A cool breeze blew through the flowers, the grass swayed in the agitation of the air, the petals fluttered and a fragrant smell lingered.
Eyelids covered by a row of lashes fluttered, retracted pupils accompanied by a dark iris followed the view to a blue sky, white clouds danced.
Turning to one side a person was sleeping, he recognized her, it was his friend.
He turned his eyes to the other side, someone else was resting.
He raised half his body, the surroundings described a room, its structure was destroyed, with pieces of wood protruding, the paint faded, piled stones, without a roof, to his right a field of flowers extended towards the horizon through a big hole in the wall.
Sarah tried to stand up, a sharp pain in her belly stopped her, she checked the area, she had bandages covering her, it stung with each breath.
She sighed followed by a grimace, breathing overwhelmed her, her mind was confused and it was hard for her to understand what had happened.
Footsteps sounded from across the room, with no weapon at hand he prepared an energy technique.
When the door opened, her energy was dispersed, an overwhelming force made her shrink in on herself, she could hardly resist to see who caused that presence.
He was an older man, walked using a cane and appeared to be asleep, his eyelids kept closed.
As if sensing something, he moved his head in her direction.
"I see you have woken up, suffering is not an option, rest" with a thick voice emanating in the air a deep sleep permeated Sarah, the rest was lost in her unconsciousness.
The man came over to accommodate her better, probed with his energy, and then sat down at the edge of the room, toward the field of flowers.
The energy emanating from his body stopped flowing, now, he looked like an ordinary person, he had used it to check the status of his surroundings, after that, it was unnecessary to him.
In the distance, an insect flew through the flowers, circled several times in the air, then approached the room.
A butterfly landed on the man's hair, its wings fluttering with satisfaction, he took it with one of his fingers and whispered something to it.
The creature flew away.
He walked some distance before stopping at a headstone.
There were fine letters carved in stone.
Tsukumi Hadame rests here, a great friend, may her soul join the heavens, offering her light to the fallen. Woman of extensive honors, you will be remembered forever.
The sky began to turn golden, as the hours passed, the night approached.
A body moved from its place, the young woman had woken up, however, this time she was alone, her companions had disappeared, her pulse quickened in panic, then she heard voices far from her location.
With pain in his body he got up and walked towards the place where the laughter came from.
His breathing became erratic causing his strength to weaken with each step.
The unsteady walk caused her to fall, a huge bang was heard, the voices stopped and a door opened.
Footsteps ran, two pairs of hands helping Sarah to her feet.
"I told you one of us had to stay" Tama claimed.
"But he said we should eat, were you going to disobey an order? Besides, these buns are delicious, ignore such art" exclaimed Karin with sparkling eyes.
The confused expression of the young woman did not go unnoticed by the women, they were uncomfortable, they did not know what to say.
A man with a cane came out of a room and observed the situation, he seemed to be sleeping, his eyes did not open.
"Take her to the garden, I'll talk to her, you guys rest, you make a lot of noise" he commented airily, Karin brushed him off with her hand and Tama bowed apologizing, then they took Sarah outside.
The place was nice, there were several garden ornaments with animals carved in stone, their colors were faded, but the brightness of the twilight made them look shiny.
Smoke billowed from an oven and buns of bread had been arranged on a tray, they were on a small table a few inches from the floor, in a corner near the door.
A stream passed through a small wooden bridge, there was a garden with fruits, flowers stretched for several meters, fireflies danced in its vicinity.
In front of the door, in the garden, a table for tea was prepared, the women accommodated their leader explaining in whispers that they were in a safe place, asking for forgiveness, in addition to notifying that the Lord had saved them, the young woman already he deduced it from the treatment they had received.
His mind was lost in his thoughts.
The puzzle in her head was in chaos, it was hard for her to understand what had happened before reaching that place, her conscience tried to block her memories, she felt upset and powerless.
The man sat on the other chair, a butterfly landed on his shoulder, the women withdrew bowing their heads respectfully, the young woman realized that and swallowed.
"Who was that man to instill such a feeling in his companions? Someone from the organization? A saint?" His questions stopped when he was served a cup of tea.
"You must have doubts, but I'm not the one to answer, if you want to know something, find out for yourself, it's a test" was the only thing the man said, then, he took his own cup of tea, drinking, the butterfly flew to his around excited.
Sarah looked disconcerted, she watched him for a while without the older man wanting to say anything more, for her that man seemed to be playing, resigned, she ignored him along with her pet, she looked around noticing simple and homely objects.
There were drawn portraits, some old clothes, instruments of unknown use and a zither, he looked back at the man, he had simple clothes, a ceremonial dress with a rusty medallion on his chest, the symbols were illegible.
His gray hair made him look older than his age, his face had signs of age and some small scars.
Although his body was small, he had a good physical build, worthy of someone who keeps fit.
With just that information, he asked a question.
"Are we in Misaki?" She questioned, he nodded smiling.
"Do you know who I am?" said the man with a subtle smile, he was excited, he liked to play mysterious, his pet hid in his hair expectantly.
"Because of the area I can say that we are far from district A, in some of the other districts, your ceremonial clothes belong to traditional towns, so I rule out district B and C that are more modern, that means that we are in some rural area of the district D, safe in the limits of the border towards the mountains, from your scars on your face next to your weapons, I can tell that you were a warrior, the objects in your house suggest that you lived in another city, something made you come here, surely an armed conflict, although there are many happening in Misaki, so I don't know who you are" commented the young woman thinking, unconsciously she drank a drink of tea, it seemed that the tea had very high medicinal properties, she felt how her body was filled of energy, his wounds healed fast.
The man's smile widened, the butterfly flew around the table, stopping on the lid of the teapot, both had been satisfied with the answer, the other women had an even greater acuity than the young woman, of the three , only the long-haired one discovered her identity from the history that her belongings preserved, the short-haired one focused on geographical details to understand the situation, and the leader used both traits to a lesser degree to draw a quick conclusion.
"Not bad, they have potential, if Madoka were here, she would take care of them" the man's smile remained even though his heart contracted at the memory, thinking about the past tickled his chest.
"I'm here to take care of this place after the Great Blackout" the man said, Sarah widened her eyes at the man's words.
The Great Blackout in Misaki, as it was called to a civil war between rebels and politicians of the city.
It is known by that name because none of those involved returned from the incident, historians believe that it was the first fight in the National history of Japan where no force took control, it had been suspected that there would be survivors, but they were never found.
So the person sitting in front of her was...?
He couldn't believe it, one of the survivors was talking to Sarah calmly.
The young woman got up from her chair and bowed honorably, this time the pain had diminished, the people of the organization had deep respect for all those who fought against the political forces of that time, they were allies of the same cause .
"You know who I am, you have to listen to my words, you must be strong" with the last sentence of warning, they resumed the conversation.
The older explained what had happened to the young woman between cups of tea, both had drunk a lot while Sarah's expression changed every moment, the parts that resonated in her heart were those of her defeat and the escape from the barrier.
That information was known by the man when talking to Sarah's companions.
"My aunt! Where is she?!" she shouted worriedly, the man's face observed the landscape, the butterfly stopped moving her wings, she had stayed still.
"I arrived and you were badly injured, when you entered, no one lived, the enemy escaped, Hadame is" he raised his finger pointing in a direction, Sarah ran following that path, her heart squeezed imagining the worst.
The man's pet followed close behind.
A breeze hit the girl's face, her body demanded rest and she was breathing hard.
Several times he fell to the ground, then got up following the path.
He came to a clearing of grass, in the place there was a large tree with a good shade, under it something could be seen.
Sarah approached walking at a fast pace, the tears made it impossible for her to see, she repeated in her head that she was dreaming, she stumbled several times and when she was in front of a stone adorned with flowers, she screamed.
The leaves shook, the expression of pain filled the young woman's face, her screams were heard around the area alerting her companions, the man had followed her slowly, her pet perched on the branch of a tree, watching, footsteps were heard approaching, with a gesture the man stopped the older ones from intervening.
To resist the one who had saved them was an offense, but their eyes, with an intense shine, fixed on the man, both had a lump in their throats.
"To cry one must be alone, the company attracts hatred" the older spoke.
The scene was difficult to digest, they were accompanying her without saying anything, the minutes turned into hours, while the darkness covered the area, Sarah had been plunged into her pain.
The man and the women had withdrawn to give him privacy, a butterfly had stayed behind.
The young woman no longer cried, she wandered through memories imagining a better future, something she could not touch.
He heard footsteps around him, a creature fluttered moving towards a figure that emerged from some bushes, the butterfly landed on a male silhouette, it was the man with a blanket and a pillow.
"Sleep is important, we all do it at some point" he said casually, he put the things next to Sarah, she ignored him.
Her face was upset at the intrusion, she wanted to be alone.
In the quiet of the night, he heard a prayer come from the man's lips, the brooch on his chest glowing creating a sphere of energy.
The letters on the tombstone glowed and the figure of a woman emerged from them, Sarah's face contorted in surprise.
"How?" She asked her in disbelief, her aunt was there, but she didn't seem to answer to anyone. She looked towards the horizon with her body glowing.
"She is not here, she has been resting for a long time, she will always remain with us if they need her, the heart will be able to feel her, because it will think of her and remember her" the man spoke, his medallion stopped shining and his aunt's figure vanished.
He had doubts that it had happened, but Sarah understood his words.
Her aunt was gone, but whenever she looked for her, she would find her where she always felt her, in her heart, taking care of her through the memories she had of her.
It was his legacy.
Sarah took the pillow and the sheet, then lay down near the grave.
"Sleep is important" She said tired, the man nodded, a heavy breath came from the girl, dreaming.
A warm smile came over the man's face, he sat on the grass admiring the stars.
Your pet felt something in the environment and moved, walked around his friend comforting him, then the creature was lost in the dark
Sadness came to the man crying silently. He would miss her, forever, until he too will have to go.
A star in the sky shone brightly falling from the horizon, it was fleeting, like the life he once loved and now would be in his heart.
That night, they all lamented, but they knew that a new day would be born and they should honor it whenever they could.
The dawns passed, Sarah recovered slowly, and despite her sadness, she behaved serenely, her friends had decided to support her, always being attentive in case she needed something, she smiled, asking for privacy when she needed it, she did not want to cry if someone I saw her, missing her was difficult to forget.
The man and his pet took care of them, during that time they had asked his name, in addition to wanting to know what happened in the Great Blackout, however, he refused to say it, his words were:
"The past delays the future, my name and the history that accompanies me is not important to remember"
With dissatisfied expressions they continued to insist, however, he ignored them.
One day, over breakfast, the elder had explained what he had experienced during the attack on the Guardian Headquarters in Misaki.
He had gone to pick up Sarah and her companions at Hadame's request, but on the way he encountered a group of enemies surrounding the brothel, due to which, he was delayed taking care of them.
When he finished, he found them unconscious with wounds on their bodies, the man recognized the young woman as Hadame's niece, a while ago he had captured the essence of Sarah when he had visited his friend.
He had urgently entered the barrier, but no one was in the place, with a little search he found Hadame's body, while he was taking it away, I regret the death of the other women, he prayed for them as he left, he knew that one of them he had stayed alive, vigilant, however understanding that he had no time left, he breathed his last breath as he approached, the man was grateful for his persistence, he had allowed him to bring the body of his friend.
A barrier falls apart if no one is alive inside.
Later, he took Sarah and the women with him, they had been rendered unconscious by the sudden change between realities, it was always unpleasant for the body, especially if it was a forced exit.
He moved them to a safe place and from there he moved to District D on the border towards the mountains.
They were surprised, the gentleman answered their doubts.
How had he removed a person's body if the barriers didn't allow it?
Barriers had certain limitations on their use, but the ones best known to assassins were two.
1. You can't put an unconscious person in a barrier, that applies whether they are alive or dead. In this way, if someone was asleep, no one could force them to enter another reality.
2. Lifeless beings, except those that never had life, such as objects or buildings, are prohibited from entering or exiting a barrier. Here it implies that it is not possible to take the corpses of enemies out of a reality, nor to hide them inside, it was a nuisance for the assassins, but they had already tried many methods, none of them worked.
Because of that, they were curious as to how he had achieved it, the response they received left them cold.
The man had used the life attribute to cover his friend's body, the expression of fear that the women had and the young woman was justified, it was incredible that he came out alive from that, as soon as the man returned to the real world he undid the attribute.
If I had made a mistake, I would have broken a taboo.
They all had nervous looks, barely recovering from the shock they continued with the questions.
How do I get them so far out of town?
He explained that he had used the barriers to teleport.
The barriers have the ability to alter the laws of the world, so both space and time were different inside one.
He explained that he used two barriers connected from District D to the limits of Misaki in the mountains, they were the remains of an old structure used by the rebels to move around.
Because the teleport points were fixed it meant that he couldn't move anywhere he wanted, plus if any enemies discovered the entrance, they would arrive at his hideout.
However, there was something they did not understand, the barriers could theoretically do that, but moving from one barrier to another was impossible, the organization had records of attempts, all failed, however, they knew that the man would have an answer to that problem, they expected to hear it.
Excitement covered their faces, their eyes shone brightly, secrets that the organization did not know were important, they were impressed and amazed to learn how a Misaki rebel organization had solved such complex problems.
Continuing the talk, creating teleportation points was possible by isolating the barrier cores and then splitting them in two.
The cores were the vortices seen from the real world, known as the gates to a new reality.
According to his words, doing so causes the barriers to lose their connection with the world and stop being tied to it, that is, space and time stop working in them as well as the rest of the world's laws, that means that they could not be inhabited either, they would only be a means of transportation.
With the theory explained, the rest was understandable, although they did not know what method had been used to isolate and separate a barrier, they must have been very complex processes due to how delicate the nuclei were, the man said he did not know more, it was one of the feats that its former leader achieved to support the cause of the revolution.
An image was formed in everyone's mind, the leader of the revolution was an incredible person, even in the organization his miracles were heard, things that only he could do, no one questioned his strength when he completely eliminated the enemy forces, however He disappeared along with the rest of the survivors.
The elder also did not know what had happened to his companions, he had not participated in the fight due to an incident that left him blind.
They all sympathized.
He couldn't see, but he had strong energy perception and using a secret ability, he was able to get a complete outline of objects, small details, people, and nature in all its forms.
He called it his third eye, this also allowed him to distinguish a smoking essence from human bodies, his former leader called it vestiges, remains of a person that made it possible to identify him.
He already had Sarah identified by a gift that she had given her aunt some time ago, it contained a part of her essence, Hadame verified the identity of her niece to the man using that vestige as a mark, knowing that she could perceive her and he recognized his companions by the marks they wore, those of the organization were cautious with their ways of presenting themselves to the enemy, but any knowing eye would notice if a person is an ally of the guardians by some details in their clothes.
Recognizing the hidden symbols, he took care of them and due to his third eye, moving was not a problem, he always knew which way to go.
The conversation was over.
After a few days resting, Sarah was able to start moving like before, her friends the same, the man warned them that in their current state, fighting the hidden enemies in Misaki would be impossible, but that he could help them, in exchange, they had to fulfill a mission for him.
The women accepted listening to his request, at first they couldn't believe it, but they soon understood why the Church of the Saints in Misaki was involved in human trafficking when they were supposed to be allies of the organization.
It had to do with the Great Blackout incident, a lot of shady things happened back then.
Originally he had intended to take care of the problem, but recognizing the skills of women, he considered it more appropriate to leave it to them. He wasn't too far from his goals.
As Tama and Karin shared their opinions, Sarah looked at the man next to her.
Those closed eyelids focused on earrings that dangled from Sarah's sides.
The young woman realized having a surprised look.
He could know about her relic even though she didn't give him permission to see it.
Every time he was curious who was the man who had saved them, they barely knew anything, being enough to trust him.
After the talk, they went to train.
Under the elder's tutelage, the women and their leader stayed several more days honing their skills.
Hard for them to believe, their strength increased in ways they had never imagined.
They felt that this time, nothing would defeat them.
District A, Site #3 of the Church of the Saints, inside a barrier, 12:00 am.
Several structures could be seen from a hill, three figures camouflaged in the darkness, stalking.
"Block the exits, I'll prepare the attack" the women nodded, disappearing in a flash.
Sitting up, Sarah gathered energy around her, the air stirring.
Explosions and screams were heard, his concentration was expanded, the energy was disturbed in large quantities drawing attention.
A resolution was clear, its objectives too.
Those eyes gleamed with killing intent.
"I will find my brother, I will eliminate all those involved with the shady events originating from the Great Blackout, and I will find him, the murderer of my aunt, I will make him pay even if it is the last thing he does" his eyes closed letting a tear fall, he is It froze on the chin, disappearing in an explosion of frost.
"The past will delay your future, darling" a voice whispered in her back, but she ignored it, it was already normal for her to have these hallucinations, they fueled her hatred.
The heat of the surroundings decreased by several degrees, the harbinger of a tragedy made itself felt with the roar of words.
Temperature Attribute: Snow Queen Style: Frost Smite.
The surroundings shook, a dead silence pervaded the area, without warning, everything was engulfed in ice.
Death covered the unlucky, if there were survivors they would be counted, although that didn't matter to him, his objective had already been fulfilled.
"Let's go" when their companions returned they began to retreat.
Since that day in the underworld, they began to talk about the ice queen, a fearsome woman who covered her enemies in a cold death, many had respect for her and hoped not to be her next target.
Fear had risen in their hearts and the nights were no longer peaceful.
Next Chapter: The bearer of the relic of light.