Brenna welcomed the rising sun far outside her house. With a thick brown fur blanket covering her body, she looked at the ball of fire high above the sky with a gaze full of longing. Her thin body trembled from the cold morning wind, but she remained unmoved. Occasionally, she walked slowly to see the flowers around the yard that were still surviving well.

"I wonder how far my beloved girl has traveled?" she muttered to herself. "I know everything will take a long time, but can't I hope that she is now standing in front of me with her sweet smile?"

Throughout her life, Brenna had always been grateful for everything she had. The simple food her parents gave her, the roses given by her best friend, the presence of Ben who proposed to her and cared for her with great affection, and the birth of Meyara, her little daughter who was more valuable than any treasure in the world. Brenna would never forget the good fortune she experienced.

However, since she had had to see Meyara lying sick and helpless, and witnessing how her husband's life dwindled day by day until the day he died, Brenna began to have difficulty seeing the good side of life. Everything turned gray, even though her eyes were functioning properly. She knew what color each thing was, but it didn't feel the same anymore. Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and whatever other bright colors she couldn't name… they didn't matter to her anymore.

She had known for a long time that what gave meaning to the colors was not the colors themselves, but the people who were there to enjoy all that beauty with her. But never once did she think things would get so dark when she no longer had anyone by her side.

After Ben died, the red rose started to look gray. And now that Meyara had set out, the gray roses were not much different from the rocks she had seen adorning the riverbank.

Brenna closed her eyes, trying to suppress the sadness that was starting to well up in her eyes. She shouldn't be miserable like this, she had to be strong and pray for her two loved ones who were not with her at this time.

She hoped Ben could sleep soundly and comfortably until the time came for him to be reborn into the world.

She also hoped Meyara would not encounter any major obstacles or dangers on her journey.

There were still many hopes she wanted to convey to the dew this morning, but the sound of an explosion coming from the forest shocked her. The explosion boomed many times, the ground where Brenna was standing began to shake because of it.

“This is an emergency situation! All residents are expected to take shelter in their respective homes. Don't come out no matter what!" Warren's voice echoed by everything in Deterville. The Chief probably had sensed what was wrong and moved quickly to spread his orders throughout his territory. He didn’t leave a single spot untouched by his urgent voice.

If Warren had acted like that, it meant the situation had reached a very dangerous level.

With shaky steps, Meyara's mother turned around and walked quickly towards her house. However, the simple building with several pots of five-petaled lilacs lined up in front of it seemed to distance itself from her. The magical fragrance of flowers that previously brought relaxation, exuded the scent of death. She held her breath as best as she could.

The sound of the thud was heard again, closer this time . Brenna hissed, feeling a sharp object scratch several points of her skin. From the corner of her eye, she saw several injured people continuing to try to escape while dragging their feet.

Images of graves flashed before her eyes, but Brenna refused to believe that she might no longer be able to wait for Meyara's return.

“Bring your Chief to me right now!” The deep voice of a strange man echoed, overpowering Warren's still ringing warning. “I wouldn't hurt a fly here, as long as your Chief shows up responsibly!”

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Shivers ran up her spine as he stared at her for a moment. Brenna avoided him by looking the other way, ignoring her interest in several horses standing proudly beside the bald, scary stranger. A long time had passed since she last saw such a riding beast, but she didn't feel fully happy to see it now.

Since childhood, Brenna only knew that the arrival of many people on horses carrying lots of goods was not a good sign.

"Oh my God, is there going to be a war?" she asked herself after she entered her house and closed the door. “If, God forbid, there’s a war … w-what should I do?”

"Warren, you dared to write a message to me on an old piece of paper just to help an ambitious little girl who wanted to go to the palace." It was scary how the strange man's voice could be heard so clearly even from inside Brenna's house. She wondered if the sound could also reach the Chief's home located in the center of Deterville. “I was going to just let this go, but unfortunately, her little boy friend took something of mine!”

What exactly was that person talking about? In the midst of her fear, Brenna continued to try to understand the context of the commotion, but her feelings became increasingly uneasy as she listened to the foreign man's words.

An ambitious girl who wanted to go to the palace, and a boy friend who traveled with her.

Brenna's breath caught at the revelation.

"That’s not her." The woman shook her head frantically. Her shaking hands covered her mouth tightly. “She must be safe, with Adriel by her side. She's a strong and smart girl, she won't get into trouble.”

Against her better judgment, Brenna opened the door and ran out. She was about to approach the strange man who was still giving a speech while his men walked here and there, checking every existing building.

Brenna stood before someone who had the appearance of a leader based on his large body and clothes that looked more precious than the others’. The man stopped talking and looked at her with a grin on his lips, but Brenna remained standing straight.

“Well, who do we have here? Don't you want to escape, beautiful lady?” The bald man asked in a mocking tone. "It's not you I'm looking for."

The man's deep and intimidating voice made Brenna swallow nervously. She had just reflexively dashed out without much thought, and now when she came face to face with the strange man, she found herself unable to utter a single word. It was a shame considering the many questions she wanted to ask, especially about Meyara, who most likely had crossed paths with this man.

The creepy man just laughed seeing Brenna stunned. Then he signaled some of his men to approach the poor woman with ropes in hand.

The sight brought back a large part of Brenna's consciousness. She deftly chanted a spell, instantly enhancing every one of her senses. With her eyes closed, she dodged every hand that tried to reach her, by hearing sounds and feeling tremors under her feet.

Unfortunately, Oxcross’ people were not without skills either. They just didn't like magic and preferred to use their own strength. However, when provoked, they would also deploy any item that had their magic enhanced, such as the net they were now throwing at Brenna's body.

At that moment, Brenna opened her eyes, which were now glowing red. She looked up and immediately burned the edge of the net without touching it. She hastily closed her eyes before setting fire to other things she shouldn't be burning.

The big man in front of him immediately clapped his hands. “Wow! Amazing! The people here have really raised their magical abilities to an astonishing level,” he said with a dismissive laugh. “You make me want to play around a bit. We'll see how long you can last until that burning power finally burns your own eyeballs."

Brenna trembled a little when she heard that. Slightly regretting her reckless actions. What exactly did she do? Risking her own life even though she should have been waiting for Meyara's return while praying for her daughter's safety? But what she had just done reduced her chances of being able to welcome Meyara when her child came home later.

Still with her eyes closed, Brenna prepared to welcome any attack aimed at her.

Which never came.

"Shouldn't the Oxcross’ leader be wiser than this, Ernesh?" Warren's signature hoarse voice sounded so close. Brenna opened her eyes and found that the Chief was standing right beside her. One of his arms stretched out, blocking a bald man who was pointing the tip of a spear at her.

“Warren! My old friend!" said the Oxcross’ leader who turned out to be named Ernesh. "What's taking you so long? I almost razed this rundown village to the ground.”

"As if you could," Warren snorted, making Ernesh even angrier. The bald man immediately lurched forward and grabbed his collar. Warren coughed slightly from the pressure on his neck. "You're still as emotional as ever."

"And you're still as careless as ever." Ernesh swung his bat towards Warren at breakneck speed.

***