"John! Be careful, don't run, okay?"

The boy turned at his name getting called, seeing a blonde-haired woman gazing at him with deep blue eyes that were filled with worry.

He shared her same features, having blonde hair and blue eyes of his own however his were lighter, being full of joy and energy. He gave her a wide-toothed grin before waving.

"Sure thing mom." Despite his response, after turning away from her, he continued his fast pace down the road.

"That boy never listens. He's the spitting image of his father..."

A bittersweet smile was on the woman's face as she watched his outline become smaller and smaller in the distance.

Snowflakes were falling as John continued running.

Even though the air filling the area was briskly cold, being what some would describe as harsh and unforgiving, the boy found himself unbothered by it as he ran, passing many people.

There were several adults there. Several stood in the streets, sipping on hot cocoa as they talked, laughing carefree-like. Kids were running around playing as well, making snowmen and throwing snowballs and such.

"Hey, John! Come here!"

His jogging pace slowed, as he heard the person call out to him. He shifted his direction towards them, dashing over.

The shrill voice that'd called his name belonged to a young girl; several children were standing around her, all smiling at him with an excited glint in their eyes.

"What's up May?" He questioned.

"Play with us!"

"Yeah!" The other kids chanted excitedly alongside May, the girl who'd called him over. May had black hair and bright red eyes that practically had stars in them at the thought of playing a game with him.

John started to open his mouth to give a response but stopped halfway, choosing to glance up at the sky instead. From the neutral gray coloring, he could estimate it was currently early afternoon. If he wanted to do what he'd set out to do he couldn't waste much time he had thought to himself. However, when he looked back down, the faces of his other peers being so expectant made him cave in.

"Okay. Not too long though, alright? I have somewhere to be."

"Yeah yeah. Let's just go." Alongside May's words came a lighthearted giggle. From her reaction and his history with the young girl, he knew she didn't hear what he said.

He was very confident his mention of urgent business fell on deaf ears. With a sigh, he stepped forward, prepared to make things wrap up as quickly as possible.

*

Now, the sky had an orange hue to it. Trickles of snowflakes slowly fell to the ground, the opposite of the thick onslaught the area was experiencing earlier.

For a lack of a better word, things were calmer now, or rather, calmer for all except John who was running frantically at this point. He'd left May and the rest of the children behind. The main thought running through his head was the realization of the games lasting way longer than they should've. At first, it was a simple game of snowball wars but it soon turned into a build-the-best snowman competition in which he found himself being the judge. He struggled to balance his honest side with the fact that children are so sensitive, making the ordeal a trial in itself but for him instead of the other way around.

Despite having somewhere to be, he indulged the group. Mainly because he hadn't spent a whole bunch of time with them recently anyway. He'd been too busy with other, more important things. When he had finally mustered up the effort to say he had to go, a sea of groans followed soon after. All the kids, including May, looked disappointed.

May was the most perceptive towards him, however, realizing they monopolized a good portion of his day. Just as kids prepared verbal protests she shut it down, saying they could just play something else without him. The kids begrudgingly agreed before walking away, leaving the two alone.

She tilted her head, sporting a look full of understanding. "You're on the way to see him right?"

John nodded, a smile on his face.

"All right. I'll see you later then. Thanks for spending time with me and the others, it means a lot to us."

"Anytime May. Anytime."

With a warm smile and hand wave, she said goodbye to him. He returned the gesture with a hand wave of his own, flashing a grateful smile before turning his attention towards the opposite direction in town. He took off running, using as much energy as his body was capable of to move fast.

It wasn't even a minute before he noticed something though. There were some people that could be summed up in one word, strange. They donned all-white cloaks that covered their body from head to toe, meaning their faces were concealed as well. The hooded people were spread throughout many different areas such as a random part of the street or coming out of the local ramen shop. Some were in groups of two or three while some were by themselves.

John thought that there must've been at least 10 of the hooded individuals.

The figures didn't look all too familiar to him which was odd, seeing how he knew everybody in his quaint town of snow. Another thing that stuck out about the foreign visitors was how their town was practically in the middle of nowhere. They were located towards the south of the Astrid region, it was a harsh environment, to say the least. To even get there you'd need to pass many mountain ranges and steep icy plains.

Despite the mysterious, and no doubt foreign people, he continued his pace, not slowing a bit. He had more important things to worry about than visitors.

Eventually, after running a while longer he reached an open gate. Two men wearing coats, albeit slightly less puffy than John's, were standing before it. Both held spears on their opposite sides. A badge on their chests signified that they were the town guards.

There were two entrances to John's town, one being toward the south while the other was to the north. The gate John was creeping on was the southern gate. With this fact popping into his mind he realized the hooded figures must've come from the northern gate. Michael, the guard to the left grinned upon seeing John come into view.

"Halt," He said, stepping directly in his path. John had been running on auto-pilot mentally so he hadn't noticed him moving in his way, which made the situation progress how it did.

He bumped into him, bouncing off the man, his butt planting itself in the snow. It wasn't clear from far away or at first glance but Michael was a very burly man; having abs of steel and biceps that put even boulders to shame.

"Where are you going in a hurry?" Michael asked, looking down at him with a scornful gaze.

John grunted as he stood, sweeping the snow off his back.

"I have to meet my teacher."

"Oh? You mean that hick who lives on the outside of town?"

The other guard beside Michael, named Ivan, questioned John; having an eyebrow raised. His build was similar to Michael's, his muscles being a little less prominent, however. It was clear who the stronger of the two was.

"Don't call him a hick! He's a respectable man."

Michael scoffed, a glare in his eye. "Haha, yeah right. Everyone knows he was our former king's head warrior. If it wasn't for him running away in the middle of the battle our country wouldn't have been taken over. That demon woman Luna... she was ruthless. That man you call a teacher is a coward and bastard!"

John's eyebrows furrowed with anger at his words. He was doing everything in his power to hold back his fist from connecting with the man's chin.

Ivan released a pent-up sigh as he turned to Michael. "Just leave it. If the boy wants to see him, let him. He's not dangerous or anything, just be back in 30 minutes. You know the town rules."

John gave a silent nod in acknowledgment before he continued his jog, passing through the town gates. As he did so Michael muttered under his breath.

"Stupid kid."

Frustration filled John as he thought to himself, Screw those guys! They don't know anything! He's a great man, it wasn't his fault. His kid had been kidnapped so of course he would prioritize saving them over protecting his king! I mean it's all Luna's fault for attacking them anyway!

After a minute more of trudging through the path, John had finally reached his destination, an old shack. Its wooden roof was battered, an allusion to the poor condition the owner was living in. A wooden stump with an ax in its trunk lay at the front. Several clumps of wood were beside it.

John was hunched over, panting heavily as he tried to regain his composure. Once his breathing was even again, he raised his head, quickly scanning the area. His eyes passed the wooden stump before falling back on it once more.

He thought to himself, Oh, I guess teacher didn't remove my work from yesterday yet... That's strange seeing how he usually does before I arrive. Not to mention I'm late too….

The longer he stared at the sight the more his stomach's state worsened. He couldn't explain why but he felt a pit of anxiety starting to form. Something felt... off. His teacher was always punctual so for something to be different than usual rubbed him the wrong way.

After standing there for a couple more seconds he turned his sights on the shack once more.

He tried his best to shake the feelings of unease away, forcing a smile onto his face. And with that artificial expression to keep up appearances, he made his way inside.

"Hey teacher, it's me. Sorry I'm la-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he was pushed out the door frame, getting sent flying through the air. He landed on his back with a grunt, wincing at the force of the landing.

John opened his eyes to see two individuals. One was his teacher, while the other was someone he didn't recognize. His teacher had a bloodied face, sweat dripping down it as he held a sword in his hand. Lightweight metal armor was attached to his body. It covered important places such as his chest, shoulders, and shins. His auburn hair appeared ruffled and messy; his face was slightly wrinkled as well, looking to be that of a middle-aged man's. He wasn't old and decrepit, but it was clear the years hadn't been kind to him. His face fashioned a strained smile as he gazed at his opponent, breathing heavily.

The individual facing him was completely clean. Having no scratches at all or any signs of damage. They were wearing a mask, clad in a black outfit from head to toe, the only notable thing about the person being a single white streak going across their chest plate.

His teacher spoke, his eyes remaining locked on his attacker. "John. I need you to leave, okay?" His voice while deep trembled slightly. If it was from panic or the adrenaline pumping through him currently was unclear but regardless, John couldn't blindly follow the order.

"Hold up, what's going on?"

Before he could open his mouth to explain more the person dressed in black spoke.

"The warrior, Zubec. I don't know how to feel about such an encounter. I didn't expect to find you in some backwater town like this."

The person's voice was strange. From their tonal shifts and inflection, it was unclear if the individual was male or female. It didn't help either that their voice came off as muffled under the mask, making it hard to hear them clearly in the first place.

"What is your purpose here!? You Legion are all scum for falling in line with that woman."

"You've got it all wrong Zubec. I didn't fall in line with anyone. I've always been by her Majesty's side. I'm a commander."

"Commander?" Zubec said the word with a glint of confusion and shock mixed in. His stance and focus didn't wane though, his physical response being a tighter grip on his sword.

The Commander suddenly vanished, appearing in front of Zubec, having a blade in their hand.

A flurry of high-speed slashes flew Zubec's way, and while he was able to move slightly he couldn't fully dodge the attack. It grazed his arm but he didn't even flinch, quickly rotating to counter-slash. The Commander was able to block the strike using a blade held in the opposite hand however and before Zubec could persist in his assault, he was kicked. A grunt escaped his mouth as he was sent flying back. He was able to keep his footing as he landed though, only stumbling slightly instead of falling completely on his back.

Now Zubec crouched in an air-tight stance with his sword held up facing downward, his eyes were sharp and focused.

A chuckle was released from the Commander, making Zubec's determined expression waver slightly.

"What's so funny?" He barked, his voice having a demanding tone matching the high-intensity battle the two were interlocked in.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Didn't mean to laugh. It's just... you're so weak. I barely tried just now and you already broke a sweat. I mean even in the house, I went for a simple slash and it connected."

John had been watching in silence, a panicked expression on his face but at the words 'connect' he'd finally noticed. Everything had been happening so quickly but now at this standstill, it was clear to him. He spotted blood, trickling down the left side of his teacher's face. The source was a cut over his left eye.

A vein popped from Zubec's forehead as he tried to maintain his composure. "Weak you say? I haven't fought in well over 5 years," He paused, turning to glance in John's direction, "Well, not seriously anyway. I'm sure this fight will help the rust go away, however."

The Commander's face was hidden but John was sure they were smiling since the tone they spoke with next was full of giddiness.

"Well, I'd like that greatly if that were true. You're a legend so if I, the great Nar, killed you, I'd become a legend myself no?"

"If you say so."

With discussions out of the way, they charged at each other, weapons raised, and tensions high.