Val opened his eyes slowly, and he saw the familiar room around him. His sight gradually became clearer, and he found himself lying down on a soft bed, surrounded by dim lights. It was quite dark outside, and the curtains were closed, blocking the view. There was a person sitting on the chair next to him, holding a cup of water and placing it on his lips. Val took a sip and let out a sigh of relief. The cup was warm, and it tasted sweet. He then realized it was not water, but milk.

The man was staring at him intensely, making him feel uncomfortable. Val tried to sit up, but his head hurt, so he remained still.

He turned his head slightly to look at the man, who was now standing beside his bed. He soon realized it was his older brother, Ember. Val smiled at him.

"How are you feeling?" Ember asked.

"Better, thanks." Val replied, but asked, "But, what exactly happened to me? I could not remember anything other than when I was talking to you and Big Brother Exeo about the shadow."

"Well, you fainted after thrashing around, that's all." Ember answered.

"Thrashing?"

"Yeah, you threw yourself off the ground and started screaming, until you finally collapsed."

"Oh! I'm sorry!"

"Don't worry," Ember said calmly. "Me and Exeo already informed the general that you are sick, so you can get some more rest."

"Thank you brother."

Val heard footsteps coming near, and he turned his head to look. A woman entered the room, carrying a tray with food on top of it. She set it on the table near Val's bedside, and left.

"Here you go," Ember said, handing Val a plate filled with vegetables and meat.

Val ate everything without hesitation. He noticed that Ember seemed concerned for him, which made him happy.

After eating, Val asked, "Brother, how are Big Brother Exeo, Bo and Riggs?"

"They're fine." Ember answered. "I just talked to them. They're doing great too."

Val was glad, but soon he felt tired.

Ember noticed Val's tired expression and suggested, "Alright, you need to rest some more."

"Alright," Val agreed, laying down on his back once again.

Soon, Val fell asleep, dreaming about a strange dream. He was standing in a never-ending white space. Everything was white, and there was nothing else except him. He looked down, seeing the floor was covered in a thick layer of fog. It was very cold, and he began shivering.

Suddenly, something appeared out of nowhere: an enormous black hand reaching towards him, grabbing hold of his shoulder and pulling him towards itself. He was dragged into a void of emptiness. All Val could see was darkness; the only light he could see came from his own body. As he struggled, he managed to grab onto something that seemed solid, and as he held on tightly, his grip loosened, and he fell into the abyss.

As soon as Val reached the bottom of the pit, he woke up.

He was lying on his back, staring straight at the ceiling. He blinked several times, and soon realized where he was.

Val sat up, taking deep breaths, while rubbing his forehead.

It was late at night, Val stood up and walked to the balcony door, opening it gently. He peered outside, seeing the moonlight illuminating the entire town. He looked around, noticing a few people walking along the streets, illuminated by streetlamps, like shadows in the misty moonlight.

When Val looked back inside the room, he saw Ember looking at him curiously.

"Are you alright?" Ember asked.

"Yes," Val answered quickly, closing the balcony door and returning to the bed, lying down.

He lay awake for a long time, unable to sleep. Finally, he dozed off but woke up shortly thereafter.

This went on for hours, until eventually, he dozed off again, this time sleeping soundly throughout the night. When morning came, Val awoke feeling refreshed. He got dressed and went downstairs. Ember greeted him, saying, "You seem better today."

Val nodded in agreement, "Much better, thank you."

"Good, good," Ember said, smiling cheerfully.

Val went over to the breakfast table, and he ate everything that had been placed there. Afterward, he returned upstairs, where he found Exeo waiting for him in the study.

Exeo looked exhausted. His eyes were puffy, and his face pale.

"Big Brother? What happened?" Val asked worriedly.

Exeo sighed heavily.

"It's nothing. I just lost track of time when I was training Fon."

"Training?" Val exclaimed.

"Yeah, we sparred with each other for two hours nonstop yesterday. You'd have thought I beat him to death or something, but no. I can see some improvements on that kid."

"That's wonderful, Big Brother! I am really proud of you," Val told him sincerely.

Exeo smiled weakly and shrugged, "Thanks...and I think I need some rest now..."

Val understood why his big brother looked so drained. Exeo had been pushing himself to the limit lately, with all the missions and his responsibility with the kid. He had hardly slept since the last mission.

Exeo looked away, trying to hide his exhaustion. He closed his eyes, resting his head against the wall.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

Val looked at his big brother with concern, but Exeo did not open his eyes. So Val decided to leave him alone and went out of the room.

Once Val left Exeo's sight, Ember joined him.

"Hey, little bro! Want a little sparring session today? You know you'll join us again for the mission." Ember said excitedly.

"Sure, I'd love that!"

"Great!" Ember replied happily.

They went to the courtyard, where they sparred a little rough.

A little while later, they took turns practicing with swords along with their abilities. Soon they were sweating profusely. Ember wiped his brow, while Val rubbed his forehead with both hands, trying to cool himself.

"We should stop for a while," Ember suggested, "or else we won't be able to get any sleep tonight."

"Right, right!" Val agreed enthusiastically.

Both boys stopped fighting and went to take a break. They drank water from the water coolers prepared by Nox.

While drinking, Val spotted a familiar figure approaching them. It was Exeo.

Val jumped to his feet and ran to greet his brother.

Exeo looked tired. He also looked depressed.

"I'm glad you're here, Big Bro!" Val said excitedly, hugging him tight.

Exeo hugged him back awkwardly as if he didn't want to show how tired he actually was.

After a moment, Val let go, and Exeo took a seat next to Ember.

"What happened, Big Bro?" Val asked, concerned.

Exeo didn't answer Val, but looked at Ember, "Em, we'll have the mission debriefing tonight, and that means," he looked at Val and continued, "You Val, will need to join. After dinner, we'll go to HQ to meet Gen. Luis."

As soon as he was finished, he stood up and slowly walked back inside the manor.

"Brother Ember, what's wrong with Big Brother Exeo?" Val asked, looking at the figure disappearing through one of the doors into the house.

Ember shrugged, "Not much. Just got tired. That's all."

Val frowned, then shrugged too, and sat down on a bench outside the courtyard. The sun began to set behind the horizon.

"Come on Val, let's go back," Ember said.

Val followed Ember to the door, which opened for them. They soon arrived in the dining room and found it empty except for Nox waiting for them.

Val asked, "Where's Big Brother Exeo?"

Nox answered, "Young Master Exeo will be having his dinner in his room, is what he said. Now, now Young Masters, you should start eating now." Ushering Ember and Val to sit down and eat.

He placed some food at the center of the table: meat with vegetables on skewers, and a salad of tomatoes, onions, lettuce, celery, peppers, and cucumbers. A small platter held several fried bread rolls.

After their meals were served, Nox poured a glass of juice for each boy and sat next to them with a smile.

Once they were done with their dinner, the two got back into their training gear. They headed towards the courtyard, where Val and Ember resumed their spar. This time, Exeo was waiting for them. He joined them as soon as they came out. They started training immediately. Exeo and Ember fought like old times — with no holds barred. It was all about skill and strength, but Val could also join the two with no holds barred.

Soon they grew tired and sat down for a short break. When they were done resting, Nox arrived and called for the three to return back inside the manor and prepare to go back to HQ.

When they arrived at HQ, Exeo led the way and entered the general's office. Bo and Riggs were already inside waiting for them.

The five young men waited silently for a few minutes until Gen appeared and welcomed everyone in the room.

He told them that there will be two missions for the team. One is to locate where the previous Blovik Empire is, and the second, find out any other leads about the cult, Hades' Wrath.

The general split off the team and assigned Ember and Valens to the location of the previous Blovik Empire.

Ember and Valens were given a map of the south region in which they'll be looking for the former Blovik Empire. The area was huge, with many mountains, lakes, forests, rivers, cities, and some wild regions.

"You'll be looking for an old kingdom called the Blovik Empire," the general said, "It ruled around 100 years ago, so it might be difficult to find any ruins or remains if there are."

Ember and Valens nodded. They have their own equipment with them: maps of the area, compasses, binoculars, ropes, maps of the area, etc.

As for the second team which includes Exeo, Bo, and Riggs, their mission was to find any evidence that might help identify where Hades' Wrath originated from.

Gen ordered the two teams to prepare the things for the mission and dismissed the meeting.

The two teams returned to their rooms and started preparing for the mission ahead.

The first team was the first to finish prepping and so they left HQ with haste.

They traveled as fast as they could. Their mission was to get to the southern region quickly before sunset when all the people were going to bed and would make a noise. They did not want to run into any trouble. It was important that they be able to scout the region thoroughly, especially its interior. They wanted to know every road, path, and way through, as well as their surroundings.

They kept traveling until nightfall without finding anything, and then they stopped at a small village called Vyra. It's at the border of the north and the south region. They planned on camping there for the night and then starting their search again at dawn.

The sun rose in the morning, illuminating the mountain ranges and rivers of the southern region.

Ember decided that they should take a break to eat breakfast. Then after that, they would move forward with their mission. The weather did not seem very cooperative suddenly. Clouds gathered over the mountain range and formed thick curtains in front of them, blocking out the sun completely. They felt a cool breeze too.

Valens thought to himself, 'If this is going to be a storm, we'll need shelter,' while Ember said to Valens, "Let's wait here for the rain to pass."

But no matter how long they waited, the clouds continued to grow and block out the light. It became very dark, even during daylight. It was so gloomy that they might need to rely entirely on the torchlight of their weapons and equipment, making them almost invisible to the sight of others.

"The wind is getting stronger, it can't be good," Ember whispered to Valens. "I think we should go."

He was afraid of getting into trouble because of being spotted by someone while they are unable to see clearly.

"How far are we anyway brother?" Val asked.

"A few miles more from where we are," Ember replied.

Val nodded his head, as he felt it was time to get out of there. The sun seemed to disappear behind the clouded mountain range, which cast an ominous feeling over him and made him feel even more nervous.

As they were on the road leading eastwards, the storm broke with full force. The trees swayed in the high winds.

Leaves, twigs, dust, dirt, and other debris scattered through the air like snowfall.

The two men stood side by side and tried to keep themselves steady under the strong gales until suddenly a branch broke loose from the tree behind them and landed right smack in Valens' back, sending him flying onto the ground with a thump!

He sat up immediately and grabbed his sword, but Ember quickly stopped him. "Don't move, stay where you are!"

There were more branches and stones breaking loose. A stone came flying at Ember's head; he ducked it and threw it to the side.

Another one came and hit Val's shoulder, forcing him down again, whereupon a branch fell on him. He got up and jumped away just in time as another rock landed close by. Then another hit him in the head, and then another. Ember held him firmly by the arm until the storm calmed down. When they were sure that nothing would fall on their heads, he let go of his brother.

Ember looked at him with a worried expression for a while, before asking: "Worry about yourself, you're hurt!"

Valens had cuts all over his body, including a deep cut above his left eye and several bruises on his shoulders and arms. The wind also caused him to lose his grip on the bag with all their equipment in it, sending it rolling far away.

Ember ran off to get their gear and brought it back. "Let me have a look." He was holding Valens' shoulder with his left hand. "Looks like you need some bandage for that."

"I'll live, don't worry," said Valens. But he did not feel so fine after getting so much of an impact from something thrown by the wind. He felt dizzy. "Maybe we should take some rest."

"Come on then, let's go on," insisted Ember.

Due to the weather, they wasted time just to shelter from the storm. In the process, they lost precious moments. By the time the storm passed and they continued on their way, it was already dark.

The moon could barely be seen through the thick clouds and misty haze that shrouded everything. It was as though a blanket was wrapped around them. They kept walking until they saw the glow of lights through the darkness ahead.

"Let's stop here for tonight," Ember suggested.

They reached another village late, just when everyone had retired to their beds. After a good dinner in one of the inns where they were welcomed warmly by the locals, both Valens and his brother went off to bed after attending to Val's light wounds.