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The little blue guardian and I have known each other for a long time.
And here is how we met for the first time.
when this young world begins to gradually stabilize with a constantly increasing population, to meet the needs of our "goddess" to build a new world, tribes also gradually formed and the goddess needed someone to always stay by the tree and prevent anyone from violating it, before the tree was truly down to earth. Me and Sunshine acted as pioneers but unfortunately, we were imprisoned by the spider tribe who worshiped corruption, only Sunshine with her flexibility managed to escape and was not captured.
Hoping that she would prepare everything needed for the tree, I sighed and leaned my back against the thick iron bars, slid down, and curled up in front of the cramped, limited space of the cage. Hopefully, after I recover my strength, I can break these barriers. I exhaustedly snuggled into my knees, ignored my restless stomach, and tried to fall asleep.
But I was wrong, those iron bars were not an ordinary toy, those insidious spiders were smart enough to know that I and Sunshine was not as simple as they seemed. I became more and more desperate and started to feel hopeless, I couldn't hold back my tears every time I thought about the fact that I was here, all alone, and no one would know of my existence in a place like this, no one would come to save me. And I will forever rot in this place.
I don't know how long I was here, waking up and forcing myself to eat that disgusting thing they threw at me then I would keep skipping meals because there was no way I could swallow that thing. Before that, I will spend time thinking about what I can do to help the little shapes, the creatures I saw when my goddess created them. Until now, I have long given up that useless habit and sunk into despair, every day the same three things repeat over and over again. I ate, despaired until I was exhausted and then I just fell asleep.
Please Mom, please save me. Someone, please save me, please. I'm so lonely, I'm so hurt.
Today the spiders seem to be noisier than usual, it seems like they are preparing for some kind of war, I can be sure that it is a war.
because those spiders sent guards to guard me even though since I was stuck in this place they didn't even care about the risk of me escaping, could it be that someone is coming to save me? A glimmer of hope inside me seemed to be lit.
I tried to wipe away the tears that had long lost their natural color, hoping for a more thoughtful look for the hero who had come to this place. Whether the purpose is to save me or not, I will still accept it, but to ask that person for help is something I must do because I still have a mission to complete.
As soon as that small form entered my sight, I couldn't hold back my tears and burst into tears in his presence. a shape whose mission is to protect the goddess's world like me. Although he was born late, I admired him from first sight and looked forward to each day when we could officially meet and work together. and study. He heard my cry and quickly flew over, avoiding those desperately stained flowers to get to me.
I covered my face trying to hide how ugly and dirty my tears were making me. I never expected that the first time we met would be in such an embarrassing situation. I could hear the baritone voice being a bit muffled, it sounded a bit childish.
"Oh, I don't think there's anyone detained here, hey, are you okay?"
I tried to open my mouth and say something, but it seemed that after not talking to anyone for a long time, my vocal cords had stiffened and I was completely unable to utter any meaningful words. The despair that had just been pushed back to the corner of my mind by that small hope threatened to rise again. I cringed before my own chaotic emotions, desperate because I couldn't communicate with anyone anymore. Luckily it seemed like the other person understood my situation, he reassured me, promptly pulling me out of the panic before it completely engulfed me again.
"Hey, it's okay, you have me here, I'll save you, I promise so calm down."
He gently comforted me with those gentle words, I could feel that small hand gently stroking my dirty hair, before announcing that he would leave for a moment to get the things needed to break the cage for me. I gently leaned into his gentle touch but he flew away before I could do that, I wanted to cry again.
But this time it was out of relief, and joy that I was finally found. These are called happy tears, right? I wiped my face, expecting to see my pure emerald tears again.
"W-Why...?"
But what greeted me were still fingertips covered in that disgusting black liquid.
So I was poisoned and tainted by them because I accepted to eat those disgusting things.
Because I refused to die in innocence
Because I was stubborn and refused to give up on the task my mother had given me
Just as I was ready to give up hope and die right away, my mind was soothed by a familiar, soothing energy that reminded me of my mother part of her, a piece of light.
'How did it get here..'
I suddenly squealed when I saw him using the power from the shard to break the cage, part of the shard's aura healed old wounds and energized me a bit.
I blinked, stunned by the view that was not obscured by those annoying barriers. I wanted my voice back, I wanted to say thank you. I tried to ignore his nervous attitude, but the response to his wishes was still my distorted letters, my painful wheezing, muffled voice.
"you have to stop you'll hurt yourself!"
he spoke sternly, angrily holding my wrist as I tried to scratch my neck in an attempt to free the thing that was trying to block my throat. I choked up and looked at him with teary eyes. He was a little startled and reflexively let go of my hand.
"I'm sorry, did-did I hurt you, please maybe we can find another way, just, don't do that"
I bit my lip, there was still one more way to communicate, but I wasn't sure if he understood me or not. But I haven't tried it yet.
I hesitantly let my magic form some strange symbols, and I sent him a few symbols from sign language, they were baby blue and glowed softly above my head.
[Thanks]
He looked at me in surprise, his beady eyes widened, and I could see them sparkling. Wait what? It's sparkling..??
[It's nothing, that's surprising, you also know sign language, I thought you were like Shapes, you know, who spoke shape language]
He squinted his eyes as if to show a smile, then let out cute giggles.
[well you could say I'm a special case heh]
Luckily he understood it, I felt a little more relieved, used the hem of my shirt to wipe away what I thought was still stuck on my face, looked up at him, and gave him a bright smile.
It was the first smile after those days and also the first creature I met. I blessed him with all my devotion. He turned his face away, and his cyan seemed to shine a little brighter than usual. I didn't pay too much attention to that cute strange thing.
Now the important thing is that I didn't move much during that time and I don't know if the light piece can cure the damage to my muscles. I found a way to bend a U-shaped iron bar into an L that would serve as a fulcrum so I could move around, without needing too much help.
We then became companions, working together to retrieve the pieces of light to awaken the tree of light. I don't know what Sunshine did during the time I was imprisoned here but really with a single piece of light, what could she do?
I nervously dragged each heavy step through the wet and slippery honeycomb cliffs, which could collapse at any moment from the weight I was placing on it. There it was, I had cracked its surface, that disturbing crack made me nervous and I refused to follow him, no matter how much he comforted me and showed me how attached he was. I have to make sure my actions cause as little disruption to him as possible.
*I shouldn't have challenged myself to jump over that cliff
I tormented myself the whole time he was away until I saw a swing held by little birds and I completely melted at his kindness.
and this is when my impulsive action came back and kicked me hard in the ass. The red crystal had completely lost its connection and had fallen and completely broken 'its' seal, the one called the vessel of despair.
he tried to hold it for me at his peril, while I thought of ways to be helpful. I found a large crystal block being reinforced at the ceiling of the cave. It must have been in danger of falling, but the spiders tried to hold it back because they didn't want to wake up the sleep of their "LORD".
I tried to pull off the rope that fixed the ceiling of the cliff, my hands were bleeding and painful, but I couldn't give up now.
He's in trouble and I won't, I won't leave him and run away like a coward. With the help of Line, the little spider girl who helped me during the time I was stuck here, we succeeded in temporarily sealing that monster.
A new problem arises, the fragments of light are forced to bond together at the same time to maintain the stability of the magic system that has been put in place to keep magical creatures alive. But if they do not merge at the same time, the magic gap will cause the space to lack stability and form a magical black hole.
The thing would suck all the magical substances into it and would require a host to stabilize it, but I wasn't sure if I could survive being thrown into it. Surely not, I bit my lip trying to ignore my body trembling with fear, my brain kept reminding me to run away, to save my life before I did something stupid that I knew I would definitely commit to regardless.
"Thank you for helping me all this time Line, I really appreciate it. And you'll certainly deserve more once we return to the surface. But can you help me hold off the little hero when the gate opens, I need to check outside again before everyone gets out of here."
*hope our little hero doesn't forget this day when he returns to the surface.
Just when he finished the fight and came out with the key to unlock the last door, the door opened and I held his hand tightly, preparing to pull him inside, then I would run out while Line held him.
But she didn't follow my plan, she wrapped my legs and my stick with her powerful silk. I looked at her in surprise, feeling my trust had been betrayed. She smirked, then walked out a few steps ahead of me, the thread still lingering a short length in her hand.
"I know what you plan to do next Cube, but I won't let you ruin my only chance to get out of here."
While he was still looking at both of us with puzzled eyes, the huge explosion attracted the attention of all three, and quickly a large black hole was formed. It grew larger and began to suck everything into it, swallowing it in endless darkness. The little spider girl smiled and then released her hand from the rope that was holding her from the crazy gravitational pull of the black hole.
"goodbye, this place doesn't belong to me so farewell"
Before I could feel sad, my little hero let go of me and was sucked into that hole along with the spider. In the stunned eyes and screams that wanted to tear my heart and lungs.
My muscles were tense and a headache tormented me every second after that, I found it hard to breathe and my chest tightened, my mind was in a daze and I could barely think of anything else except that I was going to give up my life. I sank deep into negative thoughts, unable to escape on my own, unable to fight back or struggle, they gradually swallowed me into the darkness of the deep sea of pain.
I feel sleepy.
"CUBE! HEY ARE YOU THERE?"
But this time I was not alone.
"ah"
I was startled and looked at him bewildered, he was holding my shoulders, I felt a strong grip on my shoulders, when did he get so big?
"hey, breathe, please wake up, CUBEE! BREATH!"
"hah ah hah"
At this point, I felt my body desperately begging for oxygen and my brain was turning on the "we're screwed" warning loudly in my head. I try to breathe as much as possible with long, deep breaths. My heart beat so fast that I could feel it through every blood vessel in my body. I grabbed Cyan's shirt and buried my head on his chest. My hands were covered in thick black liquid. Whether that was my blood or my tears, I didn't know.
"It's okay, I have you, you're safe here."
His voice was warm and gentle, just like the first day we met. I felt my panic slowly slip away, crawling into the bucket I'd been hiding it in all this time. He ruffled my short hair, scratched my scalp, and patted my back in an attempt to soothe me.
" Hey, what happened? It's been a long time since I've seen you so panicked."
After a long while, he asked me in a worried voice, but I didn't want to say now, I didn't want him to remember the memory when we were in the den of corruption. I shook my head, my throat was dry and painful, and it didn't want to speak. I sign in the language of light
[it was just a terrible nightmare, I'm fine, thank you CY]
I saw his steady pat on my back pause for half a beat and then hit me a little harder, it was shaking slightly. He still kept that gentle voice but this time it was deeper and a little disappointed, yes that's right, he knew I was lying, always.
"Hey, you know I'm always here with you, you can tell me anything"
I nodded, clung to him a little tighter, and tried to utter a few words even though my throat was still nauseous and sore like hell.
"I-I kno-now"
"so...am I not trustworthy enough to help you with what's bothering you?"
I shook my head harder and almost wiped all my tears on his cyan jacket, I tried to stuff those emotions into a box and find an excuse for his question. I felt him sigh and then use both hands to push me out of his jacket. I didn't resist it, because I thought he had given up and stopped asking. Even though I already knew that, I couldn't suppress the feeling of disappointment rising in my heart.
'Yes, it's the same as always, he's always busy'
I followed suit and pushed him away. I backed away from his personal space, intending to turn around and leave immediately. but he was able to grab my face with both hands and lift it up to face him directly, determined to make eye contact, but I couldn't face his determined eyes. If so, the lies I have prepared will fail.
"CUBE! Look at me, please, if you keep being like this I will... look...we are all very worried about you and I don't want you to be absent-minded at work, it will cause unnecessary pain and you know I don't like to see that,..."
"..."
"I'm really worried about you, as your long-time friend, Cube, stop trying to lie to me."
'using people's work and feelings to threaten me? hah This trick of yours is old, cy'
I used my left hand to hold his hand that was holding my right bicep. I bet that tomorrow I will have a bruise shaped like his hand on my body. But it'll be okay, I've had worse things than this. Wow, is he really that 'worried' about me? I looked at him and smiled, narrowed my eyes as always, hiding all my current emotions, I signed and refused to let him hear my voice.
[Sorry for making you worry, my throat hurts so much right now that I can't speak]
[about that, I was worried about you when you started dating Blixer]
He turned his face, his lovely cyan color became a little brighter, he was stunned for a few seconds then shook his head vigorously as if trying not to think about someone too much. He turned to me, coughed lightly into his fist, his face was still red but he tried not to notice and glared at me, his voice mixed with anger and sulking.
"Hey don't try to distract me, you should continue to present yourself seriously, little girl, tell the truth and not lie anymore"
I chuckled, at his confused expression. I don't know if I find it sweet or bitter, of course, it will never be for me.
My emotions welled up, even though when I signed every emotion I showed would be controlled, but now I just can't stop myself from it, my magic as well as its owner, trembling and crumbling. I tried hard, but whatever happened happened, the next part of that beautiful handwritten sentence gradually became thinner and squiggly like a person trying to write with their left hand when they are right-handed.
[Do you remember how he crushed you, and you... almost couldn't revive]
Cyan was a little startled when he saw what I had just tried to sign, tears welled up in my eyes again, I sniffled and hiccuped as I continued to tremble and use magic to sign the symbols even more scribbled and broken than before.
[I'm worried he'll do something to you and I'm not there to save you,... I don't want to lose you, CY, I can't stop fearing that something bad will happen]
[I'm so scared, Cy]
He reached out, pulling me into a bone-crushing hug, his large hand cupping the back of my head, running his hand through the pale blue strands of hair matted with my tears on it.
"I don't want to lose my family, no one else"
I felt my broken voice tearing through the weak muscles in my throat. My tired brain is numb and doesn't want to mobilize any energy to form sentences anymore. I leaned into his embrace, my whole body trembling, on the brink of my second panic attack of the day.
In the end, I still lied to him. but it's not a complete lie but actually a truth, a perfect truth to replace, half the truth is still essentially the truth, right, because the other half is something else I don't want to let him know.
About my crazy jealousy over his unexpected love for that pink butt who almost killed him before.
I've had a crush on him since the day we officially met.
I swore to protect him with my life when I knew my mother's duty to me was to care for the guardians and the mother tree.
I loved him deeply and did everything for him when we studied in the imperial capital.
But I don't want to confess because I'm afraid everything I've tried to build will come to an end.
Above all, my mission and his are related and he sticks with me.
I will kill that pink butt soon and take Cy back to our safe, warm home.
I lost him once and almost lost him, I can't lose him again.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know that scared you so much."
"...but won't Mother Tree revive me after that, It'll just take a while."
"Even so, I still don't want to, you're so cruel, Cy"
I bit his arm, hard, lucky for him he wasn't wearing a sleeveless shirt, I bet if I could bite his skin it would bleed and the scars wouldn't be erased forever.
"OUCH ouch ouch, I'm so sorry, I promise not to be subjective and not let myself die, okay?"
He squealed, then teased me with that cheerful, careless voice. I raised my pinky finger to his face, deciding not to add to the tension. He giggled, his body shaking as if in an effort to avoid laughing too loudly to irritate me.
"Pinky swear!? really Cube *snort* we haven't done this since I was two years old"
"So what, if you don't hook your pinky finger then I won't recognize your promise"
I hissed through gritted teeth, trying to threaten him but all I got was another guffaw from him, he put all his weight on me and was shaking badly, accompanied by muffled snorts and ducking sounds.
"also *wheeze* that stubborn attitude, I can't remember the last time I saw it haha"
I know it's been a while since we've actually talked like this, but what he's doing right now is really pissing me off, thoroughly. I grumbled and pulled my finger back before pushing him away. Did I mention before that he was leaning completely on me?
"ah, shit!"
He somehow managed to catch my hat before I knocked him down on his ass when I pushed him away, and I followed his momentum and pull and fell on top of him, and we rolled down the slope with my squeal of terror and his shrill, cheerful laugh.
My head was pounding in pain. Everything was upside down and spinning to the point of nausea. I didn't feel any pain because he held me tightly and covered almost everything for me as we plunged down.
Finally, it was over, I bet we crushed a dozen of those beautiful baby blue-eyed flowers down there, I closed my eyes and tried to regulate my breathing and heart rate, which were racing to the point of crisis for the second time that day.
I could smell a cool, minty scent that was a bit sweet, the smell of Cyan, I was startled to feel his breath graze my cheek and his strong heartbeat, It was also beating very fast and almost at the same rhythm as me. I opened my eyes wide, squinted a bit because the sunset was shining straight at me, and then opened them again, truly revealing the blue eyes that I hide every day for everyone to see. He also opened his eyes wide and looked at me, dazed and bright. I was blushing just like him. I just hoped that the sunset was strong enough to hide it.
He slowly leaned down, I closed my eyes tightly both nervous and confused, he placed small kisses all over my forehead and cheeks, As soon as my heart calmed down a bit, it continued racing in panic in my chest, for the third time.
Finally, after a kiss on the nose, he looked up at me in a blushing and confused mess, he once again burst into laughter and turned over to the side. I felt the sunset light completely shining on me, warm. I opened my eyes and dreamily looked at him lying cross-legged next to me. He also looked back at me smiled and held out his pinky finger.
"I'm sorry for making you worry about me so much, Cube, I promise you, I'll make sure I'm safe, so get over it..."
He looked at me with those affectionate eyes filled with love, I felt my heart skip a beat again. I dreamily reached out to hook my finger with him. His fingers cling tightly around mine, big and strong. He put his forehead against mine and whispered softly
"I love you"
My heart skipped a beat again, my joy flowing like a tide. I just wish it was that kind of love, but this is fine, right?
"I love you too"
I held his pinky finger tighter and then rubbed my head against his forehead a little harder.
'love you so much, forever and ever'