Arc 5: The Heart Within
Road to a Hero:
Three chances in another world
Chapter 12. Dominos
A week passes and everyone gets ready. Gray gets his armor repaired, and new weapons and Peter makes him a new pair of wrist blades Everyone else gets their things repaired as well, Soku even got a new and advanced glider. Peter makes a few muskets and gives them to the soldiers while Leo, Lincoln, and Gordon order their men to meet them at the western wall of Walgonia's capital. Gray and the others barely fit on Dema and fly toward the Capital at high speeds, ready for the coming raid. Edward tugs at his scabbard, making sure the pockets holding the explosives that Peter gave him won’t fall out or explode on him.
Peter: “WE ARE HIGH UP!”
Soku: “Yeah, I know you don’t gotta scream!”
Gray: “We haven't flown together like this since we left the Capital the first time.”
Rosemary: “You were knocked out last time.”
Edward: “And Julius was here instead of Peter.”
Peter: “WHY IS JULIUS NOT HERE!?”
Soku: “BECAUSE HE WAS GOING WITH LEO! AND STOP SCREAMING DAMMIT!”
Peter: “....sorry…”
Peter shoves his head into his lap and loses his grip on Demas's saddle, almost slipping off into the early morning sky. Soku grabs his hand, pulling his shaking body back on.
Edward: “How close are we!?”
Gray: “Should be about…close!”
Peter: “G…r…e…a…t….”
They fly for an hour or so and they finally see the Capital. The circular city is surrounded by stone walls. The west side is dirty and pale, withered down by weather and crime. The further into the capital you go the nicer it is, and a slow improvement of buildings and health. The buildings get bigger, the crowds of people grow larger, and the number of Demi-humans goes down bit by bit, an obvious showing of bias. And in the southeast side of the Capital stands the great Castle of Walgonia, a large and wide castle, unlike the tall and lanky castle which resided in Athens before the great fire.
Soku: “No way…MOVE!”
Soku shoves her way in front of Dema, moving Gray out of the way. She takes control of Dema and guides her towards a certain area in the slums, they reach the ground and they all get off, confused by what she’s doing. But once Rosemary and Gray look at the surroundings they know where they are. The cracked and dirt roads, the shrubs and weeds growing out of the ground, and the burnt rubble in front of them. Gray kneels and touches the ground, almost as if he’s embracing it. Rosemary begins to shed a few tears and Soku starts sobbing. Rosemary moves to go to Soku's aid but Peter shoves past her, consoling her.
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Peter: “Are you okay? What is this place?”
Peter looks at Soku with a confused face, awaiting a response.
Soku: “This…this is my home…”
She shoves Peter away and wipes the tears from her eyes. Gray stares longingly at the cloudy sky, reminiscing on his first day in this world.
Rosemary: “We haven't been here since we fought Jeremiah a few months ago.”
Peter: “Did he burn it down?”
Soku and Rosemary quickly look at Gray, causing him to cover his face from embarrassment.
Gray: “I…may have thrown a bunch of flame crystals at Jeremiah…and caused the fire.”
Edward: “I’m sorry to sour the mood, but it seems like we have company.”
They all turn around and see a familiar-looking Demi-human Ogre with a scar on his right eye and a disheveled-looking man beside him.
Gray: “No way!”
Boid: “It can’t be! JJ you seeing this?”
JJ clutches his side, wincing from the pain.
JJ: “I see it alright.”
Soku looks at the Ogre, realizing who it is, and instantly becomes hostile.
Peter: “WOAH, CALM DOWN! Okay, what's the history here?”
Gray: “These are some guys that jumped Soku in an alley not too far from here. You back for more!?”
They all stare at each other, not knowing if they should attack.
Boid: “WHAT!? NO, NO!”
JJ: “YOU’RE ALIVE!”
Gray looks at Soku and shrugs his shoulders, letting his guard down.
Boid: “We came by Soku's house after we fought because we felt bad, but we found it burning and everyone was gone. There were some dead Sect dudes on the ground and we thought you may have died.”
JJ: “BUT THEN YOU GUYS WERE IN THE KNIGHT EXAM!”
Boid: “Then you were issued an enemy of the state!”
Gray: “Ehhh, that’s not a good one.”
JJ: “Nobody will believe us that we fought the Phantom knight and the wind thief!”
JJ removes his tattered coat and points to a nasty scar on his side. And Boid points to his scared eye, both smiling with glee.
JJ: “Gray! This is where you stabbed me!”
Boid: “And Soku! This is where you cut me with your mana!”
Edward: “I’m glad we’re reuniting, but I’m sorry sirs we have to meet some people.”
JJ: “WAIT WAIT! WE NEED HELP!”
Rosemary: “What do you mean you need help?”
Boid: “We’re pretty sure King Arthur is with the Sect!”
JJ: “Yeah everyone in the Capital is sure of it!”
Boid: “The people here in the Capital have been planning a cue! We got most of the people that live here in the slums in multiple buildings, planning the attack right as we speak!”
Peter: “REALLY!?”
Rosemary: “That may assist with the coming raid.”
JJ: “A RAID’S COMMIN’!?”
Gray: “Here, take Soku and me with you. I want to talk to the rest of the citizens. Edward, Peter, and Rosemary you go meet up with the rest of the army.
Rosemary: “Okay, come on we gotta get moving.”
They get on Dema, wave goodbye, and fly off.
Boid: “NOW!”
JJ: “LET’S!”
Boid: “GET!”
JJ: “GOIN’!”
Gray and Soku follow behind them, walking through the dirty streets of the west side.
Gray: “Haven't been here since my first day in this place.”
Soku: “It feels like that was years ago…but in reality, it’s only been...what almost four months?”
Gray: “Yeah…to think we hit the four-month marker a week ago too. So much has happened…Kioshi and Musashi's death…Ophelia's passing…Our team's strength…the worlds have been affected so much.”
Soku: “A giant domino effect.”
Gray: “And it’s all because I wanted to go for a depressing walk back home.”
End of Chapter Twelve