They walked for a while this afternoon. What was surprising was that they hadn't come across mana beasts but only small animals knowing their place was filled with mana. They both had questions in mind but they knew they would have their answers when they reached the abode of the unknown voice. They had also found a river in the meantime, allowing them to clean up most of their wounds and hydrate.
They also noticed that they had fallen near the elven domain.
They nevertheless hurried during their trip to find their parents as quickly as possible. The stress their mother may experience from their potential "death" can be dangerous for the baby she is carrying.
Then after a few hours later, they finally arrived at their destination.
"I'm glad you were able to get here safely." said the unknown voice.
"Nice to meet you I guess?" Itachi and Arthur greeted the rocks, which are believed to be the Unknown Voice.
"As interesting as it sounds, I am not a heap of stones. You will find me in the crevasse." the unknown voice said as the two quickly rushed inside.
After fully re-entering the cave, they both fell from a height of two floors without paying attention to where they were despite being warned by the voice.
After they regained their stability, they saw a huge figure ten meters tall standing in front of them with petrifying red eyes. She had 2 massive horns protruding from her head, arching downward. She was wearing, what looked like black armor with a visible wound on the side.
Her "monstrous" appearance had made Arthur a little shocked as Itachi was calm but he had a cold sweat on his face.
"Bugs will get into your mouth if you leave it open that wide." The beast had extended its claws to the two boys.
Arthur looked at Itachi to confirm that there were no dangers. When he saw his tranquility, he also calmed down and reached out his hand to the claw to greet her.
"It's taking me a while to open a dimensional rift powerful enough to transport you to your home.
There are special plants that are capable of sustaining you up to this point." she declared.
"Thank you Madam." Itachi said calmly. The reason he wasn't stressed out was that he could sense that the person in front of him was not malicious but rather kind and caring.
"Come on, Arthur. We need some food and we'll get to know the lady." Itachi walked over to blue orbs that looked like plums but larger in size. Arthur also followed him.
They each snatched one up and then went to a corner to eat. The great lady had also joined them to eat.
Arthur was still uncomfortable, but he showed a calm face. Itachi quietly ate his food and began to speak.
"We know you told us you were a woman, can we know your name?" he asked.
"Of course my name is Sylvia."
"Silvia, do you mind if we ask you a few questions that we've had in mind for a while ?" Itachi preferred to ask so as not to be rude.
"I'll answer your questions one by one. Tell me everything." Sylvia was not disturbed.
Itachi and Arthur looked at each other, then started to question him. What was this place? Why was she here? Where did she come from? Why was she hurt and above all, why did she save them?
"Your first question is quite simple. This place is a narrow area that is between the Beast Glade and Elshire Forest (Elven Forest), although it rarely happens. You two are the first to enter this realm." Sylvia said calmly.
"You can…call me Art. My family call me that even though my older brother calls me with my full name…" Arthur said nervously.
"Alright, I'll call you Art. How about you?" she asked Itachi.
"Just Itachi will do."
"Alright, Itachi. For your second question, I'm alone here just because I don't have anyone to stay with. I have a lot of enemies who are desperately trying to take something of mine from me. My last battle with them left this wound on me before I could escape And concerning your rescue... Maybe I was touched by your bond... or maybe I just became lonely.
Well, both of you excuse me, but I'm going to have to retire for the night. My wound is getting infected and I should be fine when I work on the dimensional rift tomorrow. And for your family my vision cannot reach how far they've gone but they are fine. Just in case you weren't sure." She finally finished speaking and then walked off a bit further.
"You saw Arthur, she's not a mean person. She's even lonely and quite sad. Our parents are doing well…This is the information we needed right now." Itachi was smiling at his little brother who was crying with joy.
"Thank you Sylvia and big brother..." Arthur was happy to hear the news, lowering his deep concern.
And so the moments between the three of them turned from day to week... They had kept company talking about all things during the times when she was not preparing the portal. The 2 brothers quickly appreciated Sylvia's presence. She was a kind and warm person who was patient with them.
She wasn't talking about her own life but it didn't bother them. They had grown physically stronger during this time and they had also meditated to improve their mana core.
Itachi and Arthur were in a fight. He and young Uchiha fought melee. Itachi was using his Taijutsu using his strengthening magic. It allowed him to adjust to his movements and train his mana control.
He had also made wooden Shurikens and Kunais between his rest periods to be able to resume his habits. He also trained in mana threads to control his landings. These mana wires can surprise the opponent and seriously injure him if he is not careful.
Arthur gasped on the ground as Itachi stood in front of him without a hint of fatigue but just sweat.
"You really are a melee monster… I can't beat you! That's 23 wins for you and 8 for me…" Arthur managed to defeat Itachi with the sword but it was with difficulty.
It is his pride in being able to defeat him with the sword, he was a king after all. But he was being destroyed by him in close combat. He had unique moves and inhuman strength, how on earth can he defeat him ? On top of that, if he used his props (Shuriken and Kunai), he wouldn't have had any chance of victories.
"With practice you might be able to overtake me one day..." Itachi said with a smile.
"You two, come for dinner! I know you haven't dinner. These fruits are particularly tasty and rarely grow anywhere else. After that, have a rest." Sylvia to call them to dinner. The two came to her and then started to eat.
Both now saw her as a mother figure. Without her, they would even be dead by now.
Arthur had had dark thoughts about the bandits again. He had hatred visible on his face. He thought the bandits deserved food but... They all deserve more terrible deaths for their actions. If one of them had come out alive...
During that moment of thought, Itachi noticed his face and sighed. There wasn't much he could do about it. He was used to being ambushed by bandits or whatever. He never spared such garbage, even giving them a second chance, they will never stop their malicious acts. Itachi moved closer to Arthur and then hit him on the forehead with his two fingers.
"Don't think about it, it's pointless. If you let your heart darken and hold hate, it will bother you more than anything else. Go on with your life looking straight ahead. Learn from misfortunes like this. here and face the future with a smile." he said with a smile. 'Even though I'm not in the best position to say that.'
Sylvia smiled at their interaction and then they continued to eat. Her injury had started to get worse...
"Sylvia! Your injury looks like it's getting worse." Arthur said looking at the wound.
"Don't worry, kid. This wound gets infected from time to time." she declared.
Itachi could only sigh at this situation. He didn't know if it was the truth or not but what could he do ?
Then after that dinner, Sylvia taught them a new skill that allowed them to absorb mana during combat or while moving. She explained to them that it was a natural skill for mana beasts and that it was difficult for them to master. But seeing their talent at such a young age while still having better mana control than some mature adult mages, she taught them.
This technique requires having a stable inner flow of mana while fighting properly.
Itachi had succeeded after an hour while Arthur had had more difficulty and still had not succeeded.
Itachi had gone on to master this skill, he had already learned the basics so it was only a matter of time before he could fully master it.
After a while, Arthur had finally succeeded.
"Sylvia, big brother, I made it!" He saw his brother who was now in meditation then he turned to see Sylvia. But the sight he had horrified him. He had seen Sylvia's face lying on the ground with a small bloodbath that was level with her wound.
"Sylvia! What happened ?!" He walked over to her as Itachi had come out of his meditation due to the commotion. His eyes widened when he saw Sylvia's face. He ran over to her and helped Arthur turn her over. They used their strengthening magic to turn her face around
* BOOM * The noise echoed through the cave as the full view of the wound was fully visible. It had worsened even faster than before.
"Your injury ! Why is it getting worse so quickly ?" Arthur asked with a shaking hand.
"That's why..." Itachi said, looking at the portal in front of them as moments with Sylvia came to mind.
"It's getting worse... Because she was creating the portal...Her wound is getting worse...She did it all because of us..." Arthur was already in tears while Itachi was still there calm but tears threatened to come out.
"It's going to be fine, little ones." she stroked the 2 children with a smile.
"How...can it be okay ? When...you die through our fault..." Arthur was completely devastated and this went on for a while...
Itachi hadn't cried despite that, he had just watched this scene. He was also sad but he managed to contain it inside him.
"Have you calmed down a bit, Art ? We don't have much time together and I hate wasting it while you hold yourself accountable for this. You are not responsible for this..." Sylvia said, always with a smile.
"How could I not blame myself ? You are sacrificing yourself so that I can find my family…" Arthur was still crying but less intense than before.
"You are doing me a favor by allowing me to leave this abandoned place a little faster..." She watches her hand starting to decay.
"My name…It doesn't quite match that appearance, does it ?" Her entire body disintegrated to reveal a beautiful white beast strap with symbols on her body.
"Now...do I look a little more like Sylvia ?" The strap was still smiling looking at the 2 children who were shocked.
"Sylvia ? Are you a dragon ?" Itachi asked, admiring the figure.
"Yes. I am what you humans call 'dragon', but we have little time for chatter now that I am in this form. I must use my original form in order to complete this portal. Now that my camouflage is gone, they will not be long in coming. "
"Who is gonna come ?" Arthur asked but a dazzling light came from the portal.
"Listen to me closely, both of you. There are some things you need to tell you before we go our separate ways." She made 2 eggs appear in the hands of both then she gave two feathers for each egg.
"Wrap them in this to hide their aura." she said hastily.
"What about you, Sylvia?" Itachi asked.
"Please be indulgent with me for one last thing." She touched them both with her muzzle and then they both felt immense pain in one part of their body.
Itachi had symbols running down his chest to his hips and Arthur had the symbols on his arms. They had their clothes torn depending on where the symbol appeared.
"With this, everything will be revealed when the time is right. I will open the portal now. I didn't have time to get it straight to your house, but you should get somewhere close to humans. Hurry up !" she said with an exhausted state.
"No, we can't leave you here ! I…" Before Itachi finished his sentence, the cave shook and then the top fell on them. A figure with armor similar to Sylvia had appeared.
"Lady Sylvia…I suggest you stop stubbornly and give them to us. Submit now and maybe he could even heal your wound." did he declare.
The 2 brothers were amazed to see a person resembling the old form of Sylvia. Before the two could say anything, Sylvia cast a spell to stop the time around them.
"I have a certain confession to make to you boys ... To be honest, I intentionally extended the transportation spell so that I could spend more time with you. Seeing you both made me appreciate the time spent with you...I won't ask you to forgive me, but I have one last selfish request... Can you call me "Granny" just for this once ?" she said with a weak smile as she stood in front of them.
"No, come with us ! Please…You froze everything, we can leave here now." Said Itachi who had lost his temper and had a few tears streaming down his face as Arthur was crying as well.
"You know I can't." she let out a tear before flying away and pushing the two children into the portal.
"Farewell, Itachi, Art."
'No...! Why have I still lost something dear...! Granny…' Itachi now had red eyes with 2 tomoes in each but he wasn't busy with that and hadn't paid attention.
"No ! Grandma !!" Arthur also screamed in despair.
"Thank you... My children." she said before the two brothers disappeared.