Souzang wasn't aware that her eyes were shut as the wind lightly pushes her by the speed of the boat.

Her arms held out like an airplane, the way her father used to carry her around the house after a long day of working in the army for the King. And for Souzang's brother, Nirzao, he would teach him a new fighting technique every week and had him practicing it for hours into perfection. Souzang would secretly watch Nirzao train outside, mimicking what he did. Even wiping the sweat off her forehead the same way he did too, or his grunts when throwing a strike.

It only felt like yesterday when Souzang was abruptly snatched up by her mother whom sternly told her while wagging her finger in her face, "No fighting. Girls don't fight."

Then she was stuck with her mother cleaning the filthy dishes, but luckily not for long. When her dad came home, she practically begged him to teach her the ways of fighting to restrict herself from misery.

Souzang's mother petulantly sat in the corner with her arms crossed as her father took one look at her, before approving her request. Souzang knew her dad couldn't say no to his little cupcake, leaving her mother to be pissed off. But Souzang could give two shits what her mother's mad about because she's so strict anyway. 

"Souzang, these clothes aren't folded neat enough. Souzang, you didn't pat the soil down in the garden good enough. Souzang, you call this a clean counter? My reflection looks out of place from this leftover food."

It's always something with her.

"I see you're enjoying the breeze." A male voice said as footsteps crept close. Souzang knew who it was.

She turned to Nirzao replying, "How could you not. It feels amazing out here."

"Too bad we had to steal this boat from the king though." Nirzao scratched his head guiltily.

Souzang swipe some of her jet black from her face before saying, "I'm sure King Gizharay will understand. This is about our father after all. He's been gone for four years."

"You think he'd let us off the hook? Compared to mother, at least?"

It only took one look at Nirzao to know the answer. They both started laughing.

"If we bring father back unharmed... maybe. But who knows, maybe when we'll find him, alongside the army he was sent to lead. He could have gathered so much knowledge by now." Souzang said.

"But King Gizharay sent father to go after the women who hogged all the resources in Feterior."

"Absolutely. But him and his crew could've explored something else; like an island full of mysteries." Souzang said dazzling her fingers in a circular motion above her head.

"Like that strange island down there." Nirzao pointed with his head behind his sister.

As Souzang gazed at the island, Nirzao tells her that he's gonna direct the boat to the island. The closer it got, the more noticeable an aura was around this island. It reflected a colorful scheme upon Souzang's eyes. When the ship hit land, Souzang's inebriated mind didn't hear her brother call onto her name. Crystals ranging from a rainbow throughout the rainforest were everywhere; on the trees, on the boulders, and some shining in the deep grass like treasure.

"Souzang... Souzang?" A voice muffled. "Souzang!" Nirzao shouted, snapping her out of some dazed fantasy.

"Y-yeah?" She responded, watching him kick down the plank.

"Come on! Get out of la la land." He grumbled.

They begin sauntering through the forest. Crystals nullifying the darkness that slowly came upon the skies above, reminding Souzang of fireflies when she was younger. She could vision herself touching them now as they fly passed her and her parents sitting by the door adoring her enthusiasm. She could remember Nirzao capturing them and getting in trouble for trying to take them in the house.

During the spectating of nature, Souzang head accidentally bumps into a dangling apple just stemming off like it's meant to be there for her.

SMACK!

"Don't eat that!" Nirzao snarled. "It could be poisonous."

Rubbing her hand roughly, Souzang said, "You stress about nothing, Nirzao! It's just an apple. We eat this stuff daily, what harm could it possibly do." In Souzang's eyesight, when reaching for the apple, she caught a large figure looming far behind the trees. Before Souzang had time to fully interpret what she's looking at, the figure dashed out of sight. "Did you see that?!"

"See what?" Nirzao anxiously, by instinct, looked around.

Souzang pointed in the direction and said, "Down there!"

"Well, what was it? What did it look like?"

"I-I don't know! It was... it had..."

"Draw your swords!" Nirzao told her as he drew out his.

Apprehensively on guard, they slowly move forward. Souzang ends up tripping on a crystal. Nirzao quickly grabs her arm to hold her balance.

"Watch your step." He said.

Souzang nodded nervously, then kept herself on guard. A minute later they heard what sound like a million legs running at the same time. The siblings instantly turned around with nothing in sight.

Nirzao suggested, "Back to back?"

"Are you crazy! That's the worst thing you could do?" Souzang answered. "Let's keep moving."

They proceed. The wind brushes by for a few seconds until Souzang heard Nirzao scream. She snaps her neck in his direction and found a long cut across his left cheekbone, and his sword was gone.

"Oh my gosh, what happened?" Souzang eyes widened.

Nirzao mirrored her expression aside with trembling hands. "I don't know. Something snatched my sword away."

Souzang made a face suggesting he tells her what he saw. Nirzao unspeakably looks at the trees above behind them. The duo watched the branches and leaves tremble. Whatever's hiding in the trees begin to move through, the anticipation ensuing inside the siblings. They took baby steps back the closer it got on Nirzao's side, then eventually it just stop.

A drop of sweat fell onto Souzang's left eye. She instantly wiped it away with one quick slide across her face, then went back into defense. Nirzao on the contrary kept rocking back and forth horizontally, seemingly ready for anything. At some point, Nirzao knelt down to retrieve a bright green crystal, then chuck it through the tree, which made no sound other than brushing through until it hit the ground.

Time was going by immensely slow, like whatever's in there wants them to make the first move. Souzang's father always told her: if your gut is telling you something, listen to it. And her gut was telling her to look back.

Her eyes widened when she saw the upper half of a human head sitting behind a big boulder. Their eyes pierced through Souzang's soul as she struggled control over her shivering body. Souzang was able to process the individual having dark skin and black hair, but wasn't able to decipher the gender quite yet. The crystals didn't give the individual enough exposure, plus it being a little too far in distance.

Souzang only took a millisecond of attention off the suspect to tap her brother only for it to disappear.

"Souzang, what are you pointing at?" He frustratedly asked in a low tone.

"It was just there!" Souzang frustrates back in a low tone.

At the last second, something in Souzang's gut told her to look up behind her. "Look out!" She shouted as she saw something round and black falling from above. She attempted to move Nirzao, but unfortunately it fell on top of them. The many sharp legs of the creature jailed them underneath itself. Souzang stabbed the creature a few times, having it unleash a gush of green blood, splashing over Souzang's armor as it screams like a woman.

The woman immediately ran off in agony allowing the siblings to get up and take a run for it. Dodging through trees ahead of them as they leap over boulders and crystals. They veered in different directions guided by Nirzao a few times before coming to a halt.

Nirzao remarked as they hid behind a boulder, "Maybe we should get back to the boat."

"What?!" Souzang replied in disbelief. "What if father's here?"

Nirzao peeked over the boulder for assurance of safety. "We don't know that, he's probably not even on this crystallized island. We're probably on the wrong one."

"Do you know that?"

"No, I don't. But-"

"Exactly. You don't know, so we're staying."

Nirzao grimaced, letting a few minutes fly by. "The close is clear." He begins walking, Souzang followed. "And wipe that green blood off your face."

"Some of it got in my mouth." Souzang told him as she wiped it off.

"Ew." Nirzao screwed his face, before looking forward.

Suddenly Souzang bumps her head into an stemmed apple once again, and her stomach growls. She glances at Nirzao, whom is still walking, then said to herself after looking at it, "Screw it. I'm hungry."

She snaps the apple off, dropping her mouth wide open. Before reaching an inch away from biting the apple, Nirzao calls onto her name, yet calmly.

"Souzang."

She looks in his direction, but he is oddly still walking like he hasn't said anything.

"Souzang," he says again, yet still walking off causally. 

"What?" She finally replied.

"Souzang!" This time with annoyance that caused echoes.

"What!" Souzang returned the same energy.

"Souzang!" He screamed, but still walking down the forest, without turning around. "Souzang!"

Nirzao watched his sister entrapped in webs as her mouth is held open hypnotically from a colorful cycle possessed in her eyes. Nirzao struggled to get off of his own set of webs as he cried for his sister's name. "Souzang!"

THANKS FOR READING! MORE MAGNIFICENT MYTHS TO COME!

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