Stephen looked at Annabel's face with a trembling light in the room. Annabel's eyes were filled with tears and desperation. Sorrow permeated the room, overflowing with a cold color tone reflected from the walls.
Annabel's voice mixed with a choked sob as she spoke. "Please don't cry, Annabel," he said, but no matter what he did, he couldn't stop her tears. Seeing his sister suffering because of his departure dragged him into an internal sadness as well. "I feel sad when I see you like this," he continued.
Annabel's worried gaze reflected her fears about the future. "What will happen if you leave and that woman mistreats me again?" she asked, expressing her vulnerability.
"If I find my real parents and they are well off, I will help you," Stephen promised with a determined expression. "I also warned my father. I'm not leaving just for myself. Did you think I was such a selfish person?"
"No, brother. I just..." she began, then hesitated. Stephen interrupted her. "You're trying to change my mind, Annabel. I understand, but our mother asked me to do this before she died. Besides, maybe a door of salvation will open for both of us."
"How will you find your parents, Stephen?" his father asked with a calm expression, which worried Stephen.
"Mom wrote other letters and mentioned some clues. I know where I need to go, Dad," he replied to his father with a hopeful smile.
"You won't forget about me, will you?"
"Of course not, I won't forget, my dear sister." His eyes were filled with love and devotion. There was an atmosphere of emotional farewell shared in the room before a challenging separation.
He hugged her tightly for the last time. At that moment, time seemed to stand still for them, as if they were momentarily escaping from reality.
"Come on, sis. I have to go," Stephen said, struggling to speak through the pain of parting. Annabel didn't want him to leave.
"You'll come back, won't you?"
"Of course, I'll come back," he said, gently wiping the tears from his sister's eyes. He moved away from his sister. She said to him, "Goodbye, brother! See you soon."
"Goodbye, son."
He looked at them for a long time. His father was very calm. He didn't seem sad at all. His eyes were like those of a man who didn't express his emotions; dull. Well, when did my father ever show his feelings? He hadn't even made me feel loved.
It was as if a part of his soul was leaving. Although he hadn't been getting along well with his father lately, he knew he would miss him too, but he had no other choice.
"Goodbye, Annabel. Goodbye, Dad." He waved to them. Jason had a fairy dust sphere in his hand; it symbolized the transition to another world. "I'll teleport you with this."
He closed his eyes. When he opened them, he was standing in front of a large crowd. As he took a step into a new life, the things he left behind stirred up complex emotions within him.
"I must have arrived at the market. Now where should I go?"
He looked around a bit, and when he glanced at a wall of a house, he saw his own picture. The drawing was a bit sloppy. It was probably made with magic to be done faster. Since he couldn't read or write, he couldn't understand why his picture was hanging there. Why would they hang the picture of a villager? But when he thought carefully, he remembered he wasn't just a regular villager. He was a villager accused of stealing the sword.
"So they hung this to find me. Damn it! I also need to avoid the guards. They must be looking for me everywhere."
As he was about to continue on his way, he felt a stranger's hand on his shoulder. He quickly lunged forward and when he turned around, he saw a tall man standing in front of him.
"Are you the kid in the picture?"
Without even waiting for an answer, he started running and threw himself into the crowd. He thought they wouldn't be able to find him in the crowd.
"I've never seen such an idiot in my life. Even though I'm innocent, I've been declared guilty. Even if I were guilty, why would I tell you?"
As the crowd quickly dispersed, chaos ensued. Everyone was being thrown in different directions, shouts and screams echoed in the air. A few men had stepped forward, saying "I'll protect you," but they couldn't do much and had disappeared without being seen by anyone.
He noticed a strange glimmer coming from the bag he had brought with him. When he opened it, he saw the ring shining, its light flickering on and off.
Is this a sign?
The flickering of the light seemed to reflect the rhythm of danger. Stephen was searching for danger, and he found it with a roar. When he looked to the source of the sound, he saw a large dragon flying above, spewing black flames. It had scales shimmering in black and purple hues.
"Cursed with dark magic. Quick, run from here!" said a woman dressed like a fortune teller. If she hadn't said that, it wouldn't have even crossed my mind to run. He also started to run, but he wasn't sure where he should go.
The female fairies had revealed their hidden wings and were flying away. The brave ones were trying to resist the dragon. They were also responding to the dragon's flames with fire. The water fairies were attempting to extinguish the places the dragon had set on fire, but they weren't very successful.
As Stephen ran in an uncertain direction, he tried to survive in this chaotic scene.
Finally, he had distanced himself enough from the dragon. Therefore, he felt relieved. Now, he would continue on his way, but a stranger stopped him. This stranger must have been from the lineage of Asian fairies who had come to the Magical World due to the war between humans and magical beings in Asia.
"I sense a very strong aura from you," she said.
"We should have introduced ourselves first."
"If I was rude, I apologize. I'm Aina from the Chosen Ones."
"I'm Stephen. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you too. I'm really sorry for what just happened. We're looking for a volunteer human to fight the dragon. Whenever we see a strong fairy, we immediately ask."
"No need to apologize. I understand, but unfortunately, I can't help. I don't know much about magic," Stephen expressed sincerely.
"What if we teach you some basic combat magic right now?" Aina asked him with a sincere smile. But Stephen sensed a plea in her request. He was surprised by this offer. He was uncertain. He was afraid of giving the girl false hope because he wasn't sure if he could do it. Just when he didn't know what to do, someone came to his rescue.
"How are we going to do that, Aina?" another girl said as she approached Stephen. She was a girl who caught attention with her upright and confident posture when she walked. With her blue eyes, reddish hair, slightly full lips, and slightly wavy hair, she was a beautiful girl. Her way of walking seemed to shout, "I'm a noble."
"I don't know either, but we can try our luck, Agnes," she said with a faint hope.
"We don't have time to waste. Our time is running out. We must stop that damn dragon before it harms more innocents," Agnes said firmly.
As Aina left with hesitant steps, Agnes followed her. Stephen didn't know what to do. Perhaps he could use the Justice Sword to save them, but he wasn't entirely sure how to do it. He didn't want his fate to end up like those men who threw themselves forward and did nothing, but he also wanted to help them. His mind was in turmoil. He was wandering in uncertainty, lost in thought, not even knowing where he was going. That's why he accidentally bumped into a random man running in a hurry. After apologizing to him, he turned his head back. A glimmer of hope had emerged.
Several fairies had gathered and performed a combination of magic elements. This magic had worked a little. The dragon had calmed down and moved away from that area. Seeing this, Stephen felt a wave of relief wash over him. After taking a deep, calming breath, he left the scene.
⚔️⚔️⚔️
He had finally arrived at Divitian, the flashy district where the rich lived. His mother had detailed the house he needed to go to and the man he needed to meet in another letter. So, he was fully prepared. He reached the front of the house and knocked on the door. It was opened by a woman who seemed to be a servant.
"Hello, young man."
Gathering his courage in the face of the woman's calm greeting, he began to speak in a trembling voice, "Hello, ma'am. Is Albert Thomas living here?"
"Yes, but why do you ask?" she replied, a bit puzzled.
"I need to speak with him."
"He's at school right now."
He wasn't surprised by this situation. On the contrary, he was prepared for this too. He knew that Albert was a successful wizard, so it was natural for him to be teaching magical subjects at school. He decided to explore and wander around until Albert returned home. He must be back soon anyway. He bid farewell to the young woman and started to wander, but the guards were waiting for him.
Damn it. Again? I'm tired of running.
This time, it was time to use the sword. The critical moment had come. He took out the ring. The ring, glowing in his hands, immediately transformed into an equipped sword. Summoning all his courage, he aimed the sword at them. He didn't know what to do, but luckily, the sword helped him by magically pushing all the guards away.
I wish I had used this earlier.
Taking advantage of this situation, he started running again, but it was as if the sword could read his mind. It teleported him back to the market square where the dragon was.
"I guess you understood that I want to help them," he said, smiling at the sword.
In fact, he could teleport to the dragon's neck and stab it with the sword, but they must have tried that already. Nevertheless, he would give it a try.
He closed his eyes and waited for the teleportation of the sword. It had indeed done what he said. When he opened his eyes, he was standing on the dragon's neck. The dragon tried to shake him off by swinging its neck, but Stephen held onto it tightly.
Now it's time to stab the sword.
He aimed the sword at its eye, but to his surprise, it didn't have the effect he expected. When he pulled the sword out of its eye, there wasn't even a drop of blood on the sword's tip. Under the feelings of shock and helplessness, the distant screams of a girl echoed through the wind, yelling at him.
"Stephen, what are you doing there?" Aina shouted. She had unfurled her hidden wings and was following the flying dragon, but the windy weather was making it difficult.
"I'm trying to help you."
"Is that the Justice Sword in your hand?"
How does this girl know about that sword? God, please don't let this girl chase after me too.
Stephen was about to say 'no,' but Aina cut him off. "The Justice Sword has chosen its wielder after a long time. Stab the dragon with the sword."
"I tried, but it's not working."
Aina said with a worried tone, "It has the ability to destroy dark magic, but it's very risky."
"If I won't die, I can try."
"If you're worthy, you won't die, and you seem worthy," she said, trying to appear determined but her uncertainty was evident. This worried Stephen.
"Then tell me what to do."
"Stab the sword into its neck and focus all your attention on the dragon. You need to start feeling its aura. And then the dark magic in the dragon will start flowing into you. If you're worthy of the sword, you need to destroy that dark magic within you."
As soon as Stephen heard what Aina said, he began to implement it immediately. He focused all his attention. Just as he was about to stab the sword into the dragon, he felt a sharp blow to his arm. This blow caused him to lose his balance and drop the sword. He was also about to fall from the dragon's neck. He held on tightly to the dragon's neck, but once again lost control.
"Vines!" Aina shouted. Suddenly, vines began to grow and entangled Stephen. After saying, "Wait here. I'll go down and look for the Justice Sword," she disappeared. The dragon had already moved far away. Despite the pain from the vines squeezing him tightly, Stephen obediently waited while hearing another girl's voice. It sounded like Agnes.
"You must have guessed who delivered that blow," she said.
Stephen asked with a pained and bewildered tone, "Why did you do that, Agnes?"
"You're the criminal Rivelia is looking for. Helping you would get me in trouble," Agnes replied coldly.
"Then she's probably going to strike me now because it suits her," Stephen thought. His body tensed, searching for an escape route with anxiety. He scanned his surroundings, but there was nothing he could do.
"Dragon's fire!" Agnes exclaimed, and a dragon made of fire appeared. As the dragon was about to breathe fire at the vines, Aina suddenly appeared and said, "Vine wall!" The vines turned into walls, shielding Stephen from the fire attack.
"What do you think you're doing, Agnes? He's the owner of the Justice Sword, and he's our only chance to defeat that dragon. You're aware of that, aren't you?" Her voice was filled with anger. She was shouting at Agnes.
Agnes destroyed the dragon and said, "What do you think you're doing? He can't be the owner of the Justice Sword. You know perfectly well who it should belong to. He stole that sword! And you're helping a criminal!" She paused for a moment, then continued, "If you continue to help him, I'll stop you by fighting you." She sounded resolute.
"You're one of my closest friends, and you're really going to do this to me? Shame on you! I didn't expect this from you," Stephen said.
"I'm doing this for your own good, but you refuse to understand. We'll get into trouble," Agnes replied.
"He just wanted to help us. And he did it willingly. Let him help us. We won't interfere afterwards," Aina intervened.
"But, Aina..."
"Agnes, please, stop. Do you really want to fight me this much?" Aina's voice trembled, as if she was about to cry. She knew that Agnes couldn't bear to see her in this state.
"Fine, Aina... Let it be so," Agnes said. She then descended quickly and returned with the sword in her hand. She handed it to Stephen. "The sword doesn't allow anyone else to touch it. How did you manage to take it?"
"At first, I couldn't touch it either, but I knew where the sword was," Aina said, and Stephen took the sword in his hand. He closed his eyes and imagined himself back at the dragon's neck. He also felt someone touching him. When he opened his eyes, he was at the dragon's neck again, and Aina was by his side.
"What are you doing here? How did you get here?"
"I held onto you, and when you teleported, I teleported too. Anyway, it's not the time to think about that. Stab the sword!"
He stabbed the sword into the dragon's neck and closed his eyes. He tried to distance himself from all thoughts. He tried not to care about the dragon's roars, the sound of its flapping wings, or the roar of the wind. Aina, too, was doing her best not to make any noise as she watched him. Stephen managed to focus faster than he expected.
The dragon had stopped roaring and was slowly becoming docile.
"At last! I think you're succeeding!" Aina exclaimed with joy. Everything seemed to be going well, but not for Stephen. He felt something strange entering his body, writhing in pain. It felt like the dark magic was burning him. He was burning all over.
"Are you okay?"
"Do I look okay to you?" he snapped, raising his voice. His anger was evident in his tone.
"Why did you suddenly snap at me like that?"
"Aina, stay away from me!"
A scene flashed into his mind, the one where his stepmother used to beat him. All the bad memories rushed through his mind, fueling his anger even more. He wanted to lash out at anyone who came near him, to vent his anger through violence. All the suppressed emotions he had tried to bury were resurfacing now.
He tried to clear his mind again, thinking of his deceased mother; her first gift to him. He tried to summon all the happy memories he could. He had experience in this before. Slowly, he began to calm down, but the pain in his body wouldn't subside. Unable to bear the pain any longer, his eyes closed. He was falling from the dragon's neck.