A New Destiny

It has been a little over a year, and Greg is now 13 years old. They are now in a remote village, far from the great kingdoms. Yurko seems to be a peaceful place; there's lush vegetation, life everywhere, pets roaming the streets, and children running around. It's a comfortable place to live...

Greg, Abby, and Gyli are together after the tragedy that happened. Gyli, an 11-year-old girl with pink hair, has a rebellious attitude toward Greg and Abby. They are in the village doing basic missions to earn some money. Everything seems peaceful, but one night...

While everyone was having dinner together, Abby decided to talk to Greg.

"Hey, Greg, have you thought about going back to the world?"

Greg listened carefully while holding his glass of water. He lowered it slowly and, after taking a breath, said...

"YEEES!"

Greg shouted, sounding excited and happy. Abby gave a small smile at Greg's reaction, while Gyli, arms crossed, looked upset.

"I don't want to," Gyli said, her voice full of anger, standing up from the table and heading toward her room, slamming the door behind her.

A moment of silence followed, but then Abby stood up and went to Gyli's room, staying in there for a few minutes. Meanwhile, Greg wondered what he could do if Gyli didn't want to continue with them, and he blamed himself for what happened to Gyli's family.

A while later, the door opened. It was Abby, accompanied by Gyli.

Greg quickly stood up when he saw Gyli heading straight toward him.

"Greg, I'll go with you. Sorry for my behavior," Gyli said, showing respect toward Greg.

Greg was surprised by Gyli's attitude.

"Oh, thank you, Gyli. It will be exciting to travel with you."

Gyli nodded with a gesture.

The next day, Abby and Greg were buying some vegetables in the village.

"Hey, Abby, how did you manage to convince Gyli to travel?" Greg asked.

"I told her you'd teach her magic," Abby replied while buying some things.

"A-a-ah, I see. I guess it's fair," Greg said.

As they were on their way back to where they were staying, Abby seemed a little distracted, looking at the sky in thought. At one point, she handed Greg the bags and took a different direction, heading toward a kingdom map store.

"Hello, sir, do you have a map of the Divine Kingdom?"

The vendor began searching through all his maps. After a moment, he found one.

"Hmmm, yes, it's this one. Will you take it?"

Greg saw Abby come out with a map in her hands and wondered what kind of map it was, so he quickly walked over to her.

"Hey, Abby, what's that?"

"Here…" Abby said, handing the map to Greg.

Greg opened the map, seeing that it was of the Divine Kingdom. On the back of the map were some interesting details.

"Divine Kingdom?" Greg murmured, trying to remember something.

"Yeah, I heard a while ago that in that kingdom there was a mage who could use divine magic, but honestly, I can't remember his name," Abby answered.

Hearing Abby, Greg started to recall that kingdom. He began remembering a book that said the last battle of the war took place there, where Okron faced mage Richard, and other interesting details, such as the fact that access was exclusive to royalty.

"B-but Abby, I don't think we can enter. From what I read, only royal families can access that place, and it's the most protected kingdom in the world," Greg said.

"That's true, Greg, but… I think if we show them your mark, they'll let us in. You see, a long time ago, when the war was nearing its end, the Divine Kingdom protected the divine key throughout the war. So much so that many people gave their lives for that purpose."

Greg listened carefully to Abby while holding his shoulder, sighing, and nodded his head. Abby leaned closer to him, bending down.

"Everything will be fine," Abby said, giving him a warm kiss on the forehead.

Greg smiled faintly, feeling comforted.

That night, back home, Greg seemed excited about the journey they would embark on together. When they arrived, Gyli was waiting for them with a big dinner since it was their last night at home.

Greg and Abby were surprised by the grand feast, eyes wide open. The delicious smell forced them to sit down and try the food.

"How does it look?"

Greg and Abby sat down and began eating immediately, as the smell was irresistible. Meanwhile, Gyli was amazed by their big appetites.

The next morning, they prepared to leave. Everyone was packing their bags. Abby was already with Tersi, and now there were three people riding Tersi. Abby knew the extra effort Tersi had to make, so she decided to remove her armor, as it looked heavy. After a few minutes, Greg and Gyli were with Abby, and they began to ride.

"Abby, how long will it take to get to the Divine Kingdom?" Greg asked.

"Six months," Abby replied.

"WHAT?!" Greg almost fell off Tersi upon hearing the answer, while Gyli didn't share the same reaction. She murmured, "Yes," while closing her fist in relief, as she would have more time to train magic before they arrived.

They had already been traveling for a couple of months. The journey had been calm but somewhat boring. That night, they were under a mountain near a large river. A heavy rain caught them by surprise, but Greg managed to build a stone cabin, a warm place with a small fire inside. They laid out their sleeping bags, and everyone seemed exhausted, as they hadn't been able to rest from the journey.

"And Abby, how far is the nearest town?" Greg asked, his voice tired.

"The closest town is two days away, but we'd have to divert, and we'd lose time," Abby replied while finishing setting up her sleeping bag.

Greg fell asleep after asking his question. He also noticed that Gyli was really tired, having barely slept, so Abby decided they wouldn't do anything the next day.

The following morning, Greg got up and went outside, surprised by the beauty of the place. But even more beautiful was Abby taking a bath in the river. Greg, feeling a bit awkward, slowly approached. Abby opened her eyes and saw him behind a bush, quickly standing up. Greg was trembling.

"It can't be," Greg murmured as he saw Abby stand up.

"Greg?"

It was Gyli who was waking up. Greg quickly turned to look at her.

"Oh, good morning, Gyli. How did you sleep?"

"That's Abby…"

Greg quickly turned his head, but Abby was already dressed. Greg was left with a sad look on his face, as though he had lost something.

"Good morning. Well, look, last night I thought the best thing to do today was to rest. Do whatever you want, take a bath, sleep, or whatever you prefer," Abby said with a big smile.

Gyli, the most excited to hear this, quickly responded:

"I WANT TO TRAIN!"

In the past two months, Abby hadn't kept her promise to train magic with Greg, so she knew it was time to start the training.

"Ah, that's right, Gyli, but let's ask Greg what he thinks," said Abby.

Gyli crossed her arms, thinking that Greg might be too tired to train.

"Greg, what do you say? Do you want to train magic with Gyli?"

Gyli was standing with her arms crossed, waiting for Greg's answer.

"Ah, yes, no problem."

Gyli immediately got excited and jumped with joy. And so, Greg and Gyli began their training, teaching her the basics.

"Greg, tell me, will I throw fireballs, stone spears, or a water dragon? What will I do first, huh?" Gyli asked excitedly.

Greg felt a bit scared, as those weren't the plans he had for teaching magic. He believed the best approach was to start with theory and then move to practice.

"You see, Gyli, you're my first student. I've never taught anyone, so I want to do it right. Wait here for a moment," Greg said innocently.

Greg went to his cabin and began looking for something in his backpack. Gyli thought he was going to give her a wizard's wand, but...

"Here it is, take this, Gyli. It will help you a lot."

It was a book on the principles of magic. Gyli stood frozen at the way Greg was teaching.

"B-b-but what about the magic?" Gyli asked, surprised.

"Here you will learn the theory. It's essential to understand it, as these are the foundations of magic. If you don't get it, you'll never understand how to do magic," Greg explained.

Gyli took a deep breath and said:

"Well, if you say so…"

Gyli started reading the book, while Greg took a bath and rested. Abby, on the other hand, was cleaning Tersi's hooves, as they had become too long. She was cutting them with her sword, and everyone was resting, ready to leave the next day.