Timothy sat next to Jeremy by the waterfall, he couldn't help but feel a strange sense of familiarity with the boy. Jeremy hummed a beautiful tune, and Timothy became lost in thought.
The reflection of the waterfall could be seen in his eyes; Timothy's mind was still trying to comprehend the fact that his soul had traversed to another realm. He had dreamt of the silver-black wolf before, but this time it was more than a dream. "What type of connection do I have with Sidgar?" he thought.
On the side, Jeremy had stopped his humming and was now staring at Timothy with amusement. Timothy sighed and shook his head, realizing that Jeremy had ceased his humming. He turned to face Jeremy, seeing Jeremy stare at him with amusement, and asked, "What?" Jeremy giggled and shook his head, "Nothing, nothing. Tell me, Timothy, what is it like living in a city?"
Jeremy's eyes held curiosity and a slight expectation. Timothy was a bit taken aback by his question, but then he understood where it came from, since Jeremy had shared with him his life story. He remained quiet for a while, thinking of where to start.
Timothy was not the ideal person to share this information with Jeremy, because to him, life in the city was hell. But since he could see how eager Jeremy was to learn of the city, he decided to remind himself of the good side of the city and began explaining to Jeremy.
Jeremy's eyes were wide as saucers with both shock and amazement; he couldn't believe the words coming out of Timothy's mouth - parks where children played and people relaxed, restaurants where they went and ate. To Jeremy, this was all stuff from a dream; he longed for it. By the time Timothy finished, he was brimming with questions: "So do you always eat at these restaurants? Oh, oh, do you play at the park very often? What's a girlfriend?"
Timothy raised a brow at Jeremy's questions; currently, the latter was behaving like a child, whereas he seemed to be a few years older than Timothy. "Yes, I do; no, not anymore. A girlfriend is like your..." Timothy looked around, not knowing how to explain the concept to Jeremy, but luckily, on the other side of the waterfall, they were two deer, a male and a female, walking together. "Do you see those two deer over there?" Timothy pointed towards the animals. Jeremy looked over and nodded, "Yeah, Felicia and Antwan. What about them?" Jeremy asked with an innocent smile.
"They are mates, aren't they?" Timothy asked for approval. Jeremy nodded proudly, "Yes, they are, mated the previous season."
He explained. Timothy gave a certified smile before answering, "Then that means Felicia is Antwan's girlfriend." Jeremy nodded slowly in understanding, "I see."
Before they could talk any further, the door creaked open. Turning their heads, they saw Josh standing at the front with his left hand massaging his temples. "Josh - Um, Mr. Belling, you are awake? I'm glad; I was getting worried." Timothy spoke with a smile.
Jeremy glanced at Josh briefly before looking away. Josh gave half a smile to Timothy and looked up,
Noting the sun above; he figured that he had been out for a day at least, but he still had to confirm that.
"Tell me, Moirai, how long was I out for?" He asked Timothy, but his gaze was on Jeremy. Timothy answered quickly, "A day; Mahome'i and I decided to let you sleep because we were afraid that touching you might cause problems." Timothy rubbed the back of his neck embarrassingly.
Josh's right eye twitched a bit; he had found the culprits behind his strange sleeping position. Timothy dared not face Josh, knowing he might reprimand him for leaving him in that manner. "Well, it was mostly Mahome'i's idea, see." He lied with an embarrassed smile on his face.
Josh shook his head at a loss for words. "Where is she, anyway? I need to talk to the both of you." He asked in a neutral voice. Timothy pointed at the water at the plunge pool. Josh followed Timothy's finger, and after a short while, Josh called out, "Mahome'i."
After a moment, bubbles appeared on the water's surface, and a small figure emerged, her red eyes glowing slightly
Later,away from the hut, Timothy and Mahome'i sat on the ground, observing Josh, who was pacing back and forth with a cigarette in hand.
It was the first time Timothy had seen Josh smoking. Josh mumbled something as he paced, and Mahome'i, who could not bear it anymore, finally asked, "What's going on, Josh?What's wrong?" The question seemed to jolt Josh back to his senses, and he turned to look at them with a slight frown on his face.
"Good question, Mahome'i. What's wrong? Don't you see it? Something is wrong, and what? I do not know yet, but I can feel it. This place feels wrong." Josh appeared as though he had lost his mind.
Timothy observed quietly, he could not feel anything wrong with this place, and so did Mahome'i. So Josh's paranoia seemed unfounded in their eyes.Josh finally stopped pacing and discarded his cigarette before telling them to be more observant of their surroundings since this was their last day before they could resume their journey.
After they had left, a shadow appeared right where Josh was standing and bent down to pick up the cigarette Josh had discarded. The figure stared at the discarded cigarette for a while before crushing it and vanishing with the wind.
...
Destiny called me to this part of the world, Decon," Voren answered, his gaze unwavering.
The Decon was silent for a short while, scrutinizing Voren. "Did destiny tell you to start playing mentor to my daughter?" His words came out in a bold tone, accompanied by a faint pressure. Paying the pressure no attention, Voren chuckled a bit and nodded.
"That is correct, but trust me, Decon, I bear no interest in minors." Voren paused, now with a grave expression. "Your daughter is key to me finding my destiny, so please, I beg you to let me be her guide."
Sedna weighed the value of Voren's words. He knew Voren was a man of just character and strong abilities, so his daughter was probably safe with him as a mentor. However, he did not like that his daughter had not informed him of who had decided to grace their city. If not for the two guardian knights he had placed in protection of his daughter, he would have remained oblivious to the fact that the Steelheart Wanderer was in Sif'ur. But now, what worried him was the destiny sought by the lone swordsman. Destiny was a very serious subject in "Their" world, so he knew the matter was of importance.
Releasing a deep sigh and withdrawing his Echo, he spoke, "I have no issue with you mentoring her, but you could have done it properly the first time. I am a parent, and I worry about her safety. Plus, she has been growing restless ever since that child left. Seeing that you have a good relationship with her, I presume she told you about him." Voren nodded, confirming that he knew who the Decon was hinting at. Pain and longing reflected in Sedna's eyes as he spoke, "I knew she would gradually decide to pursue him, and there was nothing I could do when that day came. So, I patiently waited for the day of the moonlight to see if her soul was strong enough to walk down the pathway of divinity." The Decon spoke, and Voren now had a better understanding of what he wanted to do.
Voren hissed, "Were you really prepared to let your daughter into the bizarre world? Have her life turn into a living nightmare, hunted by spiritual and physical monsters? Were you prepared for the possibility of your daughter's death due to failure in accepting a pathway? Were you prepared for the possibility of losing her to the call of the void and having her soul corrupted by foul entities? Were you prepared to have to exorcize your own daughter?" Voren's deep voice reminded the Decon of the countless possibilities that could happen if he had really decided to let his daughter turn into one of "Them." The thought scared him, but he could not show weakness in front of his men. Nodding, he responded with firmness that shook Voren, "Yes."
Voren closed his eyes and spoke slowly, "I see." Just then, all of them turned towards the entrance to the cloister, recognizing who was coming before the person even stepped foot into the cloister.
"Voren? Dad?" Sara asked with a questioning gaze, her eyes not daring to believe the sight before her. She stopped a few meters away from the table and stood there, arms crossed, waiting for an explanation. But both men hesitated to answer. Tapping her foot anxiously, Sara's eyes glanced at her father, who seemed afraid to look her in the eye.
"Do not worry, Lady Knottingwell. Your father and I were getting acquainted with one another, and I also took the chance to ask him for his blessing as your mentor, to which he agreed. Isn't that right, Decon Sedna?" Voren asked sternly after explaining the situation to Sara.
The High Decon chuckled. "Why use pleasantries, my dear friend? Call me Sedna. And yes, princess, daddy would be happy to have him mentor you." After hearing her father speak, Sara's worries died down, and she smiled radiantly at both her father and Voren.
"Thank you, Dad. I didn't know how to break it down to you. I'm sorry I kept it a secret from you," she spoke with a shy smile. The Decon wanted to embrace his daughter, but right now, he was her Decon, not her father, so he resorted to smiling and said nothing afterward. Voren took this as a chance to discuss a much more pressing matter, like the unsolved cases of the disappearing children in Sif'ur.
"Sedna, tell me, how familiar are you with advancement rituals?" he asked, trying to gauge Sedna's knowledge of mysticism.
Sedna's face turned solemn, and he gave an honest response, "Not so familiar. I major in sealing sigils, but I do know a thing or two about it. Why have you brought this up?" Sedna asked, feeling confused.
"Your city has been providing a dark sorcerer with the main ingredients for the spell for countless years—sorrow and children's essence," Voren spoke each word with righteous anger. Sedna's eyes widened; he now knew the real reason behind the missing children case. This was bound to be a hard job.