Later into the afternoon, where everybody was going home for the day, but all the while, Shiro arrived at the gates of the old rusty fences with Flowers in his hands before arriving here.

He stood outside, staring at a large shrine, originally, it used to be the childhood of Shiro as well as a family business but it was shut down after his grandfather died, and due to lack of people and souvenirs, despite this, Shiro was still happy growing up here.

He remembers the time that a transparent jewel glittered as it reflected the sun through the paper door.

"The quintessence Crystal?" Shiro said, back when he was around the age of 8

"That's right! With this, not only will we be protected from danger, but our business will be even more prosperous!" his grandfather replied in a serious tone while holding up some sort of charm in his hand.

"And we're selling these glass marbles?" asked Shiro in a bit of a deadpan tone.

"Are you listening, child?" asked his grandfather, causing Shiro to sigh.

He could kind of understand why his grandfather was so intent on teaching him these kinds of things. After all, Shiro's old house was a shrine called the Shirogane Shrine. According to the signboards that his grandfather had placed around the grounds, it had quite the history, apparently had quite the imagination, acclaimed for having all kinds of legends from the universe. It wasn't a major enough shrine to be included in any of the tourist guidebooks, but it was known to the locals and people would come during the summer festivals or the New Years' shrine visits. Those moments were great and treasures for Shiro, except for his grandfather's space stories.

"Now listen carefully, Shiro," said his grandfather, "''From days of long ago, from uncharted regions of the universe, the quintessential Crystal was..."

"Oh boy, here he goes again..." Shiro let out a small sigh.

Back then, when Shiro tried to pay attention, he just couldn't remember. He honestly didn't care, though. He felt that the past didn't matter...As life was nature, it's always changing like the seasons as it has always been for this shrine.

Since has been forgotten, people began to spray paint over the buildings and forest life had taken over, and in the backyard was a very tall 500-year-old bristlecone known as the great Tree, surrounding the tree were small garden stones symbols that spread in a circle. There was also an old dry well in the old well house next to the shrine that had its legend. Pretty much everything at Shiro's house was legendary.

Shiro knew about the symbols meant, Earth, water, fire, air, and balance as Shiro proudly put the flowers on the ground and was about to leave, when he was suddenly tackled from the air to the ground.

"Hey, Takashi." Adam asked, then got off of him.

"Adam, what do we talk about personal space?" Shiro said.

"Sorry." Adam said. " But I know you come back here when you're feeling sad."

"Yeah," Shiro replied, mumbling.

"So, what'd Sanda say?" Adam asked.

"She...rejected my application for Kerberos, staying there I will put the crew in danger because I'm sick." Shiro exclaimed.

"Maybe it's for the best, she is right, you only put yourself at risk". Adam pointed out.

A long pause lingered between them as the remark lanced through him, puncturing the swollen boil in his chest. A sudden rage exploded inside Shiro, and it poured out from his lips.

"Why, It's for the best? It's for the best that for all their endless back-patting and praise for nothing, it's for the best that I don't ever get that I'm accomplished is for nothing except posing for recruitment brochures? It's for the best that I just wither away and die here, Is that it". Shiro protests.

"No, I just think... this is more than just a mission, this is your life in sake." Adam said.

"Don't start, Adam, you don't need to protect me, I need to do this by myself!" Shiro said.

There's nothing to prove. I mean, you broke every record in the record book and also you forgot HOW important I am to you?" Adam said.

"I haven't..." Shiro answered

Angered and turned into not wanting to hear it, Adam climbed up the pipes and left Shiro behind, Shiro sighed and followed him, since he knew he was going.

To the roof of his old house.

So Shiro began to search for Adam's spot.

Adam came to his spot and sat on the roof. Adam couldn't couldn't believe it, he has been a part of every mission, every drill with Shiro, why can he not? That was enough as he continued to stand at the red sun while it set and got a cigarette and a black box.

Just then, Adam heard something hitting on the tiles, he looked to his left and saw a grappling hook latch on, and Shiro climbing up to the platform.

"Look, I'm sorry". Shiro said, Trying to explain to him, "I know you're worried about me but happy and safe doesn't give my life meaning, Adam"

"I don't." Adam said, lighting up the cigarette, "I'm so exhausted, you know? It's like you can't even see that you want to be happy and safe. That everyone does, for all you've given to them."

"Come on, Adam, I know I'm not going to last very long, and I'll be happy for you if you want to take over the mission yourself, isn't that what you wanted." Shiro said.

Adam groaned, "Whatever, it's not like I wanted care, at some point I'll die of boredom before I get the chance."

"If you want you should stop smoking." Shiro said, feeling annoyed.

"Hence the cigarette." Adam said.

Then suddenly, a strange rumbling sound came from the well house...and for some reason, Adam and Shiro looked a bit nervous.

"That was weird, that's never happened before." Shiro said.

Shiro knew the story of the legend of the hidden well and was never allowed to enter. But with no hesitation. The two closer to the hut to figure out what the sound was but the doors were closed.

"We're going to go in there right." Adam asked.

"No, absolutely not." Shiro said.

But Adam, feeling the urges of curiosity, pushes Shiro out of the way. " let's go check it out, I mean don't you want to find out what's in it."

Not wanting to disobey his family, "Sorry, Adam you don't understand. My grandfather always warned me about this, when you hear something from that wellhouse, there is always a sign of bad." Shiro said.

"Oh I understand, Takashi. You're a good little boy who has to go home to his grand poppy. Come on, I bought that you were going to listen to me this time."

"Adam, as much as I want to-" Shiro tried to explain this.

But, Adam wasn't having any of it. "Takashi, this isn't cute anymore. We are in a bad place right now! End. Of. Discussion."

Shiro looks back at Adam with sadness. Giving in to his temptation.

Shiro said, "I guess it's okay if we're a little late."

Shiro couldn't believe what's happening. Adam is peer pressuring him to make him stay for what, to keep vandalizing this place.

As Shiro ran across the yard to the shed, to get a pair of large pruning shears, and with them, he cut the lock of the wellhouse...and for some reason, Shiro looked a bit nervous as he and Adam then walked into the dark well house, which held a circle with symbols on it, guessing that the well had rotted away, being closed off with boards and some sort of branch and a charm over it.

"Hello~!" Adam called. "Hello?"

"Maybe we were just hearing things." Shiro said.

No response except for the creaking of the old wood and the dark, luckily they had their phones on, setting up the light.

"I'm sure someone down there, somewhere," said Adam.

With that, they ventured down the stairs and looked around for the wayward guest. But a damp, cool air wrapped about Shiro's body. The inside of the shrine was always like this.

It was like it belonged to a different world from the outside, always filled with its distinct atmosphere.

"Man, no wonder this place closed down." Adam said as he stared at the old decaying well, nervously, only to gasp upon hearing some sort of scratching sound, causing him to hide behind Shiro's shoulder.

"S-s-something's down there!" He freak out.

"You mean some animal?" Shiro asked, incredulously.

Just then, he heard the same scratching sound, causing him to look over to the well, where he saw the boards that closed it off seeming to move...and that's when he realized something.

"Wait, it's actually coming from the well?" he thought. "No way...is...is there really something inside there?"

Suddenly, Shiro shrieked as he felt something brush up against his ankle, causing her to look down before he sighed in relief, for it was just a black cat, purring softly as he nuzzled her leg.

"Don't scream like that!" Adam cried. "You scared me!"

"Oh, sure," Shiro muttered, sarcastically. "See? I told you it was just the cat! Now let's go before we-"

Before he could finish that sentence, Adam narrowed his eyes at something behind Shiro before he gasped silently: the boards that closed off the well were cracked...and something was creeping out of it!

"Takashi! Behind you!" Adam cried.

"Oh, no, I'm not falling for- AAH!!" Shiro started, only to shriek as multiple arms suddenly reached up and grabbed him, causing him to look back and see a half-naked woman with long white hair with a green tinge that fades the bottom that covered her black halter neck net bra...and six arms!

"Takashi." Adam cried.

"W-what in the-?!" Shiro questioned as he struggled to get away as the woman pulled him down into the well. "H-hey! Let me go!!"

"Takashi!!" Adam cried as he ran to Shiro's aid, desperately grabbing his hand and pulling as hard as he could, even pressing his shoes against the well to anchor himself. Shiro struggled as she looked down again...only to see something he wasn't prepared to see: the woman was connected to an extremely long skeleton...and it extends way down into the darkness!

"Oh, no...!" he whispered in horror before he looked at Adam who was struggling to pull him away from the woman's grasp. "Adam, stop! Let go! She'll pull you down with me!!"

"I can't, I..." before he could finish his sentence, an arm accidentally scared him on the right side of his face.

"Ahhhhhh" Adam shrieked in pain from the attack.

"Adam" Shiro yelled, "What is this thing?!"

Shiro tried to fight back, but it dragged him towards the well with unbelievable strength.

"Argh...AH!" Adam cried, in spite of the pain, he still had Shiro's hand but it slipped from his grasp. "NO! TAKASHI!"

"ADAM!" Shiro screamed as he fell into the darkness that seemed like endless with the monstrous woman.

"What joy...!" she said in a somewhat raspy voice. "My strength...I feel it returning to me!" As she said this, green flesh began to form around her bare, dry bones...revealing the body of that of a centipede!

"A...a centipede lady?!" Shiro questioned.

"You..." the woman hissed as she opened her mouth, revealing a mouth full of fangs. "You have it...don't you, boy?" She then licked Shiro's cheek with a 12-inch-long tongue, causing him to shudder in disgust.

"Gross!!" he shouted. "Let me go!"

At that, Shiro pushed her hand against the centipede woman...and for some reason, a bright light seemed to flash from his palm that caused the monster to shriek in pain. The next thing Shiro knew, the woman had suddenly vanished, but the only trace of her that he found was her disembodied arm, which was still clinging to his sleeve.

"AAAAH!!" Shiro screamed as he smacked it off. "Nasty~!! Ohhh, I'm gonna need a shower~!!"

"I...won't lose it...!" a voice whispered, causing Shiro to gasp, for he realized it belonged to the centipede woman. "Not now...the quintessence Crystal...!"

"The... quintessence Crystal...?" Shiro asked before he suddenly felt himself drop down against the cold, shiny ground, where picked himself up from the good floor and grabbed his bag while remembering the quintessential Crystal... That was a crystal of mysterious power that was a legend at the Shirogane Shrine. The charm that his grandfather had shown him years ago was something made in the likeness of that legend.

"Wait...I'm still in the well?" he thought. "...Maybe I was dreaming." That's when he spotted the severed arm nearby, and it was still twitching. "...Or not."

"Adam! You're out there, aren't you?!" As Shiro shouted upward, sunlight shined at his face "Eh...?" When Shiro's face emerged, he couldn't believe his eyes.

But no answer.

Instead a white butterfly with wings detailed with a soft pink and black, frozen mid-air right in front of his face when he straightens and tilted upward in flight. Shiro stares at it, bewildered, and then, with a detached sort of curiosity, he reaches his hand out and touches it as gently as he can.

Trying to take in his surroundings. But his surroundings were where his confusion and real panic started to kick in. He was surrounded, not by old buildings, but now surrounded with bioluminescent blue trees and pink and blue plants that grew on them.

There were even enormous roots that could cover a human's body. Everything around him was ultimately like being on an alien world with only some familiar traits from Earth.

"Adam?" He questioned as he wondered if he'd been asleep this whole time, having the same dream again or hit his head on the walls.

Or Adam put drugs into his system again and he's hallucinating everything.

Or he was putting on some reality show, making him so he has to find his way home.

Whatever it is he hoped this wouldn't last long and rationality is over.

Chapter Three: Mistress centipeetle

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