A little over half a year has passed since Grandpa Alf and his grandchildren have settled down in Wave 5. For some reason, it seems that what used to be a small family of four has unexpectedly grown in numbers.
Their house may be broken in some places, and little critters often creeps around and hide in the dark corners, but for them it has become the home that that they must protect. When it rains outside, it also rains inside yet those little drops cannot drown their desire to pull themselves up and live for a brighter future.
They believed that they can get through all these hardships… they believe… they have to…
In order to ease the burden on their old man, everyone is working hard not to cause trouble to their family. Romi is very obedient child, though he sticks to Jad most of the times which most often make him an accomplice of varying shenanigans. Brenda is remarkably good with housework so she takes care most of it. Other younger children also comes to their house often to play. They did not mind it at first but now those kids has naturally become part of their extensive family. Kou and Raichi have been playing in their empty house before they moved in and they did not stop that habit even when it got occupied by new residents. They invite them to have lunch and dinner with them. The older children just naturally started taking care of them as time passed.
The way their family has grown in the past month and looking at how everyone gets along makes the hardships in this godforsaken land a little more bearable. Watching the scene where everyone works together in a clear day paints a picture of a happy and peaceful life. It is an image of a hopeful fantasy that is far from their current situation.
The bitter reality of life has started hitting again once they realize that Grandpa Alf’s health is deteriorating rapidly. They do not know what the main cause could be. It might be because of stress or overwork, or its just his old age catching up to him. However, rest and medicine is too much of a luxury for them who must go work until they break their bones just to make ends meet.
“If we don’t work for a day, we won’t have anything to spend the next day. We cannot afford to take rests.” Grandpa Alf says as he prepares to go to work early in the morning.
“But grandpa…” Mary grits her teeth.
Sure they could catch small wild animals and pick up mushrooms in the Elted Canon that could feed them every day. However, they have bills they need to pay. The payment fort the solar panels is due soon and the collectors will not accept any late payments without any issue.
The old man pats her head. “Don’t worry, I’ll try to go home earlier tonight so that I can get more rest.”
“I think we can help to take over your work even if just for a week, so you can take some time off and focus on our recovery.” Mark suggests.
“Right! And I can take more shifts instead!” Mary adds.
“No!” He suddenly raises his voice. “Let me take care of this. I’ll get us through this. This conversation is over.”
“G-grandpa…”
“Take good care of your siblings.”
His continuous refusal to let them take over his work might just be the stubbornness and pride of an old man who does not want to look weak in front of these children.
They watched their grandfather walk away slowly with a slightly slouched back. He has become thinner. Dark circles has formed below his eyes. They can only sigh and scratch their heads. Not only do they have no savings for health related issues and emergencies, there are also no hospitals or clinics in Wave 5 right now. The closest must be in Wave 3, though those are also run by some shady personaities.
Days passed, and weeks, Grandpa Alf’s health continued to deteriorate until he had fallen and became bed-ridden. During this time, Mary was the one who remained home to take care of him. She tirelessly tended to their grandfather until his last breath.
∞×∞
Twentieth day of Sat’xahr, 4043 AOT
Arbhur City, Wave 5, Elteb Canyon, outside of the slums
Not far from the end of Wave 5 is a large maze-like canyon. After her conversation with the twins, Azalea wants to be alone and somehow gather her thoughts, hoping it could calm her erupting emotions down.
She is feeling so lost as she silently took her tattered and scraped armor before leaving without saying a word to the rest of the children. After changing into her armor, she left that small slightly dilapidated house. Her mind is recalling the events that happened in the past month which lead her into this situation.
Talk about getting easily distracted… This isn’t where I’m supposed to go…
She slowly walks out of the slums and without realizing it she finds herself standing at the entrance of the canyon. She stops for a while to look at her surroundings before continuing on her way.
It seems that nobody is following her.
What the hell am I doing?
The sun has risen high enough. She enters Elteb canyon to look for a shaded and quiet place where she can rest and think. In her head plays the things she has done that might have affected her current situation. She thinks, going back in the various events that she gone through these past weeks, over and over again. She was always running away.
Where did things go wrong?
The land is dry and dusty. The towering walls of rocks are hard and rough. At this point there are barely any forms of plants around. Small critters run and hide in the tiny cracks on the ground. If she continuous to walk deeper, some larger monsters might start showing up.
At the core of Elteb canyon is the territory of a demon. It has not shown any aberrant behavior yet so it is still not considered as a threat. Though there is a high chance that it is going to start leaving its territory in a couple of weeks and wander in larger areas.
Stolen novel; please report.
While having these many random thoughts playing in her mind, she finds a small shaded area in between the rocks and the walls.
Not far from the demon’s territory is a mine that people cannot easily enter because of the threat of running into the demon or high rank monsters. It was active some decades ago when a rich business man tried to gamble his way to dig up some treasures within the depths of this canyon. The business man invested a large amount into digging a mine without proper safety measures and precautions. They did discover a rich deposit of pranite, however their luck did not last long. The existence of humans coming and going in the canyon not only attracted monsters but also the demon slumbering nearby. Because of these problems piling up along with lawsuits due to neglect of safety precautions, the mine was eventually closed down. The rights for that land remained unclaimed and the mine was abandoned since then.
She spends some time staring at a collection of moss that is growing on the cracks of the canyon’s wall. She stands staring blankly as she remembers what Jad told her a day ago.
“There is a gang of reveils in their teens has started gathering the strong kids. They haven’t found out that Leika is a strong contractor, so for now, we’re safe.” She mumbles.
She balls her hands into a fist so hard that she did not notice how her nails are digging into her palms. She grits her teeth while deep in though.
This little gang seems to be involved in the Fairy Dust business. But they do not have knowledge in Mary and Mark’s job, so they must be from a different faction. The problem is that they are gathering reveils. Someone wants to take control of the flow of that dust in this area. A turf war might get ignited in the future. Whoever gathers a stronger group would win. However, that is not the case for Mary and Mark’s family since they are going to be dragged into it and get stuck in the middle of the conflict whether they like it or not. Being uninvolved in neither side means they may take blows from both.
And in worse case…
All of a sudden she punches the rigid wall. Her fist crashes at the rock-like wall with so much force that her knuckles have gotten skinned deep enough to start bleeding. Her passive healing immediately activates. Small magic circles are now glowing, appearing and disappearing around her injured fist.
What the hell am I doing?
It is clear that this is not just some kid’s gang fight. The adults in the syndicate are behind it. They are starting to build a group with younger and powerful reveils. Not everyone is welcome. It is not long before they get dragged into it. Mary and Mark will be absorbed deeper into their trade and will be forced to comply with their rotten system. If nothing is done, they are just going to continue spiraling down into a future of inescapable misery.
She balls her hands into fist again and then proceeds to punch the hard at the same large rock more. She spat some curses… Why is she so powerless when it comes to protecting something valuable. It’s as if the helplessness she felt three years ago has returned to haunt her again.
She has stood in front of newly made graves quite often this year.
Is there a way to prevent that future?
What the hell am I doing?
She stops punching. She catches her breath. Her arms are trembling. Her knuckles are scraped and bleeding. Beads of sweat run down her cheeks. Her eyes are fixed at the rock that is now stained with her blood. Her hands are lit up by the healing magic circles that flickers up and away.
She takes a deep breath.
“What choice do I have?” Her voice is low and rough.
She lifts her head to briefly look at the sky before leaning on the rocks beside.
“I’m tired.”
Her eyes are cold and dead.
“What exactly am I up against?”
Droplets of her blood drip down and make tiny splatters on the solid dusty ground.
“To protect those kids and to change their life, making it a little better… What can I do? The last time I did something, it ended up becoming a huge mess.”
She looks down again recalling the events of the past month.
“Everything I did was for naught.”
There is that cloudy feeling inside her chest. As time passes by, it only gets worse. It is unpleasant and heavy but she cannot find a way to just get rid of it. It sticks inside and it is suffocating in ways she cannot physically describe.
What the hell am I doing?
“I guess I never really put much thought into it. It was a reckless move… A selfish impulse… Not only did I fail to save anyone, I might have made things more difficult for many… I’m a mess.”
To help them…
To make a change…
What can I do?.. I’m just-…
…
Goddamn it all!...
Everything should just get burned until nothing’s left…
If the future cannot be stopped then I’ll just destroy it all!
For a moment, everything has gone dark. She has not noticed how much time has passed. As if she was in daze for a very long time. The ringing of her phone snaps her back to reality. As she picks it up, she notices that the wounds on her knuckles have already healed. She only holds the phone to her ear without saying a word.
“H-hello, Azalea?” A young man’s familiar voice cracks from the other line.
After hearing Qin’s voice, some ideas entered her mind. There might be some other options. To prevent the war, then she just have to crash the forces behind that is trying to start one. Then, let the people establish a new balance of power.
“Why are you so quiet? You’re making me nervous.”
“Mhm.”
“You’re Azalea, right?”
“Yeah…”
She hears him taking a deep breath from the other end.
“Have you decided where we we’re going to meet up? I’ll pick you up and directly accompany you to Westar.”
“Actually…” Her voice is a little hoarse, as if something is stuck in her throat. “Forget it. I have a favor to ask, Qin.”
“I do not like the sound of this.”
“…”
“Weren’t you going out of that place?”
“I am not going to leave Aesbyl yet.”
“No!” He suddenly raises his voice. “You need to leave that rotten place now. Just follow the directions I sent you and I’m sure you’ll easily lose your pursuers then.”
“Listen-”
“I do not know what you’ve gotten yourself into this time, but is it really worth risking your life?”
“Do you know why I’m going to Westar?”
“You’re…” He pauses for a moment before uttering the next words. “Visiting… your friends’…um… in Cappleasyo City.”
She grips her phone tighter. “I am going to visit my friends’ graves, the people I considered as family for four years.” She takes a deep breath. Her eyes are soulless. “I don’t think I’d still have the right to go and tell them about my adventures if I turn my back at this place and run away.”
There is only silence from the other side, as if he is at loss for words.
“That day… I was running around the city… asking for help… looking for help… I was desperate, it was really hard. That night while I was burying them… I thought that if someone… anyone… if one person, only if someone had lent a hand, then maybe something would have changed. Maybe some of them had been saved and I wouldn’t have to bury them alone.”
Qin can only listen to her as her tone goes lower and colder as if all the warmth she used to possess is being drained away. He is now able to picture what she is going through, even though the situation is still unclear to him.
“I want to change things. I want to help save them… because I would have wanted someone to save me back then too.”
“Okay, I understand… but do not put your life in danger.” He let out a deep breath followed by a short silence. “As much as I want you to get out of there… there’s really nothing I can do if you’ve made up your mind about this. I’ll help you as much as I can, but I’ll let dad know about this.”
“Thank you.”
“I want to hear your plans. What do you want me to do?”
“First, do you have trust-worthy connections that work in the armor-crafting industry? I need some who are willing to do business here.”
“Uhm, ok… What are you planning?”
She smiles coldly while looking far deeper into the canyon. “I’m a demon hunter, of course… I’ll go hunt.”