One of the most important moments in life is when one realizes the fact that their parents are people too. Imperfect, changing, growing. Sometimes, it feels like there are no adults in this world, and that all are children. Our Father in heaven, our Mother in heaven, we are but residents of Neverland.

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A little drop of blood began to form at Sivrit’s fingertip, but it wasn’t so bad. She placed the apple and the knife on the shelf by Attila’s hospital bed, and looked through it for a bandage — they must’ve had some. At long last, ‘Burer-Bands’. Sivrit carefully wrapped her fingers after removing the packaging, and soon continued to slice the apple.

The moment reminded her of the time she was at the hospital during a particularly difficult cold season when her mother used to bring fruits for her to eat. Sivrit did not remember much of those days, which was a shame because those were the few days when she spent significant time with her mother. These days, both of them were busy with their little lives.

Two knocks on the doorframe. It was Reginn.

“...How’s Attila doing?”

“She’s doing… fine. The doctors told me it’d take two months at most, but that she’ll most likely miss even the rescheduled RGA entrance exams.”

“...I see,” said Reginn, “Are you still going to attend?”

“...I don’t know.”

The two sat in silence for a minute, before Sivrit interjected.

“...She can come in, you know?” said Sivrit, “I’m not that dull.”

“...Fine, then.”

Reginn exited the room for a moment before returning with a girl. Sivrit had only met her once before, but she was unconscious at the time. She did not fully comprehend the process, only that the souls within Kyriekaos were given a ‘second chance’. Reginn told her that Attila was adamant about saving these souls, and Sivrit was glad to see her wish come true.

“Marily, this is Sivrit.” introduced Reginn.

“...”

“...She’s quite talkative today.”

Sivrit knew not what to expect from Marily. She was a new kind of being according to Reginn. Marily was similar to Kyriekaos in that multiple souls resided in the body, adding on to the ‘perfection’. However, instead of each soul repelling each other, and fragmented memories haunting them, now the souls were unified, and memories fully erased.

However, Reginn did warn her that she may have some ‘spiritual scars’, as Kyriekaos manipulated souls. Perhaps her silence said much about her status.

“...Sivrit, I wanted to let you know that Marily will be enrolling at the RGA.”

“Huh? How?”

“I’ve gotten express permission from the King himself.” said Reginn, “This will be important for her life, and for me to learn more about humans. Please treat her well when you see her around campus.”

“Of course!” said Sivrit, then she turned to Marily, “Nice to meet you, Marily!”

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“...Hm.”

“...Sometimes I wonder if we erased too much of her memory,” said Reginn, “but I completely accept Marily for who she is. She is technically my daughter after all… She reminds me a bit of my brother Zealot. He was adopted as well, though I do not know the entire story. Perhaps that was his second chance as well.”

“...So is this your self-imposed punishment, Reginn?”

“...I’ve learned only so recently, that punishments should never be for the sake of revenge, but for the sake of education and improvement of the greater world… I think of this less as a self-inflicted chore, but an opportunity to learn more, and to shed my tyrant self.” said Reginn, “It’ll take a long time, but someday, I’ll be a good hero, and a good father.”

“Well, I wish you luck, Reginn.”

“I wish you luck as well — in all things you do.” farewelled Reginn, “Perhaps we will meet again if fate wills it so.”

“Where are you going now?”

“Training. I can’t be slacking off on such a warm day.”

After Reginn had left, Sivrit looked out the window. Even though it was autumn, the red sky was clear as the warm sun began to set. She had never noticed the weather before, but after the storm, all was calm. She wished Ayn could’ve been here, as he was not used to being so alone, but he had his priorities, working with the Endlegion Silverguards. It seemed that while everyone was moving forward, she was waiting for Attila to wake up.

“...If only I was stronger…” unconsciously whispered Sivrit.

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“I have to commend your work these last few weeks, Johaness,” said an old man, grey-haired and suited at the edge of a long table, “Your cunning mind and tongue has not dulled a day!”

“Thank you, my friend,” replied King Johaness.

“...Very good… But still, the storm is yet over… No, the storm will continue until Avangarden and Sonosis are completely destroyed…” said another old man, much shorter and senile this time.

“No such thing will happen if we will it, Father,” said a man with a face exuding a calm and kind aura.

He had the face of a saint and the aura of the perfect priest. No one could find even a speck of darkness hidden behind his eyes, but Johaness wondered if it truly did not exist. None of the gentlemen at the table were bad people, on the contrary, they wanted what was best for Avangarden. It was only unfortunate that their activities were kept so secretive for the sake of security and public reception. If it was known that four old men in a large room with a single table controlled most of the Western sphere, the consequences would be immense.

This was the reason only Johaness showed his face to the world, for the world was not yet ready.

Until then, he would continue forward. For the sake of Avangarden.

“About the heroes,” said the grey-bearded man, “We’ve gathered some reports regarding the discovery of three more heroes in the outskirts of the capital.”

“..What’s wrong?”

“Well, when we found them… For some reason, only their shoes remained. It seems that their physical bodies were transported somewhere else, and the shoes currently mimic the hero’s movements — presumably. Right now, they’re only residing around the forest area, but when the shoes enter the city, we’ll need some guards to protect the shoes.” said the old man, “Any ideas on how to fix them, you fossil?”

“Hm… They must escape by themselves… Try not to hinder them too much…”

“I see. Thank you, sir.” said Johaness, “I’ll take it from here. Let us cut our meeting short today, I have some urgent business to attend to.”

“Hm? You mean your daughter?” asked the grey old man.

“...This will shape the future of Avangarden. This is perhaps the most important matter at hand.”

“Children… will shape, have shaped… the world… Go now…”

Johaness quickly took his leave with a group of elite guards trailing behind him, headed by Reason. While the King was relieved by the end of the Kyriekaos fiasco, his duties were never-ending. Hopefully, the next story will be just a bit quieter…