“Whoa…”
Captain Odya fanned her hand through the holographic figure of Matina, piercing right through her slender body without disturbance to the projection. Created by the small device screwed to the floor of the bridge room, their helpful adjutor appeared tinier than her true self, seemingly to fit herself into the small room.
“Hehe… you look so cute now, Lady Matina!”, Corley giggled.
“Oh, is that how you see it?”, Matina curiously responded. “I didn’t expect that scaling my projection down would change how you perceive me”.
“Please, don’t be bothered by it! I’m just saying”, Corley clarified.
“Honestly, I find this very neat”, Odya expressed. “Having you… Well, your full-body projection with us made it feel like you’re actually on board with us, even though you’re smaller now”
“I only downscaled myself to fit into this bridge room of yours”, Matina replied. “Look—”
Her projection flew off the base of the device and passed through the window onto the deck outside. There, the little Matina expanded herself back to her 1:1 scale, without a drop in resolution.
“And… here’s me with my usual massive size”, she spoke through the window.
“Ooh, now this is interesting!”, Odya praised. “So, you could just wander off the projection base even without a line of sight?”
“Correct. This little device we call LEIUTEREAI allows me to move around within a distance from it without any real limitation. So, if anyone is looking to see me, they wouldn’t need to always get into the bridge room all the time”.
“If only Timbre could resize himself like your projection… that’ll be so great…”, Corley jokingly wished. “Just think of it: every time he needs to get inside the bridge, he could just shrink himself to a pocket-sized and give more space to others!”
“Hahaha! Alright, that’s enough, Corley. Let’s not joke about that too much”, Odya said.
Just as the ladies were performing check-ups on their airship, the men stepped aboard with boxes on their hands and shoulders. Sweating and exhausted, this was their third trip from Odya’s workshop on the opposite side of the mountain, carrying their captain’s newly handcrafted guns and other gizmos she had made in the past 8 months.
“Hah…! Finally, that should be the last of it”, Alaric expressed as he gently dropped the box onto the deck.
“Man… what have Captain been making?”, Lorian wiped his brow. “Would our airship still fly with all of this heavy stuff?”
“No idea”, Timbre bluntly spoke, still steady from all the heavy lifting.
Captain Odya stepped out of the bridge room and walked toward them, delightfully asking: “Hey guys, has everything been carried out?”
“Yeah… we’ve made sure that all the boxes you placed outside were taken, Captain”, Alaric halfheartedly said.
“Alright, alright, sorry for making you lift all of that. I’ll make sure to add the bonus to your salary once we get back to Machiaville”, Odya promised.
“Oh, in that case… thank you, Captain!”, Lorian earnestly replied.
“Everyone, now that the checkups and preparation were done, could all of you please see me at the base? I got a few last words to tell you”, Matina interjected as they were talking.
“Umm… couldn’t you just say it here? I mean, you’re virtually in front of us all”, Alaric spoke to her.
“Well, wouldn’t it be nicer to see my real self for the last time?”, Matina responded.
The Strife Striders disembarked their airship and met with Matina at the agreed place. There, they spoke to their adjutor about the agreements they had discussed over the past 8 months, ensuring everything was clear to both sides.
“So… I believe that at this point, everyone has heard about the concord between us?”, Matina asked.
“Yeah”, Captain Odya spoke on the Strife Striders’ behalf.
“So, let me formally list out what the Strife Striders must do first, before listing what the EOA must do in return…”.
“First: The Strife Striders shall not share the secrets of the EOA they’ve witnessed with anybody in Equilibria under any circumstances.”
“Second: The Strife Striders shall not abuse the assistance given by the EOAs for personal ambitions or goals. The EOAs shall hold the right to decide what counts as personal ambitions or goals or not.”
“Third: The Strife Striders must follow all the directives given by the EOAs whenever received. They’re given the right to argue and negotiate the directives’ details, but only the EOA can decide the final verdict.”
“And fourth: The Strife Striders shall no longer consider the EOAs as ‘angels’, and instead refer to them as ‘adjutors’. They’re not required to preach on the matter to the masses, but shall be discouraged from praying in the name of the angels. Participating in angel-worshipping rituals shall only be allowed as a customary respect to the people.”
“Now, as for the EOAs…”
“First: The EOAs must provide sufficient assistance within their limit to the Strife Striders whenever necessary, given in the form of insight or raw power channelled via Lorian’s resolite. The Strife Striders were given the right to decide when it is necessary, given that all members agree.”
“Second: The EOAs must not abandon the Strife Striders under any condition, and must allow the Strife Striders to contact them at all times. However, they shall hold the right to voice their concern if the Strife Striders break any of the agreement laid, and limit assistance as a response”.
“Third: The EOAs must respect human boundaries and not force the Strife Striders to commit actions deemed unacceptable by human morality, which is to be decided by the agreement of all members of the Strife Striders”.
Matina then summoned forth a light projection suspended in the air, with everything she said before written out clearly before the Strife Striders. She said: “Here are all of the terms I just spoke about in case any of you missed any of it”.
The Strife Striders read the concord’s agreement once again to ensure they had listened correctly. After some serious consideration, all of them came to a satisfaction with the terms given, except for Timbre, who had something to say.
“Matina, there’s one issue that needs to be addressed in this”, he raised his hand.
“Hm? Please, speak up”, Matina replied.
“The concord here placed emphasis on all members of the Strife Striders to agree on something. But, what counts as members of the Strife Striders?”, he voiced his question.
“Well, the Strife Striders are all who are under Captain Odya, no?”, she answered.
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“So, what happens if a new member joins in?”, Timbre asked.
“Hmm, I think I see what Timbre’s trying to say here”, Alaric said, “Anyone new joining us would suddenly be learning about world-shattering information they’re not ready for”.
“Yeah… I can see how messy things can get when they learn about the EOAs…”, Corley commented.
“Thing is, my long-term ambition is to bring the Strife Striders back to my late father’s glory days, so limiting new members is not what I would want”, Captain Odya said.
“I think we should change the concord a little so that it's between the EOA and the five of us only. That should solve the problem”, Lorian suggested.
“Agree, that sounds much better”, Odya replied.
Matina responded: “Alright then, so let me just add that clarification at the top…”
New words appear before the first term, saying:
“This is a concord between the EOAs led by Matina and the five members of the Strife Striders who were present at Mirukafa…”
“Hm, much better”, Timbre said.
“Alright, if everyone is okay with this, please say your name and say that you agree to this light projection”.
Like this: “I, Matina… agreed to this concord”
They followed her, starting off with Lorian:
“I, Lorian Ashwood…”
“…Alaric Vither…”
“…Corley…”
“…Captain Odya…”
“…Timbre…”
“…agreed to this concord”
Their names etched themselves at the bottom as they finished their lines, and with that done, Matina compressed the light projection down to a little shining particle and sent it flying into Lorian’s Contact Bracelet. The ancient bracelet on his hand then pulsed with a glow as the particle embedded itself within it.
“Oh? So, you’re putting it in this?”, Lorian was surprised.
“I think it’s just fitting that the one who suggested the concord between us in the first place carries it around”, Matina amicably said.
They then continued their conversation by refreshing about the journey home plan they had discussed the day prior, before all of them went back to the airship for departure. As the Strife Striders boarded the airship, Matina stayed back on the ground and watched them prepare for flight.
With the harmonicium tank fully rumbling and the airship beginning to take lift, the Strife Striders stood by the bulwark and looked at Matina and Mirukafa down below.
“Thanks for everything, Lady Matina!”, Corley excitedly waved back.
“Goodbye, Mirukafa! We’re going to miss you!”, Alaric bid farewell to the island itself.
“See you again on the other side!”, Lorian loudly said.
“See you too!”, Matina replied.
The airship then slowly turned to face northwest as it reached high enough altitude. At the same time, Lorian walked up to the resolite connector on the deck, with his resolite halberd in both hands and a racing heart in his chest. With a deep breath, he looked straight at the horizon and watched as the forming portal ahead of them began expanding.
Lights bent around the portal as it widened out, while geometric shards danced around it in a spiral with a thousand crackling noises at once. Even though they were hovering a kilometre away from it, they could feel the violent turbulence tumbling their airship like a small quake.
“Hold steady! The portal is about to be fully opened!”, Lorian yelled to his friends sitting inside the bridge room.
“Don’t worry, we got this!”, Odya yelled back as she and Corley controlled the airship’s stability through the panel in front of them.
Finally, after a minute of enduring the turbulence, he saw a small light flicker right in the middle of the portal, where it flashed out and turned the whole portal into shining white.
“That’s it! This is when Matina told me to insert my resolite into the connector!”, Lorian excitedly spoke to himself.
Without further hesitation, he struck the halberd’s head down into the connector’s hole, channelling its power right through it and into the harmonicium tank, before instantly accelerating the airship straight into the portal.
A thunderous roar echoed through all across Mirukafa as the portal collapsed right after they entered. Back on the ground, Matina, who was controlling the portal just now, turned off the holographic panel in front of her and solemnly watched the sky where they had vanished as everything returned to silence.
“Even though I could see them later, I’ll still miss their company on this island…”, she sighed.
.
.
.
*cough* *cough*
Lorian weakly stood up, supported by his halberd still lodged into the connector, while feeling disoriented after passing out. As his hearing slowly returned, he began to hear his friends' voices as they all stepped out of the bridge room behind him.
“Ugh… my head spun so badly…”, Alaric complained.
“Was it really that bad?”, Corley, unaffected, wonderingly asked.
“You might not be able to understand it… But, *cough*, it really does feel bad…”, Odya dizzily answered.
“This is exactly how they were back when we arrived in Mirukafa, Corley”, Timbre added.
Matina projected herself onto the deck shortly after everyone had left the bridge, and she checked in on everyone by asking:
“Hello? Is everyone feeling alright?”
“Well, more or less…”, Alaric responded.
Corley spoke as she looked out over the bulwark: “So, the area we’re in now is the closest you could open the portal to the continent without alerting the two empires?”
Matina answered: “That’s true. This small section above the Sea of Nova is a blind spot region that both empires have neglected due to its apparent insignificance. Anyway, as you continue to fly northward, you will start to see the coastal city of Nova itself, now ruled under Tachyon.”
“Oh, so we’re actually able to see the city in our path?”, Alaric asked.
“Yes, since I would add a projection to disguise this ship as a small cloud after this, we could take the shortest path to Rustbed without the need to evade anything”, Matina told him.
“Ah… so that you meant earlier by disguising us as a cloud”, Alaric recalled. “I thought you would actually carry forth an actual cloud to us…”
“That’s… unfortunately, would be impossible for me without physically being there”, Matina said. “The device I installed earlier is the key to all disguises and cover-ups this airship would take going forward”.
“Hmm, since that’s the case…”, Alaric wondered, “is it possible for us to use this disguise to land in the city itself?”
“Huh? Hey, Alaric! We literally just started our journey. Are you trying to deviate us from our path already?”, Odya scolded.
“Um… well, not so much of a deviation, but more like a short stop, I would say”, he hesitantly said.
“You see, I grew up in that city, and ever since it was invaded 13 years ago, I left to wander the world and never returned home once. I didn’t even come close to it in all of those years.”
“I thought that, maybe, I could have the opportunity to revisit the graves of some of my friends and family who had died during the invasion. But of course, the decision is up to you, Captain”.
“Wow… you really left me with the heavy decision, huh?”, Odya said.
She looked around and asked: “How about the others? Are we cool to take our first stop in Nova?”.
Corley and Timbre seemed hesitant to answer right away, worried about the risks they might face upon stepping into a hostile territory. But Lorian just smiled on and said: “Fine by me, at least”.
“Huh? But, Lorian, didn’t Matina just say that it's under Tachyonian rule now?”, Corley anxiously reminded him. “After what we did to them last time, they would have definitely recognised all of us by now!”.
Timbre added: “Also, if you’re wondering whether we could use my perception-altering ability there, then I’m sorry, but I won’t risk it. There are simply too many dangers if we were to fail here, especially since they’ve probably learnt about our airship boosting secret by now”.
“Both of their concerns were valid, but what makes you support his idea, Lorian?”, Odya asked.
“Because…”, Lorian spoke as he slowly gazed at Alaric.
“When he said how his friends and family died in the invasion, it reminded me of Tragula, Ninova, and other places in Everbloom that had unfortunately come under fire from the imperial forces' aggression”.
“I still remember that before the heavenly ray destroyed Tragula, I saw my village burning in fires as the two empires fought within it, and killed whoever tried to stop them, be it the opposing empire’s force, or the villagers who simply tried to defend their home.”
“I also remember how, before Alaric and I joined you guys, we were part of the short-lived Ninovan resistance, who were decimated by the Seirionians the instant they were discovered.”
“There are many whom I’ve lost without the opportunity to even say a goodbye, let alone seeing their proper grave”.
“So, getting to see the graves of the people Alaric knew would give me some hope that one day, others too can have their respected burial”.
Resonating with what Lorian said, Captain Odya spoke: “To be honest, I’m on the same wavelength as Lorian in this…”.
“Which is why I’m okay with Alaric’s justification for the stop”, she confidently smiled.
Alaric was taken aback by how sympathetic they were to his request. He had expected a stronger opposition to his rather selfish reasoning, like from Timbre and Corley, but he didn’t expect Lorian to spin it to make it more universal than his original thought.
“Thinking about others who didn’t even get their graves… this kiddo has a larger heart than me”, Alaric humbly monologued.
Matina, who respectfully remained silent as the Strife Striders discussed, spoke out: “If everyone can come to a single consensus, then I could help you get to Nova”.
Corley surrendered: “Alright… if even Captain Odya herself agreed to this, then I shall too, I guess”.
Timbre continued: “Perhaps Corley and I placed our priority differently from normal humans like the three of you. But, to not stall this any further, then I shall agree to this”.
“Good, now that’s everyone in the same boat, then we shall prepare ourselves for the landing”, Matina gladly said. “Captain, if you please, you may steer the airship now as I guide”.
“Got it!”, Captain Odya nodded and headed into the bridge room.
As the other were getting to their seat on the bulwark’s bench, Alaric suddenly wrapped his hand over Lorian’s shoulder and proudly whispered:
“Hey, kiddo… thanks for supporting me…”
“Eh, it’s nothing. I just said what’s in my mind”, Lorian responded.
“Heh, you’re too humble”, Alaric lightly said. “Anyway, since you’ve helped me just now, I guess I shall tell you something once we get there”.
“What is it?”, Lorian got curious.
“Just wait for it…”
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