"Everyone gets forgotten in time, only the consequences of our actions remain remembered forever."
No one was perfect, Azar included. He, as the rest of the people, had much more to learn and discover, and mistakes were a part of his journey.
Lighting a candle of his own, bellow the memorial tablet of his fallen brother, Azar remained in a lowered posture. He stood still for while, reminiscing about his comrade and sworn brother, Moose.
There was no shortage of good people in the world, but people who could become great and remain good at the same time, that was a rare sight. Azar came out of the temple, passing a gold coin to the monk on duty.
"Thank you for your work!"
The monk nodded and accepted the gift. "May the primordial light guide you always," he blessed Azar who descended the stairs.
The air was warmer then normal for the peak of a mountain, or maybe that's was just Azar's feeling. He felt peace at the moment, and a profound freedom, similar to an eagle gliding through the sky. All the problems and worries that previously burdened his heart were washed away in a haste.
'Is this the connection between two souls?' he asked in his mind.
There was not much more time until he had to leave Rivero, the things in Lefeer kingdom begging for his presence. But he wasn't ready to deal with the reko. He didn't have the means yet.
Midnight's power and influence in that region wasn't enough, and he didn't wish to force his hand. If the ones walking as human nobility were of high bloods, he needed to be cautious, or else, the confrontation will result in many casualties.
But by stopping their plan with the underground portal, and sending Visderfis on their tracks, they most probably will become alert and lay low for a while.
'That would be for the best,' Azar thought.
. . .
"Lord, have you asked for me?" Jormot, the director of Midnight, asked politely. He was a man passed his forties, with a cultivation advancing to the first star of [Aikyam] not long ago. His skills and combat power weren't something special either, but his management and strategic abilities were on a whole new level.
Those abilities made him worthy of becoming the director of Midnight and calling most of the shots. He was a loyal and honest individual as well, so the seven brothers trusted him with wielding the power of the organisation.
"Yes, I have a question that bothers me," Azar said, motioning for Jormot to take a sit.
"Please, ask."
"When I left, not knowing if I will ever return, I tasked you with making a connection with Director Visderfis and share with her the results of our work. Recently, I paid her a visit, and to my surprise, nothing was done. Jormot, be kind and enlighten me about the reason for not doing what I instructed you to," Azar said on a deep tone. He wasn't angry, but dead serious about the matter.
"I'm sure that you, my lord, are aware of the fact that the Law Enforcing Tower from Lefeer Kingdom does not approve of our activities. And Director Visderfis has, without a question, a very bad opinion about us," Jormot paused, letting the atmosphere settle slowly.
"We tried to make contact with her twice. Without success. She wasn't looking for a discussion, instead we were about to get caught. You know her better then i, but I knew you will come back alive. So the best decision was to wait."
"She wants to team up, now," Azar said. He now understood Jormot. Maybe his heart knew it from the beginning, but his stubbornness didn't allow him to listen.
"Director Visderfis has much on her back. She trusts only a handful of people, and accepts help only when she is unable to do something on her own," Jormot paused, taking a sip from the tea served by Eno and changing his expression into a smile.
"Lucky for us, we have you, my lord. We can now take action, and in the case of danger, you can mediate the situation. My lord is one of the few she trusts."
Azar kept silent for a time, adjusting his thoughts and cooking up a strategy. "Sent word for Markos to be the contact man and give him all the copies and instructions needed. If he's free, I want him to get on action today."
"As you wish, my lord," Jormot replied, immediately using his communication device to sent orders and prepare the stage.
. . .
On one of the streets in the city, a slender girl, wearing a casual dress and light shoes, watered the flowers in front of her small yard. Her moves were flowing with experience, her brown hair, tied at the back, giving her the appearance of a housewife.
Azar approached her from behind, not making even the slightest of sounds. Still unsure of his feelings, and a little afraid of the consequences, but totally confident in his desire to see her one more time.
"Got you," he said grabbing her waist and stepping into the void. The watering can was forced out of her hand and remained behind, laying patiently on the soil.
Azar appeared on the plain rooftop of tall building, his private place for admiring the city at night. Reeya, the girl in his embrace, tried to resist and fight for her freedom. That, before realizing with surprise the identity of her kidnapper, who didn't resist kissing her for the reaction shown.
"Did you miss me?" Azar asked laying his back against the chimney. He pulled the girl closer, pressing her body on his, as punishment for not responding fast enough.
Reeya didn't say a word, but kissed him softly. "Do you understand this answer?" She asked close to his ear before pulling away the collar of his coat and planting another kiss on his neck.
"I never understand the first time, can I get a more detailed explanation?" Azar flirted. Caressing her neck with the tip of his nose, he inhaled from her floral perfume.
"Stop, your breath tickles," Reeya tried to push him away. Not obtaining the desired effect as she only managed to make Azar switch his attention to her mouth and kiss her with passion.
The two continued their show of affection for a while, until Azar looked at his pocket watch and sighed.
"I'll be gone for some time," he said in a low voice.
Reeya drew the contour of his lips with her finger. "For how long?"
"I'm not sure," Azar answered before grabbing and holding her finger between his teeth.
"Don't bite!" She warned in a hurry. But when nothing happened, she relaxed and returned to the main topic. "When are you leaving?"
"In a few minutes," Azar said after releasing her finger.
Reeya felt disappointed, but didn't complain. She knew that the work of her lover was important, and she didn't want to restrict him. Putting an eagle in a cage was a catastrophic mistake, and a foolish way of doing things.
This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.
"Then I'll go visit my father as well. Let me know when you're done with your work."
Reeya's father was a mafia boss with enough power to be on par with mid level nobles. When she disappeared back then, he acted like a berserker, using everything he had to find some clues about her.
Fuck, if he had the power, the man would've flipped the world upside down just to find his daughter. But his effort was pointless in the end as the people abducting Reeya belonged to an immense organisation that operated for decades.
The good part was that his daughter returned home after she completed the recovery program. She appeared at his door in the same sudden manner in which she disappeared. And she kept the identity of the people saving her a secret, only saying that they were the Midnight.
"I'll do," Azar said before stepping forward, returning to Reeya's house. "I want your blessing!" he smiled mischievously.
"Really? How many have you received already?" Reeya chuckled before kissing him one more time. ". . . be careful, alright?"
"As always." Azar stepped back and made a courtesy bow. "Until we meet again, my lady!" he said before using his [Void Step] and vanishing from the spot.
The girl sighed and went to retrieve her watering can. Neither she, nor Azar felt good about their separation, but things must be done, and free time must be paid with hard work.
The same day, after the short time spent with his girlfriend, Azar passed through the portal and arrived in Oriol. Reeya's father lived there as well, but Azar never met him, and wasn't sure that he was ready for that. Not after the previous experience with Zianne.
Not wasting time in Five Leaves, Azar headed straight for the Law Enforcing Tower.
As usual, Visderfis was inside her office, but uncommon to her composed and stress resistant character, she just stood on the sofa, head covered with her hands, trying to analyze and understand the meaning of the events happening recently.
"I thought that I was clear about the fact that I would respond to your questions," said Azar after arriving in the middle of the room. He was a little shocked to see the director in such condition, and maybe a little worried about her mental health too. Stressing and overthinking things never led to a healthy life after all.
"And who knew when you will come?" asked Visderfis, quickly arranging her hair. The most helpful, and at the same time, annoying thing, was Azar's way of coming and leaving. It was extremely useful since no one was aware about his visits, and as it proved in the past, one of the best ways for sending messages, or executing a mission.
But it was totally annoying because she always needed to be careful since the man could appear in any second.
Azar raised an eyebrow, blinking slowly. "Yeah, I'll accept that mistake," he said realizing the inconvenience occurring because of his past actions. If he came more often, and not at such irregular time intervals, this problem could've been avoided.
"I didn't even know what to report to Queen Alaine, the lab analysis said that the gray skinned individuals aren't humans. But then, just what are they, and what were they doing in our tunnels?" Visderfis said in a single breath.
She clearly gave much thought to the matter. As the director, she had to report to the queen, who was the person supervising the secret and illicit activities happening on the kingdom. She commanded the spying network, and took the pulse of the Law Enforcing Tower through her childhood friend, Irene Visderfis.
Only after Queen Alaine filtered the reports and information, she sent the essentials to the king. King Genard was a wise, but extremely busy person. He was lucky though, as he was blessed with an amazing wife.
"I'll tell you after we'll drink some tea," Azar said after witnessing the condition of the director.
The tea was quickly served as he had all the ingredients in his storage ring, and his flame to do the process. Azar, as any other man, felt the impulse to help a woman in need, especially a hardworking and beautiful one.
He felt indebted to the director. By his own set of rules, he paid back anything in double the amount received. A helping hand at the right moment, or a slap in the face when he was down, there was no difference as the bills were always settled.
"A few years back, me and some friends accepted a task that implied the capture of one of the bosses in some region. All went smooth as our skills were superior to the job requirements," Azar said after he saw the director relaxing. "But there was something, or should I say someone, that shouldn't be - "
"A bluish-gray skinned someone?" Visderfis interrupted. She hold the warm cup of tea at her bosom, inhaling the herbal steam and listening the story like an impatient child.
"Yes," Azar continued. "The bluish-gray individuals are part of a race named reko. And they arrived on this planet since a long time ago, right after the fall of the previous civilization, to be more precise. As you probably know, on the current region that we call the Forsaken Lands, stood actually the most evolved and advanced empire that ever existed on our planet, Abes Kulun Empire."
". . . yes, what about it?" Visderfis asked. Her attention remaining behind, on the reko part.
"The catastrophic explosion that almost wiped all life forms from the continent had the epicenter right in the capital city and was caused by the failed experiment of an interdimensional gate. The gate detonation was so powerful that it caused a rupture in the time-space barrier of the planet, and the rekos entered through there," Azar explained.
"And why are they appearing only now, what is their purpose here?" Asked the director, unable to answer the questions that tormented her being.
"From what I know, they appeared between humans since a few years ago, but I'm sure that their implications are much older, and deeper then we know. I believe, but I don't have any evidence, that they are related to many unresolved disparitions of animals, people, and objects. And about their work in the tunnels . . . I can say that they were building a teleportation device," Azar said, not spelling too much of the actual information in his possession.
The director had so much work on her hands in dealing with Kaden's plans, if he told her everything, she would be overwhelmed. Not to mention that she won't be able to fight on all fronts. She needed to be fed with the information in small doses, for her own good.
Visderfis squinted her eyes, looking somewhat skeptical at Azar. "If you knew so much, why didn't you informed me? And how can you be so certain that the construction was such a device?"
"Because I've seen that technology before," Azar replied. He liked the direction of the discussion, and if that could make the director shift her focus, why not revealing some other things.
"I won't burden you with unimportant matters for now, but I'll definitely tell you more in the future," he said getting up from the sofa and approaching the reinforced glass wall of the room.
As Azar predicted, his answer didn't please the director who wanted to know everything as soon as possible.
A small internal fight happened inside Visderfis' heart. With a part of her wanting to find out everything and calm her curiosity, while the other wanting to accept things as they came and focus on the urgent matters.
"How can you have access to so much information? Who exactly are you? Haven't we reached the point where you can trust me enough to reveal it?" she asked, her suppressed curiosity thriving in the end.
She knew Azar since six years ago and considered that their relationship was close enough for him to share some secrets. Visderfis helped him escape some difficult situations and contributed to his evolution. So for her, it was a normal thing to at least be aware of whom she placed her trust in.
Not in Azar's case though, as she didn't even knew his real identity or name. This didn't bother her most of the time as Azar proved to be a loyal and trustworthy ally, even when his whole person was a mystery. But sometimes, her patience vanished and her curiosity twisted inside her. Yet with all this, the young men always told her to wait a little longer.
"My answer remains the same," said Azar revealing a smile. "It's not about trust, so you don't have to worry. It's exactly as I said before, I will grant you the biggest wish of your life, and my identify is a part of your gift. Don't ruin the surprise, and indulge in waiting a little longer."
Visderfis shook he head. "You keep saying that since three years ago," she said a little depressed.
"At that time, I remember telling you to wait between three to five years. Has the time expired?" Azar said with a sigh. "If I could, I would've grant your wish a long time ago. Unfortunately, I need to wait for things to settle, and past mistakes to transform into fatal errors. But enough talking, don't you have an appointment today?" Azar reminded her about the meeting with Midnight.
"In half an hour." Visderfis confirmed with a heavy heart. She could feel the burden on Azar shoulders when he spoke like that. "Wanna come with me?"
"No, I have other matters to attend to. It was a pleasure, director," Azar said before making a respectful bow.
[ Alaine Valerie Labelle
Nickname: none
Age: 42
Race: Human
Current occupation: Queen of Lefeer Kingdom
Husband/boyfriend: King Genard Labelle (husband)
Kids: Christian, Aris
Eyes: blue
Hair: long, blonde
Other occupations: Head of the informal network of the kingdom, painter, healer
Cultivation level: Master Channeler
Class: support cultivator
Support Rank: S
Element: water, lightning
Special Characteristics:
- smart and decisive
- dosen't use weapons
- kind and graceful
- one of the six beauties of the kingdom
Specialty: Energy Healing
Skills and techniques:
Elemental: Purification Wave, Aqua Mend, Water Wall, Misty Veil, Tidal Wave, Water Body,
Non Elemental: Reiki Healing, Absolute Barrier
Buffs: Helping Hand, Plus Two
Movement: Mist Disappearance, lightning moving technique ]