Finally left alone, Guang trudged his way back to the inn for some well-deserved rest. With all the adrenaline of the battle running out and with no more people around to interact with, the exhaustion he had felt previously was now hitting him like a truck. With the battle long wrapped up, the silence of the darkness and emptiness of Verdant Street was emphasised tenfold. It was unsettling and suffocating, like Guang was being watched by the eyes of an invisible, giant beast. He hurried in his footsteps, not wanting to find out what would happen if he were to stay longer.
With the window of his room 'conveniently opened', Guang launched himself into the inn. He let out a breath of relief when he found that the bed was still in one piece. A little beaten up and messy, but it was still sleepable. Without further ado, Guang fell face first onto the bed and slept fitfully.
The next morning, Guang awoke groggy, feeling like he had slept for an eternity. He sat up, dazed, eyes barely open. His head lolled forward and shot up a couple of times when suddenly, a chilly gust of air startled him. He turned to his right, where the window was still 'conveniently opened'.
Oh. The cogs in his brain slowly turned as he started to realise what a 'conveniently opened' window would mean. But as quick as it had warmed up, the cogs stopped turning as Guang got up to go to the bathrooms. He'll deal with it later.
He washed his sleepiness away with a nice, warm shower. Thinking that he should appear more friendly while visiting the church later on, Guang changed into some casual clothes he had bought recently. It was a white shirt with a cartoon print of a smiling sun and black shorts. Wearing it felt right at home, compared to the uptight uniform of a knight.
With nothing else to do, Guang went to enthusiastically knock on Jin's door - the room opposite his.
"Wakey wakey, Jin! It's the beginning of a brand new day! Are you awake?"
There was no reply. Usually, Jin would at least acknowledge his annoying greeting with a groan or a 'shut up, I'm already up'. This time, it seemed, his greeting went completely ignored.
Guang knocked on the door again. "Jin?"
The longer the silence stretched, the more he started to get worried. With sweaty palms, Guang gripped the doorknob tighter.
"Jin, I'm coming in, alright?"
When he opened the door, what he found was...nothing. There was no one in the small room at all. Guang looked around, hoping to find a note or a letter that Jin might have left for him, but he found nothing. In fact, Guang found it odd that there were no creases on the blankets or the bedsheets of the bed.
Where had Jin disappeared to?
Not wanting to sit still, Guang decided to find Jin himself. When he got to the reception, the innkeeper saw him and immediately averted her gaze to a painting on the wall beside her. Guang tapped on the counter, wanting to get the innkeeper's attention.
The innkeeper tried to turn a blind eye to him at first, but when Guang still stood there, a giant presence that couldn't be ignored, she had no choice but to address him. Putting on a half-hearted smile, she asked, "May I help you, honoured guest?"
"Did you see my brother go out this morning?" Guang questioned. "He's around this tall, black bob hair, glasses- ah! He looks like an angry blueberry."
Slowly, the innkeeper shook her head. "I'm sorry, sir, I haven't seen him."
Huh? That's odd. If Jin hadn't left the inn and he wasn't in the inn, then where could he be? Guang gasped. Was it possible that Jin had been kidnapped last night, while he was busy fighting with Samudaya and Nirodha?
It was rather hard to imagine Jin losing a battle, though. While he does not have explosive physical strength and fire powers like Guang, he was incredibly smart and talented with his gun. Not to mention, he was armed with not just an ordinary gun, but a Long family heirloom, the Proxima Centauri, which was studded with a ruby. There was no way he could have lost any ordinary battle.
But suddenly, he remembered Jin's motionless figure on the ground. A dark-haired woman smiling and chuckling. His horror of finding out he had been unable to protect his younger brother.
He pursed his lips. He should search the town for Jin.
After thanking the innkeeper, Guang got out of the inn, only to find that the inn was surrounded by a crowd of people. At first Guang thought they were the Black Lotus, but it quickly became evident that they weren't paying attention to him at all. Rather, they were pointing at the broken window- sorry, the 'conveniently opened' window on the first floor while murmuring amongst themselves.
Placed in such an awkward position, Guang hurriedly broke free of the crowd. In broad daylight, Guang now clearly saw the destruction the battle last night had inflicted upon the poor, innocent street. People had gathered around the damaged buildings like moths to a flame, theorising the causes behind it.
An older man huffed on his cigarette. "Hah, I recognise such handiwork. It's the work of Mr Poppins down the corner. I told y'all, he's a little wrong in the noggin."
"Aliens! The aliens have attacked!" a teen yelled excitedly.
His friend whacked his head. "Bro, there's no such thing as aliens! I bet it was those Black Lotus maniacs."
Another woman wailed, "First the Dragon Manor, next the church, and now Verdant Street. We must have done something to anger Lord Janus. Why else would such a thing have happened? Our town is doomed!"
The church? Did something happen to Rachel and the kids?
The woman yelped as she was suddenly seized by the shoulders. Guang demanded, "What happened to the church?"
The woman's pupils were shaking in fear, her lips quivering, unable to make a sound as she faced Guang. Guang realised he had lost his cool. Rearranging his expression and releasing the woman, Guang apologised, "I'm sorry for scaring you, miss. It's just- I know the people at the church."
The woman's eyes cleared up as she instantly understood. Unexpectedly, she stepped up and gently wrapped her trembling arms around Guang's torso. Guang's eyes widened in surprise. There was a force behind it, but not so that it was suffocating. Rather, it conveyed the message: I know you're feeling down, but I'm here for you.
Why was Guang getting such a hug?
Guang tore the woman away from him. His voice was fragile as glass as he asked, "What exactly happened, miss?"
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Embers of the Holy War
الخيال (فانتازيا)A hundred years ago, humanity was one whole, united nation. It was the age of prosperity and peace, the ideal world anyone would dream to live in. That was until the Demon King came and plunged the world into chaos and despair. Terror and destructio...
