Times Have Changed

Anasthasia removed his dark robe, only to reveal a color—glint in his eyes that matches his long, unkempt hair. Her spine stiffened; hands trembled as she felt the surge of nostalgia.

'That color...'

The light from above continued to beam down his tattered leather robe and noticed the sheen of an armor that laid behind it. However, she felt so weird as she glared at his particular features once more but snapped out of her daze from his deep voice that rang her dainty ears.

'Why does it always, always remind me of him?'

"May this esteemed lady let go of your hand—"

"Release your filthy hands—"

Two robed men pounced but were inevitably stopped by Anasthasia. With the flick of her fingers released a burst of wind, knocking them to the cave walls. Consequently, a blot of ice glued upon them.

"Whose hands you're calling filthy?" She raised her eyebrows, then glanced at the man in front of her. "—and you!"

Anasthasia tapped her foot, released a protruding rock from the ground, and snapped her fingers, which pushed towards it. He was utterly locked down.

The man groaned in pain, "Your Highness!" His subordinates screamed in horror despite their situation. They howled, struggling to break free from the shackles.

She raised her hands and released the familiar spell in their eyes. A 'deadly Icicle' entailed doom over them, but she stopped her tracks when he spoke once more.

"Please let go of them, I beg of you..." The man struggled to utter a word from coughing a mouthful of blood. The reflections convinced her of his eyes that screamed ingenuity.

"Don't worry about us, Your Highness!"

For some time, Anasthasia thought of it 'Their resolve is superb, at times like this...' She shook her head. 'I miss them again!'

The 'Deadly Icicle' vanished and dropped into a puddle of water.

Anasthasia glanced at the surroundings. 'Nothing has changed, I guess.' But her lips thinned as she observed the astonishment plastered on their faces.

'Have they seen ghosts or what?'

The man watched her with skepticism. "Who... are you?"

Anasthasia waved her fingers, which defrosted the ice that locked them. "That's my line!" She gazed at her beautiful dress that she had torn the lower portion. 'Why did I have to wear this!'

"Anyway," she called, "How did you know this place?" Hands at her waist as she tilted her head. "This place is so close to my heart."

"Before that, allow us to sincerely apologize for disturbing your place." The man's grey eyes reflected such calmness. He even dared to stare at her eyes since "We have come here—"

Two robed men scurried their way towards him, as they consoled his stature, "Your Highness, you must not lower your head!"

"Silence!" Anasthasia shrieked, which released a piercing sound. Momentarily froze the air around them. No sound was heard, her golden eyes glinted and loomed both of them. It sent chills in their heart.

Their survival instincts began to churn.

She checked her other hand, which had Edward's stone, her heart thawed from its sight.

'The gemstone had never changed since,' Anasthasia closed her eyes. 'I thought you'd come back to me...'

That in mind, she cleared her throat and spoke softly, "Speak now." She snapped her fingers, and the natural sounds recovered. Thus reverted to things how it was.

"So what brings you here?—" Suddenly clicked her tongue. "Scratch that, introduce yourself!"

He never quivered from her voice; he calmly responded, " I'm Prince Michael Navarre, from the Navarre Kingdom."

'A prince, eh?' Anasthasia only hummed. 'Though I have no idea who's this man and where's that. I'll see to it!'

"What brings you to venture to this sacred place?"

"I have come to seek and accomplish a certain task."

'Short, direct answers, I love that.' Anasthasia giggled, 'Let's probe things further.'

"This task is?"

"To retrieve an item in the Valley of Death."

"Valley of Death?" She bit her lips as it piqued her interest. "You mean this place is called 'Valley of Death' perhaps?"

Michael firmly nodded, which brought Anasthasia into depths of confusion.

'How is this place granted such title?'

"What are you trying to achieve by coming here?" She glared at Michael; however, he remained unperturbed.

"We are trying to reach at the top of the mountain to retrieve the sacred item that was treasured deeply in the Valley of Death—"

"I have never heard of this place called such, not even this treasure you spoke of!" The mana around her rattled as the temperature continued to rise rapidly. "Are you courting death?"

The man on the dark robe rattled as he broke a sweat. "No! What His Highness spoke nothing but the truth!"

"Yes! This place is called as such due to the miasma that lurks here." The man trembled as he witnessed a further crease on her eyebrows. She wasn't entertained at all.

'Things really have changed?'

She strutted forth then looked at them. "What are you waiting for? Come and show me what you're saying."

Two robed men looked at each other with a cast of doubt on their faces, then looked at Michael with high alert. The Prince only nodded, and the rest started to move.

Anasthasia watched their cautious pace, but she never bothered for long as it wasn't the issue. She was intrigued by their claims. It took quite some time until they saw the light which grew brighter then flashed at the end of the tunnel.

Her heart sank as she witnessed the drastic change of the place.

A place once filled with tranquility and harmony— the tall and luscious greenery, canopies that cast a long shadow which amplified the smell of damp earth, and certain parts of the forest had light penetrating the colorful petals of the flowers tinged the ambiance.

It was pretty unsightly; she covered her mouth out of disgust.

Only to notice how things turned upside down. Anasthasia trudged her heel as she felt the hardened soil between the cracks. Golden eyes surveyed and witnessed the littered weapons and armory, not to mention the number of bones found.

"Do you believe in us now?" Her eyes dawned upon him with his grey eyes that shone with confidence.

'I don't know what to say as of this point.' Anasthasia massaged her forehead. Things were hard to process; she never thought it would come and ultimately changed a place that held a significant portion of her heart.

A screech was heard from a distance, which had turned their heads towards the direction of the sound.

"It's a group of wild rocs!" The man muttered in despair, "Quite a lot of them! We must hide, Your majesty—"

"Such a bunch of flying chickens!"

She cast 'Chain Lightning!'

A Robust lightning flashed from her hand, jumping between the wild rocs, which burned them all to crisps.

"Why are they here? Did they turn this into their hunting grounds? Such naivety!" Anasthasia crossed her arm and shifted sideways, "Do you have any idea why they are here—?"

'What's with their faces?'

she caressed her cheeks.

For the first time, the Prince, she had witnessed, had lips parted with tremor. Before she could speak once more, his deep voice rang dryly.

"Really, just who are you?"

She watched him in silence, scrutinizing her eyes from top to bottom before answering, "I'm Anasthasia."

"Anasthasia..." But his lips sealed as he averted his gaze, "...I think it's wrong for me to ask further."

'I'm glad he knew his place.' Her lips curled up.

She witnessed the neverending items with varying qualities scattered throughout the area. Her eyes discerned bones of the humans and whatnot. Looked up and saw the dark, gloomy sky. How the light distanced itself, never to grace this desolate land once more.

The three men cautiously observed Anasthasia, and they breathed a sigh of relief as they witnessed the disappearance of animosity.

But Michael noticed the change in her eyes. It was cloudy and moist. He glanced down and saw her fingertips nudged with her torn, unkempt dress.

'I could somehow hear the ghost howls adrift in this place.'

"Tell me," Anasthasia said. "How did this place turn out like this?"

"It's a long history if we're going to put it that way." Michael also glanced at the sky.

"This wasn't the case!" she countered, "It was all in greenery and lush vegetation! It clearly was a sanctuary! What the heck happened?!"

"Ahh!" The two robed men looked at each other once more, dubious. However, both nodded and faced her.

"My Lady Anasthasia, we have heard of that in history."

The other man concurred, " It was an abundant forest but things have changed." He suddenly scratched his chin, immersed with his thoughts, "Maybe around 100,000 years ago?"

But it only shook Anasthasia to the core, and she never noticed the peculiarity of the situation.

Most importantly, what she had brought up to herself.

'What? 100,000 years have passed?!'