Naara sat by the small pond. Silent and daydreaming, his current mood is not good, it can be seen from the expression on his face that is slab and blank, like a man who just broke up with his girlfriend then he gets news that his girlfriend will soon marry a richer man. Restless, upset, miserable.
Unfortunately you are wrong if you think that Naara like that because of that. Girlfriend? Huh, useless!
Currently he is remembering the times he spent together with his teacher. If I'm honest, he doesn't have many happy moments in his life, only a few and from a few it is moments with his teacher.
Even though he never said it, Ryukei was the person he cared about after Isura. Although he always tried to say that he hated the man but his heart knew for sure the truth.
When he lost Isura fifteen years ago, Naara was a broken vase then Ryukei came and tried to fix it, tried to put it back the way it was but couldn't.
Ryukei couldn't get rid of the welts from the past wounds in Naara's heart.
Be Naara a leaky vase. Even if you shower him with love and affection he will still be empty. Even if it was filled it was only a little and Naara himself always tried to spill it all again.
He already knew enough how painful it was to lose a loved one so he decided to never fill his heart with love nor let anyone else fill it.
His mind was still traveling in the past, and now he was in time one year ago. Where he was designated as a fugitive level S because he was accused of killing Ryukei.
He thought hard to remember the incident but it was useless, he didn't remember anything, he remembered, he did fight with his teacher but in the middle of the fight he lost consciousness due to an attack.
At that time he thought that he was the one who lost but when he woke up, the anoa had surrounded him and cursed him for killing General Ryukei.
So far he has never tried to deny or justify the accusation, that's because he himself doesn't remember having killed his teacher or not, but even if he did, it must have been unintentional. Really, he didn't mean to.
From afar, Niin was watching the man who had been sitting by the pool for a century.
... you can think of Seimon as the embryo and Mr. Naara's body as the shell. Seimon continues to grow inside Mr. Naara's body and if Seimon rises to perfection, you know what will happen ....
She remembered with Binggo's words. She never thought that General Thougha would do such a thing to his own son.
General Thougha was like planting a ticking time bomb that would one time destroy Naara. What is Thougha's goal? Did he really want to destroy his own son? But why? She imagined when half of Naara's hands and face changed.
It's only a small part, but Naara already looks in a lot of pain and suffering, what if Seimon gets up completely? She felt numb in some parts of her bones as she thought about the pain Naara would feel. Her heart began to feel more sympathy for the man.
Despite his cold and fierce attitude, Naara turns out to have a pathetic side.
By the way, this is the second time she's almost had a heart attack because Naara's truth. First when she found out that Naara was the Blind Sword and the second when she found out that Naara was General Thougha's son.
Three years she ran away from General Thougha and she innocently followed Naara who turned out to be General Thougha's son, luckily Naar's hated Thougha to the bones so she could breathe a sigh of relief.
After standing for a long time watching Naara, she decided to approach the man.
Srak srak srak
The sound of grass rustling from being stepped on by footsteps distracted Naara from his world. Even though he didn't see, he knew exactly who is coming.
"Master." Niin was already standing a step away from Naara.
Naara didn't answer, he was too lazy to even say 'yes' or 'hm'
He continued his daydreaming ritual again while Niin was looking for words in her brain that could break the silence, she had to be careful if she didn't want to die because Naara was currently sensitive but a moment later, unexpectedly, Naara suddenly spoke up.
"Why would General Thougha want you?" asked Naara to the point once.
Niin seemed to be contemplating whether or not to tell Naara,l why General Thougha wanted her.
"If you don't want to tell it's fine," Naara flatly said.
"Ardhy Nation," said Niin.
"So, it's true," muttered Naara who had expected it from the first time they met.
The Ardhy nation is a nation dubbed the cursed nation. They have the ability to heal the sick and bring the dead back to life. Ryukei once explained it a bit.
"Hoh. So there's still some left." Naara knew that the Ardhy Nation had been massacred to the end, they were even considered extinct.
"Hmm." Niin looked up at the sky, at the moon to be exact, different from yesterday, the sky tonight looks brighter. "You could say I'm the only one left," she whispered but still could be heard by Naara.
"General Thougha used me as his life tube. When his life was in danger due to an experiment he carried out on himself, my blood was drawn to save him," Niin explained without taking her eyes off the moon. Her sad gaze seemed to harbor many wounds.
Naara was again lost in his own thoughts. He did not expect that the madness of the old fart named Thougha Arude had reached a chronic stage and could no longer be treated.
"Then do you know where that person is?" Naara asked after a while and Niin answered no, then Naara asked again why, Niin said she didn't know and didn't remember.
Is it the season of amnesia or is this really the will of the universe?
Niin sat next to Naara and told him what was the last time she remembered. About three years ago, she was put in a tube like she used to do when General Thougha wanted to draw her blood but when she entered she felt intense pain all over her body.
It felt like she was being skinned alive and all her nerves felt like they were being pulled out at the same time and because of the intense pain she passed out after that she came to her senses at the edge of the forest.
Niin added that she didn't know the name of the place where General Thougha was holding her but what was clear was that it was an island with many towers on it.
From Niin's unclear explanation, many questions arose in Naara's mind. First, how can Niin be free from that old fart, as far as he remembers that old fart is not someone who is easy to fool nor is he a weak person who is easily defeated. It could even be said that it was impossible to escape from him.
Did he intentionally let Niin go?
Ah no. If then he wouldn't have sent Aceblue to bring Niin.
Then second, about the island with many towers, where is it? He has been searching for Thougha's address for a year for revenge but can't find it.
Does Ryukai know?
Maybe, but I don't think he would tell easily. Remember what he said earlier? Execute missions and in return information about Thougha.
Then the third question, about Niin. What has the girl been through, why does her story sound sad and why does he feel sorry for her? Ahh this is not good
*
Inside the headquarters, Reen had a sad expression as Ryukai finished telling Naara and Thougha's story. He didn't think that Thougha could do such a cruel thing to his own child, but after a moment he pounded the table while sharpening his gaze on Ryukai.
"W-what's wrong?" Ryukai raised one eyebrow.
"Why didn't you tell me earlier?" asked Reen not without reason. Because if Ryukai had told beforehand, he didn't have to fight to get Naara to join, he could just bring up about General Thougha and everything would be fine.
In response to Reen's question, Ryukai just smiled innocently then said, "Sorry, I forgot."
Seeing that, Reen and the others gave him a strange look.
*
An old man was standing by the large window, looking far to the east, at the billowing smoke to be exact.
From the royal attire and the crown he was wearing, he seemed to be a king.
"Father!"
The man turned towards the door and saw the figure of his daughter standing in the doorway.
"Rani."
"Father, are you all right?" Rani asked as she walked closer to her father.
"My country is in chaos, how can I be fine," he said, looking sadly at the burning city in the distance.
"Father, are you thinking of following Thougha's principles?"
"There is no other choice, I can't wait until my cotizens is killed."
The Princess Rani looked sad, for a moment silence lasted between them.
"Hold on a little longer," she said, breaking the silence and making the king stare at her.
"Soon they will come," said Rani turning her gaze towards the sky and accidentally saw a bird passing above her.