Kaya was awake for hours listening to the distant howls in the forest outside. The sounds of insects and the creaking of the cottage in the wind. The three of them were too mentally exhausted to even speak. They just laid there with their eyes locked to the dark ceiling, she couldn't make out the room around her, just an old and dusty void with rickety beds inside.

The sheets smelled musty and the pillows were rough and made of decaying canvas. Clearly Toma hadn't entered the room in years, or so it seemed. Kaya could hear both Emika and Mahiro tossing and turning in an attempt to sleep, the rhythmic sounds of each turn became a lullaby to her, in an odd way, it helped her drift away in her own head, completely blocking out most of the noise outside with only the sound of the rustling sheets remaining. Soon sleep overcame her, whisking her away from the odd situation she found herself in and into a dream conjured by her own longing. 

She dreamt of home and the city. She saw her mother's warm smile and her father's distant eyes. The color of her world was always brighter in her dreams like she had no emotional pain that loomed over her, no dark cloud that sucked the brightness from her eyes. She was free of her own self-inflicted sadness and in those moments she was liberated.

Suddenly her world was gone, replaced by the forest, The blood moon above as bright as she remembered. She found herself in a clearing, the forest was ablaze and the orange glow replaced by endless red. Kaya spun herself around and that's when she caught sight of her friends, a part of them at least.

Their severed heads were stuck to pikes that sat embedded in the dirt, their eyes closed and jaws hanging lifeless. She recoiled and felt the burning tears drop from their ducts as she watched in horror as the forest burned around her. Mahiro's blue eyes opened, glowing like a light under the ocean then clenched his jaw. He mouthed something but the words wouldn't come out. She only heard the distant echo of her name. 

"Kaya."

"Kaya."

"Kaya."

She opened her eyes as she lay on her side. The sickly smell of the old sheets invaded her nostrils the instant she woke. Mahiro was crouched by her bedside with a frown, looking concerned. 

"You okay?" He asked. 

"Just a bad dream."

"I could tell, you were tossing and turning a lot. Are you sure you're okay?"

Kaya sat up and was instantly blinded by the shining sun that broke through the cracks between the boarded walls, "Yeah, I'm fine," She squinted then glanced around the room looking for Emika but she was nowhere to be seen, "Where's Emika?"

"She's outside. Toma already left before we woke so there isn't really much to do except look around."

Kaya turned her self over and sat on the side of the bed, planting her feet on the warm wooden floorboards below. She rubbed her face for a moment and glanced back over to Mahiro who was still watching her with concerned eyes. 

"Mahiro, Kaya. You guys should see this," Emika called from outside. She didn't sound alarmed but instead, curious. 

Both Kaya and Mahiro looked to one another for a moment and shrugged. Kaya hastily tied her shoes and the two left the room and followed the dusty wooden hall to the bright clearing outside. When they emerged, Kaya was awestruck by all the color around her, the green lush forest and the assortment of colorful flowers that dotted the bushes in between.

The grass was soft upon her feet and the sound of the river flowing and the chirping of birds all but consumed the area around her. Emika stood in the middle of the clearing, her head raised and pointing to the sky above. Kaya followed her gaze to see the blood moon exactly where it had been the night before but the sun was beside it, moving slowly toward it as if it were being sucked in by gravity. 

Mahiro let out a gasp, "Holy shit, that's actually kinda cool."

"And pretty too," Emika added as she began curling her brown hair between her fingers. 

Kaya stared into the faded moon, awestruck at it's odd yet extravagant beauty. It truly was an odd place that they found themselves in. There wasn't much else to see in the forest, just endless treetops that went over the mountains and into the horizon. She found herself lost in wonder and curiosity. A part of her was excited in a way, excited to see more of the world and she felt a little guilty for feeling that way. This wasn't a happy situation for any of them but this was something she longed for, something that wasn't her dull life back home, something... Exciting.

They wandered the open clearing for a while, eventually moving toward the cascading river that was to the left of the cottage front door. Sitting at the bank and taking off their shoes they dipped their toes in the frigidly cold water. Kaya's toes became numb in an instant and she recoiled backward, letting out a squeak. Both Mahiro and Emika laughed at her reaction. They seemed to have somewhat settled since the night before but behind their smiling eyes, she could see the fear and doubt in them. It was a subject that remained at the back of their minds as they tried to make the best of a bad situation. 

"So, this lord of souls guy," Emika started as she slowly dipped her toes into the river, "We're really supposed to defeat him?"

Kaya shrugged, "I mean, we don't have to but it's probably the only way back home."

"What I wanna know is, who the hell sent the email and how," Mahiro said placing a finger on his chin.

"Yeah, that's a mystery worth looking into. Could help on our," Kaya raised her hands and mimicked quotation marks with her fingers, "Quest."

Mahiro frowned for a moment then lay on his back, staring at the treetops, "I don't know how to fight for real, with a sword or anything. I don't think I'll stand a chance here at all."

"Well neither can I," Kaya said.

Emika arose to her feet and pointed to them triumphantly, "I can teach you both!" She declared, "I'll have you know my father taught me all there is to swordplay."

Mahiro sighed and closed his eyes, "We know, Emika."

"I'm serious." She insisted, "If what Toma says is true about this place being dangerous, it wouldn't hurt to learn some things. At the very least, defense maneuvers."

"Okay," Kaya shrugged, "Why not."

She saw Mahiro peek at her from the corner of her eye, "Really? We're really doing this?"

Emika grabbed a stick lying by a tree and tossed it to Mahiro, "Yeah, we are."

He didn't catch it, in fact, he didn't even notice it coming. The stick flew over toward him and landed directly on his face. Mahiro jumped and let out a howl of pain, "What the hell?!" 

The two ladies giggled and Kaya searched for a stick for herself. Once she found one that was long and wide enough to her satisfaction, the three joined each other in the clearing. Mahiro and Kaya stood facing one another with their sticks raised and Emika stood between them.

"Now," Emika started, "Spread your legs apart and bend your knees and keep your blade crossed diagonally from your right hand to your left shoulder. It's a basic stance so I'm sure you'll both manage."

The two of them complied with her instructions somewhat clumsily but complied nevertheless. 

"When someone comes in for an attack and you deflect it with your blade, this is called a parry."

"I know what a parry is," Mahiro said, "I do it all the time in video games."

Emika shook her head, "Kaya, try to hit him with your stick and we'll see if he can parry it."

Mahiro frowned and looked visibly afraid but he kept his stance at the ready. Kaya took a few steps forward and scanned Mahiro as he stood before her. The stick was the right hand to left shoulder, she could attempt to take a swing at his neck from the right side and possibly hit him. 

"Keep your legs strong and planted, you don't want him to knock you over," Emika called. 

Kaya could see Mahiro begin to sweat as she approached and for a moment considered purposely making it easy for him. Then again she had no doubt that Emika would notice it and she'd never hear the end of it. 

She swung the stick at him from the right and he fluidly stepped back and arched his arm sideways toward her incoming attack and the weapons connected but the force of the hit caused Mahiro to lose his grip and he dropped the stick. Kaya's weapon followed through and hit Mahiro on the side of his neck. He grabbed at where the stick had connected and began coughing. 

"Oh god, I'm sorry," Kaya blurted.

Mahiro glanced at her between coughs and he waved his hand, It's... Fine," He tried to laugh but a coughing fit stopped that. 

"Not bad," Emika clapped her hands, "Could use a little work."

"Seems you three are a little excited." Toma's voice called from within the trees. 

He stepped out into the clearing carrying a large rucksack on his back. He approached the three and dropped it to the ground and began rummaging through.

"What's in there?" Emika asked. 

"The stuff I said I was gonna get you, remember?"

"Right," She blushed, "Of course."

He pulled three shirts from the rucksack and a bunch of weapons and placed them on the ground then began searching for more. Eventually pulling out pants, belts, boots, and a few pairs of leather gauntlets.

"How the hell do you afford this stuff?" Mahiro asked as he crouched down and studied the weapons on the grass.

"I've got everything I need here," Toma replied, "Food, water, and shelter. I sell the pelts and excess meat for coin, so you could say I have quite a stockpile."

"Thank you, Toma," Kaya said softly. 

He glanced up at her for a moment, "No problem... Uh, I didn't ask any of you your names did I?"

The three of them shook their heads.

"What are they?"

"I'm Kaya Yusha, That's Mahiro Ken and Emika Akagi."

Toma bowed and apologized. For the last time, he reached into the bag and pulled out a dusty old book that was wrapped in leather, the pages yellow with age. He tossed it casually to Mahiro, "Here."

"What's this?" He asked as he caught it. 

"A book full of basic spells. Stuff like fireballs, lighting and all that. There's a bit of conjuration magic in case you want a familiar."

"You think I could learn all this?"

"Maybe not overnight but if you take the time, I'd guess you could learn a basic fireball within a week."

Mahiro seemed excited at his words and he began to flick through the pages, paying no attention to anything else around him. Kaya attempted to lift the broadsword on the grass but it was too heavy, she eventually managed to lift it but found herself swaying side to side to keep it from tipping out of her grip. She let out a sigh and passed it to Emika whose smile was wide. 

"I think you'd be better off with this," Kaya said. 

Emika grabbed the weapon and was almost pulled to the ground when Kaya let her grip go, "This is a little heavier than what I'm used to."

"I guess the bow and arrows go to you, Kaya." Toma said, "Don't worry too much, I can teach you a thing or two."

She picked up the bow and pointed it toward a nearby tree, aiming ahead and pulled the string back playfully, "Sounds like fun."

The three of them got changed into the gear that Toma had brought back for them. The three of them mostly looked the same with a simple shirt, pants, and boots. Mahiro's shirt was black whereas Emika's was white, Kaya's however, was blue. The leather gauntlets felt thick over her fingers, she had trouble reaching for the bow and pulling the string back was even more of a challenge. 

Emika practiced sword techniques in the river, Kaya guessed that she preferred to practice there, though she couldn't imagine why. Mahiro was sat against the tree reading the tome, his brows arched in concentration. That left her and Toma with the bows standing next to each other.

"Let's begin with stance."

A few hours had passed and they all sat on the grass eating lunch and staring into the moon. The sun was beginning to fall behind it and Kaya was curious about how it worked. Toma sat on a stump nearby chewing gleefully on the cooked leg of a deer. The training had gone relatively well, she learned a proper stance, though her aim needed a lot of work as well as her shot strength. She wanted to chalk it down as a good start but deep down she felt like somehow she'd failed him and maybe someday she would fail them all. A gnawing voice at the back of her mind telling her she wasn't good enough. Sometimes she had to shake those thoughts away and that's exactly what she did. 

"Toma?" She asked. 

"Hm?"

"Why does the sun go behind the moon at midday?"

Toma raised an eyebrow at the sudden question but decided to humor her, "The sun moves horizon to horizon and then stops once it falls below for about ten hours and comes back the other way. Kind of like the pendulum on a clock."

Mahiro who overheard the conversation spat out his water, "What?"

"What about the other side of the world? They don't get any sun?" Kaya asked in disbelief. 

"The world doesn't move, only the stars above. The other side is called the Shadowlands, where evil festers and creatures of the night are born. It's a place cloaked in endless shadow and the home of the Lord of Souls."

Emika frowned, "So we're safe here?" 

"No. His influence reaches all the way over here, just in lesser numbers, they are always watching, searching for people like you. You see trouble, you best make sure you escape it."

"Do you know of any gateways that aren't taken by his men?" Kaya asked as she bit into a hunk of meat.

"Only this one. I'm sure there are others that the Lord hasn't found yet, I'd say you have about one year to find another one."

Mahiro spat again, "A year?"

"Yeah, every year you all come at once through all the gateways. Heck, maybe you'll run into the others I trained last year if they aren't dead already."

His words were foreboding as if he expected them to die the moment they were scheduled to leave. That shook away any remainder left of Kaya's confidence, though she still held hope. The hope that they would succeed but somehow she knew it would be a long time before they got there and death was ever possible along the way. They were roped into this without a clue of the consequences and now they had no choice but to follow through if they wanted any chance to leave. At the very least she was lucky, lucky that she wasn't alone. 

The sun began to disappear behind the moon and the clearing was doused in the crimson color of the night. Kaya guessed it would only last an hour. If there was anything she learned about this place since she arrived, it's that she no longer liked the color red.

Toma rose from the tree stump and grabbed his bow, "Let's get back to training."

BOWIESENSEI

Be sure to follow me for more and don't forget to check out Contention Of Spheres on my profile. Thanks for reading you absolute legend. Also Chapter 5: Days Past coming soon.