". . ." - Cloud frowned as he sensed that something bad had happened, though he didn't understand exactly what.
"Is something wrong?" - Yue asked as she noticed her husband pause.
"No, it's nothing" - Cloud answered as he continued walking, though he unconsciously looked in Verbergen's direction, as if he had sensed that there was the reason for this strange feeling.
* * * * *
"Cloud!" - Kaori exclaimed excitedly as she flew in the direction of the group that had just arrived - "It's a relief to see that you'll re okay."
"It's obvious, those jerks were weak" - replied Yue as she gave her a blank stare - "Anyway, has something weird happened?"
"No, everyone is breaking camp" - Kaori replied as she looked at the group of evacuated survivors - "What happened to the battle between the demons and Verbergen's defensive forces?"
"It's over, the survivors of the battle are returning, though casualties with heavy on both sides" - Cloud replied as he frowned.
"Oh..." - Kaori nodded weakly, though she was a bit puzzled by this, after all, with Cloud's help, they shouldn't have suffered so much damage.
"That aside, did the maze do something strange?" - Cloud asked as he raised an eyebrow.
"Not really, it hasn't shown any changes since we arrived" - Kaori answered while shaking her head - "Maybe it's because we haven't put the tests in?"
"It's possible, although I was hoping that the presence of so many people from Verbergen, would make the prisoner inside the labyrinth react" - Cloud muttered as he let out a sigh - "I guess we'll have to go straight in if we want some answers."
"What are they talking about?" - Asked a young woman about his age. She had blonde hair and two long pointed ears.
"Who you?" asked Cloud when he saw the elf's attire.
"My name is Altina, princess of the elven clan of Verbergen" - answered the blonde girl as she raised her chest in pride - "And who are you?"
"My name is Cloud Strife" - Cloud answered as he shook his head in boredom, mostly because he had no interest in other elves, not when he had practically a harem of them at home, which he was sure would expand in the future, although that wasn't something he was happy about because he was noticing how annoying those girls were.
"Oh, by any chance are you the guest my grandfather was talking about, the person who has the affection of the spirits?" - Altina asked curiously as she looked closely at the blond boy - "Interesting..."
Cloud had a bad feeling before deciding to completely ignore the girl's gaze because he could sense that something very uncomfortable was about to happen.
"Huh? Why are you walking away?" - Altina asked as she ran after the blond. She sensed something strangely familiar about this boy, and felt like she was about to find out.
Cloud quickened his steps, completely ignoring the teasing look from Yue and the others.
"How about this?" - Kaori asked as she smiled slightly, after all, this was the first time she had seen Cloud act so awkwardly.
"I think Cloud has a bad experience with elves" - said Yue while raising an eyebrow.
"I think it's quite the opposite" - Tio replied as she frowned slightly - "I think Cloud has a slightly familiar aura, one that all elves possess."
"Are you saying he's part elf?" - Kaori asked with a curious look.
"No, I think it's the other way around, the elves are related to something Cloud possesses" - replied Tio as she started to think - "And I think I know what it is..."
"The origin of the elven race, the sacred tree" - Yue muttered as she understood what her traveling companion was trying to say - "It's possible that Cloud knows where the world tree is."
"Shh" - Tio quickly put her hand over Yue's mouth as she looked around and let out a sigh when she saw that no one had heard them talking.
"What was that?" - Kaori asked with a frown as she hadn't expected such a drastic change in the dragon woman's expression.
"Listen, the origin of a race is something extremely important, because it means that if they were to discover it, they could grow at great speed" - said Tio seriously as she looked around again - "For the elves, everything related to the sacred tree is extremely important, to the point that I'm sure they would declare a war just to get a measly clue, now, imagine what would happen if they found out that there is a person who knows about the possible location of the world tree."
"Oh, that wouldn't be pretty" - Kaori muttered as she paled - "Wait, if there is an origin for the elven race, that means that..."
"Exactly, our races also have origins that we wish to find, in the case of vampires and dragons, there are many stories, although to be honest with you, the origin of my race is that we were conceived thanks to the blessing of the Blood Dragon" - replied Yue while shaking her head.
"Belial, the blood dragon" - said Tio while nodding - "He was one of the 7 dragon lords, although during the war he was defeated and his true position as a water dragon was usurped, that led him to make a pact with the ancient god of darkness, corrupting himself and gaining a new power, the ability to be able to manipulate and absorb the vitality of his victims"
"The truth is that I don't know how certain it is that Belial is the true origin of my race, although it's the closest thing we have a clue to" - Yue added while closing her eyes - "Maybe there's more hidden, although there's no way of knowing because everything related to the age of the gods was destroyed, and the little information I had about Belial was burned during the destruction of the vampire realm"
"What about you, Tio-san?" - Kaori asked as she looked curiously at the dragon woman.
"Oh, my race is not as complex as the vampire race" - Tio replied as she tried to explain his origin.
"The dragon men were created after the ancient dragons blessed them with their blood" - Yue said as she gave her a blank look - "They were created as servants and lovers of the dragons, they were basically slaves who managed to become free after the dragons disappeared, over time the race was increasing while their draconic blood was diluted to what remains today"
"Well, that's basically it" - replied Tio while shrugging her shoulders - "Although I have to clarify something, the blessing of the dragons was something voluntary because they were a fair and kind beings, there were certain requirements to receive the blood of the dragons, and after being blessed, we had to comply with certain rules, among them was to serve our masters"
"On the subject of slavery?" - Kaori asked with a frown, because as a girl who had lived most of her life in Japan, she wasn't quite comfortable with this idea.
"Honestly, I'm not completely sure, after all, the information in our records may be false and a way to honor the memory of the creatures that created us" - replied Tio while shaking her head - "Anyway, I think we'd better change the subject because honestly I don't think it's good to continue talking about this when the subject of the sacred tree might come up again."
"Sacred tree?" - Ulfric asked as he walked over to the girls - "I didn't think your conversation was about something so sensitive."
"I'm sorry, we were just talking about the origin of our races" - replied Yue while shaking her head - "Kaori asked about the elves', that's why the topic came up"
"I understand, although I wish you wouldn't keep repeating it, after all, it's taboo for us" - Ulfric said while shaking his head - "Anyway, I was coming to talk to Cloud-dono, but I don't see him anywhere."
"Your granddaughter is chasing him for a strange reason" - Kaori answered while shaking her head.
"Altina?" - Ulfric asked in surprise, only to frown because this was strange - "Do you know about the why?"
"I'm sorry, but we're just as confused as you are" - Tio replied as she shook her head.
"Strange, though it's possible that Altina has discovered something in Cloud-dono" - Ulfric said as he started to think.
"Why do you say that?" - Yue asked with a frown.
"Altina was born with a strong connection to nature, that's why she is the person who could be considered as the priestess of the sacred tree" - answered Ulfric while frowning - "When she was born, trees started to blossom and spirits danced around her, this scene hadn't happened since the birth of Princess Lyutillis Haltina, although the effects of her birth were much greater"
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NEW WORLD - ARIFURETA
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