"It's through here," Shinji said. "Just a bit more and we'll reach the barrier."
Under normal circumstances, he would have been excited, being able to leave the village. Especially because this was everything he and the other people he grew up with knew.
But he couldn't stop thinking about what the curse did to his friends, and especially to Asuka. He couldn't shake the image of her frozen face...
He shook his head. He would save her. And anyone else as well.
"You said you know other places than my village," he said to Artemis. "So, is the world much bigger than this? How many villages exist?"
Artemis considered if he should really tell him just how many towns and villages exist... or rather, HAD existed on the surface of the Earth. For now, he figured it would be better not to tell the young man too much.
"Well, this is the Underworld... and there aren't that many villages, besides yours. There are more on the Overworld, though."
Shinji stared up at the shimmering sky he was used to. "You mean to tell me there is actually a world ABOVE us? And I thought the Crystal Sky was endless..."
"Not really," the white cat shrugged. "It just looks like a regular sky, but beyond it, there's the earth's crust... and above it, the Overworld."
"Absolutely awesome..." Shinji murmured in awe and stared up to what was known in his home village as simply the Crystal Sky. It carried that name because of the way it was always shimmering in various colors, just like light that was falling upon a crystal.
And to think that there was something beyond the sky... unbelievable!
Then they reached the shimmering barrier. Shinji realized that, before he would be able to comprehend just how big Earth was, he would have to see more of the Underworld at first.
"This is it," he said. "Now how do I get past...? Huh?" He had reached out with his hand, and the barrier created an opening. He moved his hand backwards, and the opening vanished. "What's going on? THat never happened before."
"I told you I knew a way out of here," his new advisor said. "The barrier recognizes you as the carrier of the Mystic Chest, and therefore, you shall pass."
"Freaky..." Shinji muttered. "And I could have always left the village only if I had taken that chest out of the basement?"
"Well, yes, but the curse would have been activated nevertheless."
"I see," Shinji sighed. "Well, let's go then."
They went up to the barrier, and a human-sized passageway opened, big enough for both of them to get through. It closed behind them, and they kept on walking.
Shinji was getting nervous, somehow. This was the first time in eons since a resident of his home village has gone past the barrier... maybe even for the first time.
But he somehow doubted that. If Artemis wasn't originally from these parts, someone must have been out some time ago.
----
The sun of the Underworld was just beginning to set, when Shinji and Artemis reached the edge of the forest.
And when they walked out of the thicket, an incredible landscape was lying on front of Shinji's eyes.
Plains that were covered with white, glittering sand. Mountains of colorful crystals. Pools of azure water and scorching hot lava were alternating. Every now and then, trees that were looking like sea corals (not that Shinji would know what they looked like) were standing by themselves.
And in the dimming light of the setting sun, all of that looked even more amazing.
"What... what is all of this?" Shinji murmured.
Artemis let his gaze sweep over the scenery. "This... is the Underworld."
"But... but I thought it would look like..."
"Like in your home village? Shinji, the Underworld is much, much bigger than just the forest in which your village is situated. There are other forests, sure, but what you see now is what makes up the bigger part of the Underworld."
"Wow! And to think that I never knew all of this existed..."
"You haven't seen anything yet, kid," his cat companion smirked. His paw gestured ahead. "Look over there! See that dark spire that is visible against the evening sky? That's the first of the towers we have to reach. And if we hurry, we'll reach it before it gets dark. You up to it?"
Shinji only needed to think of Asuka and the other people back at home, and his determination rose. "Let's get a move on"
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(Posted Wed, 04 Apr 2007 20:56)
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