Chapter 9: Deepsky Diving

Nico stood at the foot of the shrine with no inky trail to guide his way. He peered up at the once ominous shrine, realizing that much of its mystique had vanished with the night. With the white mist gone, it lost its edge. The front of the shrine was overtaken with vines, the front door beaten and weathered, and the porch covered with holes and chipped wood. During the day, it could make a fairly good festival attraction — maybe even a haunted house. Nico could see the twins having fun with an event like that. More Marna than Mare, though. Marna often goaded Mare into her demented games. She started the war during dinner a few days ago, and Mare only returned fire in self-defense. He didn’t have to partake in his sister’s antics, but he chose to.

Nico didn’t retrace his steps up the shrine’s stairs. Instead, he walked past the stone steps and toward the damaged porch in the back. He batted away the tall grass and prodding twigs that barred his path. Each step felt heavier and slower than the last. The frantic run the night before and the nightmare that came after still plagued him. What was he doing? What was he trying to prove?

He went out of his way for a little girl he didn’t even know the name of. A girl he had met two weeks ago as she wandered around the clearing in front of the shrine. Nico had chosen to train that day using his ‘eye’ to walk down the path and back. Even if he got used to walking around, having the eye active for too long took its toll. Nico’s vision blurred and his body swayed, which made keeping balance difficult. Eventually, his fatigued body would just shut down. It wasn’t any different than swimming against a river current. A current that constantly shifted and churned. It was fortunate that he had chosen that day, of all days, to practice.

Nico remembered the sensation he felt when his hand rested on his eyepatch. A deep, instinctual fear ripped through his body. A chill that he couldn’t adequately explain. His body was telling him not to look at her. If he saw her with his other eye, he could never go back. She would stop being the nameless girl, but what came after, he didn’t know. He didn’t want to find out.

She didn’t talk much, either then or the day before last. Nico had approached her with an open hand. The girl stared at him with unfocused eyes. They were glazed over. She didn’t know where she was or what she was even doing. When Nico took her hand and walked toward the shed down the forest path, she didn’t hold her ground or fight him. He thought it was strange that a girl like her was even lost in the Upper Ring to begin with. Travel between the rings took half a day by wagon. A girl her size making that trip without anyone noticing was close to impossible. It was yet another mystery waiting to be solved. Another question that needed an answer.

Nico walked into the clearing. He clutched a branch overhead before taking another step. Thin clouds below the cliffside rode on the wind, floating into the island’s shadow. Nico narrowed his eyes, curiosity pressing him to see if he could see even a glimpse of the Underworld.

He couldn’t.

“Is this the place?” Nico asked.

“Yes, this is it,” Rinzai said, her voice echoing in the air.

Rinzai told Nico what she saw that night. He was looking for the skyskimmer. Nico was neither awake nor aware, but Rinzai had heard its rusted propellers. Even if Nico had been awake, he wouldn’t have made much of a difference. More proof of his weakness. He clicked his tongue.

“What is it now?”

“Nothing.” Nico flattened himself against the grass. He crawled forward, his hands clutching the hardened rocks at the isle’s edge. He poked his head out, scanning the rolling fog below. It was nothing but white. Not a single inky smudge or blotted line to be found. Not a single ripple in the sky. He saw the hole in the shrine’s veranda. The hole where the girl had plummeted to the clouds below.

“Don’t overexert yourself. The last thing I’d want is for you to get dizzy and go fall off the side.”

“That’s what you’re here for, isn’t it?” Nico said.

“Oh, really? You think I’ll save you a third time?”

“Fourth.”

“Good, so you were paying attention.”

Nico ignored Rinzai’s baiting banter. He looked at where the girl was, then followed the fall down to where she would have ended up. A steep ledge stretched below the veranda, large beams of rotten wood struggling to support its weight. The thought of the drop overwhelmed him. If he were stronger, if he were like Ezia or Thaleo, things might have been different.

Rinzai said the child was a lost one. He didn’t know what exactly that entailed, but what he did know was that they weren’t human. If she wasn’t human, then that opened up a lot of different possibilities. If she wasn’t human, then a drop like that from this high up might not even hurt her. The girl might be able to fly, or cling to walls. Too many possibilities to consider without even the means to test them.

“Rinzai, do you know if there’s anything below the shrine?”

“In what way?”

“Well, like…” Nico rolled his hand in the air. “You know, a cave, another piece of island, stuff like that?”

“Nico, I’ve called this shrine home since before the Ascension half a millennium ago.”

“So, you’re saying your knowledge of the geography ends when Serya was plucked from the ground.”

“Yes and no.” The transient Rinzai sighed. “The land you call ‘Serya’ was once dominated by the Oarmouth River; its rushing rapids carved the land above ground and below.”

The Oarmouth River. A name familiar to those who called this isle home in the past, before the land was raised into the Overworld by Serya. The goddess’s legacy still floated amongst the skies as a testament to her power. Nico could never wrap his head around the stories that seemed more like fiction than fact. The stories were historical and the evidence was staring him right in the face, yet he couldn’t help but be skeptical. If someone that strong existed, then why was the Underworld in its current state? If he voiced these thoughts aloud, he might be labeled a heretic or worse. The people of Serya were not inherently violent nor virulent, often opting for isolation or exile as a preferred form of punishment. Nico had never seen it personally, but he had no interest in becoming a victim of his home’s idea of a justice system.

“That’s honestly hard to imagine.”

“For someone with your lifespan, yes.” Mist unfurled at the isle’s edge, Rinzai’s form appearing with the gentle breeze. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were half a dozen caverns beneath the isle itself. I’m unaware of how the land below may have churned and changed. Back in my time, there was a ritual ground beneath the shrine. But, now, I cannot say for sure.”

The isle likely had caverns, and there might be one directly below the shrine. Nico clicked his tongue. His work was cut out for him. He had no choice.

“I think we have to go down.” Nico pointed over the edge.

“What, exactly, are you wanting me to do?” Rinzai crossed her arms, her serpentine locks hissing.

Nico stared at one of the hair-shaped snakes, his face paling. “Uh, lower us down so we can start looking for the girl?”

“You are not really aware of what I can do, are you?”

“I know you can control the wind.” Nico tilted his head. “That should be good enough, right?”

Rinzai stared.

“I’m an eidolon tied to the harvest.” She grinned, her hands resting on her hips. “Ale, wheat, and the rolling mists of the morning. It is true I possess strength beyond your kin, but I believe you ask too much of me. That ‘wind’ was merely my breath and little more.”

Her breathing was enough to pull him back from a fall, and push him back to his feet. Eidolons were not a force to be trifled with.

“So, you can’t really get us down there.”

“Now, I didn’t say that.” Rinzai shook her head. “I merely wanted us on the same page during this little excursion.”

Nico paused. “So you can get us down there?”

“Easily.” Rinzai smiled. “Though it’s another question if the method will be to your liking.”

“What do you mean?”

Rinzai smirked. “You’ll see.”

Her clawed hand clutched the hem of Nico’s robe. She pulled him forward, laying him softly on her shoulder.

“R-rinzai, I don’t like this!”

“You wanted to go down, didn’t you?” Rinzai stood tall with Nico’s legs hanging limp in the air. “This is how we do it.”

“Unhand him!” Ezia yelled from behind the brush. “I follow you to the shrine, and this is the first thing I see?”

When did Ezia get here? Nico turned his head to look, but Rinzai’s snapping strands obscured his vision. He heard her, so she was definitely here.

“This is not my doing.” Rinzai sighed, setting Nico down. “It is simply what the boy desired.”

“Desired?” Ezia squinted. “Nico, what is going on?”

With no other recourse, Nico explained why he was here and what both he and Rinzai planned to do. He might have a lead on the lost one’s location, and he explained that there were caverns that lay beneath the land. He told her about meeting the nameless child two weeks ago. Nico figured if he kept trying to hide these things, there was no telling what could happen.

As Ezia took in his words, her concern grew. She made no effort to hide it. Her hand started clasping at her chin in wonder. As the story continued, it fell to her side, balled into a tight fist.

“So you thought doing this alone was a good idea?” Ezia stared daggers at Rinzai.

“I’m not alone, Rinzai’s here.”

“I know what I said, Nico.” Ezia sighed. “Nothing I say will get through to you, will it?”

Nico remained silent.

“I do not agree with this either, I’ll have you know,” Rinzai said, one hand grasping her elbow and the other her chin. “But, I’ve no real choice in whether or not I go with him. I’m little more than a shadow cast by his light.”

“You talk as if you are blameless, creature.”

Rinzai heaved a heavy sigh. “Your sister needs to respect her elders, Nico.”

“Ezia, her name is Rinzai,” Nico said. “Stop antagonizing her, and you can’t stop me. My mind is made up.”

Ezia sighed, shaking her head. She pushed a smile onto her face. “Fine then. I’ve got some of the men standing outside the shrine to keep watch that no one else gets into trouble here.”

“Fine then?” Nico frowned. “What do you mean?”

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ll be going with you.” Ezia walked forward, peering over the side of the isle. “How did you intend on getting down there, anyway?”

“Jumping and climbing, really. A combination.” Rinzai grinned, her eyes on Nico.

Nico gulped.

“Well then, Sister, shall we go?” Rinzai’s inflection forced Ezia to frown.

“Do not call me that.”

“Refer to me by name, and I’ll consider it.” Rinzai grasped Nico by the collar, and heaved him over her shoulder.

“W-wait, Rinzai, no!”

Rinzai jumped into the open air. The breeze behind the shrine quickly spun itself into a whirlwind with Ezia at its center. Rinzai, with her strength, and Ezia with the air at her back, ventured beneath the shrine and into the darkness beneath the island.

Nico was a slave to the wind and air. His gaze fell on the clouds below as his hair obscured his view. It slapped him in the face with each rapid movement. Rinzai pressed herself against the cliffside, then jumped. His body floated in the air, just off of Rinzai’s shoulder. For a moment, it felt like he was soaring. The weightlessness faded as they descended. The other side of the small ravine rapidly approached. Rinzai thrust her hand out, grasping at the opposite cliffside. The rockface splintered like ice. She leaped again and again. Rinzai’s shoulder pressed into Nico’s stomach with each leap. Another jump, another descent.

Up, then down. Up, and down.

Then, she stopped.

“Rinzai?” Nico slowly opened his eye. Rinzai clung to the side of the cliff, her eyes on the sky below. He followed her gaze through the open air. The island’s shadow obscured his vision. It was dark and hard to see. But, after a moment, he saw it. A sun-starved plateau floated underneath the cliffside Rinzai had clung to. If she leaped, she might miss the mark. That was a risk she couldn’t take. As realization dawned on him, Nico slowly turned to Rinzai. The maddening grin on her face confirmed his worst fear.

“You’re not going to—” He choked on his words as Rinzai held him close.

They fell, beginning their rapid descent.

Dust and stone rained down from above.

Nico looked up, his eye wide.

Rinzai’s claw dragged along the cliffside like she was tilling soil with her bare hands. She drifted left to avoid a steep ledge, then to the right to avoid an overhang. She accelerated, her body hugging closer to the wall with each passing moment.

“Hold on!” Rinzai yelled as if Nico had the strength to comply.

One last leap. Rinzai pushed off of the cliff and barreled through the air. The floating mass was close enough for her to land on.

“How reckless can you be!” Ezia said from up above, having borne witness to Rinzai’s chaotic display. Wind quickly caressed Rinzai and Nico as they fell. It pulled against her descent, reducing her speed little by little. Ezia strained, flailing her hands like she was reeling in a massive fish.

Rinzai grimaced as the wind slowed her descent, the plateau’s edge slipping beyond her grasp.

“Wait, no!” Ezia yelled.

Rinzai’s hair hissed and screeched. A wave of misty serpents lunged forward from Rinzai’s head. They danced through the sky before embedding their fangs into the bottom of the floating mass.

“Hold on, Nico.” Rinzai held him tight.

The hair-snakes pulled Rinzai through the air as she glided past the plateau. She thrust her hand out in the open air. Another tug from her hair, and she was thrust forward. Her clawed hand found purchase on a rugged outcropping. Her nails pierced the rock as she climbed up. Her hair retracted back into her scalp as she gripped the plateau’s side. She hoisted Nico up first, then herself.

Nico rolled onto the ground, his head swimming. In contrast to Rinzai’s controlled leaps, Ezia levitated briskly through the sky before landing just a few feet away from Nico.

“Are you alright, Nico?” Ezia offered an open hand.

“I-I’m fine. I’m just…” Nico paused as heat welled up in his chest.

“Nico?”

He raised a finger and sprinted forward toward the side of the plateau.

“What are you—” Ezia reached out.

Rinzai barred her approach with her arm. “Leave him be.”

“He wouldn’t be doing that if you were more gentle.”

“And I wouldn’t have needed to improvise had you not flung wind in my face.” Rinzai grinned. “But, now’s not really the time to be fighting, is it?”

Ezia averted her gaze.

“Disgusting.” Nico wiped his mouth. “Wait, what is…?”

A wooden bridge rocked side-to-side, its ropes creaking in the wind. It held a smaller piece of land to the plateau. Nico approached the bridge. He ran his hand along the taut fibers. There were no obvious cuts or gashes. After checking the rope, he crouched low, knocking on the wooden sections of the bridge. Because the bridge was under the island, the chances of the wood being waterlogged were low.

“Why is this bridge here?” Nico mumbled, looking across the bridge to the adjoining rock platform. “I don’t like this.”

Ezia walked over to Nico, a hand on her chin. “Hm, I wonder who built it.”

“You and me both.” Nico sighed.

Mist flowed from Rinzai’s faltering form.

“Wait, Rinzai!” Nico pivoted, trying to catch her before she faded. “Where are you going?”

“Relax, Nico. It’s just the little excursion that took a bit out of me.” Rinzai smiled. “We can’t have you passing out during your investigation, right?”

“That’s not what I…” Nico clicked his tongue.

“Don’t worry, you’ve got your sister to protect you.” Rinzai rested a hand on her hip. “And it seems like she would prefer it that way regardless.”

“I’m sorry, Rinzai.”

“Oh? For what?”

“Messing up your landing.” Ezia bowed. “You have my deepest apologies.”

Rinzai sighed. “No one died, so as far as I’m concerned — there’s nothing to apologize for.”

“Even so,” Ezia said.

“Listen, just keep the boy safe, and we shall call it even, okay?”

With those words, Rinzai’s form dispersed into a fine mist. It coalesced toward Nico before drifting into the open air. As Rinzai faded, Nico’s eye throbbed. His body froze as he lurched forward.

Ezia jumped forward, supporting Nico with a firm hand on the shoulder. “Nico, are you alright?”

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” He sighed, swapping his eyepatch from one eye to the other. The pain dulled. He looked across the bridge to the platform on the other side. From the platform extended another bridge into the underside of the mainland.

Ezia took the first step onto the bridge. The ropes were tight and the boards stable. She continued walking forward, one hand on the rope and another on her sword. Nico followed after her. The bridge swung to and fro, but the siblings pushed onward. They moved over the first bridge and the second. Nico looked up at the maw of the dark cavern.

“Ezia, are you sure you want to come with me?”

“What sort of question is that?” Ezia stood in front of Nico, her sword pointed forward. “If you go, I go. If you leave, I leave.”

Nico breathed in, then out.

He slapped his face.

“Wait, Ezia. Can you cut a piece of wood off here?” Nico pointed to the wooden post binding the bridge.

Ezia nodded, slashing her blade toward the bridge. A piece of wood fell to the ground in one, clean cut.

“Alright.” Nico held up his arm, his sleeve dangling in the air. “Now, cut this.”

“What? Your robe?” Ezia looked at the wood, then the robe. “Ah, I see. A torch.”

Ezia approached Nico, slashing a portion of his red and black robe. Nico wrapped the sleeve around the top of the impromptu torch. Ezia finished it with a snap of her finger. A spark of flame ignited the torch’s tip. Nico brandished the torch high as he illuminated the darkness of the cavern.

“Let’s go.”

Ezia followed closely behind, blade brandished and at the ready.