Chương 11: Fate and Promise

As the carriage took them on the path to the Town of Shar, nobody inside the carriage spoke anything. There was a tension that Ahli felt between him and Sharon. Therefore, Ahli chose not to speak at all.

"Um…brother Ahli?" Ecuti's call was the first thing that broke the silence in that carriage.

"What is it Ecuti?" Asked Ahli.

"I haven't properly said thank you for what you have done for me and my mother."

As she said that, Ahli did not feel he needed the gratitude. Because he knew, even though Ecuti might be saying it from her heart, however, her mother seemed to have the same thinking as the other people in the village, looking at how she reacted when facing Ahli by the time he woke up. With that information gathered and accumulated, it was clear to him, what the oddities that he felt by then.

"I'm also saying on my mother's behalf. I'm sorry she was not able to say it in person. It was quite hard for her to accept the fact that you are a card mage." Ecuti bowed to Ahli while kneeling, surprising him, and from Sharon's reaction, so did she.

"Ecuti, it's okay. I understand." Ahli tried to reach Ecuti to make her stop bowing. Yet, he had trouble reaching her as fast as he could.

Seeing that, Ecuti raised her body to help Ahli back in his seat. As Ahli seated properly again, Ecuti said again, "I also haven't given my gratitude for you two."

"For what?" Asked Sharon.

"For telling me many stories. Our encounter might be short, but it was fun." Ahli could see how her eyes started to get teary as she held not to cry.

"Hey, come on. Don't be sad. I was having fun too." Sharon moved to her side, hugging her.

"The idiot here was also having fun. Right?" Asked Sharon to Ahli. Ecuti turned to look at Ahli who had not replied to Sharon's question. Ahli knew by Sharon calling him an idiot meant that she finally forgave him, wanting things to be like before. Ahli did not know what made her change so quickly, but for Ecuti, small progress was better than none.

"Yeah, of course. Especially regarding the rabbit." Said Ahli as he finally communicated again with Sharon. He smiled at both of them before continuing, "If things got better, I would like to return to try it one more time."

"Yeah, me too." Added Sharon. Ecuti's sad face had gone and it was replaced by joy, hearing the words of the two people she adored.

"And hopefully, by next time, it would be you who make it." Said Sharon to her.

"What?" Asked Ecuti in disbelief.

"Yeah, I want that too." Added Ahli, agreeing to Sharon's proposal.

"It's a promise then." Sharon reached out her hand, which Ahli followed by putting his on top of hers. They looked at Ecuti, who had not placed her hand, waiting for her.

After a short moment of hesitation, Ecuti placed her hand on top of theirs, showing that she had agreed with Sharon's proposal, and she said the one phrase that bound the pact, "It's a promise."

The three of them cheered and laughed with their newfound happiness. It was then something caught Ahli's eyes.

"Ecuti, your pendant. May I see it?" Ahli got curious with it as he thought that the pendant looked similar to the one, he knew about.

Ecuti touched the pendant that dangled on her neck. She reached for it and took it out, showing it to Ahli and Sharon. Ahli was still unsure as the shape was quite different, yet, he felt that it was similar to the one he gave to Jena.

"May I look at it closer?" Asked Ahli again.

"Sure." Ecuti started to release the holding at the back and she pulled it out of her neck and gave it to Ahli.

As Ahli looked at it closer, he realized it was not just similar, it was the same pendant. The shape was supposed to be a five-petal Sakura, however, two of the petals had broken, leaving with only three remaining. He looked at its back and found the writing who was cut because of the broken petals.

(Love y

Jena &)

It was him then that started to have teary eyes, making Ecuti and Sharon confused.

"Ahli, are you okay?" Asked Sharon who showed concern on her face.

"Yeah, I'm fine." He wiped the tears that started to drop from her eyes.

"What's wrong with the pendant?" Asked Sharon again who demanded clarity from Ahli.

"This…is Jena's pendant. It means I'm correct. She's here in this world." Ahli smiled as tears flowed from his eyes. He could not believe how joy was at the corner waiting after misery had struck him.

"Are you sure?" Asked Sharon again.

"Yeah. Right here was supposed to be written 'Love You Forever. Jena & Ahli'" Ahli showed the back of the pendant for Sharon and Ecuti to see.

He then turn to Ecuti and asked her, "Ecuti, where did you get this pendant?"

"I got it from a young lady, a month ago at the market in the town of Pire." Said Ecuti. "She was looking for direction and I guided her. Aside from buying me an art candy, she also gave me this."

"She said that it would give me protection. I never imagined that it really gave me one."

"What did she look like?" Asked Sharon as she was still not convinced and not making Ahli get his hope high.

"She was shorter than brother Ahli, had hair up to her shoulder, with black color like yours Brother Ahli." What Ecuti described was confirmed by Ahli to be of Jena, yet, there was still a possibility that it was someone else.

"Her eyes were round with brown pupils. And, that's all, I think. I'm sorry, I couldn't remember much of her." There was a disappointment as what Ecuti described was still not enough for Ahli to be sure.

"One thing that I do really remember was her words when giving me her pendant. She said I remind her of her 'Duelist'." That one last piece of information, however, finally was the one that lifted the fire in Ahli's soul.

"That was Jena." Ahli could not contain his happiness anymore. First, he knew that Jena was in the very same world like him, and now he was 100% sure that she was still alive.

"Jena used to call me 'duelist', a term used for a certain card game user. No one else knew about it aside from the two of us." It truly had turned into the best day ever for Ahli.

He looked at Ecuti and he approached her. He gave back the pendant to her.

"Thank you Ecuti for the information. Here is your pendant."

"I can't accept it. Isn't this an important thing for you and sister Jena?" Ecuti tried to refuse the return knowing the history of the pendant.

"It's okay. Jena had given it to you, which means that it's yours now." Affirmed Ahli.

Ecuti seemed hesitant at first, but then she took it back. She wore it back as Ahli looked at her doing so.

[You've given it to the right person, Jena.]

<ANNOUNCEMENT!>

The sudden announcement from the system surprised Ahli. He became more surprised when light suddenly appeared from Jena's pendant, gathering in front of Ahli. And what was interesting for him at that moment was that he was not the only one who seemed to witness this phenomenon. Sharon, Ecuti, and Mr. Granger seemed to be able to see the light gathered as well, as they were in awe looking at it.

The light then shattered forming a card that was filled with light, spinning slowly in front of him. Ahli was not sure what to do at first, but then his hand reached for the card.

As he was able to hold it, the light was gone and in front of him appeared a card in physical form.

JENA'S PENDANT

Use this Artifact to produce 2 mana.

<CONGRATULATIONS!>

"Is that…?" Sharon was unable to finish her sentence as she knew it was impossible to see it before.

"Yes, it's a CARTA card." Answer Ahli as he knew clearly what Sharon would like to ask.

***

The carriage finally arrived at an inn at the side of the main road, named Dragon Nuggets. All its passengers step down from it.

"Okay, you can stay here for a few days until you regain your strength. The owner of the inn is a good friend of mine, so you'll be in safe hands." Said Mr. Granger.

"Thank you, sir. Especially for the help these past few days." Said Sharon giving her gratitude.

"It's okay. Till we meet again. You too Ahli. Hopefully, you can find your lover." Said Mr. Granger.

"Thank you, sir." Said Ahli with a smile.

"Ecuti, say your goodbye to them." As Mr. Granger ordered Ecuti, she walked to the front, facing Sharon and Ahli.

"Thank you…again…for everything." As she said that she jumped toward both of them, hugging them, which was received by them as a surprise at first, but then they returned the courtesy.

As they hug her, Ahli said, "It was fate that made you meet with Jena, and it was fate that made you meet with us. Therefore, fate will surely make us meet each other again in the future."

As Ecuti let go of her hug, she climbed the back of the carriage with her father walked toward the driver's seat. As the carriage left the inn, Ecuti showed herself to Ahli and Sharon.

"GOODBYE! SEE YOU AGAIN!" As she waved to Ahli and Sharon, which was replied by them by also waving to her.

With the carriage finally gone from their view, Sharon and Ahli entered the Dragon Nugget to stay for a certain amount of time.

SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO
MahessaFPS

Yeay, a new type of card. Finally, I reached this part of the story. The idea of cards obtained from not just battle was conceived as early as chapter 1, as I wanted the variation of obtaining the card, so it won't be boring just to have a fight and get a stronger card. It also means that the remaining 3 types might appear as certain events happen or might be also from just a small encounter. So, stay tuned.

With the Ecuti's story itself, it acted as well to confirm to all of you my lovely readers, that yes, Jena is alive and well. As her status of a card mage and a good one? That would be revealed in future chapters.

So, what do you think about this chapter? Please give me your comment and input.

Also, if you like it, add it to your library.

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