1 Descending

July 13, 20XX, Five Centuries after Ragnarok

Mount Twynam's Forest, Mount Twynam

"Whew... Almost full, almost time to go..." The day shines upon a small-time forager named Deb Ecrivain, gathering herbs and fruits for his basket. Looking at his spoils full of color, happiness wells from within like bubbles popping from boiling water. There was a mix of natural herbs, fruits like apples and peaches, and most importantly, a jug of fresh clean water. He looked at his wrist, the old watch still hanging on after the test of time. The brand it supposedly has had been scratched, and the leather straps on it had been replaced more than a dozen times.

"Uncle Deb, Uncle Deb!" A little kid snaps him out of his small reverie. Turning his attention to the girl that was merely as tall as his legs, her grassy green, overgrown bangs lie unclipped and cascade over those shiny grays that is reminiscent of coal ash. Her hands raise up hopping in place, eagerly waiting to be carried. This little girl is named Ciel Acacia Extrun.

"Here we go, little girl...!" The man would groan as he scoops her by her rear, the young one latching onto him as best as her frail arms could to help lift herself up. After being prompted on the tall man's shoulder, Ciel would hold onto his head and look up at the sky and giggle heartily. "Waaaah, so high~! I can touch the sky, Uncle Deb!" Her hands would open and close trying to reach for the clouds before she gets hurt by staring directly at the sun. "Owwww, too bright..."

"That's why you don't look at the sun without sunglasses, Ciel." Deb would chuckle, only to earn a harmless bonk on the top of his head. "Hey, don't hurt your elders!" He would admonish- "Not if Uncle Deb's mean to me!" and the girl would retort. The male would then look around at this scenery that he might or might not be able to see again.

"Is it really hard to enter this place, Uncle Deb?" Ciel asks, blinking while feeling the air breeze through her hair. His eyes would frown with a defeated smile. "Yeah. Only five people can enter here for two hours every month. Did you know there's only four more like these across all of Waterworks?" The girl would count on her fingers before gasping. "Four?! That's only one hand! Or... almost one hand?" She would fumble and confuse herself until he opens her thumb that was tucked into her palm.

"Five, little one, including this one in Twynam." Deb chuckles softly. "They're called fore-ests, right? There's green everywhere but much prettier than the outside?" Ciel would ask again as they walk around, looking for more things to forage, whether it be fruit or leafy greens. "Forests, dear, one word only, and yes, that's pretty much it. We're neck deep in sea out here, and these mountains are the most habitable places there are that don't get hit by high tides."

"Neck deep? Will I drown?" An innocent question with an obvious answer. "You wouldn't want to swim or go near water outside of our forests, Ciel. Everything else outside is contaminated with poison that can kill you if you drink too much of it." The girl would freeze and clutch onto his head for dear life. Chuckling, the male would pat the girl's head, bending down forward to pass through some trees into an opening. The girl would sharply notice more apples, trying to take more than three- hell, even struggle just picking one from the branches, groaning, and slipping off of Deb's shoulder.

"Ciel!" The forager would notice the moment she slides off of him and catches her swiftly, unhanding their basket of which the contents would then fly out. That includes the jug that really did not have a cover or a top, so the water all spills down to the grass. Most of it, at least. Into his arms would the child curl up, holding that piece of apple in her hands. "Uhm, uhhh, I'm, I, uh," She sputters, tearing up, feeling like she made a fatal mistake.

"Shhh. It's okay, little one. You wanted the apple, it's alright." Deb would be quick to stroke her hair and nurse her, kneeling down to pick up what can still be used to ration for the month's entire food supply. "I'm sowwy..." Ciel would still spill tears, but not outright bawl. Strong girl, this one. "It's okay, baby. We'll make something special out of this apple, okay?" He would promise, lugging his basket back on his arm and wipe the girl's tears with his slender fingers.

Suddenly, the ring of the bell would signify their precious time ending in the forest, making the kid jump in his arms, still gripping her small hands against the hems of his gray robes. With a sigh, the male would jog back to the river, seeing if he could discreetly pass by and scoop more water to refill the jug on his person to make up for it. Usually when the bell rings it was time to head back to the entrance of the forest from where they entered, but suddenly, a bright flash emits from the sky followed by an explosion just fifty meters away from the two.

"Watch out!" In an instinct, Deb would once again prioritize the child instead of his harvested produce, cocooning her with his arms and getting all blown back by this sudden danger that befell them. What was it? A comet? An asteroid of unknown origin? All of these thoughts would swirl in the man's head as he flies through the air almost two feet of the ground, landing on his shoulder first and bending it in a horribly wrong way.

"Urk!" It was the only thing audible out of his pained gurgling and gnashing of teeth. Deb was born with weak bones and sensitive skin. In turn, a physiology that made it easy to build and retain muscle as it is to build fat were he to eat unhealthily. Even with a dislocated shoulder, the man would still force himself to shelter Ciel with all his might even if his life cost him. He will never be able to face the girl's siblings if the one they're so scared to let outside of the house and have in his care die because of his lack of protection over her.

Dirt and rubble would splatter out from the sheer force, creating a deep crater somewhere. The burning pain from Deb's shoulder would jerk him to consciousness, or more aptly put- keep him agonizingly awake to make sure the littlest sister that was not his own was safe. "Ci-Cie-hahhk...!" Even just trying to speak was enough to make him cough blood. It felt like his shoulder was stiff, but that was more than ideal to make sure he's carrying her.

"U-Uncle Deb!" Whether she was awake or not was a detail he really did not feel like it mattered, but he wished that she would be asleep. Having her see him like this and be exposed to blood so early in her life would definitely be traumatizing. Tilting his face away from her to cough up even more, he clears his coagulated throat to the best of his ability.

"R-run..." He would eke out, weak, eyes blurry. The girl did not know what to do, frozen still even if she was tasked to run. Ciel was a frail girl- with lungs the size of peanuts. How could she hope to run from a danger she did not even know; much less register how fast it is compared to her unathletic stature? It was scary. She was shivering from fear. A paralyzing immobility that only the strongest of warriors would seize her by the cuffs of her soul.

But she would run. Peeling away from Deb, she would run her hardest, panting and gasping unrefinedly. As fast as her body would let her; as far as her measly body could get her.