Biim sat in front of the cave, fiddling with the air, legs folded. Buum sat in front of the cave, looking into the distance, legs spread out and hands supportive. Boom paced in a circle in front of the cave, fuming, eyes red.

Boom came to a halt. "This is pissing me off! Where are they!? It's been more than an hour!"

Buum regained his energy. "Yeah! Where are they!?"

Biim focused on his task. "They're in the dungeon. We just need to wait."

"We've been waiting forever!" Boom roared. "Are they stupid? They can't even finish a-a-a-a stupid dungeon like this?" he stuttered through his fury.

Biim stopped his task. "They were level 7 and level 10. After the slime, they should be around 9 to 12. The elf seemed hell-bent on running the dungeon and Anodos would probably be okay with it since he's a veteran. He could probably clear the dungeon alone in fact. Therefore, they are either in the cave or they died. And if they die, the elf returns to the city and Anodos will be roaming the forest."

"Then why are we here!" Boom demanded.

Biim's eyes twitched. "Cause a certain moron here rushed out the door without hearing me out!" Biim raised his fist at him. Boom leaned in, ready to launch himself at the stick-like man. They pause their feud at the sight of a goblin.

"Buum, it's your turn. Go take it down."

Buum leisurely picked himself up. "Okay! But what do we do if they die?" He walks towards the goblin, knives unsheathed.

"I've spoken to Cy about it already. He let me know he'd handle it. So if anything happens, it's just on him."

Buum baited the goblin into attacking, swinging and missing. He hurdled over their short back and stabbed them in the neck. Once. Twice. A disappearance. Buum collected his reward. 2 gems and leather.

"Does that mean we have them in the palm of our hands!"

"We better! Or I'm gonna take it out on you." Boom pointed his finger. "Biim!"

Biim smacked the ground, entering a running stance. "I've been taking your shit for long enough. Didn't I apologise and offer to buy your stupid gloves back on the way here you meathead!"

'That's it! Prepare yourself-"

"Guys! Look!" Buum interrupted in excitement.

A gate emanating white light appeared before them. Biim stood up, brushing the dirt off his robes. Boom leaned in, ready to pounce. Buum existed.

"Finally! Come Out!"

"I knew it was a long shot since we only came here cause of that moron, but… they did it… Just how good is that guy?"

"Yeah! Come out!" Buum matched the energy. "Open Inventory."

Biim hopped to his feet. They all stand ready. 1 minute. 5 minutes. 10 minutes. Boom's eyes were ready to pop.

Boom screamed. "WHERE ARE THEY!?"

"They're just resting." Biim flexed his fingers. "The elf must be burnt out."

"And how would you know?" Boom asked with quiet rage.

"Yeah, how!" Buum added, still excited.

"Cause there's no other way to leave." Biim declared. "I mean, no one would really attempt that… right?" he doubted.

"Are you sure there's no other way?" Buum asked, curious.

"There- There just isn't!"

"Then why's the ground shaking so much?"

Aria rumbled. Aria quaked. Aria made the birds fly. Aria made the insects crawl out of the ground. Aria made the animals run. Aria made Biim fear the worst.

"No…"

Some distance away from the cave's entrance, an object shot out, leaving behind a trail of smoke and sparks.

"No!"

Inside the flying object, two silhouettes. Zeb and Jejj- unable to move from their seats due to the G-force. Zein's hands were on the yoke. Jejj's hands were kept to themselves. Their eyes pushed back into their sockets as they broke barriers. Jejj wanted to speak, but their mouths wouldn't move. They raised their hand with all their strength, only for it to be snapped back to position, by their side.

Noise reverberated. Noise came to a still. Space. It drowned them in its beauty. The stars, the planets, the sun- all visible with the naked eye. It was overstimulating to the unprepared. It was overstimulating to Jejj. The elf's eyes were glued to the window. Unmoving. Unflinching. Zein switched off the thruster and drifted the ship in the direction of the green planet.

Jejj finally found it within themself to speak. "I- uh- wha? I?" they fell into a continuous stutter.

"Welcome to space! We will get our chance to stargaze later, however. For now, I need you to pull up the guide so I know Aria City's coordinates."

Words could not reach them. Why would it? They got to see space. Space! They were far too star-struck for it to ever reach them.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"Jejj? Helloooo?'

"We in space! W-W-We in space!"

Zein held his tongue. He titled the spacecraft, making it orbit the planet oh so very slowly. Zein joined Jejj in taking in his surroundings. An ocean. A small raft, in a vast, endless, purple ocean, decorated with its children. Decorated by its creations. Jejj didn't speak for a minute. Their breathing- slow and heavy. Zein smiled to himself. Not at the universe which cradled him, but at the elf who sat in wonder. He experienced these feelings once and oh how he wished he could feel them again.

"Search Bar."

A search bar popped up and he began typing. Another minute passed until Jejj finally noticed their cat comrade.

"Why you so chill about this? We in space!"

"I've… seen it many a time. I got used to it." He laughed, sombre in his breath.

"You do you big guy. This still insane."

"It is, yeah." He agreed. "Anyway, could you look up the guide and get me Aria City's coordinates?" he asked, attempting to change topics.

"Why?"

"So we can land there…?"

"It ain't automatic!?"

"It would be if we had a map." Zein explained. He pointed to an empty, rectangular indent in the panel below the dashboard. "But right now? No."

"Why ain't you say this shit before!"

"You wouldn't have agreed otherwise! Plus, isn't this more fun."

"Hold on. Then that whole thing about the Skull Kidds guys bein' outside waiting a lie too?"

"Well. I did say there was a possibility…"

"You lied!"

"I didn't!" Zein raised his hands in surrender. "I mean, no one would really wait outside a dungeon believing two people levelled 10 and 12 would clear it." Zein explained. "Buuut if they did…"

"Homie???"

"Okay fine! Maybe I exaggerated a little." He gestured. "But we are in space!"

"We gon die oh nah." Jejj had their hands on their head for in their eyes, space became their coffin.

"Trust me! Didn't we turn out okay in the dungeon? Come on! Please?" Zein pleaded.

"We gon die! Oh lord, we gon die. If you hear me, lord, please help this poor soul. Guide" Jejj prayed while looking for Aria City's coordinates.

"Coordinates… got them. N9781-S4351-E151-W50."

"Could you repeat that? I need to type it in."

Zein played with the screen on the dashboard, opening up a navigation app. Jejj repeated the coordinates, one character at a time as he typed them in. Zein hit enter. The screen loaded, calculating the inputted coordinates.

A dot showed up on the nav, zooming out and revealing the planet and the duo's position. The nav projected an average trajectory for the spacecraft to follow.

"See!? Now all we got to do is follow the line." Zein said, prideful.

'This betta work."

Zein laughed, then pondered. "Would you like to try flying? It's like flying a gu-dam!" he claimed, redirecting the ship and aligning it with the nav's course. He engaged the thrusters, keeping it at a minimum as he gently guided them towards their destination.

"Oh yeah? Which one?" Jejj asked, skeptical.

"There's more than one."

"..."

"Oh. I mean. Well. You know? The one with the…uh women in them. They are like from Mercury or something. You know?"

"..."

"In any case, would you like to give it a go?"

"Right now? Absolutely not. 'Cause if we die, I know who I'm jumping."

Zein pouted. "Aww okay." He flipped the thrusters to the max. "I hope you enjoy the ride then!"

The ship shot through Aria's gravity, throwing Jejj back into their seat- unable to react to its suddenness.

"Party… chat."

Chat bubbles popped up in front of Zein.

"Par..t-ty…ch-chat."

"Jusssssssst knoew i treuuuusst yoiiu" Jejj typed, struggling to move their finger.

"Iiiiiiii appppresssscioate it!@@@ Cccoiiulld yoiu ppppiiut yeoouur fffffingeerr onnnnnn theeew rtthhhryyuster?" Zein struggled too, pointing to the truster after sending, hands now on the yoke. Jejj followed, fighting the force which held them back.

They broke through the first layer, entering Aria's atmosphere. A spark. A flame. A fire engulfed the ship. A metal comet. Jejj wanted to type with fear spelt across their face, yet their body was unwilling. Zein looked to Jejj, forcing a nod. Jejj, finger on the thruster, switched it off.

With an eye on the map, he made minute adjustments. It seemed robotic as his hands moved unprompted. The city started to come into view. Little buildings started to come into view. Zein, however, was more interested in a structure which towered over all of them. A building shaped like a tube with its elongated length and wide base. It was a structure built off of dark blue metal with wires poking out from within. It was a structure unsuited to the medieval city. At the peak of the structure, a slanted orifice wide enough to fit a couple of rookie spacecrafts. Zein aimed theirs at it.

"Not yet.." Closer. "Not yet…" Closer. "Now!"

Zein activated the ship's landing process, pressing a button on the yoke. Time. How cruel its passage is. How cruel of it to wear you down. How cruel of it to make him miss. The bottom of the ship crashed into the rim of the opening as it activated its landing process. Maybe time had forgiven him.

The ship bounced off the walls as it fell, shaking the two inside violently. Jejj held on to their seat belt, closing their eyes. Zein swiped the air and started typing.

A forever fall which finally came to its natural end. The ship exited the tunnel and met a circular chamber; its base lit with little blue lights; a landing pad rested at its centre. The spacecraft slammed into the pad. With a dramatic pause, kaput. It fell over. Zein and Jejj crawled out. They looked at each other, processing what they had been through, and laughed. Jejj collected themself.

"Thought we'd die… Jesus Christ."

"See..? Didn't I tell you we'd be fine…No problems at all."

The ship emitted smoke. The ship's panels fell. The ship's wiring showed.

"That gonna be okay?"

"I'll… pay for the repairs later, for now, let's get out of here. Open Inventory."

Zein grabbed 10 red gems and pushed himself up. He lent a hand to Jejj. They took it. The duo walked towards a door attached to the metal wall.

Upon exiting, Zein handed the 10 gems to a man dressed in a red bellhop uniform with accents of maroon and white and wore black Oxford shoes. The man received the gems and handed Zein a cream-coloured ticket with his name and a seal on it. 3 long swords behind a round shield. Aria City's symbol. Zein stored the ticket.

"Close Inventory."

They made their way down the corridor, side by side, shoes echoing. Zein's face was more serious than usual.

"They got hotel boys and shit?"

He snapped out of it. "Yeah! And girls. And, well, everyone?"

"I want one of 'em uniforms."

"They sell them at an accessory shop in the city! I'll take you there."

"That's what I'm talkin' 'bout."

As they reached the end of the corridor, the two were blinded by light and noise. Aria City Station. A hub for beginner adventurers. A place of new beginnings. It was a spot mostly used for departures, so the occasional arrival was always a welcome surprise even if the starting point was a couple of kilometres away in a cave. The trapezoidal-shaped station had counters lining its walls. They ranged from banking to inn booking to mini stores. An open wall laid before them, allowing for natural lighting. Adventurers bathed in this lighting. Adventurers of all shapes, sizes, and kinds. Adventurers dawned in armour, robes, and tunics. Adventurers who coloured the station vibrant. Adventurers who chattered away. "What dungeon should we do?" "Did you watch the announcement!?" "I think I need to buy a new pair of boxers…" Sounds overlap sounds overlap sounds, and yet, one stood out to Zein.

"Zeizei!"

A man clad in light blue armour which shone bright. The lights reflected it like a mirror. His back held a blue, shark-like handle connected to a jagged broadsword. His brown hair swooped to one side, bouncing as he ran towards Zein. Jejj watched in confusion.

"Uh…"

"He's a friend of mine."