.:Imagine:.

hur.

[spoilerPrologue:8idet9du]The creatures of the night flew about in graceful circles, a faint glow emanating from their body. The opalescent moon stood fixated in the night sky, the stars swirling around it as the clouds tried to hide the moon’s face.

The land-dwellers of the night scurried through the undergrowth, bright crystal-shaped lights embedded on their shadows. The plants and bushes rustled as the bodies of the dwellers brushed against them.

The ponds and lakes shimmered with dots of light as fishes big and small swam through it, the same bright crystal-shaped light all tied to thin yet unbreakable lines on their tailfins.

Two figures made their way through the dark grass plains. The only light to guide them was the moon, who told them what they see, the stars, who told them the directions, and the light from the crystals and gems on deadly creatures’ bodies, which told them to stay away.

A loud hiss from a creature made the figures look up, seeing a huge floating fish hover above them, crystal on its belly small compared to its size. The fish looked around, its yellow eyes gleaming in the night, before it floated away.

Here in Prendea, everything is deadly. The small fishes you can easily catch in the lake? They can bite your whole hand off. Those ‘harmless’ flies you commonly see? They can inject a certain virus that has the potential to kill you into your veins. Those small, cute birds that sing to you every morning? The juice that oozes out of their feathers can intensify your sense of touch, making a small cut on your finger feel like torture.

The two figures watched as the overgrown fish floated away before they continued on. They had to keep a close watch, or else they’ll end up losing a limb—or worse, get killed.

You see, killing these creatures in Prendea is very easy. You just have to find the crystals or gems on their bodies, hit it as hard as you can, and they’ll fall to the ground dead. Easy, huh?

Not. Some creatures hide their gems and crystals cleverly; sometimes even hiding them inside their mouths. Nothing can stop them unless you either crack their gems or shatter it completely. Cut off one of their limbs? They’re still going at you. Stab them straight through the heart? They’re alive and they’re out for your blood. Decapitate them? They’re still going. The only way to kill them is to literally break their gems or crystals.

So you’d want to watch out when you’re in Prendea, especially when you’re out at daytime. Travelling at nighttime is easier, since the creatures’ gems and crystals glow in the dark outdoors, but when it’s daytime, they can move so silently, you won’t even notice them when they get close.

What’s worse is that they attack any humans on sight. When they see you, get ready to run or fight, because they’ll be charging at you the moment they so much as take a glance at you. 

So, welcome to Prendea.

Enjoy your stay.

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HURURRRURUURURURUR.

omg this is beautiful.

[spoilerChapter 1:3uaywrmm]“SKREEEE!”

Goddangit, when will this thing die?! you thought, clenching your teeth as you dodged and slashed at the creature. Scratches and bruises already littered your body as you ducked its claws.

The overgrown cat yowled as you managed to cut it. It hissed at you and swiped its paw yet again, this time landing a cuff straight at your face.

You just got slapped by a cat. Good job, [name].

“You’re doing it wrong, [name],” you could hear your partner and best friend, [favorite character], say.

“What am I supposed to do, then?!” you demanded, ducking out of the cat’s attack and rolling under it as it tried to pounce on you. The cat’s crystal floated right above its tail, which was waving about furiously.

“You do this.” The first thing you could see was [favorite character] leaping into the air, straight at the cat, [his/her] sword out. Then, the next thing you see is the cat lying on the ground, dead, as the crystal at its tail dissolved into the air.

“Why… didn’t you tell me that?” you asked, panting, trying to recover from the pain the cat inflicted.

“I thought you’d know. Didn’t you pay attention?” [he/she] asked, looking at you.

“No. That was boring,” you replied. “But you could’ve at least helped me! Look at me, I’m covered in scratches. I’m too tired to even stand up, [favorite character].”

“I can carry you if you want.”

“I can carry myself!” you shouted back, standing up. “I was just exaggerating.”

“Sure you were.”

“Sh-Shut up!”

“Haha.” [favorite character] began walking towards the nearest town.

You sighed and stood up, wobbling a bit, then managed to walk after [him/her]. “Slow down!” you shouted, lagging behind a bit.

“Are you even sure you’re good enough to walk this fast?” [he/she] replied, slowing down as requested. “You need to sleep in the healer’s house again.”

“Aww, what?! But it’s boring in there!” you complained, sounding like a whining 2-year-old. “Besides, the healer won’t let me out until I’m fully healed! How can we continue adventuring then?”

[favorite character] sighed. Sometimes, you were just too much. “We wait,” he replied simply, then continued walking.

“…You’re no fun, [favorite character],” you muttered, pouting.

[He/She] just laughed.

——

“It’s so boring here,” you murmured under your breath as you sat in the healer’s bed. The healer went out to gather some herbs for a while, and let [favorite character] visit you as well. The healer says you’ll be out in no time—more like for a day—and that you’ll be good as new the next morning.

Apparently, [favorite character] heard you and laughed. “It’s only for a day, [name]. We’ll travel to the next town tomorrow morning.”

“Aww, I wanted to travel at night… Oh well,” you said, pouting.

“At least you didn’t whine.”

“Shut up! I never really did want to travel at night, anyways! Those huge fish are terrifying…”

Ah, yes. The huge, floating fish that only come out at night. Their crystals are right under their bellies, making them easy to kill. Even so, they’re scary when you see one floating right above you when you travel at night. Apparently, no one knows where those fish go at daytime, but some say that they either go to the lake or float up to the sky.

Of course, there’s the daytime counterpart of the fish; the sky snake. It’s much harder to kill than the fish, having its gem on the roof of its mouth. Only 3 sky snakes have been killed so far in the whole history of Prendea. Those who managed to kill them are deemed worthy by the many towns and cities in Prendea.

Worthy for what, you ask?

Sacrifice. Legends say Prendea lives off on spirits with lots of strength and willpower. They say those spirits last for centuries, thus keeping Prendea safe from any attacks from the outer world.

So, really; who’d want to kill a sky snake? Those who want Prendea to live forever and ever, of course.

You looked out the window to the cloudy sky. At that exact moment, something long slithered from the clouds, spiraled in the air, and retreated to the safety of its habitat.

Sky snake.

You grinned. “One point for me.~”

There’s this little game going on between you and [favorite character]. Whoever spots a sky snake the most wins. The game ends on the end of the year, and whoever had the most sightings of the sky snake gets to be the leader of the duo.

“A sky snake?” [he/she] asked, looking at the sky as well.

You nodded. “One of them flew out from the clouds. It was quick, but I managed to see it. Heheh.”

[He/She] shook [his/her] head, smiling.

——

“I’m finally out of that dang healer’s house!” you exclaimed, grinning as you breathed in the morning air. This morning, it was sunny; dew shone on the blades of leaves and flowers surrounding the small house the healer lived in. [favorite character] stood next to you, laughing.

“Come on, then, [name],” [he/she] said, already walking towards the general direction of where [he/she] thought the next town was in.

You grinned excitedly and followed, walking beside them. “You better help me out in those battles next time, especially when we run into any of those overgrown cats,” you said.

[He/She] chuckled. “I will.”

Both of you continued walking until dusk, and that was when you saw spots of light surrounded by building-shaped silhouettes in the distance. “Hey! Next town!~” you shouted happily, running towards it.

“[name], wait!” you heard [favorite character] shout, but you didn’t seem to slow down. You were too excited to get to the next town and sit in a cozy restaurant or café, reading some books about monsters, or maybe train in the town’s dojo. You needed to brush up on your sword-fighting skills, anyways.

“[name]! Stop!” [favorite character] shouted, a bit of fear, worry, and panic in [his/her] voice.

“Why should I?” you shouted back, laughing as you looked back at them, grinning like a madman—

—before you collided with something. You fell to the ground, trying to regain your balance after the impact, then looked up to see who you bumped into.

A hiss was heard when a huge, floating fish loomed over your small form.

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