The sun has already risen. Dawn appears on the horizon with a slight bluish and yellow hue that paints the edges of the clouds with rays of sunlight. The air still smelled of night dew, but the flowers along the road made the scent of damp earth sweeter.
On either side of the road, there is an inscription made with yellow flowers on the grass that reads: "Welcome to Lightflower." Nova looked at the inscription and thought the same thing many others thought.
'That's new…'
He smiled wryly.
'How am I supposed to read that?! I'd have to be flying above it to even see it!'
Some things never change. Advertising messages are one of those things.
Considering complaining about it, the calmness that flooded his heart extinguished the heavier feelings. He glanced to the side for a moment and found himself looking at Miyu.
The girl sleeps peacefully, leaning against the window and the reclined seat. She is covering herself with a cozy blanket with little fish patterns on it.
Her ears twitched from time to time at the sounds of other cars passing by, but she still slept like a rock at the bottom of a river.
In the back seat, Elara had taken advantage of the fact that no one else was there to use the two seats as a bed. She also sleeps using a warm quilted blanket. This blanket had pictures of crossed swords and shields on it.
'You could have given me a blanket too…'
The cold is intense at night. Anyone who stayed in a forest at night would die from the cold. However, the raincoat and clothing in general did a decent job of protecting Nova's body from the cold.
'We could have even taken turns driving.'
It was hard for him to stay awake all night since he was the only one who drove the car.
As if she had heard Nova's thoughts, Elara slowly opened her eyes. She looked at the ceiling, confused and sleepy. Her gaze wandered around until it found Nova in the driver's seat.
"Good morning."
"Bad morning," Nova replied.
"Bad? Was it that hard for you to stay awake?"
Nova sighed. They were almost in the city, so he couldn't complain, nor was he going to. But the dark circles under his eyes were one thing...
"It was difficult. Remember that an Empath must rest to regenerate the energy in their body. What would happen if a portal opened on the road right now and I wasn't at my peak?"
Sitting up and dropping the blanket on the floor, Elara stretched her arms with a big yawn. As she picked up the blanket, she said:
"I'll take care of everything while you rest."
'Oh, sure. That reassures me,' Nova thought, sighing wearily and sarcastically.
"Okay. Fine. We're almost there. It's time to wake the others up."
"All right, boss. I'll do whatever you say."
"Don't tease me, Ellie. I have a hard time understanding when you're joking."
Elara smiled. As she began to put away the blanket and tidy up her clothes, she looked at Nova with a pleasant smile. The boy couldn't see her, but it was clear that she had woken up very happy this morning.
Over the next hour, the team prepared to pass through the city's security checkpoint. There were fewer cars on the road now. In fact, there were only two vehicles nearby.
There was no toll to pay, but they did have to answer a series of questions in order to pass.
Soon, they saw a booth on the side of the road, where soldiers from the Faction Council waited silently.
Some had specialized firearms, such as assault rifles and large-caliber pistols, powered by a special type of ammunition made from fragments of the asteroid.
One of the soldiers raised his hand in salute, but also to signal them to stop. Nova pulled over and rolled down the window. Then the soldier, dressed in black in the old style of the military of a bygone era, approached.
"Identify yourself, boy."
Nova nodded and took his ID out of his pocket.
Checking the ID, the soldier raised an eyebrow, curious. He compared the picture on the ID with Nova's face.
Something had to be said to better confirm his identity. The ID alone was not enough.
"My uncle, Viktor Asmodai, is here. He is the Master of the Blood Crystal faction. My companions and I are here to help."
He looked at Elara and Miyu, who nodded without saying a word. When it came to the Council, it was best not to say too much. Viktor had said so many times. The Council and the World Empaths Organization were not entities you wanted to start a conflict with.
"Viktor Asmodai, you say... Give me a second."
The soldier approached one of the booths and asked another soldier who was resting there. He took out a folder with several sheets of paper and they checked the names in it.
"Security is getting tighter every day," said Elara.
Miyu nodded.
"At least, thanks to this kind of strict security, we have lived peacefully on this side of the world. Unlike New Europe."
New Europe, the continent that was built on steel and tears. The great industrial power. Home to the greatest architects and gunsmiths in history after the impact.
The achievements of the people of that continent are no joke. In fact, Elara's weapons were made there.
The girl Luzbel nodded regretfully. Miyu noticed this, but just as she was about to ask, the soldier returned.
"We have confirmed your identity. Asmodai said you would be coming with a blonde girl, a red-haired nekomata, and a brown-haired canine, but..."
"That's right. Go to the back and check the trunk for a second," Nova said to the soldier.
Of course, the soldier didn't understand. Nova just gave him a thumbs up to do so. Curious, the soldier went to the back of the van, but not before keeping his rifle pointed for protection.
Then, Nova pressed a button and the trunk opened.
Nova smiled amusedly.
"There he is."
"Here he is…"
The soldier didn't understand anything. There was a boy sleeping peacefully inside the trunk, wrapped in a blanket with small bone patterns. He even had a pillow, a bottle of water, and a turned-off communicator.
Accompanying Rober in solitude was also a large trunk that took up the entire back of the trunk.
"I guess that's everything. But before you continue, please go through the scanner."
"Sure."
There were no further problems. Nova started the vehicle and moved forward slowly. At that moment, one of the soldiers held up a pistol-shaped machine with a red light flashing from a flat glass screen.
The soldier walked alongside the vehicle while scanning it with the machine's light. When he was done, he gave the vehicle a light pat and said:
"Instant food and four bottles of water, armor, a shield, a sword, and some clothing. Everything is in order. You may proceed."
Nova nodded. Miyu relaxed in her seat, and Elara looked at the soldiers one last time before Nova accelerated.
"Good luck, comrades!" the soldier said goodbye.
In the rearview mirror, Nova watched the soldiers return to their posts. The other two cars behind them were preparing for inspection.
"That was really boring."
"I know."
Elara and Miyu were in sync. Nova smiled and took out his communicator. He tapped the screen a couple of times and a song began to play from the vehicle's speakers.
"Maybe this won't be boring."
They had finally entered Lightflower.
The buildings, not very tall, were covered with floral decorations, bushes, and small trees on the sidewalks. The sun's rays caressed the corners of the rooftops, revealing the moment of dawn in this city.
Everything looked perfect, but the absence of people gave the city a strange atmosphere of unsettling peace.
Those who normally live in busy cities would think it very strange to see such an abandoned city, but this kind of thing happens very often. Situational Portals are that cruel.
However, there are shelters and bunkers where people who are evacuated from the city are protected by Empaths from the Council.
What is the Council of Factions? It is supposed to be an organization funded by the country's government to maintain order and peace at the national level. The Council has offices throughout the country to ensure that order and justice are the rule.
In other words, they are the police of this era.
The vehicle moved through the streets, but something was watching them from the roof of a nearby building.
For a moment, it was the silhouette of a person dressed in black with a mask and large tactical goggles with many accessories; the next moment, there was nothing.
***
They stopped near one of the city's iconic monuments. It is a clean white statue of a man with pointed ears on his head and a fluffy tail on his lower back.
The man was dressed like a ragged slave with broken chains on his arms and legs. He raised his fist high with a serious and determined look.
'The city's great hero... Anthony Salazar.'
There was a time when humanity was blinded by power. The strongest enslaved the people and killed the innocent. It was during the conquest of Calem that a hero rose up against the tyrants.
It is said that the hero had four Spectrums, something very rare at that time.
"That's cool... Imagine if one day we became heroes as legendary as Salazar."
Miyu poked her head out the window to get a closer look at the statue. The statue is in the center of a large roundabout, where you have to make almost a complete turn to take the road to the mountains.
"Would they make statues of us too?"
"I don't know. First we have to level up. Then we can think about becoming heroes," said Elara. Her conviction was in heroism.
"We would have to surpass Uncle, and that's already very difficult. Besides, we wouldn't be able to do it with just one Spectrum."
Miyu looked disappointed for a moment.
"Serenity, Anticipation, Trust, and Anger. Together we're a good combination, but someday, when we discover new Spectrums, maybe we'll stop being compatible."
Nova shook his head. That's not true. Miyu was getting carried away by Elara's depressing comment.
"If we get more Spectrums, we'll be even stronger together."
"Even if that's true, don't forget what it takes to discover a new Spectrum," said Elara.
An emotion as intense as the one that already dominates your heart. When that happens, in most cases, a new Spectrum appears. But the power and possibility of being stronger comes at a price.
The more Spectrums an Empath has, the more likely they are to be unable to withstand so many intense emotions and end up going mad. That's why the factions have their own psychologists. Precisely to prevent that.
"No one is going to go mad because I'm here. Even if they can't control themselves, I will calm them with my Serenity."
Sure. Nova is capable of doing that.
Elara and Miyu looked at each other. They smiled when they saw such a good leader who cares about his teammates. Although, certainly, emotions as complex as camaraderie and love for others are somewhat complicated for Nova.
The reason? Those with Serenity will always be doomed to not fully understand other people. Nova learned to live with that, which is why he is always relaxed.
The conversation became a little more heated. They changed the subject so as not to think about the consequences of power.
They talked for about an hour until a shadow could be seen in the sky. It was Maia, the dragoness. On Maia's back was Viktor, who was looking for his recruits.
When he saw the adorable van parked in front of the statue, Viktor smiled as he imagined the owner of that vehicle.
Nova and company got out of the car. Rober was the last to get out since he was in the trunk.
"Viktor! We're here!"
Miyu's call echoed through the empty buildings. With that, Viktor made Maia descend, landing on the head of the hero statue.
"Did you bring my stew?!"
Nova sensed it. That response was enough for Viktor. The man jumped very high to show off. Then, his body evaporated into black smoke.
'How conceited.'
He is, yes. But it looks really cool!
Viktor appeared in front of them with a smile.
"Seriously. You're pretty late. The energy that opens the portals is almost depleted. The battle will end tonight."
Tonight, a night of intense and destructive battles. Excitement boils within the hearts of these young souls! Except for Nova. He can't feel so excited.