-Recap-
After the trio (Allana, Kalev, and Shanthi) arrived in Birka, they split into two groups. Allana and Kalev headed to the city of Nakatsukuni, where they stumbled upon a festival and met an old man who mistook Allana for his granddaughter.
Now, for today's chapter:
The moment Shanthi parted ways with Allana and Kalev, he shot off at maximum speed to the east... straight toward Yomi.
Shanthi: "Why can't he just mind his own business?! And why of all places, here?!"
A few seconds after blasting off toward Yomi, he reached the edge of Nakatsukuni and looked down at a small island practically sinking into the clouds, with only a few rooftops poking above the cloud line.
Shanthi: "Yomi... I wish I never had to come back here... but like they say... no matter how long it takes, you always end up coming back home."
Stretching his wings slightly, Shanthi stepped to the edge and threw himself toward Yomi. Diving at full speed into the Sea of Clouds, he submerged for a few seconds before breaking through into an air pocket.
Shanthi: "This place is still a dump."
Upon entering the air pocket, Shanthi took in the full expanse of Yomi. A small town shrouded in clouds that blocked out all sunlight, leaving the environment in a lifeless, gray hue. It perfectly matched the "houses" of Yomi—if they could even be called that. At best, they were glorified tents clustered near the ruins of buildings that stretched down to the very bottom of the air pocket and reached all the way up to the Sea of Clouds above. As he surveyed Yomi, Shanthi noticed someone flying straight toward him.
Shanthi: "You showed up pretty fast, Enel."
Approaching Shanthi was a 25-year-old man standing 2.50 meters tall, with short blonde hair and dark, almost soulless eyes. He wore clothes similar to the people flying at the town's festival, and on his back was a pair of golden wings, nearly as large as Shanthi's.
Enel: "And you took your time. What would have happened if this was a life-or-death situation?"
Hearing Enel's question, Shanthi shrugged slightly, but his voice betrayed his concern. Something Enel noticed perfectly well.
Shanthi: "Please... your ego wouldn't let anything happen to you. But... what do you need?"
Enel: "I need your help. I want you by my side... when I kill all the priests!"
Enel's request hit Shanthi like a punch to the gut.
Shanthi: "WHAT?! WHAT DO YOU MEAN?!"
Enel: "You heard me perfectly. I want to kill all those priests who think they're so pure."
Still confused by the situation, Shanthi placed his hands on Enel's shoulders. The moment Shanthi's hands touched him, Enel's expression flickered with irritation for a millisecond.
Shanthi: "Why?! Why do you want to kill them?! Wasn't your dream to become a priest?!"
Seeing Shanthi's reaction, Enel masked his previous irritation with a small smile.
Enel: "It was... and I thank you for giving me the chance to enter the temple, but..."
Gripping Enel's shoulders tighter, Shanthi leaned in even closer, stopping just millimeters from his face. Enel's expression darkened slightly at the tight grip and Shanthi's sheer denseness.
Shanthi: "BUT WHAT?! DO YOU THINK THE DAME WOULD WANT YOU TO PULL THIS CRAP?!"
The moment the Dame's name was spoken, Enel brushed Shanthi's hands off his shoulders and shoved him back slightly.
Enel: "They are flawed! Their weakness! Such small minds! Look what they did to the Dame! Just because she decided their teachings were flawed! She deserved to be a priestess far more than them! But no! Those bastards are terrified of the strong! And they clipped her wings! It makes me sick! That's why I'm going to change it!! I'm going to hit the reset button! And! I! WILL! BECOME! GOD!"
Even more confused than before, Shanthi looked at his friend with a massive mix of conflicting emotions: fear, concern, anger, and more.
Shanthi: "What are you even talking about? The Dame had her wings clipped because she was a criminal! She killed someone! Make some sense!!!"
Not wanting to continue this conversation, Enel turned his back to Shanthi.
Enel: "That's exactly what I'm talking about... The Dame was strong... but the priests couldn't see that and treated her like a criminal... just because she killed one of them? Pathetic... Shanthi... you're like a brother to me... you have to stand by my side! We'll rule this place together!"
'That old hag... she even told him that? What a pain... why did he have to learn how to think for himself?'
Shanthi: "Ah... um... you're like a brother to me too... sorry... but I can't do this without a good reason..."
Enel: "I really didn't want to do this..."
Shanthi: "Do what—"
Before Shanthi could finish his sentence, Enel slyly pointed a yellowed conch shell Dial at Shanthi and pressed a button on it. This fired a cloud charged with electricity like a spear straight into Shanthi's chest. He began to fall toward the ground, his eyes locked on Enel.
Shanthi: "E... nel... why...?"
Watching his foster brother fall unconscious, Enel shouted down at the tents on the ground below.
Enel: "Shura! Catch him!"
Shooting up at an impressive speed, a massive bird with red and purple plumage emerged from the tents of Yomi.
Shura: "Right away, Enel-Sama!"
The speaker was a man riding the bird, who caught Shanthi's unconscious body mid-air. He wore attire similar to a military uniform, specifically an aviator's. He had dark hair, the beginnings of a mustache on his face, and on his back were light brown wings that, like the Dame's, were not naturally small.
Enel: "Great. Bind him, call the others, and bring the child. We're starting the purge."
Without a second thought, Shura obeyed Enel's apathetic command. Taking a cloud Dial, Shura conjured cloud ropes to bind Shanthi's wings and body, securing him to the back of his bird. But before leaving, Shura looked up at Enel.
Shura: "Enel-Sama... if you don't mind, could you tell me why you want this guy on our side so badly?"
Hearing this question, Enel stared down at Shura with eyes devoid of any real emotion.
Enel: "It's true... you never met Shanthi from before..."
Shura: "From before? Before what?"
Enel: "Before the Dame."
Shura: "The Dame? That old hag you always badmouth?"
When the Dame's name was brought up, Enel became visibly irritated—or at least, as irritated as his deadpan personality allowed.
Enel: "That's right, that weak old hag... If it weren't for her weakness, Shanthi would still be that war demon I molded to blindly obey me!"
Shura: "War demon?"
Enel: "Before we met the Dame, Shanthi, even as a child, was the second strongest and most brutal fighter in all of Yomi, and I raised him since he was a baby. He saw me as more than a brother; I was his God! The only one he could trust! But..."
Shura: "But?"
Enel: "Something's off... Even if that old hag softened Shanthi up, he should still be obeying me like always... something must have happened when I sent him to the Blue Sea..."
Pausing for a few seconds to think about what had occurred, Enel simply gave up.
Enel: "Whatever... now, go, Shura."
With the abrupt end to the conversation, Shura descended back to the ground with his mount to carry out Enel's orders.
It had been a little over an hour since the trio—Allana, Kalev, and Nobumori—arrived at the festival.
Nobumori: "Hmm... that's strange... Hatori should be around here by now..."
Walking beside the old man, Allana, who was eating a special Birkan sweet, turned to Nobumori.
Allana: "You said she looks like me, right?"
Nobumori: "Well... you two are alike... but now that I'm looking at you up close, I can see the differences."
Allana: "And what are they?"
Nobumori: "The eyes and the wings. Hatori has purple eyes, and her wings are much larger than yours."
Allana: "How much larger?"
Nobumori: "Wings that size are a blessing that only comes once every hundred years. The last time I measured Hatori's wings... if I remember correctly... they were 3.55 meters long."
Allana: "Wow... when was that?"
Nobumori: "Hmm... I think it was about 20 years ago."
Hearing this, Allana choked on the sweet she was eating.
Allana: "What?! I thought she was my age!"
Nobumori: "Tororo~~ Ah, little one... Hatori is 25 years old, but she hasn't grown like other people. In my opinion, all her growth went straight into her wings! Tororo~~"
Finally tearing his attention away from the festival's music, Kalev joined their conversation.
Kalev: "Your granddaughter. Where exactly is she supposed to be?"
Before answering, Nobumori slowly pointed toward the highest pavilion on the sky islands.
Kalev: "And why don't we just go up there?"
Nobumori: "Tororo~~ It's not that easy, young man. That temple is strictly for the highest-ranking priests..."
Allana: "But what if Hatori is in danger? Shouldn't we go check just to be sure?"
Nobumori: "Ah, little Allana... if there was someone strong enough to beat all the priests in the pavilions below hers, and still manage to beat my Hatori, the Daughter of the Wind?"
Allana/Kalev: "Daughter of the Wind?"
Pulling out his little illustration book once again, Nobumori flipped to a page featuring a Birkano with wings so massive they took up two entire pages.
Nobumori: "It's a title given to the strongest of our priests."
Allana: "How strong?"
Nobumori: "Remember what I said about how to reach the last pavilion, you'd need to face all the other priests?"
Allana: "Uh-huh."
Nobumori: "Fighting them is her daily training, and not to brag or anything... but my granddaughter hasn't been hit by a single priest since she became the Daughter of the Wind."
Kalev: "So she's pretty strong... but that doesn't answer where she is."
Allana: "Do you think she's just strolling through the festival? Because that's what I'd do if I were her."
Nobumori: "Hmm... I think you might be right, little one. But I'm still worried..."
Kalev: "Then let's go look for her."
Allana: "Yeah! Let's go!"
Nobumori: "Are you sure? Won't that get in the way of your travels?"
Allana: "Of course not! After all, you've helped us so much already!"
Kalev: "It's the least we can do."
Nobumori: "Thank you, you youn—"
*BOOM!!!!*
Before the three could set off to look for Hatori, the sound of lightning echoed across all of Birka, making everyone look up at the sky in horror.
????:"IT IS TIME TO SHOW WHO THE ONLY GOD IN THE SKY IS!"
To Be Continued