Two weeks or so had passed, as Benedict led his crew into the depths of the jungle. He could see little images of himself, laughing and running with his siblings as they were younger. It was when they were finding a place to call home. And thus, he walked in the exact opposite direction, towards where they came from.
"Come on guys, we're almost there." Benedict beckoned the others
"Almost where?" Matthew rebutted.
However, Benedict kept silent.
His eyes trailed towards the ghostly images of where he first crawled out from a rubble, now replaced by an empty land.
And then, the images faded.
"We're here" Benedict announced, as the group was suprised to see a sudden large stretch of land in the middle of the forest. It was large enough to fit at least an entire city.
"I don't see anything though?" Katie remarked.
"Yeah..." Benedict answered. Even for him, this was strange.
"Put ur hands out" a ghastly voice whispered into his ear.
Benedict was startled, however something about that voice filled him with nostalgia, it felt warm and gentle, gently guiding him along. Following the voice, Benedict obediently stretched out his hand.
A strange glow emerged from his hand, as the once invisible barrier parted just big enough for them to pass through.
"Woah" this caught the others by suprise.
"Lets go" Benedict led the way, as Usagi gently clinged onto his arm.
The barrier was huge, spreading tall enough to reach the skies, it acted as a camoflauge as well as a shield and defense.
Inside the barrier, the group found, a village.
"This...." tears welled up in Benedict's eyes.
"Its...its still here..." his voice trembled.
His eyes looked at the peaceful town ahead, it was different, yet the atmosphere felt nearly the same as what his memories tell him.
It had a nice warm haul, as the houses made mostly out of wood provide a perfect match with the natural scenery surrounding it.
A single blacksmith made of stone stood out at a corner near the small hill as well.
"Why is there a village here?" Matthew looked around, stunned.
"I wonder if theres anyone here?" Katie walked forward.
As if it was a cue, a bunch of armed female warriors surrounded them. They were tall and mascular, not too much that they'd look overly masculine, but just enough to heighten their womenly figures as well.
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Who goes there? How did you get here?!" one of the warriors demanded.
Her spear pointed directly towards Benedict.
Raising two hands backing abit to not show any harm, Benedict replied "we walked here through the barrier".
"Ah" the women noticed the glowing symbol on Benedict's hand.
"A returnee" the surrounding women mutter amongst themselves.
"Follow us" they said in unison.
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The group found themselves sitted down inside a comfortable cottege. A maid gracefully poured tea for them , as a handsome man sat before them.
The group could only stare in wonder at the man before them in both shock and confusion.
The man before them looked exactly the same as Benedict. Maybe with the slight change of eye colour and a more rounded nose, but he looked near identical to Benedict.
"So, you seem to be all grown up now arent you, my grandson" the man spoke.
"A pity I couldn't see your growth though" he gave a slightly sad and wry smile.
"...." the group remained silent.
"Now then, I bet your wondering how I'm still alive, but I'm more curious about how your still alive" Benedict's grandfather chuckled.
"The names Rotcherfort" he introduced himself to the group.
"I welcome you to our little humble abode." he smiled.
"Ah.." Benedict let out a weak voice, as his head throbbed.
Images of his past flashed in his mind.
He slightly slouched backwards on the chair, as the headache gave him a near-shock experience.
"Hu hu hu haaa" he panted, and finally let out a sigh of relieve.
Sweat flowed down the sides of his head.
He saw images of his life here. He saw slight glimpses of the struggles he had.
"You see... this must be alot to take in for you, but I guess I'll start the first" Rotcherfort said.
"I was out on a journey to discover the limitations of our psychic power you see. And when I returned, I found the village on ruins. However, I did find a grave that paid respect to all the desceased in the village, hence that told me that there must be survivors. So I established a barrier, it runs on magic crystals, I have already inputted the data to match any of the DNA of the former residence, so that they will be allowed in the moment they touched the barrier. Actually no wait, before that, I was at a lost at what to do. In a matter of seconds of my realization, everything I cherished was gone. But seeing as there was still hope that some of the residences may be alive and return one day, I rebuilt this place. I requested help from amazons, valkyries, warriors and people from rural tribes I have been to before in my prime. And they became the new residence to this place." Rotcherfort finished his explanation.
It sounded simple, however it probably wasn't.
"Now then, I want to know... what happened here" Rotcherfort tried to maintain his half broken 'cool' demeanor.
"That... the 'beast' attacked I think. The village was wiped out and me and Mitsuha survived by being burried under the rubble of the house. I'm not sure about Dominic, but he also lived and rescued us from the rubble in the end." Benedict replied.
"I see.. 'the beast' huh?" Rotcherfort clenched his fists.
"So my grandchildren are still alive" a smile was brought to Rotcherfort's face.
"So, what happened to the beast?" Rotcherfort asked.
"Theres no way it would just dissapear like that" he stated.
"That..." Usagi cut in.
"My sister said she saw Dominic fight it off" she replied.
"Bah, he should be only 12 then, theres no way he could have fought it off, even if he did recover his lost power" Rotcherfort rebutted in disbelieve.
"A phantasm beast huh...?" Rotcherfort muttered under his breath.
The phantasm. It is the highest possible rank attained by a monster. Its at a pinnacle where even gods are unable to do much against it.
"Ah.. thanks, please do take your time here , I have to go rest a bit" Rotchefort hobbled away.
"Celine, please guide them around" Rotchefort requested a female knight nearby.
"Yes sir" she replied.
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"If I was here, I could have prevented that" Rotchefort blamed himself as he smashed the mirror in his private chambers.
The man who could rival gods alone sighed once again, as he sat down on his bed.
"Well, at least I know my grandkids are still alive" a warm smile spread across his face.
"He sure takes after me abit" he picked up a broke piece of mirror and looked into it as he said so.
"Could use abit of toughening up though" Rotchefort decided.