章節 15: Pain
Nely drifted into dreams of her past. She saw her mother, father, and little sister, reliving every important memory. She remembered starting at the academy and the loving way her parents treated her. But then the scene shifted abruptly to a nightmare: their house engulfed in red Neba fire.
Inside the burning house, Nely stood, crying and looking in every direction. In front of her, her father fought against a man named Matiane, who called himself the Apostle of the God of War. Her father shouted, "Go! Save Mom and your sister!"
Nely ran as fast as she could, her energy almost depleted from using both her Neba and Zeten. She reached her sister's room, finding her sister standing in the middle of the room, scared.
Nely hugged her tightly, and they both ran downstairs, suffering small burns as they navigated through the flames. They were nearly out of the house when another masked man appeared and stabbed her sister in the chest with a long sword.
She screamed and charged at the man, but he easily avoided her and sliced her chest and shoulders with his sword, giving her deep wounds. She fell to the ground, crawling desperately toward her sister, who was slowly losing her life.
Through the doorway, she could see her mother being killed by another masked man outside the house. Tears streamed down her face as she hugged her already dead sister.
The fire consumed the house, and the masked men left, leaving Nely to be burned alive in red Neba. The physical pain was immense, but it was nothing compared to the pain of losing the most precious things in her life.
She woke up with a start, her body drenched in sweat and her heart pounding. The memories felt so real, the loss so fresh. Tears streamed down Nely's face as she cried, her voice choked with sorrow.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... it's my fault. If only I wasn't so weak. If I was not Zeten, if I wasn't born, maybe all this wouldn't have happened. It's all my fault..."
Dune sighed deeply from under his blanket, feeling a profound sadness for the girl beside him. Her pain echoed his own, intensifying his hatred towards those like Matiane. His desire for revenge burned hotter, not just for his friends and brother, but for his city and the place where he had once lived.
Hearing Nely's heartfelt apology and her self-blame, Dune felt a surge of determination. He wanted to help her seek revenge too. He sat up and reached out to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Nely, it's not your fault. None of this is your fault. The blame lies with those who have caused us this pain. We're in this together, and we'll find a way to make things right. We just hve to get our revenge right?."
Nely looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. Dune understood Nely's pain; he, too, grappled with feelings of powerlessness and self-blame. Dune's words weren't just for Nely's benefit; they were also for his own. He yearned for strength, for survival, for the chance to protect his loved ones.
Laying back to sleep, Nely's soft voice broke the silence. "I'm sorry, and... thanks."
Dune didn't respond verbally. Instead, he closed his eyes, finding solace in the embrace of sleep.
Nely followed suit, and like that, on the fifth day of their journey, they reached the land, a symbol of their resilience and determination to endure, no matter the odds.
Nely and Dune jumped off the boat. As it dissolved into green Neba, it returned to Nely's body. Ahead of them, beyond the beach, enormous trees marked the edge of a vast forest. What caught their attention most was the sight of a fire-ravaged area, evidence of recent destruction.
Trees lay cut and charred, suggesting that something significant had occurred here, perhaps only nights ago. The scene filled them with apprehension, wondering what could have caused such devastation in this remote wilderness.
Suddenly, two strangers emerged from the forest, tension hanging heavy in the air. Nely instinctively conjured an green sword, while Dune held his katana, a creation of Nely's own neba.
The strangers, one with brown hair and eyes, the other with long black hair and eyes, raised their hands in a gesture of peace. Both of them wore weird outfits that neither Dune nor Nely had seen before. "Hey, calm down," the brown-haired guy said. "We mean no harm. Look, I don't even have a weapon."
Nely hesitated, exchanging a glance with Dune, who subtly bowed his head. Taking the cue, Nely made both swords disappear, giving the impression that Dune had done so himself. It was a strategic move, if their adversaries believed Dune to be powerless, it could pose problems.
"I'm Jake, and the guy next to me is Nate," the brown-haired guy began. "We both came here to see if there were any other survivors. On the other side of the island, we have 8 more Zetens, food, and a place to stay. We can figure things out along the way. If you follow us, you won't regret it."
Both Jake and Nate had bags on their shoulders. Nely and Dune were hungry. After thinking for a long moment, they silently followed the two strangers into the forest.
As they ventured deeper into the forest behind Jake and Nate, Nely and Dune couldn't shake off the sense of unease. Yet, hunger gnawed at their stomachs, and the promise of food and shelter outweighed their reservations.
They walked carefully through the thick forest. Tall trees with twisted branches casting patches of shadow on the ground. The air smelled of pine and wet earth, and they could hear leaves rustling as small creatures moved around unseen.
Suddenly, the peaceful silence broke. Something jumped out from the bushes with a fierce growl. A pack of red wolves, eyes glowing with hunger, they charged at the group. Their snarls echoed through the forest as they closed in quickly.
The squad braced themselves, but Nate stepped forward confidently. He raised his hand, which glowed with bright orange Zeten. The air around him seemed to hum with power. With a powerful motion, he unleashed a wave of yellow energy that shot forward and exploded, killing all the wolves instantly.
The blast tore up the ground and trees, leaving a smoking, wrecked clearing where the wolves had been.
Nely and Dune stood still, shocked by the sudden display of power. The smell of burnt wood filled the air. The forest was quiet again, except for the distant chirping of birds, startled by the sudden noise.
"So it was you," Dune thought, looking at Nate.
Nate turned to them, his face calm. " Wolves usually don't go near the beach. I'm surprised they even left the deep forest and came here.
Let's keep moving," he said, as if nothing unusual had happened.
After a few minutes of walking in the forest, Jake broke the silence.
"So, are you two gonna introduce yourselves? I already said my name. I have a yellow Zeten and Green Neba."
Nate chimed in, "I'm Nate, and my Zeten is orange, my Neba is green."
Nely spoke next, "Nely, my Zeten is orange and Neba is green."
Dune followed suit, "I'm Dune. Green Neba and Zeten."
Jake's interest was piqued. "Orange Zeten? Impressive and I saw how your boat disappeared, that's an interesting ability. We've got a strong one here. The leader will be happy to see you. You guys will like him. He's probably the strongest Zeten I've seen."
Dune and Nely exchanged glances, contemplating what meeting this leader would entail. Dune smiled. Strongest Zeten ever? What would Jake's reaction be if he saw Atlas? Dune couldn't help but chuckle.
As they walked, they finally reached a stopping point. Jake pointed to a small tunnel built into the wall of rocks, about ten meters above them.
They jumped up, enhancing their legs with neba to achieve greater heights. Nely held Dune's hand, and they also jumped, landing at the entrance of the tunnel. The cave in the rocks wasn't small, nor was it overly large.
Jake and Nate sat inside, taking out their bags and necessary items like knives, food, water, and more. Nely and Dune sat together on the opposite side.
Nate chuckled as he took out a water bottle and threw it to them. Dune was surprised to see the bottle. It wasn't glass, nor was it clay. This was his first time seeing this material.
"What is this?" Dune asked.
Jake and Nate were confused. "Water?" Nate responded.
"I know that. What is it made of? The bottle," Dune clarified.
Nate looked at him, puzzled. "Obviously plastic. How do you not know that? Were you living in a cave?" Jake and Nate laughed.
Nely chimed in, "I didn't know what it was either."
Jake and Nate looked even more confused. Then Dune asked, "You guys aren't from Sanatria, right?"
Nely was shocked. She hadn't thought about that possibility. So there were Zetens from all the continents... She was suspicious of Jake and Nate's weird clothes too but didn't think much about it before.
Jake spoke, "We are from Seraphein."
Seraphein was the most technologically advanced continent, comparable to Earth's 21th century.
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