The Laughing Swordsman

Otis looked up at the stone dragon statue, patiently waiting for a response.

As for the stone dragon statue, it spread its wings wide.

"You..."

It closed its eyes.

"Are..."

Otis looked composed from the outside, but his heart hammered in his chest.

If he inherited the legacy, he would become powerful.

If he became powerful he could get revenge.

If he could get rev-

"NOT WORTHY."

The stone dragon statue roared, letting loose domineering gales of wind.

The winds threw Otis' body across the trial room, smashing him into the wall.

The stone dragon statue reverted to its old resting position, then froze. It was no longer willing to talk with Otis.

As for Otis, he coughed up blood through grit teeth.

He was angry.

Why wasn't he worthy? He clawed his way up through all the tests, just to be told he wasn't enough?

Otis took a step forward, then a pressure forced him onto the floor.

The pressure threatened to annihilate his entire existence.

Still, Otis stubbornly lifted his head, looking at the stone dragon statue with fierce eyes.

...So his ancestor did not want him to inherit the legacy.

Otis frowned.

"Fine. I'll do it myself. I don't need your stupid legacy..."

Then, he blacked out.

...

"Waaaaaah!~"

"AHHHHHHHHHHH"

Layla had been dragging Apollo along for nearly an hour now.

It seemed she forgot what their goal was in the first place, getting lost in the joys of this blue world.

Apollo was exhausted.

Part of it was because he had been forcefully brought along by Layla at terrifying speeds, but it was also because he had been screaming the whole time.

Screaming gets really exhausting after a while, you know?

As such, Apollo eventually gave up.

He had a half dead expression on his face, only uttering a few groans every now and then.

Layla noticed this. She looked at Apollo with her beady eyes.

"Friend?"

Apollo did not respond.

Layla tilted her head to the side but did not slow down her pace.

"Why did you stop cheering!"

Apollo's eyelids were fluttering, nearly closing.

Layla put a finger on her chin.

"Ah! You are tired? We should take a break then."

Layla ripped open the space, taking him back to the snowy forest.

Apollo fell onto the snow on his hands and knees.

Tears were forming in his eyes.

"Flat... ground."

He slammed his face into the snow.

"How I've missed you!"

Layla held her hands together.

"Aww, you missed me! Hehe, I won't leave, I swear! We will go on adventures in the fluffy land every day!"

Apollo trembled.

"No! No fluffy land!"

Layla pouted.

"Ehhh? Why not? Fluffy land is the best!"

Apollo got up with his shaky feet and ran away into the forest.

"I don't wannaaaa!"

Layla chased after him while waving her hands in the air.

"Wait for meeee!"

With that, the two of them ran through the forest. One was in tears while the other was laughing.

Eventually, Apollo had reached a clearing.

He froze in place, staring at the sight with curiosity.

Layla tackled him from behind, wrapping her arms around his stomach.

"Hehe, I win!"

The air was knocked out of Apollo as he hit the ground hard.

"Owww..."

Layla got up quickly. There was a pout on her face.

"Ah, sorry! I didn't mean to hurt friend!"

Apollo gently rubbed his forehead.

"Mmm..."

Layla grabbed onto Apollo's hand and helped him up. She looked at him with pleading eyes.

"Forgive me?"

Apollo pouted.

"Ok..."

Layla raised her hands into the air.

"Yay!"

Then, she turned to look at the clearing in front of her.

"Eh? What is that?"

It appeared to be a city. Eerie black walls towered over the duo, not bothering to hide their dominance.

The overall shape of the wall was a square, with pillars at each corner. These pillars reached up high into the sky with a point, almost like it was trying to pierce the sky. Lined across the top of the walls were smaller versions of these pillars, but that was only relative to the four main pillars. If one were to get up next to one, they would find it substantially large.

The walls themselves appeared to have large veins. Though they were still, they seemed to be squirming around like snakes.

They could see a gate in front of them, with a texture similar to the walls. The gate was a little shorter than half of the length of the wall but was wider than three-quarters of the wall's width. This gave it a fat, yet strange appearance.

There was probably some sort of practical use to this type of gate. After all, it looked quite jarring aesthetically.

Apollo scratched the side of his head.

"I... don't think we should go there."

Layla put a finger on her chin.

"Whatttt? But it looks so cool!"

Apollo pouted.

"We were supposed to find the... person to play with!"

Layla tilted her head to the side.

"Person? Who?"

Apollo furrowed his eyebrows.

"Em... I think it was Ky... Kaiben knows you?"

It was Kylan Noia.

Layla gasped.

"We have to find we both know you?"

Apollo blinked a few times.

"What?"

Layla's furry ears perked up.

"Ah, you're right!"

Her tail swayed from side to side.

"I have an idea! We ask the people in the cool place!"

Apollo opened his mouth but closed it soon after.

Suddenly, he rubbed his thumb and forefinger on his chin. There was a serious pondering expression on his face.

His eyes lit up.

"You're right! Let's go quickly."

Somehow or another, Layla made Apollo forget his concerns. His concern about the people that resided in such a strange place.

This place gave him a strange feeling. It was as though a memory buried deep inside his mind festered, but was not enough to breach the surface.

And so, Layla and Apollo ran through the snow, kicking it up behind them.

....All the while unaware of the dangers of this city.