Arrows zipped past him as Keegan, in a daze, bulldozed through the buildings, catching and killing bandits. He wondered, lost in thought, how many deaths he was responsible for, both directly and indirectly.

An arrow whistled through the air, and he snatched it barehanded. A viscous substance dripped from the tip – poison, he concluded. But unless it was laced with venom from a specific black beast, it wouldn't faze him.

Clearly, his ambushers knew a direct confrontation wouldn't work, so they resorted to underhanded tactics. This tactic mirrored what his opponents in Eberia had used. And because of that..

Realizing their ambush had failed, they switched tactics. Their coordinated movements suggested they were trained.

Keegan vaulted over a dead woman, her posture reaching out towards, a man, as he dispatched yet another attacker. Whatever they planned, Keegan decimated them.

As the cries and screams subsided, silence descended upon the village. The battle was over. Only one man remained, broken and crumpled at Keegan's feet, his legs shattered and hands mangled.

"Who sent you?" Keegan demanded, a sliver of hope clinging to him that this was all a coincidence.

The man, his voice raspy with impending death, spat bloody phlegm onto Keegan's boots. "Kill me..." he said.

"Was it the Heir of June? Or the Lord himself?" he asked again, taking short breaths, panting, and it wasn't from exhaustion.

"Piss off, bastard, and be done with it..."

Keegan let out a hollow laugh, his eyes flaring brighter. Oh how he wanted to inflict pain, to wrench the truth from him, but he knew it would be futile.

"Did you burn a village just to lure me in?" he rasped, barely a whisper, dreading the answer.

The "bandit" offered no response, his senses dulled by pain. Keegan's face turned ugly as he accepted this.

Orange light soon flickered in the village, accompanied by a deafening crack of thunder before fading into an eerie silence.

Russ and Hughie, along with the two children seated on their horse, stepped into the village.

"Ma!" Livia called out, fear and hope lacing her tone. She desperately searched for her mother's figure.

Her brother did the same, biting his lip as he looked for signs of life.

When Russ and Hughie saw Keegan standing beside a devastated and burned piece of land, they wondered what had caused it. They recalled hearing a crack of thunder, but looking up at the sky, there was no storm brewing. Then they heard Ollie and Livia's shout out..

""Ma!""

Frantic, they jumped down from the horse. Stumbling and rolling on the ground before Hughie could react, they dashed towards a woman's figure on the ground. Blood soaked the ground around her.

"Ma!"

Keegan watched as the two children turned the body over. Wails soon filled the air

Livia shook her mother. Large droplet of tears gushed from her eyes as she begged, "Ma, wake up! Please wake up!"

"Ma..." Ollie hugged his mother, breaking down and crying out, "Ma!"

As Keegan watched this, he felt the void inside him deepen.

It was hypocritical, he knew, to pity children who lost their mother, when how many fathers he had taken from their children, how many wives turned widows, and how many parents lost their child when he swung his sword.

The bandits may have taken these children's mothers, but he had done far worse.

He clutched the relic in his pouch, hands shaking and taking short breaths.

Close. So close. He only needed to find one piece... then he could finally...

"Sir?" A voice snapped him out of it. He took several deep breaths. He couldn't break here, not after all this time.

Russ called out to his employer. When their gazes met, a chill ran down his spine. He saw the familiar orange eyes had turned hollow, empty.

"Bury the bodies," Keegan instructed, as he approached the two children.

Standing over them as they wailed, tears streaming down their faces, Keegan waited a few minutes for the cries to die down. Finally, he asked,

"What about your father?" he directed his question to Ollie, who was clutching his sister who had passed out.

It took several deep breaths and swallows before Ollie could respond. "No...no father," he stammered, "it's always just been us..."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

Keegan nodded, then squatted down. "Come," he said softly, "we should bury her."

Ollie nodded shakily. He tried to stand up with his sister clutched tightly to him. Seeing his struggle, Keegan offered to help, but Ollie simply shook his head, holding back tears, his face determined as he stood, his body trembling.

Keegan nodded in understanding and carefully lifted their mother's body.

The village lay in a state of desolation. Only faint sounds could be heard, as it lost its vitality

----------------------------------------

"Is there an orphanage around Castle Reed?" Keegan asked Hughie, his voice soft as he looked at the two children sleeping in a bedroll next to the campfire.

They had camped outside the village after burying the bodies. The children didn't want to leave their village, but Keegan insisted they come with him to Castle Reed, where someone would take care of them. They agreed, but at the children's insistence, they opted to stay the night close to the village.

"I... I don't know for sure," Hughie answered, sitting around the campfire with Russ beside him. "But I believe there might be a ceremonial tower"

"'Ceremonial tower?" Keegan said, the word unfamiliar to him.

"It's a place where priests from the sky temples are stationed to perform ceremonies and such," Hughie replied. "I've heard they take in children and bring them to their temples for training."

"I've heard about their temples," Russ chimed in. "Is it really true their temples can only be found in the mountains?"

Hughie smiled in response. "On high places, yes," he explained. "The closer to the sky, the higher the chance you'd find one of their temples.

Keegan nodded, lost in thought. Silence filled their little camp.

The silence ended with Russ's question. "Did...did you have children, sir?" he asked.

Keegan answered after a moment, still gazing at the stars. "No."

Another silence fell over the camp before Keegan turned to Hughie. "What is Lord June like?"

Hughie, taken aback by the question, nevertheless answered, "I only know of him from rumors and from the brief time I've observed him."

Keegan gestured for him to continue.

Hughie spoke, his voice hushed, "He's an…. man, apparently fond of songs and stories. He's also an awakened warrior who fought in the Lyon rebellion ten years ago. On the surface, he seems easygoing, but rumors….him as someone who enjoys cruelty and possesses a cunning mind...."

After sharing what he knew, Hughie paused, then hesitantly asked, "Do you think Lord June had something to do with this, sir?"

Keegan met Hughie's gaze. "I don't know..." he answered slowly.

A steely glint entered his eyes. "But I will find out."

----------------------------------------

The addition of the two children to their travels had brought a flicker of life back to their journey, despite their sullen moods. Keegan tried his best to cheer them up.

"Huge! More than thirty meters from its nose to its tail!"

"A creature like that can't exist!"

"Oh but it does!"

"But I heard the Great Crawler only grows to six meters long!" Livia insisted.

"This is a dragon, little one," Keegan explained. "They're not your ordinary beasts."

Keegan smiled at this. He couldn't believe a little child was the one trying to be logical, shouldn't they believe in unicorns, fairies and dragons easily? Despite her skepticism, Livia, perched on hooves, couldn't help but ask again, her eyes sparkling with curiosity.

"How did the man killed it?" She asked.

"Through its weak spots," Keegan explained, as he led his horse, continuing his story. "It was old, slow, and couldn't fly anymore. So he poked it with a stick here and there..."

Ollie rode on another horse, quiet but attentive. Three days had passed since the incident, and aside from occasional travelers, nothing eventful had happened.

Out of the two, Livia especially had slowly regained her spirits. Though she still had some quiet moments, her childlike enthusiasm for travel seemed to have lifted her a bit.

Keegan turned his gaze to Ollie, he was the one who hasn't recovered in the slightest and aside from talking with his sister, he has completely shut himself up. Keegan sighed inwardly.

Soon, he finished his story and saw Russ deep in conversation with Livia about the creatures they'd heard about and other topics.

Keegan approached Ollie slowly. As he drew near, he heard the boy's small voice say, "Can... can you teach me to fight?"

Keegan paused, as he looked at the child. He wished he could tell him that there was no need to learn to fight but this was a dangerous world.

"How long will it take to reach the castle?" Keegan asked Hughie.

Hughie pondered for a moment, scanning their surroundings. "Two hours maybe," he answered.

Keegan looked up the sky, the sun hasn't reach up the highest yet but it was getting there.

"Let's make camp," Keegan declared. They quickly set up camp near the road. Russ took Livia with him to hunt for more food, while Hughie prepared the fire and rations.

Ollie, however, stood before him, sword borrowed from Hughie in hand as he faced Keegan.

"A spear is the more effective weapon, but since we don't have one, you'll have to make do with a sword for now," Keegan said, he held a dagger on his left hand.

"What do you use, sir?" Ollie asked, his young face etched with seriousness.

Keegan paused for a moment, a flicker of a nostalgia crossing his eyes. "A longsword," he finally replied, "But in my younger days, I wielded a spear for a time..."

"Then why didn't you use a spear anymore?" Ollie questioned.

Keegan smirked at him, "Because at that time, I just thought a sword was just cooler." His response brought a small smile on the kid’s face.

Keegan then beckoned the kid. "Come on, try to take a swing at me."

The child charged at him, a whirlwind of motion as he swung the sword wildly. Steel met steel with a clang. Keegan, with a smile, sidestepped a swing and tripped Ollie's leg. The boy landed harmlessly on the ground.

"Don't be too eager. It's important to conserve your strength." Keegan advised, his voice calm.

"Take advantage of your reach, never forget to stab.."

"Ohn!"

"Always watch your feet, you get downed, you turn vulnerable...."

"Hn!"

"Don't always swing widely, make sure you can always open to defend or counter attack.."

With each piece of advice, the mood grew heavier. Despite his attempt to mask it, concern flickered in Keegan's eyes as he watched Ollie stumble, rise again, and charge with renewed determination. Another misstep sent the boy crashing to the ground, tears now drip out of his eyes. Choking back a sob, he lunged forward once more.

"Arrrrh!"

Keegan calmly meet his attack, gently pushing him back.

"Be slick, let your hands be more flexible"

"Arrn!" Ollie growled, tears continue to pour out of his eyes.

"Learn to use your momentum, use your body weight to your advantage"

Russ and Livia had returned, a hare and a quail slung over their shoulders. Witnessing the scene, they stopped by and watched silently. As Ollie stumbled yet again, a choked sob escaped his sister, as she bursted out in tears.

Ollie no longer had the strength to pretend to be strong for his sister. His hands was now shaking uncontrollably, bruised and blistered they've become yet he didn't let go of the sword..

With a final swing along with a desperate cry, the sword clattered to the ground as his legs gave way. He crumpled to his knees, whimpers and choked sobs escaping his lips.

Keegan immediately enveloped the sobbing child in a hug, his hand gently patting Ollie's back. No words could truly ease the pain of their loss. He knew that all too well.

But still, "It's okay..." He uttered.

"It will be okay..."