Embers of the Holy War

I Promise

There it was, that name again. Lord Janus. Was this man responsible for what happened to the church? But from David's earlier account, he hadn't mentioned seeing anyone else, much less mentioned Lord Janus. Who was this man, and why was David so sure that he was responsible?

Guang hugged and comforted David, allowing the little boy to shed all the tears that he needed. He would be patient, for he could not provide anything but his grounding presence.

When David had calmed down enough till his sobs were reduced to hiccups, Guang carried the exhausted boy in his arms and got up. The boy didn't protest, lying his head on his shoulder, puffy eyes struggling to stay open. Bemusedly, Guang thought that the kid was like a sack of potatoes.

"Let's go back to the church, shall we?" Guang softly encouraged.

Drowsily, David gave a hum of agreement. Guang sighed fondly. Now that the kid was quietly settled, here comes the hard part for Guang: finding his way back. A challenge that, unfortunately, he had to deal with himself.

It took Guang a while. Hitting a few dead ends, questioning the locals and reading the signboards, but he eventually managed to return to the church by noon. He spotted Jamie and Wendy nervously looking around, and when Guang came back, the tension immediately left their bodies.

Wendy's eyes rapidly flickered from Guang to David soundly asleep on his shoulders. "Mr. Guang, is David OK?"

"He's alright, just a little tired," Guang reassured.

Shakily, Jamie nodded. "That's good, that's good. I thought David might have run away because of what happened last night. I thought he might have...hated me for my stupidity."

The poor kid. He was probably still hung up on his own actions. Guang squatted down, patting Jamie with his free hand.

"You're a brave kid, Jamie," Guang said sincerely. "I'm sure Sister Rachel and Jason are happy you didn't forget about them."

Jamie pursed his lips. Looking down and gripping his shirt, he made a throaty sound of agreement.

That was when Guang remembered: he was supposed to be finding Jin! Crap, knowing his brother, he will be mad at Guang for suddenly disappearing. Guang can already feel his ears aching from Jin's yapping later on.

Calling over a police officer, he handed the sleeping David for them to take care of. He turned towards Jamie and Wendy, who were both sadly pouting.

"Are you leaving already, Mr. Guang?" Jamie asked sadly.

Guang squatted down again, so that he was eye-to-eye with the kids. "Big brother has something else to do, so he has to go."

"Will you come back?" Wendy asked quietly.

Guang hugged the both of them, hoping that his feelings would go across. "I will visit again, one day. I promise."

Suddenly, the voice of a young boy cried in his head:

"You better not forget your promise!"

"I won't," Sui responded.

"You better come visit me!"

"I will."

Guang's breath hitched as he remembered that promise from all those years ago. He had held onto it, excitedly waiting for Sui's visit, but when they finally reunited...

Guang shook his head. Now was not the time to think about that. He patted both kids on the shoulder before he rose up onto his feet.

"I'll see you guys some other time," Guang said with a smile, waving.

"Wait!" Jamie exclaimed.

Springing forwards, Jamie grabbed Guang's hand. Guang's eyebrows rose as he placed something within his hand, but before Guang could see what it was, Jamie had closed Guang's fist over it.

Cupping his mouth, Jamie rose on his toes and told Guang in an undertone, "When I tried to rescue Sister Rachel, I found this beside her. I think you should have it."

Without any further explanation, Jamie ran back towards Wendy, turning his back on Guang. Guang had wanted to bid them goodbye one last time, but they never looked back at him, so he only stood there, hand awkwardly raised.

The police officer behind the kids eyed Guang weirdly. Uncomfortable with that gaze, Guang hurriedly made himself scarce. Only once he was sure he was quite a distance away did he relax. Alone once more, Guang was back to finding Jin. He had many questions running in his head and he hoped that, being the intelligent brother as he is, Jin might be able to answer his queries.

As Guang made his way back to the inn, he opened up his fist to check out what Jamie had put in there. It was a crumpled piece of paper. Curious, Guang unfolded the piece of paper.

When Guang saw what it was, he stopped in his tracks.

Eyes blown wide open and mouth agape, he gently brushed the picture with the tips of his fingers.

"I knew it," Guang whispered.

Suddenly, a voice behind him uttered, "Knew what?"

Startled, Guang was nearly launched to the moon. He quickly turned around, hiding the paper behind his back like a kid hiding stolen candy. "J-Jin! Where were you? I've been looking for you everywhere."

"I could say the same," Jin said flatly, scowling a little more than usual. Oh, he's mad, Guang thought nervously. Observing Guang from head to toe, Jin clicked his tongue. "Where's your emblem?"

Oh. Crap, he must have left it at the inn. Edgily, Guang laughed. "I...forgot to bring it out."

Exasperatedly, Jin sighed. "I'm only going to say this once. Remember to always carry the Long family emblem whenever you go out, OK?"

"Yes. Sorry, Jin."

Jin shoved a paper bag into Guang's hands, not waiting to see if he properly caught it before letting go. Thank the Hero, Guang reacted fast enough. His eyebrows rose at the warmth of the paper bag. The flavourful aroma that hit his nose instantly made his mouth water. Excitedly digging into the bag, he found that Jin had gotten him a French toast!

"Breakfast," Jin stated.

Guang hadn't realise how hungry he was until he was face-to-face with food. He thanked the Hero for blessing him with such a good brother, but not forgetting to thank the person himself.

As if he wasn't sure what he had done to deserve such thanks, Jin frowned. "You're welcome?"

While Guang munched away on the French toast like a happy puppy, Jin watched the curious pedestrians that gathered around the destroyed infrastructure of Verdant Street, much like a hawk. When Guang finished his toast, he burped loudly, much to Jin's disapproving frown.

"That was a good toast!" Guang boomed.

"Glad you enjoyed it."

Guang nodded vigorously. "Say, Jin, do you know who is Lord Janus?"

At that moment, Jin turned to him so fast that Guang was surprised his head didn't go spinning. Quietly, Jin demanded, "What did you say?"