What? My eyes widened hearing Wren's words. I was shocked, really shocked. "Does that person have a relic that lets them see the future? Where is it? Maybe if I use it, I'll be able to survive and live a peaceful life!"
"No Felix, he didn't have a relic that let him see the future," answered Wren.
Huh? If he didn't have a relic then that means, "it was his own power?" Wren nodded. But that can't be! No! I don't believe that someone with a power better than Eason could possibly exist! Someone with something that Eason could never have! Someone- someone better than Eason!
If there's anyone who knows Eason like the back of their hand, it's definitely me. He is my enemy, but I know him better than anyone else because I had lived as Eason before. I know his full potential and his skills and one thing I can confirm is that Eason will never be able to see the future! That's something he can never do unless if he finds an extremely rare relic but a relic like that might get him killed for possessing it!
A relic that can let the user see the future would be a myth rank and if someone were to find one, millions of people will be after them to steal it for themselves. Even someone like Eason wouldn't dare to use it if he had one. He could only hide it forever for his own safety, but now Wren is telling me that there's someone who could do something that requires a myth rank relic with their own power! If someone told me that Eason will be executed and not me, I'd believe them over what Wren's telling me, even if I do trust Wren a lot.
"Your expression is telling me all your thoughts kiddo," said Wren, "if you were to show your thoughts openly like that on the battlefield, you'd be dead."
"We're not in a battlefield right now Wren. Besides, it's just your anyways," I replied. I guess that shows how much I trust Wren. In front of others, I would rather execute myself than let others know what I'm really thinking, but Wren is someone I'd show my emotions to without a second thought.
"Do you trust me that much?" Wren leaned closer to me, "you know if I was hired to kill you which is very likely since you're hated a lot around here, you would die right? Even if you have awakened the power of Cyrus, experience draws a line between our powers and skills. A warrior against a kid who has some fire abilities. The results are quite clear."
"But I know you won't kill me Wren," I moved Wren's face away, "you could've let me continue to go against the king and gotten me executed after I lost," I pointed out which made Wren burst out laughing.
"Hahaha! Do you think the power of Cyrus is that weak? You think the power of a Goddess would lose against the power of a fake descendant?" Wren acted as if I told her the best joke she's ever heard in her life. And 'fake descendant'? Is she calling the royal family liars?
The royal family of Kassiel kingdom are said to be descendants of the Goddess 'Esper'. The first king, his majesty 'Marxon Kascis' had claimed to be the son of Esper's daughter and a human name 'Remi', making him Esper's grandson. The people of Kassiel didn't believe Marxon though, they cursed at him for spreading false rumours and tainting their god until he showed them his powerful magic and large pool of mana. Although he didn't possess fire magic or ice magic, he had water magic which he explained that the ice magic that he had was melted by his fire magic because his fire was too strong and created water magic. He then became king after proving his power and from then on, the royal family were known as 'Esper's descendants', or at least that's what people say but not a single one of them became a successor of either of Esper's heads.
"So you're saying that the royal family are frauds?" I asked before Wren pressed her index finger against my lips as if to silence me.
"Quiet kiddo, there are ears everywhere. Even if they are fakes, they still currently hold the most power and could get you killed," warned Wren.
"Wren, You're the one who said that first. Pretty sure you're saying more than me too."
"That may be true, but they won't get rid of me, or at least not yet," replied Wren, "come on, let's go," she began to walk towards the exit.
"Why is that?" I walked next to her.
"Felix… the war is coming," Wren's eyes hardened as she held a grave expression, "many battles will begin soon. Nothing will be safe anymore. To win the war, who do you think they will send onto the battlefield?" I stopped in my tracks and stared at Wren in realisation, her wine scented coat slipping off my shoulders.
Oh… right, the one that they'll send to war is Wren, their strongest 'soldier', or should I say their strongest 'tool'? In the future, Wren told me her story. She told me about the war between Kassiel and Floran, our neighbouring nation. The war was where she got most of her experience in battle. She said that she barely got a break and had done most of the 'dirty work' since she was Kassiel's tool.
Wren is someone that was saved by the king from starvation and death so in return it was her duty to serve the nation. The war was where she got her signature scar. Wren said that it was a tragedy that she could no longer see or even open her right eye anymore, but it was also like a symbol of her survival and victory.
At the celebration, Wren was the one who lifted the flag of Kassiel and started off the banquet. That was the first time I saw her in person. I was a sixteen-year-old boy who was enchanted by the sight of Wren smiling and raising the flag with her head high. I admired her a lot and was so happy when she took me under her wing. She is like a mother to me so getting a reminder that she will be losing one her eyes made me feel anxious.
"Wren, is there a way to avoid you from getting sent to war?" I asked her with a shaky voice. Surely, she knows a way to avoid going to the battlefield, right? She's the smartest person I know, so she must know right… right?
"Felix, of course I know a way to avoid going," she picked up the coat that had fallen on the ground and placed it back over my shoulders.
Her words made my eyes light up with happiness, "then-"
"But I must go Felix," she shut down my short lived joy. "I must 'repay' his majesty for saving me." Why? That's not an actual reason for her to do that. She should be fully aware that he only saved her to turn her into a battle machine. There's no way the king would pick up a child that's found between the border of Kassiel and Floran just save them since she could've been a spy sent by Floran nation. He saved her to make her into a tool that he won't be afraid to get rid of since she might not be from Kassiel.
"Felix, you're showing your thoughts again," Wren frowned. "I have to go. Even if his majesty's 'kindness' was just a trick to use me, I still must show gratitude cause if I don't, it will be against my morals."
"Morals? Would morals still matter to you if I told you that you could lose your eye forever?!" I blurted out.
"Felix, without my morals, I am nothing but a machine. I need something to function and a goal to live for. The harder the goal, the more I must try. The higher my morals are, the more I feel human. Morals are just goals in life. They are things that humans find the hardest to keep. My morals are simple, 'repay people's kindness no matter good or bad, then after that go your own way'. As soon as I repay my debt, I will have nothing to do with his majesty anymore," Wren smiled, "I'll be a free person," Wren displayed an expression that I can only describe as 'a bird yearning for freedom'.
Ah, is this the true reason why I admire Wren? If I had a high moral like that, I'd abandon it very quickly. I'm not someone with a hero's halo like Eason, nor am I someone with resilience or persistence like Wren, I am just a weak, weak human. If there was a chance for me to become anything or anyone I want, I wouldn't pick to become someone like Eason, I'd want to become someone like Wren. In my eyes, Wren is someone far greater than Eason. Much, much greater.