The Lost one's journey

Part 32: Freedom

"Ikati!?" Zam says in shock as he sees Rapahel running towards him. Raphael ignores him and takes Pocu from him, quickly looking over her to make sure she's okay. After she makes sure, she holds her close and turns to Zam. "Look, I'll explain it to you later. Just follow me for now, ok?" Zam nods and stands up to follow her. She leads him towards a door as Folmon waits there for her. "You got her?" Raphael nods. "Ok, C'mon, they are probably already getting ready to get here. We don't have a lot of time." He opens the door, and they walk inside. Folmon calls out Domo's name as they walk through a hallway. "Folmon!?" Domo's voice echos through the hallway. Folmon's heart races as he hears his friend's voice. "Domo! Where are you?" He shouts out into the hallway. "At the end of the hallway! Come let me out!" Folmon and the other two start to run down the hall. They quickly arrive at a cell, and Domo inside is chained up. "Folmon! You elven bastard! I'm so happy to see you!" Domo says with a wide smile on his face. Folmon cries tears of joy as he sees his friend. "I'm so happy you're alive! We're getting you out!" He says this with joy in his voice as he turns to Raphael. She hands Zam Pocu and uses her blade to cut down the iron balls and chains holding Domo. Domo falls to the ground, and Folmon helps him up. "Look-" before he can finish, Domo interrupts him. "You'll explain later, right? I won't ask many questions. Let's just get out first." Folmon nods as he lets him lean on him for support. They all quickly get out of the arena, coming from the same place they came from. As they get out of the rundown building, an arrow of light almost strikes Folmon in the head until Raphael pops her finger quickly, making a barrier of water to block it. She looks up where the arrow came from and can see the figure of a woman with the sun burning brightly behind her. The woman waves her hand, and a hail of arrows made of light rains down on the group. Raphael manages to make a dome of water around them. "You can manipulate water!? Here!? In the f***ing  desert!"Zam says it with a shocked tone of voice. "It takes the water in my body to do it and amplifies it with physical energy." She quickly explains that the hail of arrows doesn't end. "Anyone got any ideas? I can hold this up for awhile, but if I get that idea, so can they." Folmon hands Domo to Raphael. "Yeah, I got one. Just open the barrier when you see it." Raphael nods at Folmon as he stands in front of the group. He starts to click his tongue in a rhythm as mana starts to build up around him. A grin grows on the face of the woman. They clap their hands, stopping their rain of light. An ethereal wyvern head grows from his head, and Raphael drops the barrier as the wyvern head lets out a tornado of green flames. "Down boy." The woman says as she separates her clapped hands, revealing an incredibly small orb—so small it's only two inches. She lets the orb fly towards the wyvern head. It's consumed by the flame, or it seems like it until the flames around the orb start to become extinguished. Folmon looks at the orb in shock as he drops the wyvern head. "Is that the sun?" Raphael asks in disbelief as she sees the small orb that looks like a miniature version of the sun. The group quickly moves out of the way, jumping to the side as the miniature sun melts through the sand, quickly turning it into glass, and then melting it as it passes through the ground. The woman claps her hands, and twenty-nine more suns reveal themselves behind her. Zam quickly picks up Domo and starts to jump and leap over buildings. Raphael gets on all fours and quickly follows him, moving at high speeds. Folmon clicks his tongue, and he seems to grow wyvern-like wings as he quickly flies off. As they leave, the woman drops the sun and falls to the ground, revealing herself to be Shemesh. She smiles to herself, and the suns disappears. She then walks off with a grin on her face. The group ends up far outside of the city. "WHY THE F**K IS THERE A PERSON WHO CAN SHOOT LITERAL F**KING SUNS AT US!? IKATI, PLEASE EXPLAIN!" Zam shouts as they come to a halt. "I'd also like an explanation, Lady Raphael. You're the princess of these lands, aren't you?" Folmon says. "Wait, Lady Raphael!? As in Lady Raphael of the Healing  Waters!?" Domo says this in shock. "The very same Domo." They turn to Raphael, who's looking away from them and towards the endless desert. "I'll explain it when we get to a safe place." She says as she starts to walk to the north. The rest of them don't say anything as they follow her. After what seems like hours of walking, they soon arrive at an old, decrepit building in the middle of the desert. It's far from the city, so far that they can hardly see it anymore. "Get in. I guess I have a lot of explaining to do, huh?" Raphael says with a weak grin as she opens the door. Only Zam notices her shaky hands as she opens the doors. The group enters the building and looks around. They find a lone chair seated near a table with a small couch and bookshelf to the side. "Pretty lonely here." Folmon mentions as he sees the rather empty building. "Zam over here." Raphael calls over Zam, and he puts Domo on the couch and then goes towards Raphael. "Put Pocu in here. It's a bedroom." She opens the door, and a small, lone bed fills the room. "So her name is Pocu? I'm honestly happy to see another human after so long." He chuckles as he puts Pocu down on the bed and tucks her in. Raphael heads into another room. Inside, it has more furniture, including a mirror and bed, as well as a dresser. She stands in front of the mirror and stares at her own reflection. Her purple cat-like eyes met with her own. She studies her own face, looking at her dyed white hair with a look of disgust. As she looks in the mirror, she sees Voda behind her for a split second, and she snaps her around with a look of complete despair until she doesn't see anything and quickly calms down. She sighs. "Damnit. Where are you, Galdur? I could really use your support right now. I'm trying to help Pocu since she's important to you, but... I don't think I'm strong enough for this." She squats down and takes a deep breath. "Let's get this over with." She stands back up and exits the room. Zam and Folmon, as well as Domo, all turn to her. "You changed your name? I was talking to these two, and apparently you're called Raphael now?" He asks with a chuckle. Raphael smiles and nods her head. "Yeah, pretty much. A really good friend of mine gave me the name, and I preferred it." Folmon then starts to speak. "Lady Raphael I am extremely grateful for your support in saving Domo from Etapa; however, I still want an explanation. You're the princess of Kruha and the daughter of Voda; that much is clear. Who are you, exactly? Why is Voda hunting you down? What happened with Pocu in the arena? What made you abandon your people?" Raphael sighs, grabs the chair from the table, and sits on it. "I' don't know what happened with Pocu, but it was most likely her gift awakening for the first time. I'll explain it more later, but for  now..." Raphael takes a deep, shaky breath. "I- I'll explain my... situation first."