"Hmmm…?"
In the middle of a forest, was a beast man sleeping by a thin branch.
He opened his eyes to see a bird with a Projector secured to its feet.
'This bird… it's from the Imperial Family… why?'
He then takes the crystal and it activates almost immediately.
It projected an image of a paper. It was a personal letter from the Emperor. Right after that, a voice was heard.
"Hello there! I'm getting straight to the point..." It was the Emperor's voice.
"The Empire is facing a potential danger, and we will need your help in order to stop this danger."
Not only him, but seven young adults had also received this Projector to where they were expected to be.
A dwarf in the mines.
A sleeping elf in his home.
A fairy's empty home.
An angel's empty tower.
A demon's empty room.
A vampire's empty castle.
And a prince travelling in the outskirts of the Empire
"Please head back to the Palace to talk of this important matter."
The message was loud and clear. All of them needed to be there.
"Hmmm~" the beast man stood up on the branch, stretching his body.
He was as light as a feather…
"I wonder if I'll meet Kian at the Palace," he says as he stepped up. The next thing he touched was the ground.
And as fast as a lightning...
"I mean, I probably would," the twenty year old Ezio laughed to himself and began a head start. "In this distance, it will take about a day to get to the Capital… that should work."
—he then raced through the forest.
On the other side…
"PA! I'm leaving today! I probably won't be back for months!" A cheerful dwarf girl greeted her father by their temporary cabin home near the mines.
"HAH?! Why so sudden!?" the father was too shocked to even think calmly.
"The Emperor has requested my help! Look!" she showed the bird resting on her shoulder. "I'll probably meet Older Brother there!"
"But you don't have to leave now, right?" the father tried to convince her to stay for now, but she smiles back.
"Nope! I'm leaving! Farewell, Pa!" the twenty year old Milera then immediately started running to her horse. Her father was too shock to even move from his place.
"Ahh… my blood pressure…"
And finally, on the outskirts of the Empire.
"He's seriously asking me to come home? Is he drunk?" the young prince mumbled to himself. He was travelling on his own. Walking from market to market to buy food, going from restaurant to restaurant to try out the local meals, but just when his meal had arrived, a bird rested on his shoulder.
He didn't even check the projector, he simply assumed that his father was asking him to head home.
The twenty-one year old Kian sighs to himself.
"I guess I should pack up in a while and head back."
They were all busy bodies… yeah, not really. They're simply to carefree now that they've completed their training… and achieved their desired strength. They are still hungry for growth, but it's nice to lay low and relax. Maybe they adapted that personality from a certain someone… they certainly did.
In a few days, the young prince had arrived. He was greeted by many, but the knight had immediately escorted him to the throne room.
When he opened the door, there he saw his father, his two aides, and another two figures looking back at him.
The moment he saw those familiar faces, he was shocked and automatically ran to hug the two of them.
The other two had ran to him as well.
When they clashed hugs, they held each other tight. It's been almost half a decade since they last saw each other. They had a deep connection for years and until now, thus, they are happy to meet again.
"I missed you!"
"We missed you too!"
They exchanged words of gladness and joy in meeting each other again.
"I see you kids are still as close as before."
Heads turned to him, the man on the throne for his unnecessary comment.
"Father, did no one teach you to never interrupt a precious moment?" Kian boldly stated, but the Emperor shrugged to himself.
"Precious things are meant to be cut short," the Emperor claps back. Kian could only roll his eyes.
"In any way, I thought you only need my help. To think this would be a reunion instead," Kian then says with a smile on his face as he glances back to his friends. "Where are the others?"
"I don't know, Ezio was the first one to get here," Milera answered, and when the two turned to Ezio, he shrugged in response. This leads to them turning back to the Emperor.
There was an awkward silence for a moment, but the Emperor had decided to break that silence. In all honesty, the Emperor can already see in it their eyes that they know the answer why, but he wanted to let them know that he tried..
"You were right. I invited all your closest companions, I had hoped that they would reply… but—"
The Emperor was interrupted when the throne room door had opened once again. All heads turned back only to see a familiar black haired, pale skinned, jet-eyed handsome young man entering the room with a shocked expression. He was wearing simple black formal clothing, yet his hair was messy.
His features, his energy… everything was so familiar to Kian, Milera, and Ezio. They felt all their body hair rise and they were completely frozen in their place.
Seeing their reaction, somewhat softened the newcomer's expression. He smiles at them softly.
That familiar warm smile… they were close to breaking down to tears.
Before they know it, he was within ten feet distance from the three.
"Hi, how have you been faring?" Yves asks with his warm smile.
That triggered everything. The three broke down. All three tackled him down in a group hug. They ended up sitting down on the floor. They were crying like children.
"What took you so long, you bastard!"
"We waited!"
"Where have you been?!"
Yves can only laugh at their scolding, while the Emperor and the aides watched them in peace. If this was all it takes for these three to shed tears, he should've done it a long time ago…
'These children became stone cold after everything that happened… who knew that Yves would be the one to break their character,' the Emperor thought to himself. 'I thought they'd react coldly or differently towards him as they haven't seen them for a decade… but this…'
No one could've expected such a childish reaction from scarred young adults like them… they've been through too much.