Shin continued staring at the ominous orb laced with dark magic in his hand, his cold eyes not conveying a single emotion. He lifted his head up to look at Zeau, frowning slightly when he noticed the smile on Zeau’s face. 

Shin took a step back, making Zeau raise his eyebrows. 

“Why should I trust you?” Shin questioned, his voice devoid of emotion. 

“I am simply here to help you in your quest in vengeance,” Zeau maintained his smile. “Nothing more, nothing less.” 

“Help does not come for free,” Shin stated. “You want something.” 

“Indeed, it seems that you are more insightful,” Zeau smiled wider. “I simply want you to absorb others like you to increase your strength. That is all.” 

Shin remained silent for a moment, contemplating. There was still no fear in his eyes, and he eventually decided to respond to Zeau. 

“Go away.” 

“...?” 

Zeau blinked in shock. 

“I’ll do everything myself,” Shin said adamantly, his midnight black eyes unwavering. “I will avenge my parents myself.” 

Zeau was surprised, his smile fading. 

“It is impossible for a child like you to kill a man thrice your size,” Zeau stated coldly. “Or even get close to him.” 

“You know nothing.” Shin responded, clearly undaunted by his difficult circumstances. He looked back at the men lying unconscious on the ground, before glancing out the alleyway. 

Without saying another word, he walked past Zeau quietly. 

The image of Xue immediately replaced Shin in Zeau’s eyes. Despite being a scrawny thirteen year old child, the aura around him did not change in any manner. 

The exact resemblance of him. 

Zeau harrumphed. 

“You aren’t the only target I have in mind.” 

With those words, Zeau flipped his robes and disappeared from sight. 

***

Xue did not plan to pursue his soul fragment at this moment. Hence, he shrugged it off and simply asked all of them to move on. Hana and K’xug went on ahead, not questioning his decision.

“Xue, are you really sure?” Cecil questioned, frowning in worry. 

“Yeah, I’m sure.” 

“I don’t think…” Cecil trailed off, shaking her head. “What if something happens?”

Xue could see that Cecil was really concerned about him, and his heart warmed at this sight of a worrisome Cecil. 

“If it concerns you that much,” the ash blonde-haired man softened his gaze, his voice gentle. “We can always catch my soul fragment after you are done registering for the tournament.” 

“Gathering back your soul is...is just as important. We still have ample time to register for the tournament--”

Xue raised his hand, placing it on Cecil’s head. 

“Right now, I am not the priority.” 

Cecil paused, lifting her eyes to stare at Xue. He was looking down at her, a tender look in his eyes

It was so tender, one could melt under his gaze. 

Cecil felt her heart skip a beat, becoming flustered as her cheeks grew warm. Though, Cecil still couldn’t help but worry for Xue and the soul fragment, Shin. 

“No, Xue, yo-you should prioritise yourself more, I don’t think we should--” 

Xue let out a breathy chuckle, startling Cecil. 

It was rare to hear Xue laugh. 

Afterall, he could not help it. Hearing the words “prioritise yourself more” from Cecil made him want to laugh and cry at the same time. 

“Those words should be directed towards you instead.” 

“...what?” 

Xue raised his eyebrows at her, smiling softly. 

Finally, Cecil understood the meaning behind his words, since she never prioritized herself. 

“...oh.”

“Hey guys!” Hana hollered, waving her arm up in the air. “Are we still staying?” 

K’xug looked at them indifferently, his arms across his chest. 

“Come on, let’s go,” Xue nudged his head, wrapping his hand around hers. “Don’t worry, after registering for the tournament, we’ll look for the soul fragment.” 

The two of them hurried to Hana and K’xug. 

“Ah…” Cecil made a sound, trailing behind Xue. “Al-alright, we should just register as soon as we can.”

Xue continued smiling softly to himself, happy over her concern for him. 

She glanced down at their entwined hands, and recalled the words he said to her earlier. 

“Those words should be directed towards you instead.” 

She smiled to herself. 

***

The four of them finally entered the town, and the amount of people were comparable to the port. The architecture of the buildings were similar to the buildings they saw back in the port, only that it was smaller in scale. 

It was only after they headed towards the colosseum which Yun had instructed them to go, they understood the reason behind the huge crowd of people. 

Everyone here was looking forward to the tournament.

There was a long queue outside the tournament venue for the competitors to register. Whereas, there was another long queue of people still buying tickets to watch the tournament, despite having three days left until the tournament begins. 

Cecil and Hana were flabbergasted. 

Cecil started to drift off, wondering the amount of money the owner of the tournament venue earned. Moreover, this tournament was held yearly. 

“Do we really have to queue this long?” Hana asked reluctantly, sucking in her lips. 

“...yes.” Cecil answered, starting to feel dreadful. 

Cecil started to recall the discussion they had in the meeting room of the ship. When the topic of the fighting tournament came up, the four of them were immediately chosen to attend the tournament. 

It was then Cecil saw the sympathetic gaze from Kiyae. Kiyae then marched up to her and patted her shoulder.

“Good luck, cutie. You’ll need it.” 

Cecil sighed. 

So this is the reason behind that sympathetic look. 

With no other choice, the four of them had to stand in line to queue. Fortunately, the sun wasn’t particularly scorching that day. In addition to that, the queue was moving quickly. 

It just goes to show how competent the staff were, and how accustomed they were to such a large queue.

“At the rate the queue is moving, we’ll be done in an hour or so,” Cecil mused. “We’ll be able to meet up with Haru and the others on time.” 

“They said they know a good place to eat for dinner!” Hana chirped, giggling. “I’m looking forward to it!” 

K’xug shook his head at Hana, he was still surprised at her ravenous appetite for delicious food. 

“I knew you loved delicious food in the past,” Xue said, frowning to himself. “However, it wasn’t to this extent.” 

Cecil agreed quietly with Xue, even in the memory of the previous Cecil Lan, she had no memory of seeing Hana wolfing down the food in front of them like now. Hana always made sure to maintain proper mannerisms when consuming food, like a demure, noble lady. 

K’xug looked at Xue, before glancing at Hana. A look of understanding crossed his different coloured eyes, and he nodded to himself. 

I think I know why. 

From observing Hana in the shadows in the past, in actual fact, K’xug understood Hana more than Xue. 

“Because, I don’t feel so conscious anymore!” Hana beamed, before spitting her tongue out a little. “I also always felt so bad because I ate so much, and my parents, you and Cecil had to keep paying for my meals.” 

Cecil chuckled. “You don’t have to be.” 

“Mhmm!” Hana nodded. “Now I know, good food is meant to be enjoyed lots with the people you love!” 

Cecil patted Hana on the head. 

Aww, so cute! 

Xue smiled at Hana’s cheery attitude. 

Whereas, K’xug glanced down, absorbing the last few words from Hana into his mind. 

People you love…

People you love, huh.

K’xug smiled to himself. 

***

At the deepest part of the town, there was a luxurious traditional house with a well-maintained bamboo garden leading up to its entrance. Two men stood by the entrance of the luxurious house, and a lanky man jogged up towards the entrance, bowing to the two men. They simply slid the door pen, gesturing for the lanky man to head in. 

The lanky man entered the house, and it was even more luxurious compared to its outside. It was furnished with vases, paintings and furniture of expensive material. He walked up the steps leading to the hallway, his steps careful against the wooden flooring. 

The doors surrounding the hallway had been slid open, revealing the rest of the bamboo garden surrounding the house and allowing the sunlight to stream in, bathing the interior of the house in a warm light. 

Finally he arrived in front of the wooden sliding doors to a room, announcing his presence. 

“Mr. Goro, it’s me.” 

“No need to come in, just tell me what you know from there.” Goro, one of the loyal henchmen of Ephert, spoke in a gruff voice. 

The lanky man bowed to the wooden sliding doors, before he opened his mouth to speak. “They have arrived, along with the queen’s guest. There is no doubt that they are planning something to gain control of this area.” 

“With me here, I won’t allow it,” Goro scoffed audibly. “Lord Ephert will kill me if I allow such a thing to happen.” 

“It seems...the queen’s guests will be participating in the fighting tournament.” 

“Not all of them?” 

“No, sir.” 

“Hmmmm…” Goro hummed thoughtfully. “As I expected, we can’t have them roaming the town as we please, with them around, anything could happen. The fighting tournament was the best bet to keep them contained.” 

Goro sighed heavily. 

“I understand, move the plan forward.” 

“The plan? You mean…” 

“Yes, the prize, change it. Also, throw in another one of our strongest in there just to be safe.” 

The lanky man started fidgeting nervously outside the doorway. 

He knew Goro from the inside could see his shadow standing still on the outside, and not responding. 

“Why aren’t you responding?” 

“That...the prize...has gone missing.” 

The lanky man heard noises from within, and thundering footsteps heading towards the wooden sliding doors. In an instant, the doors were slid open with force and a burly man with rugged features stood before the lanky man. 

The lanky man gulped nervously, starting to tremble a little and he dared not face Goro. 

Goro reached out for the lanky man, grabbing him by his collar and easily lifting him up a few inches into the air. 

“Si-sir!”

“What is the meaning of this?” 

“Th-that is…” 

“Explain!” 

The lanky man squeezed his eyes close.

“The men guarding him were found in the alleyway completely knocked out! And the kid himself is gone!” 

Goro clicked his tongue, shoving away and the lanky man dropped to the ground harshly. 

“Find him!” Goro barked, his voice low and threatening. “Or you’ll die along with those men guarding him.” 

***

An hour and a half passed, before the four of them reached the counter. The young woman at the counter greeted Cecil and the others with a polite smile. 

“Hello, how many of you will be participating in the tournament? Please know that for this year, the tournament will be team-based. The limit would be twenty participants for a team.” 

“All four of us in a team.” 

“Alright, please write your names down in the list.” 

“We can choose whatever names we want?” Cecil questioned. “Without showing any identification?”

“Certainly, the owner welcomes every participant regardless of their nationality, age and gender!” 

Cecil furrowed her eyebrows.

Without any identification…

What if one of the participants turned out to be a killer in disguise?

Cecil turned back to look at Hana, Xue and K’xug. They only gave her reassuring nods to proceed on and wrote their names down on the list. 

“Registration completed! Please give a moment to inform you the most important rule of the tournament.”

Cecil nodded. 

“We do not condone killing. Any intentions from the participants that involve killing would result in an immediate disqualification and the participant will be blacklisted.” 

Cecil only believed a rule like that half-heartedly, and the same applied for Xue and K’xug. 

After all, fighting tournaments without accidental killings are impossible. Moreover, one would not know if those killings were actually accidental. 

“The rest of the rules will be explained later at the beginning at the tournament! Please do not be late in reporting to the venue!” 

“I wish you all the best!” 

“Thank you.”

The four of them left quickly, and Hana turned to Cecil, tugging at her sleeve of her dress. The four of them attracted attention wherever they went due to their different sense of dressing. 

“Cecil.” 

“Hmm?” 

“Is this fighting tournament like the one we had in the academy? Is it scary?” 

Cecil smiled at Hana. 

“Well, if you really do not want to, you could always forfeit before the tournament starts.” 

Hana smiled back, nodding. 

Just then, a few notifications appeared in front of Cecil. 

[ Congratulations! You have unlocked the achievement “Registering for a Fighting Tournament”! ]

[ You have twenty achievements remaining! ]

[ A new mission has arrived! ]

[ Mission #13: The Most Popular Fighting Tournament of Tul
Objective: Ensure your team becomes the victor of the tournament
Reward: 6000 points
Remaining points: 5000 points ]

“If I fail this mission, I’ll be punished for having negative points…”

[ That is correct. ]

[ I wish you all the best, Cecil Lan~ ]

“I know you are not sincere at all.” 

[ How could that be? ]

[ I am your beloved AI500 after all~ ]

“...” 

Cecil swore she could feel a shiver down her spine when the system told her that. 

“That’s creepy.” 

“You are creepy.”

[ … ] 

[ How mean… ]

Once again, another chill crawled down her spine.

“Cut it out! Stop acting cute!” 

[ You are too mean… ]

Cecil swore that AI500 only existed to annoy her endlessly. 

***

The current missing prize, Shin, was wandering the streets of the town. Some of the people noticed the scrawny, thirteen year old child with a cold face, avoiding him like the plague. He did not pay them any heed, only observing his surroundings with indifference. 

In fact, Shin did not know what he was doing. 

Somehow, there was something in him that urged him to walk away and explore, leaving it all behind him. 

It did not help that he felt something tugging at his soul, in a certain direction. It was calling out to him, as if to unite with something else. 

A young girl around Shin’s age dashed past him, holding a stick of candied apples in her hands. She giggled happily, tugging at the yukata of an older woman. 

“Mommy! Mommy!” 

“What is it, sweetie?” 

“Look, look! Daddy bought this for me! It’s so sweet!” 

The mother sighed. “I told him countless times that this isn’t good for your teeth--” 

“Wanna try, mommy?” 

“Yes, yes. Come on, let mommy have a bite.” 

“Isn’t it so sweet?!” 

“Very!” 

The young girl giggled, biting into the candied apple with a squeal. A second later, a man around the age of the mother stepped forward, a sheepish look on his face.

“Honey, I told you countless times not to spoil Aya too much.” 

“I know, but look at her,” the man gestured to her daughter grinning from ear to ear. “Look how happy she is.” 

“Well,” the mother smiled helplessly. “I guess it’s fine from time to time.” 

The mother grabbed the young girl’s hand, still smiling. “Come on, Aya, let’s go home.” 

“Okay! Oh right! I have a drawing I want to show mommy and daddy!” 

The father laughed, ruffling her daughter’s hair. The family of three walked on, and Shin watched them with a wistful gleam in his eyes. 

Nevertheless, Shin could do nothing but walk on. 

He kept to the shadows, not wanting anyone to see his vulnerable state. 

Just then, he passed by an alleyway and he heard a piercing shriek. He gasped, glancing up and he looked inside the alleyway. 

Two familiar figures were down on the ground, with the man being beaten up and the woman watching helplessly from the side. However, Shin did not know why, but the faces of his parents were replaced with those two figures. 

Without thinking, he charged into the alleyway. 

***

《 start 》

I miss them. 

Mother.

Father. 

I miss them so much. 

《 stop 》

***

Author's Note: I sprained my ankle and it's killing me, lmao.

My whole body is aching because I'm trying to walk on one leg, and I have to use rolling chair to get around the house.

Yes, it looks pretty stupid rolling around on the chair going "wheeee". Even my brother's girlfriend is laughing when she sees me going "wheeeee" past the camera.

She's like "ohhh, I see someone having fun on the chair, weeeeeee!"

Me be like "yes, I clearly am having fun (with a sprained ankle making me die on the inside) c:"