Days passed, and Kain settled into a routine that felt strangely familiar, yet unfamiliar at the sa ti.
As one of the city-state's prized beast-tars, Kain's duties alternated between patrolling the outskirts to keep rogue spiritual creatures at bay and assisting the Vice City-Lord in planning defences against rival states and potential Abyssal threats.
As ti went on, the feelings of unfamiliarity and the uncomfortable feeling of forgetting sothing began to fade. He couldn't help but feel like this had always been his life.
But sotis certain events or people will bring up those unsettling feelings again…
One morning, Kain descended from the estate's main building, his gaze sweeping the training grounds below. A familiar figure caught his eye—a man with a wiry fra and sharp hazel eyes directing a group of junior tars.
"Benji," Kain called, descending the steps.
The man turned, his features lighting up in recognition. "Kain! Done patrolling already?"
Kain approached, taking in the sight of Benji's Spirit Mouse perched on his shoulder. The tiny creature twitched its nose, its beady eyes scanning Kain with an unnerving intensity.
Benji had quickly risen in the ranks since awakening his affinity, becoming a trusted scout and analyst for the Vice City-Lord. His Spirit Mouse's unique ability to sense threats, locate treasures, and more made him an invaluable resource.
"Finished yesterday's patrol late, but I have another one in the western sector this afternoon," Kain replied. "What about you?"
"Preparing the juniors for their first hunt," Benji said with a smirk, gesturing to the sparring pairs before him. "They've got potential, but they're still green."
One of the junior tars stumbled mid-swing and was hit hard to the ground by the large tiger-like spiritual creature it was sparring with.
"If only these newbies could be as worry-free as ntoring you," Benji said with lancholy, while heading over to the newly injured young beast-tar.
However, Kain couldn't help but dwell on Benji's statent. Kain was brought to this compound and was placed directly under the instruction of the Vice City Lord, he couldn't actually recall a ti when he had actually even been ntored or received any advice form Benji.
However, despite the lack of any such mory involving Benji, Kain instinctively felt like his statent wasn't false.
'Weird…' The annoying feeling that his mories and surroundings weren't matching ca up again.
-------------------------------
Later that day, Kain led his patrol along the western edge of Ishvaran's borders. The terrain was rocky and uneven, with sparse vegetation hanging on stubbornly within the harsh environnt.
He was accompanied by two of his contracts, the Vespid Queen (and her guards) and the Earth Golem, flanked him, their presence a comforting reminder of his strength.
On one such day, Kain's patrol brought him to the southern sector, where he encountered two of Ishvaran's risig stars: Clara and Claudia.
The two won were sparring in the central training grounds when Kain arrived. Their movents were sharp and fluid, a striking contrast to the more hesitant techniques of the junior tars nearby. A crowd had gathered, watching in awe as the pair engaged in a fierce battle.
Clara's contract, a fox-like spiritual creature with crystalline fur emitting light, moved in perfect harmony with her commands, darting in and out of Claudia's shadow panther's range.
anwhile, Clara and Claudia were engaged in a fierce battle with one another.
After all, during these chaotic tis, a beast-tar without their own combat power was a dead beast-tar.
Currently they were evenly matched, and even their fighting styles were similar. From the current tally of their wins and losses they also had an equal number of wins.
Experience new stories on My Virtual Library Empire
Kain leaned against a nearby pillar, watching with admiration. Despite only joining the patrol recently and supposedly having little practical experience, they exuded the confidence and skill of seasoned warriors. Clara and Claudia quickly beca rising stars within the patrol and were both up for a higher-up position.
The fight ended when Clara's fox leapt over Claudia's panther in a dazzling display of agility, landing on Claudia's shoulder and pinning her to the ground with a triumphant growl. The onlookers erupted into cheers and applause.
Clara extended a hand to Claudia, who accepted it with a wry smile. "You've gotten faster," Claudia said, brushing herself off.
"And you've gotten stronger," Clara replied, her tone warm but teasing. "If that last strike had landed, I'd be in the healer's ward right now."
Kain approached as the crowd began to disperse. "Impressive as always," he said, nodding to both won. "You joined the patrols only recently but you two make the rest of us look like amateurs."
Clara turned to him with a smirk. "I don't know about amateurs… I hear you've been holding your own on the eastern patrols, Kain."
Claudia crossed her arms, her panther curling at her feet. "Although, you've still got a lot to learn if you want to keep up with us."
Technically, Kain's position and practical experience should be slightly higher than the other two, but none of the three seed to see any problem or inconsistency with them taking on a slightly superior and instructional tone with Kain. The two sisters then began to recount various pieces of practical advice to Kain, like usual.
However, their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a ssenger, a young boy out of breath and clutching a scroll. "Tars Kain, Claudia, and Clara!" he called, his voice urgent. "The Vice City-Lord requests your presence at the strategy hall. According to her, the need for the presence of the three of you is extrely urgent."
The three tars exchanged a glance before heading to the hall together.
When they arrived, the Vice City-Lord was already waiting. Surprisingly, Benji was also present. The gazes of the both of them swept over the 3 new arrivals.
Interestingly, despite having just seen Benji that morning Kain couldn't help but feel sothing odd in the way he and Nadia were staring at the 3 of them. Sothing had clearly changed in how he treated Kain in just these couple of hours.
"See I told you they don't rember anything."
Reviews
All reviews (0)