"By the way, I'm Mouie Anticsia! My family are known as the best doctors in this world. That's why I have the knowledge and the ability to heal people"
"Nice to meet you, Mouie. I'm Nyxius. Thank you for saving me" I smiled and then stood up.
"Oh, no. Big Sis, Mikhail was the one who saved you. Luckily, she catches you the moment you fall" She giggles slightly.
"Really?" I looked at Mikhail, and smiled again "Thank you so much"
"No worries. By the way, let's go to the dining room. It must be hard for you to move without filling your stomach with food" She led the way for me.
As soon as we got there, I was shocked to see many kids.
"Do you guys have a guardian?" I asked while showing how worried I was about the kids.
"Guardian? We don't have something like that. Elder Brother Toshiaki Is the one who is doing everything for us like a guardian." A twin little kid walked towards me, and held both of my hands and started pulling me.
"He is sitting beside me," Toshiaki said while munching his food.
I sat beside him. I'm nervous of course. He pointed his sword at me. I'm pretty sure he is holding himself back from killing me. I cannot move. It feels like my whole body goes numb.
"What are you waiting for? Eat" He ordered me to eat. I couldn't do anything but follow what he said.
The food Is very new to me.. The only thing I ate at the palace was only sweet potatoes. Nothing else. I ate the food and it was so darn good. I wanted to cry so badly because of how good it was.
"It's damn good, right? Eat more!" Toshiaki laughed and smiled. I was shocked, that made me so happy.
After we ate, I confronted Toshiaki. I asked lots of things about the kids.
"Oh, them? All of them didn't have a place to go or call home. I picked them up so that they can live. They also helped me a lot, so I'm happy to have them"
"They're lucky," I said as I smiled a little. "For them to have someone like you. They're so lucky"
Toshiaki paused for a moment then laughed as he slapped my back. "Idiot. From now on just feel at home. As long as you don't do anything stupid, I won't kill you" He laughed again, this time it was so loud. So he can smile too? I wonder when I will be able to laugh like that.
Home? I've never experienced something like that. My house doesn't feel like home at all. I wonder when..
"Got it, thank you so much" I bowed.
"Just don't move too much so that your wounds won't reopen. Our little sister Moei stayed all night treating you" Mikhail teased me with a little smack on my right stomach.
"Ouch"
"Don't push yourself. Just enjoy resting here until you recover" Toshiaki leaves and then the kids suddenly come inside then pull me to the living room.
"Hey! Go easy on him, guys! He's Mouie's patient" Mikhail ordered.
All of them respond "Yes, elder sister"
They let me sit on the sofa while they were sitting on the floor. I don't know what the deal is, and I'm kinda nervous. It's my first time interacting with normal people. I lived my life spending the rest of my day doing household chores and getting a punishment from my mother. The worst of all is that I'm not allowed to step outside the castle without them.
"So, so, so! All of us here have the ability, even though we are not from a noble family. Our
Elder brother helped us unlock our hidden ability even though we're still young" Mouie said.
Wow! So young, and they're not even from a noble family.
"We are curious. Since you're from a noble family, your ability must be powerful! B-But of course, Elder brother's much stronger, y'know" The curious kid crawls closer to me.
All of them are eager to know my ability. But, even I don't know my strengths. How should I tell them? Even my own family, and relatives, especially my mother couldn't accept me after knowing I'm just a useless person. I'm such a disgrace to my relatives, even to the greatest ancestors.
"Uhmm.." I'm starting to get nervous. As I tried to let out my words, my hands trembled, sweat traveled fast to my cheeks.
"Mr. Nyxius? Are you okay? Does your tummy hurt?" The kids got worried about me, especially Mouie. She started to panic, thinking my wounds reopen.
"Oh! No, I'm okay. Sorry. It's just… There's a word that just won't come out of my mouth. I'm scared, I'm not very good with my word" I sighed, trying to calm myself while trying to get the courage to talk.
"The truth is… I'm not a powerholder. I haven't had any ability ever since I was born. That's why I ran away from the palace. Because they didn't accept me… Because the second son of the queen and king couldn't inherit the power they held" I locked down. Fear started to crush me.
"So what? Even though you don't have any ability, you're still a human being. They're bad! Nobles like them are bad! I like nobles like Mr. Nyxius, so kind" I was touched by the kid's words.
Yes, I'm still a human being, but, what Is my purpose as a human being?
"Hey, kids. Stop putting pressure on him. He's still recovering. Don't ask more questions, it'll lead to something serious," Mikhail stopped them.
"Sorry, Mr. Nyxius. We must've hurt you by asking that insensitive question" A kid apologized, thinking that it was their fault, and broke my heart.
"Oh, no! There's no need to apologize" I tried to stay calm.
Everyone remained silent, The atmosphere seemed to change. Suddenly, Toshiaki walked into the living room.
"What's up?"
All of them rushed to Toshiaki the moment they laid their eyes on him. They hugged him as they cried.
"Sorry, Elder brother! We did something horrible, we are not fit to be your younger brother anymore" All of them continued to apologize to Toshiaki.
I stood up anxiously "N-No! It's fine!" I wanted to cry too. I can't believe I made these kids cry. What should I do?
While I was struggling to think what to do, Toshiaki casually laughed.
"Don't worry, Nyxius. They're like this because they're still a child. There's still a child inside of them regardless of how we act outside this place" What he said calmed me down.
"Hey, now. It's okay, as long as you guys apologize, okay? Just don't do it again" They nodded then rushed towards me, and gave me a big hug.
I see… My sister's face appeared right before my eyes. Ha, I wish to feel this kind of warm hug from my sisters.
Night came, and the kids fell asleep on the floor with me. They're still hugging me. I'll feel bad if I moved even an inch that could wake them up.
"Are you okay? If you feel numb I can just take them to their rooms" Mikhail sat beside me.
"No, It's okay. I feel comfortable this way" I looked at her, and I saw her grinning.
"First time?"
"Pardon?" I said.
"I mean, Interacting. Especially to us normal people. Compared to you, we live almost everywhere. When we get attacked, we change location. We already traveled almost four countries ever since me and Toshiaki met"
"Y-yes, It's my first time. I've never been outside the palace…Oh! I've been outside the palace once, but… Things didn't go well that time" I patted the little kid lying at my hips.
"Just staying there won't make my dreams come true…I won't be able to move forward"
"Dream?" curiosity sparkled in her eyes.
"Oh, no. It's nothing" I flinched. I know I'll die once I try to reach for that dream of mine.
"Well, If there's something i
I can help you, just call me. I'm gonna rest now" She stood up and walked away.
Earlier It was so lively. I've seen enough today. I'm so happy. But still, I'm so worried about Archie. Hope he manages to get away after that.
I got sleepy too so I took a slight nap. I woke up with some movements and a slight noise.
"Mouie? Are you going to your room?" I said as I scrubbed my eyes.
"Sorry, did I wake you up?" She said.
I stood up and fixed everyone's position while sleeping.
"Not at all. Where are you going?" I put my coat on her.
"Oh, well. It's my working shift now" I looked at her with curiosity in my eyes. Work? Does she work around midnight? And it's so cold, how can she focus on her work in this type of weather? Cold really occurs in the desert when it's night.
"Yup, work. Big Brother didn't pick us for nothing. We have to do some work according to our abilities and knowledge" She walks and opens a big curtain. There, we saw a big laboratory.
"As you see, my role is a doctor. I make medicine, herbs, drugs, and so on that Big Brother told me to do and to make use of my healing ability that I inherited from my family" She sat in her chair and opened a medicine book.
"This is the medicine I'm going to make now. Of course, it's not easy to make. And it's risky for me since if I didn't make it right, I might die. The doctor gets to taste it after all" She said as she pointed at the medicine she was talking about.
"What's the medicine for?" I asked.
"Emergency purposes. Big brother once took a drug that can kill his body. Sometimes he loses his control due to that drug. It'll take 5 more years for him to recover" She smiled and looked at me.
"There's plenty of things you can look at since this laboratory is pretty big. There is also a book there. If you're interested you can read something while I'm doing my work" She now started to work. I looked around and thought why is this laboratory so big?
There's a big shelf too that contains a lot of books. I got excited and looked for a fine book to read. I'm so happy to see some historical books there. Back in the palace, I'm not allowed to touch anything without the Queen's permission.
I sat near the shelf as I started to read. Time flies and I didn't realize I had already finished the book. I stood up and put the book back on the shelf. I saw Mouie sleeping, she looked tired.
She's still a kid, pushing her into this kind of limit is too much for her. My past started to flash into my mind. Maybe It's bad to think in a negative way.
"She's gonna be fine, don't worry about it" I saw Toshiaki at the other side of the table.
"G-Good Morning, how long have you been there?" I said and bowed my head as a greeting.
"The moment you guys came in I was here the whole time" He smiled and put his feet under the table. He started to look at the unfinished medicine that Mouie made.
"Sorry," I immediately said. It came to my mind that It's bad to be nosy about the person's life I just met. So I had to apologize "For being nosy"
He sighed. He stood and walked towards me with both hands locked in his pockets.
"How was it?" He said.
I tilt my head as if a question mark popped out of my head.
"The book you read. It's like it's your hobby to read. I was surprised that you finished all that in just a short amount of time" He picked out the book I read earlier. "History: Palace of the Sabaku Joue. Can you summarise it for me?" He then closed it. He looked at me, his eyes started to pierce through my soul.
"History: Palace of the Sabaku Joue. Also known as the Palace of the Desert Joue. One of the strongest countries. Written by the 74th Queen, Nayyirah Kalatar. The book contains the previous ruler of the palace of the desert joue. And how they fought to protect the country and its people. A war was declared for the very first time in history" I stopped. I looked at the very top of the ceiling.
The book was trying to tell something, But the Previous Queen didn't put anything in the book. On the last page. There was only a drawing. I couldn't figure out what it was. I stared at the ceiling for too long, trying to figure it out. The missing piece.
"...What you said was 100 percent right," Toshiaki chuckled. "You're good, you even gave me a sharp summary. Actually, I've read this book before"
A tiny rock fell into the ground coming from the ceiling.
"No… It's only 63 percent" I started to look for something from every corner of the laboratory. I Wish I might get something useful that can help me.
"Nyxius? What do you mean? Only 63?" He was confused. I couldn't blame him.
"You said you've read that book before, right?" I touched the walls and knocked it. It was hard, the wall wasn't made out of wood.
"Yes, why?" He asked.
"The last page, do you have any idea about it?" I looked for something sharp that could pierce through rocks and I started to dig the wall.
"Come to think of it, It was only a drawing. Nothing more, " He said.
I stopped from digging… Only? Nothing more? I don't know if I'm being sensitive. But the thing he said just now offended me. I bit my lower lip as I tried to think carefully in a calm way.
"Even though it was only a drawing, this holds mystery upon this legendary book" He puts the book back on the shelf.
I looked at him with excitement written on my face. "I know right?" He was shocked. I looked again at the ceiling.
…
I knew it!
"Toshiaki, can you help me? I know I have no right to ask you this but, please. I want to know the remaining 37 percent left" I begged in front of him. I even kneel.
"Idiot worm, stand up. What do you want me to do" He grinned.
My eyes shined brightly as I told him what to do.
He diverges the two big shelves. And that is where we saw an interesting thing.
"That's!" He was shocked.
"The Choronostones. How beautiful" I walked closer to it and touched every part of the stone.
"The Chronostone is one of the Carved Tablets with hidden knowledge. It said that Chronstones are inscribed with knowledge or events from a lost era" I smiled as I admired the stones' beauty.
"I know that. But, it's my first time seeing one of the Pentarchivium. A hybrid of Pent means five, and Achivium means Signifying five powerful archival knowledge sources" He exclaimed. Toshiaki couldn't believe his eyes. Neither do I.
"Pentarchivium. The first one I saw was Ciperstone. Stones are written in a cryptic, ancient language. It was also one of the Carved Tablets" that was four years ago.
"You can Decipher the Pentarchivium?!" Toshiaki was shocked. Then I heard another shocking voice coming outside the door.
"... I don't know yet about the other. But, I can indeed decipher Carved Tablets"
Normal people, Noble People, or even the Queen and King there are none percent of them can be able to decipher the Pentarchivium.
"That's awesome, Nycie" Mouie mumbled as she woke up from her sleep.
"... N-Nycie?" Was that a new kind of word?
I continued to decipher the Chronostone. Hoping I'll find the missing 36 percent.
"What's going on—" Mikhail entered the room. But the moment she came in. Her jaw dropped to the floor.
"H-h-hey. Isn't that?! That's one of the Pentarchivium! It's my first time seeing one" She's amazed by what she saw and nervous at the same time.
"Big Sister, shushh! Nycie's trying to decipher something" Mouie whispered.
After I finished. I breathe heavily. It's starting to get hard to breathe now. I panted and was about to fall on my knee.
"Nyxius!" Toshiaki rushed to catch me.
"Outside... Could you tell me what it looks like outside this place" I don't have the strength to stand anymore.
"It looks like a ruin. And looks like a castle" Toshiaki said.
Before I talk, I breathe in and out.
"The remaining 36 percent is that country, and the palace of the sabaku joue fell during the Oplorus War. Oplo means "All" and Rus means "County" All Counties were fighting to protect their Kingdom during that war. Sadly it was over for the Sabaku Joue after that war."
That's the unspoken story of the Sabaku Joue, It was known more as the Maximuse Kingdom. This Kingdom fell and became smaller…and smaller County because they couldn't find a better Ruler for the kingdom.