[9] BY CHOICE

Boasting a wingspan of over a third of the headquarters' height, the dragon descended, its dragonrider pulling on the harness connected to the headgear wrapped around its mouth.

The green-scaled beast lowered its neck, the rider helping the woman behind him to get down safely. The dragon's size wasn't the only thing differentiating it from a wyvern, for wyverns had multiple smaller wings and no legs, unlike the large pair of wings and strong hind legs that this dragon had.

The sudden salute of the guildmasters and commanders was the only thing that shifted Sliff's attention to the woman that got off the dragon.

She walked toward their group wearing high heels and white stockings which were barely under her tiny skirt, her every step accompanied by a stroke of elegance. Her straight light-blonde hair fell past her knees, almost resembling a cape, waving side to side as she walked. Her exposed shoulders made Sliff think whether or not she felt cold while riding the dragon.

Halting before the group, she folded her arms underneath her breasts. The commanders and guildmasters bowed before the woman, confirming her identity.

She was a Celestial: A member of the Celestial Guild Association. The guild that ruled them all. The guild above any king. The guild that made every law of Eloise.

"It's an honor to be in your presence, Celestial Jaylin," Safrax said, stepping sideways and gesturing toward the entrance of the headquarters.

"Why, of course," the Celestial said, nodding with half-a-smile.

Ledomex stepped opposite to Safrax, gesturing toward the entrance. "We shall escort you to the courtroom, Celestial. There we can honor your time."

Jaylin the Celestial placed a hand on the side of his waist, stepping amidst the five Kyubu council members who led her toward the entrance.

Passing by Sliff, she glanced at him briefly, enchanting him with her gleaming purple eyes. "She's so…" Sliff thought. "Beautiful—!"

"Why does it matter?" Sliff told himself. He stood there, confused, watching everyone except Iyana walk inside the building. "What was that?"

"Mister Alaric is calling us," Iyana said. "I think we should go too."

Sliff nodded, still unsure of what just happened. "Right…"

***

The courtroom was elevated in three levels, Sliff and Iyana sitting on chairs at the lowest level. The next level consisted of curved tables to Sliff's either side, the guildmasters and commanders sitting behind them. Two sets of staircases stood right in front of Sliff, each leading to either side of the table at the third level, behind which the Celestial sat, scanning some papers before passing them to the woman beside her.

Each guildmaster was accompanied by their first-in-command. Rillon had returned to the Buster stronghold as his mission was complete.

Sliff gazed around at the brightly lit, circular courtroom. Each column behind the guildmasters was decorated by a Kyubu banner and the interregional flag, depicting the angelic figure of Eloise, the bringer of Alchos. That's why the regions collectively were also known as Eloise.

The Celestial cleared her throat, bringing back Sliff's attention.

"Mistress Lonnie," Jaylin said. "Correct me if I'm wrong but you're here to substitute Master Dubius, am I right?"

"Yes, Celestial," Lonnie said, nodding. "The Master of Kosmos is still missing, that's why commander Ledomex asked me to substitute him."

"So you're the Master of the fourth strongest guild of Kyubu?"

"Yes, Celestial. I'm Lonnie of the Bluemane guild."

"Alright," Jaylin said. "We shall start the meeting. Commander Ledomex, take it away."

"Yes, Celestial." Ledomex rose with papers in hand, towering over Lonnie, who sat beside him. "Good morning, once again, to the Kyubu council and the witnesses. Today, we've gathered here to record the testimony of the only known survivors of the Goltara incidents: slave Iyana and Sliff Venrio of Fleya, Osto."

Sliff narrowed his eyes. "He didn't call me a slave…?"

"The seriousness of the Goltara incidents," Ledomex continued, "arises from the hundreds of thousands of bodies, of beasts and humans alike, that are being discovered there ever since the last three months. Every mission so far has led only to failure, as we still are unsure of the true cause of these incidents."

"The true cause," Sliff thought. "Zomir…"

"But last week," Ledomex said. "The mission organized by commander Safrax was able to recover Sliff Venrio: A thought-to-be slave who miraculously came alive just before his autopsy."

Sliff's expression soured. "Thought-to-be?"

"The aim of this meeting," Ledomex continued, "is to record the testimony of Sliff Venrio, and of slave Iyana: A slave owned by the Grovon family, who is currently master-less due to their potential link with the Desperado."

"Huh?" Sliff thought. "They did not mention me as master-less…"

"And what's her connection to this case?" Jaylin asked.

Ledomex put down the papers from which he was reading. "Yes, Celestial." He turned to Jaylin. "The survivor, Sliff Venrio, was part of Tane Bigrichard's party, the same party Devo Grovon—one of the masters of slave Iyana—was also a member of. All six members of Tane Bigrichard's party were found dead in the Goltara Mountains, while according to our research, their quest was around the Taaskov forest in Fleya."

"Six members?" Sliff thought, his mind restless.

"So she's linked with Sliff Venrio," Jaylin said. "Who was a Seeker in Tane Bigrichard's party?"

Sliff whipped up his head toward the Celestial. "Seeker?"

"Yes, Celestial," Ledomex said, nodding. "To once and for all solve the mystery of the Goltara incidents we decided to record the testimony of Sliff Venrio, the Seeker, and also the—"

Slamming a hand on the table in front of him, Sliff rose. "What're you even talking about—?"

Valisha jolted onto her feet, pointing at him. "Sit down!"

Sliff sat down awkwardly, his expression unchanged.

"Do you even know," Jaylin asked, "how big an offence it is to interrupt in a council meeting?"

"I'm…sorry," Sliff said, his expression souring. "But…what commander Ledomex just said is not true. I'm not a Seeker. I was a slave of Tane's."

"No, you're weren't," Ledomex said, tapping his papers. "We've done research."

Sliff's eyebrows contracted. "What do you mean research, sir—?"

"It's my mistake, Celestial," Valisha said, bowing. "I did not think it would be important to tell Sliff Venrio about our research, for I was under the impression he already knew."

"What're they even…" Sliff thought, now fully confused.

"That's upsetting," Jaylin said. "Was surely not expecting that from you, Mistress Valisha."

"In my defence, Celestial," Valisha said. "I would like to say that Sliff Venrio woke up just yesterday, so I haven't had time to tell him about it."

Sliff turned toward her. "What is she even talking about?"

"Very well," Jaylin said, settling down. "Do it right now. Fast."

Turning toward Sliff, Valisha cleared her throat. "To make the rest of the meeting smooth, be sure to ask any questions before I sit down, understand?"

Gulping, Sliff nodded.

"Let me ask you, first of all," Valisha said. "Why do you think you're a slave, Sliff Venrio?"

An avalanche of confusion hit Sliff. He was simply…dumbstruck.

Sliff sat with both, his mouth and eyes, wide open. What kind of question was that? Think? 'THINK'? He 'was' a slave! The beatings, the abuse, the torture… How was he to respond to a question like that—?

"We don't have all day, Sliff," Valisha said.

"I-I…" Sliff stuttered as he let out his answer. "I…was owned by Tane… I did everything he told me to… He used to beat me and abuse me…"

"Why did you obey him?"

"My father sold me to him… He owed Tane money…"

Ledomex sighed, shaking his head.

"Sorry to break it to you, Sliff," Valisha said then pointed at him. "But that doesn't make you a slave."

Ears reddening with heat of disbelief, Sliff's stomach started turning. "What…?" he said it but didn't mean to. It just came out. It was just his confused thoughts.

"A slave is branded," Valisha said. "Osto has the least number of slaves; maybe that's why you don't know it." She turned to Iyana, who kept staring at Sliff. "You're branded, right?"

Iyana nodded swiftly.

Whipping his head toward her, Sliff sat confused. "I…never knew…" He gulped. "So…what am I?"

"In our first round of research," Valisha said. "We thought you were an unbranded slave because of your relationship with Tane we found through other Kratur Seekers. Unbranded slaves are pretty common in Osto, so we didn't think about it twice. Then the doctors refused to work on you. But after the second round, we found out that nobody in your family was ever a slave."

Sliff's mouth opened even wider. "So-Wh-How—?"

"You may have been treated like one, Sliff," Valisha said. "But you don't have a slave's blood or even brand. We also checked this out with Kratur. Even in their database, only Iyana was marked as a slave. You were marked as a member, a Seeker, of Tane's party."

Sliff's head fell, his chin tucking all the way, his eyes as wide as they could get. "I…don't…understand… Just…wh-wh—"

"That should be enough," Jaylin said. "Let's move on."

"Any questions, Sliff?" Valisha said, placing hands on the table before her. "I won't be able to answer you after I sit down, remember?"

Sliff licked his dry lips, blinking repeatedly. "H-How…" He gulped. "Why did Vyzen think I was a slave?"

Valisha stood upright, exhaling softly. "That kid… The doctors refused to work on you after round one of research. When Vyzen asked them the reason, they told him what they knew. Vyzen wanted to transfer you to White Wing, but I was the one who pressed the doctors to do it, because your testimony could've proved useful to us. There, he remained by your side for the entire last week, refusing to budge for even a moment. He told me he would only take missions after he saw you awake. A week later, you finally woke up. Then he was called to the search party. Don't get me wrong Sliff, council information is indeed secretive, not even Alaric, my own first-in-command, knows about it. But your personal information? Aren't you supposed to know that already?"

As more and more droplets fell onto the floor, Sliff's vision got fuzzier. Tears making room for more tears. He did not know what to feel. Was he supposed to feel happy that he was not a slave, despite Tane's abuse? Or was he supposed to feel sad that his best friend was feeling bad for not being able to save him despite everything Vyzen had done for him so far?

"Let's start from the beginning," Sliff heard, not knowing who said these muffled words. "Let's first record slave Iyana's testimony." These were the last words he heard, before his ears started ringing.

The voices, the people, the surroundings…everything muddled up with each other. Nothing made sense.

Raising his hands in front of his lowered head, Sliff remembered all the stuff he had carried with them for the last ten years, from even before he was sold by his father to Tane.

A thought boiled to the top of his head. It was a painful one before. But now even more so. Not only because it was his own words but also because now he knew the truth behind them. He remembered the last words he had said to his master. The words his master never listened. Was he himself listening when he spoke them? As now…those words were piercing his heart like one of Zomir's spikes.

"I never chose this."

Sliff had said this to Tane. But right now...the sheer fact that he could argue this thought was muddying up his mind and emotions even more.

Bigger droplets fell onto the floor as Sliff's eyes burned up with emotions he did not understand himself.

"I did choose this. I was a slave by choice."

He wasn't an actual slave, Valisha just revealed.

"Not only could I dream," a thought bubbled up in Sliff's mind. "I was already a Seeker… What does this mean…?

"I really could do neither… What does that make me…? What am I if not a slave…?

"Who am I?"

A faint voice inside his head yelled. "The…

"…Talentless…

"…Warrior—"

Sliff shut it down instantly, willingly or otherwise. "I'm not that… I can't be…" He blinked shut his eyes, gritting his teeth.

"Why am I even alive?"

The only identity Sliff ever knew was just proved to be fictitious. Made up. Falsely believed.

Suddenly, a clear wave of bright light crashed into his mind, washing away all of his muddled thoughts. He became calm. Loose. It was a strange experience. Sliff could swear it wasn't just in his mind, for his entire surroundings came back to life. They became all clear, just like his mind. "Wait…" he thought.

"What is a slave?"