"Sometimes, the road to answers isn't paved with truth… but with the courage to keep walking, even when the path is hidden."
( In Previous Chapter...
Kairo unleashed his legendary technique Kaguri, turning the battlefield into a sea of crimson fire to protect the children. Victory seemed near, until a mysterious red-robed figure descended from a void rift — stopping Kairo's blade with just two fingers. As he cast the forbidden spell Oblivion Spiral to erase them all, a shadowy beast with golden eyes appeared and shielded everyone from destruction. The enemy vanished, but Rai unconscious showed signs of something awakening inside him. The night ended with no answers… only more questions... )
The morning :
Now...
The night had ended, but the silence that followed was louder than any battle cry. No one spoke of what happened. Not about the shadow beast, not about the figure in the red robe, and certainly not about Rai's glowing eyes.
Morning light crept across the sky, casting a warm golden hue over the cracked battlefield. Birds chirped as if the night before hadn't been a nightmare. But even in that soft light, the tension lingered.
Selene sat at the edge of the broken forest, quietly watching the kids sleep beside the campfire. Rock and Lily curled up close, still too young to understand the danger. Marie, however, had sat apart, staring at the horizon. Rai is still unconscious. Even Kairo, with all his sarcasm and attitude, kept to himself that morning. Selene's thoughts were a mess. The beast, the glowing eyes, the spell, the past she tried to forget. All came crashing down in her mind. But when she looked at the kids, she reminded herself :
"what they want to achieve by this kids."
Finally, Kairo broke the silence.
> "We're taking them back."
he said, tossing a small piece of firewood into the embers.
> "To their family."
Selene blinked.
> "Family?"
Kairo nodded.
> "They're from a beast clan... Am I right?Far off to the west, near the mountains in the deep forest I think."
Selene says :
> "You think so."
Kairo in a coldly sense :
> "That symbol on the figures robes... I remember it from the war."
Selene frowned.
> "You sure?"
He nodded again.
> "I think they have some motive and connection of past that we are trying to figure it out from so many years."
Selene asks in little shock :
> "You think that they are the ones from the past..."
Kairo says :
> "I don't know... But the red robed figure I feel like his presence i felt once in the past war."
Selene whispers :
> "Why do you think they are after the kids?"
Kairo whispers :
> "Because not many still exist. There are some clans that are thought lie extinct. But the reality is far more what we think."
Selene thinks and whispers :
> " I don't know... but sending hunters after kids. That's not random. And also these hunters are different. Who are they?"
Selene glanced back at the children. Her chest tightened.
Kairo says in tense :
> "Those are dark hunters..."
Selene shocks and asks :
> "You mean the hunters who are the more elite like totally secret and dark... But who are they working for?"
Kairo says :
> "Selene... Actually I am searching for clues in this nation as I came to this district. Here there are so many mysteries that are not known to the public society. But these are someone who is making the thinks behind the scenes pulling the strings. These district looks like too beautiful and good but actually it's rotten from inside."
Selene says :
> "So what you plan on doing?"
Kairo faces Selene and says :
> "I want you to make the choice... What you wanna do?"
Selene whispers :
> "I want to protect them. They don't even know what they are."
Kairo smiles and says :
> "Which is exactly why they're in danger... I thought you would say that."
They both agree with the suggestions.
Meanwhile, Rai stood nearby, gripping a stick and drawing patterns in the dirt. He wasn't listening. Or maybe, he just didn't want to be part of the conversation.
Then Selene and kairo comes to Marie and Rai they says :
> "We decided to take you to safe places where you belong... So we want you to co-operate with us."
Hearing this, Marie suddenly stood up. Her voice broke the moment.
> "N-no... but ... I'm not going with you," she said.
Selene said :
> "Why not?"
Marie hesitated. Her voice trembled, but her eyes were steady.
Marie says :
> "Because... I wasn't supposed to be here in the first place. I was on a journey... To find someone."
Selene tilted her head and asked in confusion :
> "Who are you finding for?"
Marie hesitated for a long second. Then she said it...softly, but clearly :
> "My mother."
That stopped Selene cold. The fire popped. Breaking the silence.
Kairo looked over and asks :
> "And who is she?"
Marie took a deep breath and answers :
> "Her name is... Elvara... Elvara vaelith."
Her eyes widened.
> "That's…"
Even kairo gets in shock and confusion :
> "Vaelith you say..."
Marie nodded. Selene's head snapped towards her. In her mind :
"That name... Elvara."
It echoed like a memory. She stood slowly, walking towards marie, stunned.
> "Say that again?" Selene asked again.
Marie repeated :
> "Elvara vaelith." Marie voice faltering.
Marie continues :
> "I don't know how she looks like In real. I never say her from childhood. But my grandma told me about her. So I wanted to meet her so badly... I know she is alive. I saw a half poster of her."
Selene in hurry whispers :
> "You say you have a poster of her... Do you have it now?"
Marie also in confusion:
> "Yes..."
Marie shows a torn poster that she had in her small bag. It looks old but it is just the photo... But Selene eyes were is becoming emotional looking to the poster. It's not a normal poster it's a bounty poster... Which is old from years. It doesn't look like that because it becomes old and the bounty area is torned. But her face is barely visible.
Kairo looks at the poster and he whispers :
> "Ohh... I think I saw this somewhere...haa. I saw it on bount—"
Selene snaps his hand hardly on the mouth of kairo to shut him. And cut his words.
Selene says emotionally turning towards marie :
> "She is a Elf right..? But you are not an elf."
Marie looking to Selene face whispers :
> "I'm half elf. My father was a human but didn't know him but mother My mother... I don't know but grandma says She vanished during some war..."
> "Big Sis... Do you know my mom?"
Selene sat down hard and whispers:
> "That bounty... I saw it too. It was one of the reasons why I am here..."
She stopped, eyes shimmering.
Marie asks :
> "You knew her. Didn't you?"
Selene lowered her head. A whisper escaped.
"I did... I knew her. She was my friend. We trained together."
Marie took a step closer. Marie blinked fast, tears forming. She whispers :
> "Then... You knew her? Truly?"
Selene whispers again :
> "I did. And I promised myself I'd find her one day."
Marie took a few steps forward. Then, like a child again, she clutched selene's cloak tightly.
Marie asks gathering her strength :
> "Please... If you knew her... please train me. I don't want to be weak. I don't want to hide anymore. I want to fight. And if my mother's still alive... I want to find her with my own strength."
Selene was quiet. But her hand gently came up to rest on Marie's head.
> "Alright. I'll teach you."
Marie's eyes widened. She stepped back and wiped at her face quickly, trying not to let the tears fall.
> "Really?"
Selene gave a small smile.
> "Really. You have her fire in your eyes. I can't turn away from that."
Meanwhile, Kairo was standing near them watching in little doubtful and whispers in a low voice that no one can hear watching the sky.
> "Vaelith haa..."
He smiles in a emotional state.
After sometime...
Rai, finally stirring from his unconscious state, sat up with a groan. Selene and marie immediately rushed to his side.
> "Rai! You're awake. Are you alright?"
He held his chest, still feeling the pain burn from the incident.
> "I… I think so. My head feels like it's spinning. And I had the weirdest dream. There were eyes. Golden eyes. Watching me."
Selene looked at him quietly. She said nothing about the shadow beast.
> "You need to rest," she said.
But Rai sat up straighter and looked over at Kairo.
> "I want to train."
Kairo turned slightly.
> "What?"
Rai said :
> "Train me..."
> "Whatever is happening… I don't want to be useless. I want to fight. Protect others. Like you did."
Kairo raised an eyebrow. Then slowly walked over. He crouched in front of Rai, eye to eye.
> "You don't even know what you're asking."
> "Are you sure?"
Rai replies with gathering some strength and strong motive in his eyes.
> "Yes... I want to protect... What is most important for me..."
Kairo listening to this whispers :
> "You felt helpless, didn't you?"
Rai nodded.
Kairo sighed.
> "Alright. But I won't go easy on you. You'll wish you stayed unconscious. But you better not whine when your legs start shaking"
Rai smiled.
> "I don't care. I want to be strong."
Selene stepped forward.
> "Alright... If we're going to do this, we need to move fast. The more we stay in one place, the easier it is for them to find us."
Kairo nodded.
> "We'll start tomorrow. For now, we move west. Toward the clan lands. Toward whatever answers wait there."
Kairo smirked.
> "Then your nightmare begins tomorrow."
Selene hits kairo for telling those horrific words.
Rai laughed looking this. A real laugh. A sound none of them had heard in days.
The Next day – New Journey :
The next morning, the group packed up quietly. The sun filtered through the trees, turning the forest gold. The scent of dew and ash still lingered from the battle, but a new energy hung in the air.
Hope.
They didn't know what lay ahead. The Beast Clan's territory was deep and wild, full of secrets. But they had a direction. A path.
Selene walked at the front, map in hand, Marie beside her, trying to mimic her posture. Kairo followed, sharpening a small dagger while whistling a tune. Rai trailed close, eyes alert, already looking for lessons in every step. Behind them, the children walked in a little group, sleepy but smiling, whispering about Kairo's crimson flames.
As they passed a ridge, Selene looked back.
She saw them all. Marie, Rai, the kids. Kairo.
And for the first time in a long time—
She allowed herself to believe:
> "Maybe, just maybe… They weren't running from the past anymore. They were walking toward the future."
As the group gathered their things and prepared to walk forward, the weight of the night slowly lifted.
But still, in the back of Selene's mind… a question echoed:
"What was that shadow beast? And why did it protect Rai?"
She looked at him one more time.
His eyes seemed normal now. But something had changed. In him. In all of them. The journey was no longer just about survival. It was about truth. And what they would become once they uncovered it.
...To Be Continued...