Under the Dusk Light

Strengthening her grip on the hilt of her sword, Celi prepared for the worst.

Saya hid behind the ruins of a wall, unable to use Firia anymore to protect herself.

Lo curled up into a ball and didn’t move.

Iwao, with his big hands, couldn’t detach the pendant. He tried to pass it over his head, but it was too tight to fit over his horns. He didn’t want to destroy the rope that held the pendant, as it might also activate something strange. All he could do was cast a thin barrier spell around his body to shield himself from a possible explosion.

“CELI, GET OUT OF HERE!” He shouted.

The light glowed brighter and brighter – it was about to explode. Iwao closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for the shock.

They all waited.

All eyes were shut, and silence reigned.

For a few seconds, no one dared to open their eyes.

“What happened? Am I dead? Is that why I didn’t feel the pain of the explosion?” Iwao thought.

He opened his eyes slowly, hesitant, a little afraid of what he could see.

Nothing had changed.

The ruins were still there. Lo was still on the ground… curled up like a ball. Saya was still behind the ruined wall, now joined by Celi.

Iwao checked himself under every angle. Nothing. The pendant was still around his neck, no longer glowing. Everything was calm. They were safe.

“What was that…?” He whispered to himself, skeptical.

Lo uncurled and looked firmly at Iwao’s horns. Saya and Celi stepped out from behind the wall where they had been hiding. They, too, stared at Iwao’s horns. Then, they burst into unstoppable laughter.

“Wha-… What? What are you two laughing at? And why are you looking at me like that, Lo? Do I have something on my face?” Iwao asked, confused.

Lo tried to imitate Celi and Saya’s laughter.

“Well, how about we show you so you can see for yourself.” Celi replied, still laughing.

She led Iwao to a puddle of water nearby so he could see his reflection.

The moons’ light reflected on the water, allowing Iwao to see what was strange about him.

He was speechless. On top of his horns, a thin rope now linked his two horns, and hanging from it were stones glowing as brightly as the moons.

“This thing… I know it, but… my memories are too fuzzy to recall…” He thought, gently caressing the rocks.

“It gives you a certain style… I guess.” Celi said, bursting into laughter again. The delicate jewelry contrasted comically with Iwao’s terrifying appearance.

Iwao was unhappy and returned to where Saya and Lo were. Saya tried to hold back her laughter.

“I can’t blame them. After everything that happened, this moment is good for their morale.” He thought, laughing as well.

Lo still stared intently at Iwao.

“Something bothering you about Iwao, Lo?” Saya asked.

“I would like to know if he can use the powers of the artifacts he carries. Would you show me, savior?”

“Powers? These things? What are they supposed to do, and how am I supposed to know how to use them?” Iwao thought.

“Well, let’s get that for later, Iwao, Lo. I think we need to rest a little before trying to activate mysterious artifacts. And Lo, I think Iwao is still too confused to know how to use them.” Celi said calmly, tears of laughter still streaking her cheeks.

She turned to Iwao and stepped closer.

“I’ll take the pendant to study it, see if I can find anything about its connection to Firia or whatever else. We’ll need to settle down for some time while I work on that. Maybe we’ll learn how to use both your artifacts.” Celi said, unfastening the pendant from Iwao’s neck.

“You are right, savior. Sorry for rushing. I need to learn more so I can make fewer mistakes. Even though I know many things, as you can probably tell. I will be glad to help you with your research, savior.”

They called it a day and slept under the starry sky.

A few hours later, in the morning, they were already back on the road. Nobody appeared along their way, so Iwao and Lo didn’t need to hide.

“Where are we going, saviors?” Lo asked.

“We’re going to Molia, a village near the Western mountains. But only Celi and I will go inside. You and Iwao are too strange-looking for the eyes of normal people.” Saya replied bluntly, unintentionally hurting Iwao, whose expression showed his pain.

“And what are we going to do there, saviors?”

“We’re going to recover our stuff that we hid near the village before going to Greyford Valley. Then Saya and I will wash, buy new clothes, and get food.” Celi answered.

“If you can, buy me a Visionary potion. I’ll need one, please.” Iwao asked.

“No problem!” Celi and Saya said at the same time, laughing afterward.

When they reached the village, they didn’t enter immediately but headed toward the mountains to their camp, hidden in a cave. There, Celi and Saya took enough money for supplies and set out for the village.

“We’ll wait here. Take your time, but be careful – we don’t know if the king can track us quickly or not.” Iwao warned.

Celi and Saya waved goodbye and left in the orange light of dusk.

On the road to the village, they spoke little. But as they drew nearer, Celi broke the silence.

“Saya, your face. You should change it. Even in a small village like this, we can’t risk someone recognize you.”

Saya cast a spell, altering her features. She now had long red hair and brown eyes. She was metamorphosed.

They entered the village, ignoring the stares of townsfolk drawn to their poor clothes.

The village was simple – many farms, small poorly built houses, but with a good atmosphere. In the central square, there were shops, bars, an inn, and everything needed for daily life.

They spoke little, only for brief exchanges. They first went to a clothing shop and bought new outfits. Saya picked black trousers, a black shirt, and a white cape-coat. Celi bought a white shirt and thin black trousers, since most of her gear couldn’t be found there.

Next, they went to the armory. Celi bought steel guards for her arms, shoulders, chest, and thighs. Saya bought some for her arms.

They then quickly did what was left to do. They went to the inn to wash, bought food, and were ready to leave with their new outfits and arms laden with provisions.

As they left the village, Saya finally broke the silence. Both she and Celi were now more relaxed.

“So, what strange experiences we’ve had, weren’t they?” She asked.

“You’re right! I was scared the whole time!” Celi exclaimed.

“The nightmare was strange… Iwao already told us about such things, but living it is something else. He seemed as lost as we were at first, so this nightmare must have been different from the others he had seen. Asking him about it will lead nowhere.”

“I agree. And even seeing him “eat” the nightmare… it was unbelievable. He must have seen it on our faces!” Celi laughed.

“If only we could have helped him… we were just useless, even though it disturbed him so much. I feel bad – I can’t give back half of what he does for us.” Saya said sadly.

“I don’t know. I think we shouldn’t dwell on it. Let’s just treat him as we always do – it’s not a contest of who helps the most. What worries me is your father. How did he know we were here, and what does he want from you?”

“For finding us, it’s because of Rufus – the one with him the other night. He has a special spell that allows him to locate anyone in the world, for one hour a day. A powerful spell. As for why my father comes after me, it’s because I’m with Iwao. Since I didn’t return to say I completed my mission, he thinks we’ll try to kill him so I can take his place.”

“Wait! What mission? You never told us about that!” Celi said, stopping in her tracks, staring at Saya in incomprehension.

“Well… I already told you my father is a scumbag I cut contact with, right? At first, when Iwao – or the creature he was considered then – was discovered, my father sent me to meet him, befriend him, and bring him back to the castle so he wouldn’t kill us, and help with the war. But days after we met, I got a telepathic message from one of my servants at the castle. She said when the king read my letter, saying I was going to Taranios to meet Iwao after two years of research, he didn’t even finish reading. When he saw I was meeting him, he burned the letter and laughed, saying I was finally going to die. That’s when I discovered his real plan all along.”

She paused, then continued steadily, without stuttering.

“After that, I cut all ties with the castle and its staff. That’s when I decided to dedicate myself fully to this group – because I saw who you really were.”

Celi stared firmly at her. Then she set down the bags and hugged her.

“Thank you, Saya. You did the right thing escaping that horrible father. You’re safe with us now. Let’s go see Iwao and Lo. We’ll decide together what to do next.”

Saya started crying and hugged her back, finally letting out all she had held inside. Celi gave her shoulder to welcome her tears and her torments.

When she calmed down and wiped her tears, they resumed their journey to their camp. Her heart felt lighter, and she smiled under the dusk light.

******************************

While Saya and Celi were in the village, Lo and Iwao had gone out in front of the cave to talk. Iwao was leaning against the entrance of the cave while Lo was looking at him firmly, standing still.

“So, you’re powerful, and I suppose it’s because of all the essences you have in you, right?” Iwao asked.

“You are totally right, savior. I’m composed of a hundred and forty essences, from animals to humans. Mixing essences makes them a lot stronger, so with all mine I am very powerful. But Mother was not satisfied, saying something made me imperfect for what she was looking for.” Lo replied.

“That's what I understood from reading her note. So what can you do exactly?”

Lo paused to think. It scratched his bald head.

“I can do almost every basic spell to even the most complex ones. But don’t misunderstand, I also have a limited Firia reserve – it’s impossible to have an infinite one. However, many spells were blocked by Mother, so my statement is a little biased. I can’t use so many complex spells now, savior.”

“Mother… mother… You consider The Witch as your mother, so you seem to have lived with her for a while. Tell me more about her. I need to know any detail that could help me.”

“Mother is a very beautiful woman – that’s what she always says. She knows a lot of things. The last thing I remember was that she was working on-”

Lo froze. Smoke was coming out of his eyes.

“Hey, Lo! Are you okay?” Iwao asked.

The smoke stopped and Lo regained his senses.

“Sorry, savior. It seems that Mother blocked this part of me so I wouldn’t reveal anything.”

“She’s smart. She knew that a trap like this could be set to it to learn more about her or her possible location.” Iwao thought.

Iwao gave up for the moment.

“Well, don’t worry, Lo. We can do without these information for now. I’m counting on you to be a good member and help us a lot, okay?” He asked.

Lo nodded. It looked toward the village, seeing Saya and Celi from afar. Then it turned back to Iwao.

“Savior, why do you want to be human? Aren’t you happy in this form that is so powerful? Why be so desperate for something as fragile as a human life?”

Iwao froze. He looked at Lo, shocked, disoriented, lost, struck by all he had gone through. He stammered a few words

“… you don’t understand…”

He looked straight into Lo’s eyes. He was crying, his heart wrenched by these questions that had reopened wounds he thought were closed. He was only able to shout a few words. Under the dusk light, his heart opened.

“I need to be human!”