The Paradise That Exists Out There Somewhere [IC]

[Aix]

[hr]Created and hosted by: Aix
With cooperation from: Nai, UnendingEmpire, and Mugendramon
[hr]

[hr]

Opening: courage

Ending: All Alone With You

[hr]
The door to the passageway slammed shut, dropping the curtains on that peaceful chapter of their lives.

Outside. There was a sudden sense of alienation and discomfort. The air was different here. Maria, for once, did not feel inclined to talk. Rather, she felt herself sweating slightly as she peered into the shadowy depths of the forest, seeing nothing. There was the cacophonous chorus of birds and insects, overlaid with the shivering of the leaves in the breeze. The woods itself felt... alive. This was the land of Elysium.

"Ah, the old man left a note for us," Maria said, freeing herself from the spell of agoraphobia. Ignoring whatever plight of the others, she pulled out the worn piece of parchment caught just inside of front cover of the Encyclopedia. "Let me see..."

It was a scribbled map and a few sentences at the bottom. Centered on the page was a circle representing Sanctum with a larger one around it. The old man had marked out a path to take that lead straight out of the larger circle, towards what was supposed to be a small town in the southeast.

"'The rations should be more than enough to cover your journey there, but you should find food plentiful on the way,'" read Maria aloud. "'There are no poisonous or dangerous plants or animals in this area.' Well, that's a relief, isn't it? Ah, I'll keep reading.

"'From here on, you will rely on your wits and tenacity, and refer to the Encyclopedia,'" said Maria. She paused as she looked at a newer written piece at the very bottom. "'Stay on your toes and move quickly.' Well, I suppose that makes sense. We want to reach Paradise quickly."

She felt a lot more reassured than the moment earlier. Finally, she redirected her attention to the ancient leather bound tome itself... and froze.

"I-It's... It's empty..."

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

 

"Hey hey, I want to read that too...!"

 

Anne pouted a bit seeing how her current companion that were holding the book the old storyteller gave her currently being all secretive and didn't let others touch it. Moreover, she had laid claims that the old storyteller was her old friend so she was more entitled in holding the book compared to others, though so far no one really considered it to actually be the case since she painfully obviously looked far too young to be a friend of the storyteller, and they pretty much dismissed her as a delusional freak. Not much of a problem, really, and well, Anne considered to try screwing around with her current companions with her not-so-alive physique, but it's probably not dramatic at all if she do that now. And besides-

 

Ah, she realized her thought had trailed off uncontrollably.

 

When the girl pulled a parchment from the book's cover (a bit too roughly for Anne's liking), Anne tried her best to take a peek at the parchment too. It was apparently a map of the nearby area, which would be pretty neat in this journey, probably. At least with a map, she would not get lost out here. Anne was still not really 100% sure regarding whether she should go out here along with these people as they wandered across the world, but she pushed herself out here anyway, just so she didn't disappoint her old friend for the second time.

 

The girl then talked about supplies and mushrooms. Neat. Anne likes mushrooms. As an addition to beef....mmhm! It would definitely taste wonderful. The ghost girl salivated at the thought of tasty food before the girl with the book continued to talk, now referring to something called the Encyclopedia. Probably it's the book she's carrying right now.

 

"I-It's... It's empty..." 

 

"Huh, it's empty?"

 

Was that some kind of joke? Had the storyteller played them off? Of course, Anne really doubted that it was the case since he was her friend, but the possibility's still there. Even then...

 

"Well, if it's empty, let's just fill it by ourselves!"

 

Said with optimism, Anne was betraying her own inner voice that started to panic. What would she really do out here if she didn't have any guidance? Stumbling blindly in this kind of wilderness, wouldn't it be dangerous? What if they all met a giant beast or poisonous plant or man eating savages or giant fliers or giant titans or giant walking plants or giant giants or giant walking mountains or giant sea creatures or giant poisonous plant beast savage that flies like a titan?

 

Or...what if they met ghosts or undeads all of the sudden? That thought made Anne shuddered with fear, despite her expression still trying to look as upbeat as ever.

 

[hr]

[Mugendramon]

When first going to the Old Man for advice, Jimmy had no such idea as escape among his thoughts. He expected to die, with every dry cough reminding him that it was his time anyway. Sure, he wished he could live some more like anyone would, but he still had one more thing to do in the world of the living that mattered more than his own life or death.
 
The old man gave him just what he needed; he was infinitely thankful as he walked down the narrow path that had opened and closed for his sister and himself. Had the Old Man seen him cry? It would be kind of embarrassing to see him again if he had. It was only when Anne Marie shot him a glance through the dark tunnel that Jimmy understood he was deluding himself. The old man would die soon, same as himself. But Anne Marie was safe now! Jimmy felt his face soften and he walked out the wall almost grinning.
 
Anne Marie held him tight and in a second any trace of relief was gone from his face. The Outside seemed perfectly still, like a portrait. Faint wind rustled through the leaves of the dark forest which apparently surrounded the City. He could almost relax. Like it were the end of a dream, when one wakes up and reality appears faint. Only Anne Marie's grip on his arm kept him awake. "Maria's reading the Tome," she said; "the old man should have left us something useful to live outside the City, right?"
 
Nodding was the natural response; Maria's face told a completely different story. She looked, how to put a finger on it... cheated? Jimmy and his sister went to listen to Maria read the note she held.
 
The book was empty. Jimmy would have laughed. But he couldn't have read a book, not even his bright little sister would have. How could a dying old man read any better? Or write, for that matter?
 
But he had written the note. And it was not likely for the Old Man to have played them when everyone is dying inside anyway. Getting a last laugh? Getting us killed since we're going to die anyway? He felt angry enough to turn around back into the city and beat the old fart to death.
 
But, in his gut he knew this was the best they could hope for. Completing that book... sounded like something he would like to spend his last moments on. After exchanging glances with Anne Marie, he knew what to do next.
 
"That's decided, then! We've got a place to get to, and a story of our own to tell! We owe this much to the Old Man."

 
"Aye!" chimed in Anne Marie from his side.
 
Jimmy coughed hard, then waved his sister's concern off him. He wondered.

[Aix]

"It's actually this way," said Maria, regaining some of her vigor. She was somewhat put at ease by her companions' words and walked forth, but hesitated once more as she was about to enter the shade of the trees. They were already at the point of no return, and there wasn't going to be much left to return to anyway. "Let's go!" she reiterated and promptly stepped into the woods.


It wasn't too long for the curious and adaptive Maria to realize that there wasn't that much scary about the forest, really. At least not yet. Discarding her worries like unwanted toys, Maria turned her focus to the the novelty of this new environment. Every few steps, she would stop and crouch down to look at a plant or insect at the side of their path. She considered trying some to eat, considering how the old man said nothing was poisonous, but decided against it.

[Mugendramon]

OST - Dance with the Trees
 
Jimmy found the walk through the woods extremely taxing, though by no means unpleasant. The unshapen, oppressive feeling the forest had given off at its edge was completely gone. Scents filled his lungs at every turn -mystery was in the air. Pleasant cacophony followed the group through the thick of the forest. A path seemed to have cut itself open for them, just narrow enough to be natural, but wide enough to allow Jimmy and the rest with relative comfort. Loosely the man thought, yeah, I wouldn't mind doing this for a while longer.
 
A tug at his robe told him to think again. Anne Marie had a concerned expression. When it was met with a puzzled look, she raised her voice just above a whisper; the others would hear her, which she desperately wanted. "The trees," she said; "they don't just curve out like that. Look ahead... no, way ahead. Maybe you've grown to old to see it big bro. Just listen. They're spreading open for us to pass."
 
Jimmy's footsteps came to a stop. The crackling of the ground below stopped with them, yet there were still faint noises coming from -from ahead, just as Anne Marie said. Jimmy squinted, it hurt his eyes, but he saw it. The trees, some 200 meters ahead of them, where slowly parting. Way ahead...
 
Way ahead, Jimmy could vaguely distinguish a familiar colour. His mouth dropped the moment he understood. He only managed to close it after a dry cough and a nervous chuckle. "Wow. It's the wall. All this time, the woods themselves have been leading us in circles. Or I'm seeing things. Please tell me I'm seeing things?"

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

 

"W-what's actually happening now?"

 

It was not just the man. Once the little girl that curiously shared the name with her pointed out ahead, Mabel turned to see that what she was pointing out at was indeed happening. The trees was indeed moving apart as they walked and be lost there, just as if they're mocking their attempt to leave the forest. Mabel was starting to get scared regarding those moving trees, the implications, and the eerie air around the forest that was chilling her nonexistent bones. 

 

"M-maria? Ioli? Jimmy? Anne? W-what should we do now?

 

We're lost, aren't we? C-can we go home now?"

 

The mores steps they took, the more Mabel was terrified regarding on what kind of fate would befall them for running around in the wild like that. Each turns on the road had her anticipating a wild, hungry beast ready to feast at the group, each dark corners of the forest had her imagine a bunch of rogue thieves making their hideout there, and even every steps felt like it would make the ground collapse and consume all five of them. Evil fairies be lurking below each trees, ghosts be floating all above their heads, imagining all of those things inside of her head slowly made Mabel more and more panicking especially with the group seemingly stuck in the same general spot over and over again.

 

But then, a a flashing light passed near the group. It was like completely fleeting, but it should be able to be noticed by the group. Intrigued by it, Mabel stopped for a bit and saw that the light was actually belonging to a beast, a magnificent one at that. It was a beautiful white stallion, with its skin fairer than winter's snow. Its body was sculpted with perfection, standing tall in the middle of the grimness of the forest. But the most curious thing about it was its single, shining horn, the source of the light that she saw earlier. 

 

"U-unicorn?"

 

Frozen in awe, Mabel had forgotten about her previous fears and anxiety, and just stood there at the sight of the beast, seemingly not really connecting properly with the world around her at that moment.

 

[hr]

[Aix]

Princesses and unicorns, they were a natural match, right? At least Maria thought so. Bumping into Ioli as she charged forwards, she jumped right in front of the magnificent beast. Unfortunately, the timid animal was spooked at her sudden approach, and gave a sharp whinny, before backing away and lightly prancing off.

"Ah, wait, we should follow it! The trees aren't interfering with its path!" Maria said, suddenly realizing. And she was right, the beast seemed to be moving straight forwards without subtle curves in its path. "Let's go before the trees move in on us! We can get out of here!"

[Mugendramon]

"No wayyyyyy! This can't be happeniiiiiiiiiiiing!"
 
"Can't be happening, all right... of all things. That- that's a handful, man." Jimmy knew Anne Marie found the animal beautiful to a ridiculous extreme. He had drawn pictures for her, off the Old Man's stories. He never thought they would live anywhere near the City, he'd told his sister this much. Seeing one right here, right now when they were just out of a death-ridden town was both a good and a bad thing. It would get her mood up for sure-
 
But hell, she chased right after it, full speed. Nevermind that Maria wanted to follow it, Anne Marie bulldozed through the mild canopy with more energy than Jimmy could have possibly mustered over an entire evening of land tilling. The animal was not running; it had no rush, nothing to fear. It had never encountered an Anne Marie, which given what happened next, had been a great blessing. Anne Marie got across the unicorn's back with a mighty leap.
 
It sped up immediately, jerked into awareness of danger in its surroundings. The forest grew thicker in its wake, as though it sought to protect the animal. Jimmy was already out of breath by the time it was too thick to run through anymore. He noticed the others were all ahead of him, not to mention in better condition. He barely managed to poke his head through thick, intertwining branches.

 

"I'll be fine!" he said, and meant it- "just don't lose sight of her, I, cough, I beg of all of you!"

 

They'd gone after Anne Marie, all was good. Jeremiah could... let his eyes rest for a while. The shock of leaving a life behind was enough for an already sickly person, running at the top of his lungs had exhausted him completely. Jeremiah collapsed, his body held on its knees by the trees that blocked his path.

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

 

Mabel was still in complete awe at the sight of the unicorn, and it did seem that the others had now noticed the holy beast that stood before them. To think that a creature as majestic as this lived near enough their home-

 

And then Maria barged in, starting the unicorn. While at first Mabel wanted to give her complaints at the girl, she then realized that what she said next was right. The forest, who had disoriented them all these times, didn't even try to obstruct the unicorn's path as it ran. Though, it did take her a while to realize it, and that was when the rest of the group had already followed the unicorn hastily. Realizing she was late, Mabel ran as fast as she could following the group's path, but on the way, she noticed Jimmy had collapsed, probably from fatigue.

 

"O..w-what should I do...? I don' think I can carry him, but if I stay with him here until he's awake...what if I truly got lost and separated from the others? What if the ghosts here started to disturb me for playing around for too long?

 

S-sorry! I-I'm leaving now, Jimmy!"

 

Mabel then left Jimmy's location with a heavy heart and followed through what she believed to be the unicorn's trail. The forest had somehow grew thicker and thicker, which made it should be harder for her to actually continue moving forward, but Mabel persistently ran through the obstacles, and despite the forest's layout becoming more and more confusing, the girl just ran to the direction that she thought was right. All of this determination was simply due to her being completely scared of what could wait for her in the forest if she waited for too long. Driven with this fear, it then took her around fifteen minutes to finally see a light at the distance.

 

There, she couldn't see the unicorn, but she thought she could see the others from her group, and-

 

"Whoa, that's a big river!"

 

[hr]

[Aix]

Maria was standing before an unbelievable phenomenon. Her heart was beating fast and she was stuck between a sense of amazement and fear. She was down on her knees with her body close to the ground and her fingers clinging tightly to the edge as she peered over a huge cliff. Just looking down it made her dizzy. How far away was the ground?

And roaring in her ears was the waterfall beside her, millions of liters of river water were going over the precipice every minute. The spray of the water flew into the air and created countless rainbows in her sight. If anything, they may have arrived at paradise already.

Feeling she had drank her fill of the sights for the moment, Maria crawled back and stood up, and suddenly noticed Mabel appear out of the woods behind her.

"Mabel! Look at this, this is incredible!" she cried, running up to the girl to tug her over.

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

 

"Yeah, it definitely looks wonderful!" Mabel answered, before Marie tugged over her in excitement. She was still quite shaken about her fear of the forest behind her, and having the chance to completely forget about it would definitely be very nice. Mabel then walked forward to look at the river more closely, and she then could hear Ioli's voice somewhere there.

 

"Anybody know how to catch them?  Or cook them?"

 

Fishing, huh? Ah, if only one of them brought a fishing rod with them, then everything would definitely be alright. But, since as far as she know it no one did brought one, she might have to find a nearby mansion and try borrowing a fishing rod from them- no, that'd just end badly.

 

Well...or they could just catch the fish by hand.

 

"Hey, anyone wants to jump over there and try catching the fishes?

 

Or, do anyone here have some strings and metal clips?"

[Mugendramon]

Anne Marie held on for deal life. The unicorn was going so fast! Anything she tried to say came out as an inarticulate scream. She tried to steady herself on the animal's back, to no avail; any wrong move and she'd fall off. Providence forbid! Actually, she realized now, where were the others? Where was her brother? Anne Marie couldn't glance back, but she could tell the unicorn was going at amazing speed toward... a river?
 
I need to get down! the girl told herself. Fucking stop!
 
The animal did. Stopped dry, in fact. Anne Marie got down just as startled as she was relieved.
 
You should not scare a Unicorn like that, girl. Had I been in heat, I could have- nevermind. Why did you jump me like you did.
 
"Are you talking into my mind?" Anne Marie was screaming in disbelief, as the others reached the river a bit further down. She considered calling for the others, but only for a second. The unicorn -she could clearly associate the strange word with the creature now- would most likely run away then and there. "Why didn't you say so before I started kicking at you?"
 
Your mind was racing, human; I could not focus on it. Only when a clear thought trampled the rest could I hear it.
 
"So what did I think?" She'd wanted to stop. But Anne Marie doubted that was what the unicorn was talking about. You thought of your brother, and that made you want to stop. Where is your brother, human? Is he in trouble?
 
"N-no idea, Mr...?" You cannot pronounce my name. It is irrelevant. "unicorn, then. I-I just know my brother was right behind me when I leapt at your back- sorry about that- and then you ran off at full speed! He's not with the others!"

 
Others? the unicorn stopped paying attention to the girl in front of it and raised its head high, to look at the crew of humans and an etril. The single human had not roused its attention, the surprise from her leap confusing him momentarily. A group of humans? This far out on the plateau? Nonsense. They were confined to the Walled City. Now nearly blind with rage, the horned horse hooked Anne Marie by her clothing and tossed her on its powerful back before running straight toward the others. Once close enough, the unicorn's mental powerful mental scream drowned all other thought in Anne Marie's head as well as the others.
 
WHY ARE YOU OUTSIDE THE WALLED CITY?!

[Aix]

Maria was about to speak up with her oh so great expertise on the matter of fishing when a loud call resounded in her head. She reflexively raised her hands to cover her ears, but to no effect. Turning to the source of the telepathic voice, Maria's eyes brightened up. The unicorn was back! And there Anne Marie was as well, safe and sound atop the beast. At least she was for now. The timid-looking beast seemed actually quite aggressive at this moment.

"H-Hello," spoke Maria. "Did you speak into my mind?! So that's how unicorns communicate!" Coming to this realization, her curiosity was piqued. She jumped right up to the creature, who ended up being startled again and backing a step. "Why did you run away before? Do you live around here? Did we bother you by coming out? We're terribly sorry, we're on a journey to find Paradise, you see. Do you know where Paradise is?"

The unicorn actually seemed very overwhelmed. Too many questions!

"Oh, sorry, I was just too excited when seeing you, you know," said Maria. She paused and pondered the most important question. "Do you know where Paradise is?"

The unicorn snorted. That was obvious. Paradise is right here on this plateau.

"This plateau?" cried Maria.

The beast paused and reconsidered as it pondered what it heard others say on the topic. Being telepathic, it could listen in to the birds and various other flying creatures that passed by the plateau, carrying knowledge and news from all over Elysium. Elysium is Paradise.

"What?!" Maria said.

Finally, the unicorn gave up. I do not know.

"Well say so if you don't," said Maria, chidingly. "Don't pretend to know what you don't."

The unicorn simply grunted.

[Maeriberii Haan]

"Uni...corn?"

 

As the unicorn approached her and Maria's position, Mabel was once again mesmerized by its pure beauty. Though, how the creature screamed straight toward her mind, it started to make her concerned, and she then approached the unicorn, just as Maria finished talking with it.

 

"Anything's wrong, my dear unicorn?"

 

Don't call me dear, young girl.

 

"I'm not even that young."

 

I'm far older than you, so you should start respecting your elder.

 

"Unicorn, can I cuddle with you?"
 

Cuddle with something else.

 

"Pleaase?"

 

Act according to your age.

 

Not amused by the unicorn's refusal, Mabel decided to jump ahead at the unicorn, startling it. And making matters worse, the unicorn impulsively rushed at her direction, horn aimed at her. Without any room to dodge, Mabel was unceremoniously gored by the unicorn's shining horn, and dragged away for several meters before the unicorn stopped and dropped her down on the ground.

 

Look at what you made me do!

 

"Ouch! That hurts, you know?"

 

With the hole from the unicorn's attack still visible near her neck, Mabel stood up, and dusted off the dirt from her clothing before moving at the seemingly surprised unicorn.

 

"Bad unicorn! Now, as punishment, escort us beyond this plateau!"

 

Seriously...can you act according to your proper age, young girl?

 

"I AM NOT A YOUNG GIRL!"
 

[Mugendramon]

GAH! NEIGHBODY TOLD ME ABOUT THIS! Undying humans! The elders had said he would hardly encounter humans throughout his entire century on duty. Nevermind one that could be stabbed through the vitals and only look mildly annoyed! The unicorn had to take a step back, terrified. The etril- an even more inferior race, the beast added with scoff- was talking to him on equal grounds. Asking for favours?
 
He had known the population of the Walled City was cattle, were they somehow not aware of it themselves?
 
Moreover, what the fuck to do now? Killing them was apparently off the table! Returning them would be impossible, not five of them. Wait, five? He only counted four.
 
where's bro where's bro where's bro where's bro where's bro
 
The girl's mind was loud and clear in an instant. The words formed the unicorn's brain like words, such was the strength of the mental link. He could clearly see whom the human was looking for. He had never experienced this level of communication! They- they were commuting. With a human, no less! I can think her thoughts! ...feel her feelings... I have to go back for brother Jimmy. WE have to go back brother Jimmy!

 
To the other three, the scene must have looked rather odd: without a word, without even a second's worth of hesitation, the unicorn -Anne Marie still on its back- had turned right around and ran back into the forest they had come out from.

[Aix]

Maria seemed the only one to question how Mabel was perfectly fine after being impaled by a unicorn. The somewhat dense Etril simply was happy that Mabel was okay, and Anne Marie and the unicorn charged off to who knows where, but Maria's curiosity was piqued. She came right up close to Mabel's neck and observed the stab wound to find that there was no blood at all.

"W-What are you?! Are you some sort of apparition? An eldritch construct disguised as a human?" cried Maria. She suddenly jumped back as she realized she came really close to some unknown being. Maria was on the fence. On one hand, she had been around Mabel for quite a while now since they spent so much time listening to the old man's stories, but on the other hand, she didn't actually know Mabel that well. At the very least, it wouldn't seem that Mabel was at all inclined to hurt them, so Maria supposed she was safe.

[Maeriberii Haan]

"Eldritch what?"

 

Still with the conveniently not-bleeding hole near her neck, Mabel turned around to see Maria, who immediately jumped back as if she's looking at a ghost. Mabel was of course surprised, and seeing Maria looking as scared like that, she started to think that there's a ghost around, which made her start panicking once again.

 

"Wait, do you see any ghosts around? W-where?"

 

Mabel got jumpy at the thought of there's ghosts following them in the open even after they escaped from the forest, though, with Maria not answering her question, she wondered what went wrong, and finally decided to look around. Nope, she didn't notice anything odd. Just the waterfall, the plateau, the forest behind them, Ioli, and the two of them.

And then, realization finally hit Mabel on why Maria was surprised.

 

"Ah, you're referring to me? Well, I don't know.

 

I just think that I might not be-" Mabel shook her head a bit, and it dropped to ground, and then she picked it up to place it more properly on her neck.

"-fully alive.

 

Anyway Maria, Ioli, we'll just wait for Anne Marie to return, right? I kinda don't want to return to the forest. The place's real scary."

[Mugendramon]

The forest split apart for Anne Marie and the unicorn to rush through. She could almost see the trees bowing to the them as they ran past. What makes them do that? The outside world is strange...
 
Commuting- the act of thinking on the same wavelength as another individual... thinking as one. Unicorns can move thoughtrees like that. Then I go and commute with a human no less. Why am I punished so?
 
Well, I did not ask for it any more than you did. You are helping me... but you tried to kill my friend. Well more of an acquiantance but nevermind. Why don't I feel like you did wrong? Feels kinda natural even!
 
Unicorns have been rulers of the plateau for many centuries. Always has been law to kill the cattle escaping the Walled City. Though it might be the commuting... that suddenly feels horrifying. Slaughtering thinking beings without a second thought. I'm sorry.
 
I can see why you did it. We think like the other now, no secrets! Fun but scary wouldn't you say.
 
Yes. Scary, but fun.
 

 
Jimmy lay on his stomach, completely passed out. Bright and transparent bugs swarmed around him, seeming curious but reluctant. As Anne Marie and her companion approached, they cleared away from the man like a dust cloud. Anne Marie bore a look of horror, he looked as dead as a man could. The unicorn did not wait for a split second: the girl's powerful surge of emotion compelled it. Hauling Jimmy onto its back for Anne Marie to hold, it turned and raced back the way it had come.
 
Thank you.
 
If unicorns could smile, this one would have. In a moment they had made it back to the others; the unicorn let Anne Marie off its back, who in turn put Jimmy down on his back, still passed out. She was still terribly scared of the situation, but she was somehow reassured by the others around her. "How did it happen, you guys? Why was is he... is he...?"
 
Her voice broke into a sob. "Is he dead?"

[Aix]

Maria suddenly felt really cold. She had always been kept away from the scenes of plague and death, so this was the first time she had actually encountered someone in this condition. Wait, there was no way he was dead. She noted the subtle rise and fall of his chest, and she placed a finger at his neck to make sure. His pulse was there. She sighed.
 
"Don't worry, your brother is still alive." She gave a smile and patted Anne Marie on the head, feeling like a grown-up as she was comforting the child. However, her chilling feeling remained. And then it got really hot for a moment before the temperature dropped. Maria abruptly turned her head and screamed.
 
"What are you doing here?" Focused on Jimmy, no one seemed to have noticed the arrival of a very angry-looking roan minotaur.
 
Shit, this is bad.

"A minotaur!" cried Maria. Then came a host of various fantastical albino creatures. "And a peacock! A satyr! That's a kelpie! And that--"

 

"Why have they not been eliminated yet?!" demanded the minotaur to the unicorn. At this point, the minotaur seemed so angry he exaled flames.

 

Well, you see...

 

"Our mistress is about to take a bath! We can't have humans here!"

 

"What's going on, Mr. Minotaur?" asked Maria.

 

The minotaur ignored her and continued to address the unicorn. "Quick, push them off the cliff before--"

 

Finally, the coldness of the air reached a climax. Out of the woods came an indescribably beautiful woman. She seemed to be covered in some sort of haze that made it difficult to properly make out her features, but Maria just knew she was the most perfect being she had ever seen.

 

"Ahh! Lady Skadi! I'm terribly sorry!" cried the minotaur. However, the woman seemed to ignore the commotion and dropped her robes to the ground. She proceeded to dip her foot into the river. Suddenly, the water downstream of where her foot met the water turned to ice. "I-I'll get that immediately, milady!" The minotaur, forgetting the humans, rushed over and breathed fire at the river, thawing a small circle in the water. Nonchalantly, the woman dropped down into that circle and the minotaur began furiously blowing flames to keep the water from freezing and allowing the woman to bathe. Maria looked upon this ridiculously scene for moments longer before she turned and noticed that the still-frozen waterfall had formed a series of steps down to the ground below.

 

"Hey guys, look, a way down!"

[Maeriberii Haan]

[hr]

 

Damn, she looks gorgeous...if only I was that beautiful...

 

Mabel stared a bit with envy to the beautiful woman that had entered the river to take a bath, failing to realize that the river froze as she did so, and if it's not for Maria yelling that they could move, it could be possible that Mabel would end up staring at her for a long, long time. Then again, the chilly air around her would probably end up freezing her over or something if she kept on her current position. And then, Ioli suddenly gave her the fish she had just caught. It was too sudden, and due to it, Mabel had no room to object that order. And after all, Ioli's busy dragging the body of James, who was thankfully still alive.

 

The waterfall turning into steps was definitely really convenient, as if it was a conspiracy from above or something. It could've been frozen at any other moment to make a completely unpassable terrain, but fate had seemingly dictated that it would need to be turned into stairs for the group's convenience. Maybe this would be a good omen in their journey to reach paradise. Then again though, even if it's unpassable, Mabel would still be able to pass through it due to reasons. What kind of reason that was, even she was unsure. Maybe she had been blessed or something? Who knows.

 

Mabel was the first to arrive at the bottom of the slippery stairs, largely thanks to the fact that she's only carrying the two kilo whitefish. For some reasons, the fact that Ioli caught the delicious fish without much effort had not been celebrated by the others. Though to be fair, Unicorn's kinda a big deal.

 

Speaking of, Mabel wondered whether the unicorn would even be able to  walk down the frozen waterfall.

 

[hr]

[Mugendramon]

They're here, we have to leave! The unicorn picked up the girl while at a glance noted the etril picked up her brother. The feeling of relief mixed in with panic still surprised him, but he understood where it came from at an intellectual level.

 

They? interrupted the girl. All of them look a little like horses! Like you. You one of them?

 

A stiff neigh. Now that I've commuted with you, not anymore. That's why all of you have to run. They'll kill you on the spot once the Lady is done.

 

Lady? Anne Marie stared. She was beautiful, impossibly so. She could not have looked away had her partner not yanked her in the opposite direction with a sudden jerk. No staring. See big ass Minos over there? I would be like that if not for your mental pollution. You have not yet Stared. Were you to do it I would be on the same boat. We should leave now that they cannot follow us. Down the waterfall.

 

How will you climb down those steps?

 

Climb? No, girl. Get down, it would pain me greatly to have you die. Despite myself. Commuting is such a sudden phenomenon... to be this devoted to a human against my previous will, and now to not fathom life away from this mind? Anne Marie had reluctantly obeyed, and stepped aside as the unicorn walked toward the ledge of the plateau.

 

Galloping, it jumped right off. The girl screamed and ran after it, only to have him soar right above her from under the ledge. Two white wings, spread and reflecting light, beat slowly. The wind moved her hair gently, and it felt warm. Like sunlight. I will fly right down. Now, follow the other humans. And do not Stare. The ice will also be tricky, please be safe girl.

 

Touched, weirded out, then above all else afraid to be left alone in this monster-ridden place, Anne Marie carefully jumped her way down the seemingly neverending waterfall. At the bottom, the river went on, snaking its way through the plains below. Anne Marie kept an eye out for the Unicorn, now hanging from the sky at her level, descending alongside. In her mind, she could feel its fear reflected. Fear of what she and the others had ran away from. What is she, exactly?

 

The Lady is not someone. It is closer to a God than your definition of God can conceive. We must get away- you, and by extension I, or death will follow. Hurry, girl.