Reaper: The Archon of Death

Chapter 13: The Calm Before the Storm

Silently shadowing Kei, we navigated the narrow wooden corridors with cautious steps. The tight confines of the hallway gave way to a diminutive room.

"The spare room?"

Arisu's voice, barely above a whisper, carried a note of curiosity as she peeked inside.

Dim light seeped through a small, dusty window, casting a subdued glow upon the unassuming space.

"Did you hide something in here again, Kei?"

Arisu teases, a playful glint in her eyes as she surveys the room.

"Whether I did or not doesn't matter."

I looked around the room, bewildered by its dustiness.

"Do you ever clean this thing?"

"Well, I forget to... A lot of the time, hehe."

Arisu chuckled, a sheepish smile accompanying her admission.

"At least train your good-for-nothing brain to remember."

Kei's remark, delivered with a sigh, carried a teasing undertone. Arisu gasped at the playful insult to her intelligence, her eyes widening in mock offence.

"My brain is not 'good for nothing,' I'll have you know!"

"Tell that to last week."

Kei pulled the chest off of the shelf, its weight unsettling the settled dust in the air.

He opened the chest, and a lone crystal lay peacefully inside.

"Kei? What's that?"

"I don't know myself, but I have a feeling it might be useful."

He extended his arm and grabbed the crystal; he held it towards me with confidence that I knew what it was. He wasn't entirely wrong, but it was still a mystery to me nonetheless.

"Do you know what this is, Lyssa?"

"I... think I do?"

"Pray, do share! Will it bestow upon us powers of myth and legend, or perhaps unleash a bit of mischief into our mundane lives?"

Arisu's unnecessary query was dismissed as Kei began to probe further.

"Tell us all what you know about it."

"I've seen something similar to it; the phantoul gave me something with a parallel shape yet a different colour."

"I see..."

Kei closed his eyes and sighed as he exited the spare room of Arisu's residence.

"This is a mystery indeed..." I heard Arisu mutter under her breath.

As I was about the step out of the spare room, Arisu stopped me.

"Do you reckon the elusive Phantoul might spill the beans about that crystal? It does seem to have a rather friendly demeanour, and between you and me, I sense a special connection there. Perhaps a bit of playful banter or a mischievous wink could coax out some of its secrets, don't you think?"

"We summoned it not too long ago, we should give it a little break before conjuring it again. Also, why are you abruptly speaking like that?"

"I assume we're going to ask the village about this crystal you magically discovered?"

"Correct."

As we stepped out into the fading daylight, the lively village bustled with activity.

Arisu turned to Kei with a spark in her eyes.