The sound of birds chirping mingled with the sound of their footsteps on the green grass. Silence reigned, only the sounds of nature accompanying them as they walked calmly, even though they had been walking for 30 minutes.
"Raphiel... how much longer..."
"Don't complain, it's still a long way to the old woman's house on the mountain."
"Mountain?!"
Gheo sighed deeply. He didn't know, nor had he been told, that the mythical witch Leona's house was on top of a mountain, but Gheo tried to remain calm because he didn't know which mountain it was.
"Come on, stop complaining. This is for your own good... As for me, I'll just follow Mr. Thareon's directions."
Raphiel's tone sounded mocking toward Gheo, but the two of them continued walking together, surrounded by the scenery and animals passing between them. Raphiel's purpose for going to the mystical witch's house on the Himalayan mountain was to investigate further about Gheo, the golden human who remained a mystery. Was it because of Airuna?
Raphiel slowly looked back, glancing at Gheo, trying to read him further. He didn't know what had happened before, but because Gheo came from the prince's organ, he tried to respect Gheo even though Gheo was a bit annoying because he was too innocent for Raphael. But this time, he was sure it was different.
At that moment, Gheo was still looking towards the lake. They were already in the mountainous area, and Gheo was still looking in the other direction, where he could see Lake Nuvix, which was still a mystery.
"Raphiel... why are we passing through forests like this? Haven't we already entered the mountainous area?"
"Hm? Yes? It just makes the road easier. Thareon and I often pass through this road, but not very often because sometimes there are many anomalies here."
"No wonder..."
The atmosphere became more mystical with every step they took. For some reason, the atmosphere felt strange, and Gheo even got goosebumps. He was afraid that something might happen while they were walking together, but Gheo trusted Raphiel because he knew more than he did.
It's just that Gheo felt like someone was following them and watching them, but Gheo couldn't be sure. Was it just a dream?
"Gheo."
Suddenly, Raphiel called out to Gheo. He stopped in the middle of their walk. Gheo immediately stopped and turned to look at Raphiel. But this time, his tone was very flat.
"U-uh... yes?"
Gheo replied hesitantly, his eyes fixed on Raphiel's shoulders and hair in front of him. He didn't know why they had suddenly stopped, and Raphiel didn't explain at all what had happened or why they were now silent.
"Raphiel...?"
Gheo asked hesitantly, beginning to feel afraid of the situation as Raphiel suddenly stopped and didn't answer when Gheo called him, especially since they were currently in a forest near Lake Natrounon. Gheo wanted to call Raphiel's name again, but he was still a little hesitant to do so.
"R-Ra"
"Be quiet."
Raphiel suddenly turned around after cutting off Gheo's call, and immediately pushed himself forward to hug Gheo. At that moment, a strange figure emerged from the water of Lake Natrounon. It was a huge monster shaped like a flamingo, only it had eyes all over its face and four legs. Gheo and Raphiel fell to the ground, and Raphiel immediately took his limenium pill from Gheo's bag. He stood up to face the strange figure, clutching the tiny limenium pill in the palm of his hand.
"Mifoun will appear if he hears something too loud, and that's also because we're close to Lake Natroun. I hope you understand later and please find a safe place."
With that, Raphiel and Gheo immediately took their positions. Gheo immediately stood up and picked up some of the fallen items, while Raphiel took his spear out of the small pill he was holding in the palm of his hand, preparing to fight the figure in front of him.
"Von der mu fasom! Mifoun der vortunia."
The spear Raphiel used was just an ordinary spear, not for war. He just didn't know that Mifoun would appear while they were exploring. Raphiel blocked Mifoun's attack for a moment. Mifoun fought Raphiel with his feet and beak, and Raphiel continued to block the attack because he knew he couldn't kill Mifoun directly.
Meanwhile, Gheo hid behind a tree while taking something out of his bag. He thought he could help Raphael, who was trying to fight Mifoun.
"Oh... I have to find something useful, I don't want to be a burden to Raphiel."
Gheo was worried and a little overwhelmed because he was afraid that Raphiel would get hurt or worse. Unexpectedly, Gheo only found a sharp knife that Raphiel had sharpened before exploring. He knew it was trivial, but it was all he could find.
"Uhh... I have to do something useful, I can't let myself be a burden to raphiel."
Gheo was worried that he was a little overwhelmed by his concern for Raphiel, afraid that Raphiel would get hurt or worse. Unexpectedly, Gheo only found a sharp knife that Raphiel had sharpened before exploring. He knew it was trivial, but it was all he could do to help at that moment.
Raphiel was still holding out against every attack from the mifoun, even releasing a very strong salt water that could cause skin damage, similar to the acid that Gheo had at that time. He knew a lot about this area, even about the mifoun, because his friend had once drowned and was even swallowed by the mifoun thousands of years ago.
Without hesitation, Gheo immediately came out of hiding and ran towards the mifoun. He tried not to be afraid, and Raphiel turned around, surprised by Gheo's scream. He was stunned, but he held Gheo back with his other hand.
"YOU IDIOT, WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
"I JUST WANT TO HELP YOU!!!"
Mifoun shouted and did something strange, glaring upward while opening his mouth, as if he wanted to unleash an even stronger attack.
"GET OUT OF HERE, YOU'RE NO MATCH FOR HIM."
"SO WHAT? I JUST WANT TO HELP YOU, LET ME HELP YOU JUST THIS ONCE."
"GHEO!"
They were both exposed to the commotion. Gheo tried to help, but Raphiel tried to keep Gheo from interfering with what he was facing, because this was not his match. However, Mifoun unleashed his power and was about to hit Gheo and Raphiel, but—
"Natron."
A woman's voice suddenly called out from behind a large tree behind Mifoun. Mifoun immediately turned around and bowed her head without saying a word, not even looking at Gheo and Raphiel. The woman immediately stroked Mifoun's head gently. Raphael and Gheo froze for a moment, saying nothing, just watching Mifoun who suddenly became docile towards the woman without resisting at all.
"Versunia."
Mifoun nodded. She froze for a moment before turning into ash that flew back to the river. The woman watched Mifoun return to the river for a moment, then turned her gaze back to Raphael and Gheo.
"Oh?" The woman fell silent, confused.
"Huh? Leona?" Raphiel was confused.
"Eh? aphiel, right?"
Raphiel and Gheo were confused. They didn't know that Mifoun was very obedient to Leona. Even though Leona's house was very far from Mifoun's, they didn't know what their relationship was, but Mifoun was close to and obedient to Leona.
"E-ehh..."
Gheo began to feel ambiguous and froze, while Raphael looked disgusted at Leona, but Leona could only laugh at that.
"Surprised, huh? Gotcha."
"What the hell, we almost died, you know.
"You're a xenon, you're not that weak, don't pretend."
Raphael sighed, as if he knew what had happened and why Mifoun was so obedient to him. Raphael stood upright with Leona in front of him, while Gheo picked up the items that had fallen and lay behind a tree, not too far from Raphael, but Gheo was still a little scared because of what had just happened.
"So, what brought you here? More weapons?"
"Yes... that's one of the reasons, and..."
Raphael slowly looked back as Gheo walked towards them while tidying up the messy items in his bag.
"Why?"
asked Leona, somewhat confused.
"That's Prince Ghevi... but after a month-long chaos, he turned into a golden human. His name is no longer Ghevi, but Gheo now."
Leona seemed a little confused when Raphael spoke. She didn't quite understand, but she knew for sure that Prince Ghevi was currently gone. But what did Raphael mean by golden human? Leona raised her eyebrows at Raphael, but then she looked back at Gheo, who was standing behind Raphael and just standing silently behind him.
"... I don't understand what you're saying at all. It seems really long, doesn't it?"
Raphael took a deep breath and nodded at Leona. Gheo patted Raphael on the shoulder, realizing that Raphael seemed overwhelmed.
"I'll give you a ride."
Without another word, Leona took her wand from the pocket of her short jacket. She was indeed a wise witch; she could take many things from the very small pockets of her jacket. She drew a circle in front of her and also in front of Raphael, who was facing her, and a dark gate opened, its destination unknown.
"Don't stand there too long, I'll wait for you there."
With that, Leona immediately entered the gate she had created. Meanwhile, Raphael glanced at Gheo for a moment and then entered without hesitation, as did Gheo, who stepped inside without hesitation.
He stepped inside and entered the wooden house without going through the dark tunnel. He immediately saw Raphiel sitting on a chair and Leona preparing tea in the kitchen. Not wanting to waste energy just to talk, he sat down next to Raphiel and waited for Leona with the cat on the table, who was fast asleep. Gheo stroked it gently, afraid of waking it up.
The sound of bells accompanied the silence in the room. Raphiel slept on the table while waiting for Leona to prepare food for the two of them. Gheo continued to stroke the cat without stopping. It seemed that Gheo liked cats.
"Ouch... sorry it took so long,"
Leona said, carrying a large bowl filled with biscuits and hot tea. She slowly placed it on the dining table. The cat woke up because Leona shooed it away, and it moved to Gheo's lap.
"Was he like this before?"Gheo was referring to Raphiel.
"Yes. Not always, but often when he visits alone. Don't worry, he's just thinking."
"Ah..."
"I swear, Leona, I don't know what else to do either."
Suddenly, Raphiel started talking and immediately took a biscuit without lifting his head.
"Gheo is a golden human. I was told that his name comes from a planet that I myself don't know, supposedly from the V-Rxina nebula."
"Who knew first?"
Raphiel immediately took a deep breath. He felt a great empathy inside him before he spoke.
"The goddess of change, Noruva."
Leona fell silent. Noruva was her childhood friend. Since Noruva was elevated to goddess, she had become very busy with the prince, who was now a stranger with the same body inside him. But even so, she didn't hate Noruva.
It was just resentment because she didn't have time to meet again after the agreement.
"That woman... I heard she hasn't been heard from since then."
"That incident changed everything. The Hypothema gods and goddesses have been fertilized, and some of them we have to start over from scratch. There's nothing else we can do. I'm just Xenon... my job is only to protect and change within limits."
leona just stared at her teacup while listening to Raphael's tired ramblings, feeling so gheo just stayed silent, not knowing what else to say. Gheo felt that all of this was his fault, stemming from the events that led him to become this way.
"I... will return everything."
Raphael sensed that Gheo felt guilty about what had happened, but Raphael didn't feel that it was entirely Gheo's fault, but rather that it was an almost natural consequence of Airuna's lax legal system.
"It's not your fault. It's the fault of the universe." Raphael was silent for a moment, then raised his head to drink a full cup of tea provided by Leona.
"Grandma, please make me some acid nytrium pre version."
Leona was shocked and froze. She stared intently at Raphiel. The object Raphiel was referring to was a large sword with a very large scale, intended to be used to destroy the universe, and it was so powerful that it was almost equivalent to a blood strike. Leona knew she would get many of the items needed to make it, but the acid was another matter.
Leona turned to Gheo, who was playing with a cat. Gheo had eighty-nine percent pure acid in his body, and Leona would use Gheo's acid to make the weapon, but it would decrease by twenty percent in the initial stage, and even then, Raphiel was asking for a pre-version. But making all of that must be done with genuine sincerity and dedication. If not, the acid would turn into ordinary water, and Gheo would cease to exist if it wasn't done according to the requirements.
"...Yes, I'll help."