Psyche 5: Return To Axanon

Author's Note: This will be the 1st chapter being released today. Also, there will be a time skip in this chapter from when Luscia first arrived back in Axanon and the year and a half later.

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After I started thinking that Alex would definitely be fine, I stopped having the dreams about my final moments in the bunker during the Soul Eater attack. It was probably an incarnation of all of the feelings I had been suppressing most of my life.

Regret, guilt, sadness.

Human emotions like that. Wow, humans are much more fragile than I thought they were. I thought in my previous life that maybe humans aren't that smart, aside from my superiors, because of the fact that they had the ability to feel, limiting the amount of space in their brain. I thought that the reason why they weren't able to sacrifice just a few people was dumb and that they can't see the bigger picture.

I actually thought that before, though it was a secret. But, now that I actually am a real human in this life, I can sort of understand them a bit. Not to say that I know everything about being a person. I am still growing, both physically and mentally.

And this time, I am not bestowed with high abilities as I am a human now. The only thing I can consider extraordinary about myself is my MEP capacity, which must certainly be a coincidence. I am weak physically and I am scared to lose people I care about. I would have always been indifferent to the deaths of random soldiers as they died trying to stop a great evil.

If I was like that in this life, I would never have grown at all. They say that it is easier for a weak person to improve faster than a prodigy, as long as they have the motivation to keep going. These emotions help a person grow. They are the reason why people have been able to survive for a long time as they want to stick together, to protect others, and to protect themselves.

The thing that the 1st Hero always said to the soldiers in the army during his speeches come to mind: "Those who were born with nothing can become anything they want!"

That line still occasionally resonates within my mind. And, I am happy that it is staying in my mind, even after my previous life ended.

"Miss Luscia, could you please come with us?"

"What's wrong?"

Why do I need to go with you again?

"Oh, sorry. We are supposed to be picking up someone important in this city."

"Then, who is it?"

"We have specific orders to not tell you yet. Well, you might be able to guess once you see him."

After that, some of my guards left the carriage and started walking away. Right now, we took a short detour to the Spring City, Ronane. This city is famous for lots of things but, the most famous of all is the dominant industry in this city. That industry is the Hot Springs industry.

One of the major sources of income for this city are the natural hot springs near and around the city. In fact, due to how wide spread these springs are and the fact that Ronane wanted to monopolize them, this is the 3rd biggest city in the Kingdom of Anastelo. Another thing that helps this city thrive is the fact that many Champions were born and raised in this place, more than any other city in the world.

However, the only Champion that is currently active that came from this place is the Champion of Poison, Venum Medicia. Apparently, he is one of the weaker Champions physically but more than makes up for it with his expertise on the human anatomy. When I asked my guards about him, he was from a family of doctors but worked as a janitor at the biggest hot spring area.

His ability is known to be a pretty painful one. Well, painful for the one who is on the receiving end of his ability. As you can probably guess from his Champion title, he has the ability to create poison. Since he is a Champion who has very high capabilities, we don't really know the details or the limits of his ability.

Coupled with the fact that he is unsociable and unapproachable due to the scary look constantly in his eyes, (please remember that this information was obtained from my guards so I don't actually know what he looks like) that practically makes him a mystery, even amongst Champions.

Oh yeah, supposedly, he is a bit young for a Champion. The guards said that he probably is only 25 right now. Maybe that's because he only became a Champion recently?

As I was pondering over the city and why it's famous, my guards came back with another person right behind them. I can't see them that well as they are far but, the person they brought is a man.

After a few minutes, it became clear who this man was supposed to be.

"Um, who are you supposed to be?"

"... Do you really not remember me at all?"

He sounds familiar to me and it is apparent that he recognizes me. I need to remember who this man is before he starts get sad or mad at me. I thought for some time before I was able to think of 1 person.

It had to be someone that I knew when I was younger but was important enough for him to expect me to remember him. And, there was really only 1 person I could think of who fit in that category.

"Are you my... father?"

"Yes, I am your father. We have a lot to talk about while we are heading back to Axanon."

"It is nice to see you are in good health, my Lord."

"Yes, it is nice to see you are doing alright as well, Carros."

I haven't seen my father in such a long time. I believe the last time I saw him was my Appraisal Ceremony when I was still only 4 years old. After that was over, he came over to my room to tell me that he was going to need to work in various cities to improve relations. He is a noble but he seems to like doing the work himself as I am sure that he isn't some sort of diplomat.

And so, I spent some quality bonding time with my father while we were traveling in the carriage. It was certainly nice to tell him all about what I have been going through while he was gone but, it seemed like he knew about most of those stuff as Carros has been sending letters to him.

On his side, he was doing some pretty interesting and intriguing things as well. The way he speaks in interesting as well. You would never guess that my energetic father was the younger brother of the serious King of Axanon. It seems like the ideal person I would like to become is a mixture of both my father and my uncle.

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(Time skip!)

"So, you had a lot of fun when you were staying there, huh? I wish I could have come along with you."

"I don't think you could have gotten there even if you tried as your mother is pretty worried about you."

"Aww."

Right now, I am walking around in the city center with Sierra. Since she wanted to chat with me today about my experiences in Vulcan, again, I decided to take her up on her offer. We had this talk so many times but, she still likes it when I tell her.

"Oh yeah, you said that you got something from a friend there, right?! Where is it!?"

"It's right here."

I point to the necklace and locket I got from Alex. Wait a minute. I just realized I never told Alex about Sierra, did I?

"It is very pretty, just like you!"

"Thanks."

Sierra is a very upbeat girl. She likes to be positive and is well-liked by both our classmates and our teachers due to her personality. On the other hand, I am liked by my teachers and classmates as some sort of mysterious girl with amazing grades.

Speaking of grades, Sierra isn't too far behind me at all. Actually, in the last test, she only got 3 marks lower than me. I like to think that between the both of us, she is the real genius. I may have better grades but that is solely because of the fact I retain my memories. Meanwhile, she is just a regular girl who is smart enough to nearly equal me.

If there is 1 thing that she is much better than me at then, that would definitely be at physical activities. While I get exhausted after only a few minutes, she is able to keep moving around for a long time. She is practically the polar opposite of me.

We have similar grades but, everything between our personalities and the things we are good at are different. Heck, even our eye and hair colors are exactly the opposites. Purple hair and yellow hair with red eyes and green eyes. Yet, we still are best friends.

"Oh, hey, there is a cast coming from Quaran right now."

I look at the fountain in front of us and see a small boy and a tall man facing each other. This must be the first training session for the aspiring knight kids who want to pass the Proving. I know as I have watched the previous one and the previous Proving back in Vulcan. I didn't spot Alex there though.

"Yeah, it is called the Ethereal Sword: Aether. I just call it Aether for short as it is a pretty long name."

"Did you name it yourself? It sounds pretty, well, majestic, to say the least."

"Believe it or not, I wasn't the one who bestowed my sword with an awesome name. It was actually a pretty good friend of mine."

"Hoh? How close were you to this supposed friend?"

"Well, if I have to describe her well, she is polite, smart, and a bit unsociable when I followed her around. However, when she is around me, she becomes really childish, it is almost like she suppresses her emotions. She likes to tease me a bit when we talk but, it is honestly nice being with her."

"A good friend. That's nice."

Hey, no way...

"Wait. Is that your friend, Luscia?!"

"How did you guess!?"

"Just a hunch."

And so, both me and Sierra watched the cast from the fountain. It was pretty refreshing to see the calm Alex start panicking again as well. However, the way he described me just made me feel a bit happy.

Oh, and Sierra started to tease me for it as well.