Tales From The Kronos

Today was one of the rare breaks everyone had in the tournament. Although they were allowed to roam outside, the leader and Silva both stayed inside. They were probably tired of the cold outside. Sepide on the other hand felt like she needed to go somewhere, just to walk. Everything went so fast for her and she barely had time to breathe. She walked around for a moment aimlessly, until she saw the organizer of the tournament starting at a frozen lake. Sepide wasn't sure whether she should approach her, it was probably her last chance to do so and she had some questions in her mind. Opal heard her step getting closer and turned toward her with a tired look on her face.

"Sepide? There are better places to hang out than here."

"I felt like walking."

Sepide stood next to Opal, staring at the same lake as her. She noticed the girl's saddened face, she was about to ask, but Opal answered her question before she could ask.

"It was so beautiful here, flowers were blooming, birds were soaring through the sky, and the sun was shining. But everything comes to an end eventually, that's just how life is."

"Why did everything change?" Asked Sepide.

"Ada came, everywhere she goes, she brings snow along with her. I don't blame her, it's not like she can control it. Her fate is just to bring cold and loneliness, no matter how hard she tries."

Opal seemed deeply touched by the scenery like she already saw multiple times. Leading Sepide to her next question.

"Was it where you lived?"

Opal chuckled slightly before answering.

"I... Don't really know how to say it, I never really lived anywhere. I'm not sure if I have a past, I'm just trying to find my place in this universe."

It only led to more questions from Sepide. This girl was really strange, nothing that she said made more sense for Sepide so far.

"Why did you organize this tournament? Is it to find your place in the universe?"

"Not really, I think it was just interesting. Ada came to me with the idea, I already tried before, but it didn't end well. She said she'd get the best people she could find and asked me to do it again. I know she does it for her own reasons, in the end, I'm just here to do my job."

"You just do your job..."

Sepide thought about this sentence for a moment, Opal's situation was kind of similar to hers. She also was trying to find her place in this universe, the difference is that she knew the reason she was here. Only here to obey the order of her leader, her existence was just an afterthought, all the potential memories she had were fake, and she was fated to live her life that way until the end. Opal noticed her internal turmoil and tried to reassure her softly.

"You know, the Goddess created everyone with a goal. I can only imagine what she's thinking, but I'm sure she wasn't planning that path for Ada. The same goes for your leader, I don't think she was supposed to end up in that situation. And yet, everyone took a different path. The reason for your existence doesn't matter, it's your life in the end."

"My life... But I can't do anything else."

"I'm sure you can, there has to be something you can do."

Opal looked at her watch, it seemed old, almost like it was passed down from multiple generations. She let out an annoyed sigh, visibly tired.

"I have to go back to work. Sorry for the trouble Sepide, I don't really have the opportunity to talk usually. If I was a bad organizer, I'd give you an advantage for that."

Opal gave her a soft smile before leaving. Sepide still looked at the lake for a few more moments, once the cold caught her, she decided to leave for a warmer place.

She didn't notice how fast the day went, it was already sunset. She went into the tavern they were in after their first trial to get something to eat. Apparently, Silva had the same idea since she was already here eating. Sepide sat next to her, shyly greeting her.

"Hey... You decided to go outside?"

"I was hungry. I wish I could have slept more, sleep is more important than food after all."

"Didn't you sleep all day?"

"I wish I could have slept for three days in a row. You know, I missed the time when we had one mission a week. I'd spent time with Neige and Kairo, paint, sleep, and repeat."

"Just Neige and Kairo?" Asked Sepide, curious about her life on the ship "You didn't spend time with the others?"

"I would spend time with Gwyn, but she always scolds me about my health. Shiro is fine, but he's just asking about Neige all the time. Ina is... to be honest I barely remember anything about her. And Emely just sucks."

"You're still jealous about her?"

"I'm not jealous..." Silva said while pouting "At the beginning maybe, but she's just a dumbass. She worries over nothing, she can't enjoy art, and she looks dumb."

"How do you know she looks dumb?"

"I can smell it."

Somehow, the answer made Sepide even more confused than at the beginning. She shook her head to forget the weird answer and kept trying to understand the reason behind Silva's distaste for Emely.

"You know that you two kinda look alike?"

"Is it true?" Asked Silva with a bit of doubt.

"She had ginger hair and you have red hair, she's slightly taller but you have a similar height. It's not a lot, but if you say she looks dumb, then you look dumb too."

"Yeah you're right, I look dumb."

Sepide expected Silva to be positive toward Emely, instead, it had the opposite effect from her goal.

"But she looks dumber than me. Red is better than ginger and I have freckles, so I look better."

"Freckles make you look better?"

"I don't know, Neige said that."

Sepide paused for a moment to think before asking again.

"There has to be a reason, why do you hate Emely?"

"I don't hate her, she's just a dumbass and has to accept it."

Sepide realized that this was going nowhere and gave up her attempt to understand their relationship. To her surprise, Silva suddenly talked about Emely again.

"I kinda feel bad for her. When we found her, she was in a scrapyard, she managed to survive alone for months like that. We never found the reason as to why her world was destroyed, I wonder if it makes her feel bad to not know."

Sepide was moved by Silva's sudden empathy for Emely, sadly this moment didn't last long.

"Emely's still a dumbass though."

"Don't you want to be more friendly with her?"

"Yeah, but it's fun to mess with her too. She's frustrated that she has small boobs, so I like to grab them to make her feel bad."

Sepide turned her face in embarrassment and quickly put her arms around her chest.

"I-I see."

"It's really cute when she blushes, it's even cuter when she's mad at me."

"It feels like she's important for you still."

"Of course, I don't want anything to happen to her. I'm the only one that can bully her."

"You have a weird relationship, is it what love is?"

"No, love is a marvelous feeling that warms your heart and makes you feel like everything is alright. Emely's just funny, and besides, I'm not into girls."

Silva paused for a moment. She put her hand on her cheek, staring at the distance.

"I wonder if I'll ever find love someday. Maybe in one of the worlds we travel, we could find a lover for you Sepide!"

"No thanks, I'm not interested. Neige already told me that love sucks."

"He doesn't know what he's talking about! He's too into friendship to even consider it."

"You're really both different, I'm surprised you can be friends."

"Friendship is like that, I don't understand how he's friends with the leader too." Silva took a deep breath and stood up from her chair. She stretched her body, ready to live "It's late we should probably go to sleep. Tomorrow is a hard day."

Sepide noticed that she forgot to order food. She figured it wasn't too important, tomorrow would be the last trial, the most important day of all. Even if she wasn't sure she was ready, she would try anyway to save Neige once and for all.