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Alidia Kingdom, present time...
There is only one thing to describe that kingdom: leaderless and chaotic.
Every each day passes by with riots on the streets most of the time. Stores raided, groceries failing, jewelry plundered, and nobles' hunted and their mansions burned down. When there's no place left to plunder, they will attack incoming merchants. Their communication to the outer world has cut off, too, making their kingdom felt like a rising barbarians.
It is only a matter of time before the kingdom will finally collapse. The only thing that keeps the string together is the remainders of the Alidian troops. Their general took over the throne to maintain government over the people. But even that, felt rather hopeless to do so. Each passing day is filled with melancholy, hardship, and grief.
Their king and their prince died, killed. The king was assassinated by an unknown persona, while the prince died in a massive explosion in one of the four towers in the palace, the southern tower. That tower was the largest and it has collapsed, fell unto the central palace's dome.
And the result was devastating, more than a thousand men, loyal to the prince, died, crushed under the weight of the massive crumbling tower. More than fifty nobilities were also found dead in the ruins of the palace.
It didn't take long for the news to spread all across the kingdom. Not even a day long, the news of their leader's death ignited anger in the hearts of people. They forced the officials to hunt down the killer, but the only official they can rely on is the general, whom did not know anything about what really happened that night.
Not for long, chaos unleashed.
In the next day, the general ascended to throne and attempted his best to keep the state running. But it was a difficult job, impossible that is. He was not a ruler. He was just a mere commander of the troops. He knew well the battlefield, he understood the laws of warfare, and he excels at fighting his foes and commanding his troops. But not governing an entire kingdom.
Remainders of the soldiers could not do anything much with the situation in the kingdom. They were all occupying the ruined palace, defending their general. That is the only thing left they can do as they could not send messengers beyond the walls of Alidia, which will only invite angry mobs into killing them.
In the other side, several volunteers of Napre took shelter in a hidden underground bunker until now. The access to their hideout is completely concealed and would be impossible to find without a certain item. Their activities were not smelled by the people as their attire blends in with them and their actions did not invite suspicion.
One of them, however, is Sean Williams, one of the Naprean Vanguards. He looked grievous, tired as each day passes without sleeping. His hair is all messy. His eyes look like dead fish, empty without light reflecting them. Eye bags also fill his face.
"Sir Sean, have some coffee," one of the Napreans offered.
"Thanks."
Sean took the cup of coffee and simply sipped it once before continuing writing on a piece of paper. Many scraps of paper scattered his work table and the surrounding floor, implying that he had worked for days and has not ended yet.
Sean felt so sinful. He was the only one that escaped the palace that night. His other partners did not make it out with him. He believed Marco and his friends have died.
"Dammit... this has passed a week since that night. There's still no sign of them!"
Sean holds his head roughly. His condition is getting concerning, but he alone was careless, but his colleagues do, and fear he would degenerate one day. Whenever they told him to rest, Sean declined and kept on working on something.
"I... I left them to die," he murmured. "What have I done?"
He remembers that time when he departs on his own from Scias.
"If only that time, I followed where that tall guy is going, I might have been able to prevent their death. I was so shocked to see the tower they were in was gone out in flames and felled. I rushed back into the palace, hoping that they're still alive and was on their way to the exfiltration point. But good god... I never saw them come. I took them in to help me on my mission, but I left them behind. I... abandoned them. I abandoned my comrades."
He clenches his teeth. He takes a glance through the crevice between his fingers and saw a red scarf with white stripes on his table. That scarf was bloodied, tattered from the burning ruins. It looks similar to the ones that the young explorer wore all the time.
"Marco... how foolish of me to leave you all behind,"
He took a quill pen and continued writing something.
"I wanted to picture that you're not dead. I keep on writing possibilities. But what am I doing all this time? I'm just wasting my time."
He loosened his grip and let the quill fell off his hand and into the floor, catching the attention of his fellow Napreans.
"Sir Sean..."
Sean stares blankly into the ceilings. He feels like he has done with this world. He just wanted to be gone along with them that he abandoned.
"I'm done. O' Mother Nature, why haven't thee take me away? Do you not wish to punish me for my sins?" he silently spoke to himself, unheard by his comrades.
"I am not a soldier. I never will be one. I am just a visitor to Napre. I thought I could become better by joining their ranks, but turns out it is way too much for a servant like me."
A long silence...
Without him noticing it, his mouth is slightly agape. His eyelids flutter, trying so hard to stay conscious. Not long afterwards, the weight of his eyes increasing rapidly. He then unconsciously stated his thoughts with a soft voice.
"Lady Liana, please forgive me..."
Sean finally falls asleep. His comrades can finally breathe relief that he finally begin resting. One of them initiatively brought a thin blanket and covered the sleeping vanguard.
Just as he entered dreaming mode, he found himself in a vast land. Everything is all but beautiful grassy plateau as if he's in Eden. Calm wind glides past him. He feels a strange comfort from it.
"This place..."
When he turned his head to look around, he noticed someone right beside him.
"Who... are you?"
That person wears a white robe with pink streaks. A golden flower ribbon decorates their hood. After a moment, that person looks towards Sean. The vanguard notices a patch of pink bangs. He realizes that it was a woman that he saw, a beautiful person that awed him. Shortly, the lady voices out a soothing tone.
"...Don't worry, they are alive..."
Sean nearly jumped as he suddenly woke up.
"It's... a dream?"
He finds himself still sitting in front of his work table, wrapped in blanket. He notices he is drooling and quickly wipes his face cleanly. Sean walks into the rest room and cleans up his face with a sprinkle of water from a bucket.
"I was so tired I dreamt of a saint, huh...?"
For a moment, he looked at his reflections in the water. He realized how messed up he became. He looked into the ceilings and remembered that 'saint' from his dream.
"They're not... dead, huh...? Heh, how strange I can completely memorize that dream just now. Normally I would've forgotten as soon as I woke up."
He returns back to his work table. While walking, he talks to himself.
"To be honest, I, myself don't want to believe they're dead. But witnessing that bastard's scarf in the middle of the ruins made me feel like he's gone. I can't sense his presence, either. Not even any of his friends can be sensed..."
He stopped walking immediately. He realized something.
"That's it...!"
"Corpses of an individual contain mana energy, which allows them to be found by mana sensing. If the corpse is completely gone, their ashes will still remain and those contain mana as well. But in this case...
I could not sense their presence, even the slightest.
Which means...
T-They're not here? If they're not here, then where are they? Impossible if they could leave the palace unharmed. If that's the case, then where the hell are they now?"
"Sir Sean?"
"—UWAH!"
Sean got shocked as one of his fellow men came across him.
"Sir, is everything okay? You look unhealthy..."
"U-Uh... ahem, er... I'm alright. Don't worry."
"...I see. Please don't overdo yourself, sir."
After his men left him, he lets out a long breath.
"Huff... o' dear tragedy," he mumbled. He looked at his work table in front of him.
"Marco, where are you exactly, mate?"
...
..
.
Yugos Village, present time...
"Sheesh, how come you forget your own partner?" Ognist commented.
"Ayayayy... zat man is thy comrade that fought alongside zee. I canst not believe'eth zee forget him," Zeugen shook his head.
"How terrible," Taizun shortly discouraged.
Marco could not counter their words. It is true. The moment he found himself in the village he did not remember anything about Sean.
"Zee must find him when we art done here, ja?" Zeugen pointed to Marco.
"That's true. If you really value your friends, then find him!" Ognist commanded.
"Do not regret in the end for not finding him," Taizun flatly added.
Unintentionally, the dragonians has set up Marco's new goal.