BROKEN SERENITY.

King Melro and Morrie were seated under a wooden carved shelter, surrounded by different flowers gently swaying in the breeze.

"Darling" Morrie began, slowly balancing her cocktail on the table in front of them. "Shouldn't you quietly send some of the guards to Xeron? Since it's the annual discount market maybe some of the nobles who deserted might be there."

"You know what... you're right," King Melzar said, glancing at Morrie as if seeking approval. "For plotting to overthrow my regime, they... they must be persecuted to the ends of the earth. We can't risk them returning to cause more trouble."

Morrie leaned in, and kissed him on the forehead and said with a smirk "I'll summon Pelas then."

Meanwhile, on the bustling streets of Xeron, Liam and Sullivan navigated through the crowd of merchants and buyers. As they were walking, Liam suddenly stopped as if somebody called out his name. He tapped Sulivan and asked "Did you mention my name just now?"

"Err... no." Sulivan replied, raising a brow. "Is everything alright? We can return to the apartment if you need a break."

Liam shook his head."No,it's alright, let's keep going."

Sulivan nodded and kept looking for items to purchase.

I could have sworn I heard someone call out to me. Liam thought,standing behind Sulivan who was haggling with a sly looking merchant over loaves of bread and bags of rice.

As Liam stood there, he had an unsettling feeling something that was amiss. So he stepped back from where they stood. He looked to his left, but there was nothing—only cargo, merchants and buyers. Then looked to his right and saw the guards heading their way. His eyes widened when he noticed one of the faces looked familiar—it was Pelas.

"H... Hey, Sulivan, you need to make it quick. The guards are heading our way." Liam insisted, tapping on Sulivan's shoulders.

"No need to fret. They obviously aren't after us." Sulivan's heart skipped a beat the moment he noticed Pelas amongst them.

"Hey don't make eye contact." Liam suggested.

Sulivan quickly paid 12 merics and hurried away.

Pelas' eyes narrowed as he caught sight of their hurried steps. "After them!" He barked.

An hour passed, and the guards had lost sight of them. Liam, now back in their small apartment, collapsed onto his bed, chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath. The room was dimly lit, with two narrow beds pressed against the wall and a table with a single chair was positioned in the center.

"M-a-n..." Sulivan gasped, sinking into the chair. "They almost got us."

"Yeah. No joke. Arrrrrrrrgh," Liam growled, rubbing his face with both hands. "If we were surrounded what would we have done?"

Sulivan leaned back, his lips forming a sly grin."Well I can tell you for a fact that they'd return to wherever they came from—as patients."

"Heeeh..."Liam looked dumbfounded. "Look who's being brave so suddenly."

"I'm being serious though." Sulivan reaffirmed. "Let me tell you something. Ever heard of 'The Lost Gaurdians'?"

"No. Who are they?" Liam inquired, curiosity piqued.

"They were beings once revered— the pinnacle of existence," Sulivan began. "Their strength and abilities surpassed human understanding. But their pride blinded them. They grew arrogant to wage war against the celestials, because they were half-casts. Children born from human and celestial blood."

Liam's eyes widened, sitting up. "What happened to them?"

"They were crushed," Sulivan said, his tone lowered. "Not by an army, but by a single celestial being. They had no chance of victory in the first place neither could they recover—an absolute defeat. The abilities of those who survived were not on par with theirs. As such humans were able to relentlessly hunt them. Since the world was affected due to their tyranny. Eventually they were driven into hiding, and over time the world forgot they ever existed."

Sulivan hunched forward, his gaze sharp. "All of us at the camp... We're remnants of those people. That's why we live in the shadows. The town of Gairo was attacked once."

"Okay." Liam spoke, still confused, he asked "if you people were able to be chased, why are you confident this time round."

"Easy. Because the humans of this current era aren't as strong as their predecessors. They are too lax to be bothered about strength. But there are few strong ones among them, Pelas is one of them—but he's no match for Hilal though."

Night had finally swallowed Xeron. Only the stars, the moon, and their own lanterns illuminated the kingdom. After taking a shower and having a meal, Sulivan returned to their room but Liam went out for a stroll.

While casually admiring the bright cityscape of the alley he walked through, he heard a voice call out from the shadows—as if the man had been waiting for him.

"Hey boy!" the man shouted, tossing an object to Liam. "Keep it with you at all times."

Before Liam could raise his head to ask what it was, the man was gone. It was as if he had become one with the darkness. All that surrounded Liam was buildings. After such a suspicious encounter, he returned to their apartment but didn't speak about it to Sulivan.

Liam laid on his bed staring at the ceiling, still thinking about what had transpired earlier. Just then, the object he placed beside his pillow began glowing—an eerie green. Ancient letters inscribed on it began to surface. The moment he picked it up, he heard a voice.

"Liam..."he placed the object down and looked outside his window—but there was no one there. Sulivan was also asleep, unbothered.

The instant he picked it up again, the voice sounded distant. "Keep it, it will be of use one day." The voice faded away, no matter how hard he clenched his fists, he couldn't hear the voice anymore. The object morphed into a ring, which he wore on his index finger and laid back down.

Was this the beginning of something greater? Liam wondered.

Even if he wasn't sure about an answer, he knew he had been entangled into something greater than him.