The soft breeze of the wind swayed the golden-brown leaves. The blue lake gave off a tranquil feeling, combined with the colourful trees. Birds chirped, and animals ran across the lush fields.
It was noon, with the sun shining in all its intensity, changing the day from frigid to a warm temperature. However, the plentiful trees provided enough shade.
At the end of the field was the lake; a small fishing hut was located at the far end, with a dock on the other. It was home to a small community of fishermen looking to make a living. This lake was a perfect spot.
Elijah looked over to the horizon, sitting down on an uncomfortable rock and throwing stones out into the water. His expression was troubled. He rested his cheek on his palm and took a long, heavy sigh.
“We’re done. All of this is over.” He stated this as he threw a large stone into the water, making a distinctive thud followed by a splash.
He slumped down on the large rock, feeling the sharp corners of it stab through his blue jacket. While Elijah was in this terrible state, Asher quickly came to his aid. Running through the thick layer of grass.
“Talking about Orion and becoming god... Yet, what’re we going to do now?” Elijah questioned, the sun shining onto him, leaving a glare on his sunglasses. He wondered just what to do now.
Gusts of wind swayed the trees, slowly moving them from side to side. Itzozu held his head down, his red hair completing the brown leaves. In front of him were white-coloured rocks and a thrashing river. The rocks were like stalagmites that had risen out of the ground.
Itzozu was in deep thought, his thoughts bouncing back and forth in his mind. He held his chin. “We have a long-term goal, which is to reach Orion. What to do now though?” he questioned himself, wracking his brain.
“Heh, I guess we were too focused on the long term?” Asher tried to laugh it off, but a few drops of sweat landed on the ground.
“Were we just too stupid?” Elijah gave a shallow chuckle.
The wind picked up quickly, blasting it into Asher’s face. It felt as if he were being slapped, and cold water was doused on him. He stood still, pouting, before brushing his pink hair out of his face.
“Hey!!”
Asher rests his hand on Elijah’s shoulder. His hand was warm, contrasting with the cold breeze. Elijah only let out a small chuckle, but his expression still looked unchanged. He brushed it off.
Suddenly, their peace is broken by the loud, impeding noise of a police siren. It rang through their ears and brought back unpleasant memories of all their crimes. They had to act fast, and they all decided to run into the park.
“Deputy, can we confirm that the suspects are located within Trinity Park?”
A moment of silence flooded the air; no sound could be heard as the officer patiently waited until the other end responded. Loud radio static came and was followed by a voice.
“Confirmed. Proceed with plan 2A.”
“Copy that, sir.”
The car engine revved as it pulled into the parking area of Trinity Park, the scratches of the tires against the small rocks that paved the paths. Eventually the car came to a screeching stop, and then out stepped two officers.
“Deputy says they are located here.”
“It looks like it, their car is also here.” One of the officers stated this, pointing to the wrecked car barely parked correctly.
“May have been a bail.” The other officer sighed.
They both walked towards the entrance, each step they took crunched under the rocks. Large trees surrounded them as they entered the forest. It was bright, but all the layers of branches dimmed it
.
“So how are we going to even find them?”
“I don’t have an answer for that. This place is massive.”
“I don’t think the deputy realised.”
After some time of walking, they had made an entire round of the paths. I could not find anything apart from a few fallen logs, stumps, and creatures that inhabited the woods. They gave each other a glance before turning on the radio.
Unbeknownst to them, however, right in front of the officers were Miyuki and Asher, hiding in a bush. They held their breath for as long as they could.
“Deputy, we cannot find the suspects. How should we proceed?”
“Continue searching; they are still located within Trinity.”
“Copy that.”
“According to the Deputy, they’re still here... Let’s split up; keep your radio on.”
They reached a split in the paths and decided to split up, with the first officer taking the left path, which was Elijah and Itzozu, while the other went to the right. Every second that passed seemed like a higher chance they would be caught.
“Copy, I see footsteps." The officer going to the right stopped in his tracks; he turned around, noticing the trail leading to the bush.
He approaches the bush, his hand reaching for his weapon. Ready to fire at a moment's notice. He reached his hand out to the bush, parting it. His search came to an abrupt end when he was hit over the hand with the hilt of Miyuki’s sword. His vision was fading into a deep black.
“We are not burying ourselves even deeper. No killing.” Asher told Miyuki that she was about to stab him but was stopped by Asher. He brought a far point, so unfortunately for Miyuki. She obliged.
”I did exactly that! Seesh, I only knocked him out or whatever.”
“I guess.”
“We should go back to kill them—knock them out.”
“At least she’s trying...” He sighs while Miyuki sprints out of the bush. At a speed Asher thought to be impossible.
“Been a long day today; hopefully I can find them and just relax.” The officer sighed while walking.
As he continued walking down the path, the paved rocks started getting bigger as the beautiful river came into view, and the trees cleared as the blue sky came into full view. “I haven’t seen this side of Trinity Park in a long time,” the officer thought.
From the corner of his vision, the officer could’ve sworn that he saw a glimpse of a blue jacket. In that moment, he decided the best course of action would be to follow it. He withdrew his gun and pointed it outward, ready to fire at a moment’s notice.
Stolen story; please report.
The police officer finds a person with red hair, 5'11, and distinctive orange eyes. Upon closely examining, he realises that this person fits the description of one suspect. “Sir! You are under arrest for numerous crimes. Get down!” He yelled at the red-haired person.
His yelling came to a screeching halt when he realised his gun had vanished. He looked dumbfounded; his eyes darted back and forth, a cold sweat dripping from his back. He knew of the crimes they'd committed and was terrified.
“Hey… Come on now. I’m just trying to do my job!” He pleaded with the suspects but was lightly tapped on the head by Itzozu; however, it didn’t kill him nor did it knock him out. Instead, it simply put them to sleep.
“Killing more people will only make us easier to catch.”
“One less person on my guilt list.“ Elijah claimed.
Both Elijah and Itzozu looked at each other before picking up the officer's body, resting the weight between the two of them. They slowly set his body down on a wooden bench. “Hopefully he doesn’t mind too much.” “Itzozu, we knocked the guy out. I think he will care.”
“...Right.”
Behind Elijah’s shoulder, he could see the familiar blue-haired girl and pink-haired boy. They were sprinting at full speed, which gave Itzozu the impression that they were either running away or dealing with the other officer.
“It looks like the others are here as well.” Itzozu smirked as they came right up to the both of them.
“We dealt with the first officer. Unfortunately, it was clean.” Miyuki stated it with sorrow.
Miyuki: “When do we live in glory?”
“Hah! That ol’ quote. Doesn't that mean we’ll have to die in honour too?” Itzozu laughed.
Within Vesta was a popular old-time quote: “Live in glory, die with honour.” It was a quote popularised by the events of an ancient war that took place four centuries ago in a dire time.
“Perfect way to go out if I add.” Elijah interjected into the conversation.
“I’d prefer if we could just live with honour as well.”
“Then we wouldn’t go to Valhalla!”
“Edesa is close enough to Valhalla!"
The friends erupted into a maniacal fit of laughter, and Miyuki clutched her stomach in pain from laughing so hard. After a moment of joy, they eventually calmed down.
“Speaking off… We need a place to stay.” Elijah broke the bad news yet again, being the harbinger of demise.
“Hmm. Perhaps we could live in Edesa?” Itzozu asked.
He put his thoughts together. They couldn’t live in their hometown anymore, so he thought the best course would be to live in the capital. Their chances of getting caught would increase, but in return, they would blend themselves into regular people. Plus, escaping the country is currently impossible.
“The rent for an apartment is extreme. I ain’t paying more than the house.” Elijah stated. He was already broke from paying his fair share of the rent.
“Why don’t we just live in the trash? I myself am quite used to living amongst the rats.”
“What? Miyuki, I don’t even know what to say to that!” Asher questioned Miyuki's thought process.
“Fitting for a rat like you, haha." Itzozu made a quip at Miyuki. In exchange for her sanity, he got a quick laugh about it. He felt an aura of rage sweep over him and realised the grave mistake he had made.
“YOU LITTLE-”
Miyuki shouted at Itzozu, charging at her all while Itzozu was laughing his head off. Itzozu easily dodged all her attacks; the wind felt like it was splitting apart from her punches. Miyuki decided to go for a new style of attack, this time just throwing punches out and hoping they land.
“Them two.” Asher sighed with a facepalm.
“Yeah,” Elijah replied.
After some time of running through the dense forest, chasing after each other, Both of them were exhausted; instead of running, they opted to just walk with Asher and Elijah. They reached the end of the forest. Instead of hearing the sounds of bushes rustling and birds chirping, They instead heard the noises of car engines and their horns.
”They’ll probably find the... knocked people out.” Miyuki’s brain clocked.
“So what’s so good about this place?” Asher questioned them as they stepped into the city centre, passing by a sign that displayed “Trinity Park, National Park of Edesa.”
“Apart from being the capital of Edessa, it’s also the birthplace of the Novas family. One of the great families of Vesta. Also home to world-renowned hero, Vas Varese!” Itzozu struck a seemingly terrible pose, holding his finger up in the air like an idiot.
Upon Itzozu mentioning all of this, Miyuki looked away, fidgeting with her thumbs.
“And… It’s just a legend, but people think that here was where the grand tale of The Saint began and ended.” Itzozu added, hopefully adding more joy to being here.
“Woah! Now I can see why this place is hyped!” Asher lit up; his green eyes looked like they turned a golden colour as he was filled with excitement.
Inside the city centre was a massive district designated for water. There were massive waterways that flowed an extreme amount of water. Bridges that showcased the marvel of engineering towered above these waterways.
Unlike the town they grew up in, the capital was bustling with people. It felt suffocating. The friends saw dozens of people entering local shops and leaving with bags full. It led to a harsh reminder of their financial state.
In the centre of all the shops was a large statue made from bronze. It stood grand and mighty with an inscription below: “To our hero, Vas Varese, protector of Edessa.” The statue was a dark brown colour, and it featured Vas in a Samurai outfit and a sword outstretched.
“We’re here to find the Capitol Building, I’m pretty sure." Itzozu was cut off by something.
Instead of looking at the marvellous statue, Miyuki was looking away and spotted something that grabbed her attention: a weapons store. In her gaze, it felt like it was shining. Without a single extra thought, she sped away, running towards it.
“She left.” Asher took another sigh.
Asher, Elijah, and Itzozu walked around the city, looking at each shop. They realised that not a single one was empty. They had a smile painted on their faces. Each step they took only got faster as they wanted to see more of what this city has to offer.
At the edge of the waterways was a grand gate that stood at a spectacular height. It towered over the buildings, being a behemoth of stature. This gate was made of marble and gold and had an open design with bars across the edges.
Walking through the gate gave a beautiful view of the scenery. There was an endless grassfield with dozens of farms and small villages. The city of Edessa was built on tall hills, giving it the impression of being above the world.
“Wow! Even the views are better here!” Asher shouted, basking in the beauty of nature and the scenery.”Everything about Edesa is better than our town.” Itzozu told the harsh truth.
Elijah brings a cigarette to his mouth and lights it.
“Again? You need to quit these things! ...They’re bad for you!” Asher sighed, trying to get Elijah to realise smoking is, in fact, not a good thing.
“You my parent or something?” Elijah questioned, popping the cigarette out of his mouth for a moment. Asher decided to take this opportunity and grabbed it out of his fingers, throwing it onto the ground and stamping it out.
Elijah watched in despair as he saw the flame of the cigarette slowly fade out.
His attention was taken away by him catching a store on his left. He looked at a store with a brown sign that said “Trinity Books." Dozens of books were on display on the window, showcasing all the olden tales and newest releases.
“Huh. They released a new volume,” he said while peering into the window, noticing his favourite book series, “Sorcery Battle,” had released its seventh volume. Elijah was a big fan of this series.
“Nerd.” Asher giggled and stuck his tongue out at Elijah. Revelling in the teasing he was enacting. Elijah looked down at Asher. He wondered what Asher’s hair would look like without twintails. He must’ve had hair as long as Miyuki.
In the distance was a large building that stood out from the others, looking much older than the surrounding buildings. It looked to be built out of stone and wood, yet it was massive. There was a massive sign at the front that read “Capitol Building.”
“Ah! I believe this is where we can rent out a place to stay.” Itzozu gleefully exclaimed. Rushing over towards.
As they approached the capitol building, they saw what had to be a dozen royal guards defending each corner. They wore blue and black fur clothing and were armed with heavy weapons.
Asher, Elijah, and Itzozu all braced, expecting to be caught like all the other times, and yet they passed by them without a problem. They were free in this city.
“Welcome to the Capitol Building Rental Agreements. How may we help?” The receptionist spoke to Itzozu. The receptionist was an average-height male with jet black hair; they looked to be middle-aged and had all life drained out of their eyes.
Itzozu took a long, deep breath as a small pep talk before signing himself into yet another legal contract. Slowly, he pulls out a small, neatly folded form made from the highest quality of parchment.
“I would like to purchase an apartment. Preferably with four bedrooms... And also your Cheapest.” Itzozu choked on his words, not wanting to give away his poor financial state.
“Ah. The cheapest 4-bedroom apartment we currently offer is five platinum coins a month, or we can take 1 star coin every 2 months.” The receptionist spoke without stuttering, like their words were calculated. “They must’ve been asked this too many times,” Asher thought.
The expression on Itzozu’s face got lower and worse by the millisecond. He took a long sigh and brought his hand to his forehead, clutching it. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I heard. Didja say FIVE?” he questioned with an irritable tone.
“Correct.” The receptionist simply stated: Not giving many other words.
“The rent for our house was two platinum coins... Uh. How about a three-bedroom house? Cheapest again.” He racked his brain for thoughts. Eventually coming to the conclusion that Asher and Elijah would have to share a room.
“I can’t share a room for THAT reason, and neither can Miyuki,” Itzozu thought.
“Let’s see.” The receptionist wonders and starts typing.
“We currently have an offer of a three-bedroom apartment for three platinum coins and seven gold coins.” They broke the bad but better news.
Itzozu turns back to Elijah and Asher, wondering how they will take the news. The words left his mouth, and he was ready to hear what they would say.
“You two will have to share a room.”
“Yes.” “Oh god.” Asher and Elijah both said it in unison. They looked at each other and then went back to Itzozu.
Elijah mouthed to Itzozu, “Please don't,” but now it was out of his control.
“I’ll take it.” He told the receptionist, and they both shake hands as Miyuki comes running back to see the complete deal.
“So we have our new home!” Miyuki laughed.
“Hope it’s not too bad.”