"So what's a girl like you doing in a forest like this?" Balthazar asked that agitated Mizuki.
"Tch! I am not a girl!" he denied.
"What! I thought all this time you are a girl." He laughed so hard that he almost fell out from where he is sitting.
"I'm a guy, I just look feminine with this skinny lean body of mine." his face blushed.
"Not just the body, what's with your hair?" Balthazar burst into laughter.
"This is the only thing that reminds me of my mother." The humorous atmosphere of the man vanishes with his reply.
The man suddenly shut up and nothing could be heard aside from the ticking fire in front of them.
"Where is your family? Why are you in this forest?" he asked Mizuki.
Mizuki just looked up at the moon and took a deep breath.
"If you do not want to talk about it, then it is fine by me." he said.
"I'm a Lunarian. It happened seven years ago during my 10th birthday at Velaris. My village was attacked and my family was slaughtered before my very eyes." he started. "My grandmother and I managed to escape however she also died that day. I buried her body near Lake Xanthior before I lost consciousness. The moment I woke up, water nymphs gathered around me. They took care of me and raise me as their own." he said in a lonely tone.
He told Balthazar exactly what he knew had happened that day. The man who listens at his story feels the sorrow and grief Mizuki had been carrying for seven years.
Mizuki waved his hands and waters from the lagoon rippled through the air. The man was quiet shock by what he saw.
"I thought you were a Lunarian, how could you do that?" pointing to what Mizuki was doing.
"I am half Lunarian." Mizuki said. "My father was somewhat different. He said he came from a kingdom faraway were everyone's magic differ from each other."
"I see." he was convinced. "Everyone's magic do differ except for the Lunarians as it was a mere gift from the moon goddess. It was a contract she made with her people a long time ago in exchange for their faith and worship her."
"Lucky for you, you have acquired both of your parents' affinities." Balthazar complimented him.
"What kind of magic do you have?" Mizuki asked him out of curiosity.
Balthazar disappeared in the middle of their conversation.
"Well, I can camouflage. It is not that great." he said as he reappeared himself.
"You should have used your ability to escape unharm from those soldiers." Mizuki said with a frowned face.
"I did, but someone among them have thermal vision." he said as he reached the back of his head.
"You did not say so in the first place!" Mizuki exclaimed.
"I kinda forgotten about it."
The atmosphere just got serious.
"I see your also a victim of war and tragedy." Balthazar's tone suddenly changed.
Mizuki looked at him with confusion on his face.
"I too, is also a victim of Nethilor's conquest and reign." he sighed. "The kingdom was once peaceful. Joy and laughter prosper in all corners of the kingdom. However, King Adelio died ten years ago and his brother took over the kingdom. The kingdom fell into despair in his hands. Many have suffered and many were killed, that includes my wife. He crave for power. He was not satisfied so he conquered the neighboring lands of Nethilor. Many of the lands had been devoured by his army and that includes your village, Velaris. Many had formed an alliance that oppose the kingdom and planning to overthrow the king. My son and I had join in order to take revenge for my wife's death." a sad image carve into his face.
The conversation suddenly became quiet.
"Come with me, to civilization." Balthazar broke the silence.
"I think I am good here." Mizuki persisted.
"There should be at least something I can do for you for saving me." he said.
"There is something." he smiled.
"Name it." Balthazar immediately replied.
"Before my grandma died, she told me to find the moon goddess in order to seek the answers about my parents' deaths. However, I don't have any information about her whereabout." Mizuki said.
"But, doesn't your parents died during the attack at Velaris? That explains everything."
"There should be something more, and also my grandma told me that the moon goddess also knows who I really was. I believe there's a missing piece in this puzzle that I still haven't been found."
Balthazar suddenly recall some of the information he had gathered. "The goddess herself resides on the moon, it is impossible to reach her from there. However, every full moon she comes down here on Gaia to take a bath at a spring located at the northest part across the continent."
"Then I must go and see her!" Mizuki stand up from where he was sitting.
Balthazar sighed. "So, you are coming with me then?" he smiled.
"I guess so." he replied.
"It sure is a long journey. It takes months before we will arrive there and one more problem," he doubted. "I don't really know the exact location of the spring." he said embarrassingly.
"No!" His tone changed. "I should be the one who will take on a journey to find her. The information you have shared is enough to help me." Mizuki said.
"You want to go alone? I don't think so." Balthazar rejected Mizuki's idea. "And besides, I might find something on our way there that may help the revolution against the empire."
"Okay, if you insist. I could use a little help along the way." he sighed.
"First, I have to go back to where the others our."
With the emergence of Balthazar's character, Mizuki somehow managed to recall some of his emotions. Unlike from a while ago where his heart was ice cold. Trust and acceptance starting to grow inside him.