2 Silent storm

---

The man was sitting on a chair in a dark room, and beside him were lying dead bodies of slayers*; only his shoes were visible, though their colours remained indiscernible.

(*Slayers: they are the military who can use kie)

The rough wooden floor and the harsh atmosphere, with the thick scent of blood, felt like that man had seen these for ages; death was like a mere play to this man.

He was singing this poem:

"We ventured down the valley near our town,

Drawn by a cave that gleamed like a crown.

Curious and bold, we stepped inside,

Only to find the dead, their secrets denied. Then, from the shadows, the beast did rise,

And we fled in fear, with terror in our eyes. But I stumbled on a rock, my knees hit the ground,

Alone, I cried out, but no help was found. The beast loomed closer and, to my surprise,

He asked, 'Do you need a hand?' with sorrowful eyes.

He told me his tale, of battles and pain,

And I saw in him a hero, broken and slain.

My friends were my foes, their loyalty a lie,

But the beast was a hero, just broken inside."

Who is this man?

Well, we will meet him in the future. He is not in Paxia, though. But he has a very important role in our story.

So now let's focus on our typical anime main character, Liod Kennedy.

A sense of adrenaline surged through Liod's veins as he gazed at the sky, which was warm and luminous like it was marvellously coloured with orange crayons.

But Liod didn't find it beautiful; for him, it was like a scent of past trauma, and a rough surface of fear and anxiety covered him for that moment.

For a moment, everything was silent for him when the voice of a girl echoed continuously.

"Liod"

"Earth to Mister Kennedy"

"Lion"

Then he snapped out of it when she grabbed his arm.

"What happened? Are you okay?"

With sweat and anxiety, he put his hand on his forehead and replied, "Nothing, just—"

"Past," Mira interrupted with a concerned look.

"I am fine now."

"Is it because of….. PTSD?"

"I said I'm fine!" he snapped, clenching his fist while his face was covered by the shade of his hair.

The wind made it harder to believe that they were close childhood friends, so they should share their pain. But for Liod, it felt like he wasn't connected with her.

This wasn't true; he just didn't want to make his best friend concerned about him; he didn't want anyone to carry his burden, to make them realize how worthless he felt when he could do nothing to protect his mother.

He tried to change the subject. "Max didn't wait," Liod asked.

Mira was afraid of Liod's reaction, so she let his hands go.

"He had some work to do," replied Mira.

Silence. It was sad to see poor Mira; her face turned pale.

"I should go and visit Sis Amanda,"

With a sad nod, Mira said, "Okay."

"If it takes too long, then you should leave."

"Don't worry about me; you will need a hand to support you after the lecture."

Liod was surprised to see her joke. After that, she turned her face away. Liod chuckled and softly added, "I'll be back soon."

Liod felt guilty; how could he do that to our poor Mira? But he thought he would treat her to something on the way home and ask her to forgive him.

Mira was glaring at him while he went inside and muttered to herself, "I will ask him today."

Yeah, she had a great affection for our typical main character,

But does Liod feel the same…. Maybe.

She felt sad because of Liod's behavior but still, she couldn't leave him alone,

Because Liod was a person who saved her in the past.

Our typical main character was on his way through the hallway and then turned left.

In his mind, only one thought lingered: 'God, please help me survive this one.'

It was weird; for some reason, today was different.

The weather, the temperature, the texture of the sky, the scent in the air, and mostly the silence.

Even his own shadow somehow felt different, like it was trying to tell him something.

Soon, Liod was standing at the front door of Amanda's office.

"Come in."

'How does she—' Liod cringed. Maybe she heard his footsteps.

When he held the door handle and went inside, the rays of light covered his face,

But also a shadow of Amanda, which was like hope in his life.

She was standing near the window while letting the rays and wind get in.

Liod felt like he got his motivation back for the day because Amanda was like hope to Liod.

She was holding a pendant in her hands. It had a family photo with 9-year-old Liod, Liod's parents, Amanda as a high schooler, and Liod's younger sister, Emily.

Emily had blue hair and blue eyes, with a novel-shaped and careful face.

Amanda looked at Liod and said, "Have a seat."

But suddenly, Liod realized that she never told him to have a seat while lecturing him.

His worries were sky-high now. There was something important Amanda wanted to talk about, and it could be seen in her eyes.

'Why was everything so dark today? First the nightmare, then the lingering fear, the fight with Mira, and now Sis.' Liod's mind raced, unable to piece together what was coming, but dread pooled in his stomach.

Was it because the day was different?

Well, it was because the guy with the cloak from the first episode was walking towards the barrier. Our typical main character and his friends and family had no idea what kind of darkness was over them, and he didn't come with any good intentions.

It was like each step he took was a moving mountain, each breath a promise of violence; it was like his hands were used to killing, and his glowing blue eyes clearly showed his burning desire to achieve his goal.

But where were those monsters? There were no monsters behind him on the empty road, which was through the ruins of broken buildings outside the barrier.

He had arrived to break the silence, which made the day different.

With each step, the silence cracked—a prelude to the coming storm.

-To be continued.

---