Chapter 9
Lina gaped at Zeo and then shifted her gaze to Arthur.
"All right, my lord, I'm ready to defend your treasure with my life."
Arthur gently patted Lina's head and she smiled contentedly in response.
He then spun around to face a group of troops who were still kneeling.
"Soldiers of Zennethia, do not say a word about what happened here today, as Lord Kotaro requested. Got that?"
The soldiers thumped their fists on the ground with a loud thud, which was likely to frighten the enemies who were spying on them.
"Yes, sir!"
Fuuma grasped Zeo's hand and a gust of wind swept by, then they were gone right before them.
Lina gazed at the soldier with her longing eyes while Arthur whispered something to her. Suddenly, her eyes and hair glowed a bright red and fire shot out from her, as she cast a spell shouting "Fiery Flame".
A magical sigil arose before her, from which a huge wave of fire engulfed the group of soldiers. They shouted and cursed them for betraying them.
Arthur observed them with a forlorn countenance, "The Fuuma Clan must not be known by other people, I'm sorry to do this, however it is for the safety of our kingdom."
The flames eventually extinguished and what was left behind were the charred corpses of the soldiers.
Arthur asked Lina to inform the families of the soldiers that their loved ones had fought gallantly for the kingdom, and to grant them a pension of thousand gold coins each, which he will take from his treasury department. He had a troubled expression on his face.
Lina gazed at the scene with an apologetic expression. "I apologize, the existence of The Shadow of Zennethia must not be revealed. I will take responsibility for your family in your place."
In the middle of a land encircled by lake and mirage, a strong gust of wind suddenly arose and out of it stepped Zeo and Kotaro. At the heart of the area was a perfectly constructed wooden residence with a symbol of a three-legged crow gripping a dragon.
Zeo looked around the place he was unfamiliar with, feeling scared. This was his first time away from the Lake Town and he had never been to any other place, due to his mother's worries about the ongoing wars between the Kingdom.
He recalled hearing his mother saying, "That Lin Feng is a nuisance, always causing trouble for Arthur." He thought that Lin Feng was just his dad's companion, yet surprisingly he found out that he was the Emperor of Zennethia. He was concerned about what his father would think of him if he knew Zeo was aiming for one of the commanders of their kingdom's life.
Kotaro turned to the scared yet deep in thought boy and contemplated if he was making the right decision to teach someone from outside of the clan. He came up with a plan.
"Zeo, I'm forbidden to teach you, but if I take you as my foster son and you join my Fuuma Clan, then the restriction will be removed. So, what do you say?"
Zeo was startled out of his rumination, seeing the man whom his own father bowed to, asking him to become part of his family.
"Yes, of course uncle Kotaro. Oh, and from now on, I'll call you foster father." He smiled innocently at his new dad.
Kotaro gave him a kind smile in return.
As they headed towards the house, they took a winding route.
"Young lad, you'll have to remember this way back, or else you'll get lost in the mirage formation and I might have difficulty to find you."
Zeo was feeling overwhelmed, so he tried his hardest to remember every move they made. When they reached the house, they saw a stone door with no handle, only a tiny round hole.
Kotaro then pulled something out of his pocket and put it in the hole. It was the symbol they had seen earlier. The crow's eye glowed purple and the door opened. Inside the house was pitch black, but it eventually lit up.
Inside, there were all sorts of strange weapons, ancient scrolls, and drawings on the wall. One of the drawings caught Zeo's eye. It was a picture of half of the sun with a flood dragon inside and the other half of the moon with a three-legged crow in it.
In the middle of the house, there was a dark blue core situated above the altar. Zeo felt a strange urge to go near the core, although he had never seen it before. Kotaro incorrectly assumed Zeo just had a feeling of wonder about the core.
As Zeo moved closer to the core, it started to shine brighter. His longing feeling was getting stronger the nearer he got to the core.
Kotaro was shocked by the core's response, but he quickly pulled Zeo away and pushed a button on one of the statues. The altar then disappeared into the ground, along with the core, and the ground closed.
"What you doing, kid?" Fuuma asked, since he had never seen the core react like this before.
Zeo was also confused. "I don't know, foster father. It's like the core was calling to me, and my body seemed to be yearning for it ."
Kotaro scrutinized the kid in front of him. He had been studying this boy for the last 2 years, but nothing could account for the current circumstance. The boy had no remarkable ancestry that was worth referencing.
Kotaro peered at the painting on the wall then motioned to Zeo to come close to him. "Prior to beginning your training, you need to be aware of the Fuuma Clan's history. This house you entered can only be accessed by the leader of the clan and the future leader. It all started with the gathering of the Fuuma Clan ancestor and the Lin Clan."