"So you aren’t from this world... You ca here because of an artifact... And if I am correct, this artifact is called the Elental Prism." Ash said, her voice a low, steady rumble, eyes locked on Sunny across the dying bonfire. Her initial fury had cooled, leaving a wary, sharp-edged pragmatism in its place.
Ash didn’t flinch under his gaze, and continued: "The Elental Prism isn’t an artifact, but a humanoid creature. By your description, he is the one you’re after. But how do you expect to defeat him?" Her tone was disarmingly candid. He stared back, taking in the way her purple skin seed to absorb and reflect the flickering orange light.
Sunny sighed, running a hand through his hair. The earlier tension with Ash had been exhausting, yet sohow clarifying. "I don’t want to defeat him, I want him as an ally," he admitted, the exhale carrying a genuine weight of necessity.
"I am being truthful because you’ve been helpful from the start, well... after you cald down." He glanced around the dark clearing, the sounds of night a constant, low hum.
"The mythic world is filled with countless beasts and monsters..." He turned back to Ash, his gaze intense. "Do you know of any truly powerful beasts?"
Ash’s eyes drifted montarily to the heavy, crude chains around her wrists—a constant, painful reminder of her captivity and his power. "In this region, I am the strongest," she said, her voice quiet but firm.
"But in the whole realm... the second strongest is called Speed. No one has ever seen this creature. It’s simply too fast, and it kills without exposing itself. That’s what the rumors say."
She looked up, eting his eyes with a direct, unyielding gaze. "I have answered all your questions, can you answer one of mine?"
"Go ahead," Sunny nodded, ntally preparing himself for the inevitable explosion.
"Why the hell did you destroy my tribe?!" she asked, the question delivered with the raw, focused power of a newly-strung bow.
"I didn’t destroy your tribe, I simply wiped out a portion of it," Sunny said flatly, the pragmatic distance in his tone starkly contrasting with her emotion.
"How can you shalessly say sothing like that!" Ash’s voice cracked, rising in volu. "If you had a bunch of kids and lost a portion! Does that make anything right?!!!"
"Well... I guess I was in the wrong, but they attacked first." He paused, a flicker of sothing that might have been regret—or annoyance at the inconvenience of it—crossing his face.
"My people don’t attack first." Ash’s voice dropped to a desolate whisper, her gaze fixed on the earth.
’That is true... The trees didn’t attack first. But how could I have gotten so many spirit stones? I wonder how many I will gain from her,’ Sunny thought.
"So your tribe is peaceful?" he asked aloud, leaning forward slightly.
"In this world, my tribe is the most peaceful tribe around, out of the three!" She looked up, the red in her eyes shimring with genuine sorrow and anger. "And you just killed sixty percent of that!"
"....?!"
Sunny stared at her for a few seconds, his brow furrowing not just in defiance, but in a sudden, sharp confrontation with the scale of his actions. He hadn’t considered percentages, only obstacles:
"Hey! Don’t guilt trip ! Your people targeted with Killing Intent! So of course, I’ll have to defend myself!" he snapped, the deflection a defense chanism against a burgeoning unease.
The purple-skinned beauty only glared, turning her head away to stare into the dark periter of the space. The silence stretched, thick with accusation.
"You can sulk all you want, I don’t really care," Sunny continued, attempting to recapture his detached focus.
"I’m here for ten days, and I already used two days out of that." He pointed at her. "You will lead to the Elental Prism, by passing through Speed’s territory."
"Why the hell would you choose that path?!" Ash turned to him in genuine confusion and alarm. Speed was a monster of myth, an invisible executioner.
"I don’t have ti," Sunny said, lying back on the ground and staring up at the three distant moons.
"With your words, that’s the fastest way, and it’ll take three days. The rest will take at most six days." He turned his head, his voice softening just enough to imply a deal, not a threat.
"If you want to leave your people, you will have to help ," he insisted:
"I know your people are watching. They’re still in hiding because I defeated you. None of them have the strength to defeat , even if they’re all God Rank warriors."
Ash gritted her teeth. He was right. Her people’s survival was the greater concern, forcing her to swallow her pride and her vengeance. "Why go through all this?" she asked, the question suddenly devoid of heat, just a weary curiosity.
Sunny sat up, his expression hardening with a focused, almost desperate resolve. "There is an enemy that wants to destroy my world and hurt my family. And I need more power."
"More power? You are already this powerful," Ash said, genuinely confused. "What enemy can threaten you in your own world?"
"She isn’t from my world, and she goes by the na, Great Mother."
Ash instantly froze. The air around the bonfire seed to turn icy and still; even the wind seed to pause. Sensing the dramatic shift, Sunny tilted his head:
"What happened?" he asked, his voice now laced with a rare, genuine uncertainty.
Ash stared at him, her purple eyes wide and hesitant. She had been angry, defiant, mournful—but this was true terror.
"Co on... I don’t want to ask again." Sunny sat up fully, his serious expression demanding an answer. He realized this na was far more significant than he had guessed.
"You know Speed... the fastest in the lower world," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
"There is a rumor that says, this creature is a slave to a goddess known as Lilith, and this Goddess’s title is; Great Mother of the Underworld."
".....?!!!"
Sunny instantly froze in shock, the implications of her words slamming into him with the force of a thousand blows. His enemy was not just a threat to his world; she had a terrifying foothold even here.
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