Arranged in the shape of a heart, a gold chain and a dark purple jade pendant sat quietly in the box. The gold chain was nothing rare but the jade was. It looked beautiful and had a special air around it. If one looked at it for long then it just might seem that there was a vortex swirling at the heart of the jade.
"What is it?" Raaya asked curiously.
Kaiser shrugged "she never said. She only said it was something that would turn out very helpful"
Raaya picked up the pendant and wore it around her neck. Against her skin, she felt a smooth coldness coming from the jade. Of course it was something enchanted. She would just have to find out by herself what it was later on. And of course she did, never expecting that her mother's world wouod actually come to pass. When that times comes it suddenly becomes like a well said prophecy.
"And this..." He raised the long gift next and handed it over to her "this was from your great grandmother"
Raaya collected it too and began to unwrap it. The black cloth fell off and a sword laid bare in her hand. From the mythically carved handle she could already tell which sword it was still, excitedly she slid the brown wooden sheath off the swords blade. The room was filled with the shimmering light from the shining silver blade. The blade looked like it had been carved from the same material as this house still there was an obvious difference in the two of them.
Her eyes opened in delight "Nana's sword!"
She might have been very little but the memory of that old woman always cleaning this sword like a baby treasure still lived in her mind rent free. She remembers she had once casually asked to have this sword and her great grandmother had refused, who knew she had also kept it to be given to her as a birthday gift years after.
"She wanted you to have it when you were ready. She said I would know when the time comes" he chuckled "I didn't expect it to be so soon"
The two of them went quiet again. The atmosphere in the room got heavy from all the unspoken words locked up in their minds and heart.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked worriedly. If he could he would have tried to stop her from going, but he knew it was already too late. Perhaps the time had really come for her to follow her destiny just like her mother did.
Raaya stayed mute to his question. She kept a calm face yet her eyes revealing her strong will and determination. There was no need to say a word cause her face said it all. Kaiser could see it. Her mind was made up. There was nothing he could possibly say that would effect of change the decision she had made in her mind.
He nodded since again "you should get some sleep. We have a debrief first thing in the morning. You don't want to be late for your first mission debrief" he smiled.
Raaya made a slight bow then she turned around and walked out.
As soon as her figure disappeared completely. A slim figure walked out from the shadows. A woman appeared. Her body was as pale as the moonlight, shining brightly like a beamer. Her long waist length hair was no different, it was white and Shining. Everything about her was, even her cloth. She was dressed in a pale white clothes that matched perfectly with her skin and hair. It was hard not to mistake her for a ghost, not only was she pale, but one look at her and it was like you could see through her body. Almost like she was part of the background.
"She's all grown up" The woman uttered.
"mmm" Kaiser hummed in response. He turned to look at her, his eyes searching through her face in search of the slight bit of emotions. Disappointment filled his heart when he saw there was none, her face void of any expression. Not calm or steady, much like she was suffering from facial paralysis or was not built to show expression. Once again he was reminded that this wasn't her.
As if the lady could read his thoughts she turned and looked at him then said "I am not her. I'm just a deposit of energy left behind from a sense of belonging. Her regrets to leave you both behind formed me with the sole purpose to look after you both till my time if up"
The man sighed and nodded "I know" He paused for a bit. His face showing a bit of contemplation. He had something on his mind. "Still_" he started and looked at the woman "shouldn't you just show yourself to her. She still can't get over the outcome of the battle ten years ago. It would be nice if she sees you one last time." He knows what it was like for him when he saw her.
It was just after that battle. A part of his heart was left bare from the loss. He was grieving yet had to hold a calm front because he was striving to gather the city together. Overnight he made himself a leader, pushed away despair he felt while tending to others. Perhaps someone somewhere saw his sacrifices and finally gave him a consolation. It was just like every other night. He finished yet another counsel meeting, too late to head back home, not that he even wanted to. He ent to the very place he had been spending his night for the last two year. The core of the city.
There were a bunch of shiny stones with weird encryptions on them gathered together like stalagmites bulging out of the floor. These were Relics. The very ones that held the dome surrounding them. To everyone else they were a refuge but to him they were monuments that marked the loss of his sons and daughter.
With tears in his eyes he knelt down there that night and that was when he saw her.
She appeared out of the thin air around it. It had been like a figment of his imagination but imaginations do not speak, neither did they appear so real. Seeing her filled that gap in his heart. No matter how many times she explained to him, saying she was not the girl he knew, he still couldn't help but feel like he gained back what he had lost when he saw her. Knowing she had left a part of her behind to watch over them had helped him cope for the past decade.
Now he was feeling selfish for hugging this knowledge to himself. It's not that he wanted to. But the girl refused every time he brought it up.
"It's best like this. I'm only here to watch over her till she's old enough to start the journey of her destiny. I have no intentions to interfere with her life, least she becomes dependent. She has lost her mother already and it would remain that way for her own good" The girl rejected his offer once again. She was done with her mission for the night so she turned and began to walk back into the darkness from whence she had come.
"Do you think she's ready? She's still a kid and barely knows how to defend herself. I want to stop her but I remember you said that when the time comes there would be nothing to stop her. This feels like this time yet it still feels wrong" He voiced out his worry. He had watched the little girl grow up from afar. Now she was bigger, she tend to put up a tough front in front of other but she was so pure at Heart. The world was not what it used to be anymore. As it stands, even inside the dome didn't appear that safe as they have thought. He was worried about sending her off.
The lady stopped and looked at her self, she raised her hand and stared at it. Her transparent skin the first thing both of them could notice.
"Seeing as I don't have much time left, I fear the time has really come. It's now or never. It's better she is learns everything she has to, to protect herself before another battle break out." She said and disappeared to the shadows without another words.
The Kaiser could only sigh.
Another battle?
This was something everyone hoped never happen. The world could not withstand another large scale battle from those creatures like it had done ten years ago. They just weren't ready for such. Still it made no difference. It was already a miracle that they had managed to remain out of raider to monsters and demons but believing it would be like that forever would be a dream.
A time would come when forces shall join to bring them down and then he didn't know if they would be able to handle it.