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Nene sighed, leaning backward in the couch’s arm as her hat fell off her head, stopping mid-air before it hit the wooden floor. Engulfed by a soft green light, it floated to rest on her chest.
“This is getting boring.” The book she was reading wasn't quite enough anymore; thus, it was quickly closed as she sat up and put her pointy hat on once more. Next to her, a tall man hummed a melody, focused on—Nene’s guess—a new invention. “Rui, what are you scheming this time?”
One of her only friends at the time, years ago, was a sweet boy from her village. Now, he was… Still a boy, at least, and she appreciated him no matter what inventions or dangerous experiments he was working on.
That was something that had always been a part of him, anyway. Rui and Nene were quickly lumped together back when they were kids, two excellent magic students whose power was far bigger than their schoolmates’; it was for that and the fact that both of them had been orphaned by illness that they stuck together.
Rui had a strong fixation Nene couldn't relate to, though, with an ancient god. It was said that they were powerful enough to grant any wish to those who managed to awaken them—which made the dangerous price worth it, for you could even ask for eternal life if you were naïve enough to think that would be a blessing. Whether he wanted to find them or just study their story remained a mystery to the little Nene, who nodded with a “that's nice” when Rui went on and on talking about the gods. At least, until a third, curious kid was brave enough to approach them.
“Rui, you're so weird.” Nene looked up even before Rui could react, a conflicted expression bathing her face as the small stranger continued talking. “What do you even want from a god?”
She was about to be really brave and tell him to leave them alone when Rui placed a gentle hand on her back, as if reading her thoughts, and responded with a smile.
“I want a wish, of course.”
“But what wish? Everyone has wishes!”
“Hm…” His amber eyes seemed to move towards his friend for an instant. “To end this world. I’d like a new one.”
Perhaps Nene, even as an orphan and an outcast, was too young to understand why the kind Rui would wish for such a thing. Stunned, she didn't ask about it; neither did the kid who hurried to leave once he let Rui know how weird and scary he was.
But when she got up from the couch in a confined wooden cabin lost in the woods, waking up to her friend who had grown pretty tall for a not-too-healthy man, it had been years since she understood Rui’s point.
He must've been tired. Tired from the world that stole his parents from him, tired from the world in which he was cast aside and insulted by his peers. Tired from the world that feared two powerful sorcerers to the point of exiling them. To an extent, Nene was too, even if she wouldn't ask for such a drastic wish. They were the same, after all—but living alone was not as bad, especially if she had two friends to be with her.
“What are you working on this time?”
“Teleportation stones. Even though teleportation itself is an energy-draining spell, these stones should have enough of my—enough general magic power to…”
“…Hey, Rui. Did you sleep well this night?”
“Of course. Do you doubt me, Nene?”
“Look at me, then.”
“…” Rui paused for one too many seconds. “Each one of these holds enough magic power for one spell. I believe it will come in handy in case we need to do a last-minute escape. Especially for Aoyagi-kun, who is not a magic user himself.”
If it was true they were outcasts, Rui and Nene had managed to find a couple of friends who would fight by their side. Like Kanade, a powerful witch chased away from every village due to stories that accused her of bringing bad luck to those around her wherever she went, or Touya, an earnest young man who seemed to harbor complicated feelings towards the royal family. Out of the four of them, the latter was the only one who couldn't use powerful magic.
“Why do we need these for?”
“Oh? Didn't I tell you?” Perhaps he had been too busy pulling an all-nighter or two. “I've figured out the location of the god’s mausoleum.”
“That's impressive. Why the stones, though? If we're careful, it should be fine.”
“It's deep into enemy territory. I must admit the royal knights are intelligent, living around a terrifying being as a sacrifice to stop bandits from assaulting the tomb. Despite that, I don't think mere bandits can find out the way to awaken them from their slumber.”
“But we're not bandits.”
“Exactly.” Rui looked at her, flexing a pink and yellow-colored crystal. “And thanks to this, even if solving whatever mystery may await us takes too long, we can retreat and come back later on.”
“Rui.” He froze for a moment. When he wanted to look away, it was already too late for him. His friend was pouting, purple gaze catching on his horrid eye bags. “Go to sleep. You… did well, so get some rest.”
On a different occasion, maybe he would have chuckled and brushed it off. However, as Nene leaned forward a little, his poor, sleep-deprived eyes couldn't look away from hers, so he could only feel heat rushing to his face as he covered his face with his hand. Hell, even the greatest sorcerers were allowed to have one weakness or two, right? His just happened to be a short, shy childhood friend.
“I understand. I planned to sleep after these stones were ready”. He lied, and Nene knew that was a lie, but she was probably nice enough to overlook it. “I'll go now.”
“You’re hopeless…” Still, she cherished him deeply, so she looked over the tall man to make sure he reached his chamber safely. “I suppose I'll go into town alone today, then. We're running short on supplies.”
The next day, another pair arrived at their place. A tall man around Nene’s age stood up, never getting too far from the door. In truth, having grown closer to both Rui and Nene, Touya wasn't a rare visitor there anymore, especially not when, close to him, a kind woman known as an evil witch, rarely seen outside her home, inspected the same stones Rui had been working on.
“…Amazing”. Faintly, she smiled. Kanade’s expressions were never exaggerated, yet always kind and warm, defying the title she had been given over time. She was powerful, maybe more than the inventor himself, and almost as knowledgeable as him. “What are you going to use these for, though…?”
“Nene and I will try to find a way into the ancient mausoleum this full moon.”
It was not only the girl; none of their guests was too expressive, yet both of them had their eyes widen in response as Touya stepped forward.
“I can't allow that. The kingdom is a dangerous place, if you two are caught—!”
“That's why I came up with these crystals. Our plan was carefully crafted, but I'm aware it remains dangerous. If we were to be caught, we’d make our escape by making use of them.”
Nene has been quiet, almost as if absent until then. She understood Touya’s uneasiness, as she felt anxiety clench her heart herself, even if maybe for a different reason. For as long as they'd been together, Rui had always been fixated on his goal. Nene believed in him, knew he was likely looking for a world better than theirs, a world she would be glad to see too; thus, she never questioned him or his overlook of the price mentioned in every tale. Even so, she couldn't help but worry his objectives would one day swallow him whole.
“We'll be fine.” She whispered. “Rui’s magic is powerful.”
Touya looked at her for a moment before he lowered his head, fist clenched ever so slightly as Kanade spoke up.
“Still, you made four of these, so… are we going too?”
“I believe it's safer if only Nene and I enter the place itself, for the smaller the group is, the easier it is to conceal ourselves. However, if you'd be so kind, having you keep watch would be of big help.”
“I'll go. I, who know the place all too well, can't let personal feelings stop me from lending you a hand.”
“Me too. Though you are powerful sorcerers yourselves, I hope my assistance will be useful still.”
“Wonderful. In that case, you can keep those crystals. Let's move on with…”
Nene had spaced out by then, conflicted feelings growing inside of her. Whether she was doing the right thing, whether being no longer alone and having their friends on her and Rui’s side was positive or negative.
It's not like she harbored jealousy in her heart.
Not only the two childhood friends, their other acquaintances—an evil witch and a traitor far more skilled with the sword than your average knight—had also been pursued out of the kingdom in the name of being surrounded by darkness; that's what they all heard back then. However, for a place that claimed to protect light from kind evil witches and loyal traitors, Nene found herself engulfed by a scary scenery, so dark her eyes had trouble seeing what was in front of them, only protected by the full moon’s faint gleam shining over them.
As she should have guessed, an ancient god capable of granting any wish would not have their resting place be offensively close to some cemetery, near nobodies that died before they could leave a legend with their name behind. But she knew that, in the eyes of the population there, neither she nor their friends deserved a resting place as kind as a neat tomb, so she couldn't look down on the dead even if she wanted to.
Exile meant nothing, though. No matter what kings or villagers said, the back in front of Nene was that of a kind man. A man that had endured too much yet always treated her with kindness. If, God forbid, she ever had to bury him soon, she would make sure to find a hill as beautiful as his soul, for he deserved to rest adorned by flowers gentle like he was.
“Rui, you should have this.”
Despite not being heavy at all, the stone was weighing on her. Rui’s love was too heavy for her legs to keep on moving towards their goal.
“It'll be safer if each one of us has their own escape route. I wouldn't want you to fall behind.”
“Still, I don't think we'll need them”. She shook her head. “You're smart. The only way for the knights to find us would be for somebody to tell them our plan… And I don't think Yoisaki-san and Aoyagi-kun would do that.”
He stopped for a moment, not even considering that option.
“I'll hold onto it, then. Once this is over, I’ll cherish it and give it back as a gift.”
“Jeez, what would I want this for?”
She was smiling, though.
“That will remind you how important you are.” He continued walking. “You're the only reason I kept on living in a rotten world.”
“Eh…?”
“And also my reason to start it anew. Once this is all over, I promise I'll take you to a place where you can watch the blue sky without any regrets.”
And when he smiled at her, gentle as the wind that brushed against her skin, Nene understood the feeling growing inside of her. Rather than jealousy, she was drowning in guilt, undeserving of gasping for air.
“Let's go back, Rui. I like this world because you're with me; I don't need a new one. As long as you stay by my side, I… I don't need anything else.”
“You’re too kind. There's no need to worry about me, Nene.”
“I'm not—” Her words didn't come out. Behind Rui, a small, silent flare flew towards the sky. Magic cast by Kanade, both of them knew the meaning of it. “They're here.”
Of course they were.
Rui wasted no time. He took Nene’s wrist, pulling her closer as his back hit a tree long enough to cover their location, offering his protection once more, unwavering despite unknown voices getting closer.
“Are you sure they're here?”
“That's what the girl in town said!”
“Have you considered maybe you're just too gullible?”
“How could you say that!? I believe in our citizens, of course!”
Nene recognized that voice. Her fingers closed on a fist, only able to look at Rui out of the corner of her eye, even though his gaze was serious and not even looking at her at first. It was then, when his golden eyes met hers and he smiled again, that she understood.
He knew the traitor Nene worried about had always been standing by his side.
“I was worried. I didn’t want you throwing yourself away.” Her voice came out as a broken whisper.
“I know.”
“You need to go back.”
Rui kept silent, and Nene was struggling to find words that could convey all she wanted to tell him. Yet, she herself gave up. He should be angry at her, push her away and throw her to the knights. And yet, his fingers wrapped warmly around her wrist; not enough to hurt her, but firm in a way that prevented her from giving herself away. Even though the knights looking for them would probably forgive the girl who shared the plan with them.
“I also like that about this world.”
“Huh?”
“The fact that you’re in it with me.” He let her wrist go. Instead, his right hand moved to her forehead, moving her bangs out of the way, while his left hand held hers. “That’s why, once this is over, I hope we can be together forevermore.”
He placed a kiss on her forehead. It wasn't the first time he kissed her, but she knew it was the last.
“I love you. You'd never be a traitor in my eyes.”
Just like that, he disappeared with the wind, leaving only a small, cold, pink and yellow stone behind in her hands. And just like that, alone in the darkness, Nene fell to her knees. She, who only wished for her friend to be safe, thus betrayed him so cruelly, watched her actions all backfire as she suddenly lost the warmth thath had always been by her side.
Hands growing cold, she clasped them together around the magic stone, and only Rui’s words echoed in her head when she vanished as well.