As the moon casts a silver shine upon the three, they move silently through the maze that was Andes town, careful not to disturb the midnight patrol. A death sentence, runaways looking to break into the castle is not something that would just get a slap on the wrist. But they faced worse odds, and they had experience in the field of prison break, just enough to feel confident about freeing Ejun so suddenly.
They reached the castle wall, and Garrett Felt its cold stone bricks, sturdy and so hypnotic to his nature. "I still don't understand. If I Just do it, We can be up there in 5 seconds" Garret said in his whisper.
"Of course you don't, you meatheads don't think," Liane responded, she was fed up with Garret's constant complaints.
"What?" Garret responded annoyed, he knew what he heard he was just dumbfounded.
"If you broke the ground to get us up there, don't you think it would make some noise?"
"Oh yeah"
They then hoisted a metal string up the castle wall, skinny but strong enough to carry all three at once.
Eva, the first one to reach the top, scouted out the inside of the castle walls. The castle was a stark contrast to the town on the other side, neatly decorated with colorful flowers and bright verdant bushes, it had marble flooring and pillars made from quartz and two guards patrolling each corner of the castle.
Unbeknownst to the guards, Kuso was already inside the Keep, shining a small candle, or at least a light. He waited for the three to all get up before signaling them to continue.
As soon as Garret finished climbing, and the guards began to switch patrols they commenced their plan to rescue Ejun.
The light from Kuso disappeared and Liane jumped off the walls, using bonds, the ability to control the elements of the universe with precision, fires flames from her hand like fireworks, keeping herself afloat by using her feet like rocket engines. She did her best to divert the guard's attention onto her shortly after kuso followed with the same purpose.
The guards followed them up the sky, like fireflies in the midnight moon. They shot fireballs and tried their best to apprehend them, aiming for the head when frustrated. But Liane and Kuso were just too nimble. While Kuso and Liane distracted the guards, Eva and Garret rushed down the castle wall, this time Garret did not have to go so silently, he stomped on the floor and a section of the wall broke off, like a magic carpet he rode it down to the verdant floor.
"Should be right here" Eva said pointing at the garden.
Garret then grabs the ground with his hands and the floor began to split apart revealing Ejun in handcuffs, with a smile bright enough to turn the midnight to day.
"Thank you guys" Ejun said, "Mind getting me up Eva?"
Eva then blasted a large gust of wind down the hole, lifting every debris out including Ejun.
Garret breaks Ejun's handcuffs by snapping, "you better have a good explanation for getting caught this time Ejun."
"That can wait, we need to get out of here first." Eva said as two guards blasted a stream of water at the three, Eva deflected by blasting her own stream of air.
While eva kept the guards at bay Garret levitates them all out with same slab of stone from earlier.
They got out the castle wall unscathed and began running to the edge of the town.
"Where's Kuso and Liane?" Ejun asked.
"They said to meet them at the bunker," Garret responds, "you're going to hear it from Kuso let me tell ya"
"Oh I know."
The three reached the bunker after avoiding the guards for 40 minutes. The bunker was an abandoned sewage system caved in and taken over by nature. It had graffiti that Ejun and Garret sprayed on.
"You're late," Kuso said to the three, as Eva opened the door.
"Yeah, the entire city's guard wasn't looking for us" Ejun sarcastically said.
"Care to explain then, why you were caught?" Eva said as she grabbed her bottle of alcohol from the walls.
"I just found some coins, and the guards thought that I stole them."
"Ha found!" Liane mimicked, face planting on the stack of hay to relax.
"Well it's the truth." Ejun said, flicking the coins at Liane.
"We're going to share that right?" Garret asked as he came in.
Kuso waited for the door to shut, "We're not some petty thieves, you know."
"Look you said we needed money, I found money, what's the big deal, no-ones hurts, why aren't you happy like the rest of us?"
"The rest of us are not criminals,"
"Oh please, last week you almost beat an old man to death, don't try to high road me Kuso"
"He was spreading lies!" Kuso responds in anger, "I know you don't really care about this mission, you never lost anyone to Psan, So of course you wouldn't take this seriously."
"That's what you think?" Ejun replied.
"That's what I know" Kuso responds.
"Then what should I have done huh? Wait until next week to finally start the mission? You care so much don't you? So much that you would rather spend your time pretending to be an officer and beat up dumb crooks, you would rather do that than actually earn money like the rest of us, you're not some hero Kuso, so don't pretend to be."
staring down Ejun, Kuso utters "Say that again '' the room became a little warmer and Kuso began balling up his fist.
"You're not a he-" Kuso throws a punch at Ejun, but in a flash Eva stops the punch with her hands, causing the room to be filled with debris and dust like a tornado ran across. "Ro", Ejun stands unbothered.
"Drop this shit. I don't want to do another prison escape for the night." Eva said " Just go to bed, we need to stock up tomorrow."
Garret whispers to Liane, "Ejun would've won,"
The next day the group stocked up with food from the money Ejun stole, Liane bought a large Redenta, a 4 eyed beast that can carry 5 times the weight of itself.
"This one is a little small don't you think?" Garret asked.
"We're going to be walking," Liane said.
"Are you serious? How are we going to make it to Tunukor in time?"
"We have time to Garret, Psan has to defeat the river villages, we have plenty of time before he makes it to Tunukor."
"Then what's the point of having a redenta?"
"You want to carry all our food, and tents?" before Garret spoke Liane interrupts, "don't even answer."
"Well I could if I wanted to".
The two meet up with the rest, at the western side of Andes town. There they departed to Tunukor, a port city famous for its riches and gigantic statues of the 4 hydras, The ancient beasts suspected to be the source of all bonds.
At the River Villages the three chieftains of the town goes to confront Psan and his army, on the bridge that connected them to the rest of the world, they stood side by side, Chief Ekur was in the middle, he had the most authority, one eye lost from countless battles, he approached Psan alone at the foot of the bridge.
"You must be lord Psan," Chief Ekur said, bending his knee as he looked at a man on top of the Gobola, a silver beast as big as a dragon and as terrifying as the 4 hydras. Psan's countless men were behind him holding spears and swords sharpened by the stones of blood and battle.
"Psan is fine, and I am no lord, I am king."
"What's your business here King Psan?" Ekur said as respectable as he could muster.
"I wish for your acceptance, allow me to be yours and you to be mine and I shall spare these villages."
"You want us to stand by your side, as you ride for the Pogo brothers?"
"Precisely,"
"Surely you can see that we are just small villages, we will provide no help even if all the women and children joined."
"That won't be necessary," Psan replied, "when I first started this journey, All I had was myself and 15 loyal men. Tell me what is your name chief?"
"Ekur my king, Ekur is my name"
"Chief Ekur, do you value your family?"
"Yes my king."
"More than yourself?"
"Yes my king" Ekur responded, avoiding the golden eyes of Psan.
Psan taps his Gobola with his hands, and the Gobola drops his head, Psan steps to be leveled with Ekur, "you are a respectable man, will you be willing to give away your life for your family and your people?"
"Yes my king"
Psan laughed, "I'm joking, I don't want to sacrifice anyone for my sake. But if you insist on my mercy, you and all your people must be reborn by my hands, you know what that means do you?"
"Of course, I've heard of your mercy, everyone here has."
Psan enters the villages alone. Everyone's eyes were on him, his white silky robe untouched by dirt and dust, completely different from the men and women around him.
The villagers then lined up in two separate ways. Psan stood where the lines started and he placed his hands on their heads, his eyes glowed with the colors of a burning star as strings of energy, white and glistening, flowed into Psan's mouth, nose, and ears.
This ritual continued smoothly until the last 4, A middle aged man and his wife with his child in her arms, his father behind them.
"Well come on then, come forward." Psan said to the man, whose face was deepened with anguish and anger. Psan could sense his intent.
Suddenly the man throws his fist at Psan, a jet stream of condensed water follows, Psan deflects the stream with a blow of blue fire causing a mist to cover the village. Quickly Psan runs up to the man and palms him on the head and absorbs all of the energy out. "I spare you because your chief was so insistent on my mercy," Psan said as the mist calmed down.
The man's child and wife began to cry, they held each other in an attempt of comfort. The man tries to blast Psan once more with a jet stream, but he can no longer manipulate the waters, "what have you done to me, to us! To All of us!"
"I spared all of your lives, is what I done, you all are reborn, no-longer monsters, no-longer savages, I gave you all a second chance, thats What I've done"
"bullshit! You killed us! You monster! How can we make our living now? How can we defend ourselves against the sea monsters!" The man yelled, as he looked around, the villagers were frightened, each powerless to the situation, "you all let this happen, where is your spirit? Chief Ekur! How can you let us all die like this!"
"Shut him up" Psan said as he approached the man's wife, "don't be difficult dear, your child's watching,"
Psan continues the ritual, as the man is escorted away by the chiefs. When the chiefs returned Psan was finished, he left no trace behind but the defeat and sorrow of the villagers. "We had no other choice," Chief Ekur said to everyone looking at him. He breathed heavily and was shaken to his core, "we had no other choice."
The villagers were silent, each returning to their home.