Rue Hears of the Will

"You've inherited the will," said the minister.

"The will?" asked Rue.

The minister smiled.

"There is an old story about those that inherit the will. The last person that inherited the will was Vergil" said the minister.

"Vergil?"

"A legendary hero of the past. He is the one that led to the current era of Hunters. In his time, the world was separated into countries. They had vast lands with many cities and a single ruler. Vergil was dissatisfied with the current world situation, and he was strong enough to change it. And that he did. He destroyed every country that was too large and created the current situation where city-states rule certain regions. He's also the reason why each place has a Hunter leading it"

"Damn"

"It's said that he had the power to change the world with the swipe of a hand"

"Wow. Since I have this will thing too, am I going to get that powerful?" Rue asked.

"Maybe"

"So what specifically does this will thing mean?"

"You inherited the same spirit he had"

"Huh? His spirit?"

"I guess it means you have his personality," said the minister.

Rue thought for a couple of seconds.

"You're really useless you know? I thought you actually knew what that entire tower thing was"

The minister laughed.

"In due time," he said.

"I'm leaving," she said.

"However, there is one thing that I am sure of," said the old man.

Rue had gotten up from the seat and was about to leave, but she stopped.

"What"

"Vergil most definitively wanted to become the greatest Hunter in the world," said the minister.

Now, this really surprised her.

So her goal of wanting to beat Kai had been something that was planned?

But she had decided it herself.

She felt out of breath.

Maybe there was a destiny that was forcing her onto a specific path.

"How the hell?" she asked.

"Well, it is every Hunter's dream, isn't it? You shouldn't be so surprised"

He's right, she thought.

It was just a coincidence.

Just a coincidence, she told herself.

........................

Rue and the minister talked for a while.

Rue was told where Kai would be, where she could head next to reach Epsilon, and some more minor stuff.

"Oh, and one more thing," said the minister. "Right now, you are not anywhere close to the strongest Hunter"

"I know," she said.

"No. I mean you haven't actually realized how far apart you two are,"

"What do you mean?"

She was starting to feel annoyed about always having to ask questions.

"What makes Kai so strong isn't just the fact that he has an insane amount of abilities. It's a lot more than just that" the minister said.

"Then what is it"

"One day, you will see for yourself. Actually, I don't think that day is very far away"

"How would you know that?"

"It's your destiny"

Again with that bullshit. She had gotten tired of asking and not getting any answers.

"I'm going. Thank you for all your useless help, I guess."

And with that, Rue left Night City in search of her next adventure.

..............................

Rue followed the map that the minister had given her.

She was now heading towards Lugia.

The city of water.

The minister had said that there was a portal to Epsilon directly in the city-state, and only in Epsilon she could reach Kai.

The plain grass that covered the path between the two places was uninteresting. You could see small houses where farmers lived producing food for the big cities. She was still in the area protected by the minister, but she would eventually reach the farmlands that were under the protection of Lugia.

The air she breathed was clean, and the sun blazed brightly.

She felt bliss under it.

She smiled to herself.

She really started to like the open space.

Maybe the farmlands weren't that bad.

With new determination, she headed to Lugia.

...............................

It didn't take long until she saw the change in the farmlands.

Instead of raising cattle, she found large pounds where the farmers raised fish.

She guessed that people at Lugia ate fish more than beef.

How fitting.

She also noticed the clear lack of clothing. They were only wearing shorts.

And so, she decided to ask a farmer, after a short greeting.

"What's up with your clothes?" Rue asked.

"You must not be from around here huh? Since Lugia is filled with beaches and water, doesn't it make more sense to wear bathing suits?" said the farmer.

"Oh"

"Yes. It also feels a lot freer to wear less clothing too"

Freer?

Now that was something that Rue was interested in.