Realizations

"New Hills Province?" Prince Devon wrinkled his forehead. He breathed in a lot of air and felt the wrinkles on his forehead relaxed.

"Hehe, breathing in too much air might freeze your brain Your Highness," Shiiba teased. She quickly ran around inside the gate and laughed as the prince ran after her.

"There is a nice view of the house we built here. Ah, and the food... don't even ask if it is good. You might soon forget your names once you tasted it." Theoden put his arms on his hips and lifted his chin.

"Father, we should go to the old house first before going to the market," Yrah suggested.

"Yes…yes, I still have to talk to your Grandpa about what happened to your mother."

"Grandpa will understand," tilted her head to his shoulder and hugged his arm.

Silence fell on the group. Kheera whispered something to Imari making the little girl smile. After four days on the road, Imari woke up advancing to the High Imperial rank. For a twelve-year-old, that rank is considered impossible yet to achieve.

Their mother's ancestral home is smaller than the Saber estate. Mainly it was made of wood and a few brick walls here and there. The structure looks to be rundown and even the garden was filled with weeds. There is a tall hunched back tree on the farthest corner of the garden with a poorly made swing hanging by its branch.

"Is the swing still there?" asked Yrah.

"Is that even a swing?" Prince Devon wrinkled his forehead while eyeing the whole house and garden. It was wide as the Saber Estate, but it was poorly maintained.

"Father, what happened? Why are you all so quiet? Can't you call out to Grandpa?" Yrah tugged on Theoden's sleeve like a child.

"Oh, Theo? You've come back?" A man's creaky voice erupted from the side of the house. He coughed multiple times before going out to see them. "Where is Naia?"

Theoden lowered his head and bowed in front of the old man. "Father, Yrah and I have come home. Naia…she…" A lump got caught in his throat, He coughed to clear it out. When he tried to open his mouth again, he couldn't find the words to say anything. He stayed bowing until Yrah softly tugged at his sleeve on the side.

"I see…my little girl…is gone, is she?" The old man's smile faded. Tears started to form at the corner of his eyes. His little sniffles turned louder and louder until his body couldn't take all the shaking and he knelt to the ground.

"Father!"

"Grandpa!"

They all shouted at the same time as they saw and heard the old man falling to his knees while shivering. Theoden couldn't help but shed tears too. It seems they haven't grieved enough for his wife's passing.

~~~~~~~~~~

An inn somewhere

She crossed her legs and closed her eyes. The world started to blur around her as she visited inside her core again. There were still some remnants of life forces she had to gather within her soul and place into her core. When she settled the life forces within her, she went to the island to visit Blue.

"What's new?" Blue was sitting in front of one of the pools with the symbol of staff at the bottom.

"That is the symbol of the staff that you got from the cave. It was made of metal. So, you will have power attributes akin to metals. It's just that I am not sure what those would be. Lightning is one for sure." Blue caressed her long hair on the side while explaining. Her eyes kept sparkling as she looks back at Yllana. Her master sure is beautiful.

"Why didn't I see any symbol when I had the Heaven's Blessing sword? Where is the pool for the knight?" Blue pointed at one of the pools with water almost filling to the brim.

Yllana looked below the pool to see any glowing symbol, but she was disappointed. There was nothing but water from the life forces she gathered. Why is there no weapon representing her position as a knight when it was her very first profession? She rubbed her chin as she stared deep into the water.

"Master, only magical weapons with a great amount of power can only be seen in the pools of life forces. I guess your silver sword wasn't that strong enough."

"How about the other pools? What are they for?"

"Other professions that you would successfully start cultivating in, master. You are quite the fortunate one. I am very lucky to be your contracted spirit."

"Oh, before I forget. I have a contracted blood rabbit. Can that beast stay here?"

"Mmm, not yet master. It will take time to store a huge beast inside your core. And you need to advance your rank higher to attain it."

"I see. I am only in Mid-Saint rank for now, but I will try my best to gather more life forces to advance."

Life was getting more and more difficult. Yllana mused. She could feel the bottleneck quivering. Just a bit more and she will break through another level. She was about to reach Mid-Saint rank. She couldn't wait to advance her rank.

When she opened her eyes, she was back into the wooden inn. She saw Midel sitting inside her room. "Why are you here?"

"It's the empress," a frown immediately appeared on his face upon saying the word. He crossed his arms across his chest.

"She is teaching me spells from the book every night. What is wrong with her?" Did she miss something about her? Why is Midel so concerned about the empress coming with them?

"As I've said, the emperor of the South Kingdom is hunting both of you down. It might also just be a guess, but I feel that it was the emperor who launched the attack on the elders. He was trying to get to the Floating Isles of Desonia. We haven't seen any signs of the elders from the corpses, but it doesn't mean that they may be in a better situation since they haven't come back." This has been puzzling him ever since he saw the corpses inside the cave. Something wasn't right. And he felt that something was about to happen.

"They told us that it was the nymphs' who were using that cave to get to them. It was obvious that it was about trades. Someone powerful placed a dragon to guard that passage. But if it was to attack the Desonians, why place it in the cave when it could have just attacked the isles directly since it could fly?" Yllana smiled.

"So it seems, it was placed there to protect them. And the missing elders…could it be?" He covered his mouth as realization dawned on him.

"They summoned the dragon," Larika was standing by the door. There was a solemn look in her eyes as she entered the room. "The nymphs could not be the only ones who were trying to get into Desonia."

"I knew it! You know something!" Midel glared at her.

"I cannot tell you because it was only my assumptions! But since I saw those treasures, I already have a vague guess what the south kingdom tried to do. And it wasn't an invasion," she shook her head. It was all clear to her somehow.

"What were they looking for?" Yllana asked out of the blue.

"Me. Those treasures are the heirlooms of my mother's family. They could have been looking for me and the emperor could have tricked them that I am in the floating isles. Once the nymphs have lessened the guards of Desonia, he could invade it and capture that beast and add it to his army." Yllana and Midel were both staring at her. The emperor again? How evil could he still be?

Then it hit Yllana. She hastily stood up. "If you have told us about those treasures, we could have warned them before we left." She was about to reach for her robe when Larika reached out for her hand.

"I already warned Fourteen. They are trained soldiers. And she is going to try to tell the others to escape first before the South emperor would discover that the dragon is dead."

Midel calmed down when he heard her words. "Warriors with no names, only numbers. How… unfortunate. She was obviously sent to guard us."

Yllana blinked hard and massaged her temples. Will they really be okay? She remembered the beautiful scene that welcomed them above the fog. The century-old trees, the thick foliage, hanging houses, fresh fruits directly from the branches, all of those flashed in her mind. After everything ran through her mind, she faced Larika. "I hope you tell me important things like this next time. Although you are the empress, your life is as valuable as theirs. We cannot simply abandon them just because you want to buy time for us to escape the emperor's hands."

Larika went silent and turned red. Maybe it was at the back of her mind. The emperor would attack Desonia. It will take time to invade it. But then, the lives of a hundred people will have to be sacrificed. Was she wrong in trying to hide it from the Accursed One? But wasn't she supposed to be trying to find ways to be stronger? To avoid being caught in other people's schemes? Wasn't she supposed to be equally evil as the demon king?