LIGHTNOVELONLINE Sun, Moon and Sea
It didn't take long for Ayo to begin to rethink entering the forest. As she walked she could feel the eyes of creatures watching her from the shadows, possibly deciding whether she would make for an easy and delicious snack. She tensed, ready for an ambush, but none of them seemed to make a move. Maybe they could sense that she was not easy prey anymore.
Although Ayo wasn't sure if that was even true. Now that the initial excitement had passed, Ayo was starting to realise that maybe she hadn't thought this all the way through. According to her research Towers prioritised people who were already warriors or scholars and who, in some way, could defend themselves. While the choices weren't limited to just those, Ayo knew she had swung things massively in her favour both with her foreknowledge and the ritual she had been trying to cast when she was taken.
It had been a work of art, even if practically everything involved in its creation and planned activation had been pilfered from the House of Knowledge, Earth’s greatest trove of arcane and mundane knowledge. She’d been trying to figure out a way to activate the thing without possessing a drop of magic herself when the flash of light came and she’d been isekai’d.
At least it hadn’t been a truck.
In any case, she was out in the open, away from the safety of the Tower, away from her little nest of stolen goods and she had to rely solely on herself. Her heart raced as she heard something move in the bushes to her right and she spun around, her fingers already curling into fists as she prepared to activate her suddenly pathetic-looking attack art. An art she hadn’t even looked at yet.
But the disturbance turned out to be just a small, harmless-looking soul beast. Ayo relaxed. While she knew that just because something looked cute and harmless didn’t necessarily mean that they were, she recognised this particular one. It was tiny; merely a round, armless thing that barely came up to her ankles and ran around on thin, spindly legs. Its three, beady eyes peered out at her from behind the thick curtain of brown fur that covered most of its body and for a moment, it considered her with an air of contented stupidity. Then, before she could blink, a wide gash split its body nearly in half, exposing a long, pink tongue and it darted forward and disappeared into the underbrush.
Ayo continued on only after a moment’s hesitation, her eyes scanning the dense foliage around her. She was looking for any signs of danger, any movement or sound that would indicate that she was being followed or stalked by something a lot more dangerous than a baby kholomodumo. But the forest was eerily silent. It was as if all the animals and beasts were holding their breath, waiting for her to make a wrong move.
Ayo shook her head, Get a grip, woman! and summoned the status screen with a flicker of thought. There was no use complaining over the viability of the arts she'd been given when she wasn't even sure what most of them did. So, first, she took a look at her complete status screen.
[Name: Funmilayo Egbuche
[Race: Spiderkin
[Age: 21
[Rank: Sign
[Affinity: Moon
[Title(s): Master Weaver, Elder Reborn
[Essence: 2,000/2,000
[Ascension Well: 0/10,000
[Arts:
- Essence Cultivation
- Lunar Threads]
Then she scrolled down to the list and began to read their descriptions one by one.
[Title: Elder Reborn]
[Description: Reborn in you is the slumbering soul of a Primordial Elder, a Ris whose embodiment of the affinity of the moon is now yours. This elemental affinity as well as its subvariants can now be infused into all of your arts. Starter Art: Moonlight Generation]
[Title: Master Weaver]
[Description: Carried over from your previous life on the Instance, Earth, your art as a weaver has been recognised by the System and your talents translated into a matching Title. Starter Art: Thread Manipulation]
Then it was time for the Arts.
[Art: Essence Cultivation
[Essence Cost: None
[Class: Active
[Description: The power of the stars lingers in you, waiting only to be called upon. This art allows you to draw in and cultivate essence from the world. Note: Essence gained from this art depends not only on rank but locations and other conditions as well.]
Ayo hummed thoughtfully. Everything was mostly according to her expectations including the caveats. The Elder Reborn Title had not been expected at all and she knew little of what it did but it sounded strong and awesome and it was about time some special treatment went her way. Essence Cultivation was also a generic but valuable art, as it was an always-there, dependable source of essence. She knew not everyone possessed or could even learn the art. And while the Master Weaver Title left a mildly sour taste in her mouth, it had given her a hopefully valuable art in Lunar Threads.
But before I take a look at that...
"Mediator, how do I ascend to a new rank?"
[Through cultivating essence as well building out your soulspace in the higher ranks. At your current rank of Sign, this would require cultivating enough essence for your Ascension Well as well as completion of at least two soul constructs in your soulspace. Please note that the nature of the soul constructs will determine the nature of new arts gained.]
So, in short, she was going to have to forge her own path herself. No convenient awarding of new arts at plot-critical moments here. It was disappointing but not the end of the world. She would just have to get creative.
"How much essence do I need to advance?"
[At least ten thousand points of essence.]
Alright. She could work with that. Ayo had no idea how much essence the Cultivation art would gift her per session but it was nothing a little trial and error couldn’t fix. And so, with a little sigh, she turned her attention to her remaining art.
[Art: Lunar Threads
[Essence Cost: Variable
[Class: Active
[Description: A merged art. This art allows the user to generate delicate yet incredibly strong webs of moonlight that can be used for a variety of purposes, including trapping enemies or constructing protective barriers. The strength and length of the webs depend on the amount of essence used to create them.]
Ayo stared for a moment, suddenly feeling a whole lot better about her almost impulsive choices. The description didn’t sound that spectacular but the potential alone was staggering. Quickly checking her surroundings to make sure she was alone and keeping an eye on her status screen, Ayo started channelling some essence into the art.
A faint silver glow enveloped her hands as she focused on the image of a spider web in her mind, then separated into thin strands of webbing, emerging from her fingertips to fall in a delicate pool in front of her. Ayo couldn’t help but smile in wonder as she watched the webbing grow bigger and taller with each passing moment. Then she stopped and considered her handiwork. She hadn’t been attempting to create anything, just basic threads, but even unshaped it was a beautiful sight. The pile glittered in the sunlight, almost as if they were alive and she didn’t need to feel them to know that they were soft. All in all, she estimated she’d created around a metre or so of webbing and a glance at her status confirmed it.
1,892 essence remaining. She’d already lost a little over a hundred points of essence to just this simple practice. But Ayo couldn’t find it in her to care. As far as she was concerned, this was a necessary sacrifice. So, she continued to experiment, creating different shapes and sizes of webs, and then trying to weave them together. Her first attempts ended in disaster; there wasn’t much she could do without a loom and doing it by hand took up too much time and essence.
But do I need to physically weave? She wondered. This is magic after all. Hmmm.
Ayo hummed and called to mind one of her first weaves, a fishing net from back home. She had made the thing on a whim, back when she’d briefly entertained the idea of capturing one of the merfolk and forcing them to turn her. The net had been terrible, the lines frayed, the gaps uneven and she’d promptly set it on fire after one of her uncles caught sight of the thing and wouldn’t stop laughing. But now, the net that took shape in front of her was immaculate. It still retained the same silvery glow as the rest of her webs and when she picked it up and cast, it flew out and open like the work of a master. Ayo couldn’t stop grinning. If her parents could see her now…
Again and again, Ayo experimented and soon learnt that she could control the thickness and strength of the weaves by adjusting the amount of essence she channelled into them. She wasn't yet sure what the silvery glow did, other than strengthening her webs or how she was going to use this offensively but at the very least she wouldn't be utterly defenceless.
In any case, by the time she stopped, it was almost approaching sunset and her essence had dropped to the low 400s. Hoisting herself up a tree with a web and after much swearing and near falls, she settled in to cultivate. She briefly considered actively trying to build her soulspace, but it’d been a long day and her exhausted mind rebelled at the thought. So, instead, she decided to just do some basic cultivation, breathing in and out deeply, eyes closed and going over what she’d learned as the essence flowed from the world back into her. Into an empty, yawing void just above her navel that she knew was her soulspace.
As she worked, she began to feel a sense of peace wash over her. There was something comforting about the act of creation, about shaping something from nothing. She could see now why everybody from back home had loved magic so much. Even the act of replenishing her spent essence was soothing. For a moment, she forgot that she was alone in a strange and dangerous land, forgot about the danger that lurked in the shadows. Here, she was just a girl, playing with her magic.
But her peaceful moment was shattered by a sudden sound. It was soft; a low grunt, that she felt more than heard. Ayo’s eyes snapped open and she froze, her heart pounding in her chest as her eyes darted around and below her, searching for the source of the sound. She could feel the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end, her skin crawling with goosebumps.
And then, she saw it. A bulky shadow snuffling the ground, leaving behind disturbed earth and crushed vegetation in its wake. She caught a glimpse of wicked-looking tusks, a back bristling with spine-like hair, and a pair of small eyes, dark with malevolence.
She stuttered, her hand trembling as she reached for her essence but the Quill Boar didn’t seem to have noticed her, focused as it was on its foraging. Ayo took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing heart. She needed to be careful. Great Beats, and Quill Boars in particular, were almost notoriously aggressive and difficult to kill. The stories she’d found were quite detailed about unprepared hunters who had gone up against one and never returned. But she had no choice. She couldn't let the creature get too close. And she needed the essence. So, she channelled her magic from her perch and prepared to start casting.
But before she could fling a shimmering mass at the soul beast, she heard it; two voices raised in loud argumentation. The Quill Boar froze as well, as though it too was in shock that anyone would be so stupid, then squealed and charged off in their direction. Ayo stared wordlessly at the retreating back of the soul beast but she could hear them a lot clearer now, the sound of their raised voices echoing through the forest. She couldn’t make out what they were saying, but she didn’t need to, to understand that they were in hot water.
Ayo hesitated. Should she help them? It wasn’t as if she owed them anything. She didn’t even know who they were and there was a non-zero chance that they might even turn out to be a threat to her.
And yet…
She couldn’t just leave them to die, could she? Lives were at stake here and even with her instinctive distrust of other people at play, she knew she would need friends, or at the very least, allies if she wanted to survive for long. Plus, she was so, so tired of being alone. When was the last time she held a conversation with someone who actually liked her? Plus, there was this faint tugging on her chest, an almost whisper of something that compelled her to act, to at least see what was going on.
With a deep breath, Ayo climbed down the tree and set off towards the source of the commotion, her threads at the ready. She moved silently through the forest, surprised at how easily stealth was coming to her. An innate trait of her race not complex enough to mandate its own art slot perhaps? But there was no time to mull it over though. Almost immediately she reached the end of the trail of destruction left by the boar and slowed down as she approached a clearing, careful not to make any noise. She took cover behind a nearby tree and peered out cautiously to assess the situation.
What she saw took her breath away. The voices turned out to have been two men who were currently locked in combat with the Quill Boar, their magic flashing as they fended off the beast. Ayo could see that they were outmatched, but they fought with a ferocity that took her by surprise. The man on the left was tall and broad-shouldered, with deep black hair streaked with orange, kept in a single, segmented ponytail and piercing orange eyes. A frown cracked across his handsome, dark brown face as he circled the boar, looking for an opening, an open flame dancing in one hand. The man on the right was shorter, but not by much, with curly, shoulder-length cyan hair, dark grey skin and sharp cyan eyes that gleamed with amusement as he darted in and out like the wind; his movements quick and precise as he harried the beast with blasts of mist to the face. Even to her inexperienced eyes, it was clear that they were working together, cyan hair confusing and distracting while the other attacked.
Ayo watched in awe, transfixed by the deadly dance. There was danger here, an oppressive tension that hung heavy in the air. And yet her heart was racing and she couldn’t look away. She'd never seen anything like this before, never seen people fight with such art and grace.
Which, she allowed after a moment’s thought, was to be expected, considering her background. Her original plan of charging to the rescue seemed laughable now. How was she supposed to intervene in that?
But the soul beast didn’t seem particularly inclined to share her awe. It squealed and charged, wielding its sharp tusks and turning corners with surprising agility. Orange eyes dodged the first charge with feline grace, slapping the passing soul beast with a flaming hand in the same motion. Another squeal greeted that attack but before it could move, cyan hair was there blasting mist into its face.
This two-pronged attack proved to be all too much for the Quill Boar and it stomped the ground in fury, its beady eyes turning a dark, malicious red. The spines on its back rose and straightened, like sentries at the passing of a superior, then launched themselves at the pair. Ayo’s heart jumped into her mouth but they reacted in time; a set of quills passing harmlessly through cyan hair’s suddenly translucent form and others missing entirely when orange eyes took to the air on flaming wings.
Wait a minute… wings?!
Jealousy instantly replaced concern in Ayo’s mind as she watched with envious eyes as the young man darted gracefully in the air. It wasn’t fair. Why hadn’t she gotten a flying art? Common sense whispered that Starter Arts were just that; an excellent base from which she was supposed to build and construct the rest of her arsenal and that nothing was stopping her from learning to fly in the future but she ignored it completely. Who even needed a strong foundation anyway when there was the option of flight?
But the battle had not paused for a moment, even for her outrage and then, almost as if the universe had heard her complaints, Ayo saw an opening. The Quill Boar dodged a fresh blast of mist, launched another assault at orange eyes, then charged towards cyan hair, who had overextended with that last attack and was now scrambling to get away.
Ayo reacted on instinct, channelling her essence and flinging the thick mass of webbing towards the beast. At once the net wrapped tight around the surprised creature’s legs and midsection and she pulled with all her might, sending it stumbling across the clearing.
The two men turned to stare at her with matching expressions of surprise but quickly capitalised on the opportunity. Orange eyes called forth a fresh bloom of flames, sending them hurtling towards the Quill Boar's head while the man with the cyan hair moved in quickly, his hands glowing as he channelled his essence into an art that sent a blast of water right into the creature's face. The two attacks met in a brilliant detonation and the resulting explosion rang out like a gunshot, sending steam and flesh chunks flying in all directions. The Quill Boar shuddered, let a final squeal, then fell, half of its face reduced to a pulpy mass of meat and brain matter.
For a few moments, there was silence in the clearing, broken only by the sound of heavy breathing as the three of them caught their breath, hearts racing. Then cyan hair snorted and the tension broke.
"Well, that was something," he said with a grin. "Thanks for the assist, by the way."
Ayo nodded, still too winded to speak. She watched as orange eyes knelt to examine the Quill Boar’s body, while cyan hair wandered over to her with an easy smile.
"I'm Oluwole," he said, offering her a hand. "And that ruffian over there is my friend, Oghenemairo. But just Wole and Mairo is fine."
"We're not friends," came the instant reply. Mairo stood up, glanced once at the duo and returned his attention to the slain soul beast before him. "I've been telling you this since we met."
"We’ve literally known each other for years, Mairo!"
"And?"
Wole rolled his eyes at that. “It’s not cute to so obviously be in denial dear. Just admit you’ve grown to like me, it’s not that hard.” Then he turned back to Ayo and blinked once, as if he had just then remembered that she was still there.
"Oh, yeah, sorry about that,” he paused and frowned a little. “What were we talking about again?"
"We were introducing ourselves. My name is Ayo," she replied, amused despite her uncertainty. This one was weird. "I saw you guys were in trouble, so I thought I'd lend a hand."
Wole snickered. "More like lend a web," he said, glancing at the shimmering mass of webbing still wrapped around the Quill Boar's body, then chuckled again at his terrible pun. "Seriously though, thank you. We might not have made it out of that one alive without you."
Ayo felt a ridiculous surge of pride at his words, one that grew when Mairo echoed the sentiment and shot her a wary smile.
Honestly, woman. One smile from two cute boys and you’re an instant mess…
Thankfully her status window popped up before she could embarrass herself by drooling or something and she eagerly dived for the distraction.
[Enemy Defeated!]
[x1 Quill Boar Killed.
[You have been awarded 210 essence for the feat! (Essence penalty applied due to defeat by team effort.)]
Ayo sighed deeply, then shook off her irritation almost immediately. The penalty had been an expected if unwelcome consequence of killing an enemy with a group, but it was certainly better than nothing. After all, that was more essence than what she would have gotten if she spent that exact time cultivating. After some thought, she sent all of the essence she just earned along with some extra to the Ascension Well and checked her status.
[Name: Funmilayo Egbuche
[Race: Spiderkin
[Age: 21
[Rank: Sign
[Affinity: Moon
[Title(s): Master Weaver, Elder Reborn
[Essence: 252/2,000
[Ascension Well: 300/10,000
[Arts:
- Essence Cultivation
- Lunar Threads]
Well, everything was coming along quite nicely. She was a bit too low on essence for comfort but not majorly so. There was more than enough left to defend herself if another monster attacked, assuming she managed to snare it in the first ten castings or so. And besides it wasn’t anything a bout of cultivation couldn’t fix.
Feeling much better about the entire situation, she was snapped out of her thoughts when she felt the two men's gazes on her. She quickly put her attention back on them, realizing that they were waiting for her to answer.
“Yeah?”
“I was asking where you came from,” Wole repeated with a smile. “We were under the impression this side of the island was uninhabited and well…you’re a spiderkin. No one has seen your people in centuries. Kinda makes a guy curious you know?”
Mairo hummed, nodding his assent and Ayo hesitated, briefly considering a lie.
But what was she going to say? The race change she’d taken as unimportant had now come back to bite her in the ass. Plus, there was a sharpness in Wole and Mairo’s eyes, a glint that told her that no matter how calmly they were speaking they were wary, cautious and would probably detect any falsehood easily. It grated a little, to be honest. Hadn’t she put her life in danger just to help them?
But then Ayo sighed and let it go. Truth was, she was tired. Tired of running. Tired of planning and scheming, of being too afraid and too mistrusting to allow anyone to get too close. When was the last time she’d had a full-on conversation with someone and just… not worried about her words or actions?
Plus, that light tugging on her chest was still there, an almost feeling that whispered that she was safe and could trust these two. So, she caved. And she told them everything.
Well, not everything, a girl still needed to have her secrets after all, but she did give them the basic gist of it and by the time she was done the sun had almost completely disappeared beneath the horizon. Ayo took a deep breath and waited. She expected fear, she expected shock.
What she did not expect, was excitement.
“A Starborn,” cried Wole with glee. “A Starborn! I knew something weird was going on.”
“Would you please stop screaming at her,” Mairo asked with a sigh. “She’s had enough of a shock for one day.”
“Sorry,” Wole replied with a sheepish grin. “But seriously, Ayo, this is amazing. Do you know how rare it is to find a Starborn?”
Ayo shook her head, a little bewildered by their sudden enthusiasm. It was not what she had been expecting at all.
“Very rare,” Mairo supplied with a shrug. “Starborns are like… adamantine. There's only ever been five since the new age began and every single one changed the world."
“And you’re one of them,” Wole said, eyes shining. “That’s just… wow.”
Ayo shifted uneasily under their gaze, still unsure how to react to their enthusiasm. "Surely I'm not the only outsider to have come to this world right?"
"Oh, there have been. Thousands even before the War. But you must know Starborn are different. The will of the planet chose you, changed you," Wole enthused, then paused, his expression softening. "And we are overwhelming you."
Mairo let out a scoff. "Speak for yourself."
Ayo couldn't help but feel a little touched by the way they were talking about her like she was someone special. She had gone through most of her life feeling like an outsider, like she didn't belong anywhere, but hearing these two men speak about her with such reverence made her feel like maybe she was meant for something greater.
"I don't know about any of that," she said, fidgeting with the hems of her gown. "I just saw you guys were in trouble and did what any normal person would do."
Wole cocked his head at her, blue eyes narrowing a tiny bit. "Oh, I highly doubt that. You'd be surprised at what people are capable of.” Then he sniffed and seemed to dismiss the matter with one wave of his hand. “In any case, what you did was definitely not nothing. If you hadn’t intervened, I probably would have died and that would be a tragic loss for the universe as a whole. We, and I specifically, owe you one.” He paused for a moment as if a thought had just occurred to him. “Hey, we'll be heading back to the village tomorrow. You should come with. I'm sure the village heads would love to meet you."
Ayo hesitated for a moment, the idea of meeting new people and potentially making new friends both appealing and terrifying. But something in her gut told her that these two were genuine, that they weren't going to hurt her or betray her. And besides, it might be nice to have a change of scenery and get out of the forest for a little while.
"I... I don't know," she said, twisting her fingers together nervously. "I don't want to be a burden or anything."
"Nonsense," came the flippant reply. "You saved our lives, the least we can do is offer you a place to stay and some food in your belly."
"Unless of course, you have somewhere else to go," Mairo chimed in drily.
"I'd like that," Ayo said, a small smile creeping onto her face, then ducked her head, heat rising to her cheeks. Urgh! What a time to discover that she was shy.
But Wole just grinned wider, one arm snaking across her shoulders. "You won't regret it," he said. "Come on, let's get out of here before any more beasties come looking for a fight."
With that, the three of them set off through the forest, Ayo falling into step beside the two men.
As they walked, Ayo couldn't help but feel a little bit of excitement building within her. Maybe this was the change she needed, a chance to start over and make something of herself in this strange new world. She glanced over at Wole and Mairo, taking in their easy camaraderie, and felt a hint of envy. She had never had friends like that before, people who genuinely cared about her and wanted to spend time with her.
As they continued on, Ayo's thoughts drifted to the village she was heading to. What would it be like? Would the people there be accepting of her, or would they see her as some kind of freak? She was almost tempted to turn back and disappear into the forest again, but the reassuring presence of Wole and Mairo at her side kept her going.
Finally, after what felt like hours of walking, they emerged from the heart of the forest and into a small clearing. At once the duo moved to the biggest tree, which was wider than two Ayos stacked together, disappeared up its length like monkeys, then waved her on.
Now Ayo had never climbed a jungle beam let alone a tree this huge before in her life but she found it surprisingly easy, helped no doubt by her new spiderkin nature. Their destination turned out to be a large knot where three of the largest branches erupted from, like arrows in a quiver. The remnants of a campfire sat in the centre and Ayo watched in amusement as Wole and Mairo gathered around their makeshift tents of leaves and sticks then promptly abandoned them to help her figure out how to make new ones with her webs. In the end, Ayo managed it and though night found them resting under functional, if slightly misshapen lumps and her still low on essence, a lovely fire courtesy of Mairo blazed merrily in the camp and she sighed at the warmth and comfort that washed over her. A chill, evening breeze wafted through the trees and above, stars twinkled merrily beyond the thick canopy. They had some roasted Quill Boar for dinner and despite the distinct lack of salt or other seasonings, it surprisingly didn’t taste that bad. And as an unexpected bonus, with each swallow, Ayo discovered her essence count ticking up a little.
"Soul beast meat is pretty much the only surefire way to gain essence here," Wole informed her around a mouthful of pork. "It even bypasses the effects of curses and such and since... well, not everyone has access to the Essence Cultivation art they are almost always in demand everywhere. Plus, the effect increases when the meat is actually cooked and not this sorry thing we have here."
Ayo nodded, pleased with this information. More sources of essence were always welcome. Then she asked the one question she'd been curious about since they arrived.
"Why are we camping up here? Don't get me wrong, it's quite nice but a little tedious right?"
"Yeah, I guess. But the forest gets dangerous at night," replied Mairo darkly. "Really dangerous. Worse things than Quill Boars are nocturnal and unless you are strong you really don't want to be on the ground when they come out to play. Not even our village is earthbound."
"Now who's the one overwhelming the newcomer?" Wole asked and the anxious spell that had gripped Ayo was broken. "Don't worry about it alright? We haven't lost anybody to such soul beasts in years." He leaned in conspiratorially. "They're shit at climbing trees."
Ayo giggled, despite her fear, and before she could think about it too hard she was distracted by the sight of Mairo stretching, his riding shirt exposing a tantalising set of abs.
"You two should get some sleep. I'll take the first watch," he said, beginning to rebraid his hair.
Ayo hesitated. "Really? You sure? You guys did all the fighting and you must be exhausted. Maybe I should–"
"It's fine." Mairo's voice was firm and unyielding but the smile he turned her way was genuine. "You are still new to this. Personally, for someone on their first day in a new world, I'm surprised you're handling it so well. I could be wrong but I don't think you were a warrior, right?"
Ayo's reply was a little mellow. "No, I'm not."
"Hey, it's nothing to be ashamed of. We were…well, we needed to learn how to fight. There was little choice in the matter. From your description, your world isn’t as much of a chaotic mess and that's a good thing."
"Yeah," chimed in Wole. "Besides, you can always learn later on."
"I guess so. I just don't want to be a burden on you two."
"You helped us kill a dangerous soul beast and made new homes for us, all within hours of meeting us."
"It's just tents. And they're not very good…"
"Still, you did it anyway. I can't imagine how much essence you basically just gave away. You're the farthest thing from a burden."
Mairo nodded, humming his agreement and Ayo ducked her head with a blush. She hadn't been complimented like that in… now that she thought about it, she couldn’t even remember and wasn’t that just sad?
"Well, I'll try to learn as much as I can."
That earned her another round of approving nods and Ayo allowed herself to finally relax.
It had been a long day but it hadn’t been nearly as bad as she’d expected it to be. She could only hope the days to come would be the same. At the very least, now she knew there were two people she could rely on if things truly fell apart.
Her worries fading away with every passing second, Ayo finally slipped into a deep sleep, her worries somewhat assuaged by the two men's words. And yet, a prickling sensation still niggled at her mind, a reminder that trouble lurked in the shadows of this strange new world where she had found herself.
There is danger here, she reminded herself. I'll have to get much stronger.