A weight presses down against me as my eyes open to pitch black.

I hear the quiet sobs of my friend. She woke up before me, but it doesn't sound like good news. I struggle to claw away the debris pressing against me.

Trix weeps during my heaving.

I free myself of my attempted burial and launch the planks, sticks and stones to the floor.

I greet her with a crash but find her hunched over a body. Her father

I rush to her side as she falls atop his chest.

Crushed and impaled by what was once their home.

The earthquakes of the storm had shifted the grounds everywhere, making sudden bumps and uneven terrain.

In among her cries, I embrace her to provide comfort.

I hear something.

I sight a band of thieves wandering nearby. And already animals are looting the place.

I can't interrupt her mourning but I also can't move her anywhere. I lean to her ear.

"Hey. We gotta go."

She holds her tongue. Her sounds turn to whimpers as she listens. Her eyes draw over to the band of thieves, but she still won't move.

"Take your time," I assure her. "You're okay. I'll keep us safe."

I look back to the group and notice his attention on us. Likely drawn to jewellery and the appearance of my friend.

Gold at the neck, ears, and wrists of her and her father.

"Keep down," I tell her as I pop to my feet and face the intruder. She tries to pull on my trousers but is too weak to do so.

The thief heads down the rugged path between us. I meet him halfway.

"Follow me," I tell him. "I have treasure in my room."

The criminal comes to a stop and looks over my shoulder. "What do we have here?"

His attention returns to me. "Sure." He pushes me out of the way. "Give me a sec."

Moving forward, he readies a swing for my friend.

I recover from his push and build up a better one. I jump into his side and trip him over debris.

He trips to the side and staggers before falling to his knee.

The thief chuckles and recovers from my attack. "The necklace and all," he laughs while drawing his dagger and wiping the snot from his nose.

He creeps toward me.

I can't show fear.

I would if I could.

The villain raises his dagger and begins a rush but is tripped at the ankle.

He eats the dirt.

Unless roots are dead, I can still fashion some use for them.

I notice movement at my side. Trix backs away, still sniffling.

Good. Stay safe.

The thief coughs up filth while pulling himself up. I notice the hate in his eyes past the shade of his straw hat.

"Pest!" he shouts to us. "I'll show you what adults do to pests like you."

He looks back to his group and returns his attention.

Trix morphs the water from a puddle into a small blade.

He lashes once more toward us.

I put on a front.

Trix forces the liquid down his throat and seems to kill him from the inside. Silently.

He drops to his knees and moves around frantically. He drops his weapon to clutch at his throat.

He flails and doesn't seem to die.

I take his weapon, intending to put him out of his misery.

I can't do it.

Trix can't do it either.

I back up and we embrace each other while our enemy falls.

After a while, he stops moving.

We take a minute to mourn and fully understand our situation. There’s little understanding 

We rest her father in the Lake of Healing.

His body begins to piece apart as multiple spheres of light, rising in spirals to the sky.

We see him off as his energy reaches the clouds. The orbs of his life force shoot in all directions.

His stars fade out of sight.

Still shaken up, we both heal ourselves with the water - rubbing its properties against our wounds.

I hear my friend cry quietly all the while. She washes her face and calms her emotions. She sniffles and coughs.

I hug her once more. I can't do much else.

I leave the water and quickly search for clothes among the rubble of our homes. I loot some equipment from the bandit we finished.

I return to her.

Voices.

The group is approaching.

"Let's go," I call to her in a whisper. She turns to me from the water and nods.

We flee the scene quietly, far enough away to make noise. We break into a sprint.

| Author’s Notes |

~ Happenings ~
This takes place after the last entry of the story. There isn’t much mention of Keita’s friends after this point, since he’d already lived through all of that. It doesn’t make much sense for me to show Keita grieving them while everything else is going on. This felt like filler and has been removed, sorry.
There isn’t much explanation of Trix’ mother also, but I will flashback to her in the future. The world needs to keep moving and shoving everything in at once made the story feel bloated.
Ascension: is a possible occurrence to some characters but why not all? Trix’ father passes away in a unique fashion, which hints at her connections to something special.