Trial One~Time
Illya led Tekina and Kaito towards the village. Her steps are effortlessly swift and it takes some effort to keep up with her pace. From their place on the rocky path, they failed to see a village. Instead what loomed in the distance was a giant cloud of black mist that spiraled slowly.
"Hey...you sure you aren't just taking us some place to kill us?" Kaito asked skeptically.
Illya glanced over her shoulder, the impish grin she flashed exposing her fangs. "If I were going to kill you, I would have done it when you were floundering on the ground like fish out of water."
The closer they got, the more they could see the vague outline of buildings. Illya led them up the path and beckoned them into the cool mist with her. They're swept inside, wondering if they'll be able to return home after this. To their relief, the cool mist cleared and the warmth of the bustling volcanic village hit them. Despite it being well into the day, the land here was somewhat dim. They chalked it up to the black mist that encompassed the village. However, the many lanterns served to beautifully and illuminate their surroundings. Every now and then a shop owner would come out to greet Illya or children would stop and ask her play. Tekina nudged Kaito, watching the Queen closely.
"See. She isn't so bad is she?"
"Says the woman who was almost decapitated by her not too long ago."
As they walked, Tekina found herself examining the various fruits and freshly picked ingredients of the stalls. A man with skin of dusty mauve caught her attention. His tusks shone under the lanterns as he smiled at her.
"For you and your friends!" He chimed as he presented two baskets of his finest goods to Illya.
She knew he wasn't looking for payment but nevertheless, she reached into her sash and pulled out two silver lunair. She handed it to him and took the baskets.
"Thank you!"
She turned and gave a basket to Tekina.
"What's in it?" Asked Kaito.
"Berries, nuts and various fruits from the forest," said Illya as she popped a berry into her mouth.
"But...the land is completely burnt! Is this even edible?" Tekina questioned.
Illya sighed as she strolled down the street. "Cahris, the woman you so rudely knocked me off of, is the guardian of that forest. She sustains the life there so that specific seeds native to here can flourish."
Kaito whipped out his notepad and made a note to learn more about these seeds, thinking that Tekina would have probably asked him to do so if she weren't so fixated by the contents of the basket. Kaito stumbled back when he accidentally strayed too far into the road and was caught in the path of a carriage. The carriage stopped next to them and a man with ruby eyes and violet hair, much like Illya's stepped out. He was tall and slender but still very muscular.
"Ah! What are you doing here! I thought you were still in Gobeithio. I was just on my way to the palace to call you." Illya exclaimed.
The man stayed silent and looked between Illya and the curious duo behind her.
"Guests of yours?"
"They're from Myahm Agana. They work in the ancient lab under the old hag."
He looked them over before turning his attention to Illya. "You were going to call me here for this?" He asked in an annoyed manner.
"Oh come on Eddie! It wouldn't hurt to socialize every now and then!"
He kissed his teeth. "How many times have I told you not to call me that!"
"Why not? It's your name!"
"Not anymore Illya! We've been through this. My name is Adam now."
"Edward is a better name."
"Well I don't like it anymore."
Tekina and Kaito watched the two go back and forth. Upon further inspection they noticed that neither his attire or his crude mannerism resembled someone of the same clan. Yet his pale hair and scarlet eyes was an unmistakable Kishan trait. One they rarely saw after many years of marrying outside of the clan.
"Let's go back to the palace so we can talk." said Illya.
"I didn't come here to exchange pleasantries with Kishans. I came to discuss my findings with you."
"Well we can do both at the palace."
He groaned and angrily jerked his hand horizontally. The air in front of them tore as a portal appeared. Adam threw Illya's basket through it.
"Fine. Let's go then," he said in a less than enthusiastic manner.
"If he can do that...why was he in a carriage?" Kaito mumbled to Tekina.
"I like to change things up every now and then," Adam stated as he stepped through the portal.
Illya laughed. "He won't admit it but he likes the scenery so he always takes the long route to get here. The only thing he dislikes about this place is the heat. He hates being sweaty."
Illya followed Adam through the portal. Tekina and Kaito were a little more reluctant to do so but tagged after them anyways.
•~•~•~•~•~•
On the other side of the portal was the regal interior of the Solarian Palace. They followed Illya further into a drawing room.
"Take a seat." She said as she gracefully descended onto the single ended sofa that stood on a circular platform at the center of the room.
She pulled her legs up onto it and slid onto her tummy as she picked at the grapes on the table next to her. Tekina and Kaito each sat down on one of the many golden, circular ottomans around it, on the level beneath the platform she was on.
"I assume you'll want to have lunch with your guests?"
Tekina and Kaito whirled around upon hearing the smooth, unfamiliar voice. A tall handsome looking man stood behind them. He smiled in a habitual manner.
"Perfect timing Seibel. Bring it up here please." Illya chimed.
"As you wish my lady." He vanished from the room, just as quickly as he came.
"...Your butler is very handsome. Where did you hire him from?" Tekina asked.
"I have a contract with him. He's a demon that belongs to the same clan as my great grandfather."
Kaito poked Tekina ever so slightly. "Hey...he's not as handsome as me though...right?" He whispered.
Tekina sighed and rolled her eyes, patting his hand in reassurance.358Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OGLiZKpAr
"So....you're a Kishan scientist?" She asked, turning her attention to Adam who sat across from them.
"I am."
Illya shifted in her seat as she spoke. "Have you heard the stories of a land called Aruma An? The world that was lost to a catastrophic rebellion?"
Tekina nodded. "I've read some books about it before. The King was able to use his power to replace their dying God's shi with his own, becoming a God himself. His lover, became Queen but was soon over thrown by their ally who had been plotting a rebellion since the death of the previous King. All the books I've read say that the Queen was able to escape with the help of their closest friend but there is never any information that states whether or not she survived. I believe she had a daughter too? Last I heard she was living with family elsewhere."
Illya grinned. "You're quite informed. I'd expect nothing less from a Kishan. After all, they're supposed to have served my family for generations. They should know as much."
"Huh?"
"Oh! Right! I'm the daughter. 'Sup!" Illya put a hand under her chin and struck a dramatic pose before continuing. "Mother did survive...for a while. She died shortly after giving birth though. The books you've read were most likely written by the very man who helped my mother escape. If I remember correctly only a few of them mention my birth. They're rather hard to get a hold of so it's no surprise you didn't know."
Kaito's eyes widened in surprise. "Really? So what happened to him? The man that helped you escape?"
Illya propped herself up with her hand. "I don't know. After mother died he took me back into the sacred palace in the celestial he created. But I was eventually taken in by Lucifer...er...my great great gramps. Great fella. I was here and there and just about everywhere blah blah whatever whatever and then I ended up here." Illya swung a leg over the other during her lazy explanation. "I'm not entirely sure what became of him when he let me go.....he was the first person I knew. He took care of me so he's special. Enu was a really great man. I learned a lot from him. He loved science and always gave me books to read. I guess that's how I developed a fascination with books."
"I'm sorry for your loss but...why bring this up?" Asked Kaito.
"Well, you asked if Eddie was a Kishan scientist and while that's true you could say he's a bit special."
Tekina raised an eyebrow. "How so?"
"He's like me. He came from another world. Similar to mine."
Illya looked at Adam. "Shall I explain it? Or do you want to stop sulking and do it yourself?"
Adam growled and ran a hand through his hair. "Fine. I came from a family of scientists. They were researching Aruma An. My father had found proof of it's existence and had began to develop a way to travel there. When Illya's father became a God it sent ripples through the dimensional rifts and it affected my world. People thought it was a result of my father's experiments and our research was deemed too dangerous to continue. He continued in secret though and when people found out about this they slaughtered my family and sold me into slavery.
I estimated that this happened around the time Illya was conceived. I'm only about a year older than her. Anyway...I managed to run away but during my escape I fell into and got trapped in an underground library. It was apparently my fathers. Because I lacked the means to escape, I spent several years gathering information from the books. They were mostly records of research on Aruma An. From the knowledge I gained I was able to construct these."
Adam raised his hand and a few elongated diamond shaped objects floated into the air. They were metallic but bared a striking resemblance to many of their Kishan tools.
"They can do a lot of things, but I first used these to Fly out of the library before it collapsed on me. Years of isolation seemed to have done quite number on my mental state or so Illya says. When I got out I realized that the library's time distortion had sent me far into the future, well after Aruma An had been destroyed. Not only that but I had come out to find that I had ended up in a completely different world all together. I tried to find traces of anything Arunian and that lead me to the continental war here in Targaera. Illya was one of the chosen heroes participating in it. I knew she was Arunian the second I saw her."
Illya chuckled. "He hunted me down after that. He was honestly really annoying. He wanted to use me for his research."
"You were the only living proof of my families research at the time." Adam retorted.
Tekina was listening intently. "So you're telling me that both of you are from different worlds?"
Adam nodded."Yes. My world was closer connected to this one seeing as the library was the rift between this world and mine. I'm sure others from the clan managed to travel here from my time and whatever few managed to get out from the Arunian ruins over in the sea. That must be how the Kishan gene was passed onto the people of this world."
Tekina let all this new information sink in before speaking again."I see. So in a sense your the root. The original source of our clan."
Illya laughed. "That's one way to put it."
Tekina suddenly brightened up. "You two are living pieces of history!"
Kaito rubbed his temples, still trying to process all the information that was just unloaded onto them.
"So Adam is a Kishan scientist with emotional issues and you're a demigod with even more emotional issues?"
Illya shook her head. "Nope I'm a full fledged Goddess. My...Salem was loved by the shi. This gave him an insane power akin to God. That's why he was able to over throw the previous one so easily."
Adam scoffed. "She also has daddy issues."
Illya abruptly shot her foot forward and kicked Adam in his stomach.
"If you're a Goddess then why aren't you doing...God things in heaven or something?" Tekina questioned.
"Heaven and I aren't exactly on good terms at the moment. Don't ask why. It involves a bottle of vodka, missing limbs and some people I'd really not like to remember at the moment. Oh but Hell loves me! I mean...as they should of course!"
Illya burst into a fit of laughter. Tekina and Kaito stared at her. They had never seen someone so lackadaisical about such serious matters. The door to the drawing room opened and in came her butler with a cart of food.
"I've brought lunch my lady."
"Hurray! You brought cake right?"
He sighed and began serving the food. "Cake is not lunch."
"Seibel! I wanted cake."
"Then I shall prepare your favorite cake for desert today."
Illya huffed and took a bite of her food. Adam poked at his dish in an irritated manner.
"Now that we've talked with them, I'd like it if I can discuss my findings with you."
"Let's finish our meal and then we can go talk to Kain about it."
He groaned and began to eat his food. Illya stopped for a moment to address her two guests.
"You two are free to leave after this to conduct your research here...or..."
Illya eyed them like a lion staring down it's prey.
"You can stay here for a while...what do you say?"
ns 15.158.61.17da2
