Three days had passed since Eimira returned home. Her illness was completely gone by now. If anything, she seemed healthier than before.
Immediately after recovering she resumed her training with me.
Apparently almost dying was not enough to make her take things down a notch.
"It's crazy how she has that much energy after recovering." I muttered, smiling. "She's really strong."
Knock. Knock.
The door clicked open.
Zahir walked in.
"Hey Zandren, you ready to head out?" He asked.
Zahir returned a day after I took Eimira home and I invited him over for lunch at her place.
Of course Yor agreed to it.
Zahir took us all by surprise.
He had almost completely lost his weight. No one could believe he achieved that much after just a month away from the Academy.
Something happened to him…
I just know it.
These changes don't just happen because you chose to lose weight.
"Yeah. Lemme just grab my gauntlets real quick." I answered him.
Zahir asked Eimira if he could train at her vanguard and she agreed.
He had gone from using only a catalyst to wielding a staff that served as both a catalyst and a weapon. He was now far more focused on becoming a war mage than remaining a support.
Still though—
What happened?
We stepped out of the Dorm and began our long walk to the Lost Aegis base.
Unlike before, our walk has become unusually quiet. Zahir was mainly the conversation starter, but now he's just silent.
It's odd, really.
I nudged him. "Hey Zahir."
He turned. "Yes?"
"Did you enjoy your break? Was home welcoming?" I asked.
"Home…" He chuckled dryly. "What's that?"
My brows furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
"D-didn't you return back to Mount Borus?" I asked.
He stopped walking.
"Zandren." He said. "Mount Borus is a peasant village in the mountainous outskirts of Terraka."
I nodded. "Yeah… you told me."
"You'd think a place that remote is safe from everything happening out here, right?" He said, his voice trembling.
"Zahir?"
I gently placed my hand on his shoulder.
He lifted his head, and took a deep breath. Then exhaled.
He continued. "And because of how far it is. The only way for anyone to know what's going on in the mountains is for someone from there to reach out."
My voice dropped.
"Zahir, what happened?"
Silence.
"We'll be late. Let's keep walking."
He smiled.
"Come on."
I nodded slightly. "O-Okay..."
I fell into step behind him.
For the rest of the walk, neither of us spoke.
We arrived at the base minutes later, and took a seat under a shade in the courtyard. We set both our weapons aside and leaned against the tree we sat under.
"So when does the training start?" Zahir asked.
"Uh, we still have to see Eimira first." I answered. "She's gonna pair you up with someone."
He exhaled, standing up. "Alright."
Then walked off.
I stared, as he walked away.
"This isn't the Zahir I know." I whispered.
That's something I'll get to the bottom of later. Now, I have to see Eimira. The day of the Grand Tournament is nearing and I still feel I lack in certain areas— having a blessing being one of them.
I exhaled sharply.
"Let's go…"
I went deeper into the base to where I had first met with Yassin. Thanks to the directions I received from some of the members I was able to locate Eimira's office quite easily.
It wasn't hard to miss either, thanks to the giggles and chatters of the clique coming from there.
They seemed happy about something.
I was a bit scared to enter.
Then—
"I sense Zandren."
Tabbi's voice echoed from the room.
The door swung open, and they all charged me.
"Zandren!!!" They yelled.
"Ahhhh!" I screamed.
Thud.
"Ouch.." I muttered.
"Zandren!" Feona yelled.
"It's an emergency." Chichi yelled also, tugging at my tunic.
I groaned. "Maybe get off me first?"
"Oh... Yeah, sorry about that."
They got off me. And dusted their clothes.
"So." I said. "What's all the noise about?"
They grinned.
"It's about Ryona." Tabbi said.
I leaned in. "What about Ryona?"
"That hard-headed girl has a fling for someone." Chichi said, blushing.
I laughed. "Wait, you're kidding, right?"
Feona shook her head. "Nope, not at all. We only found out recently shortly after you left with Zahir."
I stroked my chin. "I see."
I looked around.
"I don't see Eimira or Ryona around though." I said.
"Yeah, they went to do some checks on the weapons and the request for new weapons to replace the ol— You know. Boring stuff." Chichi replied.
Then she walked up to me, placing her hand around my shoulder.
"So, Zandren...."
She lowered me until my face was level with hers.
"Yeah?"
"Does Zahir have a girlfriend?"
I froze.
I chuckled. "Zahir? Girlfriend? No. Why'd you ask?"
Chichi didn't respond,she just smiled.
I looked up and saw the others smiling.
It dawned on me.
"No.."
They nodded.
"No way."
They smiled. "Yes way."
"Ryona has a crush on Wryo?!!!" I said, smiling.
They facepalmed.
Smack.
A soft slap across my face.
Feona laughed. "Doofus! Not Wryo."
"We mean, Zahir." Tabbi said, smiling. "Ryona has a thing for Zahir."
My brows furrowed. "Ryona? Zahir?"
I tried picturing them together.
It didn't fit in any way.
"I really cannot imagine them together…"
Feona leaned on me.
"We know you came with Zahir today. Mind bringing him in here." She said. "Ryona and Eimira will probably be back soon, I want to see the shock on Ryona's face when she sees Zahir."
"So what do you want me to do?" I asked
"Arrrgh." She rolled her eyes. "Gosh, you are so slow sometimes."
Tabbi giggled. "We want you to bring Zahir."
"Oh. Should've said that from the start." I teased.
"You little—"
Feona lunged at me.
"Who do you think you're messing with?" She yelled.
We heard the heavy door that led to the arena creak open slowly.
Distant voices slowly filled the room.
Eimira, Ryona and... Zahir?
"They came together, heeeee!" Chichi squealed, quietly.
Immediately, the girls lined up beside me. They watched Ryona.
Ryona noticed us and tried to act normal.
And Zahir conversed with Eimira. Very oblivious to what's going on.
"Hey Zandren." Eimira smiled. "Asked Zahir where you were and he already told me you came to look for me."
"Yeah." I replied, scratching my head softly.
I turned around, following Eimira's gaze.
Chichi grinned.
Tabbi grinned.
Feona grinned.
Their gaze directed at Ryona who hadn't said anything yet.
She flinched.
"W-why are you all staring at me like that?" She asked.
Feona stepped forward, still grinning.
"Oh, it's nothing." She answered, dramatically waving her arms. "Just that, the hard-headed, war hungry whore, Ryona, is a bit too quiet today."
She stopped behind Zahir.
"Maybe the reason as to why…"
She stared at Ryona.
"...is in sight?"
Zahir blinked.
"No reason!" Ryona snapped.
Feona cackled, arms spread wide. "Definitely a reason!"
The girls teased Feona and we had our laughs.
But…
I couldn't help but worry more about Zahir.
Normally, he'd have passed out from being this close to the clique and the third captain, Eimira.
He's just too... Normal.
Eimira clapped her hands.
"Alright, that's enough teasing."
The room immediately quieted.
"Training starts in a bit..."
Everyone groaned.
"But..."
She paused.
"I'd be making some impromptu pairing right here, right now."
She turned to Zahir.
"Zahir, earlier you told me that you'd be switching your role to a war mage, right?"
He nodded. "Y-yeah."
"May I ask why?" Eimira asked.
Zahir remained silent.
Staring at Eimira.
Then.
He exhaled, deeply.
"I'm…"
He hesitated.
"I'm just tired of being— weak."
He took a seat on one of the arena seats.
"I'm tired of being the support. The one fat pig that does nothing but eat and heal the people actually doing the work."
He lowered his head.
"I-I just want my life to amount to something."
We all remained silent, staring at each other. Not knowing what to say.
Eimira quietly stepped forward, taking a seat beside him. She placed her hand on his shoulder.
"Zahir, is this about the vanguard qualifiers?" She asked.
Tears dropped to the floor.
"They are all gone..." He whispered, trembling, trying to hold back his tears.
Eimira's eyes narrowed. "What?"
"M-My…"
He broke down.
"My village was wiped out, and no one in Terraka knew…"
"No one fucking knew!!!" He snapped.
He slowly lowered his head.
"I'm sorry." He murmured.
"Wiped out? What exactly do you mean by that?" Eimira asked.
Zahir sniffled, then spoke.
"So, after my loss, I decided to take a break from everything and made a trip back to my village, Mount Borus."
He paused, wiping his tears.
"Usually, whenever I travelled home, I'd always pass by Thre'ta, he's the village herds man. Everytime, he's always at the usual grazing spot. But this time, he wasn't there."
We remained silent, and let him continue.
"I thought, maybe he's just having a day off. Even though that never happened. Thre'ta never takes a day off, but I just believed that he did, to ease my mind."
He chuckled, dryly. "Then I noticed something."
"What?" Feona asked.
"The ground…"
He paused.
"They were a different colour."
My brows furrowed. "Different colour? How?"
"T-They were... Darker..."
He turned to me.
"More... Red."
"After seeing that, I knew something was definitely wrong. I dropped what I had with me and bolted to the village."
He chuckled. "That was the first time I ever ran in years."
Zahir exhaled, and continued.
"The village was empty." He muttered. "The children aren't causing trouble, the women aren't nagging at their husbands, and the constant hammering of the blacksmith… was no more."
He paused.
"Then-"
"I saw it."
He muttered quietly.
"A veil, with someone's arm in its mouth."
He turned to me, his eyes hollow.
"I was confused, Zandren."
I didn't respond.
"My village is so remote, and we've never had any encounters with veils. So how, Zandren?"
He cried.
Everyone remained silent.
Eimira remained by his side, consoling him.
"S-So, how did you deal with the veil?" Tabbi asked.
Zahir wiped his tears, and answered.
"It was scary. It was the first time I had ever faced one..."
"But seeing the jewellery on the arm it chewed on, and remembering the beautiful woman it belonged to."
"Something snapped in me. I couldn't help but destroy that veil."
Zahir slightly lowered the side of his tunic.
"The thing got me though, but in the end I won." He said, smiling.
"He's smiling. Why is he smiling? He shouldn't be." I thought.
"So what did you do after?" Eimira asked.
Zahir sighed.
"Well, I went around, collecting all the bodies of the villagers. And guess what?"
"I found Thre'ta split in half."
He laughed softly.
"The lower half of his body wasn't in the same place as the rest of him."
He wiped the tears from his cheeks.
"He seemed to be having a nice rest"
Another tear slipped down his face.
"I found my parents too."
His smile widened.
"I was sad because they didn't look too happy to see me."
He paused, his gaze remained fixed to his tightly clenched hands.
"They were missing some parts of their body…"
His smile faltered.
"But they should have been happy to see me."
His voice became quieter.
"After all this time…"
"No, Zahir. Stop." I whispered, staring at him, worried.
"I couldn't find any of the children's bodies…"
"...Maybe that's why I only found pieces of torn flesh."
He stopped.
His lips trembled.
"...from my little sister."
"That's enough."
Eimira's voice, barely a whisper.
"Please. Just stop…"
She sighed. "Uhm... Z-Zahir..."
"Yes?"
She turned to him.
"Are you really alright?"
Zahir smiled. "Yes, of course I am. Never been better."
Eimira's eyes turned red. Tears slowly formed in the corner of her eye.
Feona stepped forward.
"W-Why don't we all take a break for today, uhn?"
"Yeah. Yeah. That's a good idea." Eimira nodded, sniffling and wiping her eyes. "Let's all take a break, haha."
After hearing what Zahir had gone through, we all decided to not do anything for the day. Zahir was taken to Yareth. Ryona and the others accompanied him.
Eimira had locked herself in her office, and it took me a bit of knocking before she finally opened the door.
She cried.
A lot.
Her eyes were red and now swollen.
The only thing I could do was hold her, and comfort her.
"Why's all this happening, Zandren?" She asked.
I sighed. "I'm not sure either."
"Listening to him describe what happened reminded me of the day Nymirel was invaded."
She looked at me, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Wha- what if it happens again and I lose you or anyone else?" She sobbed. "What if I lose control of myself again?"
She continued.
"Why the children? Why are they taking them? What are they doing to the—"
I planted a kiss on her lips.
"Shhh, Eimira. Let's not talk about that anymore." I said.
She sniffled.
"Let's go for a walk… get some fresh air." I added.
We stepped out of her office and made our way down the corridor.
We walked in silence.
"Zahir is strong." I said, breaking the silence.
Eimira nodded. "Yeah, I agree."
"I thought it was weird how he lost weight that fast." I muttered. "Hearing how hard he lived for nearly a month clarified that."
Eimira chuckled slightly. "Yeah..."
"Though." She continued. "I'd miss the round version of him, haha."
"Yeah..."
Suddenly.
Footsteps approached.
Fast.
"Captain!! Captain!!"
Lysa.
"Captain, you gotta come quick." She said, visibly panicked.
"Why? What happened?" Eimira asked.
"It's the Prince." She answered out of breath.
Eimira looked at Lysa and saw her bruises.
"Let's go."
We arrived at the training yard and saw that Eimira's vanguard members had all been beaten. They groaned from the pain, some were already unconscious.
Yunok stood, his wrist clutched around Kellan's neck.
"Where is she?" He asked.
Kellan struggled.
Yunok's grip tightened.
Kellan began fading.
"Yunok!!!" Eimira yelled.
Thud.
Yunok dropped kellan, and dusted his hands.
"Finally." He whispered.
Kellan coughed violently.
Lysa ran to him, helping him up.
Yunok slowly approached us. Two swords on both sides of his waist.
"What's the meaning of all this?" Eimira asked.
"What do you mean?" Yunok blinked. "You ignored all my invites, gifts and lovely letters and I finally decided to visit you… personally."
He smiled. "Though, your people! Weren't too welcoming."
"You've lost your mind Yunok. You really have!!!" Eimira screamed.
"Well, you were the one who rejected my love." He snapped. "And all to be with that peasant with no name."
"Why can't you leave me alone?" Eimira yelled, her voice trembling. "Why can't you just let me live!!!"
"And why can't you just love me!" Yunok yelled back.
His breath became rapid.
"Well..."
He calmed down.
"I'm here to fix that."
"How?" Eimira blinked.
"Fight me, Eimira." He said.
"Wha-" Eimira's brows furrowed. "No."
"Just fight me." He said, unsheathing a long sword and wiping its blade with a piece of cloth."
He continued.
"Whatever the outcome may be, whether you win or lose. The results still remain the same."
He pointed the sword at Eimira.
"In both scenarios, we never talk again."
Eimira frowned. Her brows knitted together as she stared at Yunok, trying to make sense of what he just said.
"You know what Yunok? Screw you. I hope you end up in the deepest part of the dark forest never to be seen again."
She stuck out her middle finger and turned to leave.
Suddenly.
Yunok attacked.
Fast enough that Eimira barely managed to block the attack with her sword.
A slight cut opened on her cheek, and blood dripped out.
She grunted. "What's gotten into you?"
"Today is where all ends, Eimira."
"My unrequited love, and sadly..."
"Your life."
Eimira's eyes widened.
Slash!