Artemia: Journey To The Thirtieth Floor

53. Song Of Hope

"What is it?" I asked Yuki, feeling nervous about what she was about to say.

The look that Yuki has right now was a bit frustrated. It was as if she was bothered by something she didn't know how to handle. I hoped that it wouldn't be something heavy because I'm not sure I would want to hear it if that was the case. Although I already expected that nothing would be easy here in Artemia, especially now that there's this war going on. Problems will come one after another until we resolve all this. Of course, I can't just jump to conclusions.

Yuki sighed as she looked at me. "After all that has happened, I would want to express my regrets to Fuyumi. You know, I never got to tell her how sorry I was for what I did..." she said, her voice slowly fading as she uttered the last words.

I heaved a sigh of relief. "I thought you were about to tell us bad news."

She shook her head. "I am certain that both groups will maintain a low profile for the foreseeable future. Leon will undoubtedly prepare for the day when we arrive to invade the sky castle and take it over."

"Oh. But we can't rest assured yet, right?"

She nodded. "So...will you help me?"

"Of course! I'm pretty sure that Fuyumi's going to accept it."

A wide smile appeared on Yuki's lips, relieved after hearing the assurance that I gave. I noticed that the twins also wore a smile as they stared at Yuki, revealing how whipped they were for her. I looked down, trying to hide a grin because I found all of them cute. They were genuinely happy that we were together right now. We're all relieved that Yuki seems to be doing well, too. Despite the current situation, we are able to find peace in each other.

I looked at the sky, savoring the feeling. There's a high chance that I'd jinx it if I said that being at peace for a moment might bring misfortune, but I didn't care. We're bound to experience a tragedy, anyway, so what's the point in worrying? Besides, I might mess up if I'm too meticulous. The best way to keep the flow of time from getting disrupted is to just go along with everything. I have decided to let go of my worries and just fight leisurely. This may be unfair to the warriors who are doing their very best to win the war...I can't join them in being patriotic.

An arm draped over my shoulder, so I opened my eyes. It was Kai, who was looking at the sky as well. Yuki also snaked her hand around Kasai's and my waist. They were swaying their heads gently while Yuki hummed an unfamiliar tune. I joined them because it seemed fun, and it was really relaxing to listen to Yuki's voice. It made me feel like all of my worries were being wiped off my head, and I loved the feeling. A contented smile slowly appeared on my face as I felt the moment.

"The tune of hope that I hear, sounds so faint, as the breeze carries it away. Flowing with the calm waves that came from the horizon you see. Right where the rays of sun shines, a beautiful future rose. As the sun rose from afar, peace finally began to reign. The white dove flies across the clear sky, to show me the light. The warmth of your sweet embrace that I have been longing for. Your tears that mark the end of this fight, streamed down your smiling face..."

The song of hope, huh...

It felt like a dream, a fleeting one. However, I didn't care. My heart felt full and truly happy at the moment. For the first time since I came here, I felt like peace was an option. Yuki's song made me believe that all those bloodsheds, those fights, and everything weren't necessary. I knew that these thoughts were superficial, but I couldn't help it. Maybe, just maybe. It's nothing but a dream. I bet even the three of them hoped that we could have a beautiful ending.

"Yuki..." I called.

"Hmm?"

"What kind of future do you see?"

Yuki chuckled as she faced me. "A future that's full of uncertainty."

That means that it depends on me. Perhaps it was all on me in the very beginning. Whether a beautiful ending awaits us or not, I am the one who shall decide. Despite the pressure that fell upon my shoulders, my heart remained at peace. I felt like I was adrift from the wind like a baby, flying freely without a care in the world. Yuki's lullaby had that incredible effect on me. This is my first time hearing her voice, and I just know that the feeling it gave me will last for as long as I live.

I slowly rested my head on Yuki's shoulder. She looked at me with eyes full of adoration. Her thoughts were out in the open, and I know that the person she's seeing right now is Fuyumi. I could see tears pooling at the sides of her eyes, and her lips were trembling. She was trying so hard to keep the smile on her lips as she looked at me in the eye. But I know that inside her mind, she was hurting because of the fact she caused harm to the people she loved the most.

"You don't have to hold it in..." I murmured.

With that, she broke down. I smiled as I pulled her in for a hug, caressing her hair as she held onto my clothes tightly. The twins panicked as they watched Yuki cry loudly, wanting to calm Yuki down. But I gestured them to remain silent with my index finger. They quickly calmed down, but they were still worried about Yuki. I get that she's their one and only princess, but she needs to let it all out.

I know because I'm the one with the strongest connection to her. And it's also that bond that's causing both of us to lose our identities. I want to help her, but the only thing that I can do right now is to embrace her. No one can help the two of us aside from ourselves. And I don't think we'd be able to save this anytime soon. Perhaps the only way to do this is to defeat those three idiots of a king. If we can get Artemia to return to normal...then maybe we can return to ourselves as well.

While she was crying, I tried to hum the song that she was singing earlier. I couldn't really remember the lyrics, but I could recall what the tone was. Yuki's sobs slowly stopped as she looked up at me, tears and snot all over her face. Her mouth hung open, looking amazed and all. I was trying to stop myself from smiling because of the way she looked, causing my voice to tremble. I kept humming until she finally calmed down.

"I've always dreamt about abandoning my obligations and rushing towards the end of the world. That's if such a thing exists..." Yuki trailed off.

"We all have," Kasai seconded.

I felt bad for them because they had many responsibilities piled up at such a young age. Being the children of strong leaders, they were considered as the future leaders of Artemia. Yuki, especially, is the future deity. And now that they had to lead the warriors, the only difference is that we're in the middle of a war, more time was taken from them. The time that they could have used to hang out had to be turned into training because we're up against strong people. Amidst all that, they have experienced plenty of betrayals already. And the people behind those are their parents.

I felt bad for choosing to throw my life away just so I could play a VR game with the person I liked. I was leading a carefree life, just happily skipping, while my counterpart led a life that was full of pain and suffering. But I think that it's better than having both of us become miserable our entire lives. If Yuki was the one who had a happy life, I would be grateful that she's smiling, unlike me. At least that's what I'm thinking. I'm not sure about Yuki because I'm not her.

"Everything seemed to be pitch dark to me, which made me feel really miserable. I was under the impression that Artemia had been defeated. But then I came upon a vision of the future that contained a promising scenario. It seemed like there was a faint light in that far distance, so I clung to it. After all of this, I believe that there is a possibility for all of us to be happy."

I bit my lower lip. "What if that faint light dies out...?" I asked softly, almost sounding like a whisper.

"Then we have reached the end of the tunnel. If there's no way to prevent that light from burning, I'm not going to force it to remain."

Despite what I said, Yuki didn't look upset at all. She looked like she would willingly accept whatever decision I made and respect it. Kasai had a genuine smile on his face, while Enkai was just closing his eyes. The three of them didn't seem like they would mind if I gave up. That meant that I was throwing away all their efforts and sacrifices, but they didn't seem to care. Of course, I wouldn't do such a thing after all of this, but I wanted to know how they would react. But I was surprised after witnessing their calm responses.

I snickered, amused by these three. The first thing I thought of when I asked that question was an angry response. I thought they would hate me because of wasting everything they have fought for until this day. Ah, they are one of a kind, that much I am sure of. The three of them looked at me when they saw me laughing, creeped out because of the sudden burst of laughter. But I couldn't help it. Maybe I really am crazy for acting this way.

"Thank you," I said as I lay on my back.

"For what?"

"For everything."

The grass was soft, and it wasn't rough at all, so I decided to lay on it. I sighed as I used my arms as pillows, just looking at the moving clouds. The three of them quickly followed me. I thought of pointing out the shapes of the clouds because I was wondering if they had experienced such a thing. Maybe it's something trivial, but I want to know if they could do that much. They played with Fuyumi when they were kids, so I assume they were able to experience such a thing.

I looked at the three of them as I pointed at a cloud that looked like a dog. "It looks like a puppy," I said.

Yuki stared at it, even squinting her eyes to see it. Her mouth slowly turned into an 'o' when she saw the resemblance. "You're right! How did you notice this? Even I was unable to recognize it at first glance."

I smiled. "I simply used my imagination."

"How do you imagine?" she asked, sounding like a curious kid.

Huh...

I looked at Yuki, unable to believe what she had just said. All my life, I have been creating fake scenarios that I dreamt of becoming my reality. But this girl right here was looking at me like she's never done such a thing as visualizing scenes inside her head in her entire life. Yuki seemed serious about it as well, so I couldn't joke around. I get that she was busy with her training and all, but I didn't expect her to not spend her time imagining s**t.

"Ivory?"

I sighed as I looked at the skies again. "You just visualize images or scenarios inside your mind. It can be anything, like your desire or something."

Right there and then, I saw Sai's cheeks turn red. I raised a brow, but I decided to ignore him because it's probably something I wouldn't want to know about anyway. Enkai beside me was indifferent about it. I don't think he's ever imagined such things, but you never know. That's why I tried to get him flustered by staring at me. But he turned to me, raising a brow. I quickly looked away because his face was way too near. The f**k?

I heard him chuckle, but I didn't pay attention to him. Ha, he's definitely a boy who knows how to lead a girl on. I'm willing to bet that he's done it plenty of times before. Dylan was also like this based on what I have seen after crushing on him for years, and I can say that the two of them are very similar. They are definitely the kind of boys who would tell you that they're one call away and will keep their promise no matter how small it is.

"I see a bunny," Kai said as he pointed at the sky.

"Where?" I asked with furrowed brows.

But instead of answering, he just kept poking my cheek. Meanwhile, the three of us kept on looking for the bunny-shaped cloud that he saw. When I finally found it, I tugged Yuki's clothes as I helped her find the bunny. She giggled after finding it very interesting. I couldn't help but smile because of her reaction. She looked like a child right now, one that finds her new discovery amazing. Kasai looked at her fondly, looking hella whipped.

Ah, what a bunch of cuties...

I looked at Enkai, who was just looking at Yuki and me. This guy, seriously. Honestly, I don't understand him most of the time. I'm pretty sure that I'm not the one he likes romantically, but he never makes a move on Yuki. Instead, he acts all friendly and sweet with me. I don't think he's trying to make Yuki jealous, too. But I don't want to confront him about it because that's his business. As for me, I'm not really mad because I'm glad that he's someone I could rely on.

"Are the three of you happy right now?" I asked out of the blue.

"Yes. I've always thought these kinds of things were mundane. I used to believe that it was pointless to relax because it was a complete waste of time. Now I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of the opportunities to go somewhere secluded and take in the scenery," Yuki replied, laughing a little because she found it ridiculous.

Kasai chuckled. "This was something I missed. I used to do this all of the time when we were just getting started training. I always escaped and chose to relax in a place where I wouldn't be discovered."

"You're a jerk, you son of a b***h. I was always tasked with the responsibility of tracking you down whenever you went missing."

I laughed because Enkai seemed like he wanted to punch his twin for stressing him out. The two of them began to bicker, but I just kept laughing at them. They were noisy, but I felt peace reigning over my entirety. I was just wondering how I was able to achieve this despite this day being a rollercoaster ride of emotions.

How I wish this moment would never last...