Legacies of light

While crouching on my knees I ask the beautiful girl, “Hey, let’s play a game.”

“A game?”

“Yeah, I want you to hear your answer to this question, if I like it I will not charge you anything.”

“That sounds fun hit me with the question.”

“Ok, imagine if you were a dirt poor boy with no friends, who only had his overworked mother, and lived in a horrible little apartment. You have nothing going for you, not super smart, not creative, not beautiful, just ok at everything, with the only achievement you could say was that you were sure no one else your age was as depressed as you. If you lived like that, do you think there is any limit on what you would do to better your life at the expense of others, and even yourself?”

Crouching down with me the woman says, “That's quite a detailed hypothetical, but let me humour you on this. If I was in said situation, I would say fuck you to everyone, and get as much money as possible, because I would believe that if I had money all the issues I faced would simply just disappear. Because money can give you value without being smart, beautiful, or creative.”

“Yeah, that’s what I think too,” I say scratching my head.

“But as someone with twenty-one years of life experience I will say this, the only thing you have that is truly of any value is yourself. It is the one treasure untouched and truly unknown by everyone, it is essential to the only real things that make you have any worth.

I don’t really care that much about others, but I believe doing something that will harm or kill yourself is much worse than anything else you could go true, cause when you destroy the only thing that actually makes you matter, in that moment you will be in a state much worse than physical death, you would be someone who doesn’t exist.”

Looking at the woman I say to her, “I would never believe you were fifteen years my younger if you weren’t so youthful.”

Standing up I say, “I like the answer you gave me, so let me tell you there is no toll, I made that up, and remember as long as you’re in Elpída people will constantly try to trick you; so don’t trust people so readily.

If you want to travel from platform to platform move there is a bridge connecting one to the next at the left and right-most points, if you also head over to the southmost point there is a bridge connecting all six platforms, so you can travel where you need.

And last but not least, if you commit too many crimes, there is a woman who is usually at platform six and one that can sneak you out of this country, but if you want to get her attention bring some cute little boys or girls.”

“Thank you for all that information, though it is sad I didn’t get to sleep with you for that information.”

“We still have time if you want to try?”

“No need sex is simply a method of getting to know someone, and I feel like I know you well enough.” As she walks past me, she puts her hand on my shoulder and says “The reason why change is worth it, is because it is hard.” After saying that she walks off.

After my talk with those two my mother’s last words reverberated in my mind. “Atom, I am sorry that I have to leave you so early like this, but just remember this, you are the apple of my eye and your shine has kept me through so much, so I pray that you share the blessing you have been given with others.”

It took me a few years mom, but it seems I will finally be doing what you asked, but first let me go get something to eat. After I by some food and sit down. While eating I see a stray nord cat come up to me looking like it is at death's door.

“I can’t get a break can I.” I feed the cat what I have and say, “Pass this good fortune on to someone else mister cat.”

Φ “Hey A-A-Atalanta.”

“What is it, Cyrus?”

“What w-w-was, going on back there.”

“That man was trying to rob us.”

“Re-e-e-eally.”

“Yes, could you really not tell.”

“N-N-No,” Cyrus says with his head down.

“I thought it was very obvious, all I had to do was give it a bit of thought, and even more than that, looking at the way he was I could feel he wasn’t going to be some kind of helpful saint. You can tell a lot from people just by little hints.”

“I c-c-can’t do that,” he says even more depressed

“You know at first, I wanted to get close to you since you are so hot, but now that I have spent some time with you I have figured out you're really boring, kinda plain, and just one huge bummer over all. Like why can’t you fly me up to that giant castle in the sky, aren’t you a dragon.”

“I can’t dragonify y-y-y-yet.”

“You see what I mean, you can’t even do the only thing that makes you cool, how lame.”

Looking at Cyrus I see that more words have uppercut him right into self-loathing so I say, “Well as a very knowledgeable twenty-one-year old I will tell you the secret trick I use to loosen up, it is called alcohol; let’s go to a bar.”

“I-I-I don’t r-r-really want to go.”

Faking tears I say to him, “But I really want to drink, and it sucks to do it alone so why not.” I start crying louder and louder.

Φ This is just like Orb said, I need to say no to things I don’t want to do, “I-I-I-I-I-I.” as I am about to firmly reject her she starts balling her eyes out with an incredibly sad face. “I will go.”

“YESSSS,” Atalanta says as she drags me away with her. With tears running down my face I think: I wasn’t brave enough to assert myself, and now I am going to have to drink with her.

-Break-

After moving everywhere around both the cities of Pergamon, and Aeia, Suzuka and I sits down on a bench to catch a break and eat, but while she happily gnaws away at her food all I can do is sigh.

“Orb are you ok?”

“I am fine, it is just our lack of progress that is annoying me.”

“Sorry about that, it is because I wasted time with all that sightseeing,” she says pouting.

“I told you to stop that, your sightseeing enabled us to look at places we probably would of skipped over, so thank you very much you idiot fox,” I say while rubbing her head.

“I see then have some of this,” Suzuka says handing me a piece of her food.

After eating what she gave me, I can indeed say that this food is amazing. Feeling rejuvenated after eating I stand up and say to Suzuka, “We can’t do anything more than keep looking around, so let us both go to the sixth platform Ichnaea.”

“Are you really sure that we should go there, isn’t that the dangerous one, something might happen to us, so it might be better to just skip that one.”

In response to her words, I punch Suzuka sending her flying back. Getting up from my blow, enraged she says, “How dare you,” while coming at me with a kick that sends me so far on impact, at such a high speed, I was ninety percent sure I was about to die.

Walking over to my bloody body Suzuka says while strangling me, “What the hell was that for.”

People seeing her actions try to step in and stop her, but when they come over, she turns to them and says, “All of you better fuck off before I do the same thing to you.” Hearing this they all scamper away.

“You see this is the reason that I have nothing to fear, as long as I have the mighty Suzuka Gozen protecting me I will be super safe, I already feel super secure right now, so please stop choking me.”

Embarrassed her voice goes quieter and she says, “You could of just said that. And don’t go hitting me in the face; I thought you didn’t like me anymore.”

Giving her a hug from the back I say, “I haven’t forgotten our promise at all Suzuka, so don’t forget either ok.”

“Ok.”

“Now that we have that sorted out, let’s call Atalanta and Cyrus to inform them of where we are going just in case.” Taking out the kaidenwa I ask Suzuka to charge it up with spirit energy, and then we call Atalanta.

When she picks up to says, “Hello.”

Her speech id slightly slurred so I ask her “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I am a-ok.”

“I see, I was just calling to inform you we are going to the sixth platform.”

“Have a good time.”

When she says this, I hear someone say in the background “Here youdrinks.”

“Thank you.”

“Hey Atalanta, where are you guys?”

“Oh, we're just walking around the third platform.”

“You're still on that platform!”

“Well, we have decided to take it slow and investigate thoroughly.”

“Then tell me some information that you obtained.”

Taking a minute, she says, “If you ever get in any trouble, there is a woman in the sixth and first platforms who can get you out of it.”

“Where the hell did you even learn such a thing.”

“I learned it because I was an exemplary human being.”

Letting out a sigh I say, “Then can I talk with Cyrus.”

“He is preoccupied right now.”

“Doing what?”

“I don’t think it is my place to tell you such things.”

“You’re making yourself more and more suspicious as time goes by, so can you tell me what the hell you two are doing.”

“Orb I can’t hear you I think you’re breaking up.”

“What are you talking about, I can hear you just fine.”

“The connection is about to fail so bye Orb.” Did she just hang up on me?

“THAT DUMB B*TCH.”

“Hey, don’t talk about Sissy like that,” Suzuka says while smouldering me with her tail.”

As the softness of her tails relaxes me, I say, “They’re probably fine, so let us just leave them to whatever they’re at, we informed them of our next destination and know they are in the third platform so everything is alright.”

I get on the floor and start stretching. “Orb what are you doing?”

Getting in a starting position I say, “Last one to the platform is a stupid fox.” Then I take off at full speed with Suzuka close behind me.

“Come back here you sneaky tanuki,” she says chasing after me with all her might.

Φ Taking my drink in the bar I say, “Sorry little boy, but we adults need to have sometime to blow o some steam as well.”

Looking over a Cyrus, I see him crying to some strangers saying, “I am so p-p-pathetic I can’t even do an-n-n-nything by myself bu-t-t-t-t-t who cares,” while drinking a lot.

“Is he going to be ok?”

The bartender then tells me, “He will be fine especially since he isn’t drunk.”

“Really, but he has been drinking like a fish.”

“The metabolism of dragons is so strong that I doubt he could get drunk off anything here. it happens to be one of the few known facts about them.”

“Looking over a Cyrus, I see him talking to strangers who say, “Our boss has been super uptight recently it makes working so painful. Why are all us non-human races worked so hard. Life really sucks.”

“I k-k-know, it really sucks.”

“That’s it, we all need some fun it our lives lets go to a hostess club.”

“Yeah.” They all say in unison and in no time the three non-humans drag Cyrus out of the club with me not far behind.

“What the hell are those three?”

Name: Nord Cat

Height: 24.56 cm

Type: Wonderbeast Of Elpída

Description: A pinkish black cat with four tails. Due to the way the gravity of Elpída has effected its body it can stretch and bend its body like rubber.

Fact: For some reason Nord cats are known to be more affectionate than regular cats. Many people have speculated why that is, but to this day it remains a mystery.