Kyle traveled through the ruined place that was once called Kingdom Escalante. He killed many groups of people with black petals engraved on their foreheads. But no one will ever find any proof of what he did because he wiped away all the traces of the fights using his flames.
After some time, he eventually reached the huge border that stretched across the vast area. He glanced at the crowd of people - humans, elves, demi-humans, and a few dwarfs - all trying to enter through the border gates that appeared recently constructed and joined them.
Kyle followed the crowd, but the guards at the gates didn't even ask for his name. They just checked his body for any black petal markings using a gem-like artifact that was crafted by a skilled dwarf. After confirming he was clear, they allowed him to pass through the gates along with many others.
He would be lying if he said he wasn't shaken after seeing the state of the East Continent... No, now there was no East Continent anymore. Now, there was just one continent, Coexis.
He wandered through the streets, looking at the many people who, like him, seemed lost. They must have recently arrived and were searching for a place to settle.
Kyle let out a sigh, but then a five-year-old boy tugged at his shirt. The kid blinked at him, and Kyle's eyes traveled to the old wooden sword in the latter hand.
"Hey, big brother, you look strong. Can you help me find my parents? I got lost, and I don't know where they are..."
Kyle stared at the kid, who offered him the old wooden sword.
"You can take this... okay."
Kyle looked at the sword and took a deep breath. He bent down and pushed back the little hand before looking into those innocent eyes with a faint smile.
"There's no need, but would you like to come with me? I'll see if I can find your parents."
The little boy looked at him but didn't agree. After all, he shouldn't follow strangers, right? But for some reason, he was drawn to Kyle. So, he nodded his head after careful consideration.
Kyle scooped up the kid and started floating. At first, the little boy got a little freaked out, but after a minute, he settled down and began taking in the breathtaking scenery with a look of pure amazement on his face.
Kyle's eyes gleamed as he sensed the air around him. He could smell a few scents on the kid's body and among all the people, he tried to find the latter's family. His grip on the kid tightened when the thought that maybe the latter's parents had passed away crossed his mind. But he sighed with relief when he caught a familiar scent.
He landed behind the worried couple who had been looking for their son, and set the little kid down before telling the latter to go toward his parents. The kid blinked at Kyle, smiled, and said thank you. Then, he dashed off toward his parents.
Kyle stared at the disappearing figure, but just as he was about to go, he heard some cheering and noticed a small crowd gathered on the street. He walked over to the crowd and looked in the same direction as everyone else, only to see a group of elves dressed in elegant clothes, flying in the sky. His eyes paused when he saw a familiar face among the elves.
Yue wore a long, flowing white skirt with intricate golden patterns engraved on it. She also had a silver crown adorning her head. Kyle stared at the elf but blinked when he overheard someone in the crowd saying that she had been crowned as the new elven Queen.
He also heard that the elves were heading towards the western side, where a strange monster had suddenly started banging its head against the border walls. Maybe Kyle's gaze was too intense because the elf suddenly stopped in her tracks. She looked back at the crowd, and Kyle flinched when their eyes met.
Yue stared at him, but she jolted when someone from behind asked her what happened. She raised her finger and pointed towards the crowd, but then hesitated when she didn't spot the same face again. She took a deep breath like she was trying to steady herself.
'No way... I couldn't have been mistaken.'
She wanted to land in the middle of the crowd to check things out, but Anlee, the elf who was flying behind her, urged her to keep going. Yue snapped at the man. The border wasn't crumbling, couldn't he wait for a few seconds? Anlee went quiet, and she turned around to fly in the opposite direction.
"Once I'm done here, I'll go check on him."
She arrived above the border with all the other elves, but apart from Anlee, there wasn't a single familiar face with her. Regius and the others were busy on the eastern side of the border, so she couldn't call them here. Lara and Carcel were with her a few days ago, but they went with Alec to once again try to summon the guardians of the tower of opportunity.
Yue took a deep breath when she spotted the hideous monster with three large tails ruthlessly attacking the border. Also, the monster wasn't alone. There were many similar, albeit shorter, monsters howling around it.
She gazed at Anlee and the other elves behind her with knitted brows.
"Did the people examining the monsters' bodies figure out what's wrong with them? This is already the sixth time this month-!"
She stopped when she heard a familiar voice beside her.
"Do you need help?"
Her eyes trembled a little, and she quickly turned her head towards the voice. The other elves were a bit confused, but like Yue, Anlee's eyes also widened in shock. How long had it been since he last saw this man? Even though his hair had lost its silver shine, how could Anlee not recognize the face that appeared in front of him?
