Just as the talisman explodes in front of Kiara and the Hero, the civilians stare in disbelief and childlike curiosity as they see many colors shine through the Crimson PineGlade for just a second. It felt like a miniature version of the Aurora Borealis. The starry indigo night that stretches far contrasts the fleeting colors that shine brightly from the forest.
The master senses something wrong in the air. He slowly puts his down gracefully, his expressionless mask hiding his worry.
"That's the end of the congregation," the master politely finishes, placing his hands together, "We will continue this another day. Remember to spread the truth to my followers." The white-robed man raises his hands in the air, signaling everyone to rise from their seats and leave. In rows, the people walk in unison, their resolve once again fulfilled.
The 12 apostles follow the master into the backstage area. Azrael, Trajan, and the apostles stand next to each other as the master relays his fears.
"I felt something went out of plan," the master says worryingly, his frustration growing every second, "Do you not hear that?"
The room falls silent peacefully awaiting for something. Trajan slowly turns his head back and forth seeing if everyone is as confused as he is. Suddenly the cries and howls of the Elusives ring out everywhere in the city- cries invisible to regular civilians but frightening to those with spiritual ties. Not one, not two but dozens of cries echo not in unison, but one over another.
"Those cries mean something," the master clenches his gloved hand, the knuckles underneath turning white as his finger digs deep into his palm, "Elusive don't act as violent as this. Something went wrong when the Hero was busy absorbing the Ascendant's power."
"Elusive cry and howl at the time, What's the difference now?" the head apostle questions, his hair a pure white blonde, and his eyes glowing a pure holy radiance.
"The problem I am sensing is that it is happening across the whole city," the master angrily shouts back, shaking his head in annoyance and disbelief. "They sense something that threatens them. The worst case scenario- the Ascendant is freed."
Meanwhile, in the abandoned factory, Kawata slides down the stair guard rail. Lilith, reacting quickly, floats over to try to catch Kawata as he lands on the wooden floor. Hirano annoyingly scrolls through the news trying to gain any new information.
"Did you not see that strange light show that happened just now?" Kawata inquires, laying herself on the couch. Hirano raises his eyebrow confused by Kawata's question.
"What do you mean by a light show?" Hirano gets up from his chair, staring out of the glass windows. The city's neon light reflects off the tinted glass frame.
"I saw a brilliant array of colors shot out of the national park," Kawata describes, pondering to herself, "It was like a thousand fireworks going off for just a couple seconds."
Lilith turns her head, her expression troubled and disturbed, hidden under her long black hair. Hirano's eyes widen, and a smile tugs on his lips as he realizes the implications of what just happened.
The wind blows against Kiara, and the rustling of the leaves is the only thing that breaks through the tension. The Ascendant stares down Kiara as if he is looking at his next prey. Kiara bites down her tongue trying not to show a trace of weakness.
"You actually have a big fighting spirit attached to you, I'm impressed," the Ascendant compliments, his hands glowing a dark red color before summoning his daggers.
Great, he's complimenting me, Kiara breathes with her shoulders raising up and down. I know you're going to win but you don't have to make it obvious–
The Ascendant appears directly in front of Kiara, his body streamlined in the air with his daggers straight to Kiara's neck. It is like he appeared in the blink of an eye, his body was all distorted and blurry as he appeared right in front of Kiara.
Kiara's foot instinctively steps back, shifting her body to barely escape with her life. The Ascendant's eyes widen in disbelief as Kiara maneuvers out of the way.
Oh my god- How did I do that? Kiara screams out to herself surprised by her sudden reflexes. Her body spins around as she comes to a full sudden stop. Kiara felt her acid reflexes kick in as she felt like she was going to barf any second now. A coil of nausea twisted her gut.
How did she do that? The Ascendant questions himself, looking down on his daggers. His expression is completely bewildered as he looks towards Kiara. 2000 years in a talisman really does do something to you. Must be getting rusty.
Kiara feels like her spiritual energy is going more haywire than it usually does. The energy sparks up and down as the power within it seems to rise and dissipate. The Ascendant pushes aside his messy ragged hair, noticing the change in Kiara's spiritual energy.
"Do you not know how to control your energy reserves?" the Ascendant questions, raising his arm in the air, right in front of him. "Gladius sword."
The daggers start to glow a bright color as they shift themselves into a relatively short blade. With a flick of his wrists, the shockwave rustles the trees around him. Kiara felt the earth shake slightly beneath her.
"Eh. It's kind of difficult you know," Kiara answers, trying to maintain a level of control over the situation. The Ascendant raises his eyebrow confused by Kiara's answer.
"It's really that difficult. Most of the early humans I helped teach got it on their second try," the Ascendant reminisces, playfully swinging the short blade around him.
Oh. How amazing, Kiara rolls his eyes, unamused by the history lesson. She raises her katana preparing to strike, "The wardens have beaten and locked you away before. This won't be any different."
The Ascendant's expression darkens unamused by Kiara's declaration. Kiara felt the temperature in the area drops drastically as the man slowly got into a sword stance.
"You really need to hide better when you're scared," the Ascendant calmly explains, his gladius sword glows a deep red color, "Fear shows your opponent that you're not capable of holding your own against them." With his face distorted with malice, the Ascendant charges towards Kiara, his blade swinging with a complete will to kill.
With Kiara's and the Ascendant's blades clashing, sparks fly out in many directions. Kiara steps back, trying to keep a sense of distance between her and the Ascendant. It didn't matter anyway as the Ascendant's speed kept catching up to her slowly overwhelming her with constant strikes to her katana, chipping at it away.
With a heavy arc, Kiara swings her katana, cutting through the air with a quick slice. The Ascendant shifts his body away, blocking the katana with his blade. The loud thud echoes in Kiara's ear as her joints reverberate from the impact.
With every sword swing, the momentum carries a trail of a deep red light. Her arms tremble under the constant barrage of attacks. The Ascendant doesn't give her any time to breathe as he closes the distance between them. Kiara's katana felt like it was going to shatter any second as the sheer weight of his attack weighed heavy on her.
She's blocking well, the Ascendant analyzes Kiara's skills, his eyes gleaming with a sadistic satisfaction. His body twists effortlessly as he slams his blade towards Kiara but she manages to leap out of the way as the blade slams into the ground. The earth cracks under the impact.
He's on a completely different level, Kiara thinks to herself, her blade quivering in her grip. I'm too tired to keep fighting like this. Sweat droplets fly out of Kiara's forehead as she dodges and weaves out of the Ascendant's sword swings.
With each strike, her body is getting more strained by the second. Kiara's breath falters as she feels the fatigue starting to kick in. The Ascendant swings his sword, and the force as it clashes with Kiara's katana causes her to nearly onto the ground as her stance falters.
The Ascendants felt like his body was getting weaker by the second as his breath became more weary and the fatigue started to kick in. He didn't know the reason why he is becoming more tired as he keeps fighting Kiara.
"Composite bow," the man calls out as his gladius sword glows and transforms into a bow and arrow. He holds a traditional bow made of horn, wood, and sinew laminated together.
Stepping back, the man launches back in the air, pulling out multiple arrows out of thin arrows, pointing his bow and arrow towards Kiara. As each arrow falls down towards the earth like tiny asteroids, Kiara dodges and weaves between the falling projectiles and manages to graze her on her leg.
Suddenly the Ascendant felt something slice through his leg and he crashed onto the ground like a falling aircraft. Kiara felt her body react as her body fell out of the sky. Everything around her screamed in pain as she laid herself on the ground.
What is this? Both Kiara and the Ascendant think to themselves, their thoughts crash together like a herd of animals stampeding against each other.
The Ascendant decides to experiment with something. He slowly inserts one of his arrows into his palm and as he does this, he sees Kiara wince in pain like something stabbed her palm.
"Oh no," the Ascendant mutters to himself. He slowly gets up from his crater raising his arms high in the air signaling he is going to fight anymore.
Kiara instinctively raises her katana not knowing what the man is planning to do. The Ascendant just rolls his eyes and gently smacks Kiara's katana away from her hands.
"I'm not your enemy while we don't have a choice anyway," the Ascendant begrudgingly explains, "Also your heads are really sweaty, no wonder I managed to smack your blade away from your hands."
"What are you talking about?" Kiara questions maintaining a level of distance between her and her supposed enemy. The Ascendant rolls his eyes before crossing his arms together like a sassy bully.
"What do humans do to get each other to know each other?" the man inquires, looking intently at Kiara awaiting her answer.
"Humans tell each other their names," Kiara begrudgingly answers, still weary about the whole situation. "I'm Kiara. What's yours?" She asks, her tone low and quiet almost like a whisper.
"Well if we're going to get along now," Evander annoyingly says, his tone half serious and uninterested. "The name is Evander. Now did you see anything strange when you broke the talisman?"
"Hey. Woah there. Why do you think I broke the talisman?" Kiara defends herself, raising her hands in the air.
"Because why else the Eternal Wheel target you," Evander bluntly cuts in, unamused by Kiara's gesture, "I noticed that we shared pain together so that means the Eternal Wheel had to target you to also affect me. You had to be the one that triggered it."
"How did I trigger it when the cloaked maniac that actually wanted to free you broke through the barrier system?" Kiara questions, raising her arms in the air dramatically.
Evander leans his head to the side towards the destroyed talisman. The artifact showed clear signs that someone sliced into it. Evander raises his eyebrow wondering if Kiara is stupid or not. Was she really trying to act innocent?
"Did you slice into the talisman?" Evander questions with a straight-no nonsense look.
Kiara's eyes widen and she starts pacing herself around Evander as he looks on annoyed as she is trying to deflect his answer. Kiara bites her tongue as she realizes the implications of the situation.
"You sliced it, didn't you," Evander says, utterly unimpressed.
"It was an accident," Kiara sarcastically jokes to herself, "He threw the talisman right in front of my direction just as I was about to slice into him."
"But you still broke it," Evander says dumbfounded, not understanding what Kiara is fully reciting to him. Her excuses made no sense.
"You wanted me to stop mid-swing with my katana?" Kiara turns her head, looking at Evander with a confused expression. "It was all bad timing, okay."
"Yeah," Evander says deadpan, shrugging his shoulders. "You should have stopped it."
The moon shines brightly like a spotlight on where Kiara and Evander are. It is as if they were illuminated by a glittery shimmer of light.
Kiara decides to shift gears trying to override the situation with her curiosity.
"So you're an Ascendant?" Kiara investigates, trying to get as many answers as possible. "So can you remember the old world? What was it like?" Evander looks at Kiara like she is an alien, confused at how light-hearted she can act in this situation.
"Yes… I am an Ascendant," Evander says, acting like this isn't a new fact. Kiara nods her head, she walks around Evander like he is an ancient statue. She places her hand on her face trying to ponder to herself. Her eyes narrowed in thought.
"What are you doing?" Evander asks, his eyes moving as Kiara circles around him.
"So we share a soul bound together?" Kiara remembers the term from her nightmares. Evander looks surprised by Kiara's memorization of the spell: Soul Bound.
"Did wardens ever teach about that spell?" Evander's eyes narrow as he tilts his head as Kiara turns around dramatically.
"No. I had a vision of this exact moment," Kiara recites, raising his finger in front of Evander's face. "It was all a part of a nightmare I kept having for the past 3 days." The Ascendant annoyingly pushes Kiara's finger away from him.
"You had a vision?" Evander says, deliberately not making eye contact. He doesn't know if Kiara is a prophet or a lunatic. Probably both.
Kiara places her finger back at Evander's face, dramatic as ever. "Yes."
"Get your finger out of my face," Evander gently batts away.
"Alright. Sorry." Kiara apologizes profusely, raising her shaking hands in the air. "So do you know anything about freeing each other from this Soul-bound thing? Most have something in ancient memory of yours."
"Not that I know of," Evander bluntly explains, "From what I seen during the ancient times, ancient wardens used to use the soul-bound spell as a way to–"
"I don't want to hear the full story," Kiara rudely cuts into Evander's narration, waving her hand dismissively. Evander stares at her deadpan, realizing what she just did. A lot of arrogance for a girl who just learned to be tied to an ancient deity. She had a lot of nerve.
"Ancient wardens mainly used it as punishment to criminals," Evander finishes with a flat tone, "Tie them to masters and all that."
"Is there really nothing we can do?" Kiara says worryingly, her tone defeated and weary.
"No." Evander rolls his eyes, sitting on a nearby stump. "Unless Warden society has ancient spells on how to break it but probably lost to time, I guess."
"Well maybe we can help each other," Kiara's eyes widen, and an idea sparks in her head like a mad genius. Her voice rises in sudden excitement, "Maybe I can help find a spell to break it and you can teach me how to get stronger."
"What?" Evander's voice rose in surprise, puzzled by Kiara's request. "Why would I ever want to help a brat like you?"
"If we're going to be stuck together, we have to make the time count," Kiara explains, circling around Evander a second, clearly annoying him. "We'll both need each other. You can't access the Warden temple but I can. I can research spells and you teach me how to fight better. You don't want to be stuck with someone weak right?"
"Shouldn't you have a mentor or something?" Evander grabs Kiara's head suddenly, stopping Kiara in her tracks. "Unless things have changed in the last thousands of years I have been sealed."
"I have my Grandpa but I don't want to be a burden on him," Kiara's eyes look down on her feet, her fingers fidget next to each other. "He cares too much about me and I need to show him that he doesn't have to worry about my safety all the time."
"Aw. How sweet," Evander utters, his tone showing fake compassion.
Kiara's posture straightens as her gaze sharpens towards Evander. "Yeah, well. I don't need your pity." she lashes out, her voice more determined. "If I get stronger, maybe I can handle myself. Who knows maybe I can free us both while I'm at it."
Evander stares at her, the amusement in his eyes slowly fading as he considers her words. "Why do you want to fight? Tell me that then I'll help you. Give me a bad answer and I'm going to smack you in the face until I get an answer I like."
"What?" Kiara screams out, unprepared for what Evander just said. "Aren't you also going to be in pain?"
"Yeah. I won't have to be if you give me a bad answer," Evander slowly gets up from the tree stump, winding up his arm back. "Tell me right now."
Evander stares down Kiara, his presence similar to the one she felt a couple days ago when she bumped into that white-haired man and his sister. She didn't know how to react as everything was going way too fast for her comfort.
"Uh. I want to fight because I want to help people," Kiara utters calmly, her body shifting awkwardly. Without warning Kiara felt something smack against her face with a light but powerful force.
"Boring," Evander says with a dry tone, his hand moving in a quick blur. Kiara's body stumbles back a bit before falling down to the ground with a thud.
"Did you have to do that?" Kiara says with a sarcastic tone, rubbing her face to relieve the pain.
"Yes because your answer is awful," Evander looks up at the starry night sky shining brightly over the, "Another soft-hearted sheep's prayer before running headfirst into death."
"What does that even mean?" Kiara raises her eyebrow, slowly getting up from the ground. She stretched her arms and shoulders back while Evander slid his hands into the pouches tied to his waist.
"Ancient people talk, kid," Evander smirks to himself, raising his head up high. He steps forward, winding his hand back again for another strike. "One more time."
"Wait, before I answer your question." Kiara raises her hands defensively, "Can I ask how you speak perfect English? I don't think English existed back in ancient times."
Evander lowers his hand back. He sighs to himself before considering Kiara's question. "Kiara, I have existed since the dawn of human civilization, I think the Ascendants taught your people more than just spiritual energy and techniques. When you exist for so long, you learn a thing or two."
"Oh. So you taught us the earliest versions of our languages," Kiara says with her mouth wide open. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. This changed everything that she knew about history.
"Are you done distracting me?" Evander cuts into Kiara's thoughts, raising his hand back one more time, "Why do you want to fight? For the love of Zeus, please do not give me that 'helping people' nonsense–I need more substance."
"What is this substance you're talking about?" Kiara questions, wiping away the sweat from her forehead. The cool night air contrasts with the palpable tension in the air.
"I have fought and killed many wardens in the ancient war, Kiara," Evander explains, his eyes narrow with a deep conviction. "Did they decide to throw themselves in a war against deities because they wanted to help people? Yes, but there was something beyond that. Something that complimented it. That's the substance I'm talking about."
Evander's clothes ripple in the wind, his sleeves and pants flap up and down from the unseen breeze flowing next to him. His messy long jet jet-black hair flows like it's floating a stray on a calm ocean day.
"You really have no fire under that lukewarm answer," Evander pushes his long hair back, revealing his light gray colored eyes. Standing tall, Evander waits for Kiara's answer, his foot taps felt like a ticking time bomb for Kiara.
I keep having this same talk with people. Why can't I get it? Kiara thinks to herself, her eyes looking directly at Evander's determined gaze, his grey eyes shimmering in the moonlight.
"How about you give me an answer that I would accept then we'll take the time to time to forge it further and make it yours," Evander cuts in, his tone cold but a strange offer buried underneath it. The offer came out of nowhere, surprising Kiara.
Can she really trust him? If it wasn't for the soul bound, would he start killing people?
Kiara closes her eyes remembering how she has been during her time in Warden society. She remembers how much of a bystander she was and how she let others take advantage of her and made her feel like a burden and a joke.
Kiara opens her eyes as she takes a deep breath to herself. Evander stands tall anticipating her answer- whether awful or somewhat decent.
"I want to fight because I don't want to be a bystander anymore. I don't want to let others see me as weak and could be treated as their plaything." Kiara declares to herself, her voice showing a sense of conviction to it. "If I want to protect people then I have to be strong enough to do it. Fighting is the only way I can keep moving forward."
A long awkward silence falls between them. No one speaks for a whole minute. A sweat droplet falls down Kiara's forehead thinking she already failed.
"Still boring," Evander pauses before letting out an unimpressed scoff, "But it's better than before. It's very idealistic but I've heard worse. Do you have a home kid? It's frigid around here."
Kiara lets out a small smile to herself. This is going to be a long chapter in her life.
"Yeah. I can maybe sneak you into my house but only one promise," Kiara raises her finger, giving out an order, "As long as you stay under my roof, no killing. If you're going to walk among people again, you'll need to learn how to coexist even for just a while."
Evander's eyes narrow scornfully hearing Kiara's request. He puts his hands in the pouches tied to his waist. He rolls his eyes before slowly making his way out of the forest. Blinking her eyes, Kiara turns her head watching Evander walk off by himself into the darkness of the forest.
Evander turns his head in a snappy motion back at Kiara. "Are you going to stand there dumbfounded or are you going to show me the way, brat?" Kiara rolls her eyes before quickly directing Evander to the right path out of the Crimson PineGlade.
It felt like the weight of centuries pressing against her. Kiara's actions and her choices will now have consequences and now she will no longer be just a passive participant in her own fate.