Capítulo 31: Asking for help part 2

The world was never a peaceful place, this was something Noah had known ever since he had been young enough to understand how things work. As a part of a family who could never get along and looked for ways to backstab each other, survival had been tough.

One could never know when they might be faced with a knife in their back, but it was the knowledge which hollowed one inside over time. In that family, no one ever smiled or spared you a kind gesture for kindness would often be mistaken for support.

But it had been far better than the street and he would choose that life over the slave traders always.

And then came Keito, the stupid optimistic king who never saw the bigger picture but there was something special about him.

He shines with an aura which Noah had never seen before and it left him mesmerized. He extended the first genuinely helpful hand to Noah and that had been a deal sealer for him.

Till Ryu came along. The temple master took him in without any reason or question and carried the same charismatic yet mysterious aura around him as the young king. But one was different from the other and Ryu had ideals as well as a vision which fascinated young Noah. Even now he could not look away from that bright light of the one who had provided him with such unconditional trust.

Ryu and Keito were similar enough, if he looked at it vaguely enough, part of the same being just given different forms and yet they occupied opposite ends of the spectrum.

Both occupy his life in different ways and yet somehow it felt like they were one and the same. Perhaps that's why he offered that helping hand when he should not have. Perhaps his gratitude and the feeling of obligation was far too powerful.

But what was done could not be taken back now.

The night was breaking away, the dark fading in the presence of the sun which signalled the coming of a new day. The realm was still unstable and Noah had to force his magic to maintain the temple peak once again.

The trees, the people and the landscape began originating as he neared the place. It had always been a breathtaking scenario and even now it was enough to send pangs of nostalgia through him. Through the slits in his mask he could make out the purple shower that the falling flowers were causing.

The shadows around him donned the faces he had once considered close to himself and yet they passed him without any greeting back. It was a bittersweet feeling, to have it all back and yet be so detached to it.

The sticky scent of sweets reached his nose which caused Noah to realise that the atmosphere of the place seemed different from usual. Paying attention, it was clear to see that these people were preparing for a festival and the mood reflected thay joy.

"Welcome back esteemed Oracle" finally , Noah stepped inside that space as various voices greeted his persona and once again, it caused a pang of loneliness to surround his heart.

Once again, he was the oracle and not Noah. These were not the friends he knew but some strangers with the same faces and voices.

"I'll be with the temple master. Please direct any guests toward the usual guest room" Noah commanded the nearest person who looked responsible enough, which just happened to be an elderly disciple he didn't know the name of. He did not need to know the other's name in order to know that his orders would be followed. After all, none of these puppets had their own free will. They operated on a series of preset commands and actions controlled by Ryu. They were as much a slave of everything as Noah himself felt at times.

He did give the other a small nod of acknowledgement before he moved onto the back section and into the room he had pointed at. And then it began. Of course he had to endure it all alone since Ryu was stuck back inside Keito.

Perhaps, he too felt like a victim of his fate.

Time passed quickly inside that room and before he could even realise it, he had his mask off and his hair unbound to arrange them again.

The presence inside this room was so familiar that it did not even feel as if it was something new which would be the only reason Noah had failed to recognize that there were not but two presences inside the room. The aura he could feel was almost identical, just varied in intensity and he was thankful for the voice of warning seconds before disaster.

"Please don't be so hasty your highness, you don't want to make any mistakes here" Ryu's voice held just enough edge to it for Noah to understand that he had not been happy with the current situation which was his clue to mask himself back.

That had been a close call now and made Noah just much more aware of what he could and could not allow to happen. He could not allow the king to see the face behind the mask since it would cause everything to end at an abrupt note. Ryu would be livid and when he was livid, no one was happy.

"Excuse me for my rudeness" Keito looked disappointed and it seemed like he himself was not aware he was making that expression at all. Ryu looked uncomfortable too, the expression screamed that he did not know what was wrong with everything and Noah knew he was likely at fault here.

"Ah, pardon the rudeness my oracle showed. To be honest, I was not expecting your majesty to come here so fast" Ryu changed the subject, turning the attention from Noah to the present situation at hand.

Even if he did not like how close that situation had gotten, there was not anything he could do about it but pass on another subject. Why did this stupid king have to choose the worst times to divert his attention to Noah? He never paid attention when Ryu brought the other up.

"Ah, right. I was told that you had information that could help me" Finally, Keito seemed to pull himself together, his mind coming back to the present scenario as he saw the other two's expressions. The missed opportunity seemed like a waste but Ryu was right in this regard.

He needed to stop getting distracted, no matter how much something pulled him toward the child.

"We can but we can only guide you. Mostly, you will need to pull your own weight and cast your own magic" there was a dead silence in the air at that proclamation as three pairs of eyes blinked and then widened just a fraction. A crucial fact was realised by everyone in that vicinity at that very second.

Despite the strong aura of power coming from the king, he had never been good at magic stuff but he had adapted since his wolf helped him out all the time, which ….

…..

was a problem now.

"Please tell me you can perform magic decently. I don't want to help you all" Ryu groaned, forgetting his position in his stress and letting himself break character but since the young king was not so well versed with the other, it did not come across as any weirder than his usual behaviors.

"I know the basics and theory" Keito did not tell the others his specular history of failure to cast basic spells for even the simplest of spells but the implications were clear. All three held themselves in a tense position, just realizing the helplessness of this situation.

"Someone could coach this highness?" Noah suggested the only way to do so and even then he knew how hopeless that situation was since he had tried in his last life. But not everything was lost since Keito has become capable of basic casting by the end of that training.

"Are you sure?" Ryu's worry was legit since the consequences were dire but for a future he desired this was a necessary risk and one Noah was willing to take.

"If his highness doesn't mind" the young king looked interested now, his eyes flashing with eagerness that should be unexpected when talking about such a topic but one could not say what thoughts were revolving inside his mind at that time.

But he finally nodded his agreement with a thoughtful look.

"So it's decided, the temple would help in this way but don't expect us to fight in that war for you. I refuse to sacrifice my people for a cause you started." the voice was firm and refusing to listen to anything else but it suited Keito just fine.

Even this little help had been unexpected. Besides, Keito was alone here anyway since it was his trial.

'Noah, just what did you want to achieve with this trail?' The king could not help but ask and the child sneezed which broke the seriousness of that moment had settled all around them.