"Excuse . Who is Zy Ashbane here?"
Ronan's aggressive movents neutralised, and Nero had released him. Silence stretched. Everyone glanced at the open door to the backyard.
The green-jacketed ssenger was there. They gave him a silent questioning look. Zy was different, though. He only raised his brows while locking eyes with the strange man demanding him.
Zy asked in a calm tone, maintaining a close watch as if he found him suspicious, "What do you need for?"
It was the golden-haired ssenger from the administrative quarters. He still had the brown rolled paper in his hand.
The ladies whispered among themselves.
"He's a Task Recruit," the braid-haired one, having a calr exterior, whispered.
The man told Zy, "I need you to follow ."
Zy raised his brows. Seriously?
....
After verifying his position, from the random talks the ladies had, Zy decided to follow him. Seeing their instructor's stamp on the sheet of paper made him more sure.
Zy and the man exited the clinic. The door guarding the entrance to the unit creaked behind them. A barely-there path ran near that gate. It led to a corner Zy had never passed through.
This was where they plied. The man got on his horse instead, moving it at Zy's pace. It wasn't like this bothered the other guy, though. He knew he was nothing more than an amateur.
One side of the path was the fence of the clinic unit and the other side was a row of trees. And underneath these symbols of nature were possible shields from the scorching sun.
Zy winced a little. Sothing kicked in. He rubbed his back.
He gaped a little as he noticed everything was numb, unlike what he had expected.
He sighed.
'It doesn't hurt at all.'
But... who was the shooter?
That mont, he caught the man looking at him. He cleared his throat.
"So, you are...? I an, your na," Zy asked. He ignored any hierarchy here.
"Lys Lebedev," the man replied, appearing to not care about the tone either. "I am a Task Recruit, those who carry out small assignnts within, or outside in the heart of the kingdom. We wear mainly green uniforms... like those you might have t during your awakening..."
'Oh,' Zy recalled the guys who injected them with the serum, and he nodded. But he kept the realisation to himself.
"You will face tough missions that will likely draw from your own life. I am not too sure of the ti. But I bet you will regret making it to the top three," Recruit Lys said.
Zy glanced at him, finding interest in what he had to say as he had felt when Nero talked back then as well.
That mont, he recalled what Nero had told him.
He had said, with those innocent eyes and calm voice: "I can't defeat you, so I intend to make things easier for myself. To avoid a long, boring fight, knock out instead. And take the win."
Now, Zy found a question lingering in his own heart.
'Why did I do it? Was I that selfish and desperate for the win? I didn't hesitate at all before knocking him out.'
Lys creased his brows. The person, supposed to be curious, was neutral. And eager to listen. Yet, distraction had caught him and did not pay him any mind at all.
He jotted him back to his senses with a loud call, "Hey!"
Zy heard him right away. He glanced up.
"What is it?"
Lys asked right away, "Were you even listening to at all?"
"I don't think you were saying anything."
This made Lys chuckle for an unknown reason.
His shoulders seed raised above normal level, as a matter of fact. As if harbouring sothing only he had an idea of what it was.
"Well, you're a warrior, whatsoever. You don't need to always listen to orders... You can create your own based on the current situation."
"That might be true."
The mont Zy had been wishing for arrived when they reached the far corner. But the journey didn't stop there - not that he expected it to. Not reaching the corner showed they were not making much progress.
....
The journey led them outside the gate of the Magic Sanctuary.
The warm, vibrant outside world greeted Zy again. And as always, he ignored it.
There was nothing valuable there, he believed. Even worse than any silent danger he had had inside the sanctuary.
He had so many questions for the man. But he wanted to keep to his silence for now. He was more concerned about their destination than anything else.
They passed the most lively parts of Eldengrove. On the way, Lys bought two rice balls, and Zy accepted one when offered. Sohow, he didn't want to make things awkward.
One thing he discussed for a while with Lys was... seeing soone torturing three people with a long whip at the market square. It must be painful.
But, Zy assud their reactions to the whipping were too exaggerated. Lys explained that these were those who violated one of Eldengrove's laws. It forbade parents from marrying their underage daughters to an adult.
Eldengrove's culture and tradition varies from that of Solvardia and the others.
He added that, as Zy already knew. Well, he was afraid he had no idea of anything.
The fact that the girl hadn't turned bald yet ant her parents married her off. On that note, the Soul Whip would punish her parents and the suitors. It was the creepy-looking red whip Zy saw in the castigator's hand.
Two flogs of the Soul Whip, and you're already inching towards snapping the thread of your own life. Yet, the enforcer would use four of these to flog the accused.
If the suitor was the one who threatened a family to marry an underage girl, then half his wealth would go to them. The governnt would freeze the other half for six months. But if he were not wealthy, then the enforcer would flog him ten tis with the Soul Whip.
That was already an execution.
No one had ever survived past five floggings.
Zy had turned back and glanced at the chubby man, who was sprawling on the ground in pain.
Unable to move his body, blood seeping through his skin. It was either the suitor or the father. Whoever he might be, he had given him a smile that conveyed annoyance.
Lys caught him doing so. His brows creased.
....
And finally, they reached there. The front of a gaping wide entrance. A wide field stretched out before it like an uneven carpet of green. Wildflowers and patches of tall grass dotted it.
A dark maw carved into the rocky hillside of the cave entrance. Its jagged edges and twisted vines looked like teeth. It was as if the earth had opened to swallow anyone bold enough to approach.
They were about eight tres away from the cave.
Zy's eyes never left the watch of dark motes drifting at that gaping entrance.
'What a creepy experience, I suppose.'
He then looked at Recruit Lys, whose smiling face looked towards the entrance. This man sohow seed to be hiding another one deep inside.
'He doesn't seem that weak. Much stronger than , I guess. I could borrow his strength in there for a while... But wait, he brought here. There must be a tangible reason why I would want to get through that door...'
Lys, as if reading his mind, said:
"Ah, yes. We never talked about why you're here. Definitely because of soon getting very 'important' to the sanctuary and the world."
"Important?..." Zy interposed, demanding more explanations. "That's a vague way to put things."
Lys pointed at the cave. "So things will freak you out inside, but that's only for the first ti. The battlefield beyond the borders will be an ocean of blood.
It rises with the deaths of bonded comrades. Their wishes and goals usually disperse into the air like ashes. Elites die... everyone can. And most... will.
On that note, I will be testing your strength today. I will teach you so things as well... that might be necessary to keep on fighting with the last ounce of strength when you get outside the borders..."
Zy cut in. "Why should I listen to you? You're not even an elite fighter..."
Lys chuckled. He shrugged. "Well, soone might have ssed up along the way to one. No more questions. Co on. Show what you've got down there... bold pal."
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