Why So Serious? pt.1

- 10.46 A.M. -

Lust kneeled down over the cliff, his eyes searching wildly for his friend. He had heard the splashing water as her body made contact with the surface of the water. It was as if she had disappeared in the blink of an eye. It couldn't have been more than a few seconds. But the coast was clear, Wrath was nowhere to be seen. She would have howled or screamed for help if she had struggled staying afloat in the river.

A strikingly cold chill went down his spine as he thought of the worst-case scenario. She might have hit her hand on the riverbed and got a concussion. He froze perfectly in place, eyes stuck at the bottom of the waterfall. Lust had hoped to see her surfacing; wishful thinking indeed. The sound of rushing water hitting the river was deafening. Suddenly, the smell of the ocean encircled him like a snake; snapping him out of the trance and shock.

Lust took a lungful of air and jumped off the cliff into the water and touched the riverbed as he extended his hand. He opened his eyes in search for his beloved roommate. The clear water allowed him to look around, though his vision was blurry. After a desperate attempt of holding his breath, he went up for air and approached the waterfall. He reached behind the gushing water and to his surprise, the wall of rock behind had vanished. There was a hidden cavity that wasn't there before.

"Wrath!" he called out one last time.

His heart raced at the thought of unknown that lied beyond. He finally toughened up and put his left hand out into the water to guide himself inside. An icy pair of hand extended from within and laced its pale fingers with his. Lust let out an alarmed screech as the entity pulled him through the barrier. When the waterfall finally stopped rushing over his face, the hand brushed over his eyes to allow him to see again.

"Ahhh!" Lust covered his mouth to muffle his scream.

"Hello Lust. My name is Tiamat. I am one of Wrath's servants and I am responsible for tasks involving water," the ghost introduced herself.

"H-how can I see you? W-where's Wrath? Why are you glowing?" the startled boy stuttered.

"She is just beyond this cave, at the end of the tunnel. Do not be afraid. I am here to guide you as ordered by my master," she bowed.

"Master?" he relaxed his shoulders, "So it's all true."

Tiamat turned and made her way to the other opening of the cave. Lust followed closely behind; still bewildered. The spirit servant's glow illuminated the walls of rough rocks. Upon closer inspection, there were inscriptions on the surface of the rock. Most of them were not visible anymore due to erosion from water or covered by moss. He became invested with the foreign writing. He walked closer to inspect it and touched the slippery surface of the wall.

"Rock levitation, water style," he read.

"We are almost at the end of the tunnel. My master has been waiting for you. Let us not delay it any longer," she commanded.

"Why are some of them written in Latin and English?" he wondered.

"I am afraid that I am not qualified to answer your questions. I do not want to interfere with my master's training program," she continued.

The two finally reached an opening and was welcomed by the sight of Wrath meditating on top of the water. Her body moved with the ripples of the water. Lust watched in awe as his spirit friend retreated into the cave and left them alone. Wrath opened her eyes and smiled at her innocent friend. She stood up and walked on top of the water towards him.

"Why so serious? Were you worried?" she squatted in front of him.

Half of Lust's body was submerged in water. He looked up at her and splashed his hands around to figure out what he was seeing.

"That was Tiamat, I appointed her to guide you here. I didn't know if you would have the courage to follow through," she explained.

Lust looked around in confusion, "How did you know that I can see her?"

"I didn't. I just told her to bring you to me. I guess now we know that you can see them. We can do more practice and experiments here," Wrath pointed at their empty surrounding.

"This wasn't here before was it?"

"I opened up the entrance when I jumped in. I don't usually swim in by myself. I made Tiamat pull me in and through."

"But how? I didn't see anything. All of a sudden you were gone."

"I casted a spell on the way down and opened the enchanted wall. The new spell that I learned helped me manipulate water to my will. I had to try it out and it worked. I was propelled all the way here as soon as I touched the riverbed."

"So, that's new too?" he pointed at her feet.

"Yeah! Pretty neat huh? That meditation session really helped," she jumped and sent a wave over his face.

"Okay, show off. Are you going to teach me anything?" he wiped the water off his face.

"Sorry, I got excited. Well, your meditation helped you progress faster as we've seen today. You gained a second sight. Let's strengthen that."

"You want me to sit and meditate again while you play around with cool stuff?" he protested.

"I won't make your meditation so easy this time. I'll make the elements go against you and you need to keep your concentration."

"Bring it on then," he swam to the side.

Lust settle down on top of a flat rock and started to control his breath. He closed his eyes and started to meditate. The wind around him got quiet and it was pin-drop silent. As he got into the zone, he could feel and pick up the tiniest sound and movement around him. The ripples of water as a leaf touched its surface, branches shaking, and rocks tumbling. Wrath watched as her partner concentrated.

"Focus!" the teacher flicked a handful of water at Lust's direction.

"I thought you were supposed to distract me," he turned to her.

"Yeah, that's my job. Your own anticipation is breaking your concentration. Focus on one thing and keep an ear out for anything."

The student went back into his position and relaxed his muscles. He took a deep breath in and loosened up. Wrath steadied her stance on top of the water and prepared herself to distract Lust.