The moment I woke up, I noticed two things.
The ceiling wasn't made of wood, there were crying children around, and everything hurt. I let out a panicked breath before calming down once I realized there were no flames around me.
Okay so that was three things but semantics. I tried to sit up but I was stopped by a passing healer. She came right up to me and stopped me from sitting up any further.
"Don't! You just barely recovered from second degree burns!" She said while placing her glowing hand on my chest.
I let her hand guide me back into a lying position while she checked on my body for any strains. I could feel the cool touch of water mixed with the hard pickle of stone. I didn't remember what this specific one was called but I knew it was an Ikas invocation.
"Hey, where are we?" I asked.
From the look of the interior, I could tell we were in a tent. There was fabric as a floor, ceiling and walls. All of the beds in the room had wheels while tiny desks with apparatus for diagnostic invocations on them and most of the healers wore the broach associated with the adventurers organization.
"We're stationed on a field to the east of Kenith." She replied while picking up a clipboard.
I saw her scribble something down before bringing her gaze back up to me. She seemed to be studying me before writing something else down.
"We used Heilung to rejuvenate your body and expedite your natural recovery." She recounted while reading from the clipboard. "You should be set to leave in about two hours."
I nodded before she walked off. Watching her tend to another patient I realized that there were very few people in here. Most of those being tended to were soldiers. I heard a chuckle from my left and turned my head.
There was Caine with Cecilia and Caroline by his bedside. He was staring at me while smirking. I didn't get why he was smirking but it must have only been funny to him since Caroline and Cecilia were frowning.
"Got wandering eyes Es? Don't blame you." He said.
Caroline swatted his arm for that comment while Cecilia stared at me with a look of disappointment. It took me a few seconds to realize what he meant before placing my right hand on my face.
"Not funny, Uncle…" I replied.
I was about to drop my hand from my face before noticing the ring. That wasn't what really caught my attention, though. On my wrist was a chain tattoo. It was gold in color while going all around my wrist. It was almost like it was supposed to be a shackle.
"You get hitched or something, kid?" Caine asked while staring at the ring.
I shook my head to deny it while putting my hand down. I wasn't sure what to do or say. Ryt and I hadn't figured out anything about it and I didn't want to take it off. It was a divine artifact, who knows what'll happen to me if I take it off!
"No… it's just a… family heirloom." I said hesitantly while sitting up.
If only that were true. Then I would have something to remember the last of my family by. It was just me now. I was alone with nowhere to go. There was a wet feeling on my face, like water trailing down. It took me a moment to realize that those were my tears.
I didn't stop them, I didn't deny the sadness I was feeling. I just let the tears flow and the sobs escape.
I didn't stop until a pair of arms wrapped themselves around my head. I didn't care to look up nor check who it was. I let them bury my head into their chest while I let it all out.
"It's okay, I'm here. I'm here." Rosalynn's calm voice whispered.
Reaching my arms out and around her torso, I hugged her close. I held on tightly while trying to avoid making the hug too tight. I didn't want to lose another person close to me. I needed to be stronger. I needed to be better.
'I need to become a soldier.'
It took a few minutes for me to calm myself down. I felt no embarrassment. Crying was a natural emotion and anyone who denied that wasn't healthy. I stared into Rosalynn's chest blankly before wiping my eyes. I didn't know what to do. I didn't have a home to go to anymore.
'There is one thing I can do.' I realized.
I had come into a decision.
"Rosalynn. In two days, I'm leaving the village to become a soldier." I said while holding eye contact under her piercing gaze.
Her orange eyes glared into my soul before she let out a sigh. She knew I wouldn't let a si
mple no stop me.
"Fine. But we'll need to make sure you leave prepared." She said before turning her back to me. "I'll ask Ryt and a couple others to help me."
'I think you were right, Grandpa. I feel like I have a real reason to become a soldier now.'
I would enlist as a soldier and become strong enough to protect those I cared about. Once I was strong enough, I would come back to Kenith and work as a guard. With this goal, I can say goodbye to the old me.
"What do you mean you're leaving?" Cecilia asked from her position near Caine's bed. "You get hurt a little bit and you decide to run away?"
What did she mean? Even Caine and Caroline seemed confused. I think she was misunderstanding my reasoning. I was about to correct her but she interrupted me again.
"I bet you're happy they died, huh? Now you can live your dream." She accused me.
What the hell was she talking about? She was accusing me of such crazy things.
'This was out of character for Cecilia-'
I hesitated at that thought. I wanted to say I still knew Cecilia well, better than even herself, but for the past couple of months we had been growing further apart. Even staying at her place was awkward on some days.
'She even hung out with people I didn't know…'
That was fine in itself, but usually she would at least introduce me to her friends. I was even acquainted with a few.
I stared blankly at her face before opening my mouth. I hesitated and shut my mouth. There was something in my heart telling me not to bother. Fighting with her wouldn't help me reach my goal any easier, especially if she was going to accuse me of being happy my grandparents died.
"I see. I'm sorry that's how you see it." I said before laying in my bed with my back turned towards her and her family.
In two days, I would leave this village and explore the world. I would gain strength to protect those I cared about.
'But it seems like they don't care about you.'
A random voice said in my head before I closed my eyes.
The flipping of a page made me open them. Sitting up, I realized I was back in that library. The endless ceiling was still there but the stars in the void seemed to be shining even brighter than before.
"It seems my father is becoming more active." The voice of the woman, no, Deno came from behind me.
There she sat, at that same table but this time with hundreds of books stacked at the table while she read the one in her hand. The title read: Numen and Their Origin by Reina Einseln. It was a strange title but I ignored it in favor of the small smirk on Deno's face.
"You stayed." She stated. "Even after I warned you. Interesting."
She let out a hum before flipping the page she was reading. That threw me for a loop before I realized an important detail. She had warned me. I just didn't expect the warning to be real or happen so soon. Why such an abrupt warning had been given when the danger was so close, I had no clue.
I felt annoyed that she was treating me like an idiot for not listening to, what I thought at the time was, a wack job dream.
"Oh, well, sorry! My fault for not having mystical escape powers!" I replied while throwing my hands up in the air.
I was putting on a front right now. I felt like I could yell at her, scream at her, and rage at her but that wouldn't help. She had obviously called me for a reason.
Her smirk disappeared and in its place was a frown that told me the seriousness of my situation. She looked scared even. Was that guy coming back? Was there something else?
"We need to have a serious talk now." She said, her tone urgent. "And I mean a serious talk."
Why couldn't this have happened to someone who was already insane?