The darkness from the illusion started to fade. Sen was on the ground his eyes ready to release the dammed tears behind them. His grandfather was standing in front of him his eyes had softened as looked at
Sen. His words still reverberated in Sen's mind.
" Why do you fear the look from your very own eyes?"
Somehow Sen had seen the nature of his rage and bloodlust in the illusion. Many questions sprouted from this but the only thing that worried him was the figure in the illusion.
" Did I really look at grandpa like that?" he thought devastated by the fear of the truth.
" Am sure he'll not take me as his family anymore." He said sniffling.
Sen's tears couldn't take it anymore. With a burst they came loose and flooded his face with streams spiraling down his cheeks.
" Raise your eyes, Sen." He heard a warm deep voice say.
" You made a mistake , I understand that. But it's only bad.if you look away and never learn from it."
Sen slowly lifted his head. His tears glittered in the sun rays as his eyes met his grandfather's. Uncontrolled sad cries came as his grandfather looked back at him with a gentle welcoming smile.
" Am sorry …, am sorry… Grandpa. Sen said his words muffled in his cries.
His grandfather said nothing as he stepped to the side. In a little distance away stood three people.
Mira ,Neil and in a wheelchair, Miss Chin.
Mira stood besides the wheelchair her eyes somewhat teary but had a bright smile on her face. Neil stood behind the wheelchair expressionless as he looked at Sen. Miss Chin sat on the wheelchair a smile on her face . They moved closer to where Sen and his grandfather were.
Sen had stood up still wiping the tears from his eyes. In the past two weeks since the incident for some reason to Sen , Mira and Neil , never came to mind. It was as if they had been deleted from his memory and past. On seeing them it brought back a flurry of memories from the past making it harder for Sen to stop the tears. But for Miss Chin it was different.
Sen remember viscerally how she was killed by the creatures. The images were engraved onto his mind as he watched her flame go out. And now out of the blue she was here. So when he had her speak , Sen couldn't resist to cry out more.
" I thought…. I thought … you had died." Sen said standing in front of Miss Chin.
Miss Chin first chuckled before answering.
" Don't go killing me of just yet. I still have some years left in me. "
At first Sen had thought that it was the illusion still in play. But all doubt was erased when he heard her comical kind voice.
" I'm glad that all of your are okay." Sen said as he wiped the remaining tears of his eyes.
" Were glad too that you're okay too." Mira said pulling Neil , who was standing behind the wheelchair.
" And I'm especially glad that … " she said throwing her arms around Sen and Neil's necks. " that the three of us are back together." She said in elation.
" Yeah well, I'm glad you didn't die, … Sen." Neil said with a small smirk on his face.
"Me too. " Sen added ending with a smile.
A small distance away, Miss Chin and Sen's grandfather, stood looking at the three friends continue to chat with vibrant smiles on their faces.
....
Octa Guild
Morning passed and night came. The night outside was still, but inside the guild, there was a palpable tension.
Trojn, the guild master, sat at his massive desk in the dimly lit office, his brow furrowed in thought. Across from him sat Orion, the second-in-command, his sharp eyes scanning a set of reports. Standing near the window was an imperial dressed man. His lime green hair swayed in the cold night air as he looked outside towards the direction of what used to be Salur village.
Then the door opened and a silver haired man entered. He placed his coat on the coat hold and proceeded towards Trojn's desk.
" The capital needs the report on the miasma event in Salur. " the lime green haired man said.
"I understand admiral Lorne but there's hardly anything left of the village to make anything off." Trojn replied.
" What about the two survivors. The lady and the child." Lorne asked as turning to the desk.
" That is not plausible." Trojn added interrupting Sen's grandfather who wanted to speak. He gave him a side eyes ushering that he would handle things.
" One the lady doesn't have any information. She says she was unconscious the entire time. And as for the boy … " He paused gauging his words.
" As for the boy , he is yet to come of age. Any questioning of the incident would be a violation of the Logos Legion Law acts. I know you understand them quite well Admiral Lorne."
Lorne eyes scoped the room. He understood well the Law acts of the Logos but he knew that there was more to the matter than they let up.
" Also he's only a child. I'm sure we know very well the things he had to endure to even survive a Miasma event. They might have been even worse. Let him heal before re-igniting that experience again."
" I can see you care for the boy. What is he to you?" Lorne asked with a restrained curiosity.
This time Sen's grandfather was first to speak.
" Sen's my grandson." He said in a firm tone.
Lorne sighed then proceeded next to the desk.
" No matter , I'll only take the lady… but Sen might have important information on the Event… ,he will eventually be summoned by the capital. It doesn't matter how much you try to shield him, he's already apart
of the current." Lorne said making his way to the door. The tension in the room
was still thick even after Lorne left the office.
" Sir, do you think he'll be true to his word?" Orion asked.
" Yes , also the miasma event was not the only thing he came to Laptove for."
After while Sen's grandfather and Orion had left the office. The guild was quiet. It had become the norm after the occurrence of the
incident. Mainly due to a cold realization of how much more of the world the members didn't know of and how weak they were made some of them hang their blades and change occupations. The few that remained barely even took missions.
Trojn was alone in his office. He had let down his hair the two gold stars that held it up on his desk. He looked at them shimmer in the moonlight him rested cozily on his chair.
He sighed heavily then said dragging his
wavy hair back.
" Looks like it happened again , … old friend."
....
Sen was in an inn room. Since he was no longer admitted he was staying in an inn in Laptove town. Earlier in the night his grandfather left and was yet to come back. He was looking at his palm and the rune symbol on it. It had changed color and was now light blueish. Before it was a black before. He had spend the entire day with Mira and Neil walking around the town. He remembered seeing new the guild hall people who lived in Salur, some in agony others covered in bandages all casualties of the Miasma event.
Suddenly down stairs he heard plates and metal crushing down. It was followed by a murmuring crowd. Sen left his room to go check what was happening.
On the floor was a tray of food and soup streaming out. There was waitress standing there crossed as she looked at the drunk man who had caused it.
The man staggered around as he murmured.
" Do you know where I can find a boy called Sen?"