章節 7: A Difficult Situation

Silence…utter silence, calmness, tranquility, and pure confusion. Those are the feelings that flooded Wilford's mind as he lied down on his back, staring upwards. Suddenly, a realization struck him out of nowhere and disrupted his peaceful meditation.

"Where am I?" He asked himself, his confusion increasing.

Wilford stood up from what he thought was the floor, although, he wasn't sure if he was right. He looked down, he looked up, he looked behind him, and in front of him; and came to the conclusion that he was nowhere.

Everything was a pure shade of white. Everywhere he looked was white, with the only living creature and existing object in this white void being him, and only him. He was with nobody, and was carrying nothing; he was sure that he was alone. Until…

"Heyo!" A voice echoed from behind him.

Upon hearing that familiar voice call out to him, Wilford quickly turned around to discover who it was, only to be surprised by a face that he knew very well.

The only other person in that white void was a young man wearing a small and blue hooded cape, and his signature silver glove that he wore on his right hand, symbolizing him as the one and only king of the alchemists, and Wilford's best friend, Owen Aldwin.

"Owen?" Wilford inquired in wonder and confusion.

"It's been quite some time since we talked care-free like friends, hasn't it, Will?" Owen asked with a gentle smile plastered on his face.

"Owen, are you...are you real? Where am I? Is this a dream?" Wilford asked, taking slow and cautious steps towards Owen.

"Oh, sorry about that. We're currently in the void, a spell created by Ghaya that traps a person's consciousness inside of a nonexistent place in reality. Ghaya's spell doesn't work unless the person is unconscious, and there wasn't really a way to inform you about this, so it happened all too suddenly. But, I assure you that I'm real."

"Wait, Ghaya did this?"

"Yes, he felt horrible about not being there at the meeting that day, so he tried to make up for it by giving us this peaceful place to talk inside of; you can take it as his parting gift since he won't be able to see you again for a long time."

"Oh, I didn't know that Ghaya cared all that much...I'm glad that he does. So, how are you doing, Owen? How's everything?"

"Well, you know that I can't lie to you, dear friend. I can't say that I'm doing fine, nor that life is going well right now. After all, it's a continuous mess that is draining my, and everyone's energy. In short, it's really chaotic."

"What happened?"

"Well, we are more divided than ever. Seryth has closed the borders to the elf kingdom, and will only allow trade from now on. The aftermath of the trials and the speech blew the warrior kingdom's credibility into oblivion, everyone in Traumiery is reluctant towards the four royal families system. And Lilith is dealing with the worst uprising of radical warlocks.

After that speech, Traumiery experienced a severe rise in extremist regimes of different races and magical specialties, all of them sharing one goal...to wipe out the beast race from existence. Due to that, massacres of both the demi-humans and beastmen are happening at a frightening rate that not even the royal knights of the warrior kingdom can keep up with it.

Seryth hates everyone by now, Adrian doesn't want to have any meetings or negotiations with any of the other Paragons, Lilith is having a political war with the warlocks, and Sigurd is indifferent towards everyone and everything as always. Dear God, to think that we were all childhood friends...it truly breaks my heart."

After finishing his sentence, Owen was surprised by Wilford who suddenly hugged him, squeezing him in his arms. He was confused at first until he heard the barely audible whimpers of pain before he felt his shoulder becoming wet.

"I'm so sorry, Owen. I'm so, so sorry. I never wanted this to happen. I wanted to become a hero, another Krieger to go down in history. I wanted to save innocent lives and to make my friends and family proud, but I failed so horribly. I planned for that speech ever since I was in my early youth. I stayed awake late at night, getting ready for my big moment, thinking of all the things that I could change...not realizing that it was all just a dream.

And when it failed, I began blaming the very friends that I tried to impress. I've wasted time dreaming and fantasizing about a distant and unrealistic fantasy, the very time that I could have spent with my family and friends, and tried to become a better person to them. Only now do I realize that I'm the one in the wrong. I wanted to be the greatest of all time...but I didn't know it would end up like this.

I wish I could just tell Engel how sorry I am for causing such a disaster, and for everything that I've done."

Upon hearing the words of a broken man who sunk deep into the never-ending pit of regret and despair, Owen couldn't help but become teary-eyed when hearing Wilford apologize for all the things he caused. Owen then wiped the tears from his eyes and pointed behind Wilford.

"Then, why don't you tell him that yourself?" He whispered to Wilford.

Upon turning around to look where Owen was pointing, Wilford was struck by the sight of a young blond man with blue eyes, who wore a frock coat as white as the void. A half-smile was plastered on his face as he walked towards Wilford.

"Yo, boy wonder. I see that you're still a crybaby even though you're a man." Engel said, a smile still on his face.

"Engel…" Wilford said as his eyes widened in disbelief.

"Before you say anything, Wilfy. I would like to apologize for everything that has happened up until this point. Yes, you were a major part in all the mess that is currently happening, but… I just want to say sorry on behalf of all the Paragons for being what we are, a bunch of worthless leaders that succumbed to corruption.

The original Paragons were the defenders of justice, fought for ideals, and sacrificed their lives for the greater good of all living beings, and most importantly, used their authority for the greater good, not to please a specific group of people. Look at us now, utterly disgracing the fundamentals that our ancestors created for us, to eradicate hate and hardship...truly pathetic.

Will, I hope that you can one day forgive me for the things I did." Engel stated, his half-smile slowly fading away.

Wilford wiped the tears from his eyes and cracked a half-smile as he gazed at Engel.

"I could say the same about myself...Well, I can only say thank you for giving me a second chance in Liebenheit, Engel."

"Don't mention it. Oh, also, about that beastmen, Hans. He should arrive by the time we're talking, so you can take that as my farewell gift to you. Since the day before the trial, I was already intending to send you to the red province, and especially to Liebenheit, the only place where your dream is partially true." Engel said as he extended his hand towards Wilford for a handshake.

"Of course, it is more than I could have ever asked for," Wilford replied, shaking Engel's hand in the process.

Suddenly, Engel pulled Wilford towards him and hugged him tightly, which the latter responded to by doing the same.

"Goodbye, my friend. By the time I see you again, I promise you that I would've already united Truamiery and saved it. Just promise me that you'll take care of my sister in return, Will."

"I already did, and I will forever do. So, don't worry about her, Julius. I will always devote myself to Evelyn."

"Thank you, boy wonder." Engel sarcastically said, chuckling in the process.

Engel released Wilford from the hug and took a few steps back before Owen walked towards him and stood right next to him. Both men were gazing at Wilford.

"Well, it has been a privilege to see you again, Wilfy. Until next time." Owen said.

"May we meet again, wonder boy." Engel said.

"Of course. Take care, my friends." Wilford said as he waved at the two young men, only for them to reply with the same.

Suddenly, a white light engulfed the three men from head to toe, gradually increasing in brightness by the second. The light disappeared, and so did the men that were inside the void, returning them back to their physical bodies and ending the reunion session between old friends.

…

By the time the reunion ended, and Wilford woke up, the sun already rose, and shone above the outpost.

After Wilford woke up, he proceeded to take out a leather, water canteen from one of his bags and took a few sips from it, before he began pouring some water on his face to try and wash away all remaining drowsiness. After doing so, Wilford dressed up in his usual outfit, and his signature blue frock coat before he made his way out of the tent.

After he exited the tent, Wilford's eyes fell upon the sight of the captain of the outpost, and his men gathered around a wooden table near the main tent that belonged to the captain. Upon taking a closer look, Wilford noticed a strange sight. The captain and his men had their eyes locked on the map that was spread on the table, confusion and worry plastered on their faces.

"Captain, is there a problem?" Wilford inquired.

"Sir Wilford, we have a somewhat...difficult situation." The captain replied with slight hesitation.

"A difficult situation?"

"Yes. According to the order we received, the royal convoy should have departed, at least, a month before we received the letter. If they took the main path, they would have arrived three days ago, and if they took another path, they would have arrived here by the early dawn as a maximum delay...something's not right." The captain stated as he pointed at the map.

"Are you sure about it? It's the royal convoy, it's impossible for it to have been stopped by any sort of danger."

"And that is why I'm sweating buckets here. The royal convoy is impossible to stop, and there's no way they would prioritize anything other than succeeding in their job. To think that something could have happened to them… I've set my mind. Men, listen up, we don't have a choice but to search for the royal convoy. I want you to get your weapons, armor, and equipment ready in five minutes. Once you finish, regroup here. You're dismissed—"

Before the captain could finish speaking, he was interrupted by a deafening explosion that originated from behind the walls and demolished them. With the corner of his eyes, the captain was able to see fragments of the wall flying towards him at an absurd speed. However, that wasn't the shocking part.

In the span of mere seconds, the men spotted an abnormally large figure that had mangled black fur, and a pair of glowing red eyes. The creature possessed a terrifying speed, which allowed him to open his mouth, revealing his razor-sharp fangs, and bite the captain, splitting him in half.

Only the lower half of the captain's body remained, while the upper one was devoured by the monster in front of them. Blood was spilled everywhere, and on everyone as guts splattered on the ground. However, what caused the sheer horror in everyone's eyes, was because the creature locked his eyes with them, targeting them next.