"Ash Phantom: The Legend Reborn"

The slam of the lift doors was like a stifling, sudden quiet after the chaos of the breaking-up bazaar. Within, the air vibrated with pent-up fear and the high tension of the other fugitives, stuffed shoulder to shoulder, their faces pale and eyes staring wide with shock.

Auren continued to hold Rose close, his arm around her slight body. Her face buried in his chest, she shuddered. His gaze met that of the yellow-haired boy, who slumped over on his radiant Cyber Lion, the construct slightly smaller to accommodate the small space of the lift cabin. The boy's visage was still creased by a deep, almost bone-deep concern.

"I hope I'll be safe," the boy muttered, his voice nearly inaudible, his eyes looking at the closed doors as if waiting for them to swing open at any second.

Auren's unexpected feeling of empathy surged. "I hope you will be safe too," he answered, his voice softer than he meant. Within him, the recollection of Sia, alive and bright, showing him how to chop vegetables with a laugh, her hand covering his over the chopping board in his own kitchen at home, flashed starkly in his mind. The comfort of those mundane moments, the effortless camaraderie, now seemed achingly dear. He couldn't help but anticipate another individual he'd bonded with to just disappear.

Rose, looking up from over Auren's chest, her voice tiny, broke the brittle silence. "How long will it take to travel to a different island?"

The lift continued its silent, smooth ascent, the faint hum of its Sky-Weave engines the only sound. After what felt like an eternity, the muted light filtering through the lift's crystalline shell began to brighten, shifting from the bruised purples and grays of the conflict below to a vibrant, emerald green.

Then, with a gentle shudder, the lift doors slid open, revealing an entirely new world.

Ahead of them lay a lovely, green island, far removed from the bazaar's chaos. Tall, ancient trees with radiant leaves created a canopy above them, their branches covered with filmy, shimmering vines that dripped with rainbow-hued dew. The air was crisp and clean and had the scent of wet ground and opening aether-flowers. It was a dramatic, otherworldly contrast to the nightmare they had escaped.

The other prisoners from the lift spilled out, some falling over onto the soft mossy earth, others stumbling away in dazed relief to simply be in this unlooked-for peace. Sunny was already driving his Cyber Lion on, however, ready to dissolve into the emerald greenery.

"Wait!" cried Auren, his voice clipped with alarm. Sunny stopped, looking back with a start, his black eyes wide. "What is your name?"

The boy paused for a fraction of a second before his shoulders drooped. "Sunny," he whispered, his voice struggling to be heard over the soft rustle of light-trees' leaves.

"Be careful, Sunny," Auren urged, his voice filled with a real plea.

A weak, barely perceptible nod was all Sunny gave. "I will try," he said and turned again, his lion taking a reluctant step.

Auren, recalling the ghostly vision of Sia falling, would not release him. "Can we. Can we come with you?" he exclaimed.

Sunny's eyes grew even wider, shock battling his natural fear. "It... it will become dangerous for you guys," he stuttered, looking over his shoulder, obviously viewing them as an additional burden.

"We shall discover some place to hide you," Auren said firmly, moving closer, dragging Rose with him. "I couldn't ever imagine a person I just spoke with. perishing in the future because I didn't make an effort to save them." The words had been meant to be more forceful, but they hung instead with a naked tone of fear for Sia.

Sunny looked at him, a flash of something like wonder, or maybe only deep shock, blunting his frightened look. "Thank you for caring," he said in a whisper, before his eyes narrowed again, a determination taking the place of shock. "Then hurry."

Without ado, he stroked the lion's back. Auren, with Rose holding on to him, did not need to be warned twice. He threw a leg over the lion's firm, glowing body, easing Rose onto the area behind him. The cold, nearly metal sensation of the Cyber Lion throbbed under them.

Now that all three were mounted, the lion leapt forward, its radiating paws noiseless on the mossy paths. They rode into the peaceful, but possibly treacherous, interior of the island.

As they rode the island on the Cyber Lion, cutting through stands of radiating trees and over soft, rolling hills, Sunny addressed them.

"By the way," Sunny spoke up, his voice still a bit husky but laced with a glimmer of courtesy. "What are you guys' names?"

"I'm Auren," said Auren.

"And I'm Rose!" Rose bubbled.

Sunny nodded, his eyes scanning nervously between the dense leaves. "Auren, do you know some place where I can hide?" His anxious look was back on his face, a beseeching look in his dark eyes.

Auren scowled, struggling to remember anything about this particular island. "I don't know it myself, but I do know that there's a Scholar's Plateau on the island. It's where mage instructors and scholars reside; some actually instruct in the Dojo. That plateau contains a lot of knowledge and books. Hopefully, you can hide safely there."

Sunny's face went wide, a glimmer of real hope flaring in her eyes. "Really?" she exclaimed. "Then I have to go there immediately! How long will it take?"

Auren ground his teeth. "Settle down, I don't know specifically," he said, struggling with frustration. "I don't even know where it is, exactly."

He stopped, then a fresh idea appeared to register in his head, his brow creasing in thought. "But I do know one thing," he said, turning to Sunny. "There's an old woman called Scarlet on that plateau. She's been president of the Scholar's Plateau for over a hundred years."

Sunny's eyes grew wide. "What, I mean, really?" he gasped, a new spark of hopeless hope in his eyes. "By the way, I only wanted to be safe. I hope she will assist me."

Rose, who had listened carefully, leaned her head to one side, her interest momentarily overcoming her terror. "Auren, how do you know all about these places? And this. Scarlet lady?"

Auren glanced from Rose to Sunny, a subtle, almost invisible tilt of his smile. For an instant, the affable face he typically wore seemed to drop away, to be replaced by something older, more multifaceted. "Perhaps," he said softly, "because I am of the Ryuki clan."

Rose and Sunny gazed at him, their jaws open simultaneously. A shocked, simultaneous whisper broke from their lips: "Whhhhhaaaattt?!"