Xion’s lips parted as he questioned the lady, “You’re kidding, right? True Blessing is a myth.” Sierra glared at him and tiredly answered, “It’s not. It’s right in front of your eyes, Xion.”Gray looked up at the two people who glared at each other for the hundredth times already. “G-guys, what’s a True Blessing?” His question did work as Sierra averted her focus to the kid. Her eyes clearly showed uneasiness and complicated things that she hadn’t share.Gray waited for the explanation, but no words came out from her. Instead, Sierra turned her back to stand in front of the light as if she wanted to pry it opened. Xion decided to take over as he rubbed his neck tiredly, “I’m not sure, kid. It’s a legend; long ago, back in the earliest civilization that was written in the history. I don’t believe it though. Legend said, True Blessing was a destructive power that shaped the earth.”“It’s more than that,” Sierra added. With a long breath, she started to explain the history.“Long time ag
After Gray touched the light, for about five seconds, nothing happened. Then, suddenly a burst of light shot up, blinding Sierra and Xion’s eyes. When they opened their eyes, Gray laid down unconsciously, with light all over his body.“What the hell?” Xion murmured nervously and he nudged at Sierra for a clue. She said, “Don’t worry. It won’t hurt him; it probably speaks bullshits.”Xion nodded and then the tensions were removed from his body. He glanced at Sierra again, like he wanted to speak something, but realized it probably ended in fights.“… Speak already,” Sierra glared at him; she was also relaxed, with her arms crossed in front of her chest. Xion figured, while waiting the kid to wake up, it might be better if he just spoke with the woman.“So… you’re having the Sun’s blessing?” He started the conversation awkwardly.“Hm.” “There’s no records about that kind of blessing too,” Xion pondered; really, the woman beside him was just full with mysteries. “Yeah, I always good at
It’s been a couple of months again after Gray obtained his True Blessing. Now, he could control his power better than before. If Leon was knocked down by the clash, he would summon a soft barrier beneath his friend.“It’s crazy outside at the border.”Xion and Ketih just came back from scouting the area. Lately they kept doing that, so that when the time came, when the enemy came, they were prepared and could easily leave the city.The five of them sat down in their small, shared house. They were about to make their next moves. “The north towns are already occupied by the enemy. Thousands of soldiers are matching towards the gate at this moment, so freaking near.” Keith added grimly.“From what we’ve heard, Adam already dispatched almost his entire army to protect the gate. Probably hundreds of thousand,” Xion explained.“Why they’re focusing too much on the north gate?” Leon questioned them curiously. “Isn’t that too much risks to take? What about the south border or the east one?”“
After the men came back from supply run, Xion announced some bad news, “Adam is one paranoid man. Now, the city’s full of soldiers too. When we’re leaving tomorrow, I guess it’ll be with hundreds of people.”Keith rubbed his beard tiredly, which he started grew a month ago, “Great. Be careful not to lose each other, or even worse, lose our money.” They could see the kids were nervous, but there’s nothing they could do about it. Sierra nodded; she already walked with refugees hundreds of times, but this time, with the kids along, she felt uneasy too.She exhaled and announced, “Time to sleep. We’ll need that energy tomorrow to walk with the crowds.”Everyone agreed with her, and they entered their own rooms. Leon with Gray, Keith with Xion, and Sierra alone.“Hey, Gray,” Leon laid down on his bed, staring at the ceiling.“Hm? What’s wrong, Leon?” The other murmured quietly.“Now that you’re stronger, you should be able to protect Sierra, right?”Gray chuckled, still half asleep, “I hop
No one dared to let down their guard even for a second. Sierra was tense, she couldn’t stop herself from pacing back and forth in the damp cave. The smoke still rose above and they knew, morning would come soon since the sky was getting clearer and stars were already gone.Gray was worried sick about Leon. How could the other just leave without waking him up? What’s on his clever mind? In front of the kid, Keith stood close the fire, realizing the tense situation, he spoke, “Don’t worry too much. If Xion said he’d come, he’s going to be here.”Sierra suddenly heard a crack of twig; thus, she quickly raised her bow to the sound. Keith also drew out his sword. The black silhouette turned out to be someone they familiar with. However, he was alone.“Xion,” Gray gasped when he saw the handsome man covered with dirt and blood. He stumbled along, and Keith quickly aided his friend. “Where’s Leon?” Sierra trembled a little when she asked the man.Xion shook his head, then when he sat down, h
“Huh,”Sierra pondered as she stopped at the alleyway. Watching some drawings on the wall that usually would catch the attentions of those bounty hunters. “What?” Xion noticed that the woman suddenly stood silently, then he walked to her.Naturally, his line of sight also fell to the drawings. “Damn it,” He cursed. Sierra turned to him as she grinned, “Your first time become criminal?”Xion cleared his throat as he felt his cheeks flushed red. Then he stammered, “Of course, it is!” Looking at her calm face, Xion suddenly got it, “Wait. You ever became criminal too?”“Yeah, so many times actually.” Sierra suddenly smiled fondly, as if she was reminiscing something. “I was part of Habelon Liberation Army. In case you don’t know, it’s—”“What?! Are you serious?” Xion cut her fast. Eyes sparkled with stars in the night. It was his first time became so excited over something in a long time. “That’s the 10 years of war, Habelon vs. Beilgadi! It’s happened two hundred years ago; you’re telli
“Apparently, Fallton already pledged their loyalty to Kingdom of Bealaris a week ago.”Xion furrowed his eyebrows as he watched the map on his hand. Being fugitives, the group couldn’t rent an inn on every town they reached. Thus, they had to make a camp outside in the woods, which really annoyed Sierra.“How many cities or towns left?” Keith asked the other as he added another X mark to Fallton.“Probably eight. But they’re not strong enough to hold on their own if Bealaris decided to attack. And, we don’t have time and energy to travel to those places.”Sierra crossed her arms as she peeked at the map. “Huh,” She muttered.“What?” Xion asked her.“Here,” She pointed at a town, “Iris.”“Yeah?”“Let’s go there,” She looked up to stare at Xion. The handsome man was confused, “There’s nothing in Iris, Sierra.”“There is,” She raised her eyebrows, clearly ready for an argument. Xion was tired as he rubbed his eyes, “How could you know about it?”“Let’s say that I have a good intuition,”
Gray wasn’t the only one who thought that Sierra was going to put them into troubles.Stammering, Keith stepped forward, “Sir, I’m so sorry. She didn’t mean to call you a kid. We-uh-she-uh… Xion, a little help here!” The last sentence came as a whisper to his friend. Unfortunately, Xion didn’t know what to do. He just stared at the woman with amusement and also confusion along with the rest of guards and maids in the hall.Their face showed so many different expressions; they might be better dead right now.Instead, Sierra shook her head, and she pulled Keith back by the collar, “Stupid, bear.”The mayor still walked shakily towards her. It was clear that sooner or later, he couldn’t walk anymore. Then, Sierra stepped fast, but steady to the man. With a smile, the old man opened his arms and the woman fell into the warm hug.“Oh my god! She’s Mary?” Gray heard the nearest maids gossiping. “Wasn’t she supposed to be 90 years old? How come she still pretty and young?”“She’s Mary? Mayor