As the shadows recede, I open my eyes.

I find myself in the middle of a dim-lit alleyway. Both stone walls on either side seem to go on and on forever toward the dark skies. A jet-black raven flew overhead, caw-cawing all the way.

Where am I? It’s so dark here. Smells a bit musty too.

Well, I better try to get back to Cedric and the others. After all, I’m somehow straying away from the original timeline’s series of events, ah.

A soft voice breaks me from my thoughts—“Hey…”

Before the boy could finish his sentence, I pull my wrist away from his grip. I bring my other hand, already filled with a roaring ball of wind toward his chest. Wind Strike!

My captor’s gold eyes are wide. At the next breath, the boy flies back toward the other end of the alleyway, tumbling across puddles and dispersed garbage. His right arm shoots out toward the ground. With a backflip, the child manages to stop the momentum and skids back on his shoes.

“...You can call me Cole.” says the boy, meeting my eyes.

He’s unfazed.

Cole doesn’t get a second to breathe since a large arrangement of wooden crates, garbage bags, and cans fly toward him. He sighs.

Meanwhile, I zig-zag between the walls, making my way up toward the rooftops. My wind magic skills aren’t proficient yet, so I’m not in the position for any mishaps.

There is a perturbing crash from beneath me. Good. The barrage of garbage has distracted Cole for now.

With one hand, I launch myself further up into the air by discharging a blast of wind toward the rooftop edge. My dress drifts up. My brows raise at the overall sight before me…

Wh-What the f*ck?!

Above my head is where the skies should be. Instead, there is an expansive black airspace, speckled with hanging stalactites. Not only that, an entire city, glimmering in red and gold lights, is below my feet. Surrounding the vicinity are gigantic lime columns and pointy-ended stalactites from the ground-up, a few of them even towering over the nearby buildings.

Of course! Inmundus people can’t live among the common city folks! So, this place must be…

Are you done?!

Startled by a voice in my head, I look down–only to catch a dozen threads of shadows snatch my ankles. Shit!

The voice continues, Now, come down!

Soon, the threads yank me back down toward the alleyway. Wind rushes through my bangs and lengthy hair. My heart starts to pound furiously.

H-Hey, kid! I’m going to fall flat to my death (again)!

To my surprise, Cole then commands, Create two orbs of wind and slowly release them toward the ground.

So, the boy’s also got telepathy too.

I put my hands out in front of me, manifesting a whirling ball of wind in each palm. Gradually, I release them just as the child instructs me. As I do this, the shadows too frees me, dispelled by the cool currents.

Oh, this is nice!

See? You can do this. Says the boy.

Perhaps, it’s my imagination. But I think…Cole’s coaching me to control wind magic.

No sooner do I think that though, I begin to sweat profusely. My mana is almost depleted already. One of the orbs of wind sputters out, and I flinch. Shit!

Right away, my other source of gust also runs out. Of course, I feel my light body pummel rapidly toward the thin strip of darkness that awaits my demise.

I shut my eyes and brace myself. However, the gut-spluttering impact never comes.

Much to my shock, I feel a gentle flurry of wind gather around my yellow dress and cape. The cool draft caresses my cheeks like a soft reassurance. I shiver and try to calm my panicked heart.

When I open my eyes, I find myself floating into a pair of warm arms.

Ah… This person is actually gentle with me despite what I did earlier. He has used his own wind magic to break my fall…

“So, are you going to follow me–or are you going to cause more trouble?” He asks.

Looking up, I find myself locked with a pair of beaming gold eyes and red hair. Here and there, smudges of dirt can be found across Cole’s face. In the dark, his Inmundus irises serve as light. They are as bright as fire.

I stay quiet, crossing my arms.

Regardless, my captor only stares into my face. Cole silently lowers me to the ground, bit by bit. As he does, I cling to his thin shirt. I nearly flinch again, feeling how bony his collarbones are.

Wow… Even his shoulders are small.

When my feet touch the ground, I stand by his side as the boy straightens his back. Seeing that I’ve waited patiently, Cole scans over my small figure and folds his arms.

From head to toe, the boy is draped in all-black, which ranges from the long-sleeved shirt to his torned pants and raggedy shoes. His red hair is unkempt, as if he just escaped from a scuffle. A brilliant red light outlines the child’s figure.

So, that’s what his magical aura looks like. Once I notice it, the radiance dissolves into the night.

“You didn’t run this time.” The boy scoffs.

“You’re stronger than me, and I don’t know my way around the Underground Slums.” I reluctantly answer. “You’re also probably my best chance of getting home…after you show me whatever you want to show me.”

It’s the truth. I can barely use the wind element. And that’s one of the essential basics of magic. It’s not like I can just walk out of wherever we’re at too. Others can easily overpower me if they’ve got at least two years of magic experience under their belt.

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There is a light laugh from Cole. “You’re smart...”

“Am I?”

“Yeah, you are.” With a wave of his hand, I follow the child closely from behind. He kicks away a crate, which also clears the path for my small feet. “Probably more than what most people will credit you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well, if you hadn’t tried using wind magic to help me cushion your fall, that would’ve been a disaster, right?”

Y-You mean…to say that if I didn’t, you were going to let me fall to my death?!

If Alastair is your everyday angel, well, I found the everyday devil! Right here! I form my hands into two shaking fists. My jaw clenches. Ohhhh! If only I can kick your ass, you little shit!

“What’s your name?” Cole asks, glancing back over his shoulder.

“They call me ‘Ellen.’” I soon catch up with the boy, walking side by side this time. I divert my attention toward the end of the pitch-black alleyway, which is in front of us. Behind us is a dead end.

“No, I’m asking for your ‘true name.’”

I feel myself freeze and turn to the red-haired boy. Even if I give it to him, he might laugh and tell me how ugly or weird my ‘true name’ is. I hesitate.

Well, I won’t see him again once I return to the timeline’s correct path.

I answer, “My true name…is Qin Yang.”

“Chin-Yung... What does it mean in your native language?”

I feel my heart elevate slightly.

But…

Creasing my brows together, I’m rather confused by his curiosity. Heat rises from my neck to my face and ears. I step away from him as the boy continues to decipher my expression, walking alongside me. He closes the distance.

Haven’t you heard of personal space?!

“Q-Qin Yang m-means ‘sunshine of my heart!’” I stutter out.

“Oh?” Cole smiles, crinkling his eyes into a pair of crescents. “That’s not bad.”

…Is that supposed to be a compliment?

“And what’s your true name?” I ask.

Right then, the boy nearly halts in his tracks. I stop too, wondering if I’ve offended him.

This time, Cole only flashes me a rueful smile. “I’ll show you the magical item first, then, we’ll get to that.” He lowers his gold eyes. “Afterwards, you can go home.”

Ah… I raise my brow at the mention of it. A magical item?!

As an Inmundus child, Cole is more likely to get robbed or attacked. Carrying something like a magical artifact is putting a deliberate target on his own back! Even if the item is his, the boy can just get accused of theft and put away in prison.

But why am I the one whom Cole wants to show the magical item to?

“By the way, ‘Qin Yang’ sounds a lot better than ‘Ellen.’” The boy says, striding past me. “F*ck those who think otherwise.”

Whoa... What a mouth this kid has, ah…

When one thinks about it though, Cole’s the complete opposite of the cheerful, polite Alastair, but he’s…not bad.

“Hurry up!” Cole’s yell forces me to focus since he’s almost out of the alleyway. On either side, above his head, are fire-lit torches burning brightly. “Stop spacing out. If you keep doing that, you’ll get mugged.”

“O-Okay!” Though I am still confused, I race after Cole and try to match his walking pace.

With hands in pockets, the boy rolls his eyes and waits for me to reach him. Then, we turn around the right corner and out into the dirt street where waves of peasants crowd around, haggling with tatter-clothed merchants and talking with their neighbors.

☆*:・ﾟ・:* ☆

For a while, Cole and I travel through many twists and turns in the Underground Slums. He even has me ducking and crawling under tumbled wooden poles and into one end of a shambled tent and out the other. Though I am wheezing, I try to keep up with the boy. He doesn’t break a sweat at all.

What the Hell is with the kid’s stamina?! Where are we going?!

Whenever I ask Cole about using some mana to teleport us, he would say, “I’m only eleven. My mana takes a long while to regenerate.” As if I believe that!

Having enough of it, I finally ask, “Cole, how long until we—”

“Shush!” Pressing a finger against my lips, the boy shoots me a stern look. I shut up and follow his lead as he hides behind a piece of hanging fabric. He presses his back against the cold wall. I imitate his actions. “Be still and be quiet.”

With just a thin piece of fabric between us and the people outside of it, I hear a few men stumble along with slurry speeches. Glass breaks. All of a sudden, one of the drunks swings at the other. Then, a loud brawl breaks out as the three men roll and tumble to the ground, throwing punches and blind donkey kicks.

“The guards are coming this way!” Taking my hand into his, Cole speeds out to the end of the hanging fabric. He then takes off, sprinting, with me flying behind.

When I turn to look, a few armored guards sweep toward where the drunks are fighting at.

“Hey, what’s going on here?!” One of them yells out.

“It’s those same drunks again!” Another replies.

“Let’s take them in again, boys!” The third one says loudly. “BREAK IT UP! BREAK IT UP!”

Then, when I return my attention to Cole, it is too late. He has turned a rusted knob, and the large door creaks open.

It’s like if I take my eyes off him for a few seconds, he takes me farther away from the original timeline! What the f*ck?!

“What are you doing?!” I hiss, trying to pull my hand away. His grip is too tight!

“Taking a shortcut.” Cole glances back over his shoulder. An ambiguous glint flashes over his gold eyes. “Trust me.”

T-Trust you?! Also, wh-where are you, Guildmaster?!

A brilliant light floods my sight when Cole drags me inside the building, along with an ear-blowing flood of lutes, pipes, and fiddles being played in unison. I almost jump from hearing the perfect harmony of music and feet move across the wooden floor. A powerful aroma of broiled fowl, beer, and freshly-baked bread pervades the air.

The door shuts behind us.

“IT’S COLE AGAIN!” yells a woman. “Madame! Cole’s back in the tavern!”

So, this is what…a tavern looks like. I survey around the great wooden interior, tables, rounds of clinked beer, and murmuring groups. Some large eyes are also stuck on my red cape and bright yellow dress… Instinctively, I shrink back.

Cole steps in front of me.

“Is he now?!” The voice answers from behind the high counter. A large lady pops up, with two tall tankards of beer. She sets them down before hollering, “Well, good afternoon, you little shit!”

Oh, I like her!

Cole smirks and greets back, “Good afternoon, Madame Monet.”

“Welcome to Monet’s Tavern!” Out of nowhere, a huge man approaches us, bents his back, and hands us a tankard of honey-hued alcohol. “Cole, mi boy! Where were you yesterday?!”

“I got scouted by a guild. Moving out tonight.” The boy gently pushes the drink back. “I’m also short of seven years, Henry.”

Which guild…has just accepted Cole? I plan to ask later.

Rosy-faced Henry withdraws the tankard of beer. The pot-bellied adult hiccups and stands up straight. He turns to the other people at his table. “Didja you hear dat?! Lil’ Cole got into a guild!”

“Whatah lucky Inmundus!” Another customer laughs from a different table. “Yer a new adventurer–and you got a little lady!” The man points at my small hand, still intertwined with Cole’s.

Both the boy and I jerk our hands away from one another.

“So, do you and your cute friend wanna dance tonight then?”

Gesturing toward the center floor, Henry chuckles at the dancers. Smiles gleam from their faces as the lively music plays, matching each skip and turn. Henry chugs down his beer. He gives out a loud, obnoxious burp.

The merry drunk then says to me, “C’mon! Dance, lil’ lady!”

D-Dance…?

To be honest, I don’t remember when I last danced. In the past, I spent so much time cooped up in Moon Flower’s Guild Hall, with books and potions… Even when I did go out, I had an escort and had limitations to what I could do or where I could go.

I watch the people float across the floor in perfect sync. Despite the plain colors–the cotton dresses all twirl beautifully under the warm lamp lights that hang overhead. A second later, the couples clap hands as they circle one another. Then, they take each other’s hands and…

“Hey.”

Huh?

I avert my attention to Cole. The boy stare down at me, with the gold light reflecting against his fire-red hair and bright eyes.

By and by, the music seems to fade away as Cole asks, “...Do you want to dance?”