Chains Of Pride

"L-Losing yourself in pride? Geez that's a deep question, isn't it?" Makoto donned a serious look on his face as he contemplated the question before him. "I uh, I dunno...off the top of my head I guess it would be someone who allows their pride to control their actions."

Rikona nodded when she heard this, "You're not too far off, but for a Talium it is much much worse. For us, pride is literally in our blood, because it is the strongest emotion it's the perfect trigger to allow us to attain the state we now have."

She lovingly looked at Kura as she spoke who now seemed asleep as they walked.

"But because it is the strongest emotion is why we are in danger. Many of what we can do relies on our state of mind in tandem with that power. We have to be strong-willed to do what we can, if we allow the pride that powers us to swallow us, then we will be a slave to the power to it." Her voice turned severe as she spoke.

"What Kura said, about being stagnant, it means that you will see yourself so high that you think yourself the best. You no longer climb because there is no need to. All others are beneath you, you're a God to yourself and all else. What does perfection seek? The answer is nothing, so you remain stagnant, unable to grow." There was a cold sadness as she went on.

"The mind that empowered you has now become your prison, corrupted and perverse." She went silent after this, apparently finished.

There was an odd silence that followed, broken time and time again by the pace of their footsteps.

After a while, Makoto elected to ask. "Is there a name for this fall, for this corruption?"

They had arrived at Kura's room by now, in front of the door, but neither made a move to open it.

'Sighs.'

"It is simply known as *The Fall* you're referred to as a fallen by then. We don't know what they're like because we've never seen one. However, I don't think I wish to see any Talium that has become something lower than …" She didn't continue.

Makoto had a feeling he knew what she was about to say, but he didn't pressure her to go on, knowing that self-control had to be exercised even in their speech. He didn't blame her, it was the price they had to pay, there's no such thing as a free meal in this world after all.

Creak...

He eased the door open while he supported Kura, on his other shoulder. They both carried her in her room and laid her on the bed. Safe to say she was already dead asleep considering that she was already tuckered out before they arrived.

"So you either 'Fall' or 'Ascend', it looks like either choice really tires you out," Makoto stated, convinced by the slumbering visage of Kura.

She corrected him here, explaining, "Not necessarily, when Kura was traumatised by my seeming death back then, that was the trigger for her. She ascended right then and there to the next stage, and as I'm sure you know, she wasn't tired at all that evening."

"Good luck paving the way for a path never trodden. I can't believe that a couple months ago our biggest joy was discovering a new blood type. Now we're at anime meets sci-fi here, I don't even know what you call that …animifi, scifime? Nothing works!" Though he didn't show it, Makoto was tired too, this was just his way of not showing it.

"C'mon, you're sleeping with me tonight. I didn't know you were coming back, so your old room is …pre-occupied. Plus I need to shower, wash off the day as well as …other things." When he heard this, Makoto sheepishly smiled while she dragged him by his shirt, closing Kura's door as they left.

Her room wasn't far from her sister's, in fact, it was right next to her. This way, she could react fast enough if anything untoward happened.

"You're going to shower, right? I'll join you, feel the need to be clean after all am I right?" Makoto basically went to the wardrobe and picked up some change of clothes from one of the drawers.

This wasn't the first time he stayed in her room, so she eventually kept his clothes in a specific drawer. Considering that his place was now no longer his, he had a clue where the rest of the clothes were. Tightly packed in a single drawer, he would never understand how she was able to do this.

"You're welcome to join, but no touching got it!?" Rikona warned him with a half-serious expression on her face.

"Fine fine, whatever you say, dude wanna gets clean, and he gets treated like a dog in heat, I tell ya, the world we live in." He feigned being hurt as he spoke, trying to elicit some pity from the lady before him, who was picking out everything she needed her shower.

When she was finished, she put them all in a little bag, slung it over her shoulder and proceeded to leave the room. She turned her neck to afford him a glance, before saying, "If you're gonna come, then get moving. I wanna get some sleep sometime tonight if you don't mind." She resumed walking out of the room with a quiet Makoto in tow.

There was no indoor plumbing in the old building, but luckily, not too far away, there was a river with a waterfall to boot. Parts of it weren't too rough, and thus, it made for the perfect place to get clean.

…

The part of the countryside the old building was located in was surrounded by the lush foliage of a forest. It was actually due to Makoto's useful in the weirdest way connections, that they were able to find and make use of it in the first place.

It was out of the way, hard to find, and by extension, perfect for all intents and purposes. The chirping of cicadas echoed through the night, the only other sound was the leaves being crushed underfoot by Makoto and Rikona.

The night air was cool, the full moon and stars vibrant, and every now and again, there would be a soft breeze that kissed the skin as it drifted by. It allowed the two intruders making their way through the forest to slow their pace and enjoy the journey for what it brought…peace.

When they arrived, though they saw it many times before, they were still stunned by the beauty of it. There was a sort of magic here that caused it to never get old. The crystal clear water cascaded down and felt into what appeared to be a lake that never flowed over.

The opening at the far end was where the water flowed out at a moderate pace, this was where it became the river that fed the forest. This particular location was also surrounded by vegetation.

"It hurts me that we won't be able to stay here forever. We'll have to move on eventually, make sure all the Taliums that are with us can live free of the chains the associate has created, and hopefully the chains that already bind us." She stepped forward, shedding her clothes as she did so.

She utilised her abilities as a Talium and spread her awareness outwards, making sure that the area held no unnecessary surprises. When Makoto saw her near flawless body, sinking deeper and deeper into the water, he realised he would be adding another foot to the water level if he kept drooling, so he quickly stripped off his clothes ran into the water.

Splash!

The sounds of the water splashing and Makoto trying to get close to Rikona came from the lake-like river. Off to the side, however, hidden in the bushes nearby, a pair of eyes watched the proceedings with an unreserved gaze.

"Incredible, so this is her. I have finally found you, Amachi Rikona. You're the only one who can help me."