Tales From The Kronos

The sound of a horn echoed, officially starting the trial. Everyone headed in different directions. Silva, Sepide, Uriel, and their leader had their goal in the forest and went there to find their first treasure.

The snow was everywhere, hindering the group's movement. They wandered in the forest for a while, hoping to quickly find their goal. The leader had her eyes focused on the map, trying her best to find the path to the treasure, Sepide was lagging behind, talking with the new robot of the group. Silva saw there the best opportunity she could, and asked their leader a question she had on her mind for a moment.

"Leader, can I ask something? It's about Sepide."

"Sepide?" Asked the leader, surprised "What about her?"

"She joined our group for some time now, and she's really a great person. But... She's kind of weird sometimes. And not just her, but her past too."

"What do you mean? It's really nothing special. She comes from a world that is no more, and as for her personality, I suppose her world was a bit different from ours."

Silva looked at Sepide behind her and faced the leader once more.

"You said you were the one that found her, but where? You never go out on missions."

The leader seemed a bit flustered and suddenly acted in a strange way, trying to dodge Silva's eyes.

"Oh, I just... Went on a mission, you and the others were busy, and it was urgent."

"It's weird that you went alone, you always say that we should go in groups of three, and yet you went alone. Not only that, but Sepide joined our group shortly after Kairo... Took a different path. It all seems way too convenient."

"I can't tell if Neige changed you or if you're the one that changed Neige, why are you both asking so much suddenly? I admit, it looks like everything that happened was written, but it wasn't. I guess it was just a big coincidence."

Silva felt that something was wrong, she could tell from the tone of her voice that the leader was hiding something.

"Just tell me, will Sepide be alright? I just worry about her."

The leader seemed to understand that her lie didn't work, but she still wasn't going to explain what really happened with Sepide, and instead just answered the question.

"She will, she's not that ignorant."

"Well, apparently she doesn't know what a pantie is."

The leader's face became suddenly red, she hid her face behind her map, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"W-Well I'll make sure to teach her about these... Matters. For now, let's focus on the mission."

"Yes, I'm sorry, it's just that I worry for her, I feel like her past may be a burden for her, and that she might not be able to deal with it."

"Trust her, she'll be fine."

Silva still wasn't convinced but she knew the mission came first. She stopped when she noticed the leader suddenly stopping in her tracks. She looked at the map in her hand for a moment before finally talking.

"The treasure should be here."

"Here?" Asked Sepide "But I don't see anything?"

"Me neither, can you see anything, Silva?"

The leader looked at Silva and suddenly remembered her blindness after seeing her newly acquired sunglasses.

"Sorry, I didn't mean-"

"I think it's underground." Answered Silva after slapping her feet on the ground "We'll need to dig."

After hearing Silva's words, Uriel raised her hand to volunteer.

"I do not experience fatigue, I think that I should be the one to do it."

Before anyone could agree or disagree, she started to dig into the ground, visibly making Sepide upset.

"Wait, it's not because you're a robot that you should do it."

"But it is my duty to serve humanity, it's the reason I was created."

Uriel continued digging under the worried eyes of Sepide. Noticing how bad her friend felt, Silva went next to her, wondering about the reason for her worry.

"Sepide, why do you feel like that? She volunteered."

"She told me that she spent her life serving people, I just want her to be a part of the group, not just someone that's here because we're missing a member."

Silva understood what she meant, but before they could argue, the robot girl took a box out of the ground. She opened it in front of everyone, and inside was a small guitar pick. Sepide took it and stared at it from every angle, trying to understand what it was exactly.

"Is that the treasure, a guitar pick? It's a weird treasure."

"I guess they were out of ideas when they chose this one, we should go toward our next goal in the ocean."

Everyone agreed with the leader, but they got cut off by a sudden voice behind them.

"Hey losers, it's our treasure now!"

The group turned around only to see another group, probably intending to steal their treasure. They looked like a group of bandits, with one of them acting like some kind of captain, a scimitar in his hand.

"Come on ladies, obey, and no blood will be split out."

The leader stepped toward them, her sword in her hand. Unlike her usual behavior, her steps were steady and confident, and in a swift movement, she disarmed the bandit and put him on the ground. The three other bandits left in a hurry, forsaking their captain on the ground.

"You don't have very loyal lackeys."

"Please, let me go, I don't have anything on me!"

Polyetta seemed to hesitate for a moment but ultimately let the man go. He ran away as fast as he could, vanishing in the forest.

"So apparently there are already people on the offensive. We need to be careful."

The leader took the map out of her pocket, and together, they all headed toward their next objective. Sepide stared at the bandit leaving, wondering how hard it would be for them to save their friend.

The group started their long walk toward the ocean. The road was long, and just getting out of the forest was hard enough, but now they had to traverse a long snowy desert. The group walked silently with Uriel and the leader in front. Sepide went next to Silva to ask the question she had on her mind.

"Silva, was the leader always like that? She seemed serious, and she was strong too. I didn't know she could have been like that."

"To be honest, me neither. Maybe she's serious because Neige's life is on the line, but I never saw her in action before. It's scary to imagine that she and Neige used to go on missions together, I don't think there's anything that could stop them."

They continued walking, with the snowy wind as the only sound. Sepide couldn't stop thinking about what happened, it all happened so quickly. She barely realized that they were in danger and everything was already over. Neige always seemed experienced and swift, but it was on another level.

"Sepide, do you remember your life before the ship?" Asked Silva seemingly out of nowhere.

"Not really. I just remember a few things, but it's hazy. It almost feels like they aren't my memories."

"And... What's the earliest memory you have?"

Sepide took a moment to think. She was trying hard to remember but answered with an uncertain voice.

"I think it's when I dreamt. I slept for so long, and eventually, the leader came to get me. Then, she sent me to the doctor, and we met after."

"You slept? For how long?"

"I don't know, I can't remember much before that."

"I see."

Silva only felt more confused about her friend's past. She was almost sure that their leader was hiding something, but she wasn't sure if it was out of malice or in an attempt to protect Sepide.

The leader suddenly stopped and pointed toward a cave. The rest of the group stared at the lonely cave until the leader explained.

"The map says it's the only shelter before a while, we should probably spend the night here, it's late."

The sun was about to set, and Silva and Sepide both felt tired of the constant walk in the cold. Uriel and the leader on the other hand both seemed to be fine.

The team entered the cave and started a fire inside, sheltered from the snowstorm outside.

"This world is always snowy." Said the leader "It's going to be hard finding food."

Silva focused on the wind outside, everything happened so quickly and they barely had a minute for themselves. It was the first time they could just sit and rest.

"Why do you think the anomaly is doing all of this? Is it really for Neige?"

"I think so." Said Sepide, trying to answer Silva's question "She always seemed obsessed with him."

"Yeah, but hosting a tournament? I feel like there's a hidden agenda behind it. And wasn't this place supposed to be empty? There was a full crowd watching us." Silva took a deep breath, and let her body fall on the floor "Maybe Emely was right, our lives are getting too crazy."

The cave stayed silent for a moment, only cut by Sepide's yawn. Noticing how tired the group was, she spoke up.

"We should go to sleep, we all need rest. But we should have someone stay awake, we don't want a thief to ambush us."

"I will then, I do not need to sleep!" Uriel volunteered herself once more, visibly not satisfying Sepide.

"But it's unfair, it's not because you're a robot that you should be the one staying awake."

"Then I'll stay awake too." Proposed Silva "I feel like staying up a bit, and I'll keep her company."

Sepide seemed unsure but ultimately agreed when she realized how tired she was. The leader didn't seem to be bothered by the idea either, so they both went to sleep, leaving Silva and Uriel alone in the cold night.