So Many Questions

Kyro heaves himself over the edge of the ravine, stepping off the ladder and onto the black land splashed with crimson light. Ash falls through the air, it's leisurely descent carried by the skin-prickling wind. Kyro curses under his breath as his eyes skim over the rocky land of Kalar. His home planet has constant winds, and they bring relief under the burning blue sun of Raj, the same as a cold drink would. This wind instead rips the breath from his lungs. It is akin to being trapped in a box with the only air being your own hot breath.

Kyro turns back towards the ravine, stocky arms pulling on the rope tied around his waist. He had expected to at least be strained by the added weight of Cage, but the man is surprisingly light. Kyro wonders if the man is still attached to the rope. He steadies his pull, trying his hardest to not accidentally yank his cargo.

A moment of pulling later, a pale hand slaps against the edge, and Cage pulls himself up with the help of Kyro. He stands, glancing at the large blue man with a slight smile, "Thanks," Cage says.

Kyro nods, pulling the rope from his waist. He unravels the knot quickly, as if on instinct. On the same coin, it seems Cage is having some trouble, "Stop," Kyro swipes the man's hand away and bends to pull the knot the same way as the first.

Cage snickers as he watches Kyro roll the rope into a tight coil, "That's definitely gonna get annoying," he mutters.

Kyro raises a brow, shrugging the knapsack from his shoulder and stuffing the rope into it. That massive sword is strapped to his hip, the sharp tip pointing to the land behind him, "I thought you were a 'lefty'?" he asks.

Cage shrugs, "I am, but..." his words trail off as his black eyes drift to the sky, "Oh, the smoke's cleared some," he notes with raised brows. His lips part as he stares up, the imagery quite literally taking the breath from him. The culprit of that crimson light hangs in the sky, a moon, Cage guesses. Its surface is clearly visible from his position, and unlike the moon that he had stared at for so many lonely nights, the red surface is smooth, no craters or cracks present. It's perfect.

Kyro stares up at the moon along with Cage, a slight smile curling his lips. This planet is one that he dreads to visit, but this... this is one of the few things that his home planet cannot compare to. He wishes that Yoru could see this. She has always been fascinated by the sky and its ornaments. Kyro finds himself longing for home, despite what awaits him there.

"Where are the stones?" Kyro asks with a sigh, turning away from the sky, and the sour thoughts.

Cage is silent, still staring at the sky. Surrounding that crimson moon, a nebula of colors float through space, coiling and slithering like colorful serpents. For a moment, Cage wonders if his mind is playing tricks on him. Between the passing bogs of smoke disguised as clouds and the spectrum of colors beyond, he swears that he sees a translucent screen. A barrier separating the land from space like painted glass.

Suddenly, his study of the awe-worthy sight is blocked by a massive figure, and Kyro stares down at Cage with hard eyes, "Aye," Kyro calls, making no attempt to conceal the slight frustration in his voice.

"Huh?" Cage scrunches his brows, "What is it?"

"The stones," Kyro reminds him, "Where?"

"Oh..." Cage mutters, pausing with a few quick blinks, "...I hope you know that you aren't transparent."

Kyro raises a brow, trying, and failing to hide the smirk creeping to his lips. He turns and steps to the side. It's refreshing for someone to not be intimidated by him. Kyro is on the bigger side of his race. Combine this with his past reputation, and one finds that fear often hides what others intend to say, even if Kyro himself would find it amusing.

Cage scans the land, eyes running along that long and narrow river of lava. Those strange trees, with their pulsing bark and thorn-like branches, still litter the bank. Further down the river, among the uneven black rocks, Cage finds what he's looking for. That black and sharp volcano rises to the sky, smaller than some farther in the distance, but still large in its own right. His forehead scrunches as he gazes at the volcano, studying the jagged, gaping tip and the rocky slopes running down the sides. Was there lava running down the side, or had he been hallucinating again?

Cage raises his arm through the falling ash, pointing to the volcano, "There," he says, "But, I thought it was active. I could have sworn there was lava flowing from it when I was running from the parasite."

Kyro hums, following with his eyes to where Cage points, "There may have been. The volcanos here are usually active, but the lava is strange. You would think that with all this blasted hot air, it would take months to cool. Not here. The lava cools within hours, turning to the rock that surrounds us. Sometimes it even cools within minutes. It's as if the lava is only there to build on the land."

Cage nods, glancing up at Kyro, "You know a lot about this place," he notes.

Kyro returns his own nod and steps forward with a tree trunk leg, "This is not my frist time here, nor will it be my last... I have to know," the Rajin says. Kyro once wished that he knew nothing of this planet, but alas, he is the only one to blame for his torment.

Cage hums, following close behind Kyro. He suddenly halts after his first step, glancing back at that rope ladder, "Kyro? Are you not going to take the ladder?" he asks, turning to look at the Rajin.

"I didn't put it there. Someone left it for those after him. I will do the same," Kyro responds quick, his steps never halting.

Cage raises his brows, glancing back at the top bit of rope tied around a narrow chunk of rock jutting from the ground. There are others like Kyro?

"Did you come here alone?" Cage asks, nearly falling over as he steps. He never knew how much having both arms influences balance. Another thing to get used to.

Kyro pauses, and hidden from Cage's vision, the Rajin man clenches his jaw at the question. He was just getting comfortable with being distracted from Mavyl's death, "No... Collectors never travel alone. Well, if both of them stay alive," Kyro forces the words from his dry throat.

"Collectors?" Cage furrows his brows, hopping across a divot in the rocks, "Is that what you are?"

"Yes," Kyro responds, the subject change lifting his mood a smidgen. It will be agonizing enough to break the news to Yoru. Kyro's sister already has enough to cry about, and the news of his nephew's death may just send her over the edge, "There are many other teams, all with two members. Our only purpose is to retrieve the Rage Stones," Kyro says, his eyes scanning every inch of the land before him. The appearance of that parasite doesn't sit right with him. The creatures never chase that far.

Cage hums, quickening his pace until he arrives beside Kyro, "Why only two members? Why not more? It would be easier to deal with the parasites, and you could carry more stones, right?" he says, glancing up at Kyro. Cage means to look longer, but a trip calls his attention back to the rocks.

Kyro scoffs, his eyes still scanning the land, watching for something, "Parasites are not the only creatures to worry about," he says, finally glancing at Cage, "That is not the reason through. We travel through the Branches to reach Kalar, and the threat is there... You know nothing of the Massors?" Kyro inquires, furrowed brows directed at Cage.

Cage stretches a leg to the rock before him, pushing off his back foot, "I told you I'm from Earth. All of this is new to me," he says, "There was even a time I forgot what it felt like to have a conversation. To walk like we are now... I had forgotten how it felt to even breathe."

The furrow deepens in Kyro's brows, and he gazes at Cage and his unsteady treading. He has found most of what the one-armed man says to be hard to believe. Despite the constant distraction, a certain disbelief lingers in the back of Kyro's mind, accompanied by tiny whisps of paranoia. Cage could very well be lying about all of this, but it's all so bizarre, so far from his understanding of the universe. Everything about the man is.

Just the same as earlier though, Kyro eventually leans into belief. What would Cage gain by lying about all this? "Well, I reckon you've remembered all that just fine now," he says, eyes returning to the land. There's still about an hour of walking, Kyro guesses, but they are making progress. He still looks out though, the locals of Kalar may show themselves yet.

Cage nods, searching his mind for what the Rajin man mentioned before, "So, what are those, um... The things you were talking about before. The branch things," he can't remember the name for the life of him. It was only moments ago, yet a thick, shifting fog hovers over the memory.

"Massors?" Kyro raises a brow. He reckons Cage was lying about his memory being good, which tells more of the validity in his previous words, "Massive creatures, terrifying, to say the least. They lurk among the Branches, tunnels connecting the planets. I would say they are more of an apparition than anything else," Kyro says.

Cage nods, internalizing the words the best he can. They sound horrifying. But still, his main question is still unanswered, "It would still make sense to bring a bigger group though, wouldn't it? To deal with the Massors," he says.

Kyro scoffs, "There is no 'dealing' with a Massor. One touch from the creatures will kill you and me on the spot. Instantly. No blood. No wounds. Just death," he says, words short and blunt, "Unless there is a Conjurer present, the only way to bypass them is to travel in small packs. Massors are attracted to large gatherings of souls that enter the branches, and a Conjurer is able to hide those souls, as long as they have the Anima to do it," Well, there are a select few beings that Kyro has heard of. Individuals who can supposedly destroy a Masor single-handedly. Though Kyro isn't fond of speaking about topics he has little knowledge on.

Cage hums, still watching his steps. The Massors are even more terrifying than he had originally thought. Even so, something about Kyro's words excites him. The feeling reminds Cage of when that parasite clicked ominously behind him. His heart had thumped with fear and adrenaline, with the possibility of both death and triumph. Cage finds himself wishing for that feeling again.

He wonders what exactly 'Anima' is, and begins to ask about it, but Kyro seems to be in deep thought.

The duo continue on their path, one stepping carefully, and the other swift. Cage's body feels fine, healthy even. A foreign detail to Cage, but a welcome one. On the same note, Cage's mind is fatigued. Or rather, still waking up. He isn't sure which it is, but either way, he finds no motivation to question further.

Cage looks down at his constantly moving feet, the pale skin stained with soot and grime. His mind slips away from the black, smoldering land, delving deep into a pit of nothingness. The thoughts flowing keep him company as they always have. Things change, people die, and worlds crumble, but his thoughts are always there, like a blanket to shield the cold. At times even they turn on him, but unlike everything else, they have never been taken from him.