52. Reuniting Breakfast (part 1)

Character : Jonah Calfman, Reuniting Breakfast

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It's quite the cold morning, as always.

The end of the year is already near. As the season turned colder, the skies began to drop white particles famously known as snow. Snow fell and covered the whole earth nation white, caused by the atmosphere turning cold.

Under the cold morning, my feet are kneeling on the ground, right next to a small graveyard that belongs to a man I used to hate. His grave is mostly covered in snow, but I already got rid of the snow from the gravestone that reads out his name.

Kayden Calfman, the strongest knight of the earth nation. He died during the war to a knight wearing golden armor known as 'Two' from the dark republic. However, during our encounter at the dark republic's capital, we also found out that 'Two' was in fact the headmaster of the academy. 

The headmaster was a monster that is more than capable of wiping out an entire nation by himself, hence it was not surprising that my father who is so strong was killed at his hands. It was even more surprising that such a demon was actually out and about, causing havoc without anyone knowing him being there.

It's unfortunate, but I was able to avenge him. Alongside my friends, I went and took down the headmaster as well as his mirrored counterpart, Zero. The headmaster and Zero had merged into a unified being which was capable of using both the darkness origin and the light origin. Not just that, the two were also quite monstrous themselves, with every ability that they own could've been devastating for Avenor if they were to unleash it freely.

Sadly for them, the five that faced them were the most talented individuals from the Ellennoire elemental academy.

"And… that's pretty much the end of it." My voice smoked as I finished the story to my father's graveyard, and I turned my satisfied glare to his name written on the gravestone.

"It was… stressful. The battles that happened, every horrors that occurred after you died has permanently scarred me. However, I can say for certain that it has shaped me to become who I am today.

Very soon… I'll be just like you. Not the holy knight of the earth nation, and I think that title is just silly. But, I'll be something else. Something bigger.

I'll become a 'Guardian'. Do you want to know what that means?"

I jokingly asked the grave in front of me, and if Father was indeed here, then he would've given me the right answer immediately. He was always so sharp and intelligent, so of course he could've given a proper answer. And for sure, he would've been so proud of me.

"The Guardians of Avenor… it is--"

"Jonah."

All of a sudden, a voice called out behind me, and I turned around to face the source. A small sixteen year old lady was standing behind me with her entire short body covered in a thick layer of clothings. Her appearance looks so silly since her body was so small, and yet she is wearing such a thick jacket to protect her from the cold.

Seeing the short hair that was waving around, I laughed while standing up.

"Nyssa? I thought you were still asleep."

"Your mother is looking for you… and why would you go out so early in the morning?" Nyssa asked with a hint of annoyance in her tone, despite her face showing no signs of it whatsoever.

But, after spending so many weeks as her boyfriend, I can tell a thing or two that not many people noticed from her. Her face may have been very straight and emotionless, but from the tone of her voice I can tell she is annoyed.

And freezing… but mostly she is annoyed.

I quickly got up from the grave and hurriedly walked to Nyssa. I took off the jacket that I'm wearing and started wrapping it around her, adding another layer to the already thick jacket that she is wearing.

"Sorry. I just needed to see him as soon as possible." I told Nyssa my intentions of visiting Father's grave this early in the morning, and Nyssa turned her annoyed stare at me.

"You could've told everyone."

"W-Well… I thought about that, but…" I mumbled while rubbing the back of my head, and I looked to the skies to notice that it had become quite bright.

When I came out of the mansion, it was still rather dark. I purposely came out at dawn so that I won't annoy anyone by disappearing. But, it looks like I've spent too much time talking with Father, and I didn't even notice it.

"How long was I out…?" I asked Nyssa after realizing the time, and the silent girl took out her watch. I turned my eyes to the watch and noticed the time.

"Two hours… Damn." I said with an awkward grin, and Nyssa punched me in the shoulder lightly.

"Your mother is looking for you. She made breakfast long ago."

"O-Oh!? Then, let's hurry!" I said hurriedly before turning around, but then I realized I haven't really finished what I wanted to say.

I turned my gaze back to the graveyard, and I stood straight at where Father is resting. I lifted my hand to my chest, and with great honor, I spoke bravely.

"Jonah Calfman! The Earth Guardian of Avenor! At your service!"

My shouting voice can be heard throughout the entire graveyard. However, there's nobody else here aside from me and Nyssa, so there's no issue.

One thing's for certain, though… I just wanted him to hear about what I have achieved.

"I've protected and saved the whole Avenor. Not just the earth nation. Aren't you proud of me?" I said once more towards his grave, and I can only imagine his words would be if he were to listen.

" 'You did well. I'm proud of you'."

I turned my gaze to Nyssa after hearing those words from her, and she just kept her soft smile at me. "That is something he would've said, right?"

Man… I love her so much.

"Yes! I think that might be it!" I said cheerfully, and Nyssa lifted her hand at me so I could grab it. The two of us then proceeded to leave the graveyard with our hands locked, feeling proud of ourselves after what we have accomplished.

It has been three months since the war with the dark republic ended. Despite the countless casualties that occurred, the situation with the dark republic was solved. The people of the dark republic who survived the battles took refuge nearby the earth nation, and many help were given for them from various nation leaders of Avenor.

The mastermind behind everything: Zero, the fake president of the dark republic, and the headmaster of the Ellennoire academy, were taken down after a long and deadly battle at the great desert of Avenor. It was a ridiculous battle that involved every capable and talented individual in Avenor to band together and take down a single demonic individual that is a merged union between the two enemies.

Headmaster and Zero. From what we've learned, he is one of the Four Harbingers of the Apocalypse. The Harbinger of Conquest, which makes sense considering his acts have been nothing but subjugating strong characters on Avenor and instigating war.

But, he was defeated by none other than us. The five most talented students of the Ellennoire academy banded together to defeat the most dangerous monster to ever exist. No one can ever tell that the outcome would be our victory.

I played a part in it, but I am certain that the main reason as to why we won lies on one of the five students. And yet, that guy has been nothing but missing the past three months.

I really missed him. Nathan was my best friend for the entirety of my time at the academy. I'm not exactly close with any other guys aside from Eric, and it's not like Eric ever liked me or anything. But with Nathan, it's different.

He is just… mysterious sometimes.

Too mysterious. Like… what?

What is he doing outside my house?

"Yo! You came back." The bastard said right after Nyssa and I entered from the front gate, and I could only freeze on the spot after seeing him. 

Nyssa quickly realized that the person coming out of the Steelbird in the front yard was Lily, and she quickly approached the princess without hesitation. And while Nyssa and Lily are reuniting, I'm having a hard time trying to say something back to my dear old friend who returned so easily after disappearing.

Is it just me…? Or…

"… You got thinner." I said quickly after studying his appearance for a while, and everyone who heard it turned surprised. Both Nyssa and Lily turned their eyes to Nathan who was standing in front of the door, and he chuckled while lifting his hand upwards.

"Crazy that you noticed! You, out of all people!" Nathan said while lifting his right hand really high up, revealing that his hand has indeed gone thinner. 

I remembered very clearly that Nathan was muscular. His arms were quite big, even though it wasn't as big as mine. But now, he is actually comparable to Regie. Nathan is very-very thin.

"W-Wait… I didn't notice." Lily suddenly chimed in from the Steelbird, and she approached Nathan to look closer. Meanwhile, the guy only hid his hand again behind the robe.

"I've just been fasting a little! It's no big deal. Just a few plates of lamb chop can fix this." Nathan said jokingly while touching his stomach, and I started approaching him as well.

For sure… he has gone so much thinner. I've been through it, the whole process of losing weight. It was difficult, rough, and sometimes made me suffer. It wasn't easy enduring through that, and I can tell Nathan went through a lot.

Upon closer look, I noticed that a little bit of his cheeks had also shrunk. His neck looks smaller than before, his skin looked dry, and it really was as if he was heavily malnourished. I noticed a small sign of bags under his eyes, which revealed to me that he hasn't been getting too much rest.

And the moment I arrived in front of him, I realized there's so much more than what is visible. His eyes looked powerless, as if he did not wish to exist in this world anymore. I can see some of his hair actually gone white, and it was not something a sixteen year old like him should ever have.

Just what… did you go through?