Chapter Text
"Say Alhathiam sucks!!" Kaveh snickered as he put two fingers resembling bunny ears behind the former's head. Cyno and you chuckle before repeating the phrase. You grin brightly at the kamera, your arm slung around Lisa. The kamera person peeks from around the device.
"All done!" They say. You remove yourself from the group to look at the photo.
"Not too bad." You hear Alhathiam's calm tone from behind you and shiver slightly at how you can feel his breath. You shakily nod your head.
"Whaaaat? Not even the littlest bit annoyed about the bunny ears?" Kaveh whines, tossing his hands into the air. "Emotionless bastard."
"At least I'm not a whiny child." The silver haired man shoots a condescending smirk at Kaveh. You roll your eyes, recognizing the sounds of a fight brewing between the two.
Despite you and Alhathiam being academic rivals, most people assume that he's rivals with Kaveh due to the amount of time the two spend fighting. Cyno once joked that the two should fuck to get rid of the tension. It was the only joke of his that got Tighnari to laugh.
"Can I see?" This time it was Lisa leaning over you. You nod and hand the photo to her. She smiles sweetly at you, then looks at the photo. Tighnari and Cyno appear on either side of her to also look at the photo.
"Alhathiam's right, this isn't a bad photo at all." Cyno mutters. Tighnari hums his agreement, before frowning.
"Wait a minute, who's getting the photo? There’s only one copy." You blink, looking between everyone.
"I say Y/N gets the picture." Alhathiam suggests. "I don't want it."
You frown at him. "Why me and not someone else?"
Alhathiam chuckles. "It's so you can actually focus on your studies instead of slacking off and scribbling in your notebook. Maybe a picture of all of us together will motivate you."
You growl at him. "I'm not slacking off! I'm simply focused on something else, that's all. I'm doing fine academically."
It was true that you had been distracted recently. You had dropped some papers off for your professor a few days earlier and found notes about a private project. Intrigued, you read through them, finding that the Akademia was building a portal!
Typically, you wouldn't interfere with such a project and leave the notes alone. But the portal they were building was one to the Abyss. The author of the notes spoke of it in reverence and a sickening sort of excitement. So, you brought it upon yourself to investigate this project.
You hadn't told your friends in fear of them ruining their opportunities at a successful life. Cyno was already in training as a matra and Kaveh was facing exams for the Kshahrewar faction of the Akademia. You knew the Akademia could easily take that away from them, leaving them with nothing. Tighnari was already trying to leave the Akademia to become a forest watcher and Lisa seemed to have similar intentions. You didn’t want to drag them back into it. You could ask Alhathiam, but he wouldn't believe you unless you had proper proof. Nevermind the fact that he probably wouldn't do anything unless it jeopardized his chances of becoming Scribe.
Safe to say, you were on your own. Bringing your mind back to the present, you turn to face Alhathiam. His face is schooled into what looks like a blank expression for most people, but you've been around him enough to notice the way his eyes are slightly crinkled in a mouthless smirk. This makes you glare even more and he actually smiles at your obvious annoyance.
"Sure. As long as you're still going to challenge me for top student, I won't question your studies." Alhathiam schools his face back into his mask of indifference.
"Back on topic, I agree that Y/N should keep the photo. I have no need for it." Tighnari says.
"The same goes for me." Cyno glances at Kaveh. "Kaveh. Lisa. Do either of you want it?"
"And have to look at Alhathiam any more? No thanks. Tell me when you get a copy that doesn't have him in it." Kaveh waves his hand in dismissal, while Lisa just shakes her head. "New subject. Who wants food? I'm starving."
Lisa raises a hand. "I'm up for lunch."
"Me too! I would love some rice right now." Tighnari stretched his arms above his head. Cyno nods to show that he'll also come along.
"I have some work I need to do, so I'll opt out." You say. You realize Alhathiam has disappeared. "Did Alhathiam leave?"
Lisa hums “You know him. Always leaving whenever things don’t concern him."
"Heh, true." You glance at the sky and mentally ask the Akasha for the time. It informs you that it's 1pm. "I better get going. You guys enjoy!"
Your friends wave at your retreating back. You walked off, heading for one of the many ramps leading to the Akademiya. You went up a floor, then turned down a street with residences lining the way. You stop at a small house and rummage through your pockets for the key. Opening the door,you walk through and lock it behind you, taking your shoes off and placing them next to the door. You walk to your desk and sit down, ready for a study session.
《♤♡◇♧》
About an hour and a half later, a knock sounds at your door. You frown, wondering who it could be. Getting up, you open the door to several Akademia guards. You frown, leaning against the doorframe.
“Can I help you?” You ask. A female soldier in the front nods.
“As a matter of fact, you can. Grand Sage Azar has requested your presence in his office.” She motions to the other soldiers around her. “We will be escorting you there.”
You quickly figure out the underlying meaning in her words. The Grand Sage was ordering you to come to his office and the soldiers were there to ensure that you didn’t try to run. Which means they probably know that you stole the notes. You pray silently to the greater and lesser lord that you won’t get in too much trouble.
Nodding slowly to the soldier, you step out of your room, making sure that it locks behind you. “Lead the way.”
《♤♡◇♧》
The elevator doors open to the Grand Sage’s office, revealing said man standing in front of his desk. He turns to look at you. “Ah. You’re here.”
You step out of the elevator, looking around the spacious area. Guards are stationed everywhere, further preventing any ideas of running. “I heard you.. requested my presence?”
Azar nods. "I won't beat around the bush. I know you stole the portal notes." He extends a hand out to you. "I also know that you, like every other ignorant person out there, are scared of the Abyss and won't help us with our project."
Azar grins then. "At least, not of your own will."
Your eyes widen and you unconsciously take a step back. Your eyes flicker to the guards who have gotten closer and you step away from them, back towards Azar.
"Right now, the portal is finished. We just aren't sure if it's safe to go in or not." The old man's grin widens. "So, you’ll be testing that for us!"
Guards grab your arms roughly, their grip tightening as you struggle against them.
"Let me go! Find someone else for your sick project!" You scream. Azar chuckles.
"Oh, but it only makes sense that you help us! This project is a quest for knowledge and you are studying to become a scholar of the Akademia. Aren't you proud of yourself? Haven't even graduated and already discovering new things." He leans in close to your face. "A pity your chances of surviving the Abyss are abysmally low."
The sage steps back, his gaunt face pulled in a cruel grin. "Let’s go to the portal now. I'm sure our 'volunteer' can't wait any longer."
You pull at the guards restraining you, your efforts futile as they lead you back into the elevator. The Grand Sage follows after you and pops open a compartment in the elevator wall. A keypad with numbers on it is revealed and the Sage enters in a code, obscuring the view with his hand as he enters it. The elevator lurches downwards, taking all of you with it.
Your eyes widen in surprise as the elevator continues downwards past the first floor of the library. It descends farther than you thought the building went.
"What.. Where is this going?" Your voice trembles, despite your best attempts to keep fear out of it. Your only response is a cruel chuckle from the Sage.
Finally the elevator comes to a stop. Azar steps out first, with you benign shoved after. The room you emerge into keeps the theme of high arched ceilings and intricately designed marble walls. However, screens and desks fill the area, akademiya researchers bustling around and stepping over large wires on the floor.
Your eyes follow the wires to a large circle with an empty inside on the floor. The middle of the circle has bits of red streaming from the marble that makes up the item and swirling towards the middle.
“It’s unactivated right now, but we’ll turn it on soon.” Azar speaks from behind you, startling you. He grins at your look of horror. “Don’t look so scared. You’ll be participating in gathering information that no one else has! As a scholar, you should feel proud.”
You slowly shake your head. “I don’t want to do this. Please let me go.”
The Sage’s grin only seems to widen. “Too bad.” He gives you a shove toward the portal. “Stand in front of it. When we activate it, jump in or we’ll make you.”
Behind you, he barks out orders to begin powering up the portal. You slowly begin walking past the desks. A guard gives you another push, telling you to move faster. You stumble into a table full of papers. In a moment of clarity, you recognize them to be notes. You quickly knock some to the floor along with yourself, crumpling some papers in your hand.
The guard scoffs at you and roughly picks you up by your left elbow.
“H-hey!” You cry. The guard doesn’t respond, simply walking you to the portal.
As you approach the circle, you peer down into the depths. For right now, it’s a small pit. If you were to jump in now, you’d survive the fall. A whirring sound emits from the machinery behind you. Casting your head to look at it, you watch in amazement as elemental energy of all 7 types begin to shoot through tubes to power the portal.
As they reach their destination, the swirls in the portal reach out to meet in the middle. They fill in the missing spaces as the outside part lightens to white and the innermost part darkens to black. You pick out small dots of light in the black void, almost like stars in the night sky.
“Jump!” Azar shouts to be heard over the machinery. But you don’t follow his order just yet. You want to make sure that no one is able to follow after you. Stealing some notes might make a dent, but you want to completely destroy this current portal. Or at least, destroy it as much as possible.
So, you play the waiting game. You muster a scared front and stare into the depths. To make it more believable, you take a step back before turning and trying to run.
“Wha- Someone stop her! We need to get her in that portal before it collapses!” You grin to yourself at Azar revealing what you wanted to know. If you stall going into the portal, it will destroy itself. To speed the process up, you stumble into another desk, this one with a screen on it. Your shoulder hits it hard and the screen cracks. Unfortunately, guards have surrounded you. They grab you and drag you back to the portal.
This time, you don’t need to pretend to be scared. The adrenaline and tension has activated your fight or flight instincts as you thrash desperately in their grasp.
“DON’T DO THIS AZAR!” You bellow. “THE ABYSS IS NOT TO BE MESSED WITH!” The whirring reaches a screeching peak, telling you that your time is up.
Azar laughs. “Goodbye, y/n. Your name will go down in history as the brave, selfless scholar who sacrificed themselves for research.” His voice mocks you and echoes in your ears. The guards heave you up the step and toss you down into the abyss. You inhale sharply, your heart dropping into your stomach. Your only comfort is the sound of an explosion as the darkness fully surrounds you.
《♤♡◇♧》
Azar glowers yet again at the destroyed remains of the abyssal research site. “That bastard of a scholar…”
He curses his foolishness for not seeing her obvious plan. “Hmph.”
A scholar hesitantly approaches him. “Grand Sage, the public will ask questions about this explosion. What should we tell them?”
He thinks for a moment. “Tell them… We were conducting an experiment and required y/n’s incredible knowledge on elemental energy. However, an attack from the Abyss Order caused a major accident, killing Y/N.” He hums to himself. “It’d be too suspicious if it was just her dead, but those people will believe anything as long as it’s released through the Akasha.”
Later that day, the public is told about an experiment with elemental energy that resulted in abyssal forces attacking and killing Akademia Scholar Y/N. People gasp and murmur to themselves about how horrible and tragic it is. A day later, a funeral is held to honor the dead scholar. Friends and family alike walk up to the empty casket to say their goodbyes. A god watches through the eyes of another and weeps at the loss she wasn’t able to prevent.
Spread across Sumeru, a group of friends mourn in their own way. One takes on the heavy burden of protecting others, while others leave the Akademiya completely. Another breaks down into tears, ignoring everything else but his pain. The last one feels a sharp pain in his chest and copes by throwing everything he has into reaching his goal.
Little do they know that their friend is not dead yet…
《♤♡◇♧》
Your eyes blink open, your senses returning slowly. There is little light, allowing you to adjust more easily. You take your time waking up, allowing yourself to enjoy being able to lay in bed a little longer.
Your brain processes things slowly, starting with how the Grand Sage confronted you about the abyss project. You remember how you managed to destroy part of the notes before being tossed in the portal. The portal…
You shoot upwards in the bed. Your head turns wildly, fully taking in your surroundings. You're in a hut, laying on a makeshift bed. There's a small fire flickering not far from the bed. As you're observing these things, the leaf curtain acting as the door is pushed aside. You freeze, watching in fear as someone steps inside.a tall woman makes her way inside. You freeze in shock, unsure of what to do. The woman turns her head and red eyes lock on to your figure.
“You’re awake.” You jump again at her voice. It’s deep and scratchy, like she doesn’t use it much.
“Uh- yes?” You slowly relax your shoulders. The woman sits at the edge of the bed, still staring at you.
“I already patched up the scratches you had from falling down here.” She brings a hand to your arm and taps the bandage on it. You glance at it, having not realized it was there. “You’re lucky I found you before anything else did. You would probably be dead.”
You nod, at a loss of what to do. “Wait, how’d you know I fell in here?”
The woman chuckles. “That’s just how anyone would get here. Anyone who comes into the Abyss on purpose knows what they’re doing.”
“So this really is the Abyss..” You murmur in disbelief. “H-how do I get out?” you pause. “Is there a way out?”
The woman frowns. “You can get out. But that’d involve heading back to the entrance you took in and that area is very dangerous. I’d need to make sure you’re prepared for whatever might come to kill you.”
You shake your head. “I destroyed the portal that got me down here. I doubt it’s usable now." It strikes you that your friends don't know what happened. "Oh no… they probably think I'm dead…"
The woman’s frown deepens. “Then you’ll have to find another entrance, kid. Meaning you definitely need training.” She sighs, seeming annoyed.
This time, it’s your turn to frown. “First, I’m not a kid. Second, I can fight! Probably not as well as you, but I can hold my own against some monsters.”
The woman eyes you. “This is the Abyss, kid.” She puts emphasis on the nickname to mock you. “You’re going to need to at least be able to get a touch on me to survive down here.”
You sigh, frustrated. “Fine. As long as it gets me out of here.”
The woman grins and hops off the bed. “Get up. First part of training is learning how to get food.”
You push yourself off the bed as well, pulling your arms above your head to stretch your back. Realizing you never told her your name, you give it now. “I’m Y/N. What's your name?”
“Call me Skirk.” She responds. “Now get over here. I’m going to teach you how to skin a canyon rhino.”
《♤♡◇♧》
Skirk immediately puts you in a tough training regimen. Everyday is different, but follows a similar pattern. You wake up early, before the wretches begin their screeching. If you aren't up before then, Skirk comes and literally drags you out of bed. After you wake up, the two of you train together. This usually consists of you going over your spear and sword techniques and Skirk correcting them. Then you spar with Skirk. (You haven't won a single match.)
After sparring, the two of you go out and hunt for your meal. You eat and then do more training, but in the dangerous biomes the Abyss has. There are forests with thick fog and open plains where you can fall through the unstable ground. Skirk trains you in these places, preparing you for everything. Once that training is done, you eat dinner and go to sleep.
In between the training sessions, you tinker with your Akasha terminal, trying to find a way to communicate with someone in the human plane. So far, you have no leads. But this changes when Skirk deems you ready for the next step in training.
《♤♡◇♧》
You bite your tounge to stop yourself from asking where you were headed. Skirk was walking at a brisk pace in front of you, her short hair bobbing. Today, instead of training, Skirk had told you to follow her and proceeded to quickly set off. When you asked where, she only said that it was going to help with your training.
Skirk skirted (ha) around a large rock and stopped. "Here we are."
You carefully moved next to her, gazing at a medium sized hole in the ground. The strange part was the silvery white large tree root curved around the edges of the hole, creating a couch of sorts.
Skirk pointed down at it. "Starting today, we'll be working on absorbing and harnessing abyssal energy. That right there is one of Irminsul's roots."
You turn towards Skirk , confused. “But Irminsul is essentially the tree of light.. wouldn't that have a negative effect considering the Abyss's traces on me?"
Skirk chuckles at your conclusion. "You seem to know quite a lot about light and abyssal energy.”
You give a small smile. “I majored in it at the Akademia.”
Skirk hums. “Well if you studied it, I’m sure you know that all mortals have a bit of light energy in them, correct?”
She glances at you and you nod. “When you enter the Abyss, it will want to claim you as its own. It’s a way of survival. So, Abyssal energy will flow into your body and disrupt the natural balance of energies in it.”
“I’d bet having a Vison would make it easier, right? It allows you to control a specific element and its theorized that if you combine all the elements, you should get light energy…" You trail off, staring into space with a thoughtful expression.
Skirk chuckles. "Heh. Guess you are a smart one." She claps a hand on your shoulder. "Okay, focus up. I want you to try and tap into the light energy flowing through the root. You mentioned that your akasha thingamabobber could give you information that might help you out, right? So, use the light energy from Irminsul to sync with the mortal plane."
You nod, determination filling your face. You step towards the root and slowly lower yourself down next to it. Reaching into your pocket, you pull out the Akasha and attach it to your ear. Part of You're unsure of how to begin, but closing your eyes seems like a good first step.
You place a hand on the branch, straining your senses for anything. You feel a small humming and focus on that, feeling something sort of… flow through the branch.
"Good, you've got the energy. Focus on it." Skirk's voice reaches you in your semi-meditative state and you incline your head to show you heard her.
On your ear, the powered down Akasha Terminal flickers green. In your mind, you imagine the light flow leading you to Sumeru. You imagine lush rainforests, beautiful waterfalls, and a wide variety of wildlife. You think about the desert, full of windswept dunes, towering cliffs, and deep ravines. Finally, you imagine the Akademia, built right into a tree. You pull forward memories of walking through the halls with your friends, of laughing with Kaveh after pranking Alhathiam, of early morning tea with Lisa, of long nights poring over homework with Alhathiam.
A small smile blooms on your face. Thinking about your study sessions with Alhathiam brings a lot of fond memories to mind. You remember how he would help you through difficult writing assignments and challenge your thinking. You recall how he knew instinctively when you were getting frustrated with yourself and needed a break. You remember how he would let you stay over at his place when you fell asleep on the papers covering his desk.
The Akasha beeps three times before an automated voice brokenly speaks. “Ca… ing Scribe… haitham.”
You gasp, your eyes shooting open. “Skrik! Skirk, it worked! The akasha connected!”
Skirk kneels next to you. “Okay, see what information you can get out of it.”
“It’s calling one of my friends, I’m going to try to tell him what happened.” You press one hand to your akasha and keep the other on the root.
For a beat, all you can hear is static as the call attempts to connect. Then you hear a voice. “One moment, I have a call.”
You gasp softly. The audio quality is shit, but the voice is most definitely Alhathiam. You hear him inhale sharply. “The call… it’s from Y/N.”
You nod, before remembering he can’t see you. “Yes! Alhathiam, it’s me!”
“I know, it’s probably someone who got a hold on their akasha. Thought it’d be funny to prank me, heh.” Alhathiam seems to be talking to someone else. “Hello? Tell me who this is so I can take Y/N’s akasha from you.”
“Alhathiam, it’s me, it’s Y/N! Hathiam, I’m not dead! I’m in the Abyss!” You speak quickly, your voice desperate.
“I just hear static..” There’s a tone of disappointment in his voice. “Yes, I know. They died 3 years ago, I haven’t forgotten.”
You frown, confused. “What? Three years? Alhathiam, what are you talking about?”
A sigh comes from the other end, though it’s swallowed by static. “No need. It’s not worth the trouble.”
With that, the call ends. You lower your hand from your ear in shock. Skirk looks at you, concerned. “What happened?”
“He- he thinks I’m dead and that it’s been three years since I died.” Your voice is emotionless, almost dead.
"Well, there is a time dilation." Skirk places her hands on her hips. “It’s a months-to-days ratio. You’ve been down here 7 months, but up there it should have been 7 days. I’m not sure how 3 years could have happened…” Skirk trails off thinking.
You continue sitting where you are, trying to process this new information. You scour your brain for any reason as to why three years could have passed while you were in the abyss. Suddenly a thought strikes you.
“The portal the Akademia created was unstable when I fell in. Is it possible that it not only was a portal through space, but also through time?” You slowly push yourself up off the ground.
Skirk hums, entertaining your idea. “It’s possible.. And that’s probably what we’ll go with for now. The other options are… not as likely.”
You frown at her wary tone. “What did you think caused the time skip?”
“A very unlikely idea I had was that Istaroth, the god of time, caused the skip.”
Your eyes widen, shocked. “Wha- a god? But why would they do that for a mortal?”
Skirk shrugs. “Gods are mysterious beings with even more mysterious intentions.”
You sigh. “Well, at least we got some information.” a thought struck you. “Wait, if Alhathiam thinks I’m dead, that means the Akademia is lying to him! They’re probably lying to everyone about my death!” You feel rage beginning to burn through you.
“From what you’ve told me, it seems the Akademia is corrupt.” Skirk scoffs. “That’s the only way someone would be willing to make a deal with the Abyss Order. They’re completely power hungry.”
She begins striding away from you, heading back to her home. “Well, now you have more motivation.”
You nod, turning to follow her. “I’m going to get home and expose the Akademia for all their lies. I refuse to let the general public and my friends be tricked by them any longer.”
You make a fist and tap it to your chest, making an oath. “This I swear, with the Stars and the Abyss as my witnesses.”
Skirk turns to stare at you, her expression unreadable. Her eyes flick upwards, above your head. “Seems like the gods heard you.”
You follow her line of sight, finding a Pyro vision above your head, waiting for you to take it. You reach up and cup it in your hands. The vision lets out a small flare when your hands touch it. Surprisingly, it doesn’t hurt. Instead the flame feels like the warmth of loved ones surrounding you. You smile, accepting the vision.
Skirk sighs. “Alright, let’s get home. You have a lot more training ahead of you, now that you have a vision.”
---{+}---
About four more months have passed since acquiring your vision. Skirk had doubled down on your training and you rose to the challenge, determination fueling your every action. Within four months, you had near mastery over your vision and knew how to summon the Foul Legacy transformation. The two of you had three spars while using the transformation, just so you could get the hang of the body. After that, Skirk had told you to only use the transformation in dire moments, as it could save you from death.
Now, the two of you were chasing rifthounds out of your territory. You shot a burst of pyro at one and encased your legs in fire to take out another. Behind you, you heard the quick sound of Skirk killing a hound. The two of you slow down, the rifthounds getting the message and running away. You pull your arms over your head, stretching. “That’s all of them!”
“Good job.” Skirk slaps your back, already moving on. She steps over a fallen tree, one hand against the rocky cliff. “Let’s go find some food for-”
She stops, suddenly alert. You summon your sword, ready for another fight. “What is it?”
Skirk runs her hand over a spot in the cliff again. “I can feel the energy of a portal around here.”
You dispell your sword and move to stand next to Skirk. “Where?” Your hands move around the area she points out, searching for any trace of light energy. Then, you feel it. A small tendril of light energy, getting stronger as you move your hand up.
“It’s up there…” You whisper in shock. This might be it. You might finally be able to go home. “Skirk, the portal is up there!”
You face her, excited. However, the sad smile on her face dims your mood. “Skirk?”
“You’re right. A portal to the mortal world is up there.” She places both her weathered hands on your shoulders. “I already know what you’re thinking. And the answer is no. I cannot come with you.”
She sighs, head falling. “I’ve been down here for so long now. I’m basically a part of the Abyss. Not to mention the culture shock I’ll be getting, heh.”
Your eyes water and you wipe them with a hand, trying not to cry. “I won’t be able to visit you either, will I?”
Skirk shakes her head. “No, you won’t. It’s okay though. I’ll just have to get used to not having someone do the chores with me.” She chuckles at her attempt at a joke.
You bring your hands up and wrap them around Skirk, pulling her into a hug. “Thank you, Skirk. You’ve done so much for me. I appreciate it so, so much.”
She pats your back. “You’re welcome.” She retreats from the hug after a moment and wipes a tear from her eye. “Now, hop in that portal, get home, and go beat up some Akademia scum.”
You smile. “I will.”
With that, you face the cliff and begin climbing. The portal isn’t that far up, only a few meters. It’s hidden in a divot in the rocky wall. You stare at the familiar sight of swirling stars. Before you jump in, something Skirk said comes back to you.
You angle your body so you can look down at her. “Skrik.” You call.
“I wasn’t the first one down here, was I?” Skirk’s eyes crinkle at your question.
“No. A 14 year old boy from Snezhnaya was.” You exhale, thinking over her answer.
“Do you know what happened to him?” You finally ask.
Skrik hums. “No. Ajax got out the abyss same way he got in. I assume he tried to come back, that sentimental little rascal, but the portal closed.”
You look back at your portal, realizing this could close as well. “If you somehow meet him,” Skirk’s call makes you look back at her.
“If you meet him, tell him that I want him to keep getting stronger, but not to lose sight of why he’s getting stronger.” Skirk’s gaze sends shivers down your spine. “I don’t want him to be too power hungry.”
You nod. “I’ll pass it on.”
With that, you wave at Skirk for the last time and turn back towards the portal. You take a deep breath and slide in. The stars surround you, their light somewhat comforting. Similar to last time, you are falling. But now, you can sense the difference in energy. The Abyssal energy is retreating, being chased out by the light energy flowing in. You wince, the energies inside of you fighting to balance the influx of light energy.
Finally, the stars begin to brighten, filling your sight with white light. You close your eyes and feel your world twist as you land face first in dirt. You move your hand forward, pushing yourself up. Your eyes blink quickly, adjusting to the brighter setting. Taking in your surroundings, you find yourself next to a river with a waterfall cascading down just a stone’s throw away. You turn behind you to find another rocky wall, making up one side of a small ravine, with a bridge arching over the ravine.
You wipe dirt and grass from your face, realizing that you’re on the outskirts of Sumeru City. You stand up, checking to make sure you have your vision, weapons, and satchel still with you.
“Um..” You whip around, searching for the owner of the voice. Your eyes land on a young woman with hair colored a beautiful shade of red stepping from under the waterfall. She has a horned headdress with a veil covering the back of her head. The woman has a crop top with long puffy sleeves, Her skirt is short in the front, with longer pieces of fabric on the sides and back. She offers you a shy smile.
“Sorry if I startled you. I’m just a little confused..” She waves a hand over her head, pulling water away from her.
“Did you just..” She pauses to gather her words. “Come out of the cliff?”
You stare at her. “Are you with the Akademia?”
She waves a hand in surprise. “Oh goodness, no! I’m a dancer for the Zubayr Theatre. My name is Nilou.” Nilou smiles again.
Upon hearing her occupation, you realize she’s trustworthy. The Akademia doesn’t approve of performers and Nilou gives off very welcoming vibes.
“It’s fine if you don’t want to talk about whatever happened to you!” Nilou seems flustered. “You just.. Look like you need a little help. Ah, no offense!”
You chuckle at her. “Nilou, right?” The dancer jumps at your voice.
“Ah, yes, that’s right!” You sigh.
“I’ll answer your first question. It’s a long story though..”
Nilou’s face fills with surprise before she beams. “Oh, that’s no problem! I love long stories.”
She taps her chin, walking closer to you. “How about you come to my house? I can give you food if you’re hungry and we can sit down while you tell your story! Only if you’re comfortable with that.”
You nod. “That’s fine.”
Nilou laughs lightly. “This way then! Follow me!”
She begins walking off, before glancing behind her again. “By the way, what’s your name?”
You smile. “I’m Y/N, the scholar the sages everyone has told is dead.”