Paradox Saga: Rising Sun

We Step Inside Another World

The moment I went inside the Anaphora, I cannot help but look at the place with my mouth open. The moment we set foot on the floating vortex, we were transported to a cavern-like environment. Crystals of various colors glinted across the cave – most were stuck on the walls while some were the walls themselves. They were like fairy lights across the place. Besides the light from the crystals, almost all of the organisms there were luminous. Mushrooms radiated light in different hues of color; mostly green and violet, which made them look radioactive. Their colors were the least peculiar thing on them. Several of the shrooms were the size of my hands. Creatures with bizarre appearances were present so it looked like we came straight inside a fiction movie. A white ladybug sat on one of the green mushrooms and mimicked its color. Two ten-inch centipedes in neon red color were coiled in a stalactite made of pure red crystal. A butterfly with an extra wing flew around. However, what caught my attention were the fireflies. They were flying around the ceiling and were about the size of my fingernail. One had a rest in my hand and made me blink again. They had the same appearance as the normal fireflies except for the small flame protruding from their backs so, yeah, they were literal fire flies.

“We should get going,” Nami said, breaking the silence.

Everybody nodded an approval. We left the still floating violet portal as Nami led the way with us on her tail. The firefly was still resting in my hand, its red flames flaring on its back. Aunt Saiko was walking and even though his hands looked rough, her complexion was still gentle, the way that I remember her. Midorima blushed when I looked at her and I don’t know why, perhaps she was looking at me when I looked at her? Her long black hair swayed on her back and seemed to shine as she walked with her staff in her right hand. Nami was looking at me which now felt unusual, with the confession of the fake family thing a while ago, and looked away quickly when I looked back. Her quiver was slung on her back and she looked fierce with her guarded stance and tied hair. Thyme was beside me, the few freckles on the middle of her nose almost invisible with the limited light of the cavern. She was holding a long sleek green vine on her right hand like a whip. Fritz, on the other hand, was nowhere to be seen. Instead, as I looked around, a woman I didn’t recognize was walking beside Aunt Saiko. She was holding the heavy axe in one hand and clutched a shield on the other. Her hair was a mixture of white and black, the same as Fritz’s. Even with the mask on her face, I could see her blue eyes. However, it couldn’t be…

“Fritz?!” I shouted.

She looked at me innocently. “Shiro-kun? Is something the problem?”

I can’t believe it. Not only her appearance changed but so is her voice. She now had a womanly voice which was a very different usual gentle and calm masculine voice.

“You’re a trap?” I asked.

[Author’s Note (A/N): Trap – a fanbase term used to describe someone who does not look like his /her gender. Commonly found in anime.]

Everyone stopped walking and looked at me like I shouldn’t be surprised.

“What d’ya mean?” Fritz asked.

“I’m asking you so answer me. You’re a girl?”

My question seemed to make them understand everything. They looked at Fritz, and then to me, then to each other. They seem to talk to each other with their minds.

“The Anaphor reveals outsider’s secrets,” Thyme memorized.

“Is that another secret of yours? All of you are traps and you are not what you seem to be?” I asked them.

“All of us are girls, okay?” Nami answered. “Besides, we did all these…”

“Including hiding my gender,” Fritz interjected.

“… for your safety,” Nami continued.

I opened my mouth to object but Nami raised her hand with a finger on her mouth.

“Shh…” she said as she put a finger on her mouth. “They’re coming”

I was about to ask who else was coming when I suddenly felt it too. The hairs on my hands stood and I could sense something coming from the caverns. The firefly in my hand seemed to hide in the little space on my bracers.

The earth suddenly shook for no reason. We quickly ran away from the caverns and I swear I was fortunate to be with them. As we ran, crystal stalactites were raining down on us as if they were alive and were chasing us to our deaths. My lungs started to hurt and I reminded myself to exercise more cardio tomorrow, assuming I get out of here alive. We stopped in a small cavern-like space as the rumbling slowly stopped. From the direction that we ran, nothing but dust and debris were present. The cavern looked splendid and I can’t help but admire the sight as I clutched my chest. I took a quick look above and luckily, there were no spikes. There was also a clear pond just a few steps from me. It was luminous like a fluorescent nightlight, illuminating the whole area.

“Let’s let the dust clear up,” Nami said and sat down. “We should rest for a while, especially you, Shiro,” she looked at me.

I nodded. I sat beside the pond and looked at them. They just sat and they hardly appeared to be tired. It’s like they never ran at all. Nami was leaning next to a blue glittering wall and was checking her bow and quiver, Thyme and Fritz were talking to each other in whispers (stuff that a boy, such as me, don’t understand with girls), and Aunt Saiko was standing beside a clump of green mushrooms which made her fists look toxic.

The firefly went out from my bracers. Its flame was suspended now so it looked kind of cute with its big eyes. It crawled to the back of my hand and laid on it. It lit its back again on fire though my hand didn’t get burned.

“That’s weird.”

I almost swam in the pond in surprise. Midorima appeared next to me and I swear she teleported next to me.

“What’s weird?” I asked.

“That,” she pointed to the firefly who was now laying peacefully in my shoulder. “Fire Flies don’t go near humans yet it rested in your hand.”

“Shouldn’t they/ I mean, they’re cute and they have big eyes,” I said.

“No, they don’t. Fire Flies are neutral creatures,” she told me as she put her hand on the pond. The pond seemed to illuminate some more.

“You say it like there’s a space between fire and flies,” I told her.

“Because there is. The flames on their backs are pure mana from the crystals. They absorb mana as nutrients from the crystals. That’s why they leave trails of fire as they fly,” she explained as the Fire Fly on my shoulder flew away.  “However, how that Fire Fly laid next to you and controlled its flame so that it cannot hurt you, that’s the peculiar part.”

“I once heard a story about that,” Fritz said. She was now sitting behind me and so were the others.

“Oh, yeah. That story,” Thyme spoke.

“What story?” I asked.

Midorima cleared her throat. “My parents told me once about how animals and humans are connected to one another. Animals are said to sense someone’s abilities and qualities. People throughout different myths have had connections with animals: Heracles killing the almost invulnerable Nemean Lion, Vishnu being a great fish and manning Manu’s boat in the Vedas, Romulus and Remus – the founders of Rome - being taken care of by a she-wolf in Greek mythology. Every important timeline in history also had connections with animals: Hannibal crossed the Alps with his elephants, Laika, a dog, became the first animal to orbit Earth, the Black Death that controlled Europe’s population was spread through rats and mites,” she explained.

“So, where’s the story?” I uttered.

“As what Midorima said, animals and people have a special connection. However, Figures have the deepest connection with animals,” Aunt Saiko explained. “You see, Shiro-kun, in the 21st century, seven people had the chance to be praised by the beasts when they reached the rank of Class-S, the highest level a normal Figure can have,” she finished with a gloom face.

I tried not to tear up. “Including my parents, right?”

“Yes. Shiro…the day they reached the Class-S, they were down in the Luzon rainforests when they leveled up to the S-Rank. They just finished clearing an A-Class Anaphora and the moment they came out, all the animals were bowing in their direction. Bears, doves, deers, all of them bowed to your parents. Later on, it was discovered that seven Figures reached the rank of S on the same day. The reason is still unknown but some say that they would play a great part in the world’s safety,” Fritz continued with a worried face.

I tried not to think much about it. My parents were one of the strongest and most special and here I am, a loser that most people would not try to talk to.

“I’ll explain more of it, about you, about us, about all of this thing you’re facing. Don’t worry,” Nami assured me.

“O-Okay,” I muttered.

They seem to have sensed my hurt look because they dispersed at once. I sat next to the pond. I leaned and looked at the bottom of the pond. I taught the water was the light itself until I saw what was swimming in it. Tiny luminous fishes were swimming in it. Underneath them were glowing blue pebbles that seemed to blink at me. Most were marble-size but some were as big as an onion.

Midorima, who was still sitting next to me, broke the silence. “Those are Mana Stones.”

“What do they do?” I asked.

“They are the residue Mana from these Pygmeas,” she said as she put a hand out front and pointed it to the water’s direction.

As soon as Midorima pointed at the pond, balls of water suddenly floated suddenly with the blue pebbles on the center of them.

“Since they are the extra Mana from the creatures here, any Figure can use Mana Stones to their will, as an attack or for Mana replenishment,” she continued and the ball of water rested on the top of her hand like a basketball.

“Woah…how are you doing that?” I asked her in amazement.

“This is quite easy. If you just point the stone here…” she said as she held my hand and put it on the water’s surface. My mind suddenly went blank. One of the campus beauties that not even her classmates can talk to is now holding my hand, a simple fat nerd like me? How cool is that? She didn’t seem to notice me staring at her but someone else did.

“Aherm!”

Several water balls with Mana Stones floated high in the air, some hitting the ceiling with a clunk. My hand was tingling so much I taught someone passed an electrical wire over me. I turned around and saw the others glaring at me. Now I’m sure I made the stones float out of surprise.

“You seem to be enjoying, Shiro-kun” Nami said with a bitter smile on her face.

I swallowed hard. “E-Ehh? No! I was just letting Midorima-senpai teach me how to make these stones float,” I said and pointed to the floating balls of water.

“See?”

Aunt Saiko walked in my direction, her eyes were locked on me. I swear I’d likely be killed by these girls than the monsters they’re talking about. Aunt Saiko’s eyes clearly showed anger. She kneeled between us and touched the water. Her fingers barely touched the surface when all of the stones floated, fishes swimming over them in confusion.

“Satisfied?” she said and pulled her hands from the water. All of the water balls, including mine, fell with a splash. “You must really like Midorima that you forget us?”

I didn’t know whose face was redder: mine or Midodima’s.

“Get ready…” Nami suddenly alerted, an arrow gripped in her bow.

Now that I think of it, her bow looked extraordinary. The string was the color of the blue sky and seemed to emanate some aura of the same color. The limbs (handles) were a mixture of white and sky blue and from the looks of it, they’re not made from wood. On each of the limb’s edges was a small blade curved in the shape of a bird’s beak.

I stood. “Why? Is the enemy around?”

“It’s enemies, Shiro”, Thyme corrected which really didn’t encourage me. “Also, monsters don’t come near peaceful places like this,” she continued – perhaps because she saw my worried face – and pointed to the pond. I suddenly had an image of three-horned monsters and skeletons partying on this pond – swimming and throwing pebbles to each other. It really looked unusual.

“So, we go to them?” I guessed.

Fritz nodded. “Yeah!” she answered like she was excited to bust the monsters’ heads with his axe.

I gulped. I would’ve backed out but I didn’t. Aunt Saiko already said to trust them. Even if they lied to me, I know that they still protected me. If I cannot trust them, then I don’t know who else I can trust myself to.

Nami led the way. We walked back in the direction we ran away from. The path was filled with dust but not the blind-you-till-monsters-hit-you kind of dust. Chunks of crystal laid on the ground. However, it wasn’t the problem.

We walked for a minute and the next thing I knew, holes filled the ground. They were half my size, not enough for me to crawl through them (there’s no way I’m crawling down them) and filled the ground and the walls. On the holes’ entrances were white strings intertwined in random angles.

“The crystal spikes made these holes, right?” I asked them

They did not answer and just looked at me.

“They’re not, are they?”

“Only one way to find out,” Midorima said and nodded at Fritz.

Fritz walked to the nearest hole but before she could get near it, a giant furry black thing got out and if not for her shield, she would’ve been the monster’s snack already.

“Bind!” shouted Midorima and pointed her staff to the monster.

The monster suddenly stopped moving and laid on its back, her feet raised up. A dozen arrows wheezed past me and hit the monster’s chest. Green blood was flowing out of its body and was not moving now.

“A Crawler! I guessed so!!” Fritz exclaimed as if she just didn’t face a human-eating monster.

“That, Shiro, is a Crawler, one of the lowest level monsters. You’ll face monsters like these from now on,” Nami said as she stood beside me.

I looked at the black thing in front of me. My mind was already forming plans, not to how to kill the monster, but how to run away from it. The monster was the size of a full-grown dog and had eight legs. At first glance, I didn’t know what it was until Thyme dragged it nearer and I saw its face. It had six eyes and sharp slant-edged mandibles. It was a spider, one of the things that I’m really scared of. My mind just went empty and hoped that the monster was already dead because if not, I’m gonna be running back to the portal first. If a single spider is as big as this, how much more if we progress further the caverns?