Onto Discite!

The horses' hooves pounded against the dirt road. Eliisabet and Custos rode together on one horse while Lori and Avic rode on the other. It had already been a total of 23 hours since they had defeated Gatio. This meant that they now only had a mere hour to make it to Discite before the deadline at the School Of Sicarius at midnight. They had barely made any stops along the way to try and make up for lost time. Due to this, they were quite tired and in more ways than one.

Avic looked down on Lori who was seated in front of him on the horse's back. Her baggy eyes gazed down onto the moving ground. It was evident that she was very tired but she hadn't slept ever since the death of her parents. Avic still felt a little guilty. Despite his promise, he had allowed Lori to lose both her parents. It made him frustrated.

"Lori, I'm sorry..." Apologized Avic.

Lori clenched the fluffy mane of the horse tightly between her fists. She wanted to cry but her tears had already dried up. All that remained were sorrow and heartache.

"I know how you feel. When I found out that my parents had passed away ten years ago, I was just like you. I couldn't sleep, eat, or think straight. I was depressed and to be honest, the pain never went away. Even today I still feel that pain."

Lori sniffled, "How did you cope with it..?"

"To tell the truth, I don't know. I just started living my life for the present. I stopped thinking about the future. All I cared about was what could quell the pain I felt at that specific moment. So I avoided doing anything that strained my mental health, even if just a little. And because of that, I was branded as lazy and someone who cares for no one else but himself."

"I don't know if I can do that..."

"That's good because I wouldn't want you to. I don't want you to become like me. When I look at you, I think of what my family and I could have become if the GSD never happened. And because of that, I wanted to protect what you had. But I failed..."

"Aren't you embarrassed saying that..?"

"I mean, I don't know. Should I be? I'm just being honest, you know. I wouldn't want anyone to go through the same thing I did back then. I especially don't want them to take the same path as I did in life. Even though I haven't known you for that long, I still wanted to protect what you had. Maybe that was just another way of me trying to comfort myself but that's what I wanted."

Lori then finally gazed up at Avic. She could hear the sincerity in his voice. It was like a cool breeze whisking by. It held no impurities or bad intentions to deceive her. It made her feel a little more relaxed, even if it was just for a brief moment.

"Hey, Lori," continued Avic. "Did I tell you the reason I suddenly wanted to become a Sicarius?"

"You might have but I don't remember..."

"Well, it started with a story my mother used to read me a long time ago. It was about three vials that held unlimited power. One controlled time, the other controlled space, and the last one controlled reality. It's said that the one who drinks from any of these three vials will be granted unimaginable power. They're called the Three Vials Of Deus. I'm aiming to become a Sicarius so that I can find those three vials and bring my parents back to life."

"You're going to bring your parents back to life..? I thought the vials were only an old legend..."

"I don't know if they're only a legend but I intend to find them."

"And you'll be using them to bring your parents back to life... I wish I could do something like that..."

"Well, now I have another wish that I'm going to make once I find those Three Vials."

Avic then paused as he looked down at Lori with a sheer sense of resolve in his eyes.

"I'm going to bring your parents back as well. I promise that I won't let you take the same path as me in life. You'll be reunited with them and live your childhood as you're supposed to..!"

Lori couldn't remove her eyes from Avic. His words had raised her spirit from the dead. If Avic could bring her parents back from the dead then her life would return to normal. It was a promise that she immediately held close to her heart. She believed that Avic could do it. He had already saved her life on more than one occasion. She held no doubts.

To Avic's surprise, Lori smiled at him. This came as a shock given that she hadn't even attempted to smile in almost an entire day.

"Well, would you look at that? I had no idea that Avic was so good with kids," teased Custos.

"I agree. It's kinda cute," chuckled Eliisabet.

"Sigh... Stop with the compliments. You're going to make me feel awkward. Aren't we close to Discite as yet?"

"You're that eager to enroll?" Asked Custos.

"More like eager to take a nap. This is the first time in months that I've gone over four hours without taking a nap. I feel like my head's about to fall off my body."

"Of course... Well, look up ahead. I think we'll make it."

Custos then pointed in front of them. This was when Avic saw a gorgeous city coming into view, just over the hill. Artificial lighting decorated the streets and some of the buildings were much taller than the ones back in Initium. The city was majestic and looked more like a royal kingdom than anything else. The buildings were mostly made of concrete which made the city look gorgeous from afar. To put it simply, it looked as if they were about to take a step a few years into the future. It looked a lot more futuristic than Initium. It was without a doubt Discite City. After hardships, blood, and constant pain, they finally arrived at their destination.