By the time they reached Macaria's home, everyone was exhausted. They treated Natsuki's hand and wrapped it in a bandage. The shards of shadow energy must have vanished the moment the white-haired man disappeared. By the time they had finished helping Natsuki, Simon fell into the recliner next to the couch where Macaria and Natsuki collapsed. "Why did they have to show up when we were there? They had all day yesterday to do so," Natsuki complained.
"Who knows," Simon sighed. "Maybe they did show up yesterday and decided to do one last check this morning."
"Did anyone find anything?" Macaria asked as she grabbed a black and white patterned blanket from the back of the couch and threw it over her legs. Natsuki shook her head as she pulled some of the blanket over hers too.
Simon yawned as he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small yellow plastic bottle with a white top. "The magic they used was the same as the magic residue I found everywhere when I found you. Those must be the people that attacked you." He then stood from his seat and made his way to the kitchen sink and began to open cupboards in search of a cup.
"If they were after the girl, then why did the one guy attack you? Was it because he saw you behind the trash cans and thought you were a threat?" Natsuki asked.
He was acting a bit strange. The way he walked around the other guy and how he kept looking in your direction. It was almost like he knew you were there from the start, Hoshiko mentioned.
After a bit of searching, Simon managed to find a glass cup and filled it with water from the kitchen sink. "I think it's because he might have been able to sense you. Some people are sensitive to magic and can detect them from spots where they can't see them. The guy that attacked you may have remembered your presence when you first obtained your powers and that was how he was able to find you." Simon replied as he popped a pill into his mouth and took a sip of water.
Natsuki looked to her left and stared at Simon, "How do you know all this?" she asked. It seemed he knew more about unknowns than she did. How irritating.
Simon finished the last of his water before gently setting the cup on the counter without making a sound, "Because I had to research myself when I was younger. My parents were not unknowns and most people in the village where I grew up in were ordinary."
Macaria leaned forward and looked in Simon's direction, "I thought you mom was an unknown."
He shook his head, "You mean my adoptive mother? She wasn't, neither is my adoptive father." Simon turned around to refill his glass, "Besides, if she was, she would have killed the bastard who shot her instead," he said in a low voice.
"What? Speak up! You're too quiet," Natsuki complained. There was no answer from him. Maybe it was for the best that they didn't hear him. The silence was beginning to bother Macaria, "But why would they attack me? I didn't see their faces until this time. I didn't know anything besides their magic type when I first saw them. Was there something that I saw that I wasn't supposed to see? And who was that third person that showed up just before they vanished?"
That's a good question. The third person must have been responsible for that fireball. They must have thrown it knowing Natsuki would attack it which caused a smoke screen to obscure everyone's vision so they could gather the other two without taking the chance of being seen.
"Huh, I never thought about that," Macaria said in a low voice. The sound of Hoshiko's voice reminded her of the memory flower she had in her pocket. She reached into her pocket and pulled out the flower.
"That's right, you said you were going to explain that" Natsuki pointed to the flower. Simon looked back and noticed the memory flower in Macaria's hands, he had almost forgotten about it. Simon returned to his seat and set his glass on a small table between the couch and the recliner. "Yes please, do tell."
"Alright," Macaria said as she held the flower high into the air. Just as she was about to release it, she realized this wasn't the right flower. Then she lowered it causing Natsuki and Simon to become confused. Macaria threw the blanket off her and slowly stood up and made her way to the table where she set her keys and gloves, the other flower was still there. The flower that had snagged her lanyard was the one that hadn't been used yet. She swapped the flowers before standing behind the couch, Natsuki and Simon were watching her closely.
Good catch. I was going to tell you that you had the wrong flower, but it seemed that you figured it out. I'm proud of you, Hoshiko said.
"Wanna see something crazy?" she asked as she threw the flower in the center of the living room. The moment the flower shattered on the floor; she could see a bit of horror on Simon's face as he watched. She knew he liked how beautiful the flower was, but not to the point where breaking it in front him seemed like it would give him nightmares.
A pale blue circle of light appeared underneath them and a tree made of blue light appeared in the center of the room with Macaria holding onto the tree.
Natsuki leaned forward as she watched the memory while Simon removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. They watched as the branch hit Macaria's hands causing her to release the branch. The illusion faded the moment Macaria had released the tree and Hoshiko had grabbed her hand. After that, the light faded and all that was left was the shattered crystal petals that shimmered in the rising sunlight.
Nobody said anything for several moments while Natsuki and Simon tried to process what had played out before them. "Ta da! It's called a memory flower! And that's what it does!" Macaria said to break the silence in hopes one of them would speak.
"Where did you get that? How did you get that? Where were you? Who was that?" Natsuki quickly said, she wasn't sure which question to start with. Simon remained quiet as he continued to stare at the floor where the memory had played before him. Natsuki had probably asked one of the obvious questions he was going to ask.
Macaria explained the place she was in was a realm between their world and another and how she wasn't an unknown and had gotten her powers from a wind spirit who had lost most of his memory. Natsuki asked many questions Macaria couldn't answer while Simon slowly rocked in his chair and listened.
"A spirit you say?" Simon said to himself. Natsuki and Macaria looked at him wondering if he had figured out something. "I think your story is enough to explain it. Macaria, with a spirit by your side, your magic is different than the unknows magic. That man was able to sense your magic because magic from a spirit is extremely strong. I wondered if your situation had something to do with a spirit from the very beginning since when I found you, the wind magic I was finding was pure and couldn't have been casted from an unknown. And after seeing what happened a few hours ago, it makes me wonder if they're after you because of Hoshiko."
But what would they want from me? Did I do something? I can't remember. And it's not like we can have a nice conversation with them.
"He said he's not sure what they want from him or if he did something," Macaria said. She couldn't think of any reason why someone would want a spirit. "But wait, if they were able to sense that the magic belonged to a spirit, why didn't they take me after I blacked out?"
"Simon, do you think those guys were from Shadow Dawn?" Natsuki asked.
"Most likely. And that third person that showed up seemed very different than the other two. It makes me wonder if they knew that the other two would run into us," Simon responded.
"What about Renley? They were after her too," Macaria asked.
"Well, judging from the odd features Macaria spoke of, I would say yes, Renley is indeed a spirit, but the magic she used doesn't fit any description of any of the spirits. But speaking of Hoshiko and spirits, why would he come here? And for him to have no memory of how and what he came here for is very odd."
Macaria turned to Simon with a confused look, she didn't quite understand what he was talking about. He raised an eyebrow in response, "You don't know about the spirits? It's something they teach in every school."
"Hey!" Natsuki snapped, "She's not from here. Maybe they didn't teach her about the spirits when she was younger." The truth was, Macaria wasn't sure if she learned about the spirits when she was younger. She didn't remember her childhood at all, not even her parents.
"Tell me anyway. Maybe it will help Hoshiko remember something," Macaria said trying to hide her embarrassment from Simon. His words made her feel singled out of the conversation.
Oh! Good idea! Hoshiko praised.
Simon reached for his glass and took a sip of water. They couldn't tell if Simon was disappointed or annoyed that he had to tell the story about the spirits. "I'll tell the short version. There were once five gods who later became nine. One by one, they all began to mimic the form of humans and live among them to learn more about them. Each god bestowed their powers on the most courageous people, granting them the ability to use elemental magic. The shadow god became furious about this and believed that humans unworthy to receive the power of the gods, so he and his followers, also know as Dark Followers, began to target and slay the unknowns and the gods. He and his followers were then banished to the nightmare realm, a realm where all nightmarish monster mortals dream about exist."
He continued, "After his banishment, the rest of the gods created human like vessels from their power and created spirit servants to help better protect the land from the threats the shadow god would send and the followers that still wish to fulfill this centuries old mission." He drank the rest of his water and stood up. Instead of walking into the kitchen, he stood next to Macaria and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It only feels like yesterday when you said you were confident in your basic knowledge of unknowns."
Macaria swatted his hand away before quickly turning around in her seat and reaching out for him. Before she could reach him, he took a step back. "I hate you," she growled.
A grin appeared on his face as he turned away," I know," he responded before placing his glass next to the kitchen sink.
"Anyway, this all took place in a world called Celeste. Legend has it that this world we live in was created to protect unknowns who couldn't protect themselves or were massive targets of the Dark Followers. Or simply, unknowns just happened to stumble into this world and decided to make this world their new home. Obviously, it's impossible to pinpoint what was the true reason, but some say the spirits occasionally appear here if there is a threat. Unknowns are considered children to the spirits and gods after all."
So, I was sent here for something, Hoshiko began.
"Does that mean he was sent here to take down theseDark Followers?" Natsuki asked. Simon shook his head, he wasn't sure. "I thinkwe'll be able to find out more if we find this Renley person or another spiritif there is another here. It sounds like they might know something we don't."