rfrost

We had to go far no matter what, to appreciate something worth the view.

Just as that vile beast that could never stop.

Another layer of metaphor.

Well, then. It's your turn.

Fellow traveler, surely you have plenty of stories worth sharing yourself.

I've definitely got plenty of stories about my travels I could tell, but I'm worried they might be just as hard to understand for you.

You come from a very distant place.

Distant for sure. Farther away than we can even perceive.

Then perhaps, you could say, it is far enough to be ancient?

Now there's a tricky question to answer.

Never mind. I won't seek an answer. To appreciate a story hardly requires making every detail clear.

Please, continue telling.

Alright, if you're okay with listening.

I've told this story to practically no one, but if you're going to understand where I come from, then it'll serve as a fine case.

It's not some adventure to be proud of. It starts with an emergency landing.

'A journey into the unknown always makes me happy, despite the risks that often come with it. You understand, I could never refuse the call.'

'People always find gain in their travels. At times, it's scenes that bring happiness. At times, it's other ways of looking at the world.'

'Like that wise old hunter said, we're unable to tolerate the existence of questions with no answers. Just as if every lock has some key made to match.'

'But that's only wishful thinking. It's not the logic of what nature makes. It's kind of like a Zen thing, isn't it?'

'I'm trying to figure it out now. It might help us answer our question.'

We're here.

So this is what's north of the forest?

This is 'home.'

You mean these ruins?

Stumbling, the old hunter sits down, the long and arduous journey having taken the last of his energy.

He gazes at the ruined, broken walls before him, his expression like a man admiring the most beautiful scenery.

Atop these ruins, there once was a grand city.

More than once it was destroyed, and more than once it was rebuilt.

Would a city really go in a place as desolate as this?

And below the barrage of fire was once a sea of flowers, and above the scorched earth were once skyscrapers.

'Kazdel.'

As the prophecy told, it will in the end become the home of all Sarkaz.

Hold on, something's wrong—

In an instant, the boundless scenery surrounding her collapses.

What's going on...

Frost looks all around. Before her, and behind her, all that remains is endless tundra.

The path they came by is gone without a trace, like the morning dew, and the magnet of the compass in her hands is deathly still, pointed straight ahead.

The good news is we probably didn't lose our way.

If this is also part of the metaphors you talked about... Sir?

Frost only now realizes that the old man beside her is no longer breathing.

The old hunter looks towards the cold empty expanse, his face full of serenity.

A journey to where your life ends.

This is your last wish granted, then.

Frost sits down to the side of the old hunter, and the two hunters together admire the landscape at the end of their journey.

There's—only one moon in the sky.

Opposite where the sun sets, a single moon appears faint on the horizon. A pale silver silhouette, in the same shade as the boundless tundra.

Frost only learns later that upon this great land, this is a sight so very rarely seen.

'A scene never before seen is a priceless treasure.'

Alright. This is a reward I'm willing to take.