Luckily for Rael, due to the situation quickly being taken care of by the nearby Warden, Iron Saviour, none of the busses he needed to catch home were stalled by traffic from the authorities showing up at the scene, or hordes of people wanting to catch a glimpse of the flying hero.

  It was still rush hour regardless, so he found himself tightly packed near the bus door, holding onto the railing while staring out at the city scenery zooming by.

  His eyes were pretty dull and empty due to the near death experience that had happened just moments ago, and his mind was still recovering too.

  It was safe to say Rael was lost in thought, and pretty traumatised:

  "I almost died? I was so powerless to save my own life..."

  The image of the creature capturing the reflection of almost everyone in it's beady eyes haunted Rael's imagination, making him want to curl up into a ball and hide forever.

  Looking around himself after a while of brooding, he could see two or three people from the incident in downtown recounting what had happened to whoever was on the phone with them or around them. They looked extremely joyful and proud to be talking about such a traumatising experience, simply because Iron Saviour had shown up to save the day. Some people around them were extremely invested too, all looking at their phones, reading the recent news headline of Iron Saviour preventing a huge incident from occurring in downtown.

  Rael was extremely grateful too of course. After all, he'd be in a monster's stomach if the Iron Saviour hadn't shown up, but something continued to itch at the back of his mind.

  "What if that happens again and no Warden like Iron Saviour shows up? What then for us mundane people?"

  An hour or so passed on this bus ride for Rael, the sun settling even deeper into the horizon, basking New Nuevo in a calming midnight blue darkness mixed with a flaming red, the night quickly approaching.

  He stared at the sight for a moment before sitting himself down on a free seat that a man had just stood up from.

  Less and less people were now on the bus, leaving Rael and only a few others onboard.

  Not many people lived on the edges of New Nuevo after all, but it was still better than living on the streets like the homeless.

  Soon enough, Rael, on the verge of drifting off was woken up by the announcement of his stop.

  "Stopping. Floral Valley."

  "Not much of a Floral Valley though is it?"

  Rael thought sarcastically, before standing, throwing his bag pack onto his back and walking off the bus onto the pavement outside. The night air washed over him as he inhaled deeply and closed his eyes for a moment before opening them again.

  As the bus sped off in a different direction, Rael turned and stared up at the steep road he would be climbing to get home. It was littered with rubbish near both curbs separating the pavement and the main road for cars. A minimal number of cars were parked on either side of the road, sloping downwards from the steepness of the road.

  "There're less cars by the day. I guess people are struggling to pay them off..."

  He trudged his way up with ease, familiar with the surroundings and how much energy he had to put in to walk up. Rael found himself eyeing the identical houses placed on this hill in an almost symmetrical fashion. Some had two stories, and some did not. Some were houses that had rooms to rent, and some were just shops posing as houses, which was rather humorous to Rael.

  His home was located at the far end of this hill near the peak. It was a one story building with a rickety structure that sometimes made him wonder whether or not it would collapse in on him and his family one day.

  As he neared his home, he turned to face the city from this hill, a melancholy feeling sinking deep into his gut.

  From here he could catch a beautiful glimpse of how the city looked from afar. It's tall sky scrapers, flashing city lights, and moving lights indicating the movement of vehicles in all it's glory. Frankly, it was extremely calming to stop sometimes on his way home from his internship, or anywhere in fact, and just take a glance at everything he was moving away from.

  "I could have died today..."

  Rael felt a shiver travel down his spine when he realised that if his life had been cut short by that monstrosity earlier today, he wouldn't be standing here on this neighbourhood hill like always. Instead he'd be in the gut of that beast being digested, or torn to shreds by whatever weaponry Iron Saviour had used to blow a hole in the monster's stomach.

  He inhaled deeply before exhaling, a slight stutter in his breath.

  "I'm alive though. That's what matters. I can still help get my family out of this hell hole."

  Rael turned away from the city after a moment, before looking back once more until he turned away again, walking towards his front door.

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  He reached for the door knob as it rattled a little, a frown growing on his face as he looked down at it. The door knob looked like it was about to fall off again, so he knew he'd have to screw the bolts back in tightly after he relaxed a little inside.

  Opening the door, Rael immediately noticed the smell of food emanating from the kitchen down the hall, and the sounds of a children's cartoon playing on the small television they had in their cosy living room.

  Making his way inside, he took his shoes off and walked into the living room, seeing his little sister Rosa laying flat on her stomach, enjoying whatever nonsense was going on on the small flickering TV.

  She had well kept black hair that hung just above her shoulders, and her glistening dark brown eyes were focused completely on the television screen in front of her. She was kicking her feet on the living room carpet, her purple skirt ironed neatly as she had her palms under her chin, grinning dumbly at the display of cartoons.

  Rael smiled, his heart softening a little before dropping his bag quietly, deciding to slowly sneak up behind his adorable younger sister to surprise her. Unbeknownst to her, Rael was slowly approaching with a humoured and mischievous expression pasted across his face.

  He suddenly grabbed her from behind, lifting her up into the air with all of his might, yelling out:

  "HEY ROSA!"

  "RAEL! HAHAHA!"

  Rosa squealed in excitement, spinning around and throwing her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, a look of pure glee glimmering in her eyes. She had moved so quickly that Rael stumbled back and fell onto the armchair behind him due to the sudden shift in weight. She was seven years old now, but she was still small enough that a scrawny guy like Rael could still lift her up and hold her in the air, even if it was for a few moments.

  Once she was settled in his lap and watching her show again, Rael decided to talk with her a little, curious to hear about what the girl had been up to for the day.

  "What've you been doing all day then?"

  She looked up at him, her eyes full of wonder as though she was thinking about what to discuss first:

  "Well...We did some maths today in school! Then some science! Biologistry!"

  Rael chuckled a little at how she fused two different types of science before correcting her and resting his cheek on his palm:

  "What're you saying Rosa? Biology, Or Chemistry...I can't tell."

  He noticed her face light up with familiarity due to his words:

  "Yeah those! Then, for our end of day break time, we did some colourings of different Wardens from many many years ago!"

  "Is that so..."

  She nodded fervently, excited to share what ever knowledge she had picked up throughout the day:

  "My favourite colouring was of Lady Maelstrom! You know her right? The amazing Warden with long blonde hair and a bright sword that saved tons and tons of people a long time ago!"

  Rael smiled at her and nodded before he turned his gaze to the cartoon on television, which was depicting a group of Wardens battling a horde of monsters while defending a human settlement. Of course, the depiction was extremely childish and flashy, but was nevertheless a good way to show how much influence Wardens had over the world. After all, they were the ancestors of those who carried the blessings of mystical capabilities, who helped defend humanity for centuries from the monstrosities in the Outerlands after the Shatterfall.

  It was a cataclysmic event that shaped the world as humanity knew it, changing it into something unfamiliar and bizarre. Over time, and with the blessings of those powerful abilities, humanity was able to strive forward and prevent themselves from becoming extinct. They were able to recover lost technology, build settlements, and regain lands overrun by powerful monsters. Many sacrifices were made for this level of progress in five centuries, but in the end, humanity continued to push forward, adapting constantly.

  To Rael and most people's knowledge, the world had been much more different before the Shatterfall. It was said that life was somewhat similar to how things were at the moment within human settlements, besides the fear of monsters entering humanities strongholds from the Outerlands, and the existence of Wardens too.

  For example, things like public transport were said to have also been used all those hundreds of years ago, just not to the same technological extent as it was now thanks to the existence of those powerful abilities, also known as 'The Nexus'.

  The Nexus is said to be hereditary, and those who possess it are expected to enrol into Warden academies or agencies so that they can properly become protectors of human kind. They are well known as the pillars which hold the hopes of humanity reclaiming the planet on their shoulders, along with a lot more responsibilities which Rael could never imagine being burdened with. These were the people to truly look up to, and their fame was unrivalled.

  "Makes me seem like even more of an ant."

  As Rael listened to Rosa ramble on about drama between her little friends, he heard the kitchen door open down the hallway. He could then hear footsteps approaching, which led him to quickly set Rosa down and stand up.

  Rael walked forward a little before his mother turned the corner from the hallway to enter the living room.

  Her name was Clementine, and she was shorter than Rael by just a few inches. She had messy black hair tied up into a bun with streaks of grey, which was something she usually did when cooking. For her age, she did look rather young besides the bags under her eyes, coupled with a wrinkle here and there hinting at slight overwork.

  She was drying her hands with a cloth before slinging it over her shoulder, and rushing over to catch Rael off guard with a tight loving hug.

  "Rael! How was your day darling?"

  Rael could feel some of the water on the apron she was wearing absorb into his white shirt before smiling and hugging her back:

  "It was good. Of course, tomorrow's my last day at that place as you know so...It's whatever now if I have a good or bad day."

  She stepped back and cupped both of his cheeks, making him look at her worried expression:

  "It matters to me. Just look at you. Gaunt and frail. Do they have you working overtime?"

  Rael scoffed and gripped her shoulders reassuringly:

  "Mom. Come on. They can't do that to Interns."

  She scoffed back at him before moving away, taking Rosa's hand, who had suddenly appeared beside her:

  "You never know what those corporate people will do to you. Let's go eat. You need it mister."

  She said this while staring and pointing expectedly at Rael, who took a step back in nervousness.

  The three left the living room, heading towards the small kitchen where they usually shared their meals together. Once Rael's mother flung the door open, he noticed how steamy it was due to the multitude of foods which had been cooked. An aroma of the different foods washed up his nostrils, filling his brain with feelings of nostalgia that he could hardly explain, truly making him feel relaxed and at home.

  Rael helped the energetic Rosa sit still as their mother plated the different foods she had made consisting of some delectable looking drumsticks, white rice with prawns, spring rolls, stews, sauces, vegetables, and more.

  As the three talked and chatted over the food, Rael could feel the stress of his internship, and the daunting emotions of his near death experience be lifted off of his shoulders slowly, but surely.

  He was beyond glad to be home.