#lotus01

Damien figured the library would be a good place to start looking for information about wherever the hell he was. But for the sheer size of it, there were not very many books detailing about Isola itself. He was just setting down yet another totally useless book when he caught sight of a mass of silvery hair.

No...it couldn't be.

And yet there he was, the splitting image of Orchid just a couple of meters away among the books.

Orchid had prattled endlessly about her twin brother in the past, but Damien had only met Lotus a few times. And in each of those encounters, the boy was in a zombified state, floating behind Gelimer like some creepy puppet. The Lotus in front of him looked more alive and hale than he had ever seen before.

So I really am dead...

Damien walked right over to the boy and grabbed him by the shoulder.

gravity-lord-rises

He’d heard there was a beach in the Golden Ward. It wasn’t exactly difficult to find.

Situated at the edge of the city, the marina was dotted with umbrellas despite the time of year, with boats at the docks, and vendors along the shoreline. It was a little too...commercialized for Claus’s tastes, but the sound of the waves was the same, and that was enough for now.

Crouching by the tide, he noticed some hermit crabs in a shallow pool of water, abandoning one seashell and moving to another. Claus picked up the empty seashell, bringing it to his ear. Yeah. Still the same sound.

He tensed up when he noticed someone nearby--a boy? He didn’t seem to be looking for a fight, but Claus wasn’t seeking company.