《Horizon's Twilight》 Prologue - A New Beginning Prologue A New Beginning An absolute dark world filled with despair, that¡¯s how it felt as the clouds blocked the sunlight to the extent that it felt there wasn¡¯t a sun to shine upon this world to begin with. The streetlights and lights of buildings from all over the area flickered, and an uneasy feeling enveloped the atmosphere. Some thrashing noise could be heard, and then¡­with an extremely loud sound, the streetlights in the area exploded leaving an eerie silence in the air. THUD¡­!! The silence was broken when a person fell out of the sky and crashed into the ground, it was as if he was fired by a cannon from afar. He tried to get up using the hilt of a broken blade but it was of no avail and could barely even manage staying conscious. Then, within some distance, another figure laid his presence onto the land. He had no injuries and was barely fazed, a masked figure holding a sword with a terrifyingly calm presence. ¡°This is the end of the line¡± Said the masked one and raised his left arm, small particles which gave a bright light gathered within his palm, making a sphere and aimed it towards the person who was still trying to get up with despair reflecting within his eyes. These two people were fighting for certain causes pertaining to themselves but also had peace and destruction on the line. A battle which would decide the fate of many lives and the coming future for many other things, this battle happens in the year 2016 A.D. In order to understand the events taking place in this time period, we need to go back, rewind the clock by twelve years to the time when a strange phenomena occurred on the planet where humans lived, Earth. A mysterious bluish light emerged within the far horizon one day, and shot up into the sky, becoming an illuminating pillar that shone brightly. The light shined from dawn till dusk and all night long; in other words, all the time. It could be even seen from some places on the eastern side of Earth in the far horizon. Within a few minutes of its emergence, rumours and different discussions occurred, and within a mere hour, the entire world had been jolted awake. Some thought that the end was near, some claimed it to be the arrival of aliens and some claimed it to be the sign of god¡¯s existence. End of an era? End of humanity? End of the Universe? That¡¯s just about but a very tiny part of the never before seen mayhem that was occurring among people. Everyone was on the edge of their seats, teetering and whimpering for the next few hours, then some days passed, then weeks, some months, but nothing else happened. Alas, all those baseless rumours about what it could be amounted to nothing and the mystery light became an everyday sight for those who could see it from their homes, and as for those who couldn¡¯t, they even visited other countries just for the sake of catching a glimpse of this wonder with their own eyes; it was to the point that a few countries became tourist spots and developed areas for sightseeing. This phenomenon was even dubbed as ¡®The world¡¯s natural wonder¡¯. Even the best of the scientists couldn''t figure out the purpose of this light or what it was. All they knew were some clear facts.
1) First was that this strange light was shining from an island where nothing existed, a completely barren land floating in the ocean not too far away from the country Japan. Humans of Earth never knew that an island such as this even existed until this incidents¡¯ occurrence, the light just shoots into the sky from this piece of land with seemingly no actual source that emits this said light. This led to the next fact that, 2) The light had no external connections which meant it was most definitely shining from within Earth and started on the barren land and that led to the final fact, 3) The light started to shine on June 13th 2004.
It was around this time that a feeble boy was starving for food on the streets of one of the dwarf planets which exists between the orbits of Earth and Mars. There was only one thing that kept him going and trying to survive inevitable death that loomed closer by the second, it was his will to live.

I

Date - 13th June, 2004 Place - North District Time - 5:55 pm It was a heavy rainy evening, dark clouds blocked the rays of dusk but some light passed through, the district contains many houses in colonies with a few street lights around each house, under one of these many streetlights was a boy sitting with his back laying on the pole. He was wearing a tattered white shirt and jeans which were clearly not his size as they were too big. He was so pale and skinny that even some of his bones were visible, if one looked they may even mistaken him for a corpse as he silently sat, holding his knees close to his face. Quite some time passed, but the downpour still continued on, just as he was about to close his eyes; he caught the glimpse of a houses¡¯ door creaking open. A man came out with a plastic bag and threw it within the garbage can beside his house. Seeing this, the boy stood up on his feet and summoned the last remaining bits of his strength to run towards the can in hopes that the bag which the man threw contained food, maybe it had some leftovers from lunch which the man couldn¡¯t eat or it could be some expired food; nonetheless if it was some form of ¡®food¡¯ which could fill his stomach then that¡¯s all the boy needed and hoping for that, he made a dash for it. Alas, some others reached there before him and dug out the plastic bag. Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website. The pale boy had an idea of what would happen if he asked for food if it contains any from the group of three kids who took out the bag. He knew that asking would be in vain but as he was on the verge of death, going against his thoughts seemed to be the better idea, after all what else was really there to lose? ¡°C-can I have some of¡­that¡­?¡± the pale boy asked as he looked at the three search for food within the bag. ¡°Woohoo!! It¡¯s all food!¡± One of them exclaimed. ¡°Erm¡­c-can I-¡± ¡°Huh? What do you want?¡± Said the one who was the tallest among the three as he walked towards the pale boy. ¡°Can I-I¡­¡± ¡°I can¡¯t hear you! Oi, You two leave some for me as well!¡± Said the tall boy. ¡°Can I¡­can I have some of that food?!¡± the tired boy asked in a higher tone than before, his mouth watering at the sight of food. The three looked at one another and then one of them answered, ¡°Sorry! It appears that it¡¯s not enough to the extent that we could possibly share it¡± A white lie, there was a bag full of leftovers yet they refused to share any. ¡°Even a little is fine¡­just a mouthful is¡­enough¡­¡± the pale boy said in vain as he subconsciously reached out for the bag and walked closer. ¡°Just get the idea we won¡¯t give any!¡± The tall boy exclaimed as he grabbed the pale boy¡¯s shirt and threw him away. ¡°Grh¡­!¡± He groaned in pain as he fell on the ground, splashing some water on impact. One of the three boys came forward and kicked the pale boy in his stomach as he tried to get up which knocked him a bit further away near to the middle of the road. ¡°GAH?! Cough cough¡± He coughed some blood out as he clutched onto his stomach. The three kids left with the plastic bag after searching for more food. pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter The downpour continued on but the boy didn¡¯t get up. He stared at the dark sky as water seeped into his eyes while he laid on his back halfway under the beam of a streetlight, his hands and legs sprawled out. ¡°Why¡­?¡± He whispered, ¡°Why is it that I must live like this? Is this the result of some bad thing that I did¡­? Or was I born only to die¡­?¡± pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter ¡°Why can¡¯t I have a normal life¡­? Am I really just going to die like this¡­? Do I not deserve to have a life¡­?¡± He whispered as he shut his eyes tight. pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter pitter-patter ¡°Even I¡­!¡± He said as he grit his teeth and opened his eyes and clenched his hands in frustration, ¡°EVEN I WANT TO LIVE NORMALLY!!¡± CRACKLE! Lightning flashed and crackled as he screamed with what little energy the boy still had. He noticed that the thunder just now projected a shadow of something beside him. As he got up on his shoulder to see what was in front, he saw it was a girl standing in some distance, one that was about the same age as him. The boy had seen great many number of people around him everyday as he lived on the streets but this girl was the prettiest person he had ever seen, her red hair set her apart from anyone else he had seen prior but there was something other than beauty which caught his eye and it was the way her eyes looked, there was a strange emotion within them as they seemed very sad almost like there was no soul in them, like those weren¡¯t the eyes of a human. As if scanning her, the boy¡¯s focus shifted from her face to the other parts, she was standing beneath a streetlight which made her visible enough despite the storming rainfall, he noticed that she had quite a few injuries and was bleeding; one beneath her face on her neck, slight dry blood on the upper left corner of her face which almost seemed to blend with her hair¡¯s colour, one on her left shoulder which showed through her torn black shirt and then the boy stopped observing further as he was about to reach the bottom half when he noticed something within the girl¡¯s right hand. His eyes opened wide and pupils constricted at the sight of a knife which the girl held onto. CRACKLE! Everything in his body screamed to get away from there as he saw that the girl slowly started approaching but he couldn¡¯t get up as his hand constantly slipped. ¡°Don¡¯t come nea-!¡± The girl dashed before he could finish speaking, he closed his eyes tight and put his hands in front to defend himself as the final measure. ¡°Eh¡­?¡± But to his surprise, the girl hugged him instead. His gaze shifted to look around and he noticed that the girl was still holding onto the knife in her hand. Afraid, he tried to push the girl away. Perhaps the girl noticed his fear and dropped her knife. ¡°Get away from me¡­!¡± He said while continuing to push her away but to no avail. Tears welled up within his eyes but the girl didn¡¯t let go nor did she say anything. It was only until few seconds after that the girl finally spoke, ¡°Do you¡­want to live normally?...perha-¡± As soon as those words entered the boy¡¯s ears, he stopped pushing her away and a strange phenomenon occurred, he couldn¡¯t think about whatever was going on, what had happened or will happen; he couldn¡¯t hear the sound of the rain nor could he feel the pain he got from when he was kicked earlier; any negative thoughts within his mind vanished in the blink of eye and was overwhelmed by a warmth he hadn¡¯t ever felt before. Then, tears flooded out of his eyes filling up his small face as he replied, ¡°Yes¡­!!¡± The girl¡¯s hug tightened slightly for a few seconds. The cold rain slowly receded, and the rays of dusk shone through as the boy felt warmth on his shoulders, it was the tears of the girl. Thus, marking the beginning of a new life Chapter 1.1 - A Name Chapter 1 A Name Date - 13th June 2004 Place - North District Time - 6:31 pm chirp chirp chirp chirp (The boy) The sky is clearing up and the birds are chirping cheerfully, it puts me at peace as it¡¯s one of the only things I like here on the streets but¡­¡®that may change from here on¡¯ is the feeling I get as I walk by the side of this girl¡­I don¡¯t know what will happen¡­wait¡­eh¡­where ARE we going?? Something came over me that I just said yes back there before thinking, what if she lied¡­? S-she did have a knife in her hand earlier¡­but¡­she dropped it and we walked away from that place¡­could it be she didn¡¯t kill me over there because¡­someone might have witnessed it?! ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± !! ¡°N-nothing¡­¡± I reply to her and we continue walking, I am looking straight ahead but I can feel her gaze on me¡­would anyone discover if I went missing¡­? Probably not because I don¡¯t stand out at all¡­there¡¯s nobody I talked with nor do I have any remarkable features like this girl. I slowly tilt my head in her direction¡­the colour of her hair makes me think¡­is it red because it soaked the blood of her victims¡­? Should I run awa- ¡°Are you tired?¡± ! Tired¡­? I am quite tired¡­but the voice won¡¯t come from my mouth so I just nod. ¡­ She¡¯s sitting on her feet now¡­ ¡°Sit on my back¡± Eh¡­? ¡°What? N-no¡± I replied¡­she¡¯s looking at me with a weird face now¡­I don¡¯t know how to describe it¡­it looks as if she¡¯s smiling but something feels off¡­evil smile? ¡°What¡­face is that¡­¡± ¡°Oh? This is what you call a ¡®smug¡¯ look¡± She replied and continued staring at me¡­with that face. ¡°And why¡­are you looking at me that way¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you are all red heh, embarrassed huh?¡± E-eh?! What¡­I cover my face with both my hands. ¡°I don¡¯t want to sit on you!¡± ¡°Just get on already!¡± She¡¯s got a scary look now¡­should I just run away¡­? Though thinking about it¡­what difference would it really make even if I do run away¡­? I¡¯ll probably die because of nothing to eat¡­but right now¡­this may be is the only chance I get to change such a life and¡­her eyes¡­they seem a little different making her feel like an actual person now¡­I close my eyes and sit on her back while peeking through with my eyes still slightly open, this feels really odd¡­ ¡°Hold on tight¡± She says¡­I can¡¯t feel my legs touching the ground anymore, being carried like this really i-wait¡­I can¡¯t see the houses eithe-eh¡­? EH?!?! W-WE ARE IN THE AIR?! ¡°W-w-what are you doing!!¡± I shout and hold onto the girl tightly. ¡°I am flying, you are choking me! Loosen up a bit!¡± ¡°F-flying¡­?¡± I can see as much but¡­is that really such a normal thing to do¡­? ¡°Don¡¯t worry, you¡¯ll learn soon enough too!¡± she said and continued flying within a direction¡­I can fly too¡­? Is it something that easy¡­? This is the first time I¡¯ve seen this¡­and even though I am seeing it with my own eyes, it feels unreal¡­I loosen up a little, does she not feel the pain¡­? She has injuries and is even bleeding¡­wait¡­she¡¯s not bleeding anymore, I don¡¯t even see the injuries from befor¡­no they are still there but appear closed up and¡­there¡¯s some lines in those places now¡­ ¡°Weren¡¯t you bleeding¡­? What happened to your injuries?¡± ¡°Oh I sealed them with my energy for the time being¡± ¡­What? First flying and now¡­magic¡­? Is she some sort of witch¡­? Should I have just run away after all¡­ ¡­ Some minutes have passed since we started¡­flying¡­well it really hasn¡¯t been that long but the silence feels weird¡­ ¡°Hey¡± ¡°Y-yes!¡± I replied. ¡°Do you wish to become stronger?¡± she asked, turning her face slightly towards me while still flying. ¡­I don¡¯t really know what to say¡­become stronger¡­oh! ¡°Will I be able to fly if I do so?¡± ¡°Yeah, that¡¯ll be a part of it¡± If that¡¯s the case then¡­ ¡°Then¡­I guess¡­I do wish to become stronger¡± She didn¡¯t say anything and just turned to look ahead again.

I

Place - North District Time - 6:38 pm ¡°Here we are!¡± She said as she let me down in front of the gate of a big blue house. All the houses that I¡¯ve seen are smaller in comparison and look mostly the same with very little differences such as being coloured brown or white, this is the only time I¡¯ve seen a house this big which isn¡¯t the only difference as it is also coloured blue instead. I spotted that there was a yard as well before we got down, most houses do have one but the one here is much larger¡­the yard itself is almost as big as the size of the other houses¡­ ¡°Come inside¡± she said (I am still unsure and can feel my legs trembling¡­but I shake my head from side to side getting a hold of myself and get inside the gate). ¡°Wait a moment¡± She¡¯s searching for something in her pockets now, ¡°sigh Seems like I lost it¡­¡± knock knock She knocked twice on the sand coloured door but there¡¯s no response. She pressed the doorbell after a few seconds. creak The door opened a little and someone is peeking out- CREAK! Whoever was inside furiously opened the door after peeking¡­and looks surprised¡­ ¡°WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN SINCE THE PAST THREE MONTHS?!¡± said the boy, he¡¯s very slightly taller than me, wearing normal clothes¡­his eyes are shining, they seem watery? ¡°sigh¡­sorry Feirin, I don¡¯t want to talk about it right now¡­I am sorry¡± she said as she entered, waving at me to follow inside. ¡°Wait a moment!¡± the boy said as he walked to her, ¡°Do you know how worried everyone was? Just how many times Ms. Amane and your sister came here looking for you!?¡± ¡°Mom was here¡­? But that goes without saying I guess¡­¡± she answered as she stopped and turned her face towards the boy. ¡°¡­what are these injuri-¡± ¡°DON¡¯T TOUCH ME!¡± She shouted just as the boy touched her hand¡­(that startled me¡­) She hid her hand behind her back before he could get a proper look¡­ She looks scared¡­(the boy looks surprised too) ¡°...s-sorry¡­I want to be alone for some time¡­erm¡­Feirin, show the bathroom to that boy and give him some food, I¡¯ll go change till then¡± she said and quickly paced upstairs. ¡­ I am still outside, I don¡¯t know if I should go in or not, feels like I walked in on something that I wasn¡¯t supposed to see¡­oh, the boy is looking here now¡­he¡¯s just staring at me¡­now that I have a proper look, his hair is brown coloured, has red eyes and quite a well built body (unlike me who has stick like arms and just black hair which is quite common), everything here just feels a lot different than what I am used to¡­ ¡°Who are you?¡± He finally asked after staring at me for a while. Who am I¡­a boy? I don¡¯t think he¡¯s asking that though, I don¡¯t know how to answer this, I¡¯ve never thought about who I am or where I come from so¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± I answered, he¡¯s just staring at me¡­again¡­ ¡°Similar case huh¡± He said as he came close and grabbed my wrist (I don¡¯t like how everyone is being so touchy with me today¡­). ¡°You stink!¡± He added as he pinched his nose with the other hand¡­I guess I would smell bad. ¡­ ¡°This is the bathroom, if you need anything then just ask me¡± he said as he closed the door and I walked inside. There are quite a lot of things here, a bathtub, shower, soaps, toothbrushes, tow¡­el¡­wait¡­how¡­this is the first time I¡¯ve seen any of these but seeing them¡­I just felt that¡¯s what they are called¡­ I turn the shower on with the handle in front and take the soap, wait this isn¡¯t mine¡­I can¡¯t use them. I open the door slightly and call out to the boy while still inside. ¡°What is it?¡± He answered (was he just standing outside the door?). ¡°Erm¡­I need a brush and a soap¡± ¡°Oh? You already know that part? Seems like you were in a better condition than I was when I lived on the streets¡± he said as he handed me the items I asked for. When he lived on the street? Is he like me as well? Does that mean this girl keeps bringing people like us on a whim¡­? I close the door as I take the brush and soap then remove my clothes to start bathing.

II

Time - 6:56 pm ¡°Eat, I ordered a lot on the telephone but not all of this is for you¡± the boy said¡­just¡­what is this¡­a table full of food¡­for me¡­? I turn to look towards the boy. ¡°sigh Yes, some of it is very much yours¡± he said before I even asked and handed me chopsticks. W-where do I start from¡­there¡¯s so much here¡­ ¡°Start with the soup¡± he said as he pointed at something. Soup¡­this bowl filled with red liquid? slurp¡­OH¡­slurp! What is this? What is this?! WHAT IS THIS?! IT TASTES SO GOOD! I CAN¡¯T STOP EATING! cough! cough! ¡°That¡¯s all yours, eat slowly!¡± ¡°cough! Thank you¡­¡± I say as I grab the glass of water handed to me. That soup thing was so delicious that I finished it all up at once¡­what should I eat nex- slide My sights turned away from the food towards the direction of the sound that came from the opposite side of the table, the door opened and she entered the room¡­a ponytail, a white t-shirt and shorts¡­it¡¯s a very simple look but she still looks so pretty¡­ ¡°It¡¯s time for introductions, my name is-¡± ¡°Wait a minute, you brought this boy home without even telling him your name?¡± the boy said as he interrupted her. ¡°Well¡­yes¡­I don¡¯t think there¡¯s any problem with that¡­did Mom introduce herself to you before she brought you here?¡± ¡°She did¡± ¡­The girl¡¯s not saying anything. ¡°Ahem! As I was saying, my name is Lucy (Did she just dodge his question¡­?) and I am the 3rd Top Lord of this Provision. This other boy here is Feirin and he is my¡­my¡­¡± ¡°Why are you stuck at ¡®my¡¯?¡± the boy asked. ¡°Well I was going to say my ¡®little brother¡¯ because Mom said to treat you like one but I don¡¯t really like or see you as one so¡­Feirin is a younger guy friend of my little sister whom my Mom brought here from the East District about five months ago just like how I brought you now and I think he¡¯s slightly older than you¡­yeah!¡± she said as she put both her hands on her waist with a proud look on her face¡­ Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings. ¡°I am not a friend of your dumb sister!¡± The boy seems annoyed¡­Lucy and Feirin (weird sounding name¡­) alright¡­quite the strange pair¡­ ¡°Anyways! That wraps up introductions on my part¡± she said as she sat down at the table on the opposite side from me, ¡°What¡¯s your name?¡± Name¡­I know what that is, it¡¯s something that belongs to a person even when they have nothing¡­even the clothes I was wearing before bathing were ones I found somewhere but I don¡¯t remember where from¡­I never had anything of mine, not even a name. ¡°I don¡¯t have that, I don¡¯t have a name¡± I reply as I look towards the food, she isn¡¯t saying anything so I- growl! My stomach made some noise¡­ah¡­the food is calling out to me but I don¡¯t know if I should eat when we are talking¡­I look towards her¡­she¡¯s just staring at me¡­with that weird look¡­smug look again¡­ ¡°W-what is it¡­¡± ¡°You are all red again¡± I instantly cover my face with my hands and she¡¯s¡­laughing¡­ ¡°Ahaha! I am sorry¡­aah¡­but it¡¯s really funny to tease you¡± she says¡­this is a bit annoying but I don¡¯t hate it¡­ ¡°Maybe you should eat firs- ¡± growlll! She stopped as her stomach made noise¡­ ¡°Pft-¡± the boy¡­Feirin is holding onto his mouth. ¡°Let¡¯s just eat first perhaps¡­¡± she says as she grabs chopsticks kept on the table. ¡­ Aaaaaaah! That was such delicious food! My stomach is filled up but I still want to eat more¡­ ¡°So how was the food?¡± she asked as she passed me a glass of water. ¡°Really good!¡± ¡°It¡¯s good to know you enjoyed it so much, after all this will be your last meal¡± Eh¡­? What¡­? ¡°W-what do you mean¡­?¡± ¡°There was poison mixed in the food¡± Eh¡­(why¡¯s she smiling¡­) no no no¡­so what I feared was really real¡­? I should have known better¡­there¡¯s no way I could be given so much without any pay off- ¡°Pfft-hahaha! I am just joking but the look on your face! You look so scared!¡± she¡¯s laughing¡­with her hands on her stomach¡­ ¡°There¡­really isn¡¯t any poison in this¡­? Is there¡­?¡± ¡°There isn¡¯t, I ate it as well you know (that¡¯s true¡­), don¡¯t worry¡± she says, correcting her posture and sitting upright. That guy, Feirin sighed and is taking the dishes away, he has an¡­apron on, maybe he¡¯s going to wash them. ¡°So where were we?¡± she said, ¡°Right, I wanted to know what you were doing lying on the street when I came?¡± Now that she asks this question¡­I wonder, since how long was she standing there while I was lying down, had she just come over there, or had she been standing there ever since I fell down? I explained to her about what had happened and how I was living up until now. ¡°I see¡­well to call you, we are gonna need you to have a name, so leave that to me!¡± she declared, smiling, proudly with her fist on her chest and eyes closed (pretty¡­). ¡°Huhh? Why are you blushing all of a sudden?¡± Eh¡­ Am I blushing? ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± ¡°Fufufu, tell me what is i-¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing!¡± I replied. She¡¯s not saying anything¡­ ¡°...let¡¯s continue talking later on¡­maybe tomorrow, follow me for now¡± she said as she stood up and walked out the living room¡­her mood changed for the worse all of a sudden¡­did something happen? I follow behind her, she¡¯s become very quiet and is standing at a door right opposite to the living room (the room where we were just at). slide ¡°This will be your room from now on¡± Wait what? My room¡­? Is that what she really just said¡­? This entire room is mine¡­? There¡¯s a small table in the middle and a bed on the side with drawers beside it that has a lamp on it¡­the window leads to the yard¡­this is all¡­mine¡­? I turn towards the girl, Lucy who¡¯s just standing still¡­her expression is very dull and she seems lost¡­I wave my hand across her face but she¡¯s not responding¡­ ¡°Erm¡­hello¡­? Lucy¡­?¡± She¡¯s still not responding¡­I touch her arm- clutch! ¡°Ouch! Ouch!¡± (she grabbed my hand tightly all of a sudden!) ¡°Oh¡­sorry!¡± She apologised as she let go¡­did something happen¡­? Oh¡­I forgot about her injuries when we first met¡­I still don¡¯t know what that¡¯s all about¡­ ¡°Erm I-¡± slam! ?! What was that loud sound?! I was looking at my hand and now she¡¯s not beside me¡­oh she¡¯s sitting beside the table in the room with her hand on it¡­why did she hit the table¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s continue talking right now actually!¡± ¡­suddenly her cheerfulness is back, her mood changed so quickly¡­(I go and sit by the table¡­but what are we going to talk about now¡­?) ¡°Do you know where we are right now?¡± she asked, taking a book and pencil out of the drawer beside the bed. ¡°Your house¡­?¡± ¡°Well you¡¯re not wrong¡­but where is this house located? Do you know that?¡± Where is this house¡­ ¡°No¡­I don¡¯t¡± ¡°So let¡¯s just start with that, where we live is a state called ¡®North District¡¯ and there are a total of five such districts including North. Can you guess the names of the others?¡± She¡¯s making something in the notebook. The other districts¡­one is based on cardinal direction¡­so, ¡°East, West, South¡­East District, West District and South District¡± I said but what¡¯s the last one? There¡¯s only four cardinal directions¡­there are four sub directions as well but¡­there¡¯s only one more district left so it can¡¯t be one of those. ¡°Woh¡­you know about the directions, Feirin didn¡¯t know about the districts when he first came, seems like he¡¯s smarter than you Feirin!¡± she exclaimed a little loudly with that smug looking face. ¡°Yes yes, anything else you have to say?¡± the boy shouted from the kitchen. The kitchen isn¡¯t very far from here so he can probably listen to what we are talking about very well. ¡°Hehe. Well the final district that you couldn¡¯t answer is called the ¡®Central District¡¯. That¡¯s where all the political stuff takes place so we won¡¯t go in detail about that¡± She said as she showed me what she made on the book, it¡¯s a circle with a small square in the middle and four larger squares that are thrice as larger in size attached to the edges of the smaller square. ¡°And finally this entire circle within which all these districts reside is known as a ¡®Provision¡¯¡± she said as she drew an arrow pointing at the circle, ¡°Provision is just a term used to describe such a circle like how Earth is a planet but there are other planets as well, similarly the name of our Provision is Thysia, there¡¯s a total of s-¡± ¡°Master¡± Feirin said as he came inside the room. ¡°Don¡¯t call me that, it ticks me off and what is it?¡± she said as she put the book down. ¡°Do you think he is getting everything you said so far?¡± ¡°Well so far he appears to be smarter than when you first came¡± ¡°What? Just because he knows some directions doesn¡¯t mean he¡¯s smarter, hey you, what all did she just babble?¡± he said as he sat at the table on my left (Lucy is at the opposite end of me, sitting nearest to the door). I took the book kept on the table and started repeating everything told to me thus far, ¡°This is Central District at the middle, the ones surrounding it are East, West, South and North District; we live on this massive circle commonly referred to as a ¡®provision¡¯ and our provision is called Thysia. There are a total of six such provisions residing between the orbits of Earth and Mars¡± I say and close the book, hopefully I was correct with whatever I said¡­I look up towards the-uh¡­why are they both just staring at me¡­did I say something wrong¡­? ¡°Master¡­I might have misheard as I was in the kitchen and maybe didn¡¯t realise if you already told him but just to confirm, did you tell him about the other provisions and their positions yet?¡± ¡°No I didn¡¯t¡­and don¡¯t call me that. You, how did you know that already?¡± Did she not¡­? It just came out as I was repeating everything¡­then how¡­? Maybe¡­ ¡°I¡­I might have heard someone talking about it on streets¡± I replied (dumbfounded at myself). ¡°Oh¡­not only is he smarter¡­but he¡¯s also very observant compared to when you came!¡± Lucy said as she poked her finger into the boy¡¯s, Feirin¡¯s cheek with that smug face again¡­ ¡°Tch¡­whatever!¡± he left¡­ ¡°It seems that you have some good sense of your surroundings so maybe I¡¯ll be done with all the basic explanations soon enough¡± she said as she opened the book once again but after this point, whatever Lucy said, I couldn¡¯t quite understand.

III

Time - 9:47 pm I can¡¯t sleep¡­we talked about so many things and once again got to eat a lot of food for dinner¡­something I could have only ever imagined or dreamed about before today, moreover this is probably the most comfortable I have ever felt lying down because of how good this bed is but there¡¯s too many thoughts in my head and I don¡¯t usually go to sleep this early so here I am, just staring at the ceiling. Humans¡­among the many things that Lucy told me, this was a topic that came up many times¡­our body¡¯s characteristics are almost the exact same as that of a ¡®human being¡¯, a species that lives on Earth but the difference within them and us is that our bodies are far more durable, we can easily access the power of energy and the growth of our body is about half the speed of them making us being able to live for 200 Earth years at an average which would mean that I am actually 20 years old but we say it as 10 years old because of our slow growth and our provision, Thysia taking twice as long to complete a revolution around the sun in comparison to Earth¡­I remember this part quite well but¡­it¡¯s quite complicated for me to understand¡­ There were some more things she told me¡­I don¡¯t remember about it nor did I understand them at the time but¡­the thing that is troubling me the most right now is¡­why¡­just why all of a sudden I¡¯ve been given such a luxurious life without any reason¡­? No matter how much I wonder, I don¡¯t understand. ¡­ Now that I think about it¡­I forgot about her holding that knife when we first met¡­she was injured too¡­perhaps it¡¯s for the best that I ask her directly instead. I am getting sleepy now, maybe it¡¯s because of all the food I ate¡­I¡¯ll just¡­sleep then¡­ ¡­ !!! Ugh¡­it¡¯s so noisy¡­what¡¯s that sound¡­eh¡­? What¡¯s this clock beside me¡­? Oh¡­right¡­I am not on the streets anymore¡­it¡¯s about midnight¡­and there¡¯s some noises coming from outside. I get up from the bed and go to the window, rubbing my eyes¡­there¡¯s someone in the yard¡­they are standing in an odd manner¡­are they hurt¡­? I slowly slide the window open and go towards them. ¡°Are you fin-!¡± ?! Eh¡­? What was that just now¡­I opened my eyes and I am in bed¡­again¡­I turn towards the clock, it¡¯s morning now¡­8:29 am¡­was that a dream? ¡°You awake?¡± It¡¯s Lucy standing at the door, ¡°Good morning¡± ¡°Y-yes, good morning¡± I replied, bending a little to get a better view of the yard¡­was it really a dream¡­? ¡°What¡¯s wrong?¡± ?! That startled me¡­why did she lean right in front of my face¡­ ¡°N-nothing!¡± sigh¡­looking at her face¡­it doesn¡¯t seem like she slept well. She¡¯s wearing pyjamas with a cap¡­it looks so childish but also cute¡­ ¡°D-did you not sleep well?¡± I ask. ¡°yawn¡­hmm? Oh! Yeah¡­I had some nightmares so I couldn¡¯t get proper sleep yawn¡­anyways, I have something good to tell you!¡± she said and sat by the table. Something good to tell? What could that be¡­? ¡°I¡¯ve decided a name for you¡± Name¡­a name for me¡­a¡­name¡­of my own¡­I¡¯ve never given it proper thought before until yesterday¡­but to know that I too will soon have one¡­I jump out of the bed and sit by the table. What will my name be¡­it¡¯s exciting but also making me nervous¡­ ¡°Your name will be¡­¡± It¡¯ll be¡­ ¡°Brax! Your name will be Brax!¡± ¡­what? B¡­rax¡­? Did I hear it wrong¡­? That doesn¡¯t sound like a name¡­ ¡°What¡­you don¡¯t like it¡­?¡± ¡°N-no, it¡¯s nothing like that¡­but I have a question¡­¡± I say nervously. ¡°What is it?¡± ¡°Were you the one who named Feirin as well?¡± ¡°Well as his teacher, I need to call him something and Mom left the naming responsibility to me, saying it should be something that starts from ¡®F¡¯ so I am the one who named him, I think I might have a knack for this!¡± She says with a proud¡­smug smile. I see¡­so that¡¯s why Feirin¡¯s name is so weird as well¡­Brax huh¡­that will be my name¡­ ¡°Thank you¡­for this name¡­¡± ¡°Aww look at you all flustered!¡± she¡¯s teasing me again¡­wait¡­she named Feirin as a teacher¡­then what am I to her exactly? ¡°¡­what am I to you?¡± ¡°Huh? What are you to me¡­now that you say it¡­I didn¡¯t think about that¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t think I see you as a friend nor do I see you as a student yet¡­hmm¡± she said after a few seconds. ¡°Sis¡­yeah Sis is fine, that¡¯s what my little sister also calls me¡± Sis¡­does that mean I am like a little brother to her¡­? But why this much for me¡­? ¡°I am not done yet¡± Huh? There¡¯s still more left¡­? What mor- ¡°From now on, every two Earth years, meaning everyyy Thysia year which is every 730 days! We will commemorate your birthday on June 13! Considering I brought you here yesterda-¡± She was saying so excitedly¡­why did she stop suddenly¡­is something wrong¡­? She has a different look on her face now as she¡¯s looking at me¡­a sad look but why¡­ ¡°sigh you¡­¡± she said, stood up and sat beside me, ¡°You are crying¡± Oh¡­I touch my face¡­yes¡­I am crying¡­who wouldn¡¯t be¡­ ¡°sniff¡­sob sob¡± I can¡¯t stop myself¡­and cover my eyes¡­ A warm touch on my cheeks¡­it¡¯s her hand¡­ ¡°Why¡­sob¡­why¡­why help someone you just met yesterday this much¡­someone who¡¯s nobody¡­¡± She put her other hand on my other cheek as well¡­it¡¯s not embarrassing. It¡¯s a warmth I never felt before meeting her¡­all of this is really real¡­ ¡°That¡¯s because you saved me¡­just like I am saving you now¡± ¡°I¡­saved you¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, seeing you made me remember¡­remember something I had forgotten about¡± Remember something¡­in that condition with a knife¡­then¡­ ¡°If I wasn¡¯t there¡­what would you have done?¡± She didn¡¯t reply and slowly took her hands back. ¡°That¡¯s¡­not something I can tell you¡­¡± she said and put her hands on my shoulders (w-what is she doing), ¡°I need you to promise me something¡± Promise¡­that¡¯s¡­ ¡°What¡¯s a promise?¡± ¡°Eh¡­? Pfft-ahahaha!¡± why¡¯s she laughing now¡­ ¡°Ahh sorry sorry, uhm you see a promise is something made between people, something that if you say you¡¯ll do then you will do it no matter what! That¡¯s what a promise is, a bond which once made shouldn¡¯t ever be broken¡± A promise¡­as asked, I made a promise with Lucy, when I say ¡°I made¡± it wasn¡¯t something physical but just to be remembered¡­this is the least I can do in return for all the kindness she¡¯s given me.

IV

Date - 14th June 2004 Place - Central District Time - 6:49 am [SOME HOURS BEFORE THE PROMISE] ¡°Hey hurry up! Cover the wounds up and put her in the healer pod!¡± ¡°Can¡¯t we get something better?! This won¡¯t be enoug-¡± ¡°This is all we have! The provision is financially weak so do we don¡¯t have any other choice¡± ¡°We brought her here as soon as possible but¡­is there really any hope for this girl to recover from this¡­? Maybe if we had better equipment but far too many of her bones are broken, internal bleeding, punctured blood vessels, fractures, dislocation; just how the hell is she even alive¡­ ¡°We have to do something¡­this girl is important for the provision, she is one of the lords!¡± ¡°I¡¯ll try to do my best but considering the situation, it¡¯ll take a lot of time or she¡¯ll die during the process of recovery with the latter appearing to be the most possible at the moment¡­what about her relatives? Have they been informed about this situation? ¡°That¡¯s¡­the King has ordered to keep this matter a secret until investigation is done with. This is the first and most fatal blow that we¡¯ve suffered in the past few decades¡­ (Narration) The girl¡¯s bloodshot eyes opened up ever so slightly as she was put within the pod filled with cyan liquid. She whispered some words but her face was covered with an oxygen mask, it couldn¡¯t be heard and neither did anyone realise that she ever uttered something. Chapter 1.2 - Training Begins Chapter 2 Training Begins Date - 14th June 2004 Place - North District Time - 8:37 am (Brax) Living in an actual house and waking up on a bed, eating proper food and having someone to talk with¡­ A normal life, something I¡¯ve always wondered what it must be like to have when I lived on the streets but even I have a chance now¡­the chance to live life. ¡°So are you ready for your training?¡± Lucy-no, I mean Sis said (it feels a little odd to call her Sis¡­) ¡°Training?¡± ¡°Seems like you already forgot huh? Did you think that you are gonna just have a happy-go-lucky life? I asked you on the way here yesterday if you wanted to become stronger and you replied saying yes you do¡± What is she¡­oh! I remember now-wait¡­ ¡°What if I had said no to that question?¡± I asked. ¡°Hmm¡­quite the difficult query you¡¯ve posed me to answer¡± She said and closed her eyes. She seems to be thinking deeply¡­ ¡°I would ask you again until you said yes, if you kept saying no then your meals would be lesser and at some point of time I would slowly drag you into it fufufu¡± She says with that smug look again, so I didn¡¯t really have a choice to begin with¡­ ¡°We are beginning already?¡± I asked as I got up from the table. ¡°Why yes of course but go and get freshed up first, I¡¯ll go do the same but before that¡± She said and¡­?! Why¡¯s she on her knees and holding onto my stomach suddenly?! ¡°W-w-what are you doing¡­?¡± ¡°Wait, I am checking some things¡± She said¡­she¡¯s still holding onto my waist¡­ Is she¡­measuring my sizes? Yesterday that boy¡­Feirin gave me some clothes to wear after bath which I am still wearing, a light blue t-shirt and shorts. ¡°Alright, I¡¯ve got them noted down now, for now wearrr¡­¡± She said and went outside this room¡­I think I should just wait here¡­ ¡°These!¡± She exclaimed as she came back with a light yellow t-shirt and brownish pants. ¡°O-okay¡­¡± I said and went inside the bathroom¡­once again¡­I am brushing like before but¡­do I really deserve such treatment¡­? Only until yesterday I was going to die of hunger and now¡­I am receiving this luxury where I can bath from a shower instead of waiting for rain¡­I can eat food¡­actual food from a plate instead of searching within heaps of garbage¡­I have actual clothes to wear, maybe even different ones each day instead of wearing the same one until it¡¯s unwearable¡­and a place that I can stay at¡­a place¡­that I can actually call ¡®home¡¯...do I really deserve any of this¡­? But¡­it¡¯s not like I deserved any of what happened before either¡­I didn¡¯t do anything wrong ever¡­at least I don¡¯t think I did¡­so maybe¡­maybe I should stop thinking if I do or do not deserve things depending on my actions¡­things happen and I just happened to get the chance to turn things around. ¡­ Ahh¡­it feels so refreshing to use a toothpaste¡­I wash my face and wear the clothes that Luc-no Sis (still weird) gave me and step outsid-?! ¡°Look at yourself!¡± Says a large¡­talking mirror right as I come out of the bathroom¡­there¡¯s a hand holding on each of its edges, someone is holding onto it from the opposite side. This is¡­what I look like¡­? I seem different from what I remember looking at in a puddle of water¡­ ¡°Ooh! You look good!¡± Lucy said (I nodded) while peeking her head from beside the mirror she¡¯s holding¡­so it was her talking and not the mirror (of course it¡¯s her, mirrors can¡¯t talk). Was she just waiting here with this until I was done freshening up¡­? ¡°Let¡¯s not waste any more time and get started with your training now¡± She said as she took the mirror away with one hand, why¡¯s there a mirror of that size here at all though¡­ ¡­ ¡°There¡¯s something I want to ask¡± I say as she returned. ¡°Hm? Ask away¡± ¡°I¡­don¡¯t really understand what a ¡®lord¡¯ is, one of the things you explained yesterday¡± (The only thing I remember about that is when she referred to herself as a¡­¡®Top Lord¡¯ when she gave her introduction) ¡°Oh¡­ahaha I may have gone on about it a bit too fast, my bad. A ¡®lord¡¯ is a common term used to categorise the strongest ten selected people of a provision, at least that¡¯s how it is here on our provision Thysia. The strongest three are called Top Lord, the ones from fourth to seventh are called Lord and the final three are called General; I am the 3rd within the group meaning one of the Top Lords¡± she seems quite proud of herself as she says that. ¡°But¡­¡± She continued, ¡°The gap of power between me and the first two is quite wide¡± ¡°Is that so¡­?¡± ¡°I¡¯ll tell you the reason for that later when we are training so let¡¯s start now!¡± I nodded and Lucy walked into¡­my room (still unbelievable that I have a room of my own¡­) and opened the window which led to the yard, I didn¡¯t see the yard yesterday because of all the talking and then going to sleep immediately after. It¡¯s filled with greenery and there¡¯s flowers as well which are blue and purple in colour, it is¡­very beautiful. ¡°Listen very carefully now, what I am about to say are the basics which are very important (I nod), there are two types of energies that we can-...what is it?¡± Luc-...Sis stopped explaining as I lifted my hand upwards because there¡¯s something I remembered and wish to know about, which is, ¡°How can I fly?¡± This is what interests me the most¡­it makes me very curious that I can do something like that. ¡°To do that it is important that you first listen to what I am saying right now¡± She said as she lifted up a stone, ¡°stand a bit further from me and look at my hands now¡± I do as she says and carefully observe both her hands, the right hand has nothing in it and the left hand has a ston-woh?! ¡°Heh you seem surprised¡± She has that smug face again but yes I am surprised¡­the stone is covered with ice now¡­and the other hand has¡­a sort of ball, a bluish ball floating in her palm. ¡°Ahem¡± The blue ball vanished in the air and the ice on the stone melted away, ¡°Best way of teaching is directly showing practically first instead of explaining. What you just saw now are what you will learn (I will learn THAT!?), there are two types of energy one can use, one is called soul energy and the other is called elemental energy. The blue sphere in my right hand was the soul type and the ice covering the stone in my other hand was elemental energy. Which one do you want to learn first?¡± That¡¯s¡­a hard choice¡­I can make ice as well¡­? There really are so many things I never knew of¡­but I want to learn how to fly the most¡­that feeling of being in the sky with the winds when I was¡­sitting on Luc-Sis¡¯s back, it felt really good¡­so, ¡°Which one is more important to learn about flying?¡± I asked. ¡°That would be soul energy¡± ¡°Then¡­I wish to learn about soul energy first¡± ¡°That was a fast answer but it doesn¡¯t really matter because I wouldn¡¯t teach you elemental one right now anyways¡± ¡°What¡­?¡± ¡°Heh, you thought you had a choice? Pupu! Nope, it¡¯s important to learn the basics of soul type properly first anyways to even try the other one¡± She said¡­with that smug face of hers again, that¡¯s evil of her to do¡­ ¡°Anyways, there¡¯s something else as well that is important, it¡¯s called The Balancer¡± The Balancer¡­this¡­ ¡°It''s present naturally within everyone who is born which allows one to use and control the energy I just talked about, do you get everything I said so far? I think you must have¡± ¡°Y-yes I do¡± I¡­get the feeling that I¡¯ve been told about all of this before but Lu-Sis didn¡¯t tell me about this yesterday¡­feels like this has happened before¡­ ¡°But very rarely¡­there are times when an abnormal case comes, when a person is born without The Balancer and¡­in such a case¡­once a person crosses 13 Thysia years of age¡­at some point of time, they die¡­¡± ¡°T-they die¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, in your case Brax (oh right that¡¯s my name¡­being called feels strange¡­) I think your age is 10 Thysia years and I am 15 Thysia years old¡± ¡°Does that mean¡­I could possibly die when I reach 13 years¡­? Do¡­I have that balancer in me¡­?¡± ¡°That is something we can¡¯t determine just yet, you¡¯ll need to train a bit first before we can tell¡± That is¡­scary¡­I could possibly die in some Thysia years¡­wait, ¡°Why do we say our provision Thysia¡¯s name whenever talking about years of time?¡± I asked. ¡°That¡¯s because our provision¡¯s revolution around the sun takes twice as long than that of Earth and our lifespan is also twice as long compared to that of humans on Earth because of our slow growth. Therefore, it is necessary to specify such things so that the readers don¡¯t get confused about certain things!¡± She said and is looking into the sky with her hands on her waist¡­ ¡°Readers¡­?¡± ¡°It¡¯s nothing, just a joke, anyways!¡± ¡­she¡¯s sitting on her feet now¡­ ¡°Is something wrong¡­?¡± ¡°Hop on my back¡± She said¡­ ¡­ ¡°No! N-not this again! It¡¯s embarrassing!¡± ¡°Ehh? Why is it embarrassing? I thought you are like a little brother and I am your older sister or gasp! Do you feel something else about me?!¡± She¡­has that smug look again¡­she¡¯s teasing me¡­ ¡°Grhh f-fine!¡± I exclaimed as I once again¡­sat on her back¡­ ¡°Here we go!¡± If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. She¡¯s floating again¡­and now we are in the sky! The yard we were just in is already so far away in just a matter of seconds¡­this feeling of being one with the sky, it feels so good! I want to fly¡­all by myself¡­sigh¡­

I

Time - 9:13 am After flying for a bit, I am allowed to get down (thankfully) and are now at a mountain, one that I¡¯ve only ever seen from afar but from up-close, there are so, SO many plants and trees here! No wonder it looks so green¡­but why are we here? ¡°Be careful or you might fall off¡± !? She¡¯s right¡­I would have fallen off the cliff we are standing on if I stepped back any further¡­ ¡°Let¡¯s go a bit more inside¡± She said and so we started walking deeper. Just how much time did it take for this many trees to grow¡­ ¡°Alright, here¡¯s good, stand right here beside me¡± she said as she picked up a big rock in her hand, ¡°It¡¯s bigger than your head!¡± (...yes it is bigger than my head) ¡°Don¡¯t mind me, this is for your protection¡± She said as she put her hand on my chest for a moment (¡­), I don¡¯t respond back in any form, ¡°Hmm this much should be good¡± (Narration) Lucy held the rock within her right hand and created a small sphere of energy in her left hand and pushed it into the rock which appeared to phase right through inside of it. BOOM! The rock then exploded in all directions, into hundreds of pieces. (Brax) W-what was that¡­the rock¡­is gone¡­I covered my face with my arms in fear that I would get hurt when the pieces flew at me and some did hit me but it- ¡°The pieces hit you but it didn¡¯t hurt, did it?¡± Lu¡­is said and I nodded. ¡°But why? Why didn¡¯t it hurt you or me?¡± I asked. ¡°When I placed my hand on your chest and you became embarrassed, (she had that smug face for a very slight moment just now¡­) I actually placed a small barrier made of my energy which protected you¡± So that¡¯s why she put her hand on me¡­not to tease me¡­ ¡°What about you? You didn¡¯t place your hand on yourself¡± I asked. ¡°Because I don¡¯t need to¡­? Are you a part of my body?¡± She said and is¡­leaning in front of my face¡­ ¡°N-no¡­¡± ¡°Of course not, you are a separate person so I had to place my hand on you to ensure that I put the barrier on. For myself however I can just do that automatically, how though is something you¡¯ll understand naturally as we go through the steps¡± she said and moved away. ¡°Alright¡­¡± ¡°So before teaching you further, it¡¯s important to first explain how this rock exploded¡± she stopped and¡­looks puzzled. ¡°Uhm¡­?¡± ¡°Wait a minute I am trying to think how to explain this in a way you would understand¡­¡± she says and looks lost in thought, ¡°Hmm¡­ Alright! You see, the energy ball that I made, if you force it into something that is not a living being unlike us, it might explode, however that depends on what object you are forcing your energy into, this was but still a small rock, a bigger rock may not even take any damage if you force the same amount of energy¡­yeah¡± she said with her hand on her chin and nodded. That wasn¡¯t so hard to understand¡­wait¡­oh¡­OH! I have an idea! This is the first time that Lu¡­cy seems a little confused (and maybe even embarrassed) so I might have a chance to tease her just like she does to me! ¡°I had to explain it in a way that you could understand it in, hopefully that made sense¡± ¡°I-I-I am sure it wasn¡¯t that hard to explain!...you just¡­didn¡¯t know how it happened either!¡± How was that! You must be embarrassed now!.....she¡¯s just¡­staring at me¡­ ¡°The energy I gathered had high kinetic particles present within it then when I forced that energy into that rock, the particles present within the rock couldn¡¯t handle the energy I made and as a result ended up exploding, so you get it?¡± ¡°W-what¡­?¡± W-wha¡­what did she just say, I didn¡¯t get it at all-NO! SHE HAS THAT SMUG LOOK AGAIN! ¡°Huh huh? Your face is all red, is something wrong~?¡± (I cover my face) I give up¡­ ¡°Oh! I was going to be sparing with you but I guess that won¡¯t be needed, Brax, look up, here comes my¡­uh¡­student I guess?¡± she says, pointing with her finger upwards still looking at me-?! ¡°Who said you could wear my clothes without asking me?!¡± (what is happening?! Something came from the sky and sat on my shoulders all of a sudden!) ¡°I did¡± ¡°Oh¡­Master gave them to you? Uh then I am letting you go¡± He said as he got off from me¡­(it¡¯s Feirin, that other boy who¡¯s her student) ¡°Master! To think you would leave without me and go with this Brax guy to train!¡± Huh? How does he¡­ ¡°How do you know what my¡­name is?¡± ¡°Huh? Master told me the name when you were still dozing off, after that I went out to buy some things but when I returned, nobody was home¡± ¡°My esteemed and diligent student Feirin! Your timing is impeccable! Spar with Brax¡± Luc¡­SIS said with folded arms and a very ¡®serious¡¯ (forced seriousness, that¡¯s how it feels) looking face¡­ ¡°Huh? Why should I waste my energy on someone who¡¯s a rookie and wouldn¡¯t know a thing abou-¡± ¡°Didn''t Rebecca also fight you when Mom first brought you?¡± She replied. Rebecca? Who¡¯s that? The boy¡¯s face right now¡­he appears annoyed. ¡°Tch fine, I¡¯ll spar with you. Come at me when you feel like getting beaten up¡± ¡­he said and is standing a bit further away from me¡­before today I¡¯d always hated fighting because of how tiring it would be¡­but right now it¡¯s different, I am far more energetic than ever before and having to sp¡­ar yes spar like this, it¡¯s exciting in a way¡­ ¡°Fight!¡± Lucy exclaimed and I dashed towards him. (Narration) Upon Lucy¡¯s command, Brax leapt and closed the distance between himself and Feirin. The instant he came close enough, he made a fist with his right hand to punch his opponent but before it made contact, Feirin swiftly pushed Brax¡¯s fist away with his left hand and was going to counter with his own fist, clutch! But to his surprise, Brax caught his hand tight before it hit him, pulled Feirin closer and kicked with his leg on the side of his opponent¡¯s stomach, knocking him a little away. ¡®...I am the one who just did that¡­but¡­how¡­?¡¯ Brax thought but his opponent wasted no time and unlike before, he dashed towards Brax instead. ¡®I can see it¡­¡¯ He thought, surprised that he could clearly see Feirin¡¯s fist approaching his face, something that¡¯s never happened before when he got beat up by people. He grabbed the approaching fist with his left hand and was about to hit back with his other hand but- pow! ¡°Ow!?¡± Brax exclaimed as Feirin headbutt him, grabbed his hand, thud! Flipped him over and smashed him into the ground. ¡°Grh?!¡± Brax groaned in pain as he laid on his back but got up again in just a second and dashed right into the battle again. (Lucy) Hmm¡­it¡¯s been some seconds since these two started sparring, Feirin¡¯s skilled with his moves since the last time I saw him as he¡¯s been training for a few months now but as for this boy, Brax¡­it¡¯s strange that he¡¯s actually managing to even put up a fight at all¡­strange¡­ Now both of them are exchanging hits but neither are actually landing an-oh Feirin kneed Brax in the stomach, he¡¯s losing his nerve now that it¡¯s not an easy fight huh sigh¡­seems it¡¯ll get out of hand if I don¡¯t step in. ¡°Aaaaalright! That¡¯s about enough now!¡± (Brax) I¡­slowly opened my eyes (shut them tight because I didn¡¯t want to see the hit land on me¡­and also because I thought it would hurt quite a bit) after not feeling any pain that I thought I would¡­oh¡­eh? Did she¡­just¡­by her finger? Lucy¡­stopped Feirin¡¯s fist just by her¡­finger¡­ ¡°sigh Okay¡± Feirin said and turned away. ¡°And you, Brax!¡± ¡°Y-yes?¡± ¡°You did pretty good! Well¡­Feirin was holding back but you still did really well which is making me a liiiiittle curious¡­is this really your first time fighting?¡± That¡¯s¡­I am surprised about that as well¡­I¡¯ve never properly fought anyone from what I remember, it was just me getting beat up most of the time¡­but then again even if I wanted to fight back, I just didn¡¯t have the energy to do so unlike now, still¡­ ¡°I don¡¯t know¡­it felt like my body just knew how to move¡± ¡°Eh¡­? What kind of answer is that¡­¡± she said as she closed her eyes and put her hand on her chin. (I don¡¯t know any better either¡­) ¡°Well at least this means that we can start with your energy training already¡± I can do that already? I thought that¡­that would be quite hard to learn just yet. Oh right, ¡°There¡¯s something I want to ask¡± ¡°Hmm? Ask away¡± ¡°Who¡¯s Re¡­becca? The name you said earlier¡± I said, looking at Feirin who looks annoyed at the mention of the name again. ¡°Ohh, Rebecca¡¯s my little sister, the 8th lord, about your age I think¡± Her little sister¡­I think I remember her saying that before but she¡¯s a lord at my age¡­? ¡°Wait¡­could it be that you are interested in her¡­?!¡± she asked with that¡­smug look. ¡°Yes I am¡± If she¡¯s the 8th lord then that would mean she¡¯s the strongest general already¡­I¡¯ve never really cared about such things (not that I had to) before but she sounds quite strong. S¡­is is looking at me with a surprised look and Feirin is looking at me¡­with a disgusted look, did I say something wrong? (Why do I feel like something similar to this has happened before¡­) ¡°I-I mean you said she¡¯s the 8th lord meaning she¡¯s the strongest General¡­right?¡± ¡°Ohh that¡¯s what you are interested in (what did she think I meant?)¡­yes she is. In fact the strongest Top Lord, the King himself specially chose her for the position¡± ¡­I don¡¯t really know whether that is, ¡°Is that something big¡­? I don¡¯t know¡± ¡°Tch, normally to be chosen as a lord one needs to be thirteen (Thysia) years old. If you tried to become one, you would be denied as you don¡¯t have the age criteria fulfilled and there¡¯s also a selection tournament you have to clear. That¡¯s what would be the case normally but it wasn¡¯t that way for her¡± Feirin replied (with clear annoyance) to my question, ¡°Which is also one of many reasons why I hate her¡­¡± ¡°Is she that strong?¡± She nodded, that sounds¡­interesting¡­ ¡°You seem lost, something on your mind?¡± she asked. ¡°No¡­it¡¯s just¡­I was wondering¡­if I could ever be that strong too¡± ¡°I think you can do it¡± ¡°Really¡­?¡± ¡°When I first started, I couldn¡¯t even dodge an attack properly, which unlike me, you can do far better, as long as you work hard and have the determination, you could reach my level, or maybe even surpass it¡± She couldn¡¯t even dodge? And she¡¯s this strong now that she¡¯s the 3rd Top Lord¡­I could be as strong as her one day¡­? ¡°You want to become a lord?¡± Feirin asked as he came closer. A lord¡­I never thought I would be interested in fighting¡­maybe it¡¯s just that because my life is starting for real now that I am coming to know myself better. ¡°Will there be a lot of strong people?¡± I asked. (Erm¡­I blurted that out without thinking¡­) ¡°In the selection tournament, yes. There will be many but being a lord doesn¡¯t mean you always get to figh-¡± ¡°I will try to be the¡­s-strongest then!¡± Oh¡­I cut his sentence off¡­s-sorry¡­ ¡°sigh I am gonna go home¡± he replied and started FLOATING! (He can fly too?! Wait¡­he did sit on my shoulders out of nowhere when he first came¡­so I guess he can) ¡°What about your part of training?¡± Sis (Sis¡­yes) asked Feirin. ¡°I know what to do, I¡¯ve got it written down, I¡¯ll do it in the yard¡± he said and flew off¡­is he angry because I said in between before he completed talking¡­? ¡°sigh he¡¯s always like that, don¡¯t mind him¡± Si¡­s said as she picked up a stone and gave it to me. ¡°What do I do with this?¡± ¡°This is the first step to controlling soul energy, close your eyes as you hold it and just concentrate at what¡¯s within your palm, eventually your energy will pass into it¡± As she said, I close my eyes and¡­concentrate¡­ ¡­ ¡°It¡¯ll be some time before you get any resul-¡± snap! Huh¡­? I¡­I felt something within my hands¡­I opened the-?! T-the stone! It broke into five pieces?! ¡°Si-...i-it broke! See!¡± I say as I show her the broken stone¡­even she looks¡­surprised! ¡°E-eh¡­it took me two days before I managed to break the rock when I was your age and you¡­not even an hour to do it¡­you are¡­kind of insane at this huh¡­maybe even a prodigy¡­¡± she said! Wow¡­I can¡¯t believe I did thi- ¡°But¡± I look at her as she sai¡­she has that smug look again¡­she¡¯s up to something¡­ ¡°Now we can move to the next phase of the training my dear disciple which I exclaim isn¡¯t as easy as this one! Heh¡± What¡¯s it going to be¡­ ¡°Here, take another¡± She said, handing me another stone, ¡°Now concentrate again but ensure that it doesn¡¯t break¡± That¡­doesn¡¯t sound that difficult, I close my eyes once again and do the same thing as before. snap! ¡­I look straight towards her¡­smug face¡­ Seems like this will take time after all¡­

II

Place - Central District Time - 7:58 pm ¡°Has there been any progress, Doc?¡± ¡°sigh¡­she¡¯s somehow out of death¡¯s door but her condition¡­it¡¯s still very sensitive, I did a check-up to see if there was any external material within her body, doesn¡¯t seem like there¡¯s any but¡­¡± ¡°But?¡± ¡°There¡¯s traces of foreign energy on her and the problem is that there¡¯s too little of it to detect whom it belongs to¡­analysis on it is to be done quickly or else it¡¯ll disperse¡± ¡°Are the higher ups aware about this?¡± ¡°Informing them was the first thing I did as soon as I found out about this¡± ¡°No need to worry then¡­ The 8th lord Rebecca¡­isn¡¯t she still far too young to be a lord to begin with? Perhaps it was the lack of experience that reduced her to such a state¡± ¡°Do you doubt the selection made by the King?¡± ¡°E-erm¡­no¡­¡± ¡°Then stop spouting such nonsense, she¡¯s very much skilled for her position¡­it¡¯s good that she, the 8th at least managed to survive. After all the 2nd strongest died¡­worst thing being that we don¡¯t even know how all of this was caused¡± ¡°It¡¯s¡­a big tragedy¡­the reaction of the public, I can already imagine the situation when the King announces this to the provision¡­how could someone as strong as the 2nd be killed¡­?¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t a murder¡± ¡°What¡­? Do you mean the 2nd committed suicide?!¡± ¡°No! Actually¡­I don¡¯t know¡­It¡¯s just, it doesn¡¯t make sense, both the 8th and 2nd were found at the same location with the 8th lying right beside the 2nd but¡­¡± ¡°...but?¡± ¡°The 8th appears to have fought someone due to which she appears to have these¡­horrifying injuries but the 2nd had none of that¡­it was such a creepy sight¡­her dead body was smiling and she held one of her eyes crushed within her right hand¡­¡± Chapter 1.3 - Skys the Limit Chapter 3 Sky''s the Limit Date - 21st June 2004 Place - ??? Time - ??? (Narration) ¡°Ugh¡­ Huh¡­where am I¡­? How did I get here¡­?...I don¡¯t remember coming out in the streets and just standing still at a random place¡­ It¡¯s daytime but nobody¡¯s around, that¡¯s odd¡­¡± Lucy whispered to herself, standing in the middle of some road with houses around, ¡°I won¡¯t get anywhere if I just stand here so I should walk¡± tap tap tap tap ¡°There¡¯s¡­so much fog, I can barely see a thing! Not even the houses are visible anymore¡­¡± CRUNCH ¡®Hm? Did¡­did I step on something? This place is giving me the creeps¡­¡¯ She thought as she crouched to look at her feet. ¡°Eh?! It¡¯s some sort of liqui-!¡± She exclaimed but stopped as she saw what it was after she touched it. drip drip drip Her fingers were covered in blood which dripped down, the sound of which rang within her ears in this eerie silence. ¡°What¡­is this?!¡± She exclaimed, her breathing became heavier and faster by the second. ¡®Calm down me¡­calm down, need to figure out wha-¡¯ CRUNCH Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of something breaking as she stood up and took a step back. It was an arm she stepped on, the body to which the arm connected was lying dead on the ground, the neck was slashed and the stomach had multiple stabs on it. ¡®Who¡­did this¡­¡¯ You did it. Someone said through the dense fog, the voice echoed throughout. ¡®?! Who¡­¡¯ The fog started fading away and she started looking around to understand where she was but, You seem surprised, is something wrong? The anonymous voice said once again as countless dead bodies covering the entire ground came in sight after the fog cleared up. Men, women, old people, children; not only the ground but even houses, trees, electric poles, trash bins had such bodies lying on them which a crimson moon in the dark sky illuminated. ¡®W-why¡­so many bodies¡­everywhere¡­what is th-?!¡¯ She looked towards her trembling hand which was clutching onto a bloody knife. THUD! ¡°NO¡­!!¡± She exclaimed as she dropped the knife and fell on her buttocks. ¡°WHAT DID WE DO TO YOU THAT YOU KILLED US¡± shrieked one of the corpses as it grabbed her feet. ¡®?! I¡­did this¡­? No¡­no¡­NO! What are you saying?! I didn¡¯t do this!¡± She exclaimed, forcing her feet out of the corpse¡¯s clutch and stood up quickly about to fly away from this hell. Why lie to yourself? Said the voice once again and a dark silhouette stumbled closer from a distance, stepping on the corpses. An unnerving presence which had a face and appearance that belonged to someone else. ¡®Isn¡¯t that¡­¡¯ Lucy wanted to say that but voice wouldn¡¯t come out of her throat as she looked at the silhouette who was standing right in front of her. Now its appearance much more clear, ¡®it¡¯ was she herself. ¡®It¡¯ had soulless eyes, untied hair and tears constantly streaming down but there was no speck of sadness on its face; just a plain emotionless face. You are the one responsible for all of this, you did it. ¡°No¡­no¡­I didn¡¯t-!¡± As Lucy said that, the countless dead bodies around her slowly started moving their broken hands, the sound of bones breaking and crackling filled up the place as they crawled towards her. Then, one of them grabbed her feet, digging its fingers into them, ¡°?!¡± They started to drag her down and climb her. ¡®Why¡­why am I unable to fly?! Why am I unable to use energy?!¡¯ She thought as she tried to get away, forcefully turning around and shaking the corpses off of her. It is useless, you cannot run, this is your fate, our fate. The corpses started to pull ¡®it¡¯ as well. thud! Lucy fell to the ground as she tried to run and the hundreds of corpses covered her sight. ¡°NOOOOO!!!¡± She screamed and then everything went dark. ¡­ ¡°GASP! PANT PANT¡­ A dream¡­?¡± She whispered waking up on her bed and turned towards the clock beside the bed, it was morning. ¡°A-another¡­nightmare¡­¡± She whispered, holding onto herself tight, shaking as tears rolled down her face.

I

Place - North District, Home Time - 8:40 pm (Brax) snap! ¡®Where am I going wrong¡­why can¡¯t I do this?!¡¯ I want to scream that but I can¡¯t as it¡¯s night time and shouting would be a disturbance for the people trying to sleep. It''s been a week since I started training after coming here and also been a week since this trial was given to me by Si¡­s (it still feels odd to call her that¡­) which is to not break the rock as I pass energy into it but¡­I haven¡¯t made any progress at all so far! It¡¯s a little frustrating to try so much for something but getting no results at all. The worst part is that she won¡¯t teach me anything ahead unless I get past this stage¡­ Can I really do this¡­? All things said though, even this is unbelievable¡­I have the power to shatter a stone just like that? It¡¯s almost unreal¡­and the fact that this is just the beginning of many other such things¡­I can¡¯t give up here! snap! ¡­ AAAAAAHHHH WHERE AM I GOING WRON- ¡°Hey, dinner¡¯s ready¡± ¡°Oh¡­alright¡± I reply to Feirin who¡¯s standing in my room. Perhaps eating firs- SLAM What was that just now¡­it sounded like something heavy fell¡­both me and Feirin go in the hallway- ¡°M-Master¡­? Are you alright?¡± Feirin asked Lucy who¡¯s¡­lying on her back in front of the staircase¡­ ¡°Uh¡­yeah¡­I just hadn¡¯t gotten enough rest so I was half asleep and slipped on the stairs¡­¡± she says, still lying on the floor¡­there are bags under her eyes. ¡°Anyways! Let¡¯s eat up before the food gets cold!¡± she said as she stood up on her feet, ¡°What are the dishes for the day chef?¡± ¡°Yakisoba noodles, miso soup and okonomiyaki¡± Feirin replied. ¡°Feirin made food today?¡± I asked as I sat on my seat beside Feirin. Ever since I¡¯ve come here, it¡¯s always been Lucy who made food but this time it¡¯s him instead¡­ I realised something the next day after I came here, and it¡¯s that food made by different people has different tastes. The food which I ate was ordered on the telephone from a resta¡­ruant (I think that¡¯s what it¡¯s called?) and the food I ate the next day was made by Lucy but there was a clear difference in the taste even though some of the dishes were the same (All of it was good for me but Feirin seemed to be quite critical of it¡­). So I wonder how today¡¯s dinner will taste. ¡°Yep, we alternate with each week, next week it¡¯ll be me who cooks again and then him but now that you are here, perhaps we should include you in the mix too¡± Me? Learning to cook¡­in the case that it does so happen that I am¡­left on the streets again¡­would cooking come in handy? I would need some utensils and items first to even cook at all which I may not even find¡­but if I do find the items then I should be able to make something at leas- ¡°Oi!¡± Feirin exclaimed and pointed at the food. ! Oh¡­I was lost in thought that I forgot I had to eat¡­ I pick up the chopsticks and start eating. UWA! IT REALLY IS SO GOOD TO EAT ACTUAL FOOD! ¡°So, any progress with that step yet?¡± she asked. ¡°sigh¡± I shake my head saying no, which she almost seems to have a satisfied expression¡­I look towards Feirin who¡¯s silently eating his food, ever since I¡¯ve come here, we have barely talked. Talking with him feels much more difficult than Lucy¡­ ¡°It¡¯ll probably take some more time before you get the trick to doing it, let¡¯s eat up for now!¡± she said as she started drinking the soup. I still can¡¯t have enough of all of this food¡­it¡¯s all so delicious! I grab the bowl and- ¡°Gah! cough cough¡± So hot! My tongue is burning! How¡¯d she drink it without burning her tongue! ¡°Tch, there¡¯s a proper way of drinking soup, give it here¡± Feirin said and snatched my bowl¡­ He¡¯s been spinning it with the spoon for a minute now¡­(give it back I want to drink it¡­I can feel my mouth watering¡­) ¡°Here, blow it a little before drinking, just like how I am doing¡± he says as he shows me how he¡¯s drinking his own soup. I do as he says¡­oh! It¡¯s not as hot anymore! (I quickly gulp it all down, so tasty!) But he kept spinning it until it got colder huh¡­wait¡­oh! ¡°Your expression¡­seems like you thought up something interesting¡± Lu¡­Sis says (can she read my mind¡­?) ¡°I-is it that obvious? (She¡¯s nodding)...I have something to show you after dinner¡± I say and continue eating. ¡°I see¡± she says with that smug face again¡­it¡¯s a little different this time though¡­almost as if there¡¯s a joy of curiosity in it rather than for the sake of teasing me.

II

Time - 8:27 pm It¡¯s been about a week since I¡¯ve been on this step of learning how to control¡­what was it called again¡­soul energy yes. For this part that I am stuck on, I need to pass ¡®energy¡¯ into a stone and not break it which is exactly what I¡¯ve been unable to do as the stone always snaps into some pieces but that changes now (I think). I pick up one of the many stones in the yard and hold it in my palm¡­I can feel it¡­something passing through my hands into the stone but this time¡­don¡¯t pass too much of it and¡­ I open my hands¡­! It¡¯s¡­not broken! ¡°Look Lu-Sis! I did it! The stone didn¡¯t break this time!¡± ¡°H¡­how could this be?!¡± she¡­has a horrified expression¡­if I don¡¯t remember it wrong, I cleared the steps before this one much faster than her from back when she first did her training, could it be¡­ ¡°Did I do it faster??¡± I asked (...wait, why¡¯s she making that mischievous face again¡­). ¡°Nope! Not at all! It took me only three days to do this part whereas you took more than a week! Boo!¡± Eh? Then why¡­ ¡°Then why were you surprised just now¡­?¡± ¡°That was just me teasing you¡± She says with¡­a very proud look¡­again, I fell for her trap¡­ ¡°But, what you did for the stone to not break wasn¡¯t a bad method, you passed a certain amount of energy into it and kept spinning it within. That¡¯s one way of doing it, pretty good¡± ¡°One way? There¡¯s more than one answer?¡± I ask (Also¡­how did she know what I did¡­) ¡°Yes there¡¯s another one which is even more simple and that is to not pass energy at all¡± ¡­? Eh? ¡°Wait wait¡­so it would¡¯ve been fine even if I didn¡¯t pass any energy into the stone at all? I thought that was a necessary part of it!¡± ¡°Both the methods get to the same conclusion and that is controlling of energy. It sounds easy when I say ¡®just don¡¯t pass any energy¡¯ but it¡¯s a little more deeper than that. When you hold a stone and concentrate on your palm, ¡®energy¡¯ will pass into it regardless whether you want to or not, you can¡¯t just simply stop the flow unless you learn how to control it. Therefore both the method you did of rotating the energy or just simply not passing energy at all achieve the same goal, did you understand what I just said?¡± ¡°I¡­think?¡± ¡°Pft, well it¡¯ll work out as long as you are able to do it, it¡¯s like muscle memory¡± Muscle memory? What¡¯s that? I should ask about it when she teaches me about things like she has been since this past week. ¡°Anyways, now that you¡¯ve completed this step, it¡¯s time for the final step¡± The next step is the final one? That means, ¡°You have to mold your energy into a sphere now¡± Making energy into a sphere¡­I can do that already¡­? No, doubting myself won¡¯t do any good. After all, I could do the first two steps just fine. ¡°Put your hand up and give it a try¡± she said and sat near my room¡¯s window. Mimicking the way of how she made energy into a sphere, I bring my left hand up to the level of my chest and concentrate with my eyes closed. ¡­ whirl ! I open my eyes¡­it¡¯s very small, only a little bigger than a dot but it¡¯s there-! poof! It vanished already¡­? I am out of breath¡­ ¡°It¡¯ll take some time before you are able to maintain it properly. Sustain it for twenty seconds at¡­this size¡± she says as she creates one within her palm which is about the size of a baseball. Twenty seconds at that size¡­can I-no I won¡¯t doubt myself, I can do it! ¡°We can continue this tomorrow yawn¡­let¡¯s sleep for now¡± ¡°I¡­I¡¯ll try practicing for a while¡­I¡¯ll sleep in a bit¡± I say and put my hand up once again. ¡°I see yawn, don''t overdo it or you¡¯ll be too exhausted. Goodnight! See you tomorrow¡± she said as she went inside. ¡­ ¡°pant¡­pant¡­¡± It¡¯s only been about thirty minutes¡­but I am so tired¡­it hasn¡¯t gotten any bigger at all¡­it¡¯s barely a little bigger than a dot¡­ whirl poof! thud! ¡°pant¡­pant¡­pant¡­¡± I can¡¯t do it anymore¡­I am so tired that I fell on my back¡­I am also¡­sleepy now¡­ ¡­ (Narration) ¡°sigh¡­don¡¯t just sleep in the yard like this¡± Lucy said to herself as she stood beside the sleeping Brax who had completely dozed off in the yard. ¡®You really are like me, at least in the case of being stubborn that is¡­practicing on hours end then just falling asleep afterwards¡¯ she thought to herself as she sat on her feet staring at his sleeping face. ¡®That¡¯s why you should just kill him¡¯ Her eyes widened as that echoed in her head. It was her voice yet not hers; she whimpered and trembled at the insane thought, holding onto her mouth with both her hands as she felt the urge to vomit and ran inside.

III

Place - ??? Time - ??? (Brax) ¡°Argh¡­hrm¡­¡± My head feels heavy¡­I open my eyes¡­huh? Where am I? How did I come here¡­I am standing on the roof of a building¡­and there¡¯s many other buildings all around¡­the night sky is filled with stars but there¡¯s no moon, strange¡­ What was I- !! I remember now! I was trying to maintain energy in the form of a sphere then laid down for a bit and¡­maybe I slept? So how did I come here¡­? ¡°Brax¡± ? Someone called my name, I turned around to look at-...it¡¯s a person who¡¯s glowing white from head to toes! No way¡­is this¡­A GHOST?! IT¡¯S WALKING TOWARDS ME! ¡°H-hey don¡¯t c-come closer! O-or else I-I¡¯ll shoot you with a blast!¡± ¡°Calm down, I am not going to hurt you¡± ¡­it says as it lends its hand to me (It¡¯s a little taller than me and there¡¯s no face, it¡¯s a person glowing white¡­even the long hair is glowing white!)¡­I stare at the hand then at its ¡®face¡¯ for a moment¡­then take it¡­ohh¡­it¡¯s warm¡­wait why am I here again¡­? ¡­Oh! I know! ¡°This is a dream right? Which is why none of this makes any sense!¡± I exclaim, leaving its hand, and look around, ¡°I was trying to do something just a moment ago and now I am at a completely different place which doesn¡¯t make any sense! There¡¯s no moon in the sky either!¡± ¡°That¡¯s because I am the Moon¡± it says¡­? Moon? This thing?...Well dreams don¡¯t actually ever make sense so this shouldn¡¯t really be anything unnatural¡­ ¡°Before coming here, you were trying to maintain energy in the shape of a sphere right?¡± (I nod) ¡°Put your hands forward¡± (I put my left hand upfront) ¡°Both of them, like this¡± Oh alright. I put both my hands upfront in the manner the spirit wants me to, keeping both of them against one another. ¡°Now, close your eyes and focus. Imagine a ball within the space between your palms and don¡¯t break concentration¡± Imagine a ball? Alright¡­a ball¡­a ball¡­a ball¡­a ball¡­ What¡¯s a ball? It¡¯s an object which can be used for playing games. What shape is it? Circular. What¡¯s the size? ¡­about as big as my fist but perfectly round and spherical¡­that¡¯s a bal- whirl¡­WHIRL! I can feel it! I ope- ¡°Don¡¯t open your eyes, it¡¯s unstable so continue focusing¡± Oh¡­alright¡­I did get a slight glimpse of it, it¡¯s a little bigger than before but I feel even more tired¡­ WHIRL! ¡­ whirl I can still feel it but it feels¡­calmer than earlier? ¡°Now, open your eyes slowly¡± Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. ¡°I can?¡± ¡°Yeps¡± (yeps? I guess that means yes, I open my eyes very, very slowly) ¡°gasp¡­ooh¡­¡± It¡¯s there¡­in between the space of my palms, in the shape of a ball, huh? The spirit also has its hands in the same shape as me towards the ball. ¡°You did give it a form but it was unstable so I stabilized it a little, this is how you make one¡± it says and takes its hand back. ¡°Stabilized?¡± ¡°Erm¡­it means I gave the ball¡¯s form a proper flow and corrected its shape¡± Ooh¡­so this is how I make one huh¡­ It¡¯s still a little smaller than the one Lucy made but much bigger than the ones I could make before! I bring it close to my face, it¡¯s floating within my hands¡­this is so cool! I can¡¯t believe that I am the one who made thi- tap! thud Huh? What just happened¡­? I think I fell down (Did the spirit flick my forehead with its finger?) The energy ball dissipated as I fell and I can hear the sound of the flick echoing all around a little. ¡°It¡¯s time to wake up now Brax¡± I can see it walking past me¡­my eyes¡­they are¡­getting closed against my will¡­ ¡°All the best¡± The wondrous stars in the night sky and the many dazzling lights from the buildings including this roof I am on¡­they are slowly crumbling away¡­leaving nothing but darkness behind¡­ ¡°Wait¡­than¡­k you¡­¡± I said as my eyes closed¡­

IV

Date - 22nd June 2004 Place - North District, Home Time - 6:58 am (Narration) ¡°AAHHH!!¡± Brax screamed as he opened his eyes and sat up straight. ¡°WAHHH?! WHAT HAPPENED WHY ARE YOU SHOUTING?!¡± Lucy exclaimed who¡¯s sitting at the table. (Brax) ¡°Eh¡­? Ah, so it really was a dream!¡± ¡°...a nightmare¡­?¡± huh? Lucy is in my room? Wait, how did I get in here? Wasn¡¯t I in the yard? (...Did she carry me again¡­?) ¡°No, nothing like that, it was just a strange dream¡± I say and stretch a little, hmm? The bags under Lucy¡¯s eyes¡­they¡¯ve gotten worse¡­ ¡°I see¡­that¡¯s good¡­¡± ¡°Lucy, Are you alright? Have you slept at all?¡± ¡°Erm¡­is it that obvious? (Yes it is) Ahaha, I¡¯ve been having quite a few nightmares that¡¯s why I haven¡¯t had any proper sleep, that¡¯s all¡­sigh¡­it should be gone sooner or later so it¡¯s fine!¡± she says, her eyes closed and head lying flat with cheeks pressing against the table, she looks like an annoyed child¡­ I look at the clock, it¡¯s almost 7 in the morning so there¡¯s still time before I start training but it feels like I should be able to do it much better this time around¡­I know it was a dream but¡­I want to try it out once, closing my eyes, I put both my hands together just like the spirit told me and close my eyes to focus. The shape¡­of a ball¡­ (Narration) ¡°I told you not to overdo it yesterday night, if I didn¡¯t see you in mornin-!¡± Lucy stops as she opens her eyes the instant she feels the energy nearby and sees the boy shaking on his bed with his eyes closed, not heeding attention to anything else in his surroundings. whirl¡­! ¡®¡­He¡¯s making it, there¡¯s an energy ball between his palms, it¡¯s still small but it¡¯s there¡­how did he already figure out the trick to focusing on his own so quickly¡­? I don¡¯t remember telling him to use both his hands or closing his eyes¡­¡¯ she thought as she saw the energy ball he was desperately trying to sustain. poof! ¡°PANT¡­PANT¡­¡± ¡®He kept it up for about ten seconds¡­inte¡­stin-!¡± thud! She thought and fell asleep on the table. (Brax) ¡°Eh?!...Lucy¡­are you alri¡­¡± Oh she¡¯s fallen asleep that¡¯s all¡­I don¡¯t think that was twenty seconds but¡­hehe, I could feel despite my eyes closed that it was much better this time! ¡°snore¡­! snore¡­!¡± Eh? Pfft¡­I didn¡¯t know she snores when asleep but she hasn¡¯t slept well so maybe that¡¯s the reason why? This isn¡¯t her room but looking at her sleep, best that I don¡¯t wake her up¡­

V

Time - 1:23 pm ¡°Ahem! Today we are a little late to start because of an unfortunate mishap which I am sorry about¡± Lucy says as she stands in the middle of the yard, (I am sitting near the window of my room) she was asleep until about twenty minutes ago and I was trying to sustain the energy ball (but she doesn¡¯t know that). ¡°Today we will learn something new apart from controlling energy, (huh?) but before that, it¡¯s important to reach the end for the current step. So show me your progress¡± ¡°Reach the end?¡± Feirin says as he walks into the yard from my room, ¡°You mean to say that he can already sustain his energy in the form of a ball for twenty seconds in just a day? That sounds ridiculous, it took me three days. Don¡¯t tell me¡­you told him the trick and didn¡¯t let him figure it out on his own? You didn¡¯t tell it to me when I was doing this part!¡± ¡°Calm down, calm down! I didn¡¯t! Instead¡­it appears that he himself figured it out because he¡¯s smarter than you heh¡± she says as she stops Feirin and looks with that¡­smug expression (I don¡¯t think it¡¯d be a good idea to tell them that I was told about the ¡®trick¡¯ by something in my dream) ¡°Tch, is that so? Let¡¯s see it then, even so he shouldn¡¯t be able to keep it up for even ten seconds much less twenty¡± ¡°Who knows~ what if he does do it though?¡± Lucy¡¯s smug smile seems to expand across her face as she says that¡­she was there when I did it in the morning which was seven seconds¡­ ¡°Huh? You really have a lot of confidence in this brat huh? Alright then, if he manages to do it then I¡¯ll make not only the dinner but also the breakfast, lunch and wash the dishes for this week¡± ¡°Next week as well¡± she says¡­which annoys Feirin. ¡°Sure, SURE! WHY NOT! LET¡¯S SEE IT THEN¡± (he really doesn¡¯t seem to like me¡­) I noticed that if I keep trying overtime without giving myself any proper rest, the time I can sustain it for reduces due to exhaustion¡­that¡¯s why, (I close my eyes and put both my hands together¡­a ball¡­a ball) (Narration) ¡®That¡¯s why¡­I made sure to get proper rest for an hour before this!¡¯ Brax thought as he channeled the energy through his arms into the space between his palms. whirl¡­WHIRL! ¡®Grh¡­try to stabilize it¡­¡¯ He thought as the energy came into an improper form. WHIRL!...whirl¡­ ¡°pant¡­pant¡­¡± Brax opened his eyes, it was now twenty complete seconds yet the energy didn¡¯t dissipate; it was in the twenty fifth second that the ball finally vanished. (Brax) ¡°So, three weeks now right?¡± Lucy said with her most smug looking face. ¡°THAT WASN¡¯T PART OF THE BET!¡± Feirin exclaime- thud! Aah¡­I didn¡¯t know I would be this tired that I just fell in the yard (face first)¡­ ¡°In any case, you did great Brax¡± Lucy says as she makes me lean on the window. ¡°Tch, Is this all I was called here for? For this humiliation?¡± ¡°No no it¡¯s nothing like that, there¡¯s something I want you to do and it¡¯s been a while since we have sparred, can¡¯t really say that I have been doing a great job as your Master ahaha¡­¡± Lucy said to Feirin as she went back to her position. ¡°Brax, now that you have cleared off this step, the basic part of how to control energy is over (the basic part¡­? There¡¯s more to this thing?), we can now move to how one can sense people¡¯s energy¡± Sense¡­energy? ¡°Everyone in the universe uses energy whenever performing an action, some actions exert more than the other but even simply living without doing any tiring actions also uses energy; this step isn¡¯t really that difficult once you learn to have grasp over your own soul energy and how to manipulate it. To perform it, all you have to do is close your eyes and let your mind be at peace for some time¡± ¡°That¡¯s all?¡± ¡°That¡¯s all, try it out¡± ¡±Alright¡­¡± I say and close my eyes. ¡­ Hmm-!! I¡­I can see something¡­ Two¡­bluish cloudy spirits? One of them is bigger than the other and¡­more denser¡­ ¡°Are you (!) able to do it?¡± They disappeared¡­it disappeared once Lucy spoke¡­ I open my eyes and nod. ¡°Did you see some type of cloud?¡± ¡°Yes, two of them¡± ¡°Was one of them bigger and denser?¡± ¡°Yes¡± (How did sh- oh right, she can sense them too) ¡°Those two were me and Feirin¡± ¡°I know, there¡¯s nobody else standing here after all¡± ¡°Mm hmm! But with this we can finally confirm something¡± ¡°That is?¡± ¡°You indeed do have The Balancer within you¡± !! That¡¯s¡­ ¡°Isn¡¯t that the thing if one doesn¡¯t have then they die after a certain age??¡± She nodded¡­AHH! I AM RELIEVED! I won¡¯t die because of something strange (She did say that it¡¯s very rare but still¡­). ¡°And once you learn better how to focus on sensing energy, those clouds will take our shape and in that manner you will be able to tell me and Feirin apart much easily¡± Oohh!! That sounds cool! Being able to see even if my eyes are closed¡­wow¡­ ¡°And now, moving to the main goal you have to achieve in the following months, it¡¯s called a state¡± ¡°A state¡­?¡± ¡°This is where my student Feirin will shine for us, it¡¯s time to show off your skills Feirin! Go go go!¡± ¡°sigh yes yes¡± Feirin says and Lucy steps aside. ¡°Close your eyes once again and focus on sensing the energy around you¡± ¡°Oh okay¡± I do as Lucy said, close my eyes once again and let my mind be at peace¡­I can see the spirit once again but the bigger and denser one is further away now, that one is Lucy as she moved away from her original position. Why¡¯s her so different though? Is it because she¡¯s stronger? I think so-! Feirin¡¯s cloud¡­it¡¯s shaking and getting bigger by a bit¡­I can feel it! This is his energy increasing! I open my eyes-WOHH! His body is covered with some type of glow¡­a very light blue glow flowing around him¡­I can still feel his energy even though I haven¡¯t closed my eyes¡­this¡­ ¡°T-this is¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what a state is, your goal that you have to achieve to become stronger. You should be able to feel it even without focusing with closed eyes because this is one of those actions which exert a good chunk of soul energy¡± Lucy said. It looks¡­very odd but amazing¡­I can feel chills running down my spine looking at him¡­ ¡°H-how do I do it?!¡± ¡°sigh she just said, unlike the previous steps, this is a GOAL that you have to achieve¡± He said and the energy flowing around him stopped (I can¡­do that as well¡­? I wonder how it¡¯d feel to do that¡­) ¡°A goal¡­?¡± ¡°Yes, a goal, one that¡¯ll take quite some time to get to hehe¡± Her expression, I don¡¯t think I like it at the moment¡­something tells me that this won¡¯t be fun¡­¡±Simply speaking of how to do it, you need to absorb the surrounding energy to an extent and that will let you achieve it but to do that~¡± ¡°To do that¡­¡± ¡°From today on! You will try to sustain your energy for TEN minutes (W-what?!), run TEN kilometers (what¡¯s a kilometer¡­?) Focus on sensing others energy for thirty minutes, train your body at the best and after that spar with Feirin EVERY SINGLE DAY¡± E¡­eh¡­? That¡¯s¡­isn¡¯t that¡­a bit too much¡­? That sounds a bit too much¡­ ¡°Don¡¯t worry, all of these are just goals which you have to achieve overtime and don¡¯t have to do them from the start itself but you will have to crash your limit everytime until we do exceed it. Not to mention,¡± She says, pointing towards me, ¡°You have already improved in the past one week and doing very well compared to even me from when I first started out¡± Compared to even her¡­? Well¡­now that she says it, it really is the truth; before coming here, I looked like bones but now I look like an actual person and did all of these unimaginable things in just a week¡­ ¡°Master, I think it¡¯s about time that we spar, don¡¯t you think so too?¡± Feirin said and walked away a bit at the edge of the yard. ¡°You are right and judging by your expression, it appears that you are quite displeased with me¡± Lucy said as she walked towards the other edge, ¡°Rightfully so, I¡¯ve been making fun of you far too much in this past week after all¡± ¡°You are wrong, I don¡¯t really care about your dumb teasing¡± ¡°Eh?¡± Lucy said, looking surprised, ¡°Really¡­? I thought doing so would piss you off which would ultimately make you angry enough to put out a lot of energy during this sparring match¡­¡± (that¡¯s the reason why she kept belittling Feirin¡­?) ¡°sigh It was a slight annoyance for sure but¡­what really angers me is something else¡± He sai-! He¡¯s entering that state thing again! But¡­this time his energy feels even stronger¡­than when he did it before¡­ ¡°It¡¯s because you¡­YOU! WHERE THE HELL WERE YOU FOR THOSE PAST THREE MONTHS?! WHY HAVE YOU BEEN JUST IGNORING THIS QUESTION EVERY SINGLE TIME?!¡± He said, gritting his teeth and clenching his hands-!! ¡­I feel many chills running down my spine¡­my body is trembling¡­his energy is¡­s-scary¡­ It¡¯s too much for me¡­the flowers in the yard are shaking a lot as well¡­ I-I can¡¯t help but hold onto myself with both my hands, scar- ¡°Brax¡± ¡­? I look towards Lucy, the look on her face¡­it¡¯s¡­a serious one unlike any other I¡¯ve seen before during this week¡­ ¡°This is a good opportunity for you to see what you have to really reach (huh¡­?). You said you wanted to be the strongest right? Then for that you have to properly watch this fight and learn from it, understood?¡± ¡°...Y-yes!¡± I exclaim (she¡¯s right¡­). ¡°And Feirin¡­sorry but I can¡¯t speak of it¡­at least not yet but¡­if you do land a punch on my face then perhaps I¡¯ll be willing to tell you about it, show me that you are worthy for it. However this match will end if I hit you five times instead before you land a single punch. No energy blasts allowed¡± ¡°Is¡­that so¡­grhh¡­!!¡± Feirin said, clenching his hands¡­ (Narration) ¡®It hasn¡¯t even begun yet but¡­this¡­this is what a real fight feels like¡­? One person¡¯s strength can make me scared just looking at it¡­ The things that I felt during a fight on the streets never felt like this¡­but¡­there¡¯s something weird about it¡­it¡¯s¡­scary but also¡­somehow at the same time, it¡¯s exciting in a way¡­!¡¯ Brax thought, trembling with a smile spread wide across his face. ¡°Come!¡± Lucy exclaimed. ¡°Yes!¡± Feirin exclaimed and dashed at her with his hands clenched tightly raring to hit Lucy¡¯s face in order to find the answers to his question. clasp! A loud sound was made as Lucy caught Feirin¡¯s fist with her hand. ¡®Is¡­Lucy not going to enter the state?¡¯ Brax thought as he watched. ¡°Gah?!¡± Feirin groaned as Lucy pulled him in front of her face with the hand she had grabbed and punched him in his stomach with the other. ¡®That¡¯s the first one from Lucy! Four more and she¡¯d win¡­but he has to land only one hit-!¡¯ flick! Feirin tried to hit Lucy after he was punched in his stomach but Lucy dodged it by stepping a step behind and flicked his forehead with her finger which knocked him in some distance. ¡®Eh?!¡¯ Brax thought, ¡®By a¡­flick?!¡¯ ¡°Tch!¡± Feirin landed on his feet and dashed once again then started throwing a barrage of punches. thud thud thud thud thud Each of which Lucy blocked with one hand before any could even touch her face. THOMP ¡°GAH?!¡± Feirin groaned as Lucy punched him in his stomach through his barrage of punches, not a single of them even touching any other part of her other than her palm. ¡°argh¡­!¡± He groaned but kicked from the side which Lucy blocked with one of her arms and then took hold of it by grabbing it with the other hand and threw him away. ¡°?!¡± Before Feirin could react after landing on his legs, the instant he looked towards Lucy, she was already standing right in front of him and punched him twice lightly on his face with both her hands. ¡°With that, I win¡± Lucy said and put her hands on her waist, ¡°Not bad, you have improved a little since last time with bouncing back on your feet and reactions but it could still see some work¡± ¡®...this is¡­the power of a 3rd Top Lord¡­she didn¡¯t take a single punch nor even enter in that state thing which Feirin did¡­¡¯ Brax thought, nothing but clear astonishment filling his face over what he just witnessed. ¡°I lost¡­sigh I am not worthy then¡­I see¡± Feirin said as he exited from the state he was in and walked inside through Brax¡¯s room. For a second it looked as if Lucy wanted to stop him but retracted herself. ¡°...So did you watch the fight properly?¡± She asked as she came towards Brax, to which he nodded three times in excitement. ¡°Fighting skills and experience make a vast difference in combat, higher energy isn¡¯t the only thing that matters¡± ¡°Ooh! That¡¯s why you didn¡¯t transform into that state thing??¡± He asked with extreme enthusiasm and curiosity. ¡°Yeah I didn¡¯t need to but that state has a name too, call it with that, it¡¯s called Focus and it¡¯s first of the five such states¡± ¡°First of the five? What?¡± ¡°Uh¡­as I said, it¡¯s the first state called Focus then there''s the second one called 2Focus, I personally call it Tocus! And then there¡¯s-¡± ¡°Wait wait wait¡­you mean there¡¯s more than one state?¡± ¡°Well¡­yes? I never said that there was only one state¡± ¡°And¡­I am training for the first one called¡­Focus¡­for which I have to run 10¡­something, maintain my energy for ten minutes¡­concentrate on sensing energy for thirty minutes¡­and fight him each¡­day?¡± ¡°Mm hmm¡± She mumbles and nodded. ¡°So¡­the training for the second state will be¡­even¡­harsher¡­?¡± ¡°Uh sort of?¡± In that moment, Brax¡¯s enthusiasm and excitement crumbled slightly which was somewhat reflected by the shock in his expression. But, ¡®To be able to fight like her¡­the way of how she dodges and initiates¡­that must¡¯ve been a lot of training¡­and she didn¡¯t even enter into Focus¡­no, she¡¯s probably at a level far ahead already¡­maybe at the third state or perhaps even the fourth¡­she is THE 3rd Top Lord after all¡­¡± But the enthusiasm soon returned within the next instant with those thoughts. ¡°When will we start with it then?!¡± Brax exclaimed. ¡°Oh? You sure are quite excited, if that¡¯s the case then we can start right now itself but-¡± growlll ¡°We should eat up first¡­¡± Lucy said as she held onto her growling stomach.

VI

Place - North District, outside Home Time - 7:54 pm (Lucy) It¡¯s been a while since I¡¯ve gone on a jog like this¡­doing something normal¡­ ¡°It¡¯s a good thing that our speed and stamina are far more compared to a human otherwise you would have fainted midwa-¡± thud! Oh¡­I turned around to look at him to find that he did actually end up fainting, it¡¯s at least right in front of our house though¡­ tap tap I hear and turn to the sound of footsteps, it¡¯s Feirin who has groceries in his hand (¡­I just remembered the spar we had earlier today¡­not to mention I went too far with my teasing in this past week¡­this might get a little awkward¡­) ¡°Erm¡­Feirin-¡± ¡°He fainted?¡± ¡°....he fainted¡± (why does he have to cut through before my apology!) ¡°You are going a bit overboard for his first day, I am glad that Ms. Amane was my coach for the first week of my training¡± (You just don¡¯t know how bad it was with her because you were her third student and she had learnt from her mistakes by then! Mom has experience because of me and Rebecca being her test subjects of how to train someone!) But he is right, I did go overboard¡­maybe it¡¯s because he¡¯s already got some good reflexes and feels like he¡¯s quite a natural. Still, it¡¯d be best if I have him take some time to get used to this hellish training before he can even start to spar with Feirin at the end of the da- ¡°There¡¯s something¡­I want to ask¡­¡± He said, he¡¯s been looking gloomy ever since the spar¡­and I know why¡­ ¡°Oh¡­uhm what is it?¡± ¡°Master¡­can you really not tell me even a little about where you were?¡± I knew it¡­he still wishes to know about it. ¡°I can¡¯t¡­¡± I say, shaking my head. ¡°Let¡¯s talk about this later. Look there, him lying on the road like that feels strange¡± I say, pointing at Brax who¡¯s been laying on the road in¡­quite an uncomfortable looking posture (I know I shouldn¡¯t say this but thanks for fainting for the sake of my excuse Brax¡­!). ¡°Master! You still have some of those injuries from that day, don¡¯t you?! Two days ago¡­you had blood coming out of your ear! Not to mention that you suddenly became so pale¡­¡± !! He¡­saw that¡­? What do I do to calm him down¡­it¡¯s clear from his expression that he¡¯s just worried about my condition but still¡­ ¡°Would you not tell about it to even Ms. Amane and¡­that Rebecca?¡± His face became slightly disgusted there for a second when he mentioned Rebecca. (He really despises her eh¡­ Well getting his hand twisted and almost fractured on the first meeting with a girl who¡¯s a Thysia year younger than him would leave a good amount of disdain I guess¡­) I could make an excuse to not tell him, but how do I make an excuse for Mom and Rebecca¡­ ¡°Rebecca¡­she¡¯ll have to go through a similar test before I tell her and about Mom¡­I¡¯ll tell her about it later¡± ¡°...I see¡± ¡°W-wait¡± I say, holding onto his shoulder as he was heading inside, ¡°I am really¡­sorry¡­both about not telling you about this entire thing and¡­¡± ¡°And¡­?¡± ¡°And¡­being a pain in the butt for a week¡­¡± His face is so stale¡­it feels as if it¡¯s radiating silent annoyance¡­ ¡°At least I won¡¯t have to deal with it to THAT extent anymore so I don¡¯t mind it¡± he said and went inside. phew, seems I dodged that and he won¡¯t ask about it anytime soon¡­erm I should take him inside now, he¡¯s been lying over there for quite some time now¡­ ¡­ splash! Ooof! It¡¯s been so much time since I did something normally and got into the bathtub with cold water in it¡­it¡¯s so relaxing¡­ Reminds me of when I first started training (because Feirin mentioned about his training with Mom), the time when I first flew and cut through the winds in the sky like a bird¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t do it! It¡¯s so difficult to do this!¡± ¡°You can, if Rebecca is able to then so can you¡± ¡°Rebecca must be some sort of genius¡­I don¡¯t get how she¡¯s doing it¡± ¡°Everyone has their own pace and takes their time, you too will figure out your own way in some manner or other. After all, the sky¡¯s just a limit¡± ¡­brings back memories, it¡¯s been such a long time since I met Mom, I want to meet her again but¡­I can¡¯t¡­I am scared¡­I can¡¯t bring myself to face her¡­what will I say to her¡­she¡¯ll see right through any excuse I make¡­ (Narration) She thought, sitting in the tub with her knees close to herself, holding onto them with her hands.

VII

Time - 9:21 pm (Brax) ¡­Am I still alive¡­? If so¡­how¡­ The training¡­it wasn¡¯t training¡­it was hell¡­my body is heated up and drenching the bed with sweat which I am lying on, feels like my bones are melting¡­getting torn apart¡­and I couldn¡¯t complete any of them, not to mention that I didn¡¯t even spar with Feirin today, that part will come later on (if I don¡¯t die by then¡­). Aaaaahhhh¡­I have to do THIS every day¡­? But¡­it¡¯s better than living like I did before¡­so I¡¯ll accept it¡­ ¡­ It¡¯s been some time since I¡¯ve been lying down¡­about an hour and it feels a lot better now, I should¡­probably change the sheets¡­they smell bad after all of that sweat then I should go bath and eat the dinner which they must¡¯ve already eaten¡­ knock knock ¡°I am coming in¡± slide Huh? It¡¯s Feirin¡­does he need something from me? He hasn''t ever come here on his own before. ¡°You going to take a bath now?¡± He asked (not looking at me directly but looking around). ¡°Mm¡± I mumble and nod. ¡°I see then before you go, if you don¡¯t mind I have a question to ask¡± ¡°What¡­what is it?¡± A question he wants to ask of me? What is it that he wants to know from me¡­ ¡°That day when you came here, you were with Master, right?¡± (I nod) ¡°Then¡­could you please tell me¡­if you know anything about where she was¡­what condition she was in¡­no matter how much I try not to think about it, even if I am not worthy to find out¡­her behaviour ever since she returned has been odd¡­please! Tell me if you know anything!¡± Her behaviour¡­it is true that something about her felt weird¡­sleepless nights, becoming lost in thought at random¡­but how would I know anything-! Wait¡­knife¡­there was a knife in her hand when I first met her¡­and injuries as well¡­what was that all about¡­ ¡°That day-!¡± ¡°Promise me that you won¡¯t tell anyone how we met¡­what I was doing¡­what you saw or anything related as such, you won¡¯t talk about this to anybody. That¡¯s the only thing I want from you, this promise¡± ¡­I can¡¯t tell him¡­I made a promise with her, something that once made shouldn¡¯t be broken no matter what¡­I think I understand its meaning a little better now. ¡°That day?¡± ¡°Uh¡­that day Lucy just found me lying on the road and picked me so¡­no I don¡¯t know what happened to her before that¡± I am sorry Feirin¡­I can see from your face that you really want to know what happened but I made a promise with the person who saved my life and I don¡¯t want to break it¡­ ¡°I see¡­you can go bath now¡± He said and left, he looked very disappointed¡­ But even I am in the dark as to what really happened¡­it¡¯s just that I know a little more than him¡­that knife and those injuries, just what was the reason behind them¡­? Chapter 1.4 - Twilight within Infinity Chapter 4 Twilight within Infinity Date - 13th July 2004 Place - North District, Home Time - 9:08 am (Brax) It¡¯s been some weeks since I first came to this place, this ¡®home¡¯ and I¡¯ve been training almost everyday all the time, even though it¡¯s just repetition of the same activities, it¡¯s so much fun. It¡¯s still difficult but I¡¯ve grown used to it (A little, at least I don¡¯t faint anymore like I did on the first four days of it¡­) and my body seems very¡­different from how it was from when I first came here. I used to be all boney looking¡­now I have actual proper flesh; I can see and feel muscles in different parts of my body, it¡¯s amazing that I can do all of this at all¡­I know, I know¡­that I shouldn¡¯t think of this question again yet I can¡¯t help but wonder about it from time to time whether I truly deserve all of this¡­ahhhh I should just wear my clothes already! I¡¯ve been standing aroun- sheek ¡°You still haven¡¯t worn your clothes? You take quite some time just to wear clothes eh?¡± ¡°I-I¡­GO OUT!¡± ¡°Oh right!¡± clack! She should knock at the very least! That was very embarrassing¡­ ¡­Pfft!¡­still, this too is fun in its own way, embarrassing moments like these¡­ ¡­ sheek ¡°So (!) you are ready now?¡± Lucy asked as I opened the door (Has she been just standing in front of it while I was wearing them¡­) I nod. ¡°Good, I have something exciting to tell you!¡± Something exciting¡­everyday has already been very exciting, it can get even more exciting? But¡­why do I have a bad feeling about this¡­ Ah! Maybe it¡¯s because last time Lucy said something like this¡­she gave me the weirdest name I¡¯ve ever heard¡­ ¡°What happened? Where¡¯s the excitement?¡± ¡°N-nothing, what¡¯s this exciting thing¡­?¡± ¡°Heh heh heh, I am glad you asked! (I am scared¡­) Starting today your usual training will halt for some time and you will learn how to take flight, meaning you get to fly!¡± Eh¡­¡­? IT ACTUALLY IS AN EXCITING THING?! (AND I DON¡¯T HAVE TO DO THAT HELLISH TRAINING FOR A WHILE?!) ¡°R-really?! I can finally learn how to do that?!¡± ¡°Mm hmm!¡± She mumbled while nodding! ¡°But (Oh no¡­) there¡¯s a condition¡­¡± I should have known¡­of course it won¡¯t be that easy as she¡¯ll always give me some conditions¡­ ¡°Once you learn how to fly and resume your training like normal, you¡¯ll have to spar with Feirin at the end of each day¡± Ughh¡­hmmmmm¡­that stinks (I didn¡¯t have to fight Feirin after all the workout just yet, now I¡¯ll have to do that too¡­? But I GET TO FLY IN EXCHANGE!). ¡°I ACCEPT THIS CONDITION!-¡± ¡­why does she have her smug looking face again¡­ ¡°You¡¯d have to spar with him regardless because I will have made you do that either way heh¡± she says(Of course¡­)¡­ ¡°Ahem! We¡¯ll start right away! Get into the yard!¡± We are starting now itself?! (I jump into the yard through my room¡¯s window) (Narration) ¡°I know you are excited but maintaining a calm mind is important when first learning how to fly¡± Lucy says to the boy as she enters the yard who is unable to keep himself standing still in one position due to the bubbling excitement he has. ¡°Mm!¡± He mumbled, nodding his head three times. ¡°sigh then look at me carefully¡± ¡°Mm!¡± She stood in one position for some time, relaxing her body and leaving it free; then slowly, her feet were no longer in contact with the ground and she started levitating. ¡°Oooohh!¡± ¡°Now close your eyes and try to sense my energy as I do it once again¡± She said as she stopped and landed on her legs. ¡°Mm!¡± He closed his eyes. ¡°Can you sense my energy?¡± ¡°Nope!¡± A dumbfounded grin spread wide across his face. ¡­ smack! ¡°Ouch!¡± ¡°Concentrate and focus properly!¡± She exclaimed, knuckling his forehead, ¡°Or else I won¡¯t teach you how to do it!¡± ¡°Wah?! Don¡¯t do that! I¡¯ll focus properly!!¡± He cried out and closed his eyes once again, this time actually focusing properly and doing what he was told. It has been a couple of weeks since Brax first started to train and one of the essential things he practiced was his sensory regarding energy by trying to focus everyday for half an hour; at an adequate level, he would become able to see a person¡¯s silhouette instead of a cloud when closing his eyes and even feel energy exertion from things or people without having to close them. ¡°So what do you see?¡± Lucy asked. ¡°Your energy, a silhouette¡± He answered as he had reached that level and could now see a proper bluish silhouette of Lucy in front of him which was dense in appearance. ¡°Good and¡­what do you see now?¡± ¡°It¡¯s floating¡­¡± ¡°Look closer and tell me again¡± ¡°Uhh-! Oh! The silhouette¡­it has very small amounts of energy flowing out of it¡­?¡± ¡°Bingo! That¡¯s the right answer! You can open your eyes now¡± She said, landing on her feet, ¡°Any guesses as to why that happened?¡± ¡°Erm¡­¡± ¡°You better know it because I taught you about how energy works not too long ago¡± She said, widening her eyes which reflected a plain but terrifying expression on her face. ¡°Ah uhm¡­OH! It''s because you exerted your energy at a very small but constant rate, RIGHT!?¡± ¡°...Yeees! Good!¡± She exclaimed, stopping with the scary looking face and the boy sighed a breath of relief. ¡°Now it¡¯s your turn¡± She said and went to sit near the window, ¡°Close your eyes, focus and then release energy very very slowly at a constant rate¡± ¡°That¡¯s it?¡± ¡°That¡¯s it¡± ¡°I don¡¯t have to figure out any kind of trick this time around?¡± ¡°Nope, not this time, all you have to do is concentrate¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± Brax said and closed his eyes. ¡®Release energy¡­at a very very slow but constant rate¡­¡¯ He thought as he stood still, not realising as he was deeply lost in focusing but his body was already emitting small amounts of energy at the required rate and levitating a little. ¡®He¡¯s able to do it¡­hmm but what really matters is whether or not he¡¯ll still float normally after opening his eyes¡¯ Lucy thought with her hands on her chin. ¡°There won¡¯t be any tricks this time but there definitely will be a prank¡± She whispered to herself with her usual smug tone and stood up slowly, approaching Brax without making any sound. ¡°I DON¡¯T FEEL MY LEGS TOUCHING THE GROUN-!¡± Brax exclaimed excitedly as he opened his eyes only to see Lucy standing right in front of him. swoosh In that instant, two things happened in quick succession. First, Lucy retracted her hand which was meant to grab Brax¡¯s shirt from behind in order to do a prank before he could notice it and secondly, ¡°AAAAAH?!?!¡± In the excitement that Brax had within the moment he opened his eyes, he increased the output of energy more than the required amount and a breeze of wind carried him away into the sky. ¡°Ahaha, seems like the prank happened without me having to do it¡­¡± Lucy said to herself as Brax was ¡®flying¡¯ away with the wind, tumbling away in the sky. (Brax) Argh¡­! I can¡¯t stop! Focus¡­focus¡­focus¡­it¡¯s no use! Did I make a mistake? I think I put out more than the required amoun-! I AM FALLING NOW! FOCUS FOCUS¡­!! grab ¡°You alright?¡± Huh¡­? I am flying properly¡­? No¡­Lucy is holding my stomach from above¡­she grabbed me as I began to fall¡­that was scary! ¡°You, I told you to focus properly and you still messed up? sigh Well it¡¯s your first time so it¡¯s fine but what if I am not here watching¡­? I guess I¡¯ll tell Feirin to look out for you when I am not here. You aren¡¯t allowed to try to fly unless one of us is present, got it?¡± ¡°Okay¡­¡± I said and looked down at the district, the houses seem so small from up here¡­ ¡°So, how did you feel? ¡®Flying¡¯ for the first time?¡± She asked as we got closer to the ground. ¡°It was scary!¡± She seems¡­satisfied with that response (from experience, I can tell that this satisfied look from her means that she expected this to happen¡­), ¡°But¡­that was my first flight¡­I can¡¯t wait for when I can properly do it¡­!¡± ¡°Exciting huh¡­ All the best then, all you have to do is focus properly. In time it¡¯ll be as natural as breathing¡± She said as we landed back at the yard.

I

Date - 19th July 2004 Place - North District, Home Time - 11:46 pm I have been learning how to (finally) fly recently and the usual training has stopped temporarily (which is amazing)¡­but all I¡¯ve been able to do is float for a while before I lose control completely and crash into the wall of the yard or get flown away in the sky by the breezing wind¡­even after putting all my focus into just flying, it¡¯s really difficult to do it¡­so today I am staying up a bit late to get it done faster (I must ensure that I don¡¯t lose control though because there¡¯s neither Lucy nor Feirin to look out for me¡­) I close my eyes and focus. Let out energy constantly. At a very¡­very slow rate¡­ (Narration) Brax slowly levitated in his position but didn¡¯t open his eyes and continued to focus. When the clouds blocking the moon passed away, it looked as if the light from the moon in this starry night sky was illuminating a spotlight for the boy, acknowledging his hardworking efforts up until now. ¡°Is he finally going to get a grip of it this time?¡± A person whispered to themselves, hiding near the entrance while watching Brax. It was Feirin, ¡°He really had to do this right now? Master was right after all when she told me to ensure that I observe him tonight as he seemed really stubborn and dissatisfied¡± ¡°AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!¡± Suddenly, there was a scream from inside which Brax heard but didn¡¯t alert Feirin. The houses on Thysia have a certain extent of sound proofing that don¡¯t allow sounds from inside a house to go outside and vice versa; this made Brax barely be able to hear the scream as he stood very close to the source which was Lucy¡¯s room on the first floor. ¡°Lucy¡­?¡± Brax said in a low tone as he opened his eyes and floated upwards. ¡°Eh? He¡¯s doing it¡­? Wait, why''s he knocking at Master¡¯s window¡­¡± Feirin said to himself, looking at him. (Lucy) ¡®How many¡­more of these do I have to see¡­¡¯ That¡¯s the only thought I have each day every time I wake up, covering my face¡­I need some water¡­ knock knock Hu-EH?! Oh¡­It¡¯s Brax at my window¡­ knock knock No wait¡­Why is he at my window?! I didn¡¯t sleep in one of the rooms on the ground floor, did I? creak I open the locked window (He¡¯s floating¡­ It is my room! So¡­he learnt it when I was asleep¡­seriously?). ¡°Did you shout? I think I heard you screaming¡± He said as he floated inside the room and sat on the floor. (Strange¡­he isn¡¯t excitedly telling me about his achievement like he usually does after being able to complete a task¡­) Erm¡­I screamed that loudly¡­? I know that the houses don¡¯t have the best sound proofing but still, to think my scream would be loud enough to be heard across the walls¡­ ¡°N-no, I think you must be imagining things¡­you were focusing too hard while trying to fly and perhaps mistaken something else as me screaming¡± I say and sit on the bed¡¯s edge. ¡°You are righ-! Uh-uhm¡­¡± He took the bait heh heh heh. ¡°So you were practicing without me or Feirin looking after you HUH!?¡± I say, grabbing his shoulder and turn him towards me (He¡¯s trying to look away now that he¡¯s been caught) ¡°A-Ah¡­erm¡­uhh¡­sorry¡­¡± ¡°Hmmm¡± I mumble coldly, he seems a little scared (It¡¯s fun to be strict), ¡°sigh At least you managed to finally fly on your own and no accidents occurred¡± ¡°Huh? What do you mean?¡± ¡­ Huh? Don¡¯t tell me¡­this guy¡­he was so excited about learning how to fly and didn''t realise when he actually managed to do it? Hmm¡­should I not tell him to see his reaction later on when he does actually realise? That would definitely be fun on its own but¡­ ¡°What floor¡¯s room is this?¡± I asked. ¡°First floor¡­?¡± ¡°And from where did you come here?¡± ¡°From the window¡± ¡°And¡­how did you come from the window?¡± ¡°By¡­eh? EH?!?!¡± The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings. He immediately crawled at the locked window and looked down. As much fun as it would be to not tell him about it, I am not so cruel as to make a joke about something he cares about so much. ¡°I FLEW BY MYSELF?!¡± He exclaimed loudly (hurts my ears a little but I won¡¯t stop him, his eyes are all sparkly looking now so it would be a shame to interrupt this joyous moment for him¡­ To be honest, I am a little envious of his joy) ¡°Seems like it but how did you not even realise that you flew? You dumb somewhere in the head?¡± I say teasingly, getting close and poking his forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t bully me! I was just¡­¡± ¡°Was just¡­?¡± ¡°I thought something happened because of your scream so I was worried¡­maybe that¡¯s why I didn¡¯t realise¡­¡± He was worried about me¡­ ¡°I told you it was your imagination so don¡¯t worry about it, what¡¯s the time now¡± I look towards the clock beside my bed¡­it¡¯s 11:53 pm¡­ ¡°B R A X¡± I say, turning towards him (he was heading towards the window before I noticed HUH!?) ¡°I AM SORRY I WON¡¯T STAY UP THIS LONG AGAIN!¡± clench (Narration) ¡°Eek!¡± He exclaimed and shut his eyes tight as Lucy grabbed onto his shirt but nothing happened so he slowly opened his eyes. ¡°I¡­have something that I want to ask¡± She said, her look completely softened and vulnerable now. ¡°W-what is it?¡± Lucy wouldn¡¯t have brought up this question normally, perhaps it was because she just woke up from yet another nightmare that she sought some form of consolation and now was the best time to ask about it as nobody else was present. ¡°Did¡­Feirin ask you about anything related to that day¡­?¡± Brax didn¡¯t say anything for some seconds but then he mumbled and nodded saying yes. ¡°gasp?! Y-you didn¡¯t tell him anything, did you!?¡± She asked as she grabbed onto both of Brax¡¯s shoulders with a bit of strength. ¡°N-no I didn¡¯t, I said that I don¡¯t know anything¡± Brax said in a pained expression due to the fingers that were digging him but more than the pain, something else bothered him; it was Lucy¡¯s behaviour which was far different than anything he had seen prior, it showed complete utter fear which was scary and gave him goosebumps. ¡°pant¡­pant¡­pant¡­I see¡­thank you-gasp! Sorry¡­!¡± She exclaimed, realising what she was doing to his shoulders and let go, ¡°Ugh¡­I must be still sleepy for doing something like that¡­¡± ¡°Mm, it¡¯s fine¡­¡± He shaked his head from side to side, ¡°I¡¯ll go to sleep now¡­¡± creak He opened the window but instead of trying to float down, he stood still. ¡°G-goodnight¡± He said and simply jumped down, a height such as this isn¡¯t enough to cause any injuries for the people on Thysia so Lucy didn¡¯t react either. She simply held on her forehead for a while and sighed a few times then finally grabbed the jug of water in her room, gulped it down empty and went to sleep. But unbeknownst to the two, someone was indeed hearing their conversation unintentionally yet very closely. He stood right outside the room with an expression of frustration. ¡®Grrh¡­so he does know something¡­¡¯ Feirin thought, clenching his hands tight but controlled his anger and emotions so as to not let out any energy which could alert Lucy of his presence outside the room. (Brax) creak I entered my room through the window and laid on the bed which I had already prepared in advance before practicing. ¡­ I put my hand on my chest¡­I don¡¯t feel excited anymore; even though I really wanted to learn how to fly but¡­it¡¯s odd¡­my chest feels weird, seeing her like that¡­hurt me in a strange manner¡­ Will she be back to normal again tomorrow¡­?

II

Date - 21st July 2004 Place - North District, Home Time - 8:53 am Argh I just realised something as I am coming out of the bathroom¡­now that I have learnt how to fly, I have to go back to doing that hellish training again¡­ It¡¯s been a day now since that incident at night and¡­Lucy did start being like before again- ¡°Brax¡± ?! Speak of the devil (Why¡¯s she sitting on the bed in my room with her legs in a kneeling position though¡­). ¡°Y-yes?¡± ¡°Come with me, we are going to the mountains¡± She said and got off the bed. The mountains? Now? ¡°The ones where you showed me how to use energy?¡± creak ¡°Yes¡± She said as she opened the window. I was about to ask why but refrained from doing so as she¡¯ll probably not tell me regardless and who am I to complain if this allows me to avoid that hell! Following behind her, I enter the yard, she starts to float without closing her eyes. (I tried to fly yesterday but to initiate I still need to have a proper focus first before I am really able to do it for which I have to close my eyes for a few seconds) ¡°Let¡¯s have a race, shall we?¡± She said as I started floating as well; there¡¯s no way I¡¯d even come close to beating her but it sounds fun, so I agreed. ¡°Ready¡­GO!¡± ZWOOP! E-eh¡­? EH!? She¡¯s way too fast¡­!! I can¡¯t stand here spacing out!

III

Place - North District, Mountains Time - 9:01 am ¡°pant¡­pant¡­¡± I flew so fast¡­I am a little tired¡­but it was fun! Flying by myself and looking at the surroundings felt sooo much better! (I¡¯d like to fly slower next time though to properly enjoy the scenery¡­) ¡°Boooo! You are a minute late! I slowed down for you after some time and even waited for a while tch tch¡± She said with her usual smug face as I landed by the cliff from before where we also came last time. (That was her¡­slowing down¡­? I flew here as fast as I could and it still took me far longer¡­but seeing her with that normal expression that she normally wears¡­it relieves me) ¡°Lets walk inside a little then you rest for some time after which I¡¯ll tell you the reason why we are here¡± She said and we walked inside. After resting for a while below a tree, I am now stretching¡­? This place we are at now is much emptier than all the other places I¡¯ve seen on the mountain, it feels like a playground. ¡°Erm¡­what exactly are we here for?¡± I asked as I stood up. ¡°You are going to have a sparring match with me¡± ¡°WHAT?! With you?!¡± ¡°Mm¡± she mumbled as she nodded¡­ ¡°Wait wait, wasn¡¯t it Feirin that I was supposed to fight with at the END of the day??¡± ¡°Mm, you¡¯ll still be doing that in the evening after your training (I STILL HAVE TO DO THAT TODAY?! Tch¡­) but I want to test your current skills first hand which is why we are here¡± ¡°If that¡¯s the case then why did we come all the way here? Couldn¡¯t we have sparred in the yard like you do with Feirin normally?¡± ¡°That¡¯s because you will be using energy as well in this battle unlike the matches that I have with Feirin, it¡¯s just a way to gauge up your immediate improvement so far, I did the same with him two months after Mom brought him¡± She said as she picked up a stick and is making something with it around herself on the ground¡­ ¡°Two months? It¡¯s been only a month since I came though¡± If I am not wrong, it¡¯s been about half a year now that Feirin has been training under Lucy but for three months of time she wasn¡¯t here which I still don¡¯t know why¡­ ¡°That¡¯s because I believe you are already at a very good level in far less time than him. I said you almost feel like a natural at this stuff, didn''t I?. Now! Get ready!¡± She said as she completed making a circle around her, it¡¯s very small and she would get out of it if she took even one step-!! I can feel it¡­unlike that day when she sparred with Feirin, she¡¯s radiating much higher energy now! (Will I be fine by the end of this¡­?) ¡°And of course, I won¡¯t use energy blasts nor will I step out of this circle. If I do move out of it, you win¡± She said, ugh! That confident look is pissing me off! I will make sure to¡­uhm¡­err¡­at least move her from her spot! (Narration) ¡°Come!¡± Lucy exclaimed and Brax immediately dashed towards her while making a fist but Lucy moved slightly while still being in the circle, swiftly dodging the attack. Without wasting a second, Brax started throwing a barrage of punches but still was unable to hit her with any of them, either she dodged them or she blocked them with one of her hands. ¡°Then, how about this¡­!!¡± Brax exclaimed as he furthered himself a bit then flew at her extremely fast to tackle her out of the circle. ¡°Not a bad idea but!¡± She said, jumping before Brax even reached the circle, and as soon as he came within its vicinity, THUD ¡°AAARGH?!¡± She pushed him down to the ground by landing and sitting on him while still residing inside the circle. ¡°It won¡¯t be so easy~!¡± She said with her usual smugness as she folded her arms. ¡°Grh!¡± He groaned as he tried to get up but to no avail, ¡°Why am I unable to push you off?!¡± ¡°I am pushing you down with a bit of my energy that¡¯s why¡± She answered and the weight on him suddenly increased by a bit. ¡°GRH!? You said you won¡¯t use energy ARGH!¡± ¡°I said I wouldn¡¯t use any type of energy blasts, not that I wouldn¡¯t use energy at all, there¡¯s more ways of using energy than just making blasts¡± She said as she increased the output even more, ¡°Is that it? That¡¯s a little disappointing-¡± SMASH! Brax smashed the ground with energy imbued in his one hand and cracked it a little, then pulled out a part of it with both his hands, turned them around, putting them upwards as he laid on his front. ¡°Then!¡± He exclaimed and closed his eyes. BLAST! Just as Lucy understood what was about to happen, the pieces which Brax pulled out blew up into hundreds of pieces but before they could do what they were intended for, Lucy jumped up high and as soon as she did, Brax got up and away from the circle. ¡°Trying to blind me huh¡­¡± She said, landing back at the circle, ¡°Claps for my perfect landing clap clap clap¡± As she was clapping and flattering herself, an energy ball flew towards her. BOOM! ¡°She deflected it?!¡± Brax exclaimed as a stray boulder on the side exploded as a result of Lucy pushing the energy away with her palm. ¡°I¡¯ll tell you this-¡± She said but her sentence was interrupted as two more such energy balls came towards her. flick! ¡°EH?!¡± Brax exclaimed as she simply flicked the energy balls back at him by hitting them with her fingers which he barely dodged. ¡°Let me finish what I am saying!¡± Lucy exclaimed, kicking the ground, ¡°The blinding method wouldn¡¯t have normally worked if I had put up an energy barrier on myself but because your energy was still within the broken particles of the rock, it definitely would have broken past a weak shield so that was good thinking on your part!¡± ¡°Is that so¡± He said as he made the energy ball even bigger in size within his palms which was now as big as a football, ¡°How about this then!¡± BOOM! As Brax said that, the ground in front of Lucy exploded creating a distraction and a barricade for her vision for a very short duration. The energy ball flew through that barrier and got very close to Lucy, just about to hit her. clasp! ¡°That was a really good one¡­!¡± She said as she destroyed the energy ball by catching and clenching it with one hand and caught Brax¡¯s fist with the other who had dashed towards her, taking advantage of the small smokescreen he created, ¡°Throwing all those energy balls at me was just a distraction¡­you just did that to keep me occupied while you transferred your energy through your legs to right in front of me at the ground, once the collected energy couldn¡¯t be contained there, it reached its limit and the ground exploded¡­ Obstructing my vision in such a manner, I must say that caught me a little off guard¡± ¡°pant¡­pant¡­pant¡­I am tired¡­¡± Brax said and fell to his knees with his fist still in Lucy¡¯s hold. (Brax) ¡°You kept on firing those energy blasts like crazy so it¡¯s understandable but there¡¯s a proper way of using them to not get exhausted when performing so many at once¡± She said as she let go of my hand and sat in her circle (should I try to push her out now? No¡­I am too tired to even move anymore¡­). ¡°Is that so¡­? Why didn¡¯t you tell me about it then¡­¡± I asked and turned myself the other way round, towards the sky. ¡°That¡¯s because I wanted to see how you perform first and then critique you, otherwise what fun would it be to be perfect from the get go?¡± She said, putting her hand up in front till her chin and created a small energy ball, ¡°Whenever you made an energy ball, it seemed as if you were tightening your body too much, that¡¯s not how concentration works¡± ¡°Mm¡± ¡°When making an energy ball, you should let your body loose and focus only on the hand on which you are making it¡± ¡°There¡¯s so much of focusing everytime aaaaaaahh¡± I said, swaying my arms and legs around. ¡°That¡¯s only for beginning to get used to this habit, in time you¡¯ll learn to focus as easily as you breathe¡± Mm, that makes sens- ¡°Lets go now, you have to do your training now¡± (Ugh¡­I had forgotten about that¡­) ¡°Ah and¡± She said as she stood up, ¡°You did very well, much better than the expectations I had, you strategized and acted on a plan which you developed all the while being on the losing end. It was better than simply brute forcing but remember that in a fight like this where you are on the losing end and clearly at a disadvantage, being efficient is always better than being effective¡± I¡­didn¡¯t expect to be praised even though I lost¡­ She did say that it was a test of my current skills so maybe the circle was just a method of testing me¡­ ¡°Ho? Isn¡¯t someone quite happy~¡± ¡°Don¡¯t tease me¡­!¡±

IV

Place - North District, Outside Home Time - 7:03 pm ¡°pant¡­pant¡­pant¡­¡± It¡¯s still¡­a bit difficult to run all this distance¡­ Normally this would have been the end of the training for the day as I¡¯ve run all the way back home (standing outside the gate right now) but¡­starting today I have to spar with Feirin as well¡­ I got done with the running earlier than usual too, maybe I am getting accustomed to this hell! Also unlike before when Lucy or Feirin accompanied me for all my training, I can do it all by myself fine now, Feirin has his own training to do after all but for some reason he¡¯s not been talking to me at all since yesterday, not that we talk much anyways but he hasn¡¯t uttered a single word to me and when I did try to talk, he seemed to avoid me¡­ ¡°sigh¡­¡± Thinking that I have to spar as well now is a bit exhausting but¡­I haven¡¯t fought against him ever since that first day when I started out all of this; I wonder how I¡¯ll fare against him now-! I can sense Lucy exerting a bit of her energy¡­she¡¯s in the sky flying away from the house, uhh¡­(I look up trying to locate her) there she is! ¡°Oi!¡± I shout, waving my hand at her (she¡¯s noticed me aaand is coming down now). ¡°Ho? You are done with training about an hour earlier than usual, you didn¡¯t cheat did you?¡± That¡¯s the first thing she believes¡­? And not praising me instead?! That annoys me a bit¡­ ¡°I didn¡¯t cheat! I did it all fair and square hmph!¡± ¡°I am joking, a joke! Jeez you take it too seriously¡± She says as she pokes my head and pushes it a bit, ¡°Good work, you¡¯ve been doing really well¡± Hehe¡­oh, ¡°Are you going somewhere?¡± I ask, she was flying away from the house just now after all. ¡°Mm¡± She mumbled while nodding, ¡°It¡¯ll take me a bit of time to return, about two to three hours I think¡± That late? It¡¯s already evening, by the time she returns it would be way past our sleeping time. ¡°I should go now, Feirin will prepare the food, you two eat it without me, I have already eaten so no need to keep any aside for me¡± She said, turning her back towards me (She¡¯s eaten already? Just where is she going¡­). ¡°Oh right, you aim to be a lord either way so telling you is probably for the better¡± She said, turning towards me, ¡°Every six months or so, a meeting between all the lords is held and that¡¯s the thing I am heading to attend now¡± Ooh¡­there¡¯s something like that too? All of the lords come together to meet¡­ So from the weakest to the stronges-WAIT, that would mean that the strongest will also come?! I don¡¯t know why but that sounds really cool! ¡°But you know¡­ (why does she look so exhausted suddenly¡­) The meetings are very boring! (Eh) I don¡¯t know about before I joined but very rarely has there been any point in doing these so I haven¡¯t gone to one since about two years now (Wow¡­), they didn¡¯t fulfil much of a purpose and were just done for the sake of being done until this point¡± ¡°Until this point? So today is different?¡± ¡°You sure are observant of what people say¡± she said as she stretched, ¡°This time around it appears that the meeting will actually be an interesting one to attend¡± ¡°How¡¯s that so?¡± (A meeting among the lords¡­how could such a thing be boring in the first place though¡­) ¡°Have I explained yet what ¡®a horizon¡¯ means?¡± She asked, I shook my head saying no. ¡°How do I say it¡­hmm¡­showing you directly would be a better way of explaining¡± She said as she started flyin-?! (Narration) ¡°Up you GO!¡± Lucy exclaimed as she grabbed Brax¡¯s hand and threw him in the sky. ZWOOP! ¡°EHH?!¡± He exclaimed as he ascended up the clouds. ¡®I literally just came after my training and she does this all of a sudden?!¡¯ He thought with his eyes closed, ¡®Focus, focus, FOCUS!¡¯ ¡°PANT¡­PANT¡­sigh¡­¡± Breathing a sigh of relief, the boy levitated among the clouds after managing to gain control of himself in this dusk full of twinkling stars as if sleeping in the sky. ¡°Now then¡± ¡°WHAT DO YOU MEAN ¡®Now then¡¯!? DO YOU KNOW HOW TIRED I AM?! WHY¡¯D YOU JUST THROW ME IN THE SKY LIKE THAT?!¡± He exclaimed, lifting himself into a standing position when Lucy came beside him. ¡°I wanted to see how much better you¡¯ve gotten at controlling yourself, if you can fly despite being tired then that means the training is going very well, that¡¯s why~¡± She said as if singing a rhyme, ¡°And even if you were to fall down, I¡¯d catch you soooooo¡± ¡­ ¡°Hmm¡­we have come a bit too far up though¡­let¡¯s descend a bit tehe¡± She said and descended a little, Brax didn¡¯t say anything but just stared at her face for a bit in annoyance and followed after her, ¡°Now, look over there, what do you see?¡± She said, pointing straight towards the south from her position at absolutely nothing. ¡°...Nothing at all¡­?¡± He said, putting his right hand above his eyes trying to understand what he¡¯s supposed to be looking at exactly among all of these houses. ¡°Not the houses dummy, look beyond them at the very edge of what is visible. If you see properly, you¡¯ll see that there¡¯s a line where the sky and the earth meet¡± ¡°Earth? What?¡¯¡± ¡°I mean the surface, not the planet where humans live¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± He said and continued looking, trying to understand what Lucy meant, ¡°! I think¡­I see it, so what is it¡­?¡± ¡°That¡¯s what a horizon is, that edge, it looks as if you reached there then that¡¯s the end of the provision¡¯s (Thysia¡¯s) land but that¡¯s not really the case, as to why though is something I¡¯ll explain later on¡± ¡°I see¡­then the topic of the meeting is regarding this horizon thing?¡± ¡°Erm¡­yeah? But also no¡­?¡± She said and looked as if she fell in deep thought for a moment, ¡°To put it simply, on Earth, I mean the planet Earth, something has happened and you can sort of say that like the horizon you see here, there¡¯s a thingy that has emerged in theirs¡¯¡± ¡°Eh¡­?¡± ¡°Unlike Thysia where land is the majority of the area and the oceans are much smaller and shallower, Earth is the exact opposite where water covers about seventy percent of the planet¡± ¡°Oh I remember you teaching that, the size of Earth is MUCH bigger than our provision so it¡¯s not an issue for the populous yet¡± ¡°Yep, somewhere on the vast ocean side of things, a large amount of energy has emerged seemingly out of nowhere which keeps extending in the sky like a massive ray of light¡± ¡°Energy¡­? Like the one we use?¡± He asked and she nodded in response, ¡°Wouldn¡¯t that be harmful to humans? You said that they can¡¯t control energy like us¡± ¡°That¡¯s also what is interesting, that energy itself is so weak that it doesn¡¯t even hurt them which is very unlike the energy we use but still the possibility lies that it belongs to someone from a provision and that is the topic of this meeting. This phenomenon has been named as Horizon¡¯s Twilight¡± ¡°I see, I get it¡­I think I do¡± ¡°That¡¯s the topic and the gist of things in short, I¡¯ll go now. You have to spar with Feirin now, remember?¡± She exclaimed as she started flying away. ¡°Yes yes I do! See you later!¡± Brax exclaimed, waving his hand as Lucy went on her way at a very fast pace. ¡°sigh, got to go spar as well now¡­¡± He said to himself as he descended back to the house, into the yard, ¡°I do get to rest for some time so it¡¯s fine I guess¡­I should go freshen up-¡± fyoom! ¡°Eh¡­?¡± thud ¡®What¡­just happened¡­?¡¯ He thought as he fell on his knees and put hands on the ground, looking towards his stomach which had a clean tiny hole in it. He turned towards his room, the source where the stray energy beam pierced through him came from; it was Feirin who stood there. ¡°pant¡­pant¡­I wasn¡¯t ready ye-¡± whirl! ¡°I¡¯ll ask once again¡± Feirin said aloofly as energy gathered at the tip of his finger which he aimed at Brax¡¯s face, ¡°What happened on that day?¡± Chapter 1.5 - An Invaluable Promise Chapter 5 An Invaluable Promise Date - 21st July 2004 (Same Day) Place - North District, Home Time - 7:08 pm (Brax) What¡­just happened¡­ drip drip drip drip drip drip Blood is dripping down through my hand which is covering my stomach¡­grh! ¡°pant¡­pant¡­I wasn¡¯t ready yet-¡± whirl! ¡°I¡¯ll ask once again, what happened on that day?¡± That day¡­? What is he¡­ (It hurts¡­! I need to get this wound patched up, I¡¯ve closed it with my energy for now¡­) ¡°What are you talking about¡­¡± ¡°The day you came here! You know something don¡¯t you?! About what happened to Master!¡± Why is he asking about that again¡­ (Fortunately it seems the energy he fired didn¡¯t pierce all the way through, there¡¯s no hole on my back and I¡¯ve sealed the one on the stomach with energy for now but it still hurts¡­! I have a bad feeling about this¡­) ¡°I told you already, I don¡¯t know anythi-¡± ¡°STOP MESSING AROUND!¡± fyoom! ¡°AARGH?!¡± IT HURTS¡­!! IT HURTS! URGHH¡­!! HE SHOT AT MY KNEE¡­(It¡¯s good that I made a barrier in time right as he aimed¡­it didn¡¯t form a hole this time but still hurts¡­not to mention I am already tired¡­) ¡°Just¡­quit lying already! I heard you talking with her at night, you are hiding something!¡± ¡°You¡­you eavesdropped on us?¡± ¡°Grh¡­! ANSWER ME! What happened on that day?!¡± whirl! He¡¯s charging up energy again, does he intend to keep doing this until I say it¡­? I have so many questions on my mind, (It hurts) Why did Feirin eavesdrop on us? (It hurts¡­) What will Lucy do if she sees this? (It hurts¡­¡­) When will she be back? (Scared¡­) ¡°pant pant¡­!¡± Will I still be here until she¡¯s back¡­? (I am scared¡­) ¡°pant pant pant pant¡­!¡± It hurts¡­so much, it burns¡­breathing is getting difficult¡­ Am I¡­am I going to die here¡­? whirl! ¡°Grh¡­! Answer me! You are tired and don¡¯t want this, right?! Then tell me so that I don¡¯t have to do this, ANSWER ME¡­!!¡± (Narration) ¡°Promise me¡± Those words first came like a soft whisper and then reverberated through and through Brax¡¯s mind among all the confusion and fear he felt in that instant as Feirin charged energy; but something was going to be very different this time than the other two shots from before. ¡°I won¡¯t tell you¡­¡± Brax whispered as he slowly pushed himself up, still trembling. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°It hurts¡­but, I promised my saviour¡­no, I promised MY SISTER that I won¡¯t tell it to ANYONE¡­!!¡± Brax exclaimed and grabbed onto a stone that was beside him then threw it at Feirin¡¯s face which he dodged by tilting his head. BOOM! ¡°GRH?! My eyes¡­!¡± Feirin exclaimed, rubbing his eyes as the stone exploded right beside his face and its particles went in his eyes temporarily blinding him, ¡°Such a cheap trick!¡± It was indeed a cheap trick and a gamble but one that worked well in the situation that Brax was in, all he did was infuse some energy within the stone he picked up which would be enough to make it explode in the very next moment right as Feirin tilted. thud! Taking this opportunity, Brax quickly threw a jab at Feirin¡¯s stomach followed by two more hits on the face, then pushed him onto the ground on his back to restrain him. ¡°You think¡­THIS IS ENOUGH TO BEAT ME DOWN?!¡± He exclaimed and kicked Brax as vigorously as he could. ¡°No, I don¡¯t!¡± Brax yelled as he landed in some distance on his feet and minimised the damage he took from Feirin¡¯s stomp by creating a layer of energy which covered his body, ¡°Take THIS!¡± BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! Picking and throwing a bunch of stones all at once which were filled with sufficient energy was the only efficient strategy that he could think of in this situation. Every stone that blasted to pieces created a small amount of smoke and all of this together managed to create a type of smokescreen. ¡®Good¡­!¡¯ Brax thought and started flying away from the place, towards the mountain as soon as he could, ¡®With how tired I already am, it¡¯ll be a very one sided fight, I need to hide in the meantime and wait for Lucy to return¡¯ BWAM!! ¡°Where did he go, WHERE DID HE GO?!¡± With a burst of his energy, Feirin cleared out the smokescreen seconds after it was made as he stood on his feet while covering his eyes; not being able to see, he switched to the only other sense with which he could reliably search for his target. ¡°There you are¡­¡± He whispered, still blinded as he turned to the direction Brax was flying in by sensing his energy, ¡°Should¡¯ve run instead of flying then maybe all this effort you put in getting away might¡¯ve actually worked!¡±

I

Time - 7:16 pm (Brax) ¡°Almost there¡­!¡± I can see the mountains which is very relieving, I don¡¯t sense him coming¡­did he give up? And¡­oddly, flying despite being tired (and hurt quite a bit) prior isn¡¯t as exhausting as I thought, in fact I feel a little less tired now, is it because I¡¯ve gotten used to my training and flying has become much more natural for me? Maybe so, Lucy did say many times that these things would become as easy as breathing with time¡­ But why did he eavesdrop on us that night¡­the scream! He must¡¯ve heard it and-no¡­wait, Lucy said that I was just imagining that and she didn¡¯t scream then why¡­ No point in thinking about it now but strange, did he really give u- ¡°Want to hide in the mountains huh?¡± ?! (Narration) As Brax turned to look behind him, he was greeted by the very person he had been fleeing from. In that very instant, Feirin grabbed onto his face firmly. ¡°Well, have a nice TRIP!!¡± Exclaiming that, he threw Brax towards the very mountains he was escaping to. CRASH! ¡°GRAHH?!¡± Brax groaned as he crashed into a tree¡¯s trunk, ¡°Why¡­I didn¡¯t sense him at all¡­¡± ¡°It¡¯s not your fault you couldn¡¯t sense it¡± Said his pursuer as he landed in front of Brax, ¡°It took a great deal of control to hide my energy while also pursuing you. You just haven¡¯t trained your senses enough to be able to detect this ¡®cheap trick¡¯ that¡¯s all¡± SMASH! Immediately after explaining Brax¡¯s shortcoming, Feirin dashed towards him with his fists which passed through the trunk of the tree as Brax leaped to the side and dodged it. Quickly, he landed two hits on Feirin¡¯s back with the chance that was granted to him. ¡°Grh¡­that''s all YOU GOT?!¡± He yelled and took his hand out of the trunk with great pressure and hit Brax with it on his cheek. Immediately rebounding, Brax charged a sphere of energy in each of his hands, seeing which Feirin instinctively put his arms in a position to block them only for the energy to be aimed and fired into the ground, creating a smokescreen. ¡°This again?¡± Feirin said, standing still in his position, ¡°Not running this time?¡± Brax didn¡¯t reply and just dashed towards Feirin only for his attack to be dodged despite the smokescreen. ¡°I can still sense you!¡± Feirin exclaimed and kneed him in the stomach. Brax¡¯s expression changed for the worse for a moment but he maintained his momentum and quickly blasted an energy ball in Feirin¡¯s chest right as he got kneed which knocked both of them in a bit of distance. ¡®Even if he can sense me, we both naturally rely on seeing more than that of sensing. That''s why there¡¯ll always be a delay before he realises what I am about to do and cannot react quick enough if I do something at point blank range!¡¯ Brax thought as he launched an energy ball in front and ran towards his opponent from the side. ¡°Grhh¡­HAHH!!¡± Feirin screamed in anger, his burst of energy cleared out the smokescreen and deflected the blast which Brax had launched towards him just as it was about to hit. clasp! Grabbing the fist that was supposed to connect to his face, Feirin pulled Brax towards himself with one hand and punched him in the face instead with his other hand, at the same time of which Brax launched two more energy balls into the same spot as before i.e. into his opponent¡¯s chest which blasted both of them away from one another. The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there. ¡®Strange¡­why is it that my attacks actually seem to be working on him?¡¯ Brax thought as he landed on his toes and sat on them while panting, looking towards Feirin in the distance who too was short on breath, ¡®Is the gap between our power and experience really that short? No¡­ I can sense it, it¡¯s not that he has lesser power, it¡¯s the opposite instea-¡¯ ¡°Just¡­tell me what happened on THAT DAY ALREADY¡­!!¡± Feirin screamed and dashed towards Brax who stood still in his position and as soon as his punch was about to land, Brax swiftly pushed his fist aside with one hand and blasted yet another energy ball into Feirin¡¯s chest; the impact of the blast should¡¯ve blown Feirin away in some distance but Brax didn¡¯t allow that to happen as he immediately grabbed the fist¡¯s wrist he had pushed aside prior, pulled it, flipped him over and smacked Feirin into the ground with force. It was at this moment that it finally became clear what was awry with this entire situation. ¡®I see¡­¡¯ Brax thought as he panted, ¡®He definitely is stronger but simply brute forcing won¡¯t work just like Lucy said. He isn¡¯t guarding himself with energy and is putting it all into offense instead but even that said offensive is disrupted because he is letting his anger get to him¡­not to mention that he used up a lot of energy earlier when he was silently on pursuit of me when I was heading towards the mountains which must¡¯ve drained a lot of his power¡­and finally, unlike him, I¡¯ve been constantly attacking him only on one singular spot with energy blasts all this time which probably hurts much more than attacking at random places (He¡¯s not guarding himself with any type of barrier either, so taking damage in one spot over and over must hurt a lot¡­). Being efficient is better than being effective in a fight such as this¡­maybe¡­I could actually win¡­!¡¯ ¡°Heh¡­hahahah¡­HAHAHAHAHAHA!!¡± Feirin screamed in laughter as he laid on his back which startled Brax and made him back away a little. ¡°So you won¡¯t tell me¡­¡± He said, trembling a little as he stood on his legs to which Brax responded by nodding, ¡°Then, you only have yourself to blame for this¡± Taking a deep breath, the surrounding energy slowly welled up inside of Feirin, swelling up his own substantially as a faint blue glow surrounded and flowed around him! whoooosh ¡®That¡¯s¡­! I forgot he has that Focus state thing he can enter in-?!¡¯ WHACK ¡°GAH?!¡± Brax groaned out in pain before he even had any time to react to the fact that Feirin was already standing in front of him and punched him in the stomach, inflicting substantial damage despite the energy barrier Brax relied on to minimise pain that he received. Without wasting any time though, he launched a jab at Feirin with his right hand in the very next instant only for his attack to be caught onto tightly. twist! ¡°AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH¡­!!!¡± He cried out loud in pain and held onto his right hand whose few bones got dislocated by the pressure that Feirin applied and then let go after. A state enhances all capabilities (strength, speed, durability, stamina, power) of the person within it by absorbing the soul energy of their surroundings to an extent and using it as a catalyst in battle. It was only natural that even reacting to Feirin had become a much more difficult task than before let alone actually defending or dealing any tangible damage to him anymore. ¡°You still don¡¯t want to say anything?¡± Feirin asked with a grim cold stare as tears rolled down Brax¡¯s eyes. ¡°pant¡­pant¡­pant¡­¡± But for this boy even breathing was becoming difficult to perform, forget talking or even battling which should¡¯ve been ¡®as easy as breathing¡¯. The only thing his subconscious screamed right now was to run, run faster than he ever had; the gap in power which was supposed to be very close had just become an unfair comparison of a ruthless adult ¡®playing¡¯ with a toddler in a matter of just a few seconds. Ignoring Feirin¡¯s question, he did as his subconscious dictated and started to run away, thud! But the fear that welled in him didn¡¯t allow even that to happen and he fell down. ¡°Some¡­one¡­help¡­¡± Crawling away, he tried to scream but voice wouldn¡¯t come out of his throat. ¡°This is the last time I ask¡± Feirin said as he walked towards Brax, picked him by pulling the back of his t-shirt forcibly then grabbed onto his neck with his other hand. thud ¡°WHAT HAPPENED ON THAT DAY?¡± He asked after bashing Brax into a tree trunk, holding onto his neck which slowly tightened by the second. Not being able to breathe or think of a way out of this situation; in order to survive, all he has to do is say ¡®it¡¯ and he¡¯ll be let go off, this entire situation will come to an end, that¡¯s all it takes, just simply uttering of what happened on that day. crack The shield of himself which he surrounded and guarded the secret with was now showing cracks steadily. crack! And they only continued expanding further. ¡®All I have to do is say it¡­right¡­? I¡¯ll say it then¡­I¡¯LL SAY IT¡­!!¡¯ is the thought which raged on in his mind. ¡°That¡­¡± he whispered and the tightness around his neck diminished. ¡°That?¡± Feirin said, his expression now softened a little. ¡°That¡­¡± Brax said, catching his breath and then, ¡°I WON¡¯T TELL YOU!!¡± Going against his instincts of survival despite how scared he was, this was the path he chose and screamed it to the world with a wavering grin on his face. ¡°Kuh¡­!?¡± Feirin groaned in annoyance and tightened his grip, choking Brax. ¡®Am I¡­about to die¡­?¡¯ Brax thought as he struggled to get out of the hold but his vision became blurry by the second. On one side, he hated himself for choosing to deny a simple request which would have spared his life if he did so which was now showing in the form of tears that were flowing down his eyes; but on the other side, ¡®I¡­am sort of proud of myself¡­¡¯ He thought, his struggling now reduced down to almost nothing, ¡¯I could have¡­chosen the easy way out¡­but¡­that would mean breaking the promise I made¡­one I made with her¡­the one who saved me¡­and rescued me from the depths of hell I suffered in¡­breaking this promise would be akin to a betrayal, it was due to her that I could experience wonderful things for once in my life¡­that¡¯s why¡­it¡¯s fine¡­although it lasted for a very short while¡­I am grateful¡­that I could live to experience this past one month¡¯ ¡®Just say it¡­¡¯ Feirin thought as he reluctantly but continued choking Brax in hopes of getting the answer out, ¡®At this rate, you really will die¡­if I do this for a bit more¡­he¡¯ll surely tell me¡­right¡­?¡¯ ¡®But¡­deep down¡­¡¯ Brax thought as his consciousness slipped away, even the wound he had sealed with energy was now coming undone ¡°I wish it didn¡¯t end so soon¡­even though it¡¯s such a selfish thing to ask for¡­I wish¡­I could still experience all of the past month¡­for a little longer¡­¡± ¡®I never got a chance to properly say and mean it¡­still¡­thank you Lucy¡­for allowing me to call you my sister¡­¡¯ Brax stopped moving. ¡­ It¡¯s too early to die just yet Brax. ¡°Who¡­¡±

II

Time - ??? Place - ??? (Brax) ¡°You¡­you are that white spirit I saw in my dream¡­¡± Where is this¡­it¡¯s dark everywhere¡­the only visible thing is that illuminating spirit standing in a bit of distance. (I can¡¯t move¡­my eyes won¡¯t open any further either¡­everything feels hazy¡­) ¡°Am I asleep-no¡­Feirin¡­he was choking me¡­so I am¡­dead?¡± ¡°No, not yet¡± ¡°Huh? Then-¡± ¡°You have fainted but will die if nothing is done¡± It said, strange¡­this spirit¡­ ¡°Are you¡­really only a dream¡­?¡± ¡°You can¡¯t die just yet, you aren¡¯t allowed to¡± it said and is coming closer. (I can¡¯t mov-) TAP¡­! The silhouette¡­it tapped its hand on my head which is making an echoing sound, reverberating in this entire stasis¡­this¡­I remember something like this happening before too¡­ ¡°This should make you be able to enter it¡± It said, I am deviating away from its hand, towards the ground, falling down very slowly¡­it¡¯s odd but I don¡¯t feel scared, I am calm and at peace¡­ ¡°Your selfish wish is granted¡± woosh thud! Those were the last words I heard as I fell on my back and the place fell into complete darkness.

III

Time - 7:19 pm (Narration) ¡°Oi, B-Brax¡­you are acting right¡­? I-it won¡¯t work¡­¡± Feirin said, his hands shaking. ¡°Oi-¡± He exclaimed but was interrupted by something odd around him. The energy in the surrounding area slowly crawled towards the boy he held onto, ¡°What is happening¡­?¡± ¡°GASP!¡± Brax awakened and started breathing heavily, seeing which Feirin¡¯s immediate thought was a confirmation in his head that this was indeed just acting out death and had stopped his act as a result of being out of breath, which is why he¡¯s breathing heavily. ¡°I should have known¡­you cunning bastar-?!¡± BLAST! As he tightened his grip on Brax¡¯s neck again, something unimaginable occurred and that was taking damage from this ¡®toddler¡¯ in front of him. In that instant as he held tighter, Brax charged up an energy ball and blasted it into Feirin¡¯s chest; this shouldn¡¯t have dealt any damage to him because of the much wider gap in power between the two which existed after he entered Focus (the first form of many different states that a person can enter in) however, CRASH! He still indeed took damage from this blast, a significant amount to top it off, to the extent that he lost his grip and went flying, crashing into a tree trunk! ¡°You¡­how¡­!?¡± He exclaimed in frustration as he looked at Brax who had his hand on his neck after closing the open wound once again. The answer was but a very simple one, in that moment of fear and terror where he was on the verge of death; he entered into what he had been training for all this time, in the instant he needed it the most, his body now surrounded in that same bluish glow as Feirin¡¯s, he entered in the state called Focus. ¡°Why¡­why won¡¯t you just say it¡­¡± Feirin said, pushing himself out of the trunk. ¡°I promised he-¡± ¡°She just disappeared for three months without a word, who cares about a stupid promise?!¡± He said and dashed. ¡°If you want to know so badly then ask her¡­Sis directly because,¡± Brax said in a low tone as he stood still in his position. ¡°Just tell me what happe-?!¡± BAM! As Feirin was about to land a hit, Brax ducked and countered with his fist. ¡°Because I care about a STUPID PROMISE¡­!!¡± He exclaimed in anger and launched Feirin into some distance with the force of the hit. Although the two of them were in the same state, because of Brax¡¯s choice to use his energy in a far efficient fashion since the beginning unlike Feirin who tried to be effective in the wrong method, there was a clear answer of who had the likelier chance of coming out on top of this bout. Even so, slide! ¡°GRH!! HAAA¡­!!¡± Feirin isn¡¯t intent on giving up the pointless struggle it has become and fired a beam of energy from his palm as soon as he landed on the ground. fyoom! ¡°This will end it¡± Brax whispered to himself as he swiftly dodged the beam by leaping to the side and picked up something big from the ground with one hand, kept it behind his back, then dashed towards his foe. As the distance between the two drew closer, Brax threw what he had picked up towards Feirin which was a stone about as big as a pillow. Seeing this Feirin instinctively closed his eyes, prepared for another ¡®flashbang¡¯ and switched to his other senses of locating Brax¡¯s energy to counter. ¡°It won¡¯t wor-?!¡± THUD! But what instead happened was the complete opposite, there was no ¡®cheap trick¡¯ of flashbang this time, instead, this heavy stone was a bluff which crashed into Feirin¡¯s face flat. It wasn¡¯t that there was no energy infusion in this one, it was still there, not to the extent of it exploding but for being a weapon instead that would cause tangible damage, or was it? BOOM! ¡°YOU¡­!!¡± Feirin exclaimed as he opened his eyes slightly after the bluff only for the stone to immediately explode right as he did which caused him to be blinded yet again. Right after which, he hastily tried to punch Brax which completely missed, as in the heat of the moment, locating through sensing energy completely escaped his mind. ¡°With this¡­¡± Brax said in a low tone as he grabbed Feirin¡¯s wrist when he missed his hit and flipped over him, landed behind and flung him 180 degrees then smashed him into the ground on his front, ¡°IT¡¯S OVER¡­!!¡± THUD! crack! ¡°ARGH?!¡± Feirin cried out in pain and was knocked out cold in the same moment. Brax truly put all his strength in this one attack that the ground itself cracked a bit on impact, the blueish aura around Feirin dissipated. ¡°pant¡­I¡­pant¡­did it¡­agh¡­¡± thud The victor of the bout fell to the ground on his front and the aura around him dissipated as well. ¡°pant¡­I must not¡­pant¡­lose consciousness¡­¡± Brax whispered, laying down, ¡°I¡¯ll recover a bit¡­just need to lie for a while¡­that¡¯s all¡­¡± Unlike Feirin, Brax had a wound that if opened, he would start bleeding which in his current condition could prove to be fatal. Therefore, it became all the more important to ensure that he doesn¡¯t lose his consciousnes- grrr! ¡°¡­I am hungry¡­¡± Brax whispered, who wouldn¡¯t be? Regardless, perhaps because of improper usage of energy or being led astray by strong emotions, the victor of the first proper fight between Brax and Feirin had been decided!

IV

Place - Central District Time - 8:06 pm ¡°Almost there¡± Lucy whispered as a massive structure painted white came into sight. ¡°Should I turn back¡­no¡­I can¡¯t keep running away any longer¡­they must¡¯ve been worried as well¡­¡± She said to herself with her eyes closed and then proceeded on to her destination, the conference of Lords. Chapter 1.6.1 - Conference of Lords Chapter 6 Conference of Lords Date - 21st July 2004 (Same Day) Place - Central District Time - 8:07 pm (Narration) What stood in sight is the quite literal centre of the land of Thysia, an enormous three story circular building called ¡®The Heart¡¯. It has a diameter of 100 meters and is surrounded by walls of fences which are ten feet tall with two guards stationed at the main gate who are armed with a special type of body armour. The ground floor consists of a simple, but giant lobby that has a man and a lady working at the reception inside the entrance on the right side. Each of them fill different time slots of the day and work in shifts to receive any visitors; after the reception, there¡¯s a staircase leading to the next floor and a doorway beside the reception which leads to a smaller circular building that has a diameter of 40 meters. Unlike the main building The Heart, this smaller structure has no other floors, after entering through the doorway leading to this smaller building, there¡¯s a short hallway which then divides into two different paths, the path splitting to the right is a room which has a massive hi-tech device inhibiting it, this device is a teleporter which can be used to transport people and goods or services during an emergency across the provision, or even to a different planet in the matter of mere minutes, however, as of the moment it¡¯s primarily used only by the lords due to some inherent issues with the build of the mechanism. Whereas the path diverging to the left lead to a massive storage room of documents and the workplace of a council of people known as the Central 20. While the strongest Top Lord/King is the most powerful single entity of the provision, he/she acts as a representative and doesn''t hold all the powers to control the provision; in reality, this council known as Central 20 is the true ruling government organisation that ensures the regulations of the laws, and is responsible for enforcing them. Going back a little to the lobby of the main building once again, there¡¯s a staircase and an elevator that is straight from the entrance, both of which lead to the above floors. The first floor consists of a Conference room where the lords gather for the meeting (Lucy¡¯s current destination), then, a room that is strictly prohibited to be entered by unauthorised personnel which comes under the vicinity of Central 20 and finally, a massive room which has medical equipment/facilities (medicines, first aid, few healing pods which are made of glass, beds for patients). The final floor i.e. second floor leads to the office of the Strongest Top Lord/King which also has a luxurious bedroom kept separately only for him/her with all necessities that one may need in their daily life. Being the strongest truly does come with its special benefits. ¡°I¡¯ve reached¡­¡± Lucy said in a low tone as she arrived at the reception, her legs shaking a little which she tried to calm down by clutching onto her thighs. ¡°Huh? You! You are Lucy right¡­!?¡± Said the lady standing at the reception, waving her hand. ¡°Uh y-yeah! Ahaha¡­¡± In that moment, the only thought which roamed Lucy¡¯s mind was that if there was a chance to get away, she had just now lost it and could no longer turn back, ¡°Hello Nina¡± ¡°Where were you at?¡± Nina said as Lucy walked towards her, she has a thin figure, orange hair tied into a ponytail, brown eyes and wearing formal clothes, her height is about the same as Lucy¡¯s (5 feet 8 inches) and age is somewhere in early 20s, ¡°Everyone¡¯s been looking for you for the past few months! Do¡­do you know what has happened¡­?¡± ¡°I¡­was just away with something for a little while¡­but, something happened? I don¡¯t think I know what you are talking about¡­¡± Lucy asked as she wrote her name in the record book, Nina¡¯s expression had suddenly become stern. ¡°Er¡­uh¡­your siste-¡± ¡°Good evening, I was just about to come pick you up myself at this point, you are eight minutes late from the appointed time¡± Said the man standing near the staircase, he has a muscular figure, though not too buff i.e. like a mesomorph body structure, dark brown coloured hair and eyes, wearing a tan vest over a blue shirt that have rolled up sleeves with a dark red necktie and tanned pants, his height is about around 5 feet 11 inches, and age somewhere in late 20s, ¡°Late as always¡± ¡°G-good evening sir!¡± Nina exclaimed, bowing a little. ¡°No need to be so formal now, good evening Nina¡± He greeted back as he walked towards the reception. ¡°You¡­¡± Lucy said as she looked towards the man, ¡°Honestly, I completely forgot you existed Ari¡± ¡°HOW RUDE¡­!¡± The man exclaimed like a kid, unbecoming of his age. ¡°I am kidding¡± Lucy said as she finished up recording her entry, ¡°Is¡­Mom here yet¡­?¡± ¡°Oh¡­¡± Nina made a sound and immediately looked down. ¡°Huh? Is something wrong¡­?¡± ¡­ ¡°I see, you haven¡¯t been in contact for a while now so you wouldn¡¯t know¡± Ari said, turning to the stairs, and started walking up, ¡°Follow me, I have something to show you¡± ¡°O-oh¡­alright¡­¡± Lucy said, following him up after waving bye to Nina who had a nervous smile. ¡°H-hey, we are already past the scheduled time¡­ Where are you taking me¡­? Unusually quiet today huh¡­¡± Lucy said as they walked past the conference room towards the medical cabin, trying to calm down and bracing herself for this odd unsettling welcome she was getting. ¡°sigh¡­I honestly wish that it wasn¡¯t me who had to do this, but as the King, I have no other choice really¡± clack! He said as he opened the double door, the inside of the room would have been abandoned of any light if it weren¡¯t for a pod straight across the doorway which is filled in glowing turquoise liquid that illuminated itself. ¡°?!¡± The moment the door opened and the sight laying at the end of darkness became visible, Lucy felt that an arrow was shot through her chest for just a moment. tap ¡°What¡¯s¡­this¡­?¡± She asked, stepping within the darkness, her voice echoing a little in this large room along with some beeping sounds that came from near the glass pod, ¡°Rebe¡­cca¡­?¡± The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. What laid within the glowing liquid was a feeble 10 year old girl with dark brown hair wearing a white t-shirt and slacks, she had a mask connected to her face and several other wirelike things holding her. tap Lucy slowly took another step, her head shaking in denial. tap Another step, faster than the one from before. tap tap tap! tap! tap! She quickened her pace, trying to make sense of what she''s seeing, hoping that she¡¯s mistaken the person within that glass for someone it isn¡¯t. thuck! ¡°Ari¡­what¡­what happened to her?!¡± She exclaimed as she put her hands on the glass, confirming what her eyes were showing her; alas, it was Rebecca inside the thick container, her own little sister. beep ¡°I don¡¯t know¡± Ari said with a grim and somber look on his face as he came closer, ¡°Ano-¡± ¡°You¡­don¡¯t know¡­?¡± Lucy said as she clenched her hands and slightly turned her head to her back, ¡°DON¡¯T GIVE ME THAT!¡± beep ¡°What do you mean you don¡¯t know!?¡± She exclaimed as she grabbed onto his shirt with both her hands, looking at him directly, filled with anxiousness, ¡°Since¡­since how long has she been here¡­?¡± beep ¡°It¡¯s been a bit more than a month now¡± ¡°More than a month¡­? She¡­she¡¯s been here for a month and you didn¡¯t even tell me?!¡± beep ¡°¡®Didn¡¯t even tell you¡¯ Lucy, do you expect me to randomly have a dream at night that you have returned after vanishing for three months with no prior notice or contact during your disappearance?¡± He replied. Despite the wording of the response itself seeming irritated, the voice of it was completely normal to the extent that it almost came off as tone deaf; however, what he said was completely valid despite the given circumstances. It¡¯s as if he was calmly letting her know of his anger and frustration with her irresponsibility. beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°I did call at your house in the following days after Rebecca was found in this condition¡± He went on, ¡°The one who picked up was Feirin and told me that you had returned, though because of the sensitive nature of this situation and its confidentiality, I didn¡¯t tell him about it. I told him to inform you to contact me back, which he must¡¯ve done, right?¡± beep¡­beep ¡°That¡­¡± She said, her expression still anxious, but hands shaking now, ¡°Yes¡­he did¡­¡± beep ¡°Yet you didn¡¯t call, why? And where were you even?¡± beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°I-I can¡¯t say¡­not right now¡­¡± She replied, stuttering in a low tone, her grip on his shirt now loosened, and she avoided eye contact by looking down. beep ¡°When will you say it then?¡± He asked, still in the same posture and tone. beep¡­beep ¡°Mom¡­where¡¯s Mom at¡­? Does she know about this?¡± She asked, feigning ignorance at his question and let go of her hold on him. beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°Ari¡­does¡­Mom know about this¡­?¡± She asked once again, looking up at him now after not receiving an answer, his expression was still the same but his eyes showed a hint of agony. beep ¡°Ari¡­? Why aren¡¯t you saying something¡­hey¡­¡± As she held his arms and shaked him, Ari looked up, took a deep breath then let it out. beep¡­beep ¡°On 14 June, 12:04 am¡± He said, still looking up, ¡°The 9th lord, Kaito reported back to the headquarters that he had found two lords in critical condition at the North District after sensing some commotion. Medical aid was immediately dispatched through portals, the two lords in question were the strongest General, Rebecca and¡­the 2nd Top Lord, Amane¡± beep ¡°M¡­om was¡­?¡± Lucy whispered, her eyes wide open, jaw shaking, her mind clouded in confusion and unease eating her up as she held onto his arms, ¡°Where¡­where¡­w-where is she now¡­?¡± beep¡­beep¡­bee- ¡°ARI!! WHERE IS SHE NOW?!¡± She screamed, holding on tighter; her voice echoed in this large silent room. beep¡­beep¡­beep Ari finally looked down to face her, but his eyes remained closed and he shaked his head from side to side. ¡°...It was too late¡± ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°By the time help reached, Amane was¡­alread-¡± ¡°What are you¡­saying¡­¡± ¡°...Lu-¡± ¡°WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! IF THIS IS A JOKE THEN STOP ALREADY¡­!!¡± She screamed, pushing him away and panted heavily. Looking at him very closely, she clung to the hope that he would laugh out and tease her for taking him seriously, something that he did often, but, tip¡­! What echoed in this silence instead was the piercing sound of a single tear droplet that fell from his eye. thud! ¡°This¡­you are¡­joking¡­right¡­? Right¡­? This¡­is taking it too far¡­¡± Whimpering, she fell to her knees. beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°Mom¡­is the strongest¡­stronger than anyone on Thysia¡­¡± She said in a low tone, ¡°More than me or you¡­I don¡¯t believe it¡­there¡¯s nobody that can beat he-¡± ¡°She wasn¡¯t killed, it wasn¡¯t a murder¡± beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°Huh¡­?¡± ¡°It was suicide¡± beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­bee- ¡°Huh¡­? What¡­what are¡­what are you saying¡­¡± She said, gritting her teeth, thinking this is some sick joke for a moment, but the circumstances thus far had been evident enough to prove otherwise, even so, this was the last thing she could ever believe, ¡°Do you¡­evEN KNOW WHAT YOU ARE UTTERING RIGHT NOW!?¡± beep¡­beep ¡°pant¡­pant¡­ There¡¯s no way¡­pant¡­something such as this¡­pant¡­pant¡­is possible¡­Mom wouldn¡¯t¡­she¡¯d never¡­UGHAAAAARRRHHH¡­!!¡± thud! thud! ¡°Lucy¡­!! STOP! STOP!!¡± Ari exclaimed, rushing to Lucy¡¯s position and stopped her from hitting her head on her hands which she had joined together on the floor. ¡°Get away¡­!!¡± She exclaimed, pushing him away. thud! ¡°You! What is doing this now going to do?!¡± He said, stopping her by pulling both her arms from underneath, ¡°It¡¯s already been over a month since all of it happened!¡± ¡°Grh¡­! SO WHAT?! SO¡­what¡­?¡± Her voice crippled, she sat covering her face with both her hands ¡°It¡¯s been a month¡­and I¡­I¡¯ve been just living¡­like nothing happened¡­?¡± beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­ ¡°You¡­don¡¯t need to attend the meeting¡­yo-¡± ¡°Just¡­give me some time¡­¡± She replied to Ari who stood beside, her hands still on her eyes, and back laid on the glass pod. beep ¡°...Okay, take as long as you need¡­¡± He said and silently walked out the room. clack beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep ¡°Grh¡­pant¡­pant¡­¡± Gritting her teeth in frustration, mind filled with disbelief, regret and anger eating her up, fear closing in on her; one particular emotion blossomed forth amongst them all in the next instant as she comprehended something. ¡®Why¡­why¡­¡¯ She thought, putting one of her hands on the glowing pod behind her, and the other still on her face, ¡®Why¡­won¡¯t tears come out¡­?¡¯ Her expression was a terrified face, filled with a realisation that led to her confusion; just a moment ago, she felt a number of complex emotions running all across her head, but now, her mind was already clear. Still, what remained the same the entire time since when she entered this dark room was that she hadn¡¯t shed even a single tear. beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep¡­beep... Chapter 1.6.2

I

Time - 8:26 pm clack ¡°Ari¡­why are you still¡­?¡± Lucy asked the one who was leaning on the wall beside with his arms folded as she shut the door behind her after coming out, ¡°The meeting¡­shouldn¡¯t it be started by now?¡± ¡°It starts at 8:30, I called you early. You don¡¯t have to attend the meeting if you can¡¯t¡± He replied, there¡¯s no explanation needed as to why he called her early in specific, it''s quite self explanatory. ¡°It¡¯s¡­fine¡­I can attend it¡­¡± ¡­ ¡°Lucy¡± He said as he walked and stood in front of her. ¡°Yes¡­?¡± ¡°You siblings had the closest relation with Amane and I know how much you loved her as your mother¡± He once again wore the cold expression as the one he had inside, ¡°Even so, it¡¯s important that I ask this, your sudden disappearance¡­it¡¯s not related to this incident, is it?¡± ¡®How can you even think that!?¡¯ Lucy wanted to scream that but stopped just as her mouth opened, realising that she is without a doubt easily the prime suspect in this case due to her unexplained disappearance for months and then sudden reappearance that just so happens to coincide very closely with the death of the 2nd Top Lord and critical condition of the strongest General both of whom are closely related to her. ¡°I¡¯ll ask once again, where were you from March 12th to June 14th?¡± Ari asked the one who was avoiding his gaze, looking at the floor. ¡­ ¡°I can¡¯t say¡­but¡­June 14th¡­?¡± Lucy replied, turning her face towards the enquirer, ¡°The day I returned on wasn¡¯t 14th, it was in the evening of June 13th¡­¡± ¡°It wasn¡¯t 14th?¡± Ari asked, his face still maintaining the stern look but relaxed a little for the first time since they met today, ¡°Really¡­? Do you have any alibi for that?¡± ¡°Feirin and¡­another boy¡± She replied while looking straight in his eyes. ¡°Another¡­boy¡­?¡± He asked in response to which she nodded, ¡°Don¡¯t tell me you picked up Amane¡¯s habit¡­¡± ¡°No comments¡­¡± ¡°Hey!?¡± He exclaimed, quite unbecoming of his age and position as the King, ¡°sigh¡­first she abducted you siblings a long time ago then Feirin recently and now you take on after her all these years later and abduct a random kid as well¡­¡± ¡°A-ahem! I didn¡¯t kidnap him¡­I did ask for his permission first¡± She replied, looking away once again. ¡°That doesn¡¯t change anything! He was homeless at the very least¡­right?¡± She simply nodded to which there wasn¡¯t any change in Ari¡¯s expression after all, this conversation if heard out of context would definitely spark quite the controversy. ¡­ ¡°sigh¡­But I am glad¡­¡± He said and turned halfway around towards the direction of the staircase that was in a bit of distance, ¡°I don¡¯t know where you disappeared off to, still, it¡¯s quite visible that whatever happened in that time had an effect on you¡­a bad effect, that¡¯s why you don¡¯t wish to talk about it¡± ¡°It¡¯s that visible huh¡­¡± She said, looking down. ¡°I can¡¯t say I fully believe you, not until you explain your disappearance¡­but I know for sure that you can¡¯t ever be the one to do this¡± He said as he walked towards the conference room. ¡°Thank you¡­¡± Lucy whispered and followed after him. (Lucy) I understand¡­you have a duty and responsibility to fulfil¡­ Even if you want to trust me, it must be hard to do so¡­and even if you are by my side, Central 20 won¡¯t be¡­so going about it in this cruel way despite how I might feel is the only method you have¡­ Still¡­the only person whom I can talk with right now and have known for many years now¡­also not trusting me¡­ I get why, I really do, it¡¯s my disappearance that is the cause of it all¡­but¡­I too have the right to feel hurt when I am emotional¡­don¡¯t I¡­? Then¡­why¡­why doesn¡¯t it hurt¡­?

II

Time - 8:29 pm (Narration) clack ¡°Everyone here?¡± Ari asked as he and Lucy entered the white conference room. The room had white tiled walls, a giant oval table in the middle with ten chairs around it (the one at the end of the table, near the door being more comfortable looking and bigger than the others), a projector attached to the ceiling and two air conditioners (that''s quite rare to find in places other than The Heart) attached to the walls near the ceiling, ¡°Seems like the case¡± There were five people sitting in their seats, each chair is numbered between 1st to 10th out of which the seats from 4th to 7th and 9th were occupied. ¡°There¡¯s seriously no need to do this, all of us are pretty much colleagues here¡± Ari said as he sat because all of the people that were sitting stood up to greet him, and then sat in their seats again. ¡°Erm, Pat hasn¡¯t arrived yet¡± Said a boy standing near the end of the table at the 9th seat, he is wearing a black t-shirt (that says ¡®Everything Starts at Zero¡¯ on the front and ¡®Everything Ends at Zero¡¯ on the back in bold white text) and shorts, height around 5 feet 4 inches and is almost 14 Thysia years old; quite the get up for an important meeting. ¡°Ah right, the 10th lord wasn¡¯t invited for this meeting Kaito¡± Ari replied as he and Lucy sat on their respective seats. ¡°Eh, why?¡± ¡°The conference this time involves some hefty topics which are a little too sensitive for a youngster like him, I wouldn¡¯t have invited you either but you are an important witness which is why your presence is required, that¡¯s it¡± ¡°I see¡­¡± Kaito said and sat down. ¡°Let''s start the conference then. The topi-...what¡¯s wrong Freya?¡± Ari stopped as the one in the 5th seat raised her hand, her figure is quite lean, she has short black hair, brown eyes, wearing spectacles, a black blazer with a white shirt on the inside; black pants, and she''s a little smaller in height than Lucy (5 feet 6 inches) and is in her mid 20s; a very neat and tidy woman. ¡°Before the main topic of today, I believe there¡¯s something else that needs to be addressed right now¡± She said and shifted her gaze towards the one who was sitting to her left, ¡°3rd Top Lord Lucy, I believe you ought to know what I am probably referring to¡± ¡°yawn¡­You are right¡­yawn¡­I agree with her Ari¡± Said the thin blue haired man sitting beside Freya at her right on the 7th position who had dark circles beneath his eyes (like his hair, also blue in colour), his getup being pretty much the exact same as Freya except he didn¡¯t have any spectacles, his white shirt buttons are undone, the belt was half out and the sleeves of blazer were folded for some reason¡­ Height the same as Ari¡¯s and is in his early 20s; a very¡­opposite vibe compared to that of Freya, ¡°yawn¡­the air conditioner is great¡­can I sleep here tonight?¡± This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°No Orin¡­you can¡¯t, you aren¡¯t allowed¡± Said the blonde haired man sitting across the table of Freya at the 6th position who also had the exact same get up, except his blazer was dark blue in colour and unlike Orin, he was actually very tidy just like Freya. He¡¯s a little smaller than Orin and the King in height and is in his mid 20s; makes one wonder if opposite personalities attract or vice versa when looking at these three lords in one room, ¡°I too agree with Freya¡± ¡­ ¡°sigh Alright, lets hold a vote if that¡¯s the case¡± Ari said, sitting with his arms folded after glancing at Lucy for a moment, ¡°The ones who wish to discuss about the 2nd Top Lord first before the topic of the conference raise your hands and the ones-¡± Out of the 7 people present, 4 of them immediately raised their hands; Lucy and Ari being one of those who didn¡¯t raise their hands, but there was one other person who didn¡¯t, it was a guy sitting in the 4th position with his hands on the table kept over one another; he¡¯s wearing a black coat, black pants, has dark lavender hair and a mask covering his face which was half white and half violet in colour, the only visible part of the face was through the holes of the mask which revealed his crimson eyes. ¡®Who¡¯s this guy¡­¡¯ Lucy thought, looking towards the person in the 4th seat in confusion for a moment. (Lucy) As much as I wish that we wouldn¡¯t talk about this topic right now¡­I could feel it in everyone¡¯s gaze here, knew that there¡¯s no avoiding this situation ever since I entered this room, definitely can¡¯t considering there¡¯s three of Central 20¡¯s members as the lords¡­but, who¡¯s this masked guy¡­? I didn¡¯t notice him earlier and I don¡¯t remember ever seeing him¡­ Why''s he sitting in Yumi¡¯s place¡­? ¡°Four over three huh, well, to be completely transparent, I was going to bring it up later anyway as it¡¯s related to the main topic of the day¡± Ari said (Isn¡¯t that five over two then¡­ Related to the main topic of the day? How?). ¡°I believe the Central 20 members among us and I had already gone over some of the things we had in hand at the time, right?¡± ¡°Yes¡± ¡°yawn¡­yes¡­¡± ¡°Yes sir¡± The Central 20 members¡­their presence has always felt quite normal, but Ari always said how it was a headache, I relate to him right now¡­it has never felt so nerve wracking as much as it does right now to be with them in one room¡­Freya, Warren and Orin¡­ ¡°Then, Kaito, tell us what you saw on that night once again¡± Ari asked. This boy Kaito, he¡¯s a Thysia year younger than me or was it two¡­? Either way, I remember Rebecca doesn¡¯t quite get along with him, she doesn¡¯t like his personality or dressing sense¡­(even his current outfit¡­can¡¯t really blame him though, these meetings haven¡¯t ever been that interesting to begin with) She¡¯s still a kid, surely with time she¡¯ll come to respect others and not judge them over their likes and dislikes as she grows¡­ ¡­And then Kaito told the details of it¡­of that night again¡­ ¡°After that I reported as soon as I got to the scene¡± What¡­ Ari didn¡¯t tell me that¡¯s the state they found Mom in¡­ Why¡­ I can¡¯t believe it¡­ Why¡­why did Mom do something like that¡­taking out her own eye¡­ And how did Rebecca end up in that condition¡­ It didn¡¯t happen that far away from my house¡­and I didn¡¯t even know¡­how¡­I should¡¯ve been able to sense it¡­ (Narration) ¡®You were busy having nightmares of your actions as always, forgot already?¡¯ Her eyes widened as its words echoed in her mind, of the one which is her own voice yet not hers. ¡°Thank you Kaito¡± Ari said as the boy finished speaking, ¡°Given the circumstances of this incident it¡¯s still hidden from the public eye as it was important for this meeting to be held first, however it¡¯ll be published in the newspapers on the upcoming Monday. Before we proceed, is there anything anybody wants to say?¡± ¡°I do¡± Freya said and Ari gave her the permission to speak. ¡°Ms Lucy, where were you on the night of June 13?¡± She asked with her head tilted slightly to her left, glaring at the girl. ¡­ However, Lucy was clearly shaken, trembling now knowing the actual details of the events that had taken place, it was unbelievable to even imagine, but the truth was that really did happen. ¡°Ms Lucy¡± ¡°Y-yes!?¡± Lucy exclaimed as the querier touched her shoulder. ¡°Where were you on that night?¡± ¡°I-in my hous-¡± ¡°Please refrain from lying, you weren¡¯t back until the morning of June 14 according to our intelligence¡± Freya said, cutting through Lucy¡¯s words, her eyes now hardened and became narrower. ¡°It¡¯s the truth! Feirin can attest i-¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t he a kid? His statement can¡¯t and won¡¯t be taken into consideration, not to mention that you could easily tinker with his word-¡± ¡°Stop Freya, you are going overboard with the accusations, she¡¯s a suspect at most even if we consider her disappearance¡± Warren interrupted, ¡°...wake that idiot up¡± ¡­ ¡°Wake up!¡± Freya exclaimed, pushing Orin¡¯s shoulder who had fallen asleep (he¡¯s drooling even¡­). ¡°Eh? What? Is it morning? Just a bit longer¡­¡± Orin mumbled and went back to sleep. ¡®...I don¡¯t know if I find this nerve wracking anymore¡¯ Lucy thought as she looked beside her at Freya who violently shook Orin to wake him up. ¡°Huh?! Oh¡­good morning yawn! Hmm¡­¡± THE guy said as he woke up. (Why is this guy here¡­) ¡°Huh¡­oh right, it¡¯s the conference¡­why do you have to keep it at night time, Ari¡­yawn¡­¡± He continued as he rubbed his eyes, ¡°Oh! Ms Lucy, you are back? Where were you for three months?¡± ¡­Somehow the guy¡¯s immediate question after waking up is actually the one that Lucy is most unwilling to answer right now which brought her nervousness that she had gained some control over for a moment back now. ¡°T-that¡¯s¡­¡± ¡°What? I can¡¯t hear you¡± Orin said with his chin resting on his hands that he had kept straight on the table, his look was now completely different and something about his presence became much more unsettling compared to Freya for Lucy, ¡°Where, were, you?¡± ¡°I-...¡± ¡°She was on Dion for a mission that I assigned to her¡± Ari said, and everyone turned their faces towards him, clearly surprised, especially Lucy. ¡°Is that so? Hmm, so I can go back to sleep righ-¡± ¡°Why¡­why did you not tell about this earlier then?¡± Freya asked, her tone showed irritation and surprise for a slight moment but reverted to the usual stern manner right after. ¡°I said why, didn''t I?¡± He continued, ¡°That I would come to this topic after our original topic but everyone wanted to talk about that first that¡¯s why I let it be, this was a secret mission that was given to her by me personally and nobody else knew about it, which is why Lucy isn¡¯t allowed to speak regarding it unless I personally disclosed it. So are there other queries anyone has before we move onto actual evidences?¡± ¡°Dion¡­you mean that provision of festivities?¡± Orin asked, visibly excited, to which Ari nodded, ¡°Ooh¡­what was the mission about exactly?¡± ¡°What her mission was specifically is going to remain classified for the time being, as everyone here knows, Dion, the provision of festivities and Thysia have been in the talks of working together to improve our relations since some time now, all I can say for now is that Lucy¡¯s mission was related to that¡± He explained, but in reality, the true target of this explanation was something else, the reason of saying all of this was to make Lucy aware of the situation that had been ongoing during her absence which he hadn¡¯t conveyed earlier. ¡°Then how come you did not sense anything happening so close to your house?¡± Freya asked Lucy. ¡°I¡­was exhausted after the long trip¡­the place lives up to its name¡­¡± She answered nervously. ¡­ ¡°I see¡­makes sense¡± Freya said and sat upright. ¡°Any other queries that anyone has before we move on?¡± Ari asked. ¡®I have no other excuses¡­I can¡¯t just say that I was having nightmares and couldn¡¯t wake up¡­¡¯ Lucy thought, ¡®Talks with Dion¡­the provision famous for its festivities, from what I remember they were going to start spreading their culture and market to other provisions soon as a method to build relations¡­ I had no idea that Thysia is going to be the first one to collaborate with them¡­¡¯ Staring at the only person that she could trust on this table of many thoughts, ¡®But even more so than that, Ari¡­I didn¡¯t expect you¡¯d cover up for me like this¡­¡¯ ¡®Please don¡¯t make me regret this choice I made in haste and break my trust¡­¡¯ The King thought with his eyes closed. Chapter 1.6.3 ¡°Seems like there¡¯s no further doubts then¡± Ari said as he opened his eyes, ¡°sigh¡­As we have already gone through the 2nd Top Lord¡¯s situation, perhaps it¡¯s better to disclose this now than later on; when Rebecca, the strongest General was brought to the clinic, it was found that there were some traces of foreign energy on her body and the investigation on it was completed a week ago, we now know whom it belongs to-¡± ¡°?!¡± At that moment, everyone with the exception of Ari and the masked man became alarmed of the nervous presence that was among them, who was no longer trembling. rattle! ¡°...¡± The masked man simply sat in his seat unfazed with his arms folded and eyes closed. ¡°Ms Lucy¡­calm down please¡­¡± While Warren and Freya tried to calm her down despite being visibly shaken. ¡°O-oi, the air conditioner will break¡­¡± Orin said (interesting priorities¡­), while Kaito was too afraid to even utter anything. Now with the exception of her, the windows in the room and colleagues present (5th to 9th) trembled as she gazed upon Ari. ¡°who¡­? who was it?¡± Lucy asked calmly, her eyelids wide open, releasing her energy subconsciously that resulted in slight tremors; until just a second ago, she appeared as though staying here was a punishment to go through with, but now, the expression which she wore, and the sudden change in composure and relaxedness was a frightening sight to behold. It¡¯s not that the other lords believed that she didn¡¯t fit in her position, however there was definitely at least a shred of doubt and potential for change in opinion about it since she entered this room, but during this very instant, the realisation dawned that it doesn¡¯t matter whatever her emotional state might be at the moment, she holds her position for a reason and there¡¯s no need for her to prove it. ¡°It belongs to the previous 4th lord who resigned from her position two months ago, Yumi¡± Ari conveyed, something that came as yet another shock to everyone, even to the quiet enraged girl, Lucy, that she got caught off guard. ¡°Huh¡­?¡± Lucy muttered, clearly flabbergasted, ¡°Yumi¡¯s energy¡­? No¡­no no no¡­there¡¯s got to be some mistake, that shy nervous girl couldn¡¯t possibly-¡± ¡°The traces of energy show a match of 98.7% with hers¡± ¡­ Lucy wanted to speak, and say how outrageous this claim was, but the information that she had received and got knowledge of in the past one hour alone was more than enough proof that even if it sounds unrealistic or unimaginable, anything was possible at this point; all she could do was grit her teeth in frustration and feel powerless, because everything now is already a fact and it had been too late to do anything to change this present she loathed being a part of. ¡°After her resignation two months ago on May 9th, she was last seen on June 8th, then seemingly suddenly disappeared, a missing complaint was filed by her parents on June 11th, however her whereabouts are still unknown, and now energy traces of hers were found on Rebecca¡¯s injuries¡± Ari added. ¡°Doesn¡¯t this¡­tch, make her a wanted criminal then?¡± Orin said, his face resting on the palm of his forearm that¡¯s kept up straight on the table. ¡°As with how things stand, yes, she¡¯ll be declared as a wanted criminal¡± ¡°That¡¯s why¡­he¡¯s her replacement?¡± Lucy said in a low tone, staring at the masked man with discontent. ¡°Yes¡± Ari clarified, his hand in the direction of the concerned person, ¡°His name is Neon, he is the temporary 4th lord as things stand¡± ¡°Greetings¡± The man in question said in a low tone and bowed his head a little, his voice is a little deep and sturdy. ¡°Now then, let¡¯s come to the heart of the current issue we are facing¡± Ari said as he glanced at the 2nd Top Lord¡¯s chair, ¡°A replacement for the empty position isn¡¯t something that is worth too worrying about normally, however, this is the seat of the 2nd which fills is an important role and makes it just as necessary to find someone who can hold it¡± Needless to say, this is a massive issue for the provision as it has lost one of its bigger leading power, that¡¯s why Ari is correct from an objective standpoint, but, ¡®Someone other than Mom taking this seat¡­I don¡¯t like i-¡­ No¡­it¡¯s important¡­I can¡¯t let my emotions get in the way¡­¡¯ From a subjective standpoint, Lucy couldn¡¯t let someone just come and take this position away; for as long as she had been with her mother, Amane had always been in this seat which created this inseparable image that her mother and this seat are for one another, ¡®But it doesn¡¯t feel right for a stranger to take the seat¡­ Oh! If that¡¯s the case, I can take it! I¡¯ve become plenty strong now, I-¡¯ ¡®You taking her seat? Do you even know what you are saying?¡¯ That voice once again echoed in her head. ¡®That¡¯s¡­¡¯ ¡®What ¡®that¡¯? The fact THAT YOU are strong so it doesn¡¯t matter? HAHAHAHA! So you won¡¯t let anyone else take her seat, though a murderer taking it is fine huh?¡¯ This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡®No! no¡­I-I didn¡¯t¡­I¡­¡¯ ¡°Ms Lucy, are you fine?¡± Freya murmured, placing her hand on Lucy¡¯s shoulder. ¡°?! Erm¡­yes¡­I am fine¡­just a slight headache sigh¡­¡± Lucy replied, looking down, covering her eyes with one hand. ¡°I have a proposal¡± Warren said which shifted everyone¡¯s sights towards him as Ari gave him the go to tell his idea, ¡°Normally, the selection for a Top Lord is done by the recommendation of the King and their peers which are the current standing Top Lords but as it stands, you must be busy with the collaboration work with Dion, as such why not assign it to the Central 20 to make amends?¡± The instant this proposal was announced, both Lucy and Ari immediately understood what it meant. ¡®This is a trap¡¯ The two thought simultaneously as they glanced at one another. As it stood currently, the lords system had three categories - Top Lords, Lords and Generals and the selection method for each of these was different.
Top Lords would be selected by the King and his peers (Other Top Lords), Lords would be selected by Central 20, or by the King, Generals would be selected through a tournament, or by the King.
At the moment, this system already had three Central 20 members, and with the way of how things operated within the lords, whenever there¡¯s any disagreements or arguments as such, almost always a vote was held to solve disputes or reach a conclusion. Having another Central 20 member, or someone connected to them would equate to one more vote for having things their way, not to mention it being a Top Lord¡¯s position would hand them even more influence than what they already had here prior. ¡°What do you think?¡± Warren inquired. (Ari) This is really troublesome¡­ Directly refusing this offer would be like showing antagonism towards Central 20, but taking it would be even worse¡­ My current situation (being busy with the Dion collaboration effort) dictates that it¡¯s better to accept this offer, though I am sure that even the people of Thysia wouldn¡¯t like it if yet another lord was selected by Central 20, that¡¯s not to mentioning it being the 2nd seat at that, nobody would want her seat to be given away on a whim, after all she was stronger than the King himself¡­far stronger than me¡­ Amane¡­just what happened that you took that sort of decision which you made¡­ I can only think of one way in this position, even though I don¡¯t think it¡¯s the correct one either¡­ ¡°Perhaps there¡¯s no need for that with the 2nd seat¡± I said, looking at my desperate hope, ¡°Lucy, I think you are more than plenty-¡± ¡°Sorry Ari¡­I think I know what you are about to say¡­I thought about it for a second too, but¡­I have to decline¡± She replied¡­(what?! Why!? I thought you¡¯d be the most protective of this seat than anyone here!?) Calm down me¡­she must have her reasons for saying so¡­ Gotta say though, at least don¡¯t respond before I even complete my sentence¡­it makes me look like an idiot¡­ ¡°However, I too have a proposal¡± She continued (she also has one¡­?), ¡°Rather than leaving it to any one party, why not both me and the Central 20 look for a candidate each? Whoever we do choose will have to beat me first in combat and prove that they are worthy of the 2nd spot¡± ¡°But aren¡¯t you also busy with the Dion collaboration effort?¡± ¡°That¡¯s Ari who¡¯s busy with it, my mission is already complete, and I don¡¯t have anything else to do in my immediate plans¡± Lucy replied to Warren (absolutely crushing this pawn of Central 20! A-ahem¡­not bad¡­this isn¡¯t a direct refusal and allows a fair play of powers¡­) ¡°I am on board with Warren¡¯s idea instead¡± Orin said¡­whose head is resting on the table, ¡°You just came back from an important mission and must be exhausted, it¡¯s for the better to leave this task with us¡± There it is, a start of disagreement which will then lead to the next sentence, ¡°Why don¡¯t we take a vote?¡± Orin continued and raised his hand, his head still resting on the table (sigh knew it), ¡°Those who agree with Warren¡¯s proposal, raise their hand; while those who agree with Lucy¡¯s don¡¯t¡± ¡­ This is a sight I didn¡¯t expect to see¡­nobody else is raising their hands¡­not even Warren whose proposal is being voted on¡­ ¡°Eh? yawn¡­It¡¯s 6 on¡­1?¡± ¡°Of course you dummy¡± Warren replied¡­(what is happening¡­), ¡°3rd¡¯s recommendation is more insightful and fits this system better than that of my mine, a Top Lord¡¯s position is one that requires not only leading qualities, but the one who sits in it must also be just as powerful to maintain the status in public eye. I think your proposal is for the best, which everyone else also seems to agree on¡± ¡°yawn¡­! Makes sense¡± ¡­Was I overthinking¡­? No, it had always been different in the past, so them giving up so quickly is the reason why it feels strange; this is for the better though (however they still have the ability to look for someone as well, that¡¯s something to be careful about¡­)