Aqua Moon

It was easy in the beginning. I just had to follow Master's instruction, taking a little turn whenever I'm asked to.

But it never ends.

It was a long way. I had been running all this time and still there was no end in sight.

I didn't dare ask, "Are we there yet?"

Master was the one doing all the job, keeping the void guy at bay. If I was to escape The Mine alone, I would long be dead meat. Not to mention the complexity of this cave system.

"We called them dungeons!" Master shouted.

Master would sometimes try to lighten the mood by making small talk like this. Though I may need not reply to him verbally as he could just read my mind.

I think I remember something about these dungeons. They were treasure lands full of mysteries and magic explored by a famous vocation known as Adventurer.

For me to remember them, I must have looked up to this adventurer thing.

Master tried to keep up a nonchalant attitude. We all know where this is going though.

Sometimes it took almost a full minute before Master could give out another instruction. He was that occupied.

And boy did that not scare me. In a sense, Master's small talk was how he was saying to me, "Everything's A-OK."

After another turn and twist, Master finally said the magic word.

"This is the last tunnel. Just go straight and you will end up in another cavern."

"Finally!"

While I'm the one with the least job here, you couldn't overlook that I was the most probable guy to die here. That void guy could one-shot me and the only reason Master struggled was just to protect the weak me.

It was nerve wracking, thinking that you could die any moment. While I did believe in Master, I still had my mind occupied with that thought.

I gave my all and sprinted into the tunnel. Just as Master said, it was another cavern. On the other end of it was a big stone gate encompassing all of that cavern's side. I bet that's our ticket out of this place.

'What should I do now, Master?'

While I asked this in my mind, I did not slow down even a bit. I kept running towards the stone gate.

"Wait there, I will wrap this up."

Their battle was no longer on the level of us mortals. Now that I had my back against the stone gate, Master only had to defend me from the front.

In other words… It's time to counter attack!

I could see the "you're dead," screaming from Master's eyes as he brandished his sword with elegance.

They looked slow and fast at the same time. Soft and hard. Fleeting in between what real and unreal is. Ephemeral.

Master gave a forward stab to the fiend. He got thrown back like some used rag.

"What, what are you doing?" I shouted.

How could I not? Master just sheathed his sword and swaggered towards me like he owned the world.

'This guy finally goes nuts!'

The void guy was just pushed back a little bit. It was far from a one sided win.

"Don't worry. This cavern is my area. He is powerless here."

I could not believe what Master just said and looked back at our opponent.

'He's gone! Dammit!' He's gonna attack any moment now.'

And just like a jinx, he popped behind Master, already swinging his scythe.

But the gore picture I had in my mind did not happen.

That guy hit nothing. His scythe never found his way to Master's body.

It was like some sort of invisible force field blocking his attack.

"Let's ignore this guy and be on our merry way. It was a new world for you after all."

Master hooked his hand around my shoulder and turned me around. He touched the gate and together we dissolved into particles of lights. Finally, escaping The Mine.

The next moment I opened my eyes, everything changed.

The air changed. No longer was it stifled and stale. Fresh winds blew on my face. Cold and breezy. It smelled of fresh rain. When I looked up, the sky was as clear as it could be.

Not even a speck of cloud. Just the wide canvas of sky with actual glittering stars painting it. Over the horizon was a blue moon, so perfectly rounded like a ball. It overlooked the entire city.

The city seems to bathe in the blue moon's light. The tall city's wall, transparent with lines tubes along its edge. The lines were blue like the moon. Beyond that was the lively city. Myriads of colourful lights, representing houses, homes, restaurants and other establishments, each with their own unique light colour.

In my daze, I asked, "Master this is…"

"I bid you welcome to the town where it all begins. Welcome to The Town of Memories; Hearthia of Estria!"

"Hearthia of Estria…" my voice trailed.

I was still in a trance. One month stuck in a bleak dark world. One month of nothing but the black hard ground and lightless sky. One month of that hell. And finally…

"I'm finally out!"

"Feels like a dream, doesn't it?" Master gave me an understanding smile.

"If this is a dream, I hope I never wake up from it."

I couldn't help myself but to give him a big grin.

"What are you talking about? We are already here aren't we? And I wouldn't call it a complete trip without at least walking through the city once."

I think my eyes sparkled at Master's words. I was excited to explore this new city. To hell, with all the exhaustion. They can wait. With this lively city in front of me, I wouldn't be able to hold myself back.

My heart beat like drums. Adrenaline rushed in my blood. I could even hear them boiling.

'Here we go!'

Just as I took my first step towards the city, an omen befallen me.

It was a very, very bad headache. Throbbing in nature. It felt like a lumberjack whacking my head again and again with his heavy axe. The worst part of it was the throbbing part. Just when you think, "is it over?" the headache came again.

With each throbbing some type of information went into my head. Some were in flashes of scenery while others came as voices. At this point, I couldn't remember any of them.

It took everything that I had to withstand the pain. Somehow I managed to hold on from passing out. It felt like an eternal but it finally ended.

I took the liberty to let gravity lead my body towards mother earth's embrace.

I fell onto the cobblestone ground with a 'thud.' They were still wet from the rain that had passed by us.

From here, I could see it again. The blue moon. Now I remember what its name is.

"Hey there, Lani."

The Aqua Moon, Lani.