What are you?
Kaien stood at the edge of the ancient ruins, awe widening his eyes. A peculiar Qi clung to the air—dense, murky, and draped in mystery. It was unlike anything he had sensed before. This place... it breathed secrets.
He squinted up at the jagged pillars, once proud, now reduced to skeletal remains piercing the sky. Their tops reached high into the heavens, yet were suspended with no visible structure to support them—ghosts of a forgotten time.
Before him lay colossal blocks of shattered stone. After a laborious climb, Kaien hoisted himself atop one of the slabs. From this precarious perch, he finally glimpsed what lay beyond: fragmented landscapes floating in the air like shards of a broken world. They hovered eerily in place, tethered only by thick, rusted metal chains that connected them like a suspended web.
'What is this place?'
His thoughts echoed with disbelief. He had never even heard of a place like this—not in stories, not even in his mother's wildest tales.
He shifted his weight onto his splinted leg, now less agonizing thanks to the crude staff he leaned on, and began to limp forward. The ruin beneath his feet sprawled wider than the distant fragments floating ahead. Maybe it only seemed that way, a trick of perspective. Or maybe... this ruin truly was the heart of this fragmented realm.
Whatever the case, one thing was certain—it would take him a long, punishing journey to find the Spare in this place.
Everywhere he turned, decay loomed: crumbled walls, shattered arches, fountains choked dry, and a skeletal forest of brittle, ash-colored trees that stood like mourners, still and lifeless. A disquieting aura oozed from everything.
With a sigh, Kaien finally slumped down beside a large stone and planted his staff beside him.
Crack.
A brittle sound came from the cloth bundle strapped to his back. But before Kaien could check, his stomach issued a violent, twisting pang—a hollow growl that reminded him he hadn't eaten in nearly two days.
His last meal had been a thin potato soup. That night still lingered in his memory, haunting and near sacred. The night before everything was swallowed by death.
The memory rushed in like a sudden storm.
'Just one day… and everything has changed. It feels like a dream.'
He had lived the same life for years, a repeating loop after his father's death when he was only four. A quiet, mundane existence. Then, in one night, it had all been ripped away by an army of the dead.
A part of him, though, was relieved. He had escaped that stifling loop. But the ache that burrowed deepest was his mother's death.
'It's okay… she was in pain.'
He gently unbound the bundle on his back and laid it on the cracked stone. With slow, careful fingers, Kaien extracted a single dried corn cob—its golden beads half-gnawed by rats.
'This will do for now,' he thought with grim acceptance.
One by one, he began repacking the remaining items, ensuring they were secured with meticulous care.
'I still need these for the journey ahead.'
Swish.
A faint gust stirred behind him, unnatural and quick—like something had darted behind the stone.
Kaien's fingers froze mid-motion.
Slowly, he nudged his bundled belongings into the shadow of the stone, concealing them with practiced caution. Then he stood, grip tightening around the wooden staff he used as a crutch.
'what was it' he thought, eyes narrowing. This place wasn't supposed to have life—yet the air shifted like a living thing.
Kaien held his staff forward, stepping back one measured pace at a time to widen the distance, watching the stone intently. If it was a beast, a trickster spirit, or something worse, he would need every advantage.
His heart beat steady, not from calm but from stubborn control.
'I've got the distance now,' he calculated silently, halting in place and drawing in a breath to steady his voice.
"Who's there?" he called out, projecting as much confidence as he could muster. He fought to keep the awkward edge from his tone, masking it with firm steadiness.
Silence answered.
Then—
"Ra."
The sound was small and chirping. A white blur leapt from behind the stone—a ball of fur with two stubby legs, impossibly tiny and round. A glowing orb shimmered at the end of an antenna sprouting from its head, and its oversized, black innocent eyes blinked up at him like twin moons.
Kaien blinked back, stunned. All thought of danger vanished, replaced with sheer confusion and disbelief.
It was… adorable.
So much so that, for a moment, Kaien forgot how strange and alien the creature was.
Then, it chirped again. "Ra ra, ra ra, ra ra, ra ra!"
Suddenly, the ruin erupted with motion—dozens of the creatures bounced into view from behind rocks and rubble. They rolled and tumbled, jumping on each other in chaotic towers, spinning and leaping like a living wave of fluff.
Kaien stared in awe. "What... are these?"
The creatures didn't attack. In fact, they didn't seem to notice him as a threat at all.
Kaien lowered his staff cautiously, trying not to startle them. They were so strange, so otherworldly—but not in a frightening way.
He slowly lowered himself onto his left knee and softened his voice. "I've never heard about any of you… not even in my mom's stories."
He extended a hand slowly, open-palmed.
The creatures all froze in place, their glimmering antenna orbs flickering. Then they looked at one another, almost like they were silently discussing the gesture.
Kaien tilted his head, puzzled. "What? Are you guys scared of me?"
Carefully, he sat cross-legged on the ground, making no sudden movements. "Go on. Sniff me. I won't move."
He shut his eyes, placing trust in the moment.
Silence. Stillness.
Then—bop.
One of the fuzzy beings nudged his clothing.
BOOM!
Suddenly, the entire swarm of furballs pounced on him, chirping "Rara rara rara rara!" in joyous bursts as they climbed and cuddled and rolled over him like a living blanket.
Kaien fell back with a startled laugh, wriggling and giggling as their soft fur tickled his skin.
"Enough—enough!" he wheezed between laughs, overwhelmed by the warm, weightless bodies smothering him.
His eyes flicked toward one of them—its glowing orb was now directly in front of his face. Curious, he reached out and poked it gently.
Blink.
The orb pulsed with light, and immediately the others bounced off him, scurrying into a neat line like soldiers falling into formation.
Kaien sat up, stunned. "What the...?"
The one closest to him now had a noticeably brighter glow than the rest. It stood by his side like a newly appointed companion.
He glanced at the glowing leader, then at the strange little army behind it.
Scratching the back of his neck, Kaien muttered, "Well… can I ask… what exactly is happening here?"