Act 1: The mysterious stone tablet - Chapter 3

The ringing in his ears, the intense pain coming from one side of his head, and what seemed like the distant crackling of fire were all Kyusaku could notice when he woke up. It wasn't until the pain subsided that he finally had the strength to force his eyes open.
Everything was blurry, and it took a while for his mind to become clear enough to remember what happened, memories of Miyaji's cries and the feeling of not having anything under his feet anymore coming back to him.

The elf sat up slowly, bringing a hand to his head where he felt bandages under his fingers, searching around with his other hand for his glasses, which he found neatly placed next to him.
It was only when the cold breeze made him shiver and hug his arms that he noticed he was only in his undergarments; arms and legs covered in bandages, though his injuries didn't seem too serious.

But where the fuck are my clothes... He wondered, shivering.

"Kyusaku!"

His ears twitched, and he raised his head, still a bit out of it, to see Miyaji approaching him. He caught a glimpse of worry in his partner's eyes and found himself unable to meet them, looking away and biting his lower lip in shame and guilt.

"... Here," his partner said, handing him his clothes which he quickly put on. "I just finished patching them up."

"Thank you... What happened? I thought I was going to die..."

His partner pointed to a hill behind him. "You didn't fall from that high, fortunately, and you also landed on a patch of moss. But then you rolled down the hill and hit your head on the way... You're lucky your injuries are superficial."

"Just my luck," he replied with a sigh as he finished getting dressed and smoothing out his robes. "You did a good job here, I had no idea you could sew..."

Before he could say anything else, Miyaji brought him into his arms, holding him almost a bit too tight. Reality hit him and he realized he was really lucky he didn't get hurt more than this; he unconsciously hugged him back, clutching his clothes, heart pounding.

"I'm sorry. I was too focused on our job and I..."

"Just be more careful from now on, would you?"

"Mhm. Thank you for taking care of me."

Miyaji finally let go of him and patted his head – gently, being mindful of his injury.

"I'm your partner, this is nothing. Still, that was some insane luck. Maybe you have a god watching over you up there, haha!"

Despite his laugh, Kyusaku could tell his hand was shaking. I don't like this... He thought, looking at his feet. They had been to dangerous places for their job before – after all, ruins were rarely safe –, but this time he got too absorbed and let his guard down. Never again, he told himself as he remembered the look on his partner's face as he fell and when he finally woke up.

Lost in thought and still feeling a bit hazy from his fall, he only reacted when Miyaji extended a hand towards him, and he looked up in confusion.

"Come on, you must be hungry. You were out for a few hours, it's already night now."

The elf nodded and let Miyaji lead him by the hand to the fire he had set up while he was unconscious, the exhaustion hitting him all at once.

Kyusaku barely remembered eating and going to sleep, but he felt much more clear-headed the next day. It was only at this moment that he noticed the ruins all around them.

"Wait... we've been in the kingdom's ruins all this time?!"

"Yeah?"

"And you didn't tell me?!"

"I thought you noticed!" His partner replied with a shrug. "And if you didn't, I figured it was better for you to get some rest first."

Though a bit frustrated, the elf knew his partner was right, and appreciated his thoughtfulness. Knowing himself, if he had noticed they had reached their destination right after he woke up, he wouldn't have been able to stay still.
Now that he had the time to recover from his fall, though, they finally started exploring the ancient kingdom, with Miyaji carefully mapping the place on the way while Kyusaku took notes and made sketches of their surroundings.

As they made their way through the ancient streets carved directly in the purplish stone of the mountain, stopping here and there to observe carvings, murals or architectural details from a bygone era and a civilization that no one remembered, Kyusaku couldn't help but be in awe of the scenery.

This forgotten kingdom's streets were lined with detailed sculptures, and the walls painted with colorful depictions of various scenes, some representing day to day life and others historical moments.
Furthermore, because it was all built underground, the ruins were incredibly well-preserved, and nothing could have made the elf happier than finding thousand-year-old ruins in such perfect condition.

The stone had a slightly purple hue to it, and he noticed some glittery fragments in the dust at their feet, confirming that the stone tablet really came from here.
This white glitter seems to be very small mineral fragments mixed in with the rest... Geology wasn't his strong suit though, so he only took a few samples to get other Archivists to take a look at them, knowing they'd be interested in it.

The only thing he was a bit disappointed about was that there didn't seem to be anything left in the ruins apart from the art that decorated the walls. No items; no human or animal remains; nothing. He found it a bit strange, but was too excited about this discovery to dwell on it.

It didn't take long for the elf to lose track of time exploring the ruins and taking notes, until Miyaji grabbed his hand to get his attention; he had been calling his name for a while without him noticing.

"Look over there," his partner said, pointing to what was possibly the largest building in the whole kingdom.

Carved directly in the mountain, it stood tall in the distance; judging by its sheer size and the amount of decoration on its walls and pillars, it wasn't difficult to guess that it must have been the palace. Kyusaku stopped in his tracks with an admirative sigh, in awe of the delicate craftsmanship.

"This must have been where the royal family lived... Which means that the king mentioned on the stone tablet must be buried nearby!" He declared before hurrying in the direction of the palace.

Miyaji followed after him, knowing very well that a tomb was one of the most interesting places one could find in ruins and that nothing would stop him now.
Too excited about making new discoveries, Kyusaku made his way through the stone-carved streets, having completely forgotten about his head injury. He only slowed down when he reached the large chasm that separated the palace from the rest of the city, looking around for a way to cross it, when his eyes landed on a stone bridge that had completely collapsed; there wasn't even enough left of it to jump over the gap.

Dejected, the elf turned around with a groan after seeing this. Of course, jobs never went smoothly, but he hoped that after falling and getting injured like this that at least the rest of this expedition would be pretty easy.

"OF COURSE, this would happen!" Rolling his eyes, he found a nice stone to sit on with a sigh. "Why can't everything go smoothly for once..."

"Well, it wouldn't be fun otherwise," Miyaji joked as he took a seat on the ground nearby, grabbing his bag and taking out their lunch. "Besides, you actually enjoy this, don't you?"

Kyusaku was about to defend himself, but he found himself unable to deny it.

"Maybe... Just a little."

For hours, they walked, referring to Miyaji's map when needed, trying to find a way to cross the chasm. There were other bridges leading to the palace – which had also collapsed, unfortunately. The labyrinthine layout of the ancient city also wasn't helping.
The more time they spent in the ruins, and the more they began to look the same. Each building started to feel identical somehow, but it took a while for Kyusaku to admit that they were lost. He thought it would have been okay with Miyaji's map, but at some point the layout had become too complex for him to keep track of it as he ran out of space to draw.

Eventually, they had to resign themselves and make camp for the night. Miyaji prepared the food, as usual – Kyusaku wasn't the best at this –, while the elf reviewed his notes from the day as well as the map.
He had trouble figuring out where they had gone wrong and how to get to the palace. Some cultures built their cities like mazes in hopes that evil spirits would get lost and never reach them... I wonder if it's the case here as well.

"Now eat," Miyaji ordered him as he placed a plate in front of him; his ears twitched, startled. "You won't figure out anything if you're hungry."

"You're right," the elf admitted with a sigh and put his notes away.

Completely exhausted from walking around all day, and from his injury that hadn't healed yet, he ate his food in silence. His head was starting to hurt again, and he didn't have the energy to start a conversation, too focused on the pain.

I don't like the silence.

He forced himself to think of something to say, hoping that his partner's voice would distract him enough to not pay attention to the pain anymore, but he really didn't know how to start a conversation with him. Pathetic. We've been working for ten years, and I don't even know what to talk about when we're alone...
Multiple topics crossed his mind, but they were all related to research in one way or another. Ashamed that he didn't even know how to make conversation with his partner, he didn't have the courage to meet his eyes – which had been staring at him for a while now.

"Something wrong?"

"Ah, it's... nothing." Why is he always so strangely perceptive... He wondered, looking away. "I'm tired, so I can't think of anything to talk about," he lied.

"Well, don't talk."

"I want to hear your voice," he replied in annoyance. "It's too quiet here, all I can focus on is the pain in my head..."

"I see... Then, I'll let you ask anything about me!" Miyaji declared in a cheerful voice. "Whatever it is, I'll answer truthfully."

Will he really? The elf wondered. He barely knew anything about him, except the fact that he had been concealing his identity; but where did the lies stop and the truth begin, he had no idea. He concluded it was better to ask about something else.

"Miyaji, why did you join the Archives?"

His partner looked away and remained silent for a long moment, a bit too long even; perhaps he was trying to come up with a believable lie to tell him.

"When I was a child," he begun all of a sudden, his gaze still lost in the distance, "I met a God of Knowledge. I asked him what the meaning of life was. What was the point of living, if our world was already dying anyway."

Stunned, Kyusaku didn't react immediately; he certainly wasn't expecting such a far-fetched story. Actually, thinking about it, it seemed way too improbable for it to be a lie.

"… And what did he tell you?"

"He said that it didn't matter. Whether my life had meaning, whether this world was going to end soon... It didn't matter as long as I lived for something I loved," Miyaji related. "He said I should find something like that, and make the most of this life. The end of the world would come anyway, so I should have fun and experience life while I could, and welcome the end with no regrets."

When he heard this, Kyusaku had a feeling that his partner was telling the truth.

"I didn't really understand back then," he continued. "I was just a child. But I remembered these words long after I left, and I started to think that he was right... This world will die anyway, and there's nothing we can do to stop it, so I might as well enjoy the time we have left and find something to love."

Miyaji's gaze returned to their campfire, though it still seemed like he was looking at something far away – his memories, perhaps – as the flames danced in his eyes. He remained silent, completely lost in thought, until Kyusaku called out to him, now too intrigued to let this go.

"And did you find it?"

"What?"

"Did you find something to love?"

"I sure did!" He admitted sheepishly, scratching the back of his head as he finally stopped staring at the fire. "When I grew up, I wanted to see that God again, so I figured the Archives was the best place to start looking," he explained with a shrug.

"A sensible choice. It's unfortunate that..."

"Yeah, I couldn't find anything about him," Miyaji finished his sentence with a shrug.

"I think I know which one you mean... They're rather elusive, so you must be incredibly lucky to have met them. We don't know anything about them. Their name, their appearance... They seem to be very ancient though. The first mention of them dates back thousands of years ago."

"So you've done your research!"

"Of course. Such a mysterious God, it piqued my interest. But in the end, I couldn't find anything else and quickly gave up," he admitted with a shrug. "There's so little information about them, I started questioning whether they even existed."

His partner chuckled. "I can't blame you for that. But he really does exist. I met him. But I guess... It's unlikely I'll ever meet him again."

Kyusaku wasn't sure what to say to that, so he decided to ask something else before the silence stretched too long.

"If you've already investigated all the clues you could find at the Archives, why are you still working here?"

"Well..." His partner started, seemingly hesitant to explain, a slight blush creeping onto his face as his eyes moved back and forth between the fire and their scattered luggage. "I've found something else," he finally said, not looking at him. "To love, I mean."

The elf was speechless for a moment; he had never seen him this flustered before and didn't even know he could make such a face. He had the sudden urge to tease him and ask more about it, and had to restrain himself. Why am I kinda enjoying this...