Luce and Argus were outside talking. Argus wondered: "Why have they taken so long inside? Should we go in, Luce?"
Luce replied calmly: "Leave them, they will come out."
Moments later, Jasmin emerged, pulling Erold along and laughing, with Astra behind him. Erold looked at the village around him in astonishment: "How did we get here?"
Luce answered him calmly as he leaned against the house: "When you moved alone as if you had heard Utma's neigh, I went to check on him, but I couldn't find him, and I felt you; so I intervened and came to help you. After that, you fell unconscious. I brought you back to the camp, but you wouldn't wake up, so we thought you needed a doctor. Even after your wounds healed, you wouldn't open your eyes. We gave you all the medicine we possessed."
He added with a mocking tone: "Even Jasmin read in a book that snake venom mixed with herbs and the Amandel flower cures any disease."
Erold shouted: "Even if she were trying to kill me, she wouldn't suggest such a terrible thing. Do not ever listen to her!"
Then he remembered Luce and said: "Ah, by the way, Argus gave you a high-quality healing potion."
Erold looked at Argus and said: "Thank you, Argus." Then he remembered that this man was prepared to sacrifice his life for him, so he spoke to himself: So I must trust you, Argus.
Luce continued: "That's why we brought you here. We were searching on our way to the Kingdom of Uruk when we found this village near the Kingdom. Luckily for you, there was a kind man who works as a doctor, and he took care of you."
Erold wondered: "And where is he?"
Luce answered: "He went out to the market to get some herbs for you."
At that moment, Astra intervened, saying: "Wait, I forgot something."
Astra entered the house and flicked her wrist, causing a golden bag to emerge from the void as if it were a fortune; she placed it under Erold's bed and said: "He is a kind man… and he truly deserves this. As for me, I must go. See you later, Erold."
Astra vanished without saying goodbye to anyone, but Erold felt her presence until the very last moment, and he smiled quietly.
Luce continued: "You frightened us, Erold."
Suddenly, the children gathered around Luce and shouted in unison: "Mr. Luce! Play with us!" Luce smiled kindly and answered them: "Not now, kids, I am talking to Mr. Erold."
But one of the children complained: "Play with us now! We don't have much time; you will leave since Mr. Erold has woken up."
Erold turned to Luce and said: "Go with them, Luce… Argus will finish the story."
Argus looked at him in surprise: "What story? It's already finished."
Luce laughed as he moved away with the children who were pulling him, saying: "Will you play ball with us today or tag?"
Argus turned to Erold again: "What do you mean by 'the story'?"
Erold said calmly: "Tell me your story. You didn't tell me about your past, only your goal."
Argus smiled and answered: "Man, I buried that past long ago… I don't want to talk about it."
Erold tilted his head and smiled: "Will you refuse the request of a sick person?"
Argus laughed and said: "Yes, I will."
Jasmin jumped and tapped his head lightly, saying: "Just tell him! We really want to know more about you. Come on, Erold, encourage him!"
Erold smiled and said: "Tell me, Argus… come on, come on, come on, Argus."
Argus went silent for a while, then said: "Fine, stop it." Erold smiled: "Alright, start… I am listening."
Argus was silent for a long time, looking at the ground and holding his hands as if nervous. Silence prevailed for moments until Argus began to breathe and said: "I was born in a strange house, and my parents were oddballs. On the day of my birth, they were happy to have me and celebrated. My father lifted me high and said: 'His name is Argus.'
But the next day, my father woke up to my mother's screams as she wept, saying: 'My son is cursed! I have given birth to a cursed child!'
My father approached me to check, and he found one of my eyes glowing with a dark purple color, while the other was white as it is now. He went to the village elder to tell him, and he told them that I must be disposed of, otherwise, I would bring doom to everyone. My father didn't hesitate and decided to kill me at dawn. But my aunt took me secretly and threw me into the flowing river so I could survive. Even though I wasn't cursed; what happened to me was the fusion of elements in my body."
Jasmin: "And how did you know this story? Weren't you an infant?"
Argus calmly: "My aunt wrote down everything that happened, so that if someone found me, they would pity me and take me in. And indeed, Mrs. Limas found me… my mother…
Limas was the kindest person I had ever seen. A 34-year-old woman with short, curly black hair and tender features. I never knew if she was truly tall or if I just saw her that way because I was small. She owned a large house in the middle of the forest with four rooms and a garden surrounded by iron fences. She had a son my age named Leon. She treated me like her own son and was not afraid of my eyes; rather, she said they were the most beautiful eyes she had ever seen.
At ten years old, she hesitated at first, but finally told me she wasn't my real mother, yet she emphasized that she loved me just as much as Leon. At that time, I told her I didn't want to leave them; I only intended to visit my real parents one day, but she insisted they didn't deserve to even see me, without giving reasons.
In the end, she didn't tell me the truth until the incident happened in the village, when my aunt put me in the river to survive; for she feared for me and didn't want to tell me the reality."
Argus: "Fine, Mother, but I must visit them one day, at least to make sure if they are alive." Limas: "Agreed, just a visit, even though I don't want you to see them at all."
On that day, we were in our bedroom, I and Leon, and we felt bored. Leon was looking at the ceiling, saying: 'Do we have to sleep at this time?'
Then he felt a strong air blast his face, so he jumped off the bed saying: 'Is the window open?' Argus: 'I don't know, check that.' He stood in front of the window, and a wave of air hit him with force until he collided with the window and felt pain, shouting: 'What is this?!' Then he saw me laughing and said with annoyance: 'What did you do?!'
Argus: 'I don't know… I discovered I could do this last week.'
Argus formed a ball of air between his hands, and Leon shouted with joy: 'That's wonderful, Argus! How did you do that?' Argus: 'I don't know… I just imagine there is a ball forming in my hand, and I feel the airflow creating it. I discovered this in the forest while training. But this is a secret; don't tell Mother.' Leon: 'Are you training without telling me?' Argus: 'Yes, I only have an hour a day, and if I brought you, I wouldn't be able to do anything.'
Mother entered and said: 'Why haven't you slept yet?' Leon pointed to me, shouting with joy: 'He can use magic!' I was stunned and said: 'You idiot! I told you this was a secret!' Mrs. Limas approached me and said: 'Argus, what is your brother talking about?' I showed her the air ball in my palm, and she was amazed, saying: 'You are truly talented, Argus.' I felt great joy, and Leon shouted, saying: 'My brother is talented!' After I told Mother everything, she said: 'Then, no more secret training. Train here, you and your brother.' Leon and I exchanged looks and shouted together: 'Thank you, Mother!' We began training day after day, and two years later, Leon and I were able to hunt a bear."
Jasmin was surprised and said in shock: "Two 12-year-old kids hunting a bear?! How is that possible?" Argus smiled: "Because I discovered gravity magic, and this gave us the advantage. Do you remember the air that wraps around my feet and increases my speed? It was my brother's idea. He was chasing a cheetah at the time. Yes, we were crazy… but we possessed power. Or so we thought.
At sixteen, I told my mother I was going to visit my family. She didn't want that, but I insisted. She gave me a paper and said: 'Read it when you want to know the truth, my son.' I gathered my things in preparation for departure and asked Leon to take care of Mother. In the middle of the way, curiosity overwhelmed me, so I opened the paper, and I was shocked when I discovered that my aunt was the only righteous person in that family; as for the rest, they intended to kill me… to kill an innocent child who committed no sin.
I tore the paper in anger and rushed back home, but I was surprised that the forest was on fire. I wrapped my feet in wind and took off, to find two heads hanging at the fence… and something with horns dancing before them. I approached closer to see that the two heads were my mother's and my brother's. That cursed Jinn was sacrificing them in a ritual to summon his Jinn friends. I attacked him with blind rage. He was dodging me and laughing. He stopped above a burning tree and said: 'I didn't introduce myself, I am Mont, one of the servants of the Seven Jinn Lords, Lord Cassid.' I was attacking him with rage until I began to realize what I was doing. He was faster than me, and I didn't comprehend what happened until his dagger neared my face. I dodged it by a miracle, but he left that scar on my mouth. He began to overpower me, so I used gravity magic, and suddenly he slowed down and shouted: 'How do you possess this magic? It is not one of the primary elements!'
I attacked him with fire, and I parried it with air with my palm as if it were a ball, making it crash into the trees to surround him with gravity magic so he would fall. I asked him: 'Are you the one who did this?' Mont: 'Who else? But… I killed them without pain. Can I go, boy? Lord Cassid will be angry with me if I'm late.'
Argus shouted: "Are you kidding me?! You kill them and act with coldness before me as if you hadn't done anything? You bastard!"
I approached him, and the gravity crushed him until he began to tremble and say: "Please… let me go." I said: "I promised my mother and brother not to use these methods… but you deserve it!" I raised my hand, and I began to feel something coming out from within him. I didn't know if it was air or something else… but it was suffocating him. I looked into his eyes and asked: "Do you want to breathe?" He couldn't speak. Argus (with cold features): "I will be generous with you…" I placed my hand on his face and blew endless air into him. He screamed: "Stop! Stop!" But his body couldn't bear it, until his lungs exploded and scattered in the place.
I spat on his corpse, then I took my mother's and brother's heads down and buried them. I placed my mother's body in the grave, held her head, and on that day I swore firmly: 'I swear to you, Mother… I will not let anyone taste the torment you tasted. I will kill every Jinn who intends to harm humans, starting with Cassid.'
And after that, I roamed the earth searching for Jinn… until I met you."
Jasmin was shocked: "What a story… have you all been harmed by Jinn?" Argus wondered and asked: "You too, Erold?" Erold shook his head and said: "Yes… a person I considered a brother and a father at the same time was taken from me, and the one who was like a sister and mother to me was taken. I am the one who killed that Jinn who was in the Kingdom of Egypt." Argus was shocked and said: "That's why no matter how much I searched for him, I didn't find him… he was killed! But why is there still some Jinn aura there?" Erold sighed: "I don't know." Argus wondered: "Is that why you aim to separate the worlds?" Erold calmly: "Yes, you are right. After hearing your story, I knew that separating the worlds would be the best option for this world."
Then Argus turned to Jasmin and asked: "And you, Jasmin… what is your goal exactly?" Jasmin (without thinking): "To help Erold on his path and ensure he achieves this goal." Argus seriously: "No… I want your personal goal." She was silent for a bit, then said: "I hope to possess a family… after my birth, my mother died, and I had no brothers or a large family. Only my father… he was everything in my life, the door to my comfort and the source of my safety. Until that day…" Argus asked her: "What happened?" Jasmin looked at the ground as if sadness had taken hold of her, and Erold replied for her, saying: "He died at the hands of one of the nobles of Babylon." Argus wondered: "Do you mean Zaid Ashur?!" Erold asked in astonishment: "How do you know this?" Argus said: "I was there… the King executed the entire Ashur family because of the Shrine of Knowledge." Jasmin's features changed as if she had moved past it and said: "Since that time, I have been with Erold."
Suddenly, a man entered through the door and said: "Hah… he has woken up." Argus said: "This is the doctor, Erold." Erold stood up, and the doctor said to him: "Rest." Erold thanked him. The doctor handed Erold some herbs and said: "These are the herbs… but from your current state, I think you don't need them. I am late, I apologize. Anyway, everyone is heading to the Kingdom; a fight between the Four Greats and competitors will be held there, and whoever defeats them becomes one of the new Greats. He is also allowed to ask for anything from the Prince himself. How happy I am that you woke up; I can go to watch."
Argus looked at Erold, saying: "Now we know how we will make that madman help us." Erold asked the doctor: "How far is the Kingdom from here?" The doctor replied: "It is about ten hours away." Erold asked him again: "And when is that competition held… and where?" The doctor replied: "In the early morning, in the middle of the Kingdom." The doctor suddenly frowned and warned: "Do not participate! Your body is still weak, and you haven't fully recovered yet." Erold smiled and said: "Do not worry, sir." Then he turned to Argus: "Let's go."
At that moment, Jasmin came out carrying some things: "Everything is ready." Erold said: "Let's take Luce and head out."
They headed toward Luce and found him talking with one of the children's families, laughing with them. Erold commented, smiling: "It seems you are loved here, Luce." Luce replied with humor: "It seems so, unlike you, Erold."
Erold interrupted him as he pulled him off Utma: "Come on, Luce, we must move now; we will miss the opportunity." Luce smiled and said: "Alright."
They all set off, while the children came out disappointed, saying: "Goodbye, Mr. Luce… visit us again, please!" Luce gestured to them from atop Utma as he bade them farewell: "I promise you I will return, take care of this village, you are its future, little ones."
They all shouted: "We promise you that, sir!" And thus, Erold and his companions began their path toward the Kingdom.