The sky had been ignited by the numerous visible stars in the sky and the moon stood out casting its reflected light towards the Island's nook and cranny.
The evening cool breeze gently brushed past the leaves in the trees causing a calm repeated rustling sound.
Shaded under one the trees sat a lonesome figure, his blue eyes seemed to sparkle more under the moonlight and his gray hair was constantly brushed by the passing breeze. His look was distant and his body seemed stiff as he sat quietly under the shade of the tree.
The figure still trapped in his state of ponder could feel a firm grip on his shoulder, not seemingly startled by this, he slowly looked over his shoulder to see a man who looked to be in his late thirties with a physique that was simply perfect, it was tall, muscular and charming. His face fused with his brown curly hair and beard simply gave him a mature, gallant and fine look and his blue eyes gave off some sort of peculiar warm and confiding feeling.
He was cladded in a leather armor that was tainted in dried blood, and one of his hands seemed to dangle freely as though all its bones were broken.
"It's you." Kairos simply muttered, before returning his head back to its normal position.
"Such a warm way to welcome your father." The figure also muttered before walking under the shade too and sitting close to Kairos with excruciating pain and difficulty.
"...Well with the way you're sitted, it seems your day was not any better than mine." The figure, Kairos's father also known as Leander Eros said again as he tried relaxing his back on the tree's trunk.
"At least I'm not the one with a boneless swaying hand." Kairos replied in a seemingly mocking tone before passing the sword that was by his side towards his father.
"Ahh…finally, I've been waiting for this bad boy for so long." Leander exclaimed as he quickly grabbed onto the sword with his good hand staring at it with amazement.
"...Since I had lost my sword in the battle with the monster I had gotten the mana stone I used to weld this one. I had to fight and defend the Island without a sword while Mr Lucas made a new one for almost a week and as you can see, it doesn't really leave a delightful feeling." Leander said as he stared at his wobbly hand in pain.
Kairos, who now had a slight smile on his face, suddenly stared at his father's hand in worry before asking in a casual tone:
"What do you plan to do about the hand then?"
"Oh this…hahaha, despite being a little old now, this minor setback can't still hold down me the Blue Fire Lord, besides I've downed a healing potion already…In no less than a week, my hands should be back to normal or maybe even stronger." Leander replied with proud loud laughter causing Kairos to shake his head slightly.
The duo had grown quiet again as the whistling sound of the wind could be heard clearly once more.
"Tell me Kairos, the ceremony of competence is in a few days…what path of occupation have you got in mind to follow?" Leander asked, this time his tone sounding serious but instead of getting an immediate reply, Kairos stared at the man sitting beside him quietly for a while before staring back into nothingness.
"Judging from your sudden interest in knowing my path…I guess Vanora and the others had somehow managed to tell you about our discussion earlier." He said with indifference, his gaze still focused on nothing in particular.
Leander suddenly let out a chuckle, as he then stared at his son in amusement
"You know sometimes you make me wonder if that gray hair of yours was the gods' way of warning us about your excessive astute and shrewd behavior." Leander said in a joking manner causing Kairos to stare at him weirdly.
"Didn't know you believed in gods" Kairos simply replied, still staring at his father weirdly.
"Well kid I didn't then but I guess your mother's credence finally rubbed off on me, you know she would always tell me 'whatever way you wish to think about it, there has to be a divine being or entity that is responsible for our existence or predicaments…things can't just happen suddenly after all' and when you come to think of it, it does sound reasonable." Leander said with a chuckle.
"...But you know I still have a pressing question, kid, how did you know so much about the military training center of the Verdant Faction without leaving the confines of the Island?" Leander asked with curiosity.
"Oh…that, I've been talking a lot with Verdant soldiers that come over to the island to take the monthly dues." Kairos simply replied, causing Leander to nod in understanding.
"So what now…are you going to try to stop me or make me change my mind?" Kairos asked, slightly confused by his father's indifference.
"Oh that, well if I do that, it'll make me a good guardian but at the same time also make me a selfish father."
"...You're now growing into an adult, son, and it's normal for you to have dreams and aspirations as you grow older. Am not going to stand against them because I feel if you go for them I might lose you, no…never…All I can do is make sure you are truly aware of what your getting yourself into and it's consequences.
I might not be a good father but at least I am not that egocentric...In fact if I think of it I feel quite proud you decided to go for an aspiration that doesn't only benefit you but others as well, one that a lot of people even powerful ones shy away from nowadays. Leander replied with a smile, as he stared at his son intently.
"I'll send a message over to the military section of the Verdant Faction, pretty sure I could call in one or two favors to get you at least to the trials." Leander said as his smile grew more but this had caused Kairos to stare at his father suspiciously.
"Is that all…no requests or conditions?" Kairos asked suspiciously as he kept staring at his father as though trying to fish out any form of falseness or unseriousness from his expression.
"Well I do have one condition…you'll have to promise me no matter what, you'd try to survive…cause if am going to be honest with you, what you plan to do is going to be very difficult even for a veteran element manipulator with many connections, so you'd be working a lot extra and your life would be in danger and jeopardy many…many times.
"...You'd probably be betrayed, you'd be tortured, you'd be insulted and looked down on, you'd grew confused at times, you'd almost lose your life on various occasions, you might actually lose it on one of this occasions but somehow find a way to get back, you'd change a lot, who knows you might actually even suffer a heart break, but in all this situations the only that could keep you going at times without breaking is the will of survival, to live a dream you must be alive first right?...besides calling in one or two favors isn't a small price at all." Leander replied, causing Kairos to slightly shake his head in understanding.
Seeing his acceptance, Leander in intense pain and difficulty struggling stood up on his feet and then stared at his son still seated under the shade, before pulling out a bracelet from his hand and handing it over to him. Kairos seemed shocked by his sudden gesture as he stared at the bracelet in his hand intensely, it seemed to be made of wood and gave off an ancient aura while its body was designed with various symbols and runes that were visible even from where he sat.
A little skeptical, he then stretched out his hand and took the bracelet from his father's hand, carefully observing it the more now it was in his hands. It definitely looked like it had magical properties.
"This bracelet is a magical protective ornament that belonged to your mother…she would usually lend it to me when I went on adventures or journeys she felt was dangerous but also important…and I'm sure she would have wanted you to have it." Leander said with a smile that seemed to cover up more emotions beneath.
Immediately Kairos heard him, the gaze he gave the bracelet seemed to change immediately, he of course knew of his mother originally being given birth to and raised in a region controlled by the faction of The Sect of Light, so it didn't seem weird that the ornament had once belonged to her.
"You know…she'd be very proud to see the man her son is growing up to become." Leander said in a tone that sounded down as he placed his good hand on Kairos's shoulder causing him to stare at him keenly. Kairos could see the sadness in his father's expression even when he tried to hide it with a smile, he could see his eyes slowly tear up even when he tried to keep them in.
After standing for a while without saying anything, both parties seemed to be lost in their own distinct thoughts during this duration, Leander suddenly pulled his hands off Kairos's shoulder as though suddenly remembering something.
"Wow…what a long day it's been." Leander said in a merry tone as though trying to suppress the sad feeling he was having.
"Yeah." Kairos simply replied. "You'd better clean up those tears, you wouldn't want the Island's residents seeing their great and all powerful chief in tears now." He said in a comical tone as though trying to lighten up the atmosphere some more.
Leander simply chuckled at this as he used his hand to slowly wipe his watery eyes.
"Well the day isn't getting any younger and this old man would need his rest." Leander quickly replied, before slowly leaving Kairos to himself.
Kairos simply stared at the exiting back of his father till it completely disappeared before staring at the bracelet in his hands, a light chuckle escaped his mouth.
"Why again." Kairos muttered quietly, still staring at the bracelet.
'... Wasn't this the whole ideal for the journey he was about to embark on…the memories, with the rising conflict they had gotten fresh again in my head like it all happened yesterday…'
A young lady with beauty that could cause nations to fight against each other and a slender yet attractive physique that could cause any man to drool uncontrollably, in her hands was a baby who rested peacefully as it enjoyed the attention this breathtaking lady gave to it..."
But then suddenly she seemed to have noticed something approaching that caused her to react in agitation, she lovingly kissed her baby on the head and then whispered something it could not understand before she immediately took the baby to the most obscure part in the room, she then wrapped him up with thick veils and cloaks and placed him carefully in-between various coverings but despite this, there was a small opening which with the baby could still use to breathe and unfortunately see the whole room from.
Not long after, an angry knock was heard on the door that had caused the lady to be startled for a while before she composed herself once more, although she tried to hide it, her baby could see the fear in her eyes. The angry knock got louder and louder until a loud bang was heard followed by the sound of most of the door falling apart.
The baby could see various figures all masked and cladded in black appear as they forced themselves through the remains on what was once a door, he could see his mother tremble slightly at the sight of them but still hold her ground, he could see her finally being overpowered by the strange figures despite her strong fighting spirit, he saw her being humiliated and abused by these figures.
…And finally he saw the throat of her already battered and abused body being slit open by one of the attackers leading her to imminent death.
…He would grow up to find out the attackers were suspected to be past enemies from the war.
This wasn't a memory he was supposed to have, yet it was one he kept getting as though it happened yesterday, it was something he wished he would forget but knew he wouldn't. The memory of his mother's face in her dying state, he could see the pain in her eyes but at the same time could see the unremorsefulness in them too.
The memory of the anger, sadness and regret he felt after seeing the state his mother was put into and not being able to do anything and the memory of the golden pendant with the inscription of a dragon on the necks of each of the monsters that had invaded their home and ruined his life, already scarring him at the very early stage of life.
This was a memory he alone was burdened with, of course who would believe the story of an infant that couldn't even stand on his own properly or that he had memories of what transpired during his mother's death when he was still an infant.
No matter how much he prayed and hoped for the day he gets his revenge for his mother, he might or might not get revenge for the gruesome act and murder carried upon his mother.
"While he might not be able to revenge the perpetrators of his mother's death, he could at least stop others from going through what he went through." He muttered while holding unto the bracelet tightly.