed into a brick built one and there are metal doors. Weird carvings that look like letters are written on some blocks.

“C-Captain…!”

“Ah, eh, what?!”

“Look!”

“Wha--!? What is this place?!”

“Eh?!”

“This is my first time seeing this! A new discovery! A place to explore! How wonderful!”

“Captain, we might find something helpful here! Also, there’s a bright light at the end of that corridor!”

“Okay! Let’s go!”

Captain and I run towards the end of the corridor where I pointed. In the way, I notice that this place has full of machinery that I cannot hope to comprehend.

“It seems we’ve found another ruin of Ethers!”

“Ethers?”

“Yes! They are the only people who are capable of tinkering such complicated machinery! I can only understand the blueprint that they left and somehow manage to imitate it. Those were the only thing we can salvage after Continental Destroyer erased their whole race.”

“I read about that too…that cruel Continental Destroyer…”

“It can’t be helped. The Etherians planned to usurp the whole human continent for an unknown reason and that’s two hundred years ago.”

“But still…”

Before I could finish what I am about to say, we reach the stone that caught our attention meters away. It’s a stone that’s stuck in a crescent moon like a statue and it emits an extremely strong magical power.

The stone is yellowish in color and it is firmly lodged into the statue. Around the statue are various markings and writings.

“Ah!”

“Captain?!”

“This is…a Soul Spar!”

“Ah, I’ve heard of those! Apparently, it’s a kind of mineral that is very hard to cultivate!”

“No, Ca, soul spar is generally not that hard to cultivate, well, the mineral itself. A soul spar is a kind of stone where a strong power is sealed. It might be a power stored by a strong magician for thousands of years or fragment of a god’s power. The latter one is impossible, though.”

“Then, how do we use it?”

“Soul spar can be used in a soul weapon but…no one can virtually use each and every drop of its power…except…for…Esoterica…yeah…”

“I see.”

“Also, soul spar reacts strongly to someone who it is compatible with. Bringing it with us won’t really be a benefit because it is extremely hard to sell due to having a small chance of compatibility with people.”

“Is it safe to touch?”

“Hmm? Why not? In the meantime…I guess I’ll read these words written on the wall.”

Captain begins staring hard at the wall around the statue while I casually approach the beaming stone called soul spar. As I stare at it longer, I feel like I am being drawn to it. The way it illuminates tingle my heart and I feel like there are butterflies in my stomach.

I bring my hand towards it and cautiously reach out to it with my finger.

As the tip of my finger made contact…

The soul spar…shines brightly… and my head suddenly blacks out in a single second…

Knowledge and information suddenly enter my head and something is forcibly feeding my mind with things…

With that…I fall on my butt…

“Ca! What happened?!”

“……”

“Say something!! Are you okay? Are you hurt?!”

“A-A…”

“A…?! A what?!”

The only word that came out from my mouth is the name of the power sealed into the stone…

“Artemis…”