Gradually the houses moved away from each other and left the environment empty, little by little the landscape that dominated were more distant houses where there were farmers and ranchers who used all the vegetation to feed their animals or prepare land for planting.
In the region there were irregular parts where they went up and down randomly, but even so there were flat spaces for cattle raising, the green vegetation showed that it seemed to be a pleasant place to live and that reflected in the residents.
All that was seen was an immensity of dark green, until it was possible to see a hill in the middle of it all.
As he moved his eyes slowly, Arthur noticed a tree on top of that hill, it seemed bigger than all the others and yet its leaves were green and alive.
The two continued until they climbed the hill and approached the tree, Chris climbed first and reached the top, already putting his two hands on his hips, seeming to admire the view while waiting for Arthur.
Upon reaching the top, Arthur felt the wind hit his forehead and lift his calves, revealing the view of the entire village in the distance.
He could see from the temple, the biggest concentration of houses was around the building and there were still other houses they hadn't passed.
Again the feeling of nostalgia returned to Arthur who faced the city looking thoughtful while the wind gradually stopped blowing, both saw that image completely in silence, but Christopher had a slight smile on his face when looking at that place.
"It wasn't the first image I had, but now I can see how much it reminds us of our old houses, it's a strange feeling and at the same time pleasant..."
Arthur remained serious and with his distant gaze looking at that village, it was possible to see from that distance some children running in the street and it was as if he could see his childhood image next to Christopher for a few moments.
"It's almost picture perfect, there's even the orphanage inside the church."
Christopher smiled and sat down, from that angle it was possible to see a larger field in a simple wooden building very close to the church, some children were running and playing freely in that field.
The images passed through their memories and the blonde smiled saying.
"You used to go there to play with us all day, I think that's how I found out that your father was a former knight and that's how I discovered a dream."
"In the end you were just a pain in the ass, but in the end you were one of the few friends I had along with Oliver..."
Arthur showed a slight smile on his face, but at the end of the words he returned to his seriousness after remembering the two, but Christopher remained calm as he said.
"I remember that Oliver tried to teach you to use the bow, you could even do it, but it always sucked. Those were good times..."
Christopher laughed a little more quietly as he continued to look at the village, the memories continued to rush in and he spoke as he lowered his head.
"We started training with your father practically at the same time, we fought with sticks all the time looking for a winner, we didn't know any technique, so it was pretty ugly..."
"There's not much you can do... the sticks always broke as soon as we hit each other, in the end you get hit and leave crying, but you come back the next day with a different stick."
"Hey, I don't remember that."
Again Christopher laughed a little more peacefully and Arthur had a slight smile on his face as he remembered, it was as if he heard a little more childlike voice screaming.
"Hey Art! Let's fight!"
He could clearly see Christopher a little younger, with much shorter hair, full bandages on his face as a result of his pranks.
Both seemed to return to their old ways while Arthur looked at the village and remembered the cave they used as a hideout near the village where they both lived, even the positioning of the tree was similar and brought that feeling of nostalgia.
All those sensations made Arthur squint a little with a slight smile, for a brief moment he felt back in the village and Christopher continued while lifting his knee, resting his arm on it.
"Gradually we grew up, I think the real tiebreaker came when we learned to use energy to fight."
"Teaching two children the body-soul path, I wonder what my father wanted us to do."
"Maybe he imagined us as knights too… we always rode together and we were the best there, even if you abandoned that to learn hunting and focused more on that than what your father wanted to teach you."
The wind that was blowing, soon ceased with the end of the blonde's sentence that changed his expression to seriousness and both did not exchange words, leaving only silence in the place.
It was as if Arthur could see Chris' insistence on fights and training from another point of view, most of the time he was there, with animosity and looking for a new confrontation.
Arthur squinted his eyes slightly and was about to start talking, but soon he heard.
"But in the end, he asked to protect you."
The sentence made any sentence that would come out of the swordsman's mouth disappear, even if they tried to ignore it or forget it with the hurried trip, in the end all that had happened less than a week ago.
Christopher stood and shoved his hands in his pockets as he looked back at the temple.
"They call me born-again, I don't know what that is exactly, but ever since I faced that monster, I've realized how much I never liked just following your back, Arth."
Suddenly the wind was blowing stronger and taking his hair back, making even Christopher frown with the force of that breath, but his expression was still serious and looking ahead while Arthur was out of his field of vision.
The swordsman who had been silent since then sighed as he slightly raised his head to look up.
"So you're going to stick with these guys, just to try and gain that knight power they're all talking about?"
"No. I'm staying here because the main condition for me to come back to life was to be a knight, but even if it wasn't like that..."
Again Christopher's eyes tightened and he remembered the faces of the people in the temple, memories that only he had in the time when Arthur had passed out and made him clench his fist.
"What I saw in those people was what attracted me, in the end I realized that I don't want to use this new beginning to seek revenge..."
With the end of the sentence, the swordsman raised his head slightly where no expression could be seen as he continued to listen to the blonde.
"I keep saving people, helping those in need, and defending against guys like that occultist…but I won't be able to do that, and I won't be able to get any stronger by being in his shadow."
Christopher's hands started to shake, his voice started to shake and he continued.
"B-But I want to carry on the teachings of your father, A-Arth. Everything I learned there..."
"It's okay."
The moment the sentence came out, Christopher's eyes widened and he looked slowly towards Arthur.
He could see that the swordsman had his arms crossed while looking only at the horizon, his eyes seemed to see something beyond and his expression seemed calm, even if it was difficult to say everything that was going through his head at that moment.
As he continued to look straight ahead, Arthur saw the sun approaching the middle of the sky and then he said.
"In the end, it's what you always wanted. Becoming a knight and that's why you always followed my father, you were the one who most wanted to learn the things the clergy said... it was your dream to follow that path."
Christopher looked surprised, while little by little his eyes returned to the village with the same expression, wondering if he had heard right.
Arthur kept staring straight ahead and sighed, not knowing how to react, just scratching his head awkwardly as he said.
"Damn...it's kind of sudden, I don't know what to say."
He mumbled slightly irritated and the phrase made Christopher lower his surprised expression and slowly let a peaceful smile form.
Again the wind passed through them, making them have an image of the whole field.
It was as if they saw the past, imagining their childhood times, playing with sticks and running around the place.
The two felt that they could spend all their time there just reliving memories, but while remembering all that, a feeling of relief for being in that place, along with the knowledge that they would soon be separated ended up forming a mixture of emotions.
Arthur would lift his head and let out a long sigh.
"Well, I guess I'll have to interrogate that Lirian woman myself..."
He spoke as if he was mumbling, but as soon as he listened, Christopher's smile gradually faded and he looked straight ahead with a serious expression.
"I don't think that's going to be necessary..."
Chris spoke in a harsh tone that caught Arthur's attention, the swordsman looked confused and said.
"What?"
He questioned and Chris tightened his lips, then the blonde sighed and stood up, he said while putting his hands in his pockets.
"During the time you were passed out, I asked you to take me there. Because I was a friend of the clergyman, they gave me a horse and it was pretty quick."
His eyes squinted slightly as the image flashed through his mind, again he saw everything as if he were experiencing it in that moment.
"I'm sure I followed the right path, but once I got there, there was nothing and no one. Miss Lirian was gone, and along with her the wooden house she was previously in."
With the end of the sentence, Arthur widened his eyes in surprise and wondered how that huge house had just disappeared, he opened his mouth to speak, but Christopher interrupted and continued.
"There was no destruction, there was no way to dismantle that house in a few days... all I found were the marks of the foundation of the house and in its center something was half buried."
"Something buried?"
His mind clearly visualized the scene and he closed his eyes with a frustrated expression.
"It was a map, the map we wanted and it showed the way to Asmith…but the name of the town was scrawled, the name had been replaced by…Oliver."
Arthur's eyes widened and in his mind it was as if he had received a shock, he looked surprised and disbelieving at all that, but soon he moved his body and before Christopher could realize it, he had his collar grabbed by Arthur's two hands who looked terrified while saying.
"Why didn't you tell me this before? Where is the map? I need to go soon."
Christopher still looked surprised, but then his eyes lowered and he said.
"No use rushing, Arthur. The map has been with me for days, it didn't look like a threat... it just showed Oliver's name."
The blonde tried to remain calm while appeasing the swordsman, but still Arthur clenched his teeth irritably, even though he realized he wasn't right.
Soon after, he let go of Christopher's collar and stood up frustrated.
"Shit…was she involved? We should have known better, we found a house in the middle of nowhere too quickly..."
He sighed still irritated and as soon as he heard it, the blonde sighed as he said it.
"I don't know, but her knowing about Oliver and where he is makes me wonder."
"What about Kaila?"
"I tried talking to her, but after telling the clergyman the story, he said that she seemed to be confused and lost about the last few days.
His eyes continued to stare at the field, while Arthur lowered his head thoughtfully.
"I gotta go."
The swordsman moved his feet and started walking so he could go down the hill.
A few steps away from him as he continued his way towards the village, Christopher stood still watching his friend's back while he was thoughtful.
Memories of him went back to moments before there, still inside the church, when Arthur had emanated that negative aura.
Even though the Beruh Style taught about the use of aura and energy, in the end the aura was a reflection of his emotions and personality.
At that moment he wanted to deny it, but he also knew that something had changed in his friend since they found the occultist, it was as if something had changed in that moment.
Staring at Arthur's back he could see traces of that same aggressive aura flowing for a few moments as he strode along.
Turning around, he looked back where the tree was, stopping a few seconds to look at the same one that remained swaying its leaves in the wind.
Soon after, he turned to face the front and started walking, taking slow steps down the hill, following Arthur towards the village.
As soon as the two left, from the tree little by little it was possible to see someone spying and from behind the tree, Kaila came out with a thoughtful look and her hands behind her body.
She continued to look at the two boys moving away from there, until the tree began to move and shape a body that gradually left there.
Kaila looked out of the corner of her eye and said.
"Did I do it right, sister?"
Gradually the body that was molding, formed an adult woman with long green hair and naked body, she had a smile on her face and little by little the leaves came down from the tree and formed a white and greenish dress.
"Couldn't have gone better, Kaila."
Soon the girl's face turned and saw her sister already dressed, with her hands positioned in front of her body and together, revealing Lirian who walked calmly, staying beside Kaila to see the boys leaving.
"Why do all this? Should we be so intrusive?"
Kaila questioned, but Lirian just smiled and said.
"I'm aiming for the future, little sister. And I'm taking some time to have fun too."
The sentence came out with a sweet and innocent tone, even if her intentions were clear.
Both looked at the backs of the boys and their eyes focused on Arthur.
"In the end, he really is that man's son."