Light began to fill my eyes as they slowly opened. "Eughhh." I groaned, rubbing my eyes. "Damn it… I barely got any sleep…" I laid up and scratched my chin, "...Last night was too eventful. I couldn't even think straight. Especially not after Nyleah and I said goodbye. Jeez, that was weird." My face went a little red. I got up from the bed and stretched my back. After doing a few more stretches, I opened the door and walked outside. Zuri'el's capital was mostly built on its south and south-eastern sides. But its northern side was still banged up, with destroyed buildings and rubble littering its ground.
I started walking up the street towards the inner city. A couple dozen people were walking down the streets, nowhere near as many as when I was a kid, but still enough to make it seem populated. As I was walking past an inn to my left, I heard a girly voice call out, "Ohhh, Kilianooo! Over here pal!" I vaguely recognised the voice, turning to my left. It was Victoria. She was wearing a white silk tank top with a black long-sleeved shirt under it and beige shorts made of some kind of thick fabric. She was waving me over while half her body stood inside the inn, and the other half hanging out the door. I smiled and gestured for her to come over, "I've gotta meet with master Solomon, so I can't sit down right now." She nodded and quickly walked over to me, "I heard the news…!" The two of us began walking, "...Defeating Shyzen like that, I'm impressed! I mean… I knew you were hella strong and all… but it's really amazing how much you've grown in just a few months…" She glanced over at me, "...Even someone like me can tell how strong you are. It's almost like you're a different person. You exude a wave of heat from your body. I could even feel it from the inn…" Her face was serious now, "...Someone like you has way more power than they know what to do with. And I don't just mean physically. You probably have enough political power now to sway entire kingdoms… Honestly, I'm jealous, haha!" "Sorry 'bout that. But I kinda had to get this strong. Y'know… so we didn't all die 'n stuff." Victoria smiled again, "Yeah yeah I know all that…" By now, we had begun walking through an uphill street towards the main castle, "...And I can tell you have no intention of using your newfound political power, right?" I nodded, "Yup! I'm gettin' outta this country to find someone. I've got no time to play politics with all these super important leaders." We made it to a giant silver door. I placed my hand on it, and pushed it open. Inside was a giant empty room. I immediately started reminiscing on the time when I was a kid with Nazeem and Lura. I had met Nyleah in this very same room. But now, it was completely empty, after being ravaged by a sneak attack from the south. "Kil, you okay…?" I blinked twice fast, "...You're staring pretty hard at the ground." I looked up, "O-oh sorry. Let's get moving." I took one step inside the castle, and an immense pressure immediately began pressing down on me. My eyes widened as my knees began to bend. Victoria took a few steps inside, walking down with ease. She turned around at me and looked confused, "Kiliano? What's wrong?" I gritted my teeth and furrowed my eyebrows, "This presence… I've never felt anything so suffocating." My eyes were fixated on the ground. I began looking upwards. But as I did, my surroundings had disappeared, and I was standing in a blank white empty space. The only thing in sight was a piercing red eye with black flames emanating from it. A sense of shock swelled through me, "What… is that?" FSH! The flames around it began to crackle and sear. "Do not falter…" A voice echoed in my mind. It was stern and gentle, but still held an immense amount of power behind each word, "...Kiliano Monfril… You must not allow trivial matters to waver your progress." "P-progress!? What does that mean!? Who are you? What is this place? Tell me!" FLICK! In an instant, I opened my eyes, and was standing back at the castle door. "Uhm, Kiliano!? Answer me or I'm gonna call over master Solomon. You're starting to scare me." I looked back up, "Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a second." I walked into the castle. "You seem a bit off today, Kil. Is everything alright?" "Y-yeah… I'm fine. I guess things just seem a bit strange now that the war's slowing down." Victoria smiled, "Yeah, well it's all thanks to you. Enjoy the peace, m'kay?" We walked deeper into the room and eventually made it to another giant door. Two guards stood on each side of the door. I walked up to one, "I'm here to see master Solomon. Can you let me in?" The soldier knelt her head, "Yes sir. Master Solomon is out at the moment, but he should be back in a minute or two…" She turned around and pushed the door open, revealing a throne room, "...There are seats on the right, please wait there." I nodded, "Right, thanks."
Victoria and I sat down and waited. After a few minutes, Solomon walked in from the opposite end of the room, through a different doorway. He walked past the throne and glanced over, "Ah, Kiliano. It's good to see you." "Yeah, same. Unfortunately I haven't stopped by for chitchat." "I wouldn't expect you would. So, out with it. What's the matter?" I stood up, off the chair, "I need you to find a replacement for me here. A double, someone who can take my place as a Hero. At least, for the time being." Solomon smiled, "I see… So does that mean you're going to look for the man you saw?" I nodded, "Yeah. I think he could help me, so this takes priority over anything else right now." "Alright… If that's what you want, it will be done." I bent my head downwards, "Thank you master Solomon." He nodded and I looked back up. Victoria stood up and tapped my shoulder, "Wait, hold on… Are you leaving…?" I nodded, "...Why!? I mean… all you talked about when we travelled was how you wanted to become a legendary hero. Now you are one. What more could you need?" "Well… my battle with Shyzen took a lot out of me. If I don't seek out this man… I'll probably die before I hit thirty." Victoria's eyes widened, "Oh… Yeah, that makes sense." She turned towards the door and began walking out. I followed shortly behind her. Before I made it out of the room, I looked back at Solomon and knelt my head in thanks. He smiled in response, and turned around.
The two of us walked out of the castle and back down the road. Victoria had remained silent for the entire walk, up until we made it to her inn. She turned towards me, "Alright Kiliano… I gotta come with you again…" I was surprised. I hadn't expected her to say something so serious out of the blue like that, "W-well… I'm not sure this is something you can handle." "Of course I can handle it! I made it here, didn't I!?" "Well, yeah. But this is completely different. I'll be travelling through a bunch of different countries. It's entirely possible I'll explore every single continent, and still not find that man." Victoria's eyes began to dim as she started losing hope, "I… I don't care. Please, Kiliano! I can do i-""Do what?" A familiarly stern voice called out from behind Victoria. She turned around, and I looked over her shoulder. It was the Quorin's estate royal guard. I waved over, "Hello, sir. It's good to see you again." He bowed his head, "Master Kiliano… It is good to see that you are in good health. Congratulations on your victory against the south." "Uhm… thanks." He seemed a lot more polite and formal than the last time I had seen him. Back then, he asked to spar with me, and helped me improve my technique in just a single evening. "Miss Victoria…" He began talking, "...I must ask you to come inside. We are heading back to Vraldeen first thing in the morning, so your presence is necessary today." She made a pouty face, "B-but, I-" "No buts. I understand that you want to stay, but it is your father's order. We cannot disobey him." She glanced at the ground, looking sad. I patted Victoria on the shoulder, and looked over at the royal guard, "Actual sir… Would it be possible for me to accompany you? You see… I have some business with the country of Zaphaar, so hitching a ride with you would save me some travel time." The royal guard scratched his chin and began thinking, "Hm… Considering everything you've done for us, I suppose lending you some aid in travel would be fine." Really!? Thanks a lot!" I said with a smile. He nodded his head, and signaled Victoria to come inside the inn. She let out a quick sigh and walked away. Before she went inside, Victoria turned around and smiled at me, "I'll cya later, Kiliano." I nodded, "See you later." She walked inside, and I turned around.
As Kiliano began walking away, Nyleah was watching him from an alleyway with a suspicious look on her face. She frowned, and walked out, "H-hey, Kiliano!" He looked over at her and smiled, "Nyleah… h-how's it going?" She walked over, "I'm doing good. What about you?" "Well, I just found someone to take my place over here." The two of them began walking together, "W-wait…" Nyleah said with a nervous tone, "...Does that mean you'll be leaving soon?" Kiliano nodded, "Yeah, I'll be off first thing tomorrow morning." "WHAAAT!?" Nazeem's voice yelled out as he jumped down from a balcony. Kiliano sighed, "Jeez, dude you can't just pop up out of nowhere like that and scream." Nazeem furrowed his eyebrows, "Don't gimme that! I just overheard what you said! What do you mean first thing tomorrow morning!?" "It means exactly what I said. I'm leaving… tomorrow morning." Nazeem shut his eyes closed tight and balled his hand into a fist, "You damn bastard… You can't leave us like this! Not again!" Kiliano sighed, "Well, I'm sorry but that's just how things are. If I hitch a ride with Victoria it'll save me at least a week's worth of travel. And I have no reason to stay here." "No reason, aye…?" It was Lura's voice. She was walking up to the three of them, "...So I take it we aren't a good enough reason for you to stay?" Kiliano sighed, "C'mon, that's not what I meant. You know that I'll have to leave soon anyway, so I might as well go now." Lura scowled, "Damn bastard." "Oh c'mon! I gotta go at some point y'know…!" A sense of guilt began swelling up inside Kiliano, "...I-I'm sorry, guys. But I have to leave. I promise… we'll see each other again, alright?" Nazeem, Nyleah and Lura all scoffed simultaneously. Kiliano rolled his eyes, "You're being too dramatic…" He turned away from them and began walking off, "...I know you three missed me, but I'd rather live past thirty, if that's alright." His three friends all looked at each other. Lura spoke up, "Kiliano…" Her tone was more serious now, "...We'll see you very soon." Kiliano said nothing but waved his hand goodbye at them from behind. With his back turned to them as he walked away, Kiliano's eyes were directed towards the ground. They were soft, and glistened, as if trying to hold back tears from falling.