Seventeen years later,

Why would anybody knock on the door of an abandoned house in these dark times? If it was someone in desperate need of shelter, they should pound the door harder. A thief would be quieter, though. This is the knock of someone who knows that this house is not abandoned.

"Open, Akira. I know you are in there."

Alright then. That was not someone who only knew that the house was not abandoned. The voice didn't sound familiar, though. "Who is it?"

"I'm sure you heard once about Wang the Seer."

Wang the Seer? There had been no word about him since the Inabol Treaty. Some believed he was dead.

Akira opened the door a crack, dubiously studying his uninvited visitor. A sweaty, bald Koyan wearing a ragged tunic. He could be a seer. He could be a bandit. He could be anybody. "How do I know you are who you claim to be?"

The rugged visitor smiled wryly. "Isn't it enough that I found you?"

Akira had been living in these Goranian wastelands for years. The only people he met were either travelers who needed his help or raiders who deserved his deadly jumuns. "What do you want from me, Wang Sen? You have a reputation of being associated with bad news."

"I do what I must," Wang said. "About time you did the same. Your people need you."

Seventeen years had passed, and yet the nightmares never stopped. The sight of the demon smashing his cousin had been haunting his sleep and sometimes his waking hours too. "If you are really a seer, you will know that I'm not the person my people would welcome."

"A lot has happened while you were rotting in your solitude." Wang gave him a dismissive gesture. "Now gather your things and ready your horse. You have a long ride ahead of you. Let's hope you are not late already."

____________________

Akira and Natsu might return in the third book of War of the Last Day 😁

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