The Ethergeist

Crescents of light formed as Ignacio’s eyes peeled open. He squinted, raising a hand to block the sunshine.

Oh, he thought, the sky blurring into focus between his fingers. It was a nightmare.

He blinked as he opened his eyes wider, a frown settling on his face. Since when was the sky so blue in Grandyne?

He winced, arching his back as the hard ground pressed against his spine. He turned over, eyes focusing on a small white butterfly. It flitted around, landing on a lone yellow flower that sprouted from between a pair of… sea shells? The blossom bent under the butterfly’s weight, the insect’s wings lifting and drooping.

He blinked. Since when are butterflies not extinct?

He sat up, his hands warming against the bumpy surface of the seashells packed together along the road. A sharp headache split the side of his head and he pressed his temple with his fingers, sighing sharply as he scanned his surroundings.

He sat in the middle of some kind of road, buildings lining the whole length. People walked up and down, their clothes varying widely. Some wore thick grey-blue robes with sleeves that draped down their arms, fabric wrapped around their heads kind of like…

He glanced back down at the road. Kind of like a sea-snail shell.

The air was sour with the taste of sea salt. He turned as the sounds of laughter and music rushed into his ears, realizing he’d been unable to hear anything until then. A group of young men and women walked towards him, some linking arms and laughing. The girls all wore bikinis, large clam-shells or coco-nuts covering their breasts, strings of green and blue algae trailing around their bare legs. The men all had bright orange tattoos on their chests or arms, their shirtless bodies rippling with muscle. One of them caught Ignacio's eye as they passed, flashing a pair of sharp canines as he grinned.

“Why’re you sitting in the road, brother?” he asked, his mop of rust hair swaying as he leaned to offer a hand.

Ignacio took it, standing with a grunt. “I… I don’t…”

“Are you okay?” a girl behind the man asked, a frown lowering over her large blue eyes. Her tan skin glistened in the sunlight, dark curly hair dotted with little pink starfish.

“I don’t know,” Ignacio said, pressing the side of his head.

“Ace!” a voice sang.

He turned, spotting the same girl who’d put a charge-pistol to his head waving at him. She strode over, her dark blue robe billowing open.

She placed a gloved hand on his shoulder, laughing at the couple as she waved a hand.

“Forgive my boyfriend, he’s still hungover from last night. He’s never been to the Cove before.”

The man raised an eyebrow, folding his arms as he looked them up and down. “You don’t look like you’re from around here either, miss.”

Koharu tilted her head. “That’s ma’am, to you. And no, I’m not from around here. We’re visiting.”

She hooked an arm under Ignacio’s. “Let’s go, my little sea-urchin.”

“I’m so confused,” Ignacio grumbled.

She led him away, waving back at the couple. “Thank you for finding him! Chow!”

She led him around the corner of a large light brown building, the wood intricately carved with square pillars at the corners, giant pink tube-coral curving from the roof.

She unhooked her arm from his, placing her hands on her hips.

The edges of her navy robe were inlaid with gold patterns. A sparkling blue gem the shape of a star tied in a braided material lay around her neck, hanging above her cleavage. A black choker with golden glyphs wrapped around her throat, her black boots reaching her knees in this world too. Except now her hair was dark brown, and she was… smiling at him.

She tucked a lock of short brunette hair behind her ear. “How are you feeling?”

He glanced to the side, the road between a pair of large, sandy-looking buildings. A white beach sprawled out to an ocean that filled the horizon with such a vibrant blue it took a moment to distinguish sea and sky. Men and women walked to and from it, most of them half dressed, flowers and starfish in the women’s hair, the men wearing seashell or crab-claw necklaces of all kinds of colours. Some wore necklaces of fangs or claws.

“What is this place?” he asked, looking up to find a little bright pink bird with a long beak perched on a sign post.

She placed a gloved hand on her hip, gesturing towards the glaring white beach with the other. “This is the Ethergeist, Ace.”

Ignacio froze. “The… what, sorry?”

She turned to him with a wide grin. “The Ethergeist. This is how we can get your sister back!”

“Hey, don’t get his hopes up already, Koharu,” another voice said.

Ignacio turned, spotting a short woman with long blonde hair walking towards them, her shoes click-clacking along the seashell road.

“Oh, yes,” Koharu said, eyes closing as she smiled, rubbing the back of her head. “Sorry about that, Kiyomi. He could be lying.”

“I’m not lying,” Ignacio said, folding his arms.

Koharu leaned towards him, hands behind her back. “Aw, you really are adorable here.”

Ignacio blushed, turning away. “What do you want me to do?”

The blonde woman walked up to him, dress rippling in the breeze. Her corset hugged her figure, the silver embroidery glittering against red fabric. She glared up at Ignacio, her blue eyes swirling at the edges with a deep red.

Ignacio tightened his lips. “Who are you?”

“Me?” Kiyomi asked. “I’m Kiyomi. The woman who led you and the Ferradax boy when we were in the real world.”

Ignacio frowned. Why was she so short with blonde hair?

He glanced back at Koharu, her smile widening as she waved at him.

Why is she so smiley and… curvy?

“You need to listen to us, carefully,” Kiyomi said. “This may seem like a fun little party town, but these people hate Cypher users.”

Koharu sighed. “I almost forgot the Coralune Cove is like that.”

Ignacio frowned. “Why? What do they have against us?”

Kiyomi raised a hand. “No time to explain all that now. We already stand out like a bunch of pansies.”

Koharu gestured toward the beach with her head. “You wanna head to the beach?”

Kiyomi sighed. “Yes, but you’re not swimming.”

“Aw…”

Ignacio’s ears pricked up as a song started playing again. He walked past Koharu, peaking around the corner of a giant wooden head that stood at the corner.

A group of men and women stood around a band of musicians, clapping as they played a rhythm that made Ignacio’s head bop. They played flutes carved from palm wood, guitars made from giant clam shells and a bass made of a giant sea-snail. Another beat sticks on drums made from palm wood, the skins stretched over them a pale white with dark markings.

They played loud, almost alluringly, and Ignacio was about to walk closer when a hand clutched his shoulder. He turned to find Koharu staring up at him.

“We need to leave,” she said.

“Right, right,” Ignacio said, catching the gaze of a green eyed girl with curling black hair.

A bright pink flower was tucked behind her ear, a blanket tied around her waist. She waved at him with her fingers, and he waved back before Koharu dragged him away.