Elsword: Yin Yang (Under Major Revision)

34

These metal scraps grew more frequent as we proceeded further in. The serene island for wildlife soon turned into a graveyard of debris, with past ghosts lurking through the forgotten  community.

The team staggered behind Eve. It felt wrong for us to proceed before her, she deserves to see the state of Altera more than any of us. 

I wonder what Altera was like in the past, I thought to myself. Was it filled with wildlife? Or was it taken over by buildings? 

"Everyone, stop." Eve ordered abruptly in a hushed voice. 

Everyone froze at the command, Eve quietly gestured us to the rusted remains of a large Nasod. We didn't utter a single word as we hurried to our hiding spot. Eve motioned us to keep quiet once we were all safely hidden from view. 

"What's happening?" I asked in a whisper. 

"I heard Nasod drillers." Eve replied. She gingerly poked her head out to examine the area. "There's a lot of them."

A cool breeze brushed by. From a distance I could hear the sounds of drills digging into the rocky ground. 

"Can't you talk to them?" Aisha asked; wrapping her arms around her knees. "You're the Queen after all."

"I know that." Eve snapped, she nibbled on her fingernails. "I-I just don't know if they will acknowledge me as their Queen."

"Of course they'll acknowledge you." Elsword piped in, scooting himself closer to the Queen. "You're their long lost Queen. I bet they'll be thrilled to see you." He gave her a pat on the back. 

Eve pushed his hand away," it's not that easy." She said vaguely. 

"What do you--"

Before Elsword could finish Eve walked out from our cover. Elsword quickly grabbed her by the wrist before she could go any further,"where are you going?" 

"I am going to try and confront the Nasods." She said, and tried to pull herself free from Elsword's grip. "I cannot allow you guys to be seen, Nasods are not very welcoming of humans." 

"We can't just let you go alone," Aisha said--using the Nasod's debris to help herself up. "What if they attack you?"

"They won't," Eve responded almost instantly. "I-I'm their Queen." 

"We still need to come along with you." Elsword pushed on. "For your safety, we need to come along with you." 

Eve turned her head away from Elsword, her fingers played with a strand of silver hair.  

"I can't lose a team mate," Elsword whimpered--Eve's shoulders tensed in response. "I won't let it happen--I can't let it happen." 

"I understand," Eve whispered, she knelt down and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "The team may come along but you must not be seen." 

"Deal." Elsword glanced back with a victorious smile. 

"Follow behind me, and keep quiet." Eve ordered, she poked her head out once more to examine the area. "When I give you the signal stay low and keep quiet." 

One by one we followed her out from out hiding spot, and tip toed behind Eve. The drilling grew louder with each careful step, our movements became more slow as a response. 

"Stop here," Eve whispered; holding out her hand to stop us. "Lay in the grass and stay. I'm going to confront them now." 

"Be careful." Elsword spoke in a hushed voice. 

Eve sent us a thumbs up before proceeding further on her own. We gingerly got to our stomachs. The grass hummed softly with each motion. 

"What will we do about Yang?" Aisha asked. "Ancient Phorus aren't exactly small."