Dune and Nely floated together on the boat as the gentle waves rocked them. Nely worked quietly, making small enhancements to the vessel. Once satisfied, she sighed and lay back, staring at the sky.
"Bunny, what's the plan?" she asked casually. "I'm thinking we find a high place, rest there for a while, and take turns keeping watch. We can wait until these crazy bastards kill each other. Then we can win without even fighting."
Dune shook his head, his expression serious. "No, we're not doing that, and there's no "we".
"I have to find my friend and brother here first. I can't let them die." His tone was firm. "I won't stay in one place for long. I gotta keep moving until I find Ned and Atlas, and kill anyone who gets in my way. If you don't like this plan, then go your own way. I'll go alone."
Nely raised an eyebrow, clearly unimpressed. "Why are you so cold all of a sudden? I wasn't even going to disagree, but now you're making me want to. I don't know who you were before the trial, but you better watch your tone when you talk to me. Remember, we're on *my* boat."
Dune blinked, caught off guard by her words, He went silent for a moment. She's right, it's her boat. His thoughts spiraled as he clenched his fists.
The moment I get to land, I'll leave her. That's the best choice. I don't need anyone else around me causing more trouble.
But something inside him resisted. His hands trembled slightly, and his jaw tightened. *Why is this so hard? Why can't I just make a clean decision?*
There was a tug of war within him, an unfamiliar pull he couldn't ignore. He gritted his teeth.
*You damn brat.* He knew exactly what it was the part of him from before. The trial version of himself without memories. That side of him was interfering, trying to steer him in another direction.
"Are you okay?" Nely's voice cut through his thoughts. Her hand rested gently on his shoulder, grounding him.
Dune flinched slightly before brushing her hand away.
Nely sighed, arms crossed as she studied him. "Why did you hesitate to use Nebastep?"
Dune tensed, caught off guard. "What do you mean?"
She locked eyes with him, unyielding. "I told you twice to use it. If I hadn't, you wouldn't have used it at all." Her voice was sharp, but not unkind. "Dune… are you trying to reject your trial self? Don't you get it? There aren't two versions of you. It's just you. Accept yourself."
His jaw clenched. "You don't know anything about me," he muttered. "Don't talk like you do."
For a moment, she held his gaze, searching for something in him. Then she looked away, disappointment flickering across her face.
"I miss the old Bunny," she muttered quietly, sitting back and staring off into the distance.
"Don't call me that."
Nely watched him, her patience thinning. *This idiot. I didn't realize he was this stubborn. I miss when he didn't have his memories and was just an innocent little cat.* She leaned back with a sigh.
I guess I got lucky when I lost my own memories, I wasn't so different from who I am now. But this guy? He's the complete opposite. Still... I can't just let him die here, can I?*
The two sat in silence for a few minutes, the only sound coming from the gentle lapping of water against the boat, then night came and Nely fall asleep while Dune watched the boat.
Nely drifted into dreams of her past. She saw her mother, father, and little sister, reliving every important memory. She remembered starting at the academy and the loving way her parents treated her.
But then the scene shifted abruptly to a nightmare: their house engulfed in red Neba fire.
Inside the burning house, Nely stood, crying and looking in every direction. In front of her, her father fought against a man named Matiane, who called himself the Apostle of the God of War. Her father shouted, "Go! Save Mom and your sister!"
Nely ran as fast as she could, her energy almost depleted from using both her Neba and Zeten. She reached her sister's room, finding her sister standing in the middle of the room, scared.
Nely hugged her tightly, and they both ran downstairs, suffering small burns as they navigated through the flames.
They were nearly out of the house when another masked man appeared and stabbed her sister in the chest with a long red sword.
Nely screamed and charged at the man, but he easily avoided her and sliced her chest and shoulders with his sword, giving her deep wounds. She fell to the ground, crawling desperately toward her little sister, who was slowly losing her life.
Through the doorway, she could see her mother being killed by another masked man outside the house. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her already dead sister.
The fire consumed the house, and the masked men left, leaving Nely to be burned alive in red Neba. The physical pain was immense, but it was nothing compared to the pain of losing the most precious things in her life.
She woke up with a start, her body drenched in sweat and her heart pounding. The memories felt so real, the loss so fresh. Tears streamed down Nely's face as she cried, her voice choked with sorrow.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's my fault. If only I wasn't so weak. If I was not Zeten, if I wasn't born, maybe all this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault..."
She wiped her tears and looked up at the sky, her gaze distant and thoughtful. Dune, lying nearby, appeared to be asleep, his back turned to her and his breathing steady.
She sighed softly, then stood and waved her hand, her Neba swirling into a soft, glowing blanket that gently settled over him. For a moment, she lingered, her expression unreadable, before sitting back down and hugging her knees, her eyes returning to the moonlit sky.
Dune wasn't asleep. Her tears unsettled him in a way he didn't fully understand. It wasn't pity, it was something more complicated, something that gnawed at him but refused to take shape. Regret? Maybe. Why should I feel bad?*
Yet, as he lay there, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He didn't know much about her, three days was barely enough to call them allies, let alone friends, but he felt something tugging at him. A faint whisper to do… something.
Finally, he turned over slightly, pretending it was to get more comfortable. His eyes peeked open just enough to see her sitting quietly under the moonlight.
Before he knew what he was doing, the words came out, awkward and unpolished. "You know, crying won't change anything."
Nely stiffened and turned to face him, her eyes narrowing. Dune immediately realized how it sounded. His face flushed with embarrassment.
Nely blinked at him, then let out a soft laugh that grew into a quiet chuckle. She shook her head, wiping at her eyes again. "Bunny you're really bad at this."
Dune grumbled, lying back down and pulling the blanket over his head to hide his face. "Stop calling me that. And just… go back to sleep."
There was a pause, the kind that felt heavier than silence. Then, in a quieter, more serious tone, Dune spoke again.
"But you know," he said, his voice cutting through the night air, "If you want something to change, you have to fight for it. If you're crying because of them, because of the gods, you can't just sit here and hope they'll care. Because they won't."
"If you want revenge, then stop wasting time crying about it and start surviving. That's the only way you're going to get it. You survive, you get stronger, and then you make them pay."
He finally turned his head slightly to look at her, his black eye glinting in the moonlight. "If that's what you want, then I'll help you, I'll fight with you. I hate those bastards too you know."
Nely stared at him, her expression unreadable. For a moment, she didn't say anything, just studying his face. Then, she let out a soft chuckle, shaking her head.
"You really are an idiot," she said, her voice lighter now, almost teasing. "But… thanks i guess.. I'll think about it."
Dune huffed, turning away again and pulling the blanket tighter around himself. "Whatever. Just go back to sleep. I'll watch for few
More hours."
Nely smiled, leaning back against the boat and gazing at the stars.
"Goodnight, Dune."
And then, next day they reached the land.
Nely and Dune jumped off the boat. As it dissolved into green Neba, it returned to Nely's body. Ahead of them, beyond the beach, enormous trees marked the edge of a vast forest.
What caught their attention most was the sight of a fire-ravaged area, evidence of recent destruction.
Trees lay cut and charred, suggesting that something significant had occurred here, perhaps only nights ago. The scene filled them with apprehension, wondering what could have caused such devastation in this remote wilderness.
Suddenly, two strangers emerged from the forest, tension hanging heavy in the air. Nely instinctively conjured an green sword, while Dune held his own.
The strangers, one with brown hair and eyes, the other with long black hair and eyes, raised their hands in a gesture of peace. Both of them wore weird outfits that neither Dune nor Nely had seen before.
"Hey, calm down," the brown-haired guy said. "We mean no harm. Look, I don't even have a weapon."
Nely hesitated, exchanging a glance with Dune, who subtly bowed his head. Taking the cue, Nely made he sword disappear.
"I'm Jake, and the guy next to me is Nate," the brown-haired guy began. "We both came here to see if there were any other survivors."
"On the other side of the island, we have 8 more Zetens, food, and a place to stay for now. We can figure things out along the way. If you follow us, you won't regret it."
Both Jake and Nate had bags on their shoulders. Nely and Dune were hungry. After thinking for a long moment, they silently followed the two strangers into the forest.
As they ventured deeper into the forest behind Jake and Nate, Nely and Dune couldn't shake off the sense of unease. Yet, hunger gnawed at their stomachs, and the promise of food and shelter outweighed their reservations.
They walked carefully through the thick forest. Tall trees with twisted branches casting patches of shadow on the ground. The air smelled of pine and wet earth, and they could hear leaves rustling as small creatures moved around unseen.
Suddenly, the peaceful silence broke. Something jumped out from the bushes with a fierce growl. A pack of red wolves, eyes glowing with hunger, they charged at the group. Their snarls echoed through the forest as they closed in quickly.
The squad braced themselves, but Nate stepped forward confidently. He raised his hand, which glowed with bright green Neba. The air around him seemed to hum with power.
With a powerful motion, he unleashed a wave of green Neba that shot forward and exploded, killing all the wolves instantly. The blast tore up the ground and trees, leaving a smoking, wrecked clearing where the wolves had been.
Nely and Dune stood still, shocked by the sudden display of power. The smell of burnt wood filled the air. The forest was quiet again, except for the distant chirping of birds, startled by the sudden noise.
*So it was you,* Dune thought, looking at Nate.
Nate turned to them, his face calm. "monsters usually don't go near the beach. I'm surprised they even left the deep forest and came here.
Let's keep moving," he said, as if nothing unusual had happened.
After a few minutes of walking in the forest, Jake broke the silence.
"So, are you two gonna introduce yourselves? I already said my name. I have a yellow Zeten and Green Neba."
Nate chimed in, "I'm Nate, and my Zeten is orange, my Neba is green."
Nely spoke next, "Nely, my Zeten is orange and Neba is green." A lie.
Dune followed suit, "I'm Dune. Green Neba and Zeten."
Jake's interest was piqued. "Orange Zeten? Impressive and I saw how your boat disappeared, that's an interesting ability. The leader will be happy to see you. You guys will like him. He's probably the strongest Zeten I've seen."
Dune and Nely exchanged glances, contemplating what meeting this leader would entail. Dune smiled. Strongest Zeten ever? What would Jake's reaction be if he saw Atlas? Dune couldn't help but chuckle silently.
As they walked, they finally reached a stopping point. Jake pointed to a small tunnel built into the wall of rocks, about ten meters above them.
They jumped up, enhancing their legs with neba to achieve greater heights. Nely held Dune's hand, and they also jumped, landing at the entrance of the tunnel. Dune didn't want to reveal Nebastep yet.
The cave in the rocks wasn't small, nor was it overly large. Jake and Nate sat inside, taking out their bags and necessary items like knives, food, water, and more. Nely and Dune sat together on the opposite side. *where did they get this? Dune thought.
Nate chuckled as he took out a water bottle and threw it to them. Dune was surprised to see the bottle. It wasn't glass, nor was it clay. This was his first time seeing this material.
"What is this?" Dune asked.
Jake and Nate were confused. "Water?" Nate responded.
"I know that. What is it made of? The bottle,"
Nate looked at him, puzzled. "Obviously plastic. How do you not know that? Were you living in a cave?" Jake and Nate laughed.
Nely chimed in, "I didn't know what it was either."
Jake and Nate looked even more confused. Then Dune asked, "You guys aren't from Sanatria, right?"
Nely was shocked. She hadn't thought about that possibility. So in trials there were Zetens from all the continents... She was suspicious of Jake and Nate's weird clothes too but didn't think much about it before.
Jake spoke, "We are from Seraphein."
[ Seraphein is the most technologically advanced continent, comparable to Earth's 21th century. ]