Chase awoke peacefully, with the absence of any dream of vision weighing on his groggy mind.
He got up lazily, hearing only the chirping of the early birds outside of his cracked open window.
It was around late spring, and his injuries had been slowly healing over the last week or so that they had stayed at this cozy house outside of the towering black-shale brick walls that contained The City of Factions...
"Good morning!" Luna greeted him ecstatically, laying on a strung out hammock in the corner of their room.
She was wearing an oversized charcoal long sleeve shirt, with a poorly sowed collar that hung way too low, with high-waisted, wide-leg dark slate trousers over the legs that were dangling over the edge of her hammock.
Although her expression was bright, her eyes held dark bags underneath them, showing the strain that staying up so late and maintaining the corruption in Chase's- had put on her over time.
She had changed her hair as well since she could maintain a physical form for much longer.
She had short curly black hair with lunar streaks for the uneven tips.
As for Chase's appearance...
He could not see it, as mirrors had simply stopped working entirely ever since he had obtained the lunar sigil.
However, his hair was much shorter than it had been in Olympia, and it had slightly darkened since that time as well.
He had spikey dark golden hair on the top of his heavily scarred head, with the same glowing emerald eyes.
He stood up with a yawn and a deep stretch of his arms, gazing at the old ceiling above them, seemingly overgrowing with moss that leaked in from the never closed window.
Outside of that window- Lie a forest with occasional large patches of plains and rivers spanning as far as the eye could see.
And behind the house, lie a long dirt pathway, which forked in three different directions. That center direction, led to the colossal City of Factions... The city known as Seh Jenah.
Chase had not entered the City yet, as the group had taken a long and treacherous journey from the ruins of Olympia, towards this land in the sixth quadrant on the large map of Vallmora.
He had stayed a week or so just resting, as the companions who had remained had done the same, before several of them ventured off to go do their own things.
Michael and Gabriel had left on only the second night, after it was Michael himself who used his family funds in order to secure this home for the team.
Their leaving was out of the blue if Chase was being honest, and although they had not said specifically where they were heading to: Chase had a good idea.
As for Leo and Neveah... They had set off three nights after arriving here. It had been Leo who had wanted to return to Olympia and search for Reinhart, and although Chase had told him that it was better to stay and figure out a new way to fight since his catalyst had been completely destroyed... Leo had protested, saying that if he could not find his friend without said privilege, than he did not deserve it in the first place.
So Chase sent a willing Neveah to tag along with him, he figured the two already seemed to get along well, and she was more than happy to join his side.
A knocking resounded on his old rickety door, causing him to walk over in his own baggy black long sleeve, and lazily open it.
No surprise, it was Equan who wore an even more troublesome look on his face.
"Chase." He said flatly, staring into the depths of Chase's soul.
"What's up?" Chase responded, not really wanting to know what had caused such a sluggish look of the normally energetic archer.
"I can't do this anymore. Please kill me." The archer growled, leaning to the side and pointing at the old god who was sprawled out on the only bed within Equan's old room.
Chase palmed his own face, then glanced at his own goddess, internally grateful for her not being such a nuisance.
She giggled, having naturally been able to hear his internal monologue.
It had only been a week since Volaris: the lesser god of storms- had tagged along on their journey, but only Chase and Equan could see the figure, as Volaris and the archer had not made a true pact of contract yet, meaning that Volaris's figure was only partially tangible in the human realm.
Naturally, Volaris's real body was somewhere in the far North, where that was: Chase had no idea.
Equan leaned against the rickety doorway, deep visible bags rustling underneath his own eyes.
"Do you wanna just sleep in here?" Chase asked, since he had to leave anyway.
Equan shrugged, not even bothering to answer as he aimlessly stepped past Chase and flopped onto the bed like a dead animal.
'Fair enough...' Chase thought, stepping outside of his room and making his way through the narrow and nearly claustrophobic hallway that led to the stairs so thin that they threatened collapse every time Hans walked up or down them.
Speaking of Hans...
Him and Gideon had also set out, only last night. With the sole purpose of finding Skylar, which they seemed to have a pretty good idea of where he had gone.
Then there was Justin, Jacob, and the man known as Brody.
They could occasionally be seen at the dinner table on the first floor, chatting about themselves as they made themselves at home.
However, on this day- they were nowhere to be seen.
Chase waved at Gemini who was slouched on the couch, still recovering from his own injuries, and also sent a friendly gesture at Kaylynn who seemed to be sewing more clothing for the group on the singular reclining chair in the corner.
Chase wondered where Luke had gone, but figured he had already ventured into Seh Jenah, with the purpose of finding a good shop to buy gear from.
So Chase did as he had done for the last four days, stepping outside with Luna giddily following along from a few feet behind, as they made their way into the nearby dense collection of trees and plant life.
They stepped through the bushes, following a small trail left behind by some unknown traveler, and Chase sighed as the small pond made itself known beyond the veil of trees.
There was a decent sized beach on the outskirts of the pond, where Chase had marked as his temporary training grounds.
"Well, no time like the present." He muttered with a groan, summoning Apocalypse into his right hand.
Then he began to aimlessly swing the axe in various directions... Doing so until he could see the sun rise into the middle of its daily course.
Fragments of memory returning from his endeavors in Olympia as the corruption threatened so surge with the violent movements of his body.
"You should stop for the day." Luna said, sitting cross-legged on the ground next to him and observing his motions with intense fixation.
He nodded, setting Apocalypse in the sand, and leaning against its large handle.
In all honesty, Chase had no clue how to use the axe, as it went against the entire form he had spent half of his life developing.
So, he was practically starting from square one.
However, that is why he had sent a letter...
A letter that would travel across the entirety of the continent, and would hopefully land upon the hands of an old teacher...
Barren... The man who had first taught Chase how to wield a sword...