: Stardust-DragonMaster :

Pray (Chroniclces)
By FeitanLover

+ Summary

This is just not a story, but a series of chronic stories of a girl... and a boy who lives in a seperate world.

Pray, La voyageur- NiNa & Messiea

VOLUME I
The Beginning 1: (UN) Happy Nation

I, NiNa in the dream- Illusion


I crept near to the dark building. As the sweats rolled down my face, the time seemed to drag more.

Having had to wait 30 more minutes, I hid behind a trashcan. Filthy stench filled my nose, making me wrinkle my nose and turn my face away as much as I could from it. Looking around, all I could see were shadows on the dark street. Abruptly, I flung the inferno stick when I felt someone was here, down this street, near me, waiting for me. It blew up, sending brilliant crimson sparks everywhere, lighting this darkness with some luminous fireworks. Nearly blinded myself by the very firework I have conjured, I shot into the building- I must have aroused their security guards since I could hear panicked shouts and footsteps scurrying hurriedly to and fro. Silently, I hurried up the stairs, towards where the “Illusion Key”, the “entrance” is, according to the information I had managed to wrench from a drunken dealer in the dark alley.

The “Illusion Key”- a key to another world they call “Elysium”. Seldom have humans heard much about it do they seek for decays. As long as I could get away from the reality, the world I was living in, I wouldn’t vacillate to sacrifice anything- as long as I could get away from there…

I assumed that this leader of the robber band must have wanted to avert the reality as well or else he wouldn’t have had it stolen from the greedy vice of the state. How unfortunate that I was going to steal it from him! There must be others who planned to rob it too- I could feel it in my bones that I wasn’t the only one here for it. I had to get it before the others laid their hands on it- as long as I could get away…

I crept into the shadow of the wall, tip-toeing as close as I could to it and headed for the chamber. I could see the doors that segregated me from the “Illusion Key”. I could touch the doors only if I reached out my arm as far as I could… The brass doorknobs glistened with a shimmer in the light that escaped through the gap between the slightly opened doors. It was odd, seeing that I had come in face of no adversity so far even though I knew there should have been some kinds of obstacles. It was as if the existence of the others had evanesced. Reluctant to care about it anymore, I slowly pushed the doors open and peeped inside. Something luminous that emitted bright white light instantly came into my view. It was located in the center of the chamber, inside a quite big chest that had its lid open. Illusion Key? Based on surmise, I realized it must be- then what else could substitute this radiant thing that was as anomalous as it was told to be? Without hesitation I moved forward. I had never seen anything like this before, anything that made me feel as queer as I felt right then. I was mesmerized by the radiance, pure white and somewhat holy, which warmed me all over my body. I felt something behind me when I stretched out my fingers to prod it. I, by instinct, slashed out at the shadow but it was more agile than I was- it had already backed out of the range. I could see the shadow was a girl in a white dress. In an instance, the chamber conversed into what it seemed to be a ruin of a building. Though I could see, something was wrong; her existence seemed faint and I could not see or feel the feature of her face. I didn’t know her but somehow, I recognized the girl. She gave me an eerie feeling. Glaring, she pointed out at me. It seemed like she wanted to me to know something she knew, but could not.

I shrieked out,

“What do you want?”

She made no effort to respond; she simply glared and pointed at me. Was her glare out of animosity or of focusing on trying to allude something to me?

Her feature became strangely distorted. She finally opened her mouth to say,

“What is it that you want?”

The moment she spoke,

(...Continued)

Afterwards, I think I fell into unimaginably unending obscurity.


I, NiNa, in the reality- Reality


I already knew I was late, and felt a ting of resentment since I tried to be as tardy as I could to not to go to school early; I knew Yellow Star was becoming impatient with my tardiness. I should have been thankful that her mum drove us to school and should have been the one waiting instead of them, but it’s just that I loathed going to that institutional place. Hurrying my pace, I arrived to the meting place; I held my breathe- they weren’t there- and exhaled. Haven’t thy come yet? Sometimes, they came later than I did but those times were rare. Maybe, just maybe, they haven’t come down yet. I headed toward their house. The massive bodies of apartments seemed menacing, cutting through the sky. When no one answered the buzzing bell, that bad feeling started to appear back and took over my body. Have they finally blown their top heads and started off without me? It was probable if I looked back to how I was- they could have become tired with me for being late all the time for half-a-year. After waiting 10 minutes I walked to school, disinclined. I strode slowly on the white pavement. The sides of the street were abuzz with construction of new buildings. The azure sky of the autumn was cloudless, seemingly mocking me in utter despair. There could be no such a perfect day as today to ditch school- I was late anyway so what mattered if I ditched only one day? Then, of course, I realized my tedious homeroom teacher would not halt calling my parents until they told him a reasonable cause for my missing in action. I could hear the melody of winds blowing past my ears. The zephyr felt blithe. A year and half has passed ever since I landed here in Korea. During this period, I lost my confidence somewhere inside that dull-greyish-white building, what more I began to forget what my aspirations, my dreams once were. I could feel that I was just some kind of leftover, not wanted anywhere. In every clique or gatherings, I was this third or 5th wheel all the time, which was making me washed out. It just seemed that I had no prestige, no hope, no aim, or any self-respect. Who was I, I wondered. Was this the illusion I dreamt of having or was this the reality I tried to avert? There were endless times I wished I would melt to the spot and don’t exist anymore.

(...Continued)

The small girl responded carelessly.

“I always play with my dolls when Ma isn’t here… I talk to them and they play with me.”

I merely glanced at the little furry animal toys put in a semi-circle and asked,

“Aren’t you afraid being alone? Don’t you feel forlorn?”

Looking at me with her widened eyes with surprise, she replied, pointing at her toys.

“What do I have to fear? My friends here will protect me from harm with their magic power. Why should I feel lonely while they’re with me always?”

Just sheer childish innocence, Messiea would have said but I think it was the truth of dreams I once used to have as well as a child- perhaps concealed behind the pearly emerald curtains of lights, somewhat sentimental and warm that lies forgotten once you greet the adulthood… Something I had forgotten must have came back because I had flashbacks of how I used to believe certain objects would protect me, such as that ancient black onyx necklace I treasured greatly and my puppet friends. Whenever I was sure the incubus would visit me during the nighttime, the fact that my dear friends were with me in bed together alleviated my fear.

Since when have I stopped believing? Since when have I begun to have doubt to trust in what I had once believed?

The little girl interrupted my reminiscence, asking for my name.

“What for? I am just a traveler. You’ll forget my existence one day.”

“You are not just a traveler; what you’ve given me is indeed valuable. Ma will be very relieved to have her brooch back. It was bequeathed by Grandma.”

Do I wish to regain my innocence? Anything can be lost quite easily in this complex maze city of modern age; love, friendship, beliefs, and dreams were what I lost in this hectic jungle. I looked askance at the distant Deluxian City in ambient mist. Deluxian City- another radical place that can devour anyone’s values ravenously. It wasn’t that far away from other crazy cities. The scenery of few measly houses stuck between the developments looked meager. The village itself was built on a dray land- or should I call it a desert- and there wasn’t much plantation in view. The agrarian life seemed arid.

“What does most people here do for living?”

“Farming”

“In this condition?”

“Why? Is there anything wrong?”

“I mean, look at the land mass. Dry, it is. I can even see chasms here.”

We don’t grow many green plants here. Instead we grow other stuff. If you wait for Ma to come back, you’ll be able to see them!”

“What are they, that you grow here?”

“Oh, just wait and see! You’ll be surprised.” Said the little girl, with callow excitement.

“Surprised? Oh, I can’t wait to see.” I replied, snorting in doubt. Wondering what could be grown on a wasteland, I waited.

I waited for a quite long time- the little girl’s mother did not come back until late in the evening. She was quite bony in general and her thin, pretty face wore wary expression. She introduced herself as “Enora”.

Enora asked me to stay for the night.

“It was very sweet of you to bring my brooch back! It was something really special to me; my own mother bequeathed it when she died at age of 60…. I know, it wasn’t the time to die yet, but she did have a weak heart…”

I knew her words were different from what she really had in her mind. Her eyes were still darting around with suspicion. It seemed that she was sizing me up after she looked around to check I had no company.

“Is there anything wrong?”

“Oh, no, no, nothing’s wrong. We’re having dry cabbage soup today with dandelion root bread…. We are also going to have special treats afterwards since we have a guest!”

(...Continued)

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