The question kept popping up in his mind, making him even more curious, so he decided to open up the magazine and began reading some of the words written there silently. While he was enjoying reading the magazine, he didn't realize that Aunt Luna had returned from the restroom.
"Hey, Eth what are you doing." Aunt Luna tapped Ethan on the shoulder. "Come on, hurry up, the queue in front of you is empty." Ethan immediately pushed his grocery cart until it reached the front of the cashier's desk.
"Oh, yes Auntie." Ethan immediately put the magazine on the empty shelf beside him, then immediately helped Aunt Luna put their groceries on the counter.
"Hey Ethan, do you want that magazine?" Aunt Luna furrowed her brow. "I see you enjoyed reading it." She said as she looked at the magazine Ethan put down. "If you want it, you can have it."
Ethan shook his head. 'Uh, no Auntie. I don't think taking the magazine is the right time right now," he sighed.
"Hey, just take it. Consider it as a gift from me for helping me out today, okay?" Aunt Luna took the magazine and put it back into their shopping cart.
He nodded his head gently. "Thank you, Auntie."
After they finished shopping, they quickly got into the car and then decided to head back home. On the way in the car, the atmosphere was silent again. To be honest, Ethan was the type of person who wasn't used to starting conversations and was mostly silent, especially with people he rarely met. Although he and Aunt Luna lived in the same house, due to Aunt Luna's busy schedule, they rarely saw each other or even talked.
"Hmm, well, I guess we can just turn on the radio to break up the silence." Aunt Luna chuckled, then turned on the car radio. "Oh no, wait, is Siren Group disbanding? Why?" Her eyeballs widened for a moment, showing an expression of disbelief. "But, this girl band is so famous, why on earth do they want to disband?" she sighed, a look of disappointment on her face.
Hearing Aunt Luna's words, Ethan immediately furrowed his brows in surprise. "Wait, Aunt Luna also knows about the siren group?"
Aunt Luna laughed. "Yes, because everyone in the hospital is always talking about this girl band. At first, I wasn't interested, but when I heard their songs for the first time, I immediately fell in love, especially with the group leader, Karin. She's a very beautiful woman and has a good voice." Aunt Luna nodded her head, her face showing no hesitation at all.
"Yes, Auntie. But is it possible that because of this pandemic, the girl band disbanded?" Ethan's face tightened again, curiosity showing on his face.
Aunt Luna stroked his chin. "I don't know, but it might be because of this pandemic." She sighed again, an annoyed look on her face. "Ah, when will we be able to return to normal life again?" she asked with a grumble, frustration evident on her face. "I'm just tired of living like this."
"I don't know either." Ethan sighed, then resuscitated his body backward.
Before long, they finally reached home. Ethan immediately helped Aunt Luna get the groceries from the back seat, then quickly carried the groceries into the house. The two of them then started arranging all the groceries one by one until they looked very neat and organized.
"Okay, now about the remaining groceries." She snapped her fingers. "I'll go buy the missing ingredients. She grabbed her purse and ran to the front door "Eth, do you have anything to buy?" she asked as she slowly opened the door.
"Thanks, not at all Auntie." Ethan shook his head, no hesitation on his face.
"Oh, alright. I'll be right back, you take care of the house while I'm leaving, okay?" Aunt Luna nodded and closed the door.
"While Aunt Luna is gone, maybe I can play games for a while," Ethan said as he rubbed his palms together, revealing a wide smile. "Wait, I'll call Aidan." He picked up his phone immediately and started calling him.
However, Ethan had called Aidan several times, but he did not answer his phone at all. Strange, but maybe he had some business to take care of, so he left a short message for Aidan and then without hesitation, he started to enter the game by himself.
***
Asher reentered the game and the sight of the hanging chandeliers aligned was the first thing he saw. Strange, was it just me, or was Malana village starting to get more crowded with other players? That question kept ringing in Asher's mind, and a few minutes later he suddenly saw a flash of blue light flying quickly towards him, which turned out to be Persea.
"Asher!" Persea shouted, with a happy look on her face. "Uh, wait, something's missing, where's Chronos?" The blue fairy furrowed her brows, a look of confusion on her face.
"I don't know where he is, but I guess he's busy right now," Asher sighed, a disappointed look crossing his face.
"Oh, I see. Okay, that's fine." She nodded her head gently.
"So, what about that energy, have you confirmed it's Ignea?" Asher's tense expression instantly showed on his face.
Persea snapped her fingers. "Oh, yes about that. I still need a little time. So be patient." she said while scratching her head, a tense expression crossing her face for a moment.
"Alright, Persea. So what can we do now?" Asher let out a long breath, a frustrated look on his face.
Persea stroked her chin lightly. "Hmm, wait a minute, I just realized that you haven't bonded with the Guardians of Light at all." She snapped her fingers quickly.
Asher furrowed his brows. "Huh, wait, what do you mean by building a relationship?" A look of confusion was evident on his face.
Persea then explained that the Guardians of Light (GF) were quite powerful astral spirits, but only white witches could summon them. This was because white magicians were able to create a bond with these spirits called "Ritual". This ability will manifest itself after the white mage manages to gain the trust of these celestial spirits.
"Hmm, so we just need to make those astral spirits believe in us, easy enough." Asher stroked his chin, revealing a confident look on his face.
"Yes, but not all of them are easy to conquer, Asher. Some of them have to fight hard to earn their trust," he said with a sigh, a frustrated look on his face.
"Alright, but where can we find those astral spirits?" Asher's brows furrowed, curiosity showing on his face.
"They can be found inside astral temples in all regions of this world." Persea nodded her head. "Oh yes, I know the location of the astral temple is not far from Malana village. So, how about you give it a try?" She raised her eyebrows, a curious look on her face.
Asher was silent for a moment. Listening to Persea's explanation about the Guardians of Light seemed to make Asher re-think. What if he met a strong Astral spirit? He would lose badly. However, if he didn't try, he wouldn't be able to activate his special skills.
"Okay, I'll give it a try. "Asher nodded his head, trying to dispel the doubts in his mind.
"Alright, let's go." Persea smiled widely.
Shortly after, Persea began to unleash her teleportation ability. The glowing blue light slowly reappeared around them, creeping in a circle. Persea chanted her teleportation spell, and soon, in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the first Astral temple.
"Oh my, this can't be ...." Asher's mouth opened slightly, a look of disbelief on his face.