"We believe that when they attack, the fog will cover the entire city. It will block the sun and make this area an eternal night. As the sun disappears, the Kelhan will have the ability to transform into their strange appearance at will. Just like they did at night."
The conversation started again. Confusion, curiosity, and a hint of fear filled the faces in front of us. I don’t blame them for being scared, but I have to let them focus, otherwise we will lose our judgment even before we start.
"If they really let the fog cover the whole city, countless civilians will be in danger. Therefore, we decided to preemptively."
A soldier named Luke stood up from the crowd. He is a good friend of mine, and he often fights with me in the pit. He is very similar to me, and definitely made a mistake out of caution. He has always been my mentor and helpful friend. When I was a naive child, he helped me survive. At that time, I just entered the pit and tried to fight for my life. Without his help, I would never be able to get out, I owe him too much. He came here because of loyalty and friendship, not because of debts.
"Isn't that dangerous?" he said. "We don't even know what we are facing. We have never had a fight with a shapeshifter."
"When we started, everything was a critical juncture, but I urge everyone to pay attention to their every move, fighting style and offensive methods. The sooner we find out their strengths and weaknesses, the faster we can defeat them. "
"Okay, let's get started." Jason asked them to leave to prepare, and several people nodded. The weapons are distributed from my own armory. I am no longer officially welcomed by the polite group, but as the younger brother of the Alpha Warrior, my access to Makitir Palace is still limited. Although it took several years, I ended up raising my armory, and no one blinked.
Save money for emergencies, right
When I scanned the crowd, my chest was full of pride. They are not out of duty, but out of friendship and loyalty. They are my comrades and my friends. I know everyone's looks, voice and personal preferences. When I broke and bleed, they treated me like them. In such a dark age, there is no better companion than this.
I pressed my forehead against the cool window, and rain water sprinkled large and large diamond raindrops on the glass. The dark cloud blocked the sun. The heavy gray light it transmitted through was not enough to alleviate the suffering of the world. Appropriate, this place is so melancholy, it suits my current mood and state.
I squeezed my hands together and started to twist them until my arms slowly became numb. What's wrong with me? Something is happening and I can feel it floating in my veins. That man... Grayson. Who is he? What is he? He cursed me, or worse, infected my blood with some kind of cao poison. When I stood there watching the city wake up, I couldn't breathe. No matter what he did, I couldn't get rid of it, there was only one thing left to do.
Waiting for Ephron to return is a painful thing. Even when he finally arrived, I was silent for a few hours. He has rested, but I haven't fallen asleep yet.
I had to go back to the park to find Grayson and see what he wanted so that I could get rid of this black magic. No one else can help me, not even Ephron. Even bringing him together is not enough for me to invite him to come with me.
I would never risk him. Although I should tell him what happened. No, this will not solve any problems. This will put him in danger. That is for sure. I jumped up and paced around the room until I swear I was exhausted by stepping on a path on the wooden floor. I hate this feeling of helplessness.
"I have to go," I said to myself. Averim left early again. I swear this man has never slept a lot. This makes me miss him very much. My body aches from feeling his warm and tender embrace. No one has ever made me feel like this. His words whispered in my ears in the dead of night, when our bodies were eager to touch each other, and slowly slid across my skin, dulling the crawling curse that now lives in it. I hugged myself, longing for his touch to keep me in place.
But he did not come back. I know that something big happened outside that keeps him busy, which makes me wonder if it has something to do with the Kerhan ethnic group. Maybe. Maybe he is already dealing with these nasty things, and I don't even know.
Even so, I still have to go back to the park to fix it. I can't tolerate anyone's malice. Grayson will pay the price for using me to go to Efron. I would rather die than give up my love. Grayson and his people are nothing to me. They are not my family. They are hardly human. When I look at him, I can feel his lack of jīng god. No matter what happens to his people, they are empty, hollow, and depraved. If they want Everem, they have to find another way to catch him, and I'm still on their way.
I took a quick shower and ate a quick breakfast of dry toast and jam. I made up my mind to find Grayson in the city before Everon. I fastened my weapon and finally glanced at myself in the bedroom mirror. The woman turned her head and stared at me, her skin had turned pale and she didn't look human anymore. The soft buzzing under my cheeks and lips disappeared. I am now the faded version of Lily, I hate it.
He did this to me. Grayson. Only he can fix it. No matter what poison he tries to get into my body, it must be removed. I will knock him to the ground until he sucks it out.
Grayson Colehan didn't know the anger that annoyed me.
The park is very lively. In spite of the heavy rain in the early morning, people still shuttled in and out with screaming children. I think cháo wet didn't stop anyone, because Temple City has never been dry. I really want to laugh when I see the dark clouds that always appear on the tall towers. Where is the sun, where is the light of life? Why do these people live here without noticing what they are missing? This really confuses me.
At least the fog is not in the park. It didn't even hover on the horizon. After the drizzle, the clouds rose high, and it seemed that the clouds had been exhausted. I wrapped my coat around my body and waited for the fog or Grayson's trail by the Zhung Yāng fountain. What if it does not come during the day? I covered my eyes and stared at the thick clouds. It makes the city dark, and if I don’t know what better way, it might be dusk. I frowned and decided to continue walking into the park, where people would not go. In some places, the forest is too dense and uncomfortable.
Once I entered the dense canopy of deciduous trees, I felt the change. It hardens like a crystal solidified in thin air. The cold penetrated my coat and I began to tremble. I tightened my jacket, crossed my arms to keep the heat, and walked along the path, feeling a thousand pairs of eyes watching me in the woods. I can still hear the murmurs of people in the distance, but as I go further, the murmurs gradually disappear, leaving only the silence in the woods that lingers in my heart.
I thought I would feel scared, but I didn't. The excitement in my blood calmed down with the swaying trees and the strange tranquility that I had lacked since I met Grayson.
With the sound of the branches breaking, I jumped up, spinning, looking for anyone nearby. I can feel them, which is weird. This feeling is familiar, just like my connection with my sister Raphaela. But she is not there, and it is not exactly the same there.
"Hello?" I shouted to the forest. Only the rustle of lonely leaves responded to my call, and I was waiting for eternity to hear other voices. Then, a faint fragrance came over. I've smelled it before, and I know who is coming.
"Grayson? Are you there? I need to talk to you."
silence. Why did he come to me that day, but now he is avoiding me? I swallowed hard, and despite the moisture in the air, my mouth was still dry.
"You have not fulfilled your promise." The voice that detached from the entity replied in the bushes, as if it were part of the tree—the leaves, or even the sky, not Grayson Colehan's.
"What deal?" I need emptiness. "You lied to me! What did you do to me, I hope you can make up for it!" A person's smell and feeling are getting stronger and stronger, because the wind whipped my hair and frozen my face, causing my tears. The temperature was dropping every moment, and I shivered wildly. Outside the firmament of swaying dense branches and leaves, there are almost no clouds. At that moment, I realized that I had walked into the forest farther than I thought. I was no longer on a path, but in the depths of the forest, not knowing where I came from.
How did this happen? I watched the woods carefully, looking for traces of the path, but there was nothing but huge trees, and I couldn't see any landmarks. They are not as big as the sequoias I visited when I was young, but they are definitely distant relatives of these big trees. No matter what is going to happen, there is no room for escape. Those branches grow high above my head, and unless I move around, I can't reach them.
I don't want to change, but the cold wind makes me exhausted. If I don't leave right away, I will get frostbite very soon. Stumbled on some rocks, and I started to move in the direction I thought was a city. Since no one is coming, why wait for death
"Don't go."
I stopped and heard Grayson howling painfully in the wind.
"What do you want?" (to be continued) (end of this chapter)