On The Wings of Death

Kai patted Oscar's shoulder and said. "Son, the most important thing for you now is to study hard and become a powerful refiner, no matter the class. The matter of our clan's future survival depends on your strength. Do you understand?"

"Yes, poppa." Oscar answered, making up his mind that he must work hard to be the strongest refiner in the future.

Seeing that Oscar didn't ask any more questions, Kai said. "Son, we want you to leave for the academy tomorrow so you can get there on time."

"Okay, poppa."

Kai then turned around and said to the soulsmith. "Wynter, I want you to follow Oscar to the academy in person. Oscar has not travelled far alone. So, on this journey, you need to accompany him."

Wynter immediately replied. "Chieftain, if I leave, how can I ensure the safety of the clan?"

"Father, I can follow Oscar to the academy?" Shesara had been listening to the shocking conversation for a long time, but didn't interfere.

Hespera was gone, and Oscar was going too. In the future, she would be left alone in the clan, and she couldn't help but feel anxious in her heart.

From childhood to adulthood, no matter what happened, the three of them have always done things together. Why did they have to go their separate ways? The least she could do was to follow Oscar on his journey to the academy.

"There's no need for that Shesara." Kai couldn't help saying. "Wynter will take care of that. I want you to accompany your mother. She needs you more now."

"In that case, chieftain, you must pay great attention to the safety of the clan. I will try to return as quick as possible."

"Mhm." Kai nodded when he heard the words.

Oscar stepped forward and grabbed Shesara's hand, saying. "Sister, if there's a free time, I'll come to accompany you as much as possible. "

Oscar couldn't help thinking of his mother in his previous life, and tears rolled down his cheeks. It was almost eight years, and his mother had been alone all this while. He was worried about her wellbeing.

He didn't even know what happened to his friends after the explosion. But if they were still alive, he knew they would definitely help him to take care of his mother. If they were still alive.

As soon as Oscar wiped away his tears, the Remnant's voice suddenly sounded in his mind.

[Child, something is very wrong]

"Remnant? " Oscar was startled, and quickly said in his mind. "What's wrong?"

[Oscar, you and your family must run away from here, right now. I don't have time to go into details, but there's a strong wave of energy coming this way. I believe there are powerful dreadbeasts coming towards your way. They'll sweep through your village, killing all your clansmen if you don't all leave now]

"Athons attack?" Oscar suddenly jumped up from his seat and exclaimed.

Everyone present was surprised by Oscar's sudden action.

"Son, are you okay? What do you mean by Athons attack?"

Oscar glanced at everyone, then stared in the direction of the forest, frowning deeply. The urging voice of the Remnant kept coming into his mind. This was not a good situation. The Remnant had a strong sense of consciousness, and he would definitely be certain of what he said. 

He was a little confused and agitated. So, he took his mother's hand while glancing at his father, and shouted loudly. "We must get away from here. The Athons are coming!"

After hearing this, everyone was shocked and stood up abruptly.

Wynter even rushed out of the large hut to check for any signs of ether ripples.

Kiara who was being pulled away by Oscar, stopped and asked: "Oscar, what's going on with you? Tell me."

Oscar didn't say any word in response, but just pulled his mother anxiously out of the hut.

When everyone saw this, they also ran out of the hut.

Looking around, they saw no disturbances. Everything in the village was as before. The atmosphere.was calm as usual. How could there be any Athons approaching without them affecting the surroundings? 

Wynter, who had cast a levitating spell, landed on the ground, and asked Oscar, "Oscar, are you sure of what you're saying? I can't see or sense anything. Where are the dreadbeasts?"

However, Oscar, who seemed to be restless at this moment, didn't answer him, but continued to urge everyone to run. He held his mother's hand and kept on running all the way to the edge of the mild forest.

The Birch Chieftain was clearing his thoughts when a danger alarm sounded in his head. Immediately, he arched his waist forward, covered his ears with both hands, and screamed in pain. He was about to fall on his knees, when the pain began to ease. 

When he slowly raised his head, he saw everyone around him trying to get away from the place towards the mild forest, but they appeared to be moving in a slow manner. But what were they running from?

Looking around again, he saw the village Shaman running towards him. Her lips were moving fast, releasing some incoherently intermittent words. He shook his head to clear his mind and the scenes before him began to distort in shapes.

The originally peaceful landscape and people began to slowly twist and rotate in his eyes.

Although the chirping in his ears had disappeared, he felt as if he had lost his hearing. The surroundings became so quiet all of a sudden that only the sounds of his own breathing and the voice inside his head, kept echoing in his mind. Athons.

Athons? Kai shook his head vigorously, and the spinning scene finally stopped, only to be replaced by an inferno of red flames. The whole village was on fire, and the villagers were running up and down, and behind them were his worst fears. 

The Athons. 

They kept chasing and killing his clansmen. He could clearly see everything in details, even the saliva at the corners of the dreadbeasts' mouths. 

So much blood. What was going on here? What's wrong with him? Kai stood there blankly, watching his village turn into a sea of ​​fire. Was he dreaming?

He slowly raised his hands and put them in front of his eyes. They were really his own hands. He was about to rub his eyes, when he suddenly stopped. He seemed to have regained his hearings.

What was that sound? Somebody calling his name? Who could be calling him?

When he turned around, he saw his wife dashing towards him, shouting in horror. Her voice coming intermittently. ".. Athons...attacking...."

Athons are attacking the village? So he wasn't dreaming? Kai was in deep thought when he suddenly saw his own reflection in his son's eyes.

Through the reflection, he saw approaching behind him was a dreadbeast of the wolfkind, rushing towards him with its mouth wide opened.

The Birch tribe leader turned around abruptly, and saw a huge mouth with two rows of sharp teeth suddenly gnawing at him. He could even smelled its foul stench. He screamed in fright, raising his hands to cover his head. "Aaargh..."

"Chieftain....."

Kai was startled as he felt someone tapping him on the back. Immediately, he put down his arm which was covering his head and tried to open his eyes. There was nothing in front of him but darkness. 

What just happened? Did he just see an apparition of a wolf Athon in front of him? When he turned around, he saw that it was Wynter who was patting him on the back, asking anxiously.

"Chieftain, are you okay?"

"Wynter?" Kai glanced at Wynter, and then looked around in utter surprise.

There was no fire, no Athons killing the villagers. It was just a lot of clansmen running around due to the alarm raised by the village Shaman.

Kneeling on the ground, the chieftain lowered his head and began to gasp for breath. His whole body was already soaked in sweat. At this moment, he knew he just had a premonition.

"My lord, something deadly is coming our way. I can sense its disastrous power." The voice of the Shaman also sounded again. "We must evacuate the village immediately!"

"Chieftain, we really need to go. I've also detected high power fluctuations coming from the forest. It's like nothing I've seen before. We must run away from here." Wynter also shouted anxiously.

He was a gold-level fire mage, the highest power among the Birch clansmen, but he himself knew he couldn't compare to what was coming.

"Wynter." Kai quickly took a deep breath, raised his head sharply, grabbed Wynter's hand and said. "You have to protect my wife and son. As the leader, I have to ensure the safety of the whole clan."

"No Chieftain" The leader of the Birch tribe was about to run towards the middle of the village when he was pulled back by Wynter. "We are out of time. I have to get you to safety."

"You must go, my lord. Leave the rest to me." Saphira reached into her bag of holding and brought out a small artifact, her cherished treasure. She recited a spell and threw the item into the air, releasing small ripples of energy. "I've alerted the others. We'll be right behind you, my lord."

"Sometimes, I forgot how good a Shaman you are. Stay alive, Saphira. May the gods be with you."

"And you too, my lord."