The door creaked open slightly...
Lira stood there, silhouetted in the soft glow of the corridor lights. Her robe clung gently to her petite form, damp and still wet from a recent bath. Silver strands of her hair clung to her neck and cheeks, Her eyes, those curious, captivating light blue eyes, studied him.
"You know," Samuel responded softly, "it would be nice if you knocked before barging into someone else's room."
His fingers tightened around the red fruit from the Tree of Longevity. Its surface was normal. Just like any other fruit. Scent. Fiber. Regular. But only those with divine eyes can see its true form.
"I knew you weren't asleep yet," Lira uttered, smiling faintly as she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.
Samuel still didn't speak. He simply raised the fruit slightly, then he looked at her...eyes nervous. Flustered.
"No way..."
Lira blinked. She walked slowly across his guest-room, every step deliberate. She lowered herself into the chair across from him, folding her hands into her lap. Her gaze shifted to the fruit.
"…How did you get that?" she asked.
Samuel leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees.
"You know what it is?" he questioned.
"Yes," she replied, her voice nearly a whisper. "The red fruit is from the Tree of Longevity. The blood-heart. That fruit grants the consumer unimaginable power."
"It's not normal," she added.
"What's not normal?" he asked.
"I am pretty sure it is one fruit, per person."
"Hmm... You stole it."
Lira nodded slowly.
Samuel's eyes rose sharply.
Lira continued. "That's what you do, isn't it? You take what's not yours. Me for example... You're violent. You start fights."
She wasn't angry. She wasn't accusing. She was... Just teasing him.
"I mean, you just have the characteristics of a bandit. Someone who doesn't care."
She loved seeing his facial reaction.
Samuel didn't answer. He set the fruit gently on the table. It rolled slightly, then stopped.
He stood and walked to the window. The two moons of her world glowed beyond the glass windows, suspended over the quiet rooftops of the bathhouse district.
"It's weird," he murmured.
"What is?" Lira asked.
"In my world, we only have one moon. Just one, smaller. But here… there are two." His voice softened. "They look like floating crystals."
Lira watched him closely, her arms crossed. "Is that… a bad thing?"
"No." Samuel tilted his head slightly, one side of his mouth curling. "It's beautiful."
That surprised her.
She stood, barefoot and silent, and crossed the room to him. Up close, the difference in their height was striking. She reached out and touched his neck, her fingers cool against his skin.
"Samuel… are you alright?"
"I'm fine." He brushed her hand away with more gentleness than he meant to.
"You just… complimented this world," Lira said, a little stunned.
He looked at her. His eyes were full of sadness. "Lira."
She blinked up at him. "What?"
"Are you really okay?" he asked. "With all this?"
"What do you mean?" she responded with a frown.
"I seek revenge..."
"If you go with me...To The blue-crest kingdom ...you're throwing away your life. Everything you know. Everyone. Everything."
She stepped back, fire rising behind her eyes. "Throwing away what?!" Her tone is enraged. "Did you not see what happened back in the Forest of Eldoria? They ordered them to kill me! Kill me, Samuel! I don't think I'm leaving anything behind, I don't have anywhere to go."
"I am all on my own."
Samuel's jaw tightened.
"I'm just saying," he responded, low, "if you open the portal to the divine realm now, I'm ready. I'll skip the Blue-Crest Kingdom. You can stay here. Lay low. Safe."
She stared at him like he'd just betrayed her.
"I'm ready to take the blame," he added. "Since I'm going to do more bad things anyway…"
Lira's voice cracked, tears forming. "Stop it, please."
"I'm..."
"No!" she shouted, sobbing. "Stop pretending like you're doing this for me! Like you're protecting me!"
She turned, storming to the door.
"I thought…" she choked out. "I thought you, of all people, could understand me."
Then she was gone, and the door slammed shut with an intense jab.
Samuel stood alone, the silence echoing in the corners of the guest room.
He looked at the table. The red fruit waited. The room was Quiet. Now was the perfect time to try out the fruit power.
With a sigh, he walked over, picked it up, and sat on the edge of the bed. The smooth skin of the fruit was warm in his hand now. Almost pulsing.
He took a deep breath.
And a bit in.
The taste was sweet, but nothing special. Like every other fruit. Regular.
Then...
Nothing.
He sat there, waiting.
Nothing changed.
Again? Like the black fruit? What's wrong?
He stood in disappointment, turning to reach for a cup of water...
...and his vision blacked out.
Pain slammed into him like he was falling from a mountain. His knees gave out. His body hit the floor like a stone, limbs limp, his skin already burning with fever.
And then...
He saw.
Not with his eyes. Not his memory.
A vision...
He stood on a battlefield drenched in blood, younger...stronger. He was Arithmos, God of War, in his prime. No longer in his body. Not in control. His voice roared across the sky as he fought a titanic dragon, golden-scaled. Power burst from his hands...
Each movement was embedded with the divine essence. Each step shapes the earth.
Then came more...
He screamed as the information tore through his mind like scissors through paper.
This Again.... Samuel thought internally.
Then silence...
The New words.
"Voice of an Accuser."
"Cry of a God."
"Ash to All."
"Periodic Poltergeist."
"Dual spectrum."
Only those four names stuck in his mind.
New Parts of Arithmos the God of war's memories.
Samuel woke back up...
He sat upright, gasping, body slick with sweat. His skin steamed.
Knock knock...
His head turned toward the door.
He opened it, dazed.
One of the bathhouse attendants stood there, concern etching her young face.
"Are you… alright? I heard screaming."
Samuel nodded slowly, still trembling. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
He closed the door before she could ask more.
He staggered back to the bed and called, "Aegirion."
The blade emerged, shining, flowing with dark green energy. It hovered before him with a Sense of duty.
"I remember," Samuel exclaimed, his breath ragged. "I I have gotten a new power set, I remember how to use them. They feel… natural. Like I've always had them."
"But I just can't get used to that feeling."
He looked up at the blade, eyes widened. "Except for one."
He stood.
"'Ash to All.' I can't remember how to use that one."
"All I could remember is the title."
Aegirion hummed.
"It is not yet the time."
"Time for what?" Samuel demanded.
"It will unlock when you are in need of it."
Before Samuel could ask more questions...
The blade melted back into his skin like ink into parchment.
Samuel was left alone with silence...and thought.
He laid back, heart still pounding, and stared up at the ceiling. Due to his powers he couldn't sleep, so he spent the night reviewing each of the new powers.
Again and again.
Until the two moons gave way to dawnlight.