V3 Chapter 8

Cian woke up in the thick of a forest.

“W-What happened...”

After shaking his head a couple of times he stood up.

“Owowow.”

As he moved pain began running through his body—though not something that would limit his movements. He didn’t know how long he’d been lying face down, but it was certainly long enough for the pattern of scratchy strands of grass to embed itself in his cheek.

Blinking himself to consciousness in the spots of light that flew around—bugs that looked like fireflies flying around. Then, he saw green mountains, hills, and valleys wherever he looks. He then tried to remember how he got there. He had tried to remember why he had passed out. But the only thing in his mind was a pressing headache.

He drew up his knees and pulled himself to a sitting position, fighting the sudden dizziness that came over him. He leaned back against a rock protrusion which was quite hard and rough, though it allowed his mind to clear. With the remnant of the cold air of the night lingering around his skin, he took a deep breath. His lungs were filled with cold air. The comfortable chilliness was gradually causing his sleepy body to awaken.

Breathing deep, he relaxed his whole body.

What am I doing?

He thought as his vision slowly cleared. He was trying to remember what had happened before he had lost consciousness when he noticed something. He went stiff when he realized he was not the only one lying on the ground. He immediately turned his head and was startled to see a familiar woman/ man beside him. It was none other than Asceius who seemed to be having a hard dream with his brows furrowed. Cian smiled wryly.

Ah…that’s right…

He finally recalled what had happened. Though, there’s actually nothing to remember. They just entered through a pair of enormous doors which Asceius said to be the entrance. Forcing through your way will only get you killed it seems—unless you enter through these doors.

Well, Cian didn’t doubt it as he had already confirmed that this ruin was truly located in another plane or dimension. Forcing your way through it would mean going through the void space—only an idiot who doesn’t want his life would do that.

No matter how strong you are, you will be torn apart by the enormous force of the void, annihilating even your soul.

Cian followed Asceius. However, when they entered through the door, he suddenly felt sudden dizziness struck him and he lost consciousness.

And that was when he woke up… in this weird place…

While grimacing in pain, Cian checked for injuries on his body.

I thought it would be much worse, but this isn't that bad...

I'm inside a forest?

No, I guess this is more like in the middle of a mountain....?

That was when first noticed his surroundings.

An abundance of thick trees being shone up by the evening light and the ground was at a slight incline. Based on his surroundings, Cian realized he was in the middle of a mountain and that he was alone with Asceius. He stood up and flew in the air, only to see a very moving sight. Cian had prepared himself to see some incredible sights, which he could not have imagined in his simple homeland; Earth. But nothing could have primed him for the sheer spectacle of what certainly was paradise.

Night, it was night time it seems. However, it was filled with countless blinking stars and large three moons—blue, silver, and red, three different colors, where the silver looked like Saturn with a beautiful ring around. What made it even more moving was the existence of the floating islands.

A cluster of islands that float around the floating continent. Their sizes ranged from that of a house to those spanning several kilometers in size. It was an incredible sight as they floated around, some staying in the same place, while others were obviously moving along with the wind as if they were as weightless as feather or clouds.

Their numbers seemed dozens, though Cian was certain that there should still be more floating islands in every direction. Cian wanted to see for himself and explore the floating islands, but the height as they floated in the sky was different from each other, as there were those who were in a much, much higher place. Only small islands can be seen on the lowest level.

However, the sleeping beauty is still on the ground. And Cian can’t do without him due to the information he might have that might be valuable in this adventure.

Cian turned his attention to the forest beneath him, and only saw a vast expanse that seemed to know no limits—the boundaries so far beyond the entrance that none could ever hope to find them. The grass was rich and swayed in the breeze that swept over the plains without pause. The night sky was scattered with stars that consisted of formations Cian could not recognize.

After looking and savoring the view for a while, he landed back on the ground. As expected, the sleeping beauty is still sleeping. He walks towards the bushes and flowers. The plant life within this place was complex; many flowers that grew were obvious hybrid creations from unknown lineage. Some proved beautiful while others were obvious mistakes, and had become naught more than weeds in need of removal.

“Still, what kind of tree is this?”

As Cian looked at his surroundings again, he noticed that the forest might look like that of those in the Continent, or in the Black Lands which was he was already quite familiar with even if they are quite different from those from Earth. He had never seen any of the types of trees in this forest. He then turned his eyes down to his footing, and he couldn't remember seeing any grass growing there. He couldn't find anything that he had seen before. He felt like he was seeing a CG forest in a movie. However, his surroundings felt far more realistic than a movie.

Kuii, kuii!!

A large bird flew past Cian while crying. It must have been at least 10 to 20 meters large.

“Another fancy thing,”

The moment he saw the bird, Cian’s glance was fixed on it and his lips curved into a wry smile. At first glance, it seemed like a bird, but upon closer inspection, it was a reptile with the appearance of a bird. He had seen many kinds of monsters and even those recorded in books and encyclopedias. However, he never heard or even read that kind of creature before.

“It looks like a lizard you'd fight in a game...”

It was almost like a monster that would appear in a game.

That was an apt description of this flying reptile.

The reptile completely ignored Cian and continued flying. By spreading its large wings, it grabbed the air like a bird and flew far away in a short moment. Cian wanted to hunt it and eat it to see what kind of ability he would obtain. However, its flying speed was abnormally fast that it had traveled a dozen meters in an instant.

Cian worried that even if he was able to outrun it with Abyssal Hawk’s wings, he would be then leaving the sleeping beauty in this kind of place, which was far dangerous. Hence, he could only let it be. In any case, he has so much free time to play in this place.

This place is truly a wonderful venue for an adventure…

“But still, this guy sleeps too much, doesn’t he?”

Cian smiled wryly as he walked over Ascieus.

… …

“Hey, wake up,”

Asceius stirred in his sleep, frowning. However, after a series of tugging, even a heavy sleeper would wake up. He slowly opened his eyes only to see a pair of red jewels with a cat’s eye on them staring at him with a clear amused smirk.

His mind was completely blank, and he could not think properly. He merely stared blankly at the pair of eyes staring at him. He could even notice the strange glint of amusement that can be seen flashing within those beautiful jewels—?

Eh, they are not jewels, they are…

“?!!”

It was a face, a very familiar face and Asceius felt his nerves jerked and stilled. He could only stare at those dazzling pair of rubies that were flashing with a mysterious glint along with a clear hint of amusement.

And Asceius could only blink blankly at them.

The breath from the slightly opened mouth was shaking the air.

“Yo—u—”

“Yow, good evening sleepy head. How’s your sleep?”

A sweet smile appeared on the black-haired youth with oversized fox ears at the top of his head. And before he could react—

“?!!”

“Woah, easy there, you could have bashed my head, and disfigured me, you know”

The fox youth hurriedly withdraw his head as Asceius, startled, raised his body in shock. If the Fox youth didn’t have inhuman reflexes, he would surely have headbutted with Asceius. That would have been painful. The Fox youth shot back a long, hard look.

“What’s the deal?”

“You! You! What are you doing!?”

Asceius asked in rage. He scooted back with incredible speed while placing his arms in front of his chest as if he was a maiden having been assaulted.

Looking at this scene, the Fox youth, Cian Cahlo couldn’t help but smile wryly.

“Stop acting like that. You make me feel as if I’m a rapist. It would have been good if it’s a beautiful woman, but you are a man obviously. Don’t make me look like a pervert!” he said, a trace of humor creeping into his voice.

“You are a pervert!” Asceius cried out with a face completely dyed in red. Though, however, it added quite a feminine touch to his beauty that it almost charmed even Cian.

Clearly, he was not used to being spoken to with anything less than total reverence. For an instant, it looked as if he might once again lunge at him, with intent to kill. However, after looking at his clothes, which are intact, and the around him, his expression finally regained its calm.

“We’re already inside the ruins?” he muttered, which Cian just shrugged off while dusting his clothes and stood up.

“Now then sleeping princess, where are we?”

After giving Cian another appraising look, he said, “I don’t know.”

This causes him to receive someone's glare.

“You claimed you have come into this land before, and I had taken your words in my heart. No map or anything useful to tell directions in your beautiful wardrobe, princess? Because I’m pretty sure we’re part north. A map can surely help in finding any civilizations, which would be a good way to start,”

Being called a princess by Cian made Asceius wanted to beat him up. However, he was certain that this would only garner even more amusement to this strange but mystifying mischievous fox of unknown origin. So he held back and didn’t try to argue with him, as the matter stands, there’s much more important to focus all of his energy at.

“There’s no map for the Ruins of the Gods.”

He said, a wry smile appearing on his lips. And as expected, a scowl appeared on the other’s face. Ahh, Asceius actually had an urge to immortalized this scene, too bad, he can only store this amusing picture in his mind.

“Excuse me?”

Cian stared at her, and his eyes glistened.

“Am I right to think that you don’t have a map in this place, or that you forgot to bring one...which, of course, I could forgive both for I am not that narrow-minded and our cooperation is still at hand. However, please do forgive me, princess but I don’t want to think for all the times your clan and people have entered this mystical place, not one had ever thought of making a map? That reason should not be the case, right?”

Asceius could see a dangerous glint on his eyes as if he would start cursing and mocking him and his people.

“Of course not,” he answered brusquely.

“The Ruins of the Gods changed every time, it didn’t have a fixed location, or pattern as far as I know. North, South, East, West all directions are different in each opening as if it was a different world than the previous last. When you think there is a temple in the east, you will find that it is suddenly in the west or north. When you think there is a city at the center of the valley, then you find it gone, and another different city was located at the top of the mountain. Maps are useless in this world—were space, dimension, and time is a mess,”

“…Fair enough,”

Cian listened to his words, but upon seeing no lie in his eyes he believed.

“Well, as the first thing to do is look for a place to settle. I had scouted the place when you are sleeping and it seems there is no civilization or village, if there ever is one in this mystical place, within a kilometer range. Beyond that, I didn’t dare venture far without your advice,”

“At least you are wise,”

Asceius smiled faintly as he dusted his clothes.

“You said this is north, how did you know?”

“Instinct,”

Cian said with a smug expression.

“… …” his mouth twitched. Then he rolled his eyes and he looked extremely adorable when he did. “Anyway, it’s good that you waited for me, and how sweet of you to not leave me. This world might look peaceful and safe, but it never was. Monsters here are much more powerful and ferocious than the outside world. And maybe not as many as there, maybe they don’t lurk behind every tree in the forest, but they are always everywhere. Looking for a moment when you let your guard down, they will pounce on you with utmost danger and power. Don’t let the scenery fools your eyes, it will cost you your life,”

“I’ll remember that,” said Cian with a faint, indifferent smile.

“I’ll find some rhymes and composed a song about how dangerous illusions can be, as I sing it along our journey,”

“Do. But don’ expect great applause,”

Asceius rolled his eyes at the latter's carefree and laid back expression.

It’s as if not a word he had said had entered the oversized ears of this fox youth. He finally wondered if those oversized ears are just accessories? After bantering, the two of them started checking out their surroundings. As they did, Cian suddenly stops and looked around, “Look, Asceius. Isn’t it beautiful here? Idyllic, damn it. A feast for the eyes, a curer of soul,”

Cian had prepared himself to see some incredible sights, which he could not have imagined in his simple homeland; Earth. But nothing had prepared him for what he had seen in this world.

The land sloped gently down to a mosaic of flat, abundant valleys and hills picked out in variously colored flowers of unknown origin. The horizon was traced by a misty blue line of mountains rising above the black, shapeless stretch of the forest. The forest seemed old, however. The trees grew massive, hundreds of feet into the air. There was a large spacing between the large trunks, but the floor of the forest was littered with detritus from fallen branches and thick undergrowth.

But what most Cian wanted to keep as a memento of this wonderful scenery he had laid his eyes in, was the air that was filled with the song of birds and other strange creatures that filled the branches above his head. The light of the moons filtered through the leaves, leaving beautiful light spots, but the canopy was thick enough that its position could not be clearly pinpointed.

A beautiful scenery of peace and tranquility—one that is void of violence and bloodshed.

Cian truly loves this kind of place.

But Asceus doesn’t seem to share the same thoughts.

“It’s just similar to the Black Lands, peace and its illusion tranquility that perfectly concealed the hidden danger beneath. What’s so good about it?” the prince shrugged as he raised one of his eyebrows in wonder.

“That’s because you are not me. You can never appreciate the beauty of nature, and felt the loss of it when it’s gone.”

You can barely see this scenery back on Earth, of course, here is even much more beautiful with the existence of floating islands and strange colorful flowers, animals, and clear water. A fantasy setting for sure—much more fantastical scenery than that of the Continent.

“Trying to be poetic, are you? Time change, but the world would never. Centuries had passed, and yet this kind of scene had been constant and never changing.”

Cian smiled wryly; “That is if the world progressed not with magic but science…” however, he didn’t say those things out loud as Asceius wouldn’t understand it anyway.

With the lack of magic, people depend on tools and useful devices, and because of that, Science developed significantly. However, along with the development of science, things very important had been affected in many ways.

Magic goes according to nature.

But perhaps, Science goes against it?

Well, whatever happens, Earth and this world are clearly standing on the opposite side.

… …