A normal girl.

All around us, the tunnels that had deeply rooted themselves into the valley sides soon gleamed with the look of the moon on a desolate night.

Soon, a disgusting amount of Crolo-Ivarians deformed from the molten-silver walls.

I felt sickly and derogatory with but a subtle glance.

I questioned this act of nature and prodded Frila's shoulder lightly.

Her voice was soothing and clear despite the ensuing chaos that sprouted from tunnels all around us.

"It's caused by the deformation of the Nive hills here. Every time a Crolo-Ivarian falls, it is absorbed back into the earth. The same Crolo-Ivarian will either spawn 3 weaker versions or 1 slightly stronger version. These Nive hills can only be found in the Crow Kingdom and the Holy Light Kingdom."

I lowered my head as various disastrous scenarios whirred in my head.

"In other words, if the Holy Light Kingdom was to fall and its Nive Hills taken, the Crow Kingdom would be nigh-indomitable?"

My voice quivered a bit.

It didn't exactly feel great knowing that the only thing stopping a dark empire was one Kingdom, a weakened one at that.

We stuck close to Red Dragon as we continued cautiously speaking on the topic of the Kingdoms.

Red Dragon had stated that he would create a safe haven where we could stay before eliminating the rest of the hordes.

His stamina seemed as endless as the edges of the world as he seemed to still be going at the same pace as he was hours ago.

And to think that he was currently one of the weakest -S- Ranks? I wasn't too sure about this as he had been such an exceptional Adventurer before his ascendence according to himself yet he had stopped almost immediately after he ascended.

Middle -S- Rank.

That seems about right then.

I felt a soft and pale hand grip itself lightly on my right shoulder.

"Brala."

It took a second to realize that was my name, I had been so used to just being given normal greetings that having a name somehow felt out of place and uncanny.

Her voice vaded through the sound of flesh splitting and throwing itself over the surroundings.

"The Kingdom of Holy Light hasn't fallen in all of its History."

"Even when half the Kingdom was in ruins, it stayed strong and kept the Nive Hills from the Crow Kingdom. One Dead Pope has made them significantly weaker, but it's like taking an Ox's horn away. The last time someone survived the Angered Ox of the Holy Light Kingdom was the world's paramount. Vibrakolah. And even he hasn't dared to show himself before the Holy Light Kingdom after his 'Golden Age.'"

I felt her tone sour and her hand that was loosely tousling her hair curl uncomfortably as her words turned to Vibrakolah.

My voice interrupted her short interlapse as I tilted my head closer to hers, avoiding a splatter of blood that landed just at my previous spot.

"Why would Vibrakolah hide from a weakened Holy Light Kingdom?"

I was genuinely perplexed by this. He was capable of destroying the 17 Towers of Gringole. Defeating miraculous heroes in dominating, humiliating and swift bouts, he wielded magic that had never been seen before and destroyed things that had never been before, destroyed.

If he stood high before the Towers of Gringole, then there was surely no absolute that he hid meek and frail before a weakened Kingdom of Holy Light.

Unless there was maybe more behind this so-called weakened Ox?

Frila hardly seemed to even ponder my question as she responded flat, straight, and bored. As if this was written in the skies for me already.

"The Kingdom of Holy Light has far more than a pope by it's side."

My eyes squinted as I tried to think of anything else. Sure, they might have some Holy Knights, Priests, and Bishops but those could only go so far.

"God."

My eyes blinked stubbornly as my head creakily turned to Frila.

"They have a god by their side."

Her voice was so nonchalantly cast that I seemed to be the only one unaware of this.

"Who do you think they're praying to every day."

I felt a sigh exasperate from Frila's mouth as she looked to the distance. Presumably to the direction of the Kingdom of Holy Light.

My voice felt rather exposed and distant as I struggled to bring words to the front of my mind.

"Then why aren't they invincible."

My voice came out turgid and inflammatory as my darkest thoughts seemed to have corrupted my mindset.

Why weren't they the strongest then?

Such a question had instantly come forth.

If they had a God, a literal God on their side. A partial God that had picked a side, then why weren't they the strongest?

Why had she admitted they were safe since they had a god if they weren't even second to their darkness counterpart? But third behind the kingdom of White?

Unless the Kingdom of Crows and the Kingdom of White also possessed God's then it just wouldn't make sense.

Right?

Gah.

I felt my tongue curl as my thought trembled within my mind-scape.

Wait.

What if I was thinking about it all... wrong?

What if a God here wasn't a being of absolute power?

Rather, someone like Buddha. Someone whose teachings are followed and learned. But that still wouldn't make sense, how would someone like Buddha manage to create an Imperial Powerhouse?

It didn't make sense.

I felt my head overexerting itself as my mind pulled itself around and crumpled.

Despite my awful contingencies, Frila seemed absolutely fine with my question. Answering ever so calmly and intrinsically that her words felt like a flowing poem.

"Have you heard the Tale of the Sun God?"

I felt a small cough break out by the tip of my throat.

Looking around hesitantly, I felt hot-headed and threatened.

The Sun God.

I hadn't expected to hear such a tale here.

Naturally, I had always presumed it was a hidden secret.

But even a random girl in the Crow Kingdom knew of it?

Or maybe she wasn't just a random girl in the Crow Kingdom?

Or maybe I was... looking into everything... too much?

These talks were scraping deep and painfully.

Slowly turning my head down to show my answer, her mouth broadened for a split second before tightly shutting.

Her eyebrows rose up and down like a crashing wave as her eyes flashed with strange colors.

I see.

She hadn't expected me to know of such a thing.

"Yeah. I have."

My voice came out unexpectedly quietly, masked with the shredded blood splatters from Red Dragon who was now far ahead of us, cleansing the Crolo-Ivarians and restarting the cycle of rebirth.

The wind of the eerie clearing, the paled yew trees, and the omenic stone stales all seemed to subside as my voice continued throwing itself into the strange and salty air.

"The Sun God, the story of his 17 Apostles, their death, his decline, and his sealing."

My voice had become a whisper.

I felt it would be dangerous to leak too much.

To my explanation, Frila nodded her head her eyes darted behind her.

No sound emerged from her as her lips moved slowly and calmly.

Nothing extended beyond her lips as they moved and formed movements.

"D-oe-s h-e kn-ow."

Although I had no prominent answer.

I decided to shake my head, playing it off as shaking my hair.

Red Dragon may have known.

But this could be one of my only chances to learn more, about the existence of God in this world.

My breathing became tense and heavy as my eyes began to sting, but I kept contact with Frila.

Her voice had lost its serenity, now coated in an uneasy caution and apprehension of danger.

"As the Sun God lost power as he gave each of his apostles part of his power, the same has occurred to the God of Holy Light. Yet, he managed to give his off to a far larger range of 'apostles.' This did, however, cause him to lose most of his power and his apostles will most likely never come close to the level of the Sun God's Apostles. Proof alone is that each apostle could make a Tower of Gringole from their remains."

Her eyes darted back with every few words to ensure we were truly alone.

I nodded slowly.

"In other words."

"The God is weak."

My voice edged slowly.

A brief nod was released from the clearly tight strains on Frila's being.

I felt an unsteady silence crack in the gusts that wavered and wooshed past our once invigorating, now dangerous atmosphere.

"Who are you."

My voice creaked and darkened swiftly as my eyes met hers immediately.

My eyebrows creased. My trust was diving deeply.

This didn't make any sense.

I only knew of the Sun God from a book from an ancient tomb from a presumably lost land.

There was no way she ought to have known such a thing.

"I'm just a regular... girl."

"You're not."

My response was instantaneous. I had suspected that she would play herself off as a 'regular' girl.

I felt tempted to form a source of world energy, fearful of this unknown anomaly that had sprouted but I wasn't so cautious and untrusting that it was to that point.

Not yet.

I felt my body getting closer to hers.

My back bent forward as my legs struck the soil.

My figure moved clunkily yet oddly swift.

My broken arm was held steadily and my figure descended into hers.

As the soliciting wind of the eerie clearing swooped down and left a cold tinge by the numbed parts of my ears, my figure loomed over hers.

My face was possessed by a ghostly and unhealthy white pallor. The kind of chalk.

My silken white hair drooped over my face as my blood-red eyes twitched and crazed with animosity; animosity that swiftly turned to regret.

My eyebrows had the look of a trimmed werewolf's brow, white like a fluffy box.

My unpolished and unmannerly attire of a ripped suit and a distraught white-button shirt hung over her as my figure stood with arms out.

Despite all of this weak force pushed out in my chest, doing nothing at all.

My figure shook slightly as her hands pushed outwards.

The trust and communication we had established had crumbled silently in those few moments.

She was... a normal girl.

A normal wary, distrustful-eyed girl.

Her hair, parts covered with a grey that now looked silver in luminescent moonlight.

With white that seemed holy under the calm gaze of night.

Her figure sat, crouched as her eyebrows were in a muddle of frustration and wariness.

Her mouth quivered, a small peep emerged.

"Phantom."

My coarse breaths stopped entirely.

I'm confident that during that moment if a hand was placed on my heart, no beat would be heard.

My figure just stood there, hair swaying as I looked at her dumbfoundedly.

No words came from my mouth.

But fortunately, none were needed.

"Well, he's actually a half-phantom."

A confident, neutral, and entwining mass of white had swirled around her neck.

Her eyes slowly shifted downwards before her expression became fearful and frightful.

Vigar.

He was alive?

I had no time to be happy about this occurrence, however, due to the simple intensity of the situation.

"My bad."

My breathing finally rejuvenated itself statically.

"But. You shouldn't know that."

My voice was murky through deep breaths.

Before her constantly widening eyes, Vigar curled around my back, from her nape to my back in one continuous movement as a cast was soon formed.

My arm almost instantly felt like it had been released from tiring and binding chains.

As Vigar slowly became invisible, surely somewhat embarrassed by the Phantom's terrible entrance, it only increased Frila's fears.

Looking back, around her and swiping all of the atmosphere around her she seemed to have thought that this was some sort of trap.

"Relax."

Vigar's voice curved from my arm.

"I've got a task to fulfill."

I nodded in agreement with Vigar's incredibly emotionless yet somehow incredibly irritating voice.

"To Trust."

I sent out a hand.

Pale, and cold. Yet it wasn't sweaty or musty due to the un-experience of battle as Red Dragon casually 'helped' us out.

She looked away as she shook it.

Her side profile was quite the wonder.

Her features were illuminated by the moonlight, her hair flowed like a fragrant stream.

The clothes by her waist were surprisingly stylish as a shine slithered around her figure.

She was a head taller than me, yet one of the few people who I could probably trust.

One thought did remain in my mind, however.

Elrar.

How far did his connections spread?

Or rather, how did that seemingly suspicious Tale reach such a person?

My thoughts stopped as I just admired the victorious view of Red Dragon returning.

A bloody sheath was soon slapped onto a tombstone, causing blood to smear all over the ground.

His red clothes were only red. No gold. Blood had done its job.

He showed not a single sign of tire.

Rather, he was even happier than when we had first arrived.

Walking with a harmonious smile he put his hands on our shoulders.

The grip was pleasant.

"It's time."

To leave?

I felt a curve form in my calm expression.

Frila's figure seemed to lean towards the exit.

"For my Favorite Wave."

Read the mood goddamnit.