Exploration

The remaining hour finished up, marking the end of the second interval of eclipseion. This one was even more relaxing from the outside than the first one due to Kazu and his overpowered ability. They, however, couldn't prevent growing rifts within the group from forming.

“I'm going to rest now.” Kazu gets up from the log, heading into his own tent without another word. There was a kind smile visible from where Toki sat. He was happy that he could do something that would protect others.

Getting up from his own log, he walks past the campfire to see Ayuri still sitting down. “We promised to go search for his friends in the forest for his hard work.”

She nods firmly, her body straightening itself off the log, before darting her eyes towards the forest.

Hiwo was walking back with their ice-cold queen. It's only been a couple of minutes after the interval ended, but it seemed she didn’t want to spend any more time than needed in nature.

“I'm sorry for suddenly surprising you both.” Shina stands apologetically in front of both of them, her red eyes portraying her sincere apology, the brighter sky shining down on her.

Ayuri shakes her head while folding her hands. “I believe in you to know you had a reason; I'm not mad or anything.”

“Just don’t do it again so suddenly; you are still a part of the group,” Toki adds in. He wasn't satisfied with this reply, but stirring conflict at this point wouldn't be ideal, especially with the growing unrest.

Shina nods. “I will inform you now, then. I will be setting out the next interval as well.”

He darts over to Hiwo, taking in his grim face; his eyes were saddened. The reason didn't have to be stated out loud for him to understand.

"We're going to search for Kazu's friends during this time. Did you find anyone while you were hunting, Shina?”

She gazes down, remembering the last hour of her journey. “I heard some sort of high-pitched strike. I rushed over, but there was no one. A dead creature was on the floor and had already dissipated.”

“Symphony, that's the name of their god,” Ayuri states coldly.

like a music symphony? I won’t even try understanding how a god like that exists, but I'm starting to get a rough idea of how the gods came into existence. Falsity and symphony are both made by humans, something we believe in, which could hint at the possibility of infinite deities.

His analysis was based on logic, but his factors weren't set properly, which is his fault; he deepens his thoughts.

There were at least five hundred meteors; from what Shina said, that's not enough to cover infinite possibilities. There is a limit to how many might be able to exist at once, but is that determined by power or something else?

Leaving his thoughts aside for later once he finds more information on other various gods, he focuses back on the situation at hand.

“They must be alive then, even if it's just one. We should head out, Ayuri, before the next interval sets. Our time is limited.”

Nodding at his words, they both start to walk out of the camp towards the forest. A small tap on his shoulder, however, startles him, and he turns rapidly. Hiwo stood before him.

“Eight, He didn't say anything more before walking towards a log and lying down.

That's impossible…

He froze in place, trying to visualise how this could happen.

“Toki, hurry up!” Ayuri, further ahead, calls him over, snapping him out of his daze into reality.

“Coming,” he quickens his pace towards her until catching up and standing in front of the forest's entrance, before they both enter the embrace of the trees and foliage.

Neither of them spoke much, purely because they were concentrating so hard on listening and looking at every spot they went past. Their mission was simple: to find and return Kazu's friends. They weren't there for small talk, but even then, Toki knew he had to mention the growing concern with Shina.

“Can I ask you something?” They continued their path, not intending to talk idly; they were multitasking to the maximum.

“What is it you want to ask? I'm all ears!” Her energetic voice boomed across; her mood seemed not too good.

Toki sighs, “Tell me about Shina, and I will see if I can tell you something about her.”

“Hiding it from me won’t get you far; you know I always find a way to convince you, be it one way or another.”

That's because I'm the one always telling you what it is, what I want to be convinced of; you're seriously taking it up a bit.

Their small talk continued until Toki finally had to ask the serious questions.

He clears his throat. “Tell me how Shina is when I'm not around. Is she always so distant?”

She hummed softly, “Well, at the start, when we first moved together a year ago, she was pretty normal, until I introduced her to you know…” Our goddess”

“I already knew about that, but why is she so distant from everyone now?” His interests were on a deeper level than just the surface; he wanted to know what truly happened.

Her hums continued despite the seriousness of the conversation. “She read scriptures and documents about her and fell down the rabbit hole. You never read anything about her, but the teachings she says are mean!”

The slightly angry tone made him chuckle.

“She teaches to always look out for yourself first, even at the expense of others, not to allow anything to weigh you down and to get rid of your emotions, abandoning your humanity basically.” Ayuri’s voice became lower. The thought that she once followed this exact deity was something she regretted deeply.

Toki, sensing her distraught expression, smiles towards her. “You changed for the better; you're pretty likeable to me anyway; you're helpful and always easy to be with.”

A flush appeared on her face; her cheeks turned red and puffed out slightly before she lowered herself to a whisper, “Thank you…”

“Don't blame yourself for her finding those teachings to her liking; we all had a bad childhood at the apartment complex. The closest thing we had to a family was the secretary at the door.”

They both laugh at their misfortune.

"You're right; that's why we stuck together always. I'm glad to have met you, especially when I was at my lowest point. You helped me recover.”

“I wouldn’t be afraid to do it as well!” There was a clear protective tone in his words; his value for her was deep, and he wouldn't wish anything bad on her.

Their search still took on; they looked around, searching the forest during the conversation, the destroyed foliage and marks of creatures being in this area before leaving them to stay on guard slightly despite their positive atmosphere. Toki paused before then asking his question.

“Would you believe me if I told you that Shina is too far gone, at a point where her devotion is consuming her?”

Ayuri shook her head. “I would believe you.”

He takes on a serious voice. “That power of hers is most likely causing an internal hunger to consume using it. I bet with Hiwo that she wouldn’t take out five creatures. He told me eight.”

“Even Hiwo is on this! Then it must be pretty bad; he's good at noticing things like that.”

You aren’t half bad yourself; rather, it's also kind of scary how good you are at reading the group and a person like Shina.

Suddenly, they heard a twig break behind a tree in the distance. It was loud, indicating that it wasn’t anything small that broke the twig, and its size must have been pretty massive.

“Stay back and show yourself!” Toki shouts out, his gaze staring at the tree in front of them.