Sol's Shine and the Kingdom of Metal

Chapter 3 Life

A few groans from the dwarves didn't make their trip among the caravan wagons any better. "It would be so much better if we had steam trains or an airship to fly on. Why do we have to deal with these crooked wooden wheels and dumb horses?" A dwarf complained nearby in the wagon behind their own. "If your kingdom would have been so kind as to share your inventions and technology with the rest of the world, we wouldn't have to ride in wagons. You should do well to remember that this is the Kingdom of Metal, not Terra. Behave yourselves." Crystal said, looking back at the fourth wagon.

Four wagons, eight horses, and one long trip to the Kingdom of Metal's capital to watch what Sol is expecting to be some sort of fight fest. The third wagon near the back consisted of Sol, Brook, Crystal, Lilac, and a couple more soldiers from the Kingdom of Fire, including the one holding onto the horse reins in the front. Sol thought that the dwarves had a good point about their trip however. He too was tired of the rumbling ground with the eventual dip in the road that would make their caravan shake with the occasional stench of animal manure it takes when traveling with horses. The best thing he could do to keep his mind off of that annoyance was to simply talk with his friend. "I hope Aria hasn't been giving you too much trouble while I was away. Are you two getting along alright?" Sol asked Brook.

"She's nice to work with. She definitely became less uptight ever since her parents were called out for being a bunch of dunces. That and she seems to enjoy me having the trident over herself since it's a tasking job." Brook admitted. "Well what about besides work? It seems like that's all we've been talking about ever since we got here." Sol said to him but Brook had to think about it for a moment. "Well there was this one time we both went on a date with each other. That's about all I can think of." "You and Aria? Are you for real?" Lilac said, this being her obvious first time hearing about it. Sol smiled, knowing that he was finally getting through to Brook. "Well how did that go?" Sol lightly nudged Brook with his elbow.

"It went as well as you would expect. I agreed to go out with her because I was curious but... I didn't really feel anything. She's a good friend but the two of us aren't really a couple." Brook stated. "So that's it?" Lilac looked a little disappointed. "That's it." Brook confirmed. "I've never had a crush or been attracted to anyone. I don't see how things would suddenly change now." Even if it wasn't much, it was finally nice for Sol to hear that his best friend was still up for a light conversation and he couldn't help but feel a little relieved.

Sol's relief didn't last as long as he had hoped, however. When there wasn't anything else Brook had to talk about, their next topic was a little down. "You know... I heard what happened to William from Lilac awhile back." The tension in the wagon they rode in quickly became awkward again. "Well what else are we supposed to say about that? Do you guys even know how Krissy is holding up because of what happened?" Sol asked Brook and Lilac. But Brook looked to Lilac as if he didn't have any clue himself, also becoming curious. Lilac became reluctant to answer, looking at her feet and avoiding anyone's gaze. "What do you think Sol? Krissy blames us for what happened. I can understand why." Lilac said. "You shouldn't blame yourself for what happened. Who we should blame is Amaterasu." Crystal said to her.

"It is my fault. I could have saved him." Lilac told Crystal. "There were plenty of people we couldn't save though. When was the last time you spoke to Krissy?" Sol asked Lilac. "The last time I spoke to her was when we first arrived here. Let's just say that our last encounter didn't go so well." Lilac answered. "I'm sure you'll be able to make up with her soon enough. We can't keep playing the blame game on this. You could say it was Sol's fault for letting William come with him in the Kingdom of Terra, you can say that it was Jordan's fault for... well you know, or you can say that it was Drakiel's fault for suggesting that you guys should all attack Amaterasu separately. If there was anyone to truly blame for all of this, it should be Amy." Crystal said.

"Not just her either. It's also her boss, Sinnel. All of our problems ultimately root back to him." Brook said. "A god obsessed with creating his own little perfect world while ruining ours in the process? I wouldn't mind showing him who's boss." Sol stated. Lilac looked at him. "Well you guys may be right about one thing regarding blame but... how do we even defeat a god? It's one thing to say we can defeat a star demon but him? Has anyone else even thought about it?" What Lilac said made everyone think for a moment. "I don't know about any of you but... I don't feel too good about trapping and sealing him away in another giant tree. If the gods are fading away just like Khenari, then sealing Sinnel away again would just buy him more time. He would eventually be the only one standing." Brook said. "We would just be creating more problems for the generations after ours." Sol agreed.

Drakiel from the wagon behind their own couldn't help but listen in on their conversation. He made his way to the front of his wagon to speak up to them. "Don't worry about it! Once we have the wielder of the Unyielding Bulgasari on our side, we should be able to beat him no problem. Our kingdoms aren't as weak as before when the elves were beating us down. We should have the upper hand this time!" Everyone looked at Drakiel as if him suddenly speaking up to them from the back was unexpected. But Sol considered there was some truth to what he said. If anything else they should all be able to either improve upon past mistakes or let history repeat itself. "I fear that we wouldn't be the only ones improving ourselves though, we shouldn't assume that our common enemy hasn't learned a thing or two either. We don't have the same people fighting as before and our enemy has more experience." Crystal warned them, knowing how much harder things should actually be. Whether they really had the advantage or not was up in the air.

"Still, that's just a better reason to try and enjoy our lives while we can. You'll never know when it will all end." Sol said. "I can agree with you, though for now, there is work to be done." Crystal nodded her head. It was from that understanding that just because they don't live in a perfect world, that shouldn't mean that the fight for their lives are hopeless. Even still, nothing, and not even each of their lives were meant to last forever which was something Sinnel would always oppose for himself. And when Sol kept thinking about it, fighting Sinnel was like disciplining a child who got their hands on too much power. Knowing that life ends becomes a part of it. But taking away everyone's life for the sake of oneself is nothing more than denial and selfishness.

"We'll arrive in Ironmelt before you all know it. Let's see which stinks more, these wagons or the orc-filled stadium. I'm betting on the stadium." Brook said. "It has to be these wagons. I don't know how much longer I can be around these horses. I'll bet you fifty gold on it." Sol said, making a deal with Brook. "Make that 100 and you're on." Brook said, raising the stakes and being fully confident in his choice. Sol reached out his hand to shake on it and Brook obliged.