Candice could feel that her body had changed. Her body feet lighter and filled with power. She was dazed as she stood and felt pairs of eyes following her every move. She looked at the kids and smiled sweetly.
"Thank you for looking after me" she said and only then did she notice that the fire had burnt out. "How long was I out?".
"Almost an hour" Jordan said as her stared at her like he was looking at an angel. You couldn't blame him though because her very being exuded a charming aura that was filled with a certain purity that a woman in her late twenties had no business having.
Candice naturally noticed this but she didn't say anything on the matter. The system had already showed her what she needed to know about her newly evolved self
…
[Name: Candice (Level 7-First Star Order)
Job class: None (required to reach level 20)
Special Traits: Light affinity
Attribute stats: Strength>> 48/ Stamina>> 45/ Agility>> 57/ Mana>>78/ Magic>>90/
Skills
Active skills:
Blinding light (level 5 First Star Order)-User releases a blinding light that disorients everything and everyone within a 10 meter range of the user. Consumes 20 mana and lasts for 3 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes Light ray (level 2 First star order)- shoots a concentrated beam of pure light energy. Consumes 10 mana points. Cooldown: 20 seconds
Passive skills:
Super Hearing (Level 4 First Star Order)-Allows the user to hear everything that is happening within a range of 300 meters. Due to special circumstances 'Super Hearing' has been removed from the user's special trait and has been replaced by the light affinity.
Unassigned points:
]
…
"How does it feel?" Rina said with a slight smile. She was genuinely happy that Candice had managed to step into the First Star Order and it seemed that her evolution wasn't anything simple either as the aura she exude was close to the purest she had ever seen. It was the type of aura that demanded reverence. Though she had only known Candice for a few hours at best but she had come to know that she was not a bad person. Just unfortunate.
Candice looked at me and I nodded there wasn't much to say I had given my word and I had kept it.
"Told you we'd look after you" I said before lying on the ground on my back. I was tired and I had a feeling that tomorrow would be a long day. "I'm not taking first shift"
Lydia, Candice and Rina all gave Jordan a look.
Jordan could only sigh helplessly.
"Fine I'll take first shift" he said and with that I drifted off to sleep.
…
I dreamt for the first time since the fall of the apocalypse.
I saw myself standing amongst the stars. I saw the sun and the moon and the Earth. It was a heavenly body of blue and green. It looked beautiful. Like a new born and somehow I knew it was new. A newly created world yet so vibrant with life. And then I felt the void behind me tear open. The universe trembled with indignation as if it were being violated in the most extreme way. I turned to look behind me and I felt my entire body tremble. I felt my heart nearly seize beating as an unnatural coldness surrounded my entire being.
I saw the rift in the void. It was a swirling mass of the darkness. It took the shape of a door-like structure with jagged edges as if it were the mouth of a wolf. I could feel an insane pressure coming from within the abyssal darkness. Whatever was on the other side was definitely beyond mortal comprehension.
From within the abyss I saw a figure emerge and a pressure like no other descended onto me as if a large mountain had been dumped on my shoulders. I wanted nothing more than to get away from the place but I couldn't move. And then I heard a spine tingling voice. It was hoarse and deep yet it felt like the whisper of death itself.
"You dare give birth to a world such as this? Ha ha ha ha" it said and laughed. It laughed arrogantly as if it were laughing at the tantrums of a little child. "Well let me take that hope away from you!"
A dark boney hand stretched out from the rift. It had long boney fingers with white pale skin. Immediately I felt as if my entire body was being torn in half. Like my soul was being forcefully ripped apart. The pain I felt was like no other, it couldn't even compare to the pain I felt when I took the beating from the second star order eagle.
"Arggghhhhh! Ah!" a scream of pain immediately escaped my mouth.
…
"Arggghhhhh! Ah!" I awoke with a scream and sat up from my position on the ground. I could feel my heart pounding wildly in my chest. My body was drenched in sweat and my breathing was labored. For a moment I was confused and scared. The feeling of death from my dream was so vivid. I could feel my body shiver.
"Huey! Huey! Are you okay? Breath Huey breath" it took a concerned voice from Lydia to realize that she had wrapped her arms around my shoulder and she was shaking me awake.
I look to my side and I could see her worried face only inches from mine. Looking into those beautiful green eyes, those small delicate lips and feeling her scent flood my nose with a scent similar to jasmine and caramel slightly calmed me down. My heartbeat slowed and stabilized and without even thinking I bowed my head and inadvertently rested my forehead onto Her's.
I took a deep breath and immediately Lydia's feminine scent filled my entire senses. I could think of nothing else but her and I felt a fire light up within my chest as blood begun to pump towards my crotch at a faster rate than normal.
I knew immediately I was having a hard on because of this girl. Her very existence seemed to arouse me. From her face, her scent, her eyes and her voice.
"God I really want to kiss you" I subconsciously whispered. My eyes widened when I realized what I had just said and my heart beat sped up as I watched for her reaction.
Lydia seemed just as equally surprised and her face turned a different shade of red.
At that point we both moved away from each other in a clumsy manner and sat side by side silently. Nothing else could be heard except for the sounds of our heavy breathing. I looked around the store that had become our encampment and I was surprised that to see that Rina, Jordan and Candice had sat up and were looking at us strangely.
"Ehem" I cleared my throat. "It was just a dream"
"Is it the same one?" Jordan asked
"No" I said and he nodded before going back to sleep.
I didn't know if I had to laugh or cry at his somewhat nonchalant behavior but I could only shake my head. The dream that I had was scary and confusing and it obviously held a deeper mystery than what I could see on the surface. My body shivered when I thought of that unknown entity.
Why did I feel so afraid? Why did I have such a dream?
I didn't know the answers to that question and I didn't know if I was ever going to get any answers. In fact a small part of me actually hoped that I wouldn't get to know those answers because sometimes ignorance was a bliss that was often more preferred than knowing something that could inevitably haunt you for life.
Rina and Candice soon went to sleep too after confirming that I was alright. So now it was just me and Lydia and we hadn't said anything to each other since the recent incident.
It was still dark out but somehow I knew that it was going to take a few hours before dawn drew.
"What did Jordan mean by the same dream?" Lydia finally broke the silence.
I looked at her and I could see genuine curiosity in her gaze and somehow I found her expression to be somewhat charming.
Ehem…I coughed to keep myself focused. I looked away from her as I thought about the dream that I had been having for the past three years. I saw myself in those woods once again and I thought about the large serpent whom I had come to know as Kalibre and I thought about Charlotte for a moment. Her cute and flawless face morphed into a figure with dark ash grey skin with two towering horns on her head and black fleshy wings. When I thought about her demonic appearance I somehow felt that it wasn't the scary anymore. In fact it was nothing compared to that mysterious entity.
I turned my head and looked at Lydia once more before looking forward. I opened my mouth.
"For the past three years I had been having the same dream" I started and I gave Lydia a brief glance and I could see how her eyes had widened slightly when I said that. "I know it may sound unbelievable but that's just what it is. And no I do not know why that is so or was so"
"Was?" Lydia said
"Yes…I stopped having that dream after the events in the woods where you saved me. Speaking of which I haven't thanked you properly now have I?" I said and smiled at her.
"W-what no its okay besides I had just been in the area at that time when I felt the mana so…"
"It doesn't matter. What matters is that you saved my life when I needed it the most" I said and looked at her in the eye. "How about I get you dinner one of these days?"
"B-but- "
"Just say yes please" I smiled at her hesitation. She truly was cute when she was like that.
"Uh…fine you win. You better keep your word then pervert" she said and smiled.
"Pervert?" I said with an incredulous expression
"Don't think I didn't see the way you were looking at Candice before she evolved" she teased
"Really…come on that was- " I had started to say but I didn't get to finish
"Well would you look at the time I gotta get some sleep you on guard duty" she said and tapped her index finger on her wrist before she moved away.
I speechlessly watched her go to sleep next to the others and I could only shake my head at that. I could only assume my row as 'guard' besides I had slept already and I wasn't feeling as tired as before. So I stayed awake and alert.