After eating their meal, Kane and Qusay relaxed and their topic of discussion changed to that of personal information.
"So, where do you come from? How is your family" asked Qusay as he took a swig of his drink.
After a brief pause, Kane answered "I live in Edan city. My entire family is dead. I am on my own".
"Oh, sorry. It must have been tough. How did it happen? I can help you out if you want" said Qusay.
"Don't worry, I would like to keep it private. If I need your help, I will let you know," replied Kane.
"Are you sure?" Qusay asked. When he didn't get a reply from Kane, he continued "well suit yourself. Let me introduce myself. You already know my name so I won't repeat that.
I am from Raml city. It is a D-grade city. My father is Barakah Moghadam, a knight who had sworn fealty to the empire.
I am the 7th child of my father's fifteen children".
Kane was really surprised. The son of a governor was sitting next to him, eating in a steakhouse.
"Why are you here?" Kane could not help but ask.
"Me?" Qusay chuckled before continuing "my old man's loyalty to the empire is staggering to the point where it's affecting his children's happiness.
The only sect in Raml city is the imperial sect. Although it's the best choice for the families of the officials of the empire, it's not what I really want.
I want to be free and explore the world, do as I like while growing stronger, and not be encumbered by endless duties and responsibilities to the empire just like my father who rarely had time for his children.
I figured that whatever goal he wanted to achieve through us would be adequately met by my six elder siblings so I decided to run away"
"How could you use your city's teleportation gate without your father finding out?" asked Kane he was starting to get interested in the story.
"Hehe, that's the thing. I didn't use the teleportation gate. I joined a caravan that was heading to Edan city" replied Qusay rather smugly. He seemed to be quite proud of himself for this one act of bravery.
"No way!!!" Kane was totally shocked. He could not believe that this mutant realm friend of his was able to survive such a long and potentially dangerous trip.
Although he had made such a trip before, when he visited Sharphorn ruin, it was a different situation altogether.
According to stories, Sharphorn city was established by a friend of the governor of Edan city, Philimon.
It was established as close as possible to Edan city to make land and air travel easier, at least, until the two cities drifted far apart by the Earth's ever-increasing landmass.
When the cities were a week's journey by road apart, Sharphorn city was suddenly besieged and overran by beasts.
According to rules set by the earth, when a city is conquered by forces of another race, the distance between that city and the immediate cities in all directions of the conquered city becomes fixed and would never increase unless the city is recaptured.
For instance, when Sharphorn city was overrun by beasts, the distance between Sharphorn city and the closest cities around it would no longer increase.
If Sharphorn city was recaptured by humans, everything returns to normal.
If on the other hand Edan city was also overrun by beast, then the stagnation effect would leave Sharphorn city and will be transferred to Edan city.
Nobody knows why the earth was desperately pitting humans against beasts but there are speculations that this rule aids in conquering streaks of cities. Humans have also used this method in their war against beasts.
"It's true" replied Qusay. "We were on the road for more than two months even when we only stopped moving at night.
We also encountered strong beasts but we also had really strong fighters with us. We were really lucky though. We didn't encounter super powerful beasts or entrances to ownerless pocket dimensions or else I might not even be here" said Qusay.
"Round off your discussion Kane. You need your rest. You have a tough match tomorrow" said Abel. He knew that if these two were left to their devices, they might as well order another round of food and stay in the steakhouse till they are kicked out by the employees.
Kane had no choice but to comply with his master's wish. "I need to get going, Qusay. I am feeling a little bit tired" said Kane while stretching his body.
"Of course, of course. Where do you stay?" asked Qusay who had a hint of disappointment in his voice.
"I stay at the Hyatt hotel" replied Kane.
Qusay's jaw dropped. "You mean the best hotel in Edan city? Are you sure you are an orphan?" he asked.
Kane chuckled "let's just say I have friends in very high places".
"Hmm, I think I am beginning to regret paying for the food. I stay at the Dupont Plaza hotel. You can find me there anytime until we get into the Storm Cradle sect" said Qusay as they stood up from their seats.
Kane could sense a disturbance from his Hunter Association identity card which also doubled as a communications device. He received a text message from Juwayn Faisal who was the castellan of the Hunter Association in Edan city.
Juwayn asked Kane to meet him at the Hunter Association as soon as possible. Qusay saw Kane take out his Hunter Association identity card and could not help but satisfy his curiosity by asking what the message was about.
"My friends in high places" chuckled Kane as they left the steakhouse. They said their goodbyes and Kane hailed a taxi.
On his way to Hunter Association, he could not help but wonder if Juwayn was mad about his expenditures at the Hyatt hotel.
When he arrived at his destination he paid the driver and entered the building.
The lobby was busy as usual. There were a lot of people standing in different lines waiting to be attended to by the staff.
He was about to cut a line and speak directly to an attendant when he was approached by a heavily built man in a black suit and sunglasses.
"The castellan will see you now. Follow me" said the man as he led Kane to the castellan's office.
When they got to the door of Juwayn's office, Kane saw the second bodyguard who usually stands by the side of the castellan's door.
The bodyguard who led him to the office pressed a button by the side of the door before announcing Kane's arrival.
The door slid open and Kane stepped into the office.
Juwayn was his usual self. Intimidating as always even when he was busy with his computer.
"Good afternoon, sir" Kane greeted him timidly. Only then did Juwayn look up from his desk and asked Kane to sit.
After looking at Kane for a few seconds he said "I noticed that my bills with the Hyatt hotel skyrocketed from the day you moved in. The statement here shows that feeding expenses make up more than sixty percent of the total bill. Do you really eat that much?".
Kane's heart fell into his stomach. Even though he was kind of expecting this question, it still hit like a bombshell when he was actually asked.
"Yes, I, I, I eat a lot. You see, my body, needs the energy" Kane stammered through the sentence. He was almost driven to tears.
"That's alright. I was just curious. Your well-being and development have been made my top priority. I asked you to come so that I can brief you on some important arrangements that have been recently made" said Juwayn.
Kane was instantly relieved. He sat up and paid full attention to what the castellan was about to say.
Juwayn cleared his throat and said "I have made Philimon aware of the situation in Sharphorn ruin. It was not too hard for him to wrap his head around the possibility of a beast tide hitting Edan city.
Since Edan city is the city closest to Sharphorn ruin, it's only natural for it to be the first city to be attacked by the beast tide.
On that note, Philimon took some steps to defend the city. The first step he made was to accept everyone who applied to be a member of the Storm Cradle sect in a bid to increase the number of fighters the city can muster before the battle.
The headquarters of the Storm Cradle sect has also been notified of the city's plight and would be sending reinforcements. It has been confirmed that at least one knight will be coming to aid us.
Even more, will be expected to arrive in hopes of retaking Sharphorn city when the beast tide is destroyed".