When the glowing portal finally closed behind them and Raze returned to the familiar soil of Pagna with the others, the grand coalition of warriors slowly began to splinter. There were those who respectfully wished to go their own way now that the war was won. Many wanted to head straight back to their ho territories to reunite with their worried families, while others carried the heavy, sorrowful burden of informing their respective clans about the brave fighters who had died in the dinsional clash.
For Raze and the core mbers of his group, their primary destination was the bustling town of Flendon. It was the specific territory that had been officially gifted to him and Rayna a long ti ago, but walking through the gates now, the place was practically unrecognizable. It was incredibly vibrant, humming with a complete, thriving transformation.
Out of everywhere across the two dinsions, Flendon was the only place that Raze genuinely felt was his true ho. And as he arrived at the bustling town square alongside his loyal friends, breathing in the familiar, crisp Pagna air, it certainly did feel that way to his weary soul.
"We should hold a grand celebration right now!" Alba announced, throwing her arms wide open.
"Again?" Reno sighed, rubbing his temples in exhaustion. "We literally just ca from one incredibly long, exhausting banquet back in Alterian."
"Right! But that was for them. Now we are finally back in Pagna!" Alba insisted, a bright smile crossing her face. "This is the joyous, historic day that the legendary Dark Magus has safely returned to us and decided to remain a permanent part of Pagna. I honestly think we should establish this as an official, yearly festival, so we can continue to celebrate this victory for as long as humanly possible!"
There wasn't much genuine argunt from the rest of the group. Even though they had just finished celebrating the night before, the hardened Pagna warriors were absolutely always looking for an excellent excuse to eat good food and enjoy a strong drink.
"Are you okay with that plan, Raze?" Alba asked, looking over at him.
"You guys can set up whatever you want in the evening," Raze replied, his eyes scanning the crowded streets. "There is sothing highly important that I need to do before that. As for establishing a yearly, permanent event... I'm not so sure about that much attention. But honestly, whatever will make you guys happy."
Raze had learned over his long journey that there was absolutely no point going against this specific group or fighting their stubborn enthusiasm. They were usually just politely informing him of what was going to happen rather than actually asking for his permission. A grand celebration centered entirely around him could easily be thrown with or without his actual presence.
Raze had learned over his long journey that there was absolutely no point going against this specific group or fighting their stubborn enthusiasm. They were usually just politely informing him of what was going to happen rather than actually asking for his permission. A grand celebration centered entirely around him could easily be thrown with or without his actual presence.
However, when Raze abruptly darted off, sprinting away as soon as they entered the heart of Flendon, the others were left standing in the street, wondering exactly why he was in such a frantic rush.
"Does he have so sort of unfinished business here?" Lily asked, tilting her head. "I thought his dark crusade was entirely done now that he got rid of the Grand Magus?"
"I think he's desperately looking for Safa," Liam answered, his expression turning serious. "If she sohow managed to safely co back from the higher realms, then this exact town is the logical place that she'll be waiting. Listen, if you guys can, it would be in your best interest to imdiately get in contact with your respective clans. Send out ravens and ask around to see if anyone in the outer territories has seen Safa, or if she's returned from their descent points."
And Liam's educated guess was exactly right.
Raze rapidly searched the sprawling town himself. As he hurried through the markets, everyday people cheerfully greeted him. Many of the ordinary townsfolk didn't actually know the terrifying, world-ending scale of what had just been going on in the other dinsion; they simply recognized Raze's face as their lord, so they just assud he had gone away on a long business trip for a while and had finally co back.
While others—specifically those who were related to the brave warriors who had answered Da's call to arms to help the Dark Magus—were incredibly relieved and happy to see that he was walking around in one piece.
As he frantically asked around, though, it seed like absolutely no one knew where Safa was.
By the ti he had exhausted every single lead and questioned every corner of Flendon, the sun was beginning to set. The streets were already completely transford, filled end-to-end with long wooden tables, roasted food, and flowing drink to publicly celebrate the safe return of the Dark Magus.
Returning to the town square, Raze reluctantly decided to join the grand al. He found it politically impossible not to. Because not only were there thousands of people from the town of Flendon cheering his na, but it looked like prominent figures from martial arts clans all over the continent had caught wind of the victory and decided to turn up to pay their respects.
He imagined many of the clan leaders were traveling there specifically to curry favor with him, so he needed to at least show his face and project stability. It was also the perfect, centralized opportunity to interrogate the visiting elders and ask them if they had seen Safa in their respective lands. Because honestly, who truly knew how the enigmatic Divine Realm worked, or exactly where a person would physically descend when they were sent back?
Eventually, after an agonizing evening of asking around and receiving nothing but confused shakes of the head, there was still no answer. Defeated, Raze returned to his designated seat at the main table, where Liam, Da, Rayna, Alba, and B were currently sitting together.
"I asked around our networks as well, and I explicitly told all the Crane scouts to gather any whispers of information across the borders," Liam comnted softly as Raze sat down. "But absolutely nobody knows anything about her whereabouts."
"Well, it's pretty clear then, right?" B said, taking a casual sip of her drink and setting her cup down on the wooden table. Her voice was blunt, lacking any sugar-coating. "If your vast network of guys can't find a single trace of her on this continent... then most likely, she's completely stuck up in the Divine Realm. And I'm telling you right now, I'm honestly not surprised, considering exactly how unforgiving that place is."
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