Pledge Under the Rain

As the sound of heavy rain pouring down mixed with the sound of children playing around the chimney in the hall keeping a lively blooming atmosphere, in a corner distant from them, one petite silhouette was standing on its toes trying to peek outside the window. Black hair coupled with his black eyes resembling a bottomless pit seemed to emit a strange light.

"I still don't understand what makes you so excited when it rains, kid. So much that you can stare at it for hours skipping meals."

A lean muscular figure with a clear and calm face accompanied by a scar on his left eyebrow, seemingly in his twenties stood beside the child.

"I don't know. Do I need a reason to like something, uncle Liam?"

Unfazed by his appearance, keeping his gaze fixed on the limited scenario he could view outside the window as he struggled to stand on his toes, his voice seemed unwilling to pay attention to his surroundings.

"Sigh—Precocious as ever, why can't you just act like a 5 year old like the other kids. But, I guess you are right, not everything needs a reason. And sometimes these things which have no reason behind them cause many problems and doubts."

As a self-deprecating smile floated on Liam's face as he lifted a young Ken and placed him on a small platform before the window. Lost deep in his thoughts with his hands folded across his chest, Liam supported himself against the wall next to the window as he said.

"Ken, remember that no matter if you understand the things in front of you or not, what defeats you is the chaos in your mind. A calm mind is the biggest ally of oneself."

Liam silently walked to the door across the hall with a pair of squinting eyes as Ken let out a slow nod with his eyes glued to the now clearly visible raining world beyond the window as he murmured a pledge which no person in the world could dare uphold.

'Then I will stay calm.'

Surrounded by a few plain undecorated wooden buildings, this was a small village in the middle of nowhere with no bounding walls nor fence. As the rain poured down, there were two people holding umbrellas at one end of the village bordering with boundless grasslands. A thread of smoke rose under one umbrella as a man seemingly in his late 30's held a cigar with one hand and the umbrella with the other.

"Time flies by pretty quickly doesn't it, Master Aiden?"

As tall as 6 feet 2 inches, muscular enough to be nicknamed 'The Iron Wall'. His voice was hoarse as he exhaled a puff of smoke looking at a distant blurry black dot-like structure at the end of the horizon.

"Four years. It's already been four years, it indeed does seem like four years of time has flown by in a mere few blinks. Kaito, Status report?"

A calm middle aged man in his late 40's with silver hair and relatively very few wrinkles of time when compared to others of the same age as him. His voice was calm and collected with his eyes closed and his stature as strong as an iron pillar lodged straight into the ground. Yet, his way of speech, the formal and stiff tone of his gives away his age.

"Food supplies stocked enough for a month and dry rations enough for another month. It rains pretty frequently and we have no issues of water supply due to this reason. No key issues with the rest of the compa– villagers. And the practice equipment was delivered yesterday."

Stomping the cigar with his right foot, Kaito's eyes seemed resolute as his eyes swayed towards the middle aged man, Aiden beside him.

"Mm. And the orphanage? How are the kids doing?"

"The older ones are not a problem and as a matter of a fact nor are the younger ones. There's only one, which is a pain to deal with."

Liam stated in a joking manner as he strode forward from the village with an umbrella, chuckling as he walked to the other side of Aiden, staring at the same dark spot at the end of the horizon.

"A Pain to deal with? Or does his words rub against your old scars Liam? Either way, his words are not that of a 5 year old. That precocious little brat. But what can we do about it, like father like son, just blame it on the genes. Master Aiden let's go ahead of schedule, we have to let him into the real world sooner than we thought. 3 years master Aiden, 3 Years."

Liam's eyes drifted from Kaito to Aiden as Kaito's resolute words and blazing stare fell on Aiden. A pair of blue eyes slowly opened looking at the world before them, calm and deep like an ocean. The three folded their umbrellas as their trench coats fluttered in the air while the rain slowly came to a stop, the grass flickered along with the wind and silence filled the air around them for a few moments.

"Liam, Kaito, begin their training today. 3 years, no more no less. That would mark 7 years of us away from the world. Inform all the villagers, tell Emma and the others to ready the training grounds as soon as possible."

Aiden's words carried no imposing manner nor strength yet contained a mysterious force in his voice causing Liam's and Kaito's faces to turn firm and stiff as they rushed back into the village. Aiden's white coat flew in the air as he muttered something to himself before walking back into the village.

'You Failed. We Failed. But they won't, he won't, he will shadow even you. Rest easy, they will drift through the last line and shatter the last barrier of Abyss.'