Death To Power VOL.5(Part 1)

Chapter 363: Home Sweet Home

The shift was swift, and the two brothers sensed the difference in the air instantly.

One second they were amidst ashes, hot wind parading inside their throats. And the next second they found themselves in a room.

Warm. Cozy. Sweet with the scent of family.

Instinctively, Kaden’s shoulders relaxed, his breathing regulating. Soon, the need to sleep whispered inside his mind like a succubus.

He suppressed a yawn of temptation, and took in the sight of the space he spawned in.

The room’s walls were painted in red, the ground in black, then veiled by a blood-stained fur of a beast.

The stench was weirdly sweet.

The ceiling was high. A dim light shaped like a droplet of blood was embedded in the middle of it, drenching the room in red luster.

There was a bed, made from a mix of wood and steel. It glimmered and glowed like fire under the light. At its side was a desk, numerous pictures scattered atop it.

In front of the open window, there was a wide table ringed by a chair. On the chair was seated a woman with shoulder-length black hair left loose, a notebook in her hand.

She was scribing. At least, she had been before sensing two new presences inside her room.

Daela frowned subtly, then her one eye flashed with crashing joy.

The presences were somehow familiar, even though different in a sense. Yet her heart skipped a beat. Even before turning her head, she knew the beings standing behind her.

But she didn’t have the time to gather herself, feeling bear-like arms wrapping around her lithe body tightly.

She shivered in trauma, then bit her lips as cracking pain slapped her.

CRACK—!!

Daela’s eye dilated, her lips opening in a soundless gasp of surprise and pain.

“SISTER!!!!” Dain bellowed, voice delighted. The whole room vibrated, rattled, some of the furniture falling to the ground weakly.

“I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!” Dain continued, raising the struggling Daela high in the air in a tight hug.

Daela waved her legs sporadically, searching for solid ground.

The Empress of Silence was stunned, her mind reeling at this unexpected situation.

Kaden, meanwhile, was watching with a grin on his tired face. He felt the aura erupting from Daela before Dain. His grin widened, anticipating something.

And indeed,

“Twin blades,” Daela grated, crimson eye growing with intense wrath.

Dain’s lips twitched, feeling the approaching danger tingling at his neck. With blazing speed, he unraveled his arms from his sister and threw her away from him. Yellow flame licked his bulging frame.

Daela fell on the table. It creaked painfully, then snapped into splintered pieces of wood.

She sprang to her feet in a heartbeat, her twin swords in her hand. Her borgne eye began to glow, white light coloring the scar and escaping slowly through the closed eyelid.

Meanwhile, Dain took one throbbing step on the ground; it winced in agony, shattered into shards of wood and melting steel, then propelled himself upward.

Just at that time, his sister shifted her feet, her body shrouded in white, suffocating light. Her twin blades glimmered, then she slashed at her brother as he was about to reach the ceiling.

“HAHAHAH!” Dain cackled, enjoying the situation.

He raised his index finger, and brushed it against space from top to bottom. The air sizzled, burned, then was sliced into two, revealing between its crack the sight of a battle axe.

The axe pulsed once. Then the coming attack was burned to oblivion.

Dain reached the ceiling and stuck his feet against it. Forgetting to control his strength in his excitement, the ceiling exploded into a rain of stone.

Yet he didn’t care.

He continued to laugh, balling his hand around his axe. The weapon shrieked in joy. Incandescent flame burst from it, rolling around the space like waves of an ocean.

Dain raised his weapon, then swung with exploding laughter.

Fire erupted, only to be snuffed out instantly. He opened his mouth in surprise, only for his body to freeze when an arm as thick as the bark of a tree wrapped around his shoulders.

“The first thing you do after coming back from years outside is destroying my home?” Garros murmured, yet Dain’s internal organs quivered.

He mechanically turned his head towards his father. He crooked a smile, “Well, father,” he laughed nervously, seeing the illusion of worlds smashed into shards of glass inside his father’s eyes,

“Would you believe me if I told you it was sister who started it?”

“My sweet daughter?” Serena echoed, appearing from the void itself. “She would never.”

She stood beside Daela, whose eye was fixed on Dain with intense fighting spirit.

Serena laughed, “What did you do to anger her, Dain?”

“It was her!” Dain said in indignation. “I just hugged her and she tried to kill me. Mother, father, I am the victim here!”

Dain tried to defend himself.

But even if years had passed, Garros and Serena knew their son well enough to know he was the troublemaker.

Seeing none believing him, Dain involved Kaden. “Ask the youngest!” he redirected, pointing at Kaden.

The man himself was sitting on a chair, legs crossed, a tea in his hand while reading a book he found on his sister’s desk.

There were glasses on his face too.

He was achingly cute at that moment. Especially when paired with his sleepy eyes.

At the mention of his name, Kaden lazily raised his head, watching how everyone was looking at him with strange eyes.

He craned his head, “What’s the matter?”

“What are you doing?” Dain asked incredulously.

“Reading.”

“How can you read at this moment?”

“I can focus in all situations.”

“And where did you even find the tea and the glasses?”

“That’s details, brother. Don’t mind them.”

Dain’s lips twitched, while Garros cackled uncontrollably.

Serena ran towards Kaden and hugged him. She caressed her cheek against his, saying how her son was so cute with glasses.

Daela had forgotten her anger with Dain too, standing near Kaden while poking his cheek with her finger playfully.

Her face held a cute, expressionless pout.

“Time,” she murmured curtly. “Too much time.”

Kaden smiled, “Sorry,” he said. “Things happened.”

“My baby, mother missed you,” Serena whimpered, holding Kaden’s head against her breasts.

Daela frowned, not liking her mother monopolizing her little brother.

“Me too, mother. I missed you,” the youngest answered while tapping his mother’s arms softly for her to release.

She tightened even more.

Daela acted.

Above, Dain and Garros watched this scene blankly.

“Is this fair?” Dain whispered to his father.

At his question, Garros became happy. So happy that tears were trickling down his cheeks. “I am so delighted you are back, son!” he cried, hugging Dain tightly.

Dain was surprised, but still he smiled. But soon his smile was wiped from his face,

“With you here, I will no longer suffer alone. We will suffer together from the youngest’s monopoly of my wife and my daughter!”

Dain froze, finally understanding. He looked at Kaden, then started to cry with his father, shouting how unfair it was that Kaden received all the love from the women.

Serena and Daela ignored them.

Kaden, meanwhile, was staring at Daela strangely. More precisely, he was looking at her borgne eye.

His brows knitted together.

“What happened?” he asked.

The room went silent, and all of them focused on Daela. Even Dain, finally noticing the slashed eye of his sister. His eyes went cold, all humor burned away.

Daela unhurriedly raised her finger, brushed it against her closed eyelid.

Garros and Serena said nothing, letting their daughter choose what to say. But it was quite easy,

“Nothing happened,” she muttered, smiling faintly, ruffling Kaden’s hair lovingly. “Just a scar. Is it ugly?”

Kaden fell silent, then shook his head with a smile. “Ugly? You look like a better version of grandma Scarlet.”

He bared his teeth, giving her a thumbs up. “Very goddess of war!”

Daela nodded strongly, smiling, ruffling Kaden’s hair faster.

Meanwhile, Dain’s mouth opened in an O shape, seeing not only Daela smiling but also showing an obvious act of affection.

For a moment, he thought he was dreaming. But he was not.

“What did I miss?” he whispered, transfixed by the scene of Daela cuddling Kaden as if he was her baby.

Serena complained at the side.

Dain scoffed jokingly at the blatant favoritism.

“You missed many things,” Garros said, looking at his son, “but you have things to tell us, son.”

Dain nodded, smirking. “I indeed do.”

“Where should I start? How I beat all the FireBorn and became friends with their Patriarch, or when I provoked an Epithet-ranked Wyvern into a chase?”

Below, Kaden snickered,

“How about starting with how you found yourself stuck in a basement dungeon after being manipulated by the Empress?”

Silence again reigned inside the room.

Dain looked at the insufferable smirking face of Kaden, cuddled between Daela and Serena.

His lips twitched, veins bulging on his forehead. Garros tapped his shoulder with sympathy,

“I understand your feelings, son,” he whispered, looking at Kaden,

“Even I sometimes feel the urge to slap the youngest’s arrogant face.”

“Let’s do it, father!”

“Who?” Serena and Daela asked in unison, glaring at them with intense fighting intent.

“Slap who?”

The men fell silent.

Kaden cackled.

How good to be home.

So good that seconds later, Kaden fell asleep, cuddled by his mother and sister.

Prometheus had returned home.

Chapter 364: Princess of Whales [1]

The return of the first son of King Progeny made a sensation inside Waverith.

Folks gathered, then began to sing the Song of Fire and Blood.

That was the only song they knew.

Pitiful creatures.

It had been a long while since the last time they saw Dain Warborn, so the people became eager. Not because of him in and of itself, but simply because it was a good opportunity to show their ruler their devotion to him.

And what was better than hailing his son as a hero? They knew how to touch the heart of a father.

So, to thank King Progeny for his fairness in rule, and his unyielding protection against the threats caused by nearby beast settlements and other strongholds, they proposed to celebrate the day.

The Day of Return, they called it.

Some talented poets amidst the plebeians began to write poems regarding the heroic journey of Dain, big brother of the Hero of Waverith.

They whispered that his return was accompanied by a mythical beast called a Griffin, a beast bathed in glory and divinity.

How heroic — the folks cried out, tears streaking down their cheeks — the bloodline of Warborn was. Deep with honor, heavy with responsibility. Yet their shoulders remained broad and straight, not hunched and weak.

How glorious!

Admiration boiled inside them like scalding water, and that admiration increased even further when the Warborn siblings paraded the cobbled streets of the stronghold together.

They witnessed the borgne eye of Daela, and said she had sacrificed it for the good of the people.

They cried in gratefulness.

They witnessed the scar-filled body of Dain, with Griffin atop his head, and sobbed about the pain he went through to guide them toward the right direction.

And finally, they took in the starry crimson eyes of Kaden, and knelt in submission, saying the Heavens themselves had blessed their Hero.

All of this was nothing but rumors and whispers entertained by bored men who fancied fantasy. Who fancied myth.

But Lady Ouroboros and Lady Heavens would be damned if they didn’t use this opportunity to reaffirm the Warborn’s position.

They fueled these rumors, paying some to write poems, others to put in place theatrical productions regarding the siblings.

After that, the siblings scarcely appeared in public. Steadily and in time, everything that was known about them became a speck of truth glazed with thick lies.

That was when Lord Duty — or Orator, for some — entered the political game.

He wove into this play worms of words about the Snake Princess, the Daughter of Fear, and the Daughter of Frost in relation to the Hero.

Mortals loved romance. They craved it, even. So they extrapolated these rumors and created even small books regarding Kaden, Rea, Inara, and Meris.

The girls, too, rarely appeared in public in their true appearance.

The aim of all this was clear, and the nobles who remained after the purge watched with dread as everyone became slowly brainwashed.

It would take time and effort for this plan to bear fruit. But time was something they had. And patience was their strongest virtue.

Soon, the people of Waverith would believe in this imaginative reality woven by their Rulers.

Once they believed, everything would be settled.

The rule of the Red Crown and the Silver Crowns would be set in stone, unchanging. For seeking to change it meant going against a common belief.

And what a task that was.

The pieces were set. The myths were slowly growing.

Soon enough, the rulers of Waverith would be unknown except through their proxies. And the folks would only share their grievances with them through only one being.

The Orator.

...

“It gives me the creeps,” Dain grated, eyebrows knitted together. “Why must we do this useless thing?”

“Ask Ouroboros and Heavens,” Garros said, shrugging. “They found the idea of us being a mystery better than being in constant contact with the folks.”

“How does that even make sense? We must be in contact with the ones we rule to better rule them!”

“A fair point,” Garros nodded, “and that was my first thought. But those two ladies said something that made me think more deeply.”

Dain frowned, but listened.

“They said,” Garros followed, “and I quote: Humans stop fearing something they are used to. Make them used to your presence, and they will think you are a mortal like them. One they can control. One they can oppose if some bold, reckless idea creeps in.”

“That’s how a society begins to turn against its rulers.”

Dain fell silent at the words. Even though he was not the bright type, he found a certain truth in them.

Still, that didn’t mean he particularly fancied the idea of being feared through rumors.

He wanted to be feared through his own actions. Like a true warrior. Through blood and pain. Through death and rebirth.

“You will get used to it,” Serena said with a smile. “And it’s not like we have lied. Everything we told them are things you have done. It was them who twisted it and made it bigger than it should be.”

“That’s how myth works,” Kaden added from the side. “A semblance of truth coated in a thick layer of extrapolated lies.”

“True, but...” Dain suddenly laughed. “Hahaha! No way, youngest, you are meddling with three women.”

Dain snapped his head towards his parents. “How is it possible? How did you accept him having more than one wife?”

Serena shrugged. “I cannot say no to my baby.”

Garros mirrored his wife. “I cannot say no to my wife.”

Dain turned his head towards Daela.

She shrugged too. “Always yes to little brother.”

Dain looked at Kaden next, his crimson eyes judging him harshly.

Kaden’s lips twitched. “I am innocent,” he defended himself, turning his head to the other side in embarrassment.

“I must meet them,” Dain added. “I must ask them what they see in you!”

“Jealousy? Don’t be. I know a beautiful abomination. Want me to help you?”

Dain ignored his brother with a click of his tongue.

“And yes. I heard they are back too,” Kaden continued, his voice lowering as he frowned slightly.

“Inara contacted me, and I will see her today after Eimi’s awakening. But Meris...”

He paused once more,

“...Meris is eerily silent. It’s not in her habit.”

His voice was filled with worry, and all of them could feel it.

At that exact moment, the door to the awakening room creaked, then burst open. Light footsteps began to echo.

“Seek her after this,” Serena said, watching Eimi approaching. “Maybe something happened.”

“If you need help, I am here,” Dain added, giving him a thumbs up.

Garros nodded simply, while Daela, standing beside him, grabbed his hand gently.

Kaden nodded. “I will,” he said, then looked at the approaching Eimi.

Today was her 10th birthday. The day of her awakening.

Eimi’s heart was stomping furiously against her chest, uneasiness gnawing at her gut. This anxiety jolted upward when she stepped into the room, facing the eyes of the Warborn.

The young girl almost fell.

Eimi was delighted to know she was valued enough for them to let go of everything they were doing for her awakening. Surely, it was thanks to her master, Daela.

Still, Eimi would have loved not to have them here.

‘They are so scary!’ Eimi cried out internally, doing her best not to shed tears of stress.

She barely managed.

The crimson eyes of this family were too piercing.

She gathered herself, took one step. Another one. Eventually, Eimi strode forward with steady steps.

After what seemed an eternity of walking, she finally arrived in front of the awakening ball.

She stood straight, then bowed ninety degrees.

“I greet the Red Crown!” she bellowed, voice trembling.

“No need for such a thing,” Serena eased Eimi, her smile motherly. “You can begin when you feel ready.”

Eimi bowed even deeper. “Thanks for witnessing my awakening!”

The Warborn simply nodded with a smile.

“Hey! This Eimi is cute,” Dain chuckled, “but hey, wait!! I remember having a candy!”

He began to search inside his pockets, spinning on himself, clown-like.

“Here!” Dain found it, smiling wildly. He grabbed the candy and threw it at Eimi.

The little lass caught it easily.

She looked at it. Strawberry-flavored candy, shaped like a heart.

Unconsciously, a stealthy smile crept onto her lips.

Her heart immediately eased, her breathing regulating. She lifted her head and stared at Dain. The man was smiling freely, his appearance nothing like the whispers she had been hearing lately.

The man in front of her was not a divine or a man. A conqueror of Old. No. The man in front of her was gentle and sweet.

Even more than Kaden, in some way.

Strangely — or maybe because of her emotional state — Dain reminded Eimi of Zaki.

The first one who gave her a candy when she was nothing but a beggar.

The first one willing to be her friend, when she was nothing but a stinky, dirty little girl sleeping on a floor soaked in piss and vomit.

The only one who gave her food when her stomach began to eat itself.

Zaki, her first friend, did all of that.

It had been so long since Eimi last saw him. Each night, she thought about him before sleeping. And each morning, she felt the loneliness overwhelm her without him.

In some cases, Eimi even missed her days on the street. Zaki was everything to her.

That was why she was ready to die for him. Ready to be raped by goblins for him.

And today was the day. Today, she would finally have the ability to follow his tail, and hopefully to catch it.

She would not give up. She would find Zaki, and she would be with him. That was her goal.

That was her driving force.

So with a grateful smile towards Dain, Eimi stored the candy inside her pocket. Stretching her slender hand, filled with scars, she put her hand on the awakening ball.

The room went dead silent, all of them watching intensely.

The awakening ball pulsed once, twice, then a blinding blue light erupted from it, bathing the whole room in an oceanic darkness.

The scent of salt, carried by a whispering wind, soaked the surroundings, followed by the sound of a breathing water.

Peaceful, the Warborn felt, watching in surprise. Eimi’s appearance was slowly changing.

Gills — like those of a fish — appeared on the two sides of her neck. They opened, then closed, as if feeling their uselessness in the current environment.

At that sight, Kaden’s and Daela’s eyes widened.

Prometheus recognized this back in the Ruined Dungeon, on one of the numerous ruined corpses with Asael.

And Daela recalled this aspect during her first time in Fokay. Her first spawning place.

The Island of Sailors.

“How come?” she whispered, shock evident in her tone.

...

Meanwhile, in Fokay, on an island ringed by ships of all sides and colors, the ocean suddenly began to rumble.

The sky darkened, filled with thick, dark clouds that seemed to twist in anger. Lightning, followed by rain, began to thunder over both the sea and the island.

Restless tides erupted, the beasts of the depths fleeing in fear.

Deep into the island, in a place created to worship the Goddess of Depthless Depth, the statue of the goddess glowed with brilliant oceanic light.

The Saintess, kneeling beneath the statue, raised her veiled face to the sky.

Blood trickled down from her ears, mouth, and eyes, as the voice of the goddess shrieked inside her head,

“Not dead!”

The Depth bellowed.

“NOT DEAD!!”

Chapter 365: Princess of Whales [2]

The Saintess of Depth, her head still bowed, said nothing but bore the weight of the voice of her goddess.

The whole island rattled, the restless sea slamming on its shores viciously. Above, thick black clouds veiled the sky, pulsing, then spitting sizzling blue lightning.

The lightning was apocalyptic, looking like the wrath of gods descending from the heavens.

The sailors of the island watched, hearts throbbing against their chests. The younger ones were restless, their eyes darting around to find something to hold, afraid to be swept away by the surge of water or struck by lightning.

Others, more cowardly, ran towards the elders for safety. There were only a few of them.

The elders watched the scene with alien luster in their black eyes. Their sea-like hair, looking like bunches of grass knotted together, slashed sharply under the howling wind.

On their foreheads, there was a mark of a water drop etched onto them. Not only that, others, instead of a water drop, had a bolt of lightning.

Still others had both of them together. For these beings, a very particular aura was wavering out from them. Calm and steady, yet heavy and crushing.

One of these beings stepped into the sacred altar of their goddess, finding the Saintess still kneeling, head bowed.

Thunder cracked, the sky illuminating for a brief instant in an arc of blue fire.

“Saintess,” the man called out, kneeling on the ground on one knee, head cocked inward. “The sea is restless, our beasts are cowering, and the thunders spoke to us with a strange cry. It felt like mourning. But also like a cry of anger. What is happening?”

The Saintess didn’t answer immediately. She couldn’t. Her body was shaking like the patches of grass outside the Prayer Room. All her efforts were focused on keeping her body still.

She bit her lips, tasting her own blood.

There was nothing more dangerous than a mortal directly receiving the voice of a god. Especially an agitated god.

And even more so if you were not God-Touched.

But soon, her shaking lessened.

Succeeding in calming herself, the Saintess slowly lifted her head, watching the statue of the goddess still glowing faintly.

She parted her parched lips, her voice raspy.

“Mourning? Anger?” she echoed, then shook her head weakly.

“This is nothing of those, Sailor of Night.”

The man, who went by the title Sailor of Night, frowned.

“Then?” he tempted.

The Saintess took her time, as if the words refused to be spoken. Eventually, she forced them out.

And they viciously struck the man as if a boulder had been thrown at his head,

“This is a call of terror.”

...

Back in Darklore, the Warborn witnessed the strange awakening of Eimi with raised eyebrows. Even Kaden’s awakening was not this flashy.

The light around the room dissipated, showing Eimi in her new colors.

Her black hair was no more; instead, it was now blue. The blue of the sea, looking like some smoothed mythic flowers only found in secret underwater caves. Her hair had grown long, reaching the edge of her back.

Even her scent now smelled like fish. Yet one would wonder why it was so heavenly.

Her eyes, previously golden, were now a mix of blue and gold, giving her an enchanting glow.

Daela stared at Eimi’s forehead. There, the marks of a water drop and blue lightning could be seen. More, these two marks were shrouded by what looked like a storm.

Daela blinked. And the marks disappeared from Eimi’s forehead.

“Interesting,” Kaden commented, arms crossed over his chest, his crimson eyes twinkling oddly.

Something flashed through his mind at that moment.

That fateful day they saved two children about to be killed by some wretched goblins. One of them became a myth holder, which Kaden now knew was far beyond what he initially thought.

And the other one was even more intriguing.

Kaden had never seen an awakening that changed the appearance of a being.

Yet it happened to Eimi.

‘Interesting, indeed. Who or what did we save that day?’ Kaden mused, smiling faintly.

But only if he knew. Only if he knew that Daela had met these types of people, called Sailors, during her first time in Fokay.

Yet years later, she found herself taking under her protection a being of that race without even knowing.

The Empress of Silence was not one to ponder about the mysteries of life, but even she found the situation odd.

Still, it was not the end. After awakening, Eimi touched the identification crystal to know her Origin and first skill.

The Warborn watched intensely.

Something flickered in front of Eimi,

[Name: Naia Melusina]

[Nickname: Eimi.]

[Race: Sailor.]

[Title: Princess of Whales.]

[Origin: The Tides of the Depthless Sea.]

[Type: Elemental-Conceptual.]

[Origin Rank: ******]

[First Skill: Call of Water.]

Eimi, or rather Naia, watched her information with surprise glowing inside her new eyes.

She slowly turned her head, looking at the Warborn.

Naia forced a smile. “Sailor?” she whispered, unsure. “What... what is that?”

Daela shook her head, sinking back into her thoughts, then focused on the current situation. It was not the time to wonder how a being like Eimi found herself in Darklore.

For now, she would do the same thing she had done until now. She would guide Eimi, now Naia.

“Sailor is a unique race of Fokay,” Daela answered, voice flat. “Their affinities to storms are the greatest I have witnessed.”

Naia listened, yet remained confused.

Kaden watched with a small smile, then shrugged and went on his way.

He passed by Eimi and whispered, “What should I call you now?”

Eimi was dazed by the question for a second before understanding. She shook her head vehemently. “Eimi!” she said strongly. “Eimi is my name!”

That was the name Zaki gave her when she walked the streets nameless. She would not discard it.

Kaden gave her a curt nod, and a tap on her shoulder.

“Eimi, then. Congratulations on your awakening,” he said at last, then exited the room.

“Thank you!!” Eimi said, ducking her head.

Kaden was curious. But only that, curious.

He had his own matters to care for, and his sister was there for her.

Still,

‘Sailor of Fokay, huh...’ he murmured.

His previous theory was slowly being confirmed.

‘There is indeed a way for people of Fokay to come to Darklore.’

Kaden sighed wearily.

‘Great. Just great.’

...

Inara was sitting on the top of the Ouroboros building. It was shaped like a snake eating its own tail, painted in green.

Inara had wondered about the design once she saw it. Her mother’s response was curt, saying only that she liked it.

Inara found it strange, for some reason. But in the end, she simply shrugged and went on her way.

It was not too bad.

The wind at such height was strong, booming inside her ears nonstop. She found it relaxing.

Like always, Inara wore her black high boots, black pants, and sleeved green top. Her hair was tied into a ponytail.

She was looking at the moving pedestrians below when a presence appeared beside her, on her right.

“Hm, what? Did you become borgne too?” Kaden asked as he sat on the green tiles. “Is it a new trend?”

Inara turned her head towards Kaden and spared him a bloody grin. “Hero! I look damn cool with an eyepatch, right? I truly missed you!”

Without hesitation, she threw herself at him, her head bumping into Kaden’s chest. Kaden winced. Inara didn’t give a damn. Next, she hugged him tightly.

Prometheus’s eyes widened slightly at that, his body instinctively tensing. But soon it relaxed, smiling faintly as he returned the hug awkwardly.

Silence whispered around them.

The two stayed in that position for a long while, enjoying each other’s unique scent, rhythmic breathing, and heartbeat.

Kaden’s heartbeat was like the cackling of fire. Searing enough to be felt through his chest.

Inara was like the roar of monsters. Terrifying, yet the youngest found it pleasing.

Inara felt oddly at ease with Kaden. Her fear and apprehension of the future momentarily vanished into the flame of his body.

She unconsciously sighed in relief.

“How was it for you?” she asked, head still buried into him.

“Filled with roses.”

“For the thorns or for the beauty?”

“Both.”

“Was the beauty worth the prickling of the thorns?”

“It was,” Kaden smiled. “Though I received a scar on my back as a parting gift.”

“Sounds damn romantic. Now tell me why am I getting bloody jealous?” Inara scowled playfully.

“Hahah.” Kaden laughed. “How was yours? You have become a Master, I see. Congratulations.”

“Coming from a Grandmaster like you, it looks like an elder complimenting a damn youngster,” Inara growled. “How did you become Grandmaster at fifteen?”

“I am hardworking.”

“The truth.”

“I am a bloody genius.”

“Tsk.” Inara clicked her tongue and punched Kaden’s chest jokingly. The latter mouthed a fake ouch and laughed.

After a moment of banter, Inara sighed softly.

“Mine was monstrous,” she said. “Very monstrous.”

Kaden looked at her, sensing the wrenching aura spreading out from her. He didn’t doubt her words.

“Are you afraid?” Kaden asked, looking at the walking folks below.

The wind ruffled. Their hair fluttered sporadically.

“Of what?” Inara asked, her hands balling the shirt of Kaden.

“Becoming a monster.”

Inara laughed humorlessly.

“Aren’t we all monsters in some way? Or do you think only monsters are monsters?”

She didn’t wait for an answer, shaking her head. “Monsters have types, Hero. And the monsters I deal with are the kindest ones. Because they are simple.”

She then lifted her head, looking at Kaden from below.

“The worst monsters are those who do not know they are ones themselves.”

“Oh?” Kaden smirked. “Should I feel targeted?”

“I wonder.” Inara mirrored his smirk. “Should you, Hero?”

Kaden only smiled, not responding.

Inara continued smoothly.

“But you know, Hero, I do not delude myself.” Inara lifted her eyepatch to show Oeil.

The atmosphere changed, and her voice became layered, deep and terrifying.

“I am a damn monster, Hero. So no, I am not afraid of being something I already am.”

Kaden watched silently, the black eye of Inara glowing sinisterly. The eyeball inside began to move all around eerily.

He sensed the effect on his mind, trying to plunge him into a kind of illusion. He shrugged it off easily.

Kaden spared the eye a glance, knowing it was alive. His lips pulled upward.

“Then what are you afraid of?” he asked again.

Inara smiled, pleased but intrigued. Oeil was asking to be covered, afraid of Kaden’s gaze.

She covered it back, and parted her lips:

“Of the future,” Inara answered. “What I will become? I said I am a monster, but I would be damned if I want my loved ones to see me as one.”

“But not only. There is the question of... will I still be here? Will I still see you? Will I still enjoy this little moment of peace and tranquility?”

Her lips pressed into a thin line.

“I want to know, Hero. I want to damn know!”

“But you can’t,” Kaden said. “You cannot know what’s going to happen. So why worry about something you cannot control?”

“It’s like asking why mortals fear death,” Inara scoffed.

“Good point,” Kaden chuckled. “Yet did you watch them? Where do you think their worries of death lead them to?”

“They live in fear.” Prometheus answered himself. “And there is nothing worse than living in fear.”

Inara stayed silent.

“If you fear the future, it means you fear something that would happen in that future. Something wicked. But don’t fear it,” Kaden advised. “For if you do, you are summoning it at your door.”

“Then what should I do?” Inara asked as she finally got up from Kaden. Next, she straightened up and stood tall.

Kaden mirrored her action, standing beside her at the edge of the building, at the head of the self-devouring snake.

“What else?” Kaden shrugged. “Live the present and forget the past and the future.”

“Easier said than done.”

“It’s always easier said than done, crybaby.”

“But I will try,” Inara whispered, smiling softly. “I will try with your help.”

Kaden cocked his head. “What help?”

Inara looked at him and smirked. “The only way to live in the present is to have something worth living for.”

She stretched her hand towards him. “So come, Hero. Make my day. Make me forget the monstrous future ahead!”

“What about after today? How will you fare alone?”

Inara smirked. “Live in the present. Isn’t that what you just said?”

Kaden blinked, then laughed.

“Fine,” he said, stretching his own hand towards Inara’s. “Let’s live in the present then.”

Inara cackled, ignored the hand, and took Kaden in a tight hug before diving into the air.

“W-Wait!”

“Hahahah!”

Chapter 366: The moon is beautiful tonight, isn’t it?

The next hours passed in a haze of enjoyment. Inara dragged Kaden everywhere her mind whispered to her, making Kaden go through many kinds of situations in the process.

They passed the day together, laughing, joking, and doing some activities that beings of their power would never have thought of.

Not only their power, their identities themselves didn’t allow them to enjoy life so leisurely and so peacefully.

To the people of Waverith, one of them was a Princess with the power to make monsters kneel in submission. The other was a hero who saved them from doom and was blessed by the Heavens.

But that was only in Waverith.

In Fokay, their identities went far beyond mere fantasies created by mortals to entertain themselves and motivate the young to be great.

Inara and Kaden were beings of responsibility.

Yet sometimes people often forgot that they were nothing but fifteen-year-old children to whom the world had given too much burden.

So on that day, they decided to forget.

They decided, implicitly, that they were no longer the Mother of Monsters or The Burdened.

The future became a blur, blocked away by thick clouds of insouciance. The past became a wall of forgetfulness, one they could no longer get through.

They focused on the present, making them simply Inara and Kaden. Two young people with childish tendencies and feelings like any other mortal crying when the room began too dark.

So the day passed, and through the streets of Waverith many could witness two youngsters enjoying their day.

Their smiles were bright. So bright that people around them smiled in return at the sight. It was contagious.

But life was made of endings. Bitter or sweet. And eventually, that day came to an end, with Inara and Kaden walking through the streets of the stronghold, a bunch of food in their hands.

The day was sweet. Now a bitter ending loomed over them.

The sun had sent its goodbye hours ago, giving its place to the moon with its starless sky.

The streets were illuminated by bright yellow lights, powered by mana. One could see the patrols of the Warborn soldiers, and some snakes sneaking here and there.

The two youngsters walked along the cobbled streets, Inara wrapping her right hand around Kaden’s arm.

At that point, she was no longer hiding her feelings. Yet she remained dissatisfied, for Kaden did nothing except watch and let her do everything she wanted.

She wanted him to react. To say something about her actions. About how she always held his hand, always hugged him, always looked into his eyes as if searching for something hidden beneath them, something that made her monsters rattle in fear.

She wanted to know his feelings about her.

Clearly, Kaden appreciated her. But Inara couldn’t feel more than that. It was frustrating.

Sti