A few days passed, and Theo could already feel himself being worn out by travel.
He had lived his entire life in Sarvos, specifically as a street rat in the Sarvos Capital, doing everything he could to survive in the slums as an underground fighter, a beggar, a petty thief, and any other occupation that could ensure his survival.
Even for someone like him, such a long trip was exhausting.
"Just a bit more, Theo… we're almost there." Fae noticed his fatigue and flashed him an encouraging smile.
The others heard her and turned to him with the same expression of empathy.
"Haha… thanks."
Theo was still not quite used to being the one depending on others, as he had always been the leader—unofficial or not—of his friend group. He knew himself to be stronger and smarter than anyone his age, and even most adults didn't compare to him. However, after meeting the Zenith, he quickly realized that he was only a big fish in a small pond.
There were truly powerful people in this group, and many of them weren't too far off from him in age. The youngest in the group, Jake, was frightening, and the second youngest, Terra, seemed equally as capable that it was terrifying. Being among such exceptional people, it was only natural that he would be treated the way he was, so he often ignored the discomfort and accepted his place among them.
'They're very considerate and nice people… I should appreciate this.'
Instead, he felt indebted.
And he desired to pay up as soon as he possibly could.
However, since there was no feasible way to achieve this, he maintained a stoic demeanor and simply did his best to keep up with the group, stopping for breaks when they wanted, and eating the food they gave him. He never complained, always complied, and even when he was asked if he desired anything more, he said nothing.
They passed through a great deal of forests, barely seeing any plains besides the one they encountered after passing the border of Sarvos. They also encountered no small civilizations or nations on their path, strategically heading Southwest as they advanced to their destination—the Shore.
And so, more time passed.
Then—
"We're here."
Just as Fae promised, it didn't take much longer before the dense foliage began to disappear and sandy soil tickled the feet. A few hundred meters later, they were standing on a beach, with the vast ocean in sight and sparse trees erect behind them.
"W-wow…" Theo muttered, his eyes gleaming brilliantly as he saw the incredible body of water that danced in front of him.
Waves crashed upon waves, creating a cool salty scent that the wind spread to the entire beach. The golden sun gave its brilliant light, blessing the empty beach with warm light that perfectly complemented the sweet aroma of the ocean.
Theo instinctively stepped forward, stretching both hands apart as if expecting an embrace from the sight that he witnessed. Tears streamed down his eyes as he forgot all about his exhaustion and instead felt beauty and freedom encapsulated in this single experience, slowly parting his lips to reveal the only thought that appeared in his mind.
"What a wonderful day."
"Indeed." Fae smiled back at him. "It seems Divine Ancestor Great Sun is in a good mood today."
"Great Sun…"
Theo was reminded of the legend of Great Sun and Grand Moon, the two deities that were most prominent in the Mainland. Some professed them to be Divine Ones while others stated they were merely avatars of the Divine. There were even those who addressed them as Mortals who managed to transcend the shackles of the world and ascend to the High Realm—becoming Divine Ones as a result.
Whichever views one had shaped their religious inclinations which ultimately affected their convictions about the world. Regardless, it was a popular saying that during tranquil nights under the full moon, Grand Moon was in high spirits, and during warm, sunny, and pleasant days, Great Sun was in a good mood.
"Looks like they beat us to it." Terra's ireful murmurs broke Theo from his train of thought, forcing him to look in the direction she was focused on.
There, he saw Damon and Drake smiling and waving to the group.
'They're already here? How?!' His eyes bulged in shock. 'I thought they were meant to take a longer route, so how come?'
It didn't take Theo very long to understand once he got over his initial surprise.
'Ahh… everyone must have slowed down and taken a lot more breaks out of consideration for me. No matter how fast and athletic I am, without an Armament, I'm still very limited. They understood that and held back as a result.'
Drake and Damon had no such restrictions, so they must have hurried to the Shore as soon as they possibly could.
"Look at them giggling like little kids… acting like it was some kind of race." Terra mumbled as the group approached Damon and Drake.
Theo wondered how she would react if their team had been first and not Damon's, and he imagined she would be petty about it. In essence, she was only pretending like it was no big deal because their group had lost.
'I probably shouldn't say anything since it was my fault…' He reasoned, keeping quiet as the reunion occurred. Instead, he chose to focus on Damon and Drake, noticing they had no sign of injury or exhaustion.
'Looks like it was naive of me to worry about them.'
A smile coursed through his face, especially as Drake exposed an embarrassing scene of Damon getting aroused after spotting a beautiful female despite the woman being an enemy. Damon frantically tried to defend himself, but he was instantly silenced by the looks of disgust that the women of the group gave him.
"You must do your best not to be a man like this creep, okay?" Terra told Theo, her glare being the most intense. Under such a stare, he could do nothing but use all of his energy to respond affirmatively.
"Come on! This isn't fair!" Damon whined. "Don't turn Theo against me. He's a guy, so I'm sure he understands how things get at times. The stuff has a mind of its own, and sometimes it gets out of control."
Theo said nothing in response, choosing to remain neutral until the stares centered on him forced him to make a choice.
"I've never experienced that."
He chose to side with the women, silently apologizing to the devastated Damon. "It must be a 'you' thing."
"Theo, you traitor!"
"Haha… sorry, Damon…" He laughed out loud while weeping inside '… But I value my life.'
Everything eventually devolved into laughter, and the group enjoyed the pleasant weather of the beach together—almost as if they hadn't just killed hundreds of people and destroyed the prospects of an entire Nation.
Their felicities lasted until evening, with the group chuckling and sharing experiences that Theo found to be nearly fantastical. He never had a family, and most older people in the slums sought to take advantage of younger ones, so this crowd felt surreal to him.
Still, he liked it… very much.
His smile was authentic, and his laughter genuine.
For the first time in over three years, he felt a warmth in his heart which he thought had long become a frozen wasteland. That made Theo relieved… happy to see he was still human—just like he wanted to be.
"It's about time… we should leave now." Fae rose to her feet, followed by Terra, and eventually the rest of the members of the Zenith.
Theo was the only one seated, and he watched them in mild confusion.
"Huh? Right now? I thought we were waiting for our ride to come." He said, absolutely bewildered since there was still no sign of a vessel at shore or even on the horizon.
'Or… are we going to swim to the Ak'ashi Guild?'
Theo shuddered at the thought.
"Our ride has always been here, silly." Fae answered him.
"Eh?"
"We just decided to spend a little while enjoying the beach and catching up." Dinah rubbed his head and chuckled.
"Yeah… relaxing like this every once in a while isn't bad at all." Terra smiled.
"Makes an old man like me appreciate the beauty of nature. Would be a shame if we didn't enjoy the pleasant mood of Divine Ancestor Great Sun." Drake chimed in, rubbing his white beard as he winked at Theo.
Theo immediately shuddered, but smiled after hearing Damon's remarks.
"Besides, it looked like you wanted to enjoy the beach a little more. So we decided to enjoy it with you."
"You guys…" Theo felt tears well up in his eyes.
"So… what do you think?" Fae asked him, showing him the setting sun that dyed the ocean with tints of orange in the emerging darkness. Everyone silently watched Theo as he wiped away the pent-up tears.
He suddenly ran to the front of the group, stopping after walking a few meters from them.
Swiftly turning and bowing to the six, even Jake—who hadn't said anything to him throughout the journey—Theo yelled from the depths of his heart.
"Thank you! Thank you for everything! You guys… you all… thank you so much for everything!"
The members of the Zenith saw this and smiled warmly at Theo.
Such warmth… such kindness… Theo had never experienced it in his entire life.
And so, as he stood in front of the setting sun, he felt like the six before him shone brighter than any star he had ever witnessed in the whole of his existence. His eyes shone bright amber and he screamed from the depths of his heart.
"I love you all!"