Deep beneath the ground, in the realm inhabited by Anakh and Sun'i, a crack emerges nearby, and a figure emerges from its depths.
The figure bears a striking resemblance to a woman, with long, glass-like, transparent hair, draped in a cloth that conceals her form from neck to toe. Her gaze sweeps across her surroundings.
"Human... but different from the humans I know, much frailer," she muses to herself as she circles around them unnoticed.
Eida, although once human, now finds herself in a perplexing state. Something has evidently transpired, for when she awoke, she felt like a different person. She possesses new powers, yet her emotions seem to have vanished.
She contemplates how she ended up in this situation, her memories a jumbled puzzle. Nevertheless, her name remains intact in her memory. Eida decides to set aside her ponderings for the moment and chooses to observe the human instead.
...
In one of the dirt houses, where Anakh resides, he reclines on his back. Another individual, a woman with a single arm, carefully applies a blue-colored paste to his injured rib. She wears a scant piece of ragged cloth that drapes over her chest and hip. The room is dimly lit by the crystal that bathes the entire space in its gentle glow.
"No casualties during today's hunt. That's somewhat reassuring. We can't afford to lose any more people down here," she remarks.
"I know, luckily it's just a minor injury for me," Anakh replies.
"Sure... a 'minor' injury that's had you laid up for quite a while."
He chuckles in response, saying, "Well, at least I came back alive."
Sigh... that's true, being injured is certainly preferable to being dead, she thought to herself as she continued applying the paste.
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"Alright, I'm done. The paste is running out, so I'll need to search for more in the cave. You stay put," she instructs Anakh.
"I know, I know," he replies.
As she steps out of the house, she slings a wooden basket over her back and heads toward the cave. Along the way, she exchanges a brief conversation with another fellow human before proceeding toward the cave.
The "cave" is more of an alternate entrance to the village, reserved for emergency situations. It has remained unused until now. However, something unusual has occurred - certain glowing grass has sprouted inside it. This is no ordinary grass; its radiant luminescence sets it apart.
While the woman methodically collects the glowing grass that has spread around, Eida quietly follows her, observing the grass beneath her feet. As she gazes at the grass, a faint sense of familiarity tugs at her, although she cannot fully recall its significance. Nonetheless, her instincts reassure her that the woman is on the right path by gathering this peculiar flora.
Eida continues to follow the woman into her house, where she observes that Anakh is sleeping. The woman carefully crushes the glowing grass and adds a bit of water to it, completing the process. Eida marvels at how seemingly simple it is to create.
Once again, the woman heads outside, and Eida trails behind her. They reach an underground water source, a naturally flowing river large enough to provide for the entire village.
While keeping a watchful eye on the woman, Eida begins to explore the village more intently. She enters every house she can access, moving around effortlessly, and no one escapes her inquisitive gaze.
"Hidden in the underground, I see so many deformities, a scarcity of food, and a population in decline," she reflects as her gaze lingers on them.
Having concluded her observations, her body suddenly disintegrates like dust carried away by the wind, vanishing entirely.
Eida's form reappears on the surface as she surveys the land below her. With heightened awareness, she hopes to gain a clearer understanding of what is transpiring here.
Apart from the humans residing underground, Eida discovers a startling absence of any other living beings on the surface. There are no small creatures, birds in the sky, or signs of life. The land, though not extensive, is encompassed by water. While this space may seem sizable to the underground population, as someone from a different era, Eida can traverse from one end to the other in a short span of time.
She endeavors to expand her awareness further but encounters only water. Yet, she refuses to believe that this is the sole remaining land, nor that these are the last surviving humans.