Kovi looks at Teth a bit confused now. “You truly have a different residence than this world. In a sense, yes they did. But they can become people as well.”
The butterfly takes off from Kovi’s hand, flying around the group before landing back on their head. Kovi giggles for a moment before returning their attention to the group. “We should keep moving, before more of them appear. They like to travel in groups, rare to find one alone.” They look at Resh and Tsadi. “Alone, keep your weapons out. Without one of us to cleanse the darkness, it’s easier to… get rid of them.” They seem uneasy at the thought.
Resh looks at the butterfly as it flies around the group, smiling slightly. He looks back at Kovi and nods. “Probably a good idea.”
Kovi turns and starts walking down the path once again. They return to listen for dark flowers, walking a bit further ahead of the group now.
Resh glances at Teth and Tsadi, drawing his sword. Tsadi pulls out his spear a few seconds later. Teth looks around; she’s unarmed, but she can use her fists. Maybe not on those zombie-things, though.
Within a few minutes, the foliage on the ground starts to become lesser until the only plants are the towering trees. The dirt beneath their feet becomes sandy and waterlogged, making it difficult to travel without shoes getting soaked. A misty fog lies over the forest.
The path they’re on changes after a short distance into the waterlogged area, becoming a bricked stone path that sits just above the water. It looks almost ancient, and worn from years of erosion and use.
Teth looks around, taking in the forest around her. She looks down at the stone path, tilting her head. “How long has this been around?” She asks, pointing at the path.
Kovi looks down at the path they're walking on. "A long time. The adults say it's existed since before darkness came. Longer than any of us have existed I think."
Teth looks over at Kovi as they speak. “Interesting… our world was corrupted by darkness a long time ago. We used to live on a planet, but we had to migrate to a cluster of floating islands after the darkness took over. This was before the Elders were our only form of government… wow, I’m awfully talkative today. Weird.” She trails off and doesn’t finish her story.
Kovi looks at Teth with interest. “We are on a planet now. There are floating islands too, though. We are here to prevent the darkness from overtaking, with help from the light creatures and one of the dark creatures.” Kovi goes silent for a moment before speaking up again. “The Elders are government?”
Teth nods. “In our world, yeah. We’re each assigned to a certain realm, and our job is pretty much to make sure nobody kills each other.” It’s obvious that she’s half-joking in the last part of her statement. “We used to have a King, though. Back when Eden wasn’t a desolated, corrupted wasteland that’s basically a death sentence.”
Curiosity overtakes Kovi. They’ve moved closer to the trio now, almost walking next to Teth as they talk. “Our Elders are deities of the realms, that encompass certain aspects of their realms. Kings… there’s current kings, and then the ancients had a king in Eden. His name was Alef. But he came to only care about power, and not about this world. He allowed pollution to spread, which turned into darkness. He was then renamed Resh because of it.” They look up at Teth again. “Your world is very different, and yet so similar to ours. I wonder how it happened.”
Resh looks up at the mention of his name, then notices that they aren’t actually talking about him. He looks back down at the ground.
Teth looks around, then looks back at Kovi. “Yeah… it’s weird.”
Kovi looks down at the path again, looking a bit concerned. “If you end up going to Eden… be careful. Some secrets are best kept hidden.” And with that, they resume walking ahead of the group.
Teth stays quiet for a moment. “…That’s not scary at all.” She glances at Resh, who nods in agreement.
Kovi suddenly looks over to Tsadi. “You don’t talk much, do you?”
Tsadi looks at Kovi and narrows his eyes. “No, not really. Why?”
Kovi shrugs. “No reason. You don’t seem fazed by much.” They look up ahead again. The fog has cleared a bit, and the outline of a large structure can be seen. “Oh, we’re at the temple.” They look back at the group. “I hope you find the answers you seek.”
Tsadi rolls his eyes, then looks up at the temple. Teth and Resh look at each other. Resh looks down at Kovi, giving them a small smile. “Thanks for helping us out.”
Kovi gives Resh a small bow. “Meditate at the shrine, and Teth will reach out to you. I should be getting back to the others, if Avirex hasn’t tried to drown them yet.” They pause for a moment before they leave. “If you need help, reach out. I’ll know it’s you.”
Teth nods, then nudges Tsadi and Resh. “Well? What are we waiting for?” She starts walking to the temple, Tsadi and Resh following close behind.
Kovi watches them leave, then spreads their cape and flies off back into the forest.
As the trio get closer to the temple, its features become more clear. A massive, pointed roof made with carved stone bricks. Cracks in the stone filled with vines as if the forest is pulling the temple apart over the course of thousands of years. The staircase leading up to the large open temple entrance just as ancient as the path they walked on to get here.
The most interesting feature may be the statues used as columns to support the main entrance. They’re both of a woman. On the left, she holds both her hands high above her head, supporting the entrance. On the right, she looks almost weighed down by the structure. Her facial expression can’t be seen, covered by a mask that shows only two glowing eyes.
(I don’t know how to describe things but that won’t stop me)
The trio looks around at the temple. Resh is the first to speak up. “Interesting… it looks like it’s been around since the beginning of time.” They all wait a few seconds longer, then walk through the main entrance.
The glowing eyes of the statues seem to watch them as they enter. Was it just a trick of the mind?
Through the main entrance, and the temple is made of the same grey stone as it was outside. There are openings that reach from the floor to the ceiling on each side of the temple, letting natural light in and guarded by intricate metal bars. Between the windows are stone columns with carved writings on them. At the end of the temple opposite the entrance, there is a door that reaches almost as high as the openings on the side.
As they walk through the entrance following the path to the large circular center, they notice that they’re on an elevated platform that floats above the actual temple floor. The bottom is filled with moving water that seems impossible to tell the depth of.
