Dawn of a New Age

Prologue (Part III): Intertwined Fates

Disclaimer(s): None of the image(s) used in this chapter belongs to me. The Pixiv or Twitter source(s) will be linked underneath each image if available or unless it is from an official source.

Title Source: https://www.pixiv.net/en/artworks/94433718

Word Count: 8.1k Words

=======================================

Japan - Outskirts of Rin's Home City

Y/N silently touched down on the outskirts of the city Rin had pointed him towards, hiding behind some tall, full-grown bamboo trees. He wiped his forehead clean of sweat, not because he was carrying Rin all the way back but because the sun had been staring down on them the entire way back. This was only possible thanks to the clear skies, devoid of any gray clouds.

"That should be the place she mentioned to me..." Y/N used his right hand to shield his eyes from the sun and squinted at the remote metropolis, isolated from other cities. It was a quiet and ordinary little town without any large ki signatures from what he could feel.

In other words, this was perfect for Y/N to train and meditate in peace without having to worry about a lingering danger following him with every turn he made.

"Nothing dangerous is there, but..." Y/N looked down at the sleeping Rin in his arms, snoring lightly while holding her fox close to her chest. He couldn't blame her after all the trauma she had gone through before he had arrived to help her out of a life-or-death situation. 

However, the male was left in an unfavorable situation now...

"This wouldn't look good if I walked in with her unconscious especially if I looked like this..." Y/N gently set Rin down on the cleanest blanket of grass he could find as to not stain her clothes further and sat down to her right. Luckily for him, the spot was underneath some shade provided by the bulkier bamboo outgrowths blocking the sun's gaze and overlooked the valley where the city resided.

"Why do you not wake her up? We are wasting our valuable time here, sitting around and doing absolutely nothing!"

"Can't you show a little more empathy? She's a young girl that was very close to dying this morning and would have if I hadn't been there."

"I told you earlier: It was not your battle to fight. I could not care less about this little human that you saved for no reason."

"Every time I try to think of you as an alright person, you make me remember that you are the complete opposite." Y/N sighed, shaking his head.

"You are a fool for trying to think that I am not anything but a kind person. I have no intention of helping humans or befriending any of you for that matter."

"Didn't you help me earlier?"

"You misunderstood, I did not 'help' you or however you saw it. I did all of that for my own personal gains! Do you know why? Because I am the Herrscher of-"

"(Oh. They're one of those kinds of people...)" Y/N thought to himself.

With a small yet noticeable smile, Y/N nodded along as the Herrscher continued to list off reasons for why they 'begrudgingly' decided to help, too self-absorbed to hear Y/N's internal monologue. Rin was able to peacefully, not hearing the Herrscher's speech of course.