Just as he thought he was about to lose her once more, she began to slow down, allowing Roy to catch up to her. He stumbled out of the dense foliage and into a wide-open clearing that seemed to be straight out of a fairy tale.
He leaned over, placing his hands on his knees and panting for air as he tried to recover from the run. Aika stood next to him, looking out at the clearing, her breathing smooth and even.
“It’s really something, but the real view is way better from up there,” she said, pointing to a cliff far above their heads, before taking off once more.
Groaning in protest, Roy stumbled after her, reaching the base of the mountain just as she reached the outcropping she’d pointed out to him, slinging her legs over the side and swinging them back and forth, waving him up.
For a long moment, he debated just turning around and going back to sleep, but Aika’s wide smile, and the fact that he was now a bit curious to see what this clearing would look like from on high, helped him continue onwards. Roy started climbing up the steep hillside. After nearly ten minutes of scrabbling and sliding, he finally pulled himself onto the outcropping where Aika was waiting for him.
“It’s about time,” she said, handing him a canteen. “I was about to come down and help you up.”
Roy wordlessly accepted the canteen, feeling the numerous new cuts and brushes he’d acquired getting up here.
As he moved to sit near Aika, sipping from the canteen, he found that he didn’t regret climbing up. The view was truly spectacular, and he allowed himself to take it in, as a cool breeze wafted over his slightly sweaty and heated skin.
The clearing was set right on the edge of the wooded area, completely blocked off on all sides by trees, so it was no wonder that he hadn’t discovered it, even by accident. It was a perfect circle, as though someone had trimmed all the trees back to form it. The grass was a vivid green and dotted with blue and violet flowers, which had opened their petals to the moonlight above. Small green and orange lights winked on and off as fireflies drifted about the area, and a small pond lay right at the center, glowing a faint blue and reflecting the moon on its glassy surface.
There was nothing supernatural about the clearing. The Essence wasn’t any different than the rest of the valley, but there was just something magical about the natural beauty of the landscape below.
“So? What do you think? Was it worth the climb?”
Aika’s soft voice sounded from next to him, making Roy start. For a few moments, he’d forgotten that he wasn’t alone, up on the calming mountain.
“Yes,” he replied quickly, nodding his head. “When did you discover this place?” he asked, more to fill the silence than anything else.
Aika’s smile faltered, and a look of sadness crossed her normally cheerful face.
“About ten years ago, the Tonde clan was attacked by the forces of the Beast King,” she began, taking Roy completely by surprise. This was not what he was expecting to hear, but now that she’d started speaking, he didn’t want to interrupt her.
“They targeted a small Tonde outpost right on our borders. We’re not even sure why they attacked, just that they wanted something badly enough to do so. My father…” Aika faltered for a moment as her voice caught in her throat, making Roy feel a pang of sympathy.
“He was one of the first casualties of the war,” she said after taking a few moments to gather herself. “I was only eight at the time and had just gotten my Yellow-Belt. I remember sitting up late that night, waiting for him to come home… He never did.”
Aika stared out at the clearing, and Roy could now clearly see that her eyes were wet with moisture.
“When my grandfather found out, he went to the outpost that they had been holding and slaughtered every last one of them. After that, he brought me here. He said that we both needed some time away to heal and train. He tried to bring mother along, but she refused to leave, insisting that someone had to tend to his grave until the period of mourning was over. So, my mother remained behind while we came here.
“He immediately began intensive training, while I was left to fend for myself. It was the most miserable I’d ever felt. My entire world had fallen apart. My father was gone, I’d been pulled away from my mother, and my clan had just declared war on the Beast clan.
“The first few days I was here, I just sat and cried. Eventually, hunger drove me to action. My grandfather wasn’t going to help me, so I was forced to fend for myself.
“I spent the next three months here, with no one but myself for company, and nothing but training to occupy my time. So, I trained, pushed down the sadness and guilt I felt over my father’s death and my abandonment of my mother. I used anger and rage to fuel myself, thinking of nothing but revenge against the Beast clan for what they’d taken from me.
“Then, one night, while I was training, I stumbled into this clearing. At first, I was just going to keep going, ignoring it, but some inexorable force pulled me to the cliff face. Once I’d climbed to the top and stared down at the beauty of this place, I felt something inside me give. All the pent-up anger, hatred, and sadness I’d kept bottled up for so long just came pouring out.
“I’m honestly not sure how long I stayed up here for, but by the time I descended the hillside, the sun had begun peeking over the horizon.
“Something had changed for me, and when I came down, it felt as though I’d left all of my pain and sadness up here. I still wanted revenge, and I still missed my father desperately, but I was no longer consumed by rage.
“I soon found that I was able to smile again, and when I did, it made me feel better. So now, I try to always stay positive, smiling whenever I can. It keeps the sadness at bay and makes me feel good about myself. I’ve also found that when I do, it helps cheer those around me as well…”
She trailed off, wiping the tears from the corners of her eyes and giving him a sad smile.
“Why…?” Roy asked, feeling his voice catching in his own throat. “Why are you telling me all this?” he finally asked.
Though he didn’t want to admit it, he could hear an eerie similarity between their stories. Though his life had gone a bit differently than hers, he could sympathize. He knew the pain she felt, felt the anger burning in his chest that demanded the exact retribution on those who had wronged him. The only difference between them was that she’d gotten over her rage, while he still felt it burning in the center of his chest, right where his core hovered right now.
“Because,” she replied in a quiet voice. “You have the same look in your eyes. I know that feeling well. The difference between us, is that I never had anyone to talk to about what happened to me and had to come to this realization on my own. But you don’t have to be alone.”
Roy sat there in silence, his emotions in turmoil. In a last desperate bid, he tried reaching out to Geon, but found the Dungeon core as unresponsive as ever. Finally, unable to hold it in any longer, Roy gave in. He told Aika everything.
He began from the beginning, from his life growing up in the Shah clan, to his attempted murder, to his rescue buy the Dungeon core, who even now was losing himself. She remained silent throughout, listening to what he had to say, without interruption.
Roy found that the longer he spoke, the easier the words came, and the better he felt. He’d been keeping everything bottled up for so long, that he hadn’t realized the sort of pressure it was putting him under. When he finally finished, the two of them sat in silence for a few long minutes. He was terrified that she would denounce him as the freak he was and couldn’t meet her eyes.