Shadow Color (NEW VERSION)

Chapter 7

Hoshiko nodded, "Correct!"

"But, what about your memory? You said you weren't sure if you were sent here by a god?"

"Correct," Hoshiko also said slowly as he stared at the endless night sky full of stars. "I came from a world just above us. I don't remember why I was sent here or what I needed to do. If Oakuss did send me, that means he was worried about something?" he said not sounding too confident. It was clear he wasn't sure what he was doing here.

"Do you think Oakuss wanted me to help you in some way?" Macaria asked.

Hoshiko looked at her with a worried look, "I don't know. I don't even remember how I found you." It was clear this conversation wasn't leading them anywhere. Macaria couldn't help but wonder about him, he certainly was a mystery. "Well, standing here and trying to guess why you're here isn't getting us anywhere. Maybe your memory will return over time. If that's the case, you can stick with me until your memories return."

Hoshiko nodded, he seemed to like this idea. Macaria noticed he was eyeing the crystal flower in her hand; she looked down at it and noticed there was a faint glow coming from the flower. He positioned his hands as if he was holding something and then dropped them, motioning her to drop it. She hesitated a bit wondering if she was reading him right. After a few moments, she released the flower and quickly looked at Hoshiko, hoping to find some kind of answer in his expression. He kept a straight face, so she assumed this was the correct action. The flower shattered like glass as it smashed into the ground. The fragments flew in every direction and began to glow once they landed on the ground.

Macaria turned to Hoshiko and opened her mouth to speak, but Hoshiko raised his hand signaling her not to, "Yes, you interrupted that correctly." A pale blue circle of light appeared underneath them. It was about ten feet in diameter. Then, a tree made of blue light appeared in the center of the circle with someone holding onto the tree. It was Macaria.

"This is a memory flower; it can record events that have happened. This was near your foot during that short-lived windstorm. It reacts to strong emotions, so in this case, your fear is what triggered this flower to record this event," Hoshiko said as he watched Macaria walking around of what reminded her of a hologram. They both watched as the branch hit Macaria's hands. The illusion faded the moment Macaria had released the tree and Hoshiko had grabbed her hand.

"Pretty neat huh? There's plenty of them here," Hoshiko said with amusement. The shattered pieces began to glow once more before they began to fade away. "They are a one-time use, but there are ways around it. As you just witnessed, if you drop a memory flower, it will create an illusion which allows anyone to see it. But if you wish to watch whatever is in the memory flower more than once or don't want anyone else to see, all you must do is simply hold the flower in your hands and channel your mana to your hands. That will trigger the flower and it will allow you to see what's in it in your head, so you must be sure to close your eyes if you choose to do this," Hoshiko explained.

Macaria was intrigued by this. A flower that can record events and is triggered by strong emotions, this was something she wanted to learn more about. It was like a camera, but a little more complex. "That is cool! Too bad nothing like this exists in my world," Macaria sighed.

"This flower only exists in the world I come from and here, but you should be able to take them with you back to your world," Hoshiko said as he scratched the back of his head.

Macaria quickly looked at Hoshiko with excitement on her face, "I can take these back to my world?!"

"H-hold on," Hoshiko began with a worried expression as he held his hands in front of him, "I'm not sure if it'll work, but we can most certainly try when I send you back if you wish. It can also be proof that this isn't a dream too if it works. I can tell you're still doubting everything."

Macaria froze, 'How did you know about that?"

"I've been around humans for centuries. Even before I obtained this form, I can almost read human's minds. Not even unknown minds are safe for they are just humans in the end," Hoshiko answered. "You should probably get back to your world, I believe enough time had passed. I believe a human needs eight hours of sleep each day, correct?"

"Yeah," Macaria began before Hoshiko tossed her two crystal memory flowers. She caught them each with one hand and looked at them. One of them was slightly glowing.

"The glowing one hasn't been used yet. The other one, well, I wouldn't want to spoil it for you. You'll have to watch it on your own. I recommend that you use your mana to watch that. As for the other one, use it however you like," Hoshiko said as he snapped his fingers. A white glow engulfed Macaria who began looking at her body. "I believe I've given you enough information today. I'll pull you here if I need you again. And don't forget, that voice you hear is mine," he said before the light around her grew brighter and obscured her vision.

Macaria slowly opened her eyes; she was staring at the living room ceiling. The room was filled with the afternoon sunlight. She slowly sat up and began looking around, she still felt sleepy. "That was an interesting dream," she said before she stood up and stretched. A shiny object sitting on the table next to the door caught her attention in the corner of her eye. She didn't remember leaving anything on the table besides her gloves and it couldn't have been her phone as it was in her back pocket.

She turned around to see what the sunlight was catching, the sight caught her by surprise, it was the memory flowers. Macaria jumped over the sofa and ran to the table; the shock made her feel wide awake. "No way!" she nearly yelled as she held her hands close to the flowers. She couldn't believe it, it wasn't a dream, everything was real.

Don't touch that one! She heard Hoshiko's voice in her head. It reacts to strong emotions! If you touch it, you'll activate it and it'll record this very moment. I'm sure you would rather use it another time.

Macaria pulled her hands away from the flowers, "Ah, that's right," she said shyly, embarrassed for her reaction.

I'm sure we're going to get along just fine. I also hope this will help me remember my purpose for being here.

"I'm sure it will," Macaria said as she grabbed her backpack and began to unpack a few things. She placed her laptop on the table next to the door before reaching into her bag again. Her hand found a small item, she slowly pulled it out and noticed it was her pocketknife she had given to Renley. She slowly stood up as she continued to stare at the knife in her hand. "How did- I don't," she began trying to find her next words. What's the matter? Hoshiko asked interrupting her thoughts about which words to use.

Macaria flicked the knife opened, there was a bit of blood on the blade, "When we were cornered in the alley, I had given Renley my knife so she could fight. This was before you gave me your powers."

What was that name? Hoshiko slowly asked. By the tone of his voice, it almost sounded like he might know something.

"Renley?" Macaria asked. There was no response for several moments. "Does the name sound familiar?" There was still no response. She didn't hear anything from Hoshiko for the rest of the day.