[Narrator's POV]
While the sun is preparing to glow, the moon silently plans to take over its light. It's true that darkness never sleeps, and neither does evil.All of its traces are scattered around the withered place and will surely cause anyone to tremble with fear. You can see a thick smoke that is darker than a specific shade of grey, continuously traveling from the unknown hole to the Dark Realm where the man named Pricus—the youngest son of Zeus—rules.He began to conquer and cursed the whole forest by the time he took over the magic stone of Astria after killing his wife named Aria—the Queen of Swan Maidens. The said stone has the power to maintain the beauty of nature and peace inside this other world, and the said Queen was assigned by the King and Gods to take care of it. She and her successor are the only ones who have the ability to use the power of the said stone. Pricus wasn't aware of this fact. He began to declare war and take the throne from the late king named Alasdair, having the thought that he could use its power to kill the King. He may have succeeded in defeating him, but the fact that he couldn't end his life using just his own power made him feel extremely mad. He drained almost all of Alasdair's strength and power right before Arphen saved the weak king by teleportation.Pricus continuously spreads darkness all over the place. He wants everyone to feel his wrath. The only goal in his mind is to find the successor and kill everyone that gets in his way, especially the chosen warrior destined to put an end to his plan.“Your highness, the centaurs are back from their mission,” a long-haired female creature said after bowing her head.“Let them in,” Pricus uttered with a straight face.You can hear the sound of hooves clattering and echoing around the castle.Five centaurs appeared a few seconds after the noise, and all of them began to bow their heads as a sign of respect. “Our majesty.” They all greeted him.They were all afraid to face him with bad news, but they are also aware that running away from him couldn't give them luck.“We failed in our mission to abduct the orphans. Two fairies got in our way while we were about to catch them,” Giovanni—the Head of Centaurs in the Dark Realm—uttered.Pricus faced them with a sarcastic smile. “Giovanni. You knew so well that bad news isn't my thing.”“Forgive us, your majesty. Please spare us.” All of them are trembling with fear as they beg for their life, but Giovanni remains calm.That unique reaction of the said centaur drew the attention of the king. “What makes you so calm, Head of Centaurs?” said Pricus.“We already gave our life and soul to you, King Pricus. It's your decision whether you want to end our lives or give us another chance. I came back here with the thought that dying is nothing compared to what we have done. Because failing our mission means we failed to serve you, your highness.” Giovanni bowed his head once again.The Head of Centaurs now has the King's eyes locked onto him.“Hmm.”King Pricus is known as the ruler who never lends an ear to anyone's opinion. He rarely gives his trust even to his most loyal female servant Algea—a creature that has the ability to transform into different kinds of monsters. She was the only daughter of Lamia—mistress of Zeus, who survived the wrath of Hera.“I admire your courage, my loyal servant. The mission of disrupting their plan is now under your command.”Giovanni suddenly lifted his head up while the others were still lowering their gaze. Both of his eyelids raise to open his eyes wider. “A-As you wish, your majesty,” said the Head of Centaurs.He bowed his head once again before leading all of the centaurs on their way out of the castle.[Algea's POV]From the form of a big hawk, I began to fly and clasped my talons on the right arm of the throne. The look of despair on their faces made my heart race, and I couldn't help but wonder how they were all going to die.Everyone appeared to be unusually quiet. Nobody dared to break the silence, and with the cold atmosphere surrounding the whole place, I bet all of their hands are already freezing as they wait for their death.The king with a straight face places his right hand on his chin, gently pinching it. Looks like he is currently having a deep thought about the courageous words which came from the mouth of the head centaur.A few seconds later, the King's sudden movement made my wings flap. He sat on his throne and began to utter a word that brought them hope.After a bunch of centaurs left the place. I began flapping my wings and then landed on the floor in the form of a snake. I crawled near the place where he is currently standing and then I started transforming to my normal appearance.I gently pull my head down towards my right shoulder, causing my black curly hair to reach my thigh.“I admire his courage but not his ability.” I said as I stretched my neck. Once you have decided to rest from shapeshifting, it will never be a good idea to suddenly come back on it.I raise my head and watch him take a quick glance sideways. “Your opinion matters, Algea. But now is not the right time to commence an argument.”“Forgive me, My Lord.”It never came into my mind that the King would spare the life of centaurs. Seems like the majesty is open to giving second chances but until when? Though I knew that his reason is considered acceptable, this kind of personality still causes me to feel anxious.[Arphen's POV]Most often, a man travels from a world to another magical world, and that couldn't happen without a portal. Helpful, indeed. But sometimes problems of traveling between dimensions might occur, locking your doors and blocking your way home, causing you to get trapped into a different world without even knowing if there will be a possible way for you to get out.The ability to watch over anyone that is under my power and to create a portal are both blessings and curses. I am glad that I am able to save the King's life from his brother's wrath by the help of these but then at some point, strong abilities come after a heavy burden of responsibility.“My powers are not able to keep this portal open for a long period of time.” I calmly said, trying to stop my arms from shaking. “All of our companions have already passed through. I need your final decisions now.”Both orphans are still undecided up to this moment, and in my case, keeping this portal open for another minute can cause my body to feel numb and the portal will be inaccessible.My shoulders are now about to fall, which made the opening rounded out from its original size. “I've already given you enough time, orphans. I am now leaving.” I said wearing a blank expression.Based on my observation, I think Moha and Nowo are the most stubborn orphans I have ever handled, but they seem to be the toughest and bravest ones though. I hope they were also wise enough to choose the right path earlier when I was still asking them nicely.The sight of the defender's realm is now clearly visible. I can feel my single eye burning; my swollen feet are taking me towards the headmaster's place, not even paying attention to the unsealed portal. I can still hear noises from it, but the feeling of disappointment from my unsuccessful mission made me lose my focus and ability to care.Suddenly, a man's scream coming from the nearly closed portal drew my attention. “Watch out!”I tilted my head to check. My jaw almost dropped to the floor the moment I saw an image of the two orphans jumping out from the hole. They both fell into the ground in a very bad position.“A-Ah..my back.” The woman complained as they were both trying to stand up.“Orphans?” I said right after blinking my eyes.They started flashing a warm smile on their faces and greeted me.“Hey man,” said Moha while scratching his nape. “Hi Arphen! It's nice to see you again,” said Nowo.-----“Wise decisions take a lot of time to make, unlike the smart ones. Wiser people tend to be quiet while trying to analyze whether a certain offer would be helpful or not, whether it will be an advantage or disadvantage. You always have to keep in mind that being wise is better than being smart.”[NOWO's POV]Now that the water is slowly disappearing from the flower, and the unknown plant is left rooted in the polluted land with pests surrounding it. The said flower never knew when they were going to destroy her. But even though the said pests leave the plant alone in the middle of darkness and remain alive, until when could it ever live without water and sunlight? I'm like that flower, and during these times that everything seems to be fading out of my sight, I never knew what kind of future was waiting for me out here. Either I get killed by these endless evil creatures here in the cursed land or wait until I get old and withered.“Welcome to the Land of Astria, Nowo and Moha.”Those were the words I heard from a man wearing decent leather armor with a sword strapped to his hip. His decent and sophisticated appearance made me think that maybe this man came from a royal family, and that he's the headmaster Mr. Arphen was talking about earlier. He brought us here where the head
Narrator's POVBefore the wrath of Pricus happened, the Gods made different weapons only to be used by the defenders when the right time came. Nobody can use it except from the owner itself. There are bows and arrows, spears, swords, daggers, axes, and slingshots. In order to prevent greediness from entering their hearts, the Gods made them imperfect unlike the four siblings. Almost half of the orphans already mastered their weapons, some are not. Those who are not yet good at it are much wiser than the others. Though it's rare for a certain defender to be both wise and strong, some of them manage to have it both. Alasdair thought that it's about time for the newcomers to meet the others and get their own corresponding weapons to begin their training. Alasdair, Arphen, Nowo and Moha, started heading towards a huge gate where they could clearly hear the shouts of the defender's while training with each other. The centaurs who were guarding behind the gate quickly moved to let them i
[Nowo's POV]I had a dream last night; I saw myself getting slain by a person who didn't seem like an enemy. When I was about to look at his face, everything got blurry, and the sound of a loud trumpet noise woke me up."Strange," I uttered to myself. My heart had never felt this heavy when waking up from a nightmare. That one felt different and weird. I could also feel my tears streaming down my face at this moment. "Why am I crying?" I wondered as I wiped my tears off my cheeks."Hiya, Nowo dea---what happened?" Lane landed both of her palms on her rosy cheeks and flew near me.I shook my head lightly, still not giving her a look. "I don't know, Lane. But it seems like it's too hard for me to breathe right now," I said as I laid my right palm on my chest."Will you please wait for me outside? Just give me a minute." I requested with a calm tone. I never wanted her to misunderstand me again.She nodded her head and answered, "Okay. Just promise me that you'll be fine. Hmm?""I promis
[Nowo's POV]Not so long ago, after the flower learned how to survive from the unpleasant happenings around her, even though the sunlight remained unseen, it didn't stop her from blooming slowly. The color of her petals is starting to fade in, and a small amount of hope is also beginning to sprout from her.As I go back to reality, learning how to use this sword is never an easy task for me or for anybody else, except for Helios, who seemed to be an expert at wielding this heavy sword since the day he learned how to walk."Let's take a break," I suggested while catching my breath.We have been training for a week now, with a maximum of eight hours a day, which seems like a working hour for me, but instead of holding papers, we're both gripping our sword handles.He smiled and took a deep breath as well. "Okay then. I'll give you a minute to rest," he told me as he wiped his sweaty forehead.Helios is such a great fighter. If there will be a match between the two of us, I can surely sa
[Nowo's POV]"Goodnight, Nowo."This morning, the sound of trumpet noise didn't wake me up but the voice I've heard from a dream, I guess.Strange.I think I've already dreamed about this voice, however, I couldn't remember when it happened.My eyes were already opened. I can't barely move that's why I stayed lying on my bed for few more minutes while staring at the ceiling. The sight of it suddenly changed into dark clouds with black smoke coming towards me, I could barely breathe as if something strangled my neck. I creased my eyebrows due to confusion, but the thought of maybe it's some kind of another nightmare made me blinked my eyes and then after that Lane suddenly appeared in front of me."Hiya." She lively greeted me wearing a wide smile. My eyes are still widened even after that. "Why… What's the matter, my dear? Having nightmares again?" She asked, her forehead creased in worried lines as she stared at me."No, Lane. I'm fine." I spoke to her, but inside I was like, what in
[Nowo's POV]My windows are wide open as I sit down on my bed, currently lost in random thoughts. I can't forget what happened earlier while Helios and I were training.I stare at the small cut on my right arm, reminiscing about how my best friend and Luna happily bonded. The tiny injury? I got it from Helios' sword; my mind's attention drifted to someone else when he moved his sword in my direction.It's weird; there's a part of me wanting his sword to end up piercing through my chest to stop my heart from beating weirdly fast."Here, take this. Please don't do that again," Helios utters with a straight face, handing me a white cream from Arphen.Lane suggested earlier that she would help me heal it, but I refused. I want the wound and my scars to remain on my skin, reminders of my clumsiness and dumbness.Speaking of Lane, I wonder where she is."Nowo, are you listening to me?" he asks.I suddenly come to my senses, but I had already forgotten what he said the moment he came near me
[Narrator's POV]The awaited test has finally come. All the orphans were gathered around the training area with their weapons hidden in their armor. Their guardians are all gathered away from their direction. They were all standing next to each other, eagerly waiting for Alasdair's announcement, but then Arphen showed up in front of them instead of him. Their hearts are all filled with excitement, especially the little lady who seems excited about a big fight.Cordelia can't help but jump in joy as they wait for the announcement, while her guardian, a nine-tailed fox, remains calm. Despite her childish personality, she has an unexplainable urge to fight strong opponents.Maison acts like a child as well, but far from Cordelia, he mostly can't stop himself from changing his emotions. Whenever he feels very happy, he tends to express it by crying instead of laughing. That makes him look weak, though he has a strong aura hidden inside him.The rest of the defenders, including Frisia, Lun
[Narrator's POV]A loud trumpet noise reverberated around the defenders' base, prompting them to assemble inside the training ground. Afterward, Arphen utilized his powers to create a portal to a room surrounded by root-like walls, featuring beds made of huge leaves.As they reached this magical place, their eyes widened with curiosity. They couldn't help but wonder why Arphen had brought them here when they were supposed to begin their first test."You might be wondering why I brought you here," he guessed, scanning each of them before continuing his speech. "Well, all of you are aware that there are no more trees left in this land, and that is a fact. The seven trees of wisdom are planted in your dreams, and as you can see, there are golden beans placed at the center of each bed."Upon hearing the announcement, the defenders started searching for the magic beans."Those magical beans will put you into a deep sleep. You will be facing seven trees after that, so it only means that you