On a wooden table with a rather comfortable blue chair and a window in front of it, we see a hologram that seems to be in voice recording mode. Around it are several books, papers, and quite interesting objects. "Hello everyone! I'm glad you liked my broadcast yesterday. You were asking me about what the Yorkens are, and today I’ll talk to you about them," Joap said with his high-pitched, elderly, emotional, and wise voice. Joap cleared his throat and began his explanation. "First we have to talk about what they’re like... These beings are very different from each other, none are the same. They have huge, small, medium bodies; with different shapes in their limbs, some have big heads, others small, some have long arms and others short. These beings merge with an element such as wood, rock, fire, air, water, light, and darkness; and let me tell you, they’re not friendly, they’re very powerful and strange beings, they don’t accept anything that isn’t someone like them, they even fight amongst themselves" Joap paused, and through the transmission you could hear him drinking water.

  "Aaa... I love water. Now I’ll tell you how they are born and what they were. The Yorkens are creatures that were once normal living beings: animals, creatures, fairies, werewolves, centaurs, humans, etc. Yes... Humans can become one of them; and you may wonder... How?... There is a flower that is the opposite of the Cilai flower, instead of absorbing magic to create suppressor magic, this flower gives you magic, but one that is corrupted... and leads you to transform into a being completely different from what you were; it’s called the Yorkinia flower, but don’t worry, these flowers and the Yorkens are confined in the northwest of Lyran, which is guarded by a great wall, and this is being watched by the church or, better said, the supreme leader, Jade, who just like with the world’s rift, manages the defenses and the paladins in charge of guarding that area. The Yorkens appeared in the Dark Age, thank God they were able to be controlled by the efforts of the alliance of that time. Did you know that thanks to that alliance the book of the world was created? Ha, ha, ha, that book has all the information about each object, magic, races, and past events. I had the chance to read it, it was a great experience! They say they want to make one for the present time, it would be very... interesting" We move from the transmission to the kingdom of Ystir, the sunlight was beginning to cover the kingdom, which still had some movement from the citizens who hadn’t yet returned to the palace. The harvest areas were empty, and in the southern harvest zone, a black and white carriage was approaching at high speed.

  In the king’s palace, in a hallway with several brown wooden doors, each with a number at the top, we see one with the number 6, which was suddenly opened violently and immediately closed by Louis, who knocked on the door with the number 5. He was now wearing a red open-collar shirt instead of the blue compression shirt. He also wore a vest of a very dark purple color. "Professor, we have to go to the meeting!".

  Inside the room, Professor Maxwell slowly opened his eyes. He was lying on his side with a white blanket. He looked at a clock on the wall of his room.

  "Louis... it’s 6...", the professor answered with annoyance and a slightly hoarse voice.

  "We have to get there early, Miss Mei said so," Louis added while touching the number five on the door with his right hand.

  "Yes, but not this early... The meeting is at 7...", replied the professor, putting his left arm over his face.

  "Could be... Well, I’ll see you there!" Louis began walking down the hallway, heading to the room that was mentioned to him yesterday, and the professor... went back to his nap.

  The hallway had a white carpet with gold; to the right were several windows that let the sunlight in. Also, the walls were cream-colored with white pillars.

  "I love this place...", commented Louis, looking up and down as he walked. "Good thing they showed me where it was... Or else I would’ve gotten lost looking for the room... 'sigh' how frustrating it is to get lost so easily" Louis managed to reach the room; it had sofas, some paintings, three small tables with two chairs each, but there was a very large table in the middle of the room; it seemed capable of projecting a large hologram and also had several keyboards around it, with a chair at each keyboard. The room was two stories tall and had four entrances; one located on the first floor and three below it. The walls were bluish gray and the floor gleamed with sunlight entering through the large windows with golden frames that showed part of the kingdom. The floor had a geometric pattern of marbled tiles, in soft shades of pink, sky blue, and pearly white, very well polished.

  "How wonderful" Louis’s eyes sparkled from the sunlight, until he covered his face with his right hand as he moved toward the window.

  Suddenly, from the door to Louis’s right, Xitlari entered. She wore her usual clothes, except she no longer had her white blouse and now her black compression shirt covered her abdomen. "Good morning, Louis. Looks like we both got up early... Hey, that style looks good on you," she commented with a slight smile on her lips as she approached him. Louis was stunned for a moment seeing her approach and how the sunlight reached her.

  "Yes... Umm... That style looks good on you too," Louis said a little embarrassed, looking to the side.

  "Thank you, though I’d say it’s the same thing I wore yesterday, just without the blouse." Xitlari approached one of the small tables and sat on one of the chairs. "Come, sit down".

  "Oh, sure..." Louis sat across from her, nervously moving his fingers which he hid under the table, trying not to look at her too much directly.

  "The palace is very beautiful, isn’t it?" Xitlari asked, looking back to admire the place once again.

  "Yes, it’s amazing... Hey, you... What will you do when all this is over?" Louis replied, trying to calm down a bit.

  "Why are you asking me that?" Xitlari looked confused by the question, frowning and placing one of her hands on the table.

  "No, no reason, it’s... curiosity. I imagine you’ll already be a paladin," Louis looked away again and touched his head with his right arm.

  "For now, my only goal is to be a paladin and, well... There are several things I want to do after that, but I also have to wait for someone to return to the kingdom," Xitlari replied with a bit of seriousness after her first sentence.

  "A... person? A friend?" said Louis, a little worried and attentive to the answer.

  "Friend? Heh, no. It’s a woman who visits this kingdom every 8 years and this year that time is up," Xitlari replied a bit nostalgically remembering that woman. "She’s a witch, who went to investigate some things my father asked her to last time. She usually travels all over the world and visits every kingdom." Xitlari showed an expression of contained sadness when talking about her father.

  "No... it’s like that time... when she told me about her father... I don’t want to see her sad, I know I get like this when I talk about mine too, but I have to change the subject" Louis thought, trying to come up with something to change the topic. "I see... I heard your birthday is coming soon. Is there something specific you’d like?".

  "A gift!" Xitlari was surprised and thought for a moment. "I think anything is fine, I’ll be happy to receive a gift from you".

  "I see..." Louis was left speechless and, for a moment, silence filled the room... Until the door to Louis’s left was opened, with Yina entering the room, wearing brown armor with black lines below the chest and between the arms. Beside her was a boy with brown hair and eyes. He wore a black overcoat, white shirt, and gray pants. He also wore smooth leather ankle boots without laces, with dark side elastic.

  "Good morning, Mr. Louis, Miss Xitlari! I'm glad to see you," said Yina upon entering the room, bowing her head.

  "Good morning and a pleasure to meet you," added the boy with a respectful and deep voice, imitating Yina’s gesture.

  Louis leaned slightly toward Xitlari while looking at the youngsters and covered his mouth with his hand as he said: "Do I look like a mister?".

  "Ha, ha, ha, no" Xitlari stood up and shook hands with both. "Good morning, raise your heads. Are you no longer afraid of me, Jayden?".

  "I... No, I’m not afraid anymore. I’m sorry if I was," Jayden replied, feeling guilty.

  "It’s okay, don’t worry" Xitlari returned to the table and sat in her chair again.

  "Jayden Cardys, right? Yina told me about you," Louis asked, slightly turning his chair.

  "Yes, sir, it’s a pleasure," he replied, bowing his head again.

  "You’re here to take your knight exam, right? I wish you both the best of luck!" said Louis with sincerity and warmth in his words.

  Jayden was surprised to feel the warmth in Louis’s words. "I won’t fail, sir".

  "Enough with the sir, I’m only 18," replied Louis, placing his right hand behind his head.

  "We’re sorry," both said, and Xitlari fixed her gaze on Louis for a moment, while frowning with a slight smile on her face.

  The door behind Jayden and Yina opened again, and Mei entered the room with Clara on her right shoulder.

  "Good morning! The early birds are already here. Come, you two, I’ll give you the theory exam before the meeting starts," said Mei with her sweet voice, while Clara approached the four of them to greet them.

  The two young people walked through the door and then Clara perched on Mei’s shoulder again, following behind them.

  "Surely both will become paladins someday," said Xitlari, watching them all leave.

  "Yes, both have very interesting abilities," added Louis.

  "Hey Louis, Blanca and Caspian are coming today, make sure to call her Blanca, okay?" hinted Xitlari with a slight smile on her face.

  "Okay, anyway I don’t remember her other name," replied Louis, trying to remember it, but still couldn’t.

  The black and white carriage had arrived at the kingdom; they were heading at great speed toward the palace.

  "Don’t go through the city center, please, it only reminds me of that fight..." said Blanca with her refined but now respectful voice. She leaned part of her body out the window to see the kingdom better, resting both hands on the window frame, and the wind blew her white hair forcefully. She wore a sky-blue blouse with puffed sleeves and dark details; it also had a sailor collar that covered part of her neck and had a small opening. She wore a dark blue headband, decorated with a small white snowflake-shaped symbol.

  "But you're going to see her anyway, why are you like this?" commented Caspian with his calm and serious voice, raising an eyebrow. He wore a coat without lapels, and the entire torso area was white up to his shoulders and the back of his head; below his waist it was black. He wore white gloves, and under the coat, he had a gakuran jacket (a uniform jacket with a high, straight collar, buttoned at the front with large golden buttons). He also wore a metallic belt and black pants. He had both hands on the handle of a war mace.

  "It doesn't matter... I still don’t want to go through there," she shouted so her brother could hear while she kept looking out the window.

  "That half-demon boy will be there too... let's try to get to know him so we’re not like those who reject us, but if he’s crazy, it’s best to stay away," added Caspian, fixing his gaze on Blanca as she returned to her seat.

  "You talk to him... he won’t be handsome, so I’m not interested," Blanca crossed her arms and closed her eyes. "They have a kind of shell instead of skin, though that’s normal if you think about him being half demon".

  "Yeah, it’s weird they call them that. The demons we’ve seen look very different from those guys from the northern lands. In fact... the ones in the north look pretty normal," he said, a bit puzzled, remembering a fight he had recently.

  "On the other hand... I’m glad to be back home. I hope people behave," she said, a smile escaping her lips, though in her last sentence she sounded annoyed.

  "Ha, me too" The carriage continued advancing toward the palace, while some people walked on the sidewalk and some cars passed through the appropriate area.

  Back at the palace, Ann and Ririam were walking down a hallway toward the room where Louis and Xitlari were.

  With a joyful sigh, Ann said: "It’s so nice to be back! Blanca and Caspian are coming today, right? I’m excited to see them again... Oops! Sorry, Jasmine gets upset about the name" Ann extended her hands as she looked at the ceiling with a smile on her face.

  "I hope they’ve improved. They, along with Xitlari, are the next paladins," said Ririam while adjusting some items inside his coat.

  "They surely have. In Lynquia they’re very strict with training," hinted Ann, then ran toward the door with golden vases on the left and right. "Aawww! What cute vases! We didn’t come through here yesterday" Ann crouched to admire the vases better.

  "How do you know that about Lynquia?" he asked, surprised that Ann knew about it.

  Ann stood up and replied: "It’s just that... panther men are so cute! They’re like kittens! Lions too. Aww... and werewolves when they’re just born are so adorable, also when they’re big, though I wouldn’t want one from the Ancient Age in front of me".

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  Ririam looked at her with a raised eyebrow and a crooked smile. "Ha, ha, you’re really cheesy, but that’s how I like you" The words made Ann laugh and blush.

  They both entered the room and Ann got excited seeing Xitlari and Louis together. "They two look so cute together!".

  "What?" asked Ririam, confused.

  "Oh! No, nothing, hehehe," she said a bit nervously. "Louis, Xitlari! Good morning!" Ann raised her hand, greeting them with a smile and great excitement from the second floor of the room.

  "Hello, Ann," both said, but Louis did so with more expression.

  Ann searched the whole room from above, moving her head to every corner. "Isn’t anyone else here?".

  "No, we’re the first ones," replied Louis with his gaze toward Ann.

  Ann used her magic to descend from the second floor along with Ririam. "Lazybones".

  The door Xitlari entered through opened, and Kassie entered wearing a black shirt and her usual jacket. "Hello everyone".

  "Kassie!" Ann flew to her and gave her a hug. "So good to see you, I knew you weren’t lazy" Ann gently rubbed her face against Kassie’s.

  "Lazy? What are you talking about?" asked Kassie, confused.

  "She says it because most haven’t arrived," replied Ririam, sitting at the large tech table.

  Ann brought her mouth close to Kassie’s ear and whispered: "Louis and Xitlari were alone" Kassie let out a sigh and looked at Louis for a moment, and he touched his head anxiously.

  Xitlari turned around and rested her upper right arm on the chair. "I couldn’t ask yesterday, what happened down there with Rays?".

  Ann let go of Kassie and listened carefully to the answer. "Ah, well... Mern and Mark fought against him. I focused on opening a rune door that was there".

  "Will he come? Maybe he’s embarrassed," said Ann, looking at the ceiling and putting her index finger to her mouth.

  "He shouldn’t be," said Ririam as he turned on a hologram using the table’s keyboard.

  "Don’t be like that, maybe he had a fight with Susana," replied Ann with concern.

  "I don’t think that justifies helping the idiot who tried to steal from the kingdom" Ririam kept using the keyboard as he spoke.

  "Sometimes you’re too harsh," added Ann, a bit annoyed.

  Ririam stood up from the chair. "I’m going to look for Mei. Come if you want," and headed to the door behind him.

  "Fine. We’ll be right back, guys!" Ann followed Ririam, and he opened the door so she could go through first, then raised his hand as a gesture to the others before leaving the room.

  "I have an idea!" thought Kassie. "I’m already hungry. I’ll go get something to eat. Do you want me to bring you something?".

  "A sandwich, please," replied Louis after thinking about it for a few seconds.

  Kassie looked at him suspiciously. "I’ll bring you something else, you eat too many sandwiches".

  Xitlari got up from the chair and headed to the door Kassie came through. "I’ll go with you, I want to see what they have in the kitchen. We’ll be right back, Louis".

  "Huh? Ah, okay, that’s fine," said Kassie a bit surprised. "Damn, it didn’t work out this time," she thought, and both of them left the room.

  "Wow, I’m alone again." Louis stood up to look out the room’s window. "And that carriage? Hmm... must be Blanca and Caspian’s".

  Outside the room, Blanca and Caspian were in an elevator going up to the third floor, where the meeting room was.

  "It looks the same as when we left," commented Blanca as the elevator doors opened, and both began walking toward the room.

  "I thought Count Jens would ruin the whole place, but it’s intact," added Caspian, looking at the walls and running his hand over them.

  "Ha, the only good thing he did... not ruin the palace," she said sarcastically with a mocking smile.

  The siblings finally reached the entrance to the room. It was the door with the two golden vases.

  Caspian was about to open the door but turned to look at Blanca seriously. "I hope you behave and don’t fight with Xitlari".

  "Ugh... nothing will happen." Blanca rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. Caspian opened the door, letting her in first, then followed behind.

  As they entered the room, they heard Louis’ voice. "How do you use this thing?".

  "Huh?..." Caspian approached the railing and looked at Louis, trying to use a keyboard on the large table. "Who’s that guy?".

  "Who?" Blanca approached and looked at Louis, and with a surprised gasp, shouted: "No...!".

  "What!? Do you know him?" Caspian looked at her, surprised by her reaction.

  "No, I don’t know him, but... it can’t be... What a handsome guy!" she said with excitement, making Louis look up to the second floor. "Let’s go, Caspian!".

  "Hey, wait!" Caspian tried to stop her, but Blanca jumped from the railing and landed without any trouble below.

  Blanca approached Louis and took his hand. "Hi! My name is Jazmín Blirip, nice to meet you".

  "Ahhh… you're Blanca, right?" Louis asked, a bit uncomfortable because she was holding his hand.

  The moment Blanca heard her first name, her expression changed to one of astonishment; it seemed as if something inside her had broken.

  Caspian heard everything as he was coming down the stairs and knew this could happen. "Sister… I think we better find somewhere to sit".

  "No… it's fine" Blanca seemed out of herself and let go of Louis' hand.

  "Good, I was starting to feel uncomfortable," Louis thought as he stood up from the chair. "Nice to meet you, I'm Louis A. Keeper".

  Hearing the name surprised both Blanca and Caspian. "You're the half demon!".

  "Eh, yes, that's me. Why?" Louis exclaimed, confused by the question.

  "Because…! You don't look like one! You look like a human, but your eyes… they're different. Sorry if we made you uncomfortable. My name is Caspian Blirip," Caspian replied, still surprised by the revelation.

  "No problem, at least you didn't dislike me".

  "You couldn't be disliked, ha, ha, ha. One question, no, actually two. Who told you my name? And… are you single?" said Blanca with a smile as she held his hand again.

  "Sister…!" he replied in a reproachful tone.

  "Don't interrupt me, brother…!" Blanca turned her gaze to Caspian and then back to Louis' eyes. "So?".

  "Well, I…" Louis was very uncomfortable with the situation but was saved by Ann and Ririam, who had already returned.

  "Jazmín, Caspian! You're here!" Ann ran and hugged Caspian. "So nice to see you again".

  "Likewise," Caspian replied, and Blanca turned her gaze to Ann and Ririam. Louis took the opportunity to remove his hand and stepped away from her.

  "Hope you've been training," Ririam commented, also approaching.

  Blanca looked at Louis, who had stepped away, then turned her gaze to Ririam. "Of course! We are ready for war!".

  Ririam sat on a sofa and Ann sat beside her. "Mei will arrive soon, we just have to wait".

  "And the others?" Blanca asked, puzzled that they weren't there yet.

  "Complications, I’d say," Ririam replied, lifting her leg to rest it over the other.

  Xitlari and Kassie entered through the door they had exited, eating something.

  "You're back!" Louis quickly approached them. "What did you bring me?".

  "You always say you eat healthy, so I told the head chef and he says this fruit yogurt is very good for your health, and he even modifies it himself to increase its nutrients" Kassie handed him a rather large white cup, with a spoon.

  "Oh! Hi, Blanca," Xitlari hinted with a slightly mocking smile after hearing what Kassie had said.

  Something inside Blanca reached its limit instantly and she cracked both her hands. "Xitlari… it was you…" You could feel the anger in her words as claws grew and her right eye trembled.

  "Damn it" Caspian hit his right hand against his face, knowing what was about to happen.

  "Hi everyone! The meeting will begin shortly, we just have to wait for the others," Mei said sweetly, entering the room with Mern, Mark, and Prince Lue at her side.

  Mern was about to fall asleep, and Mei elbowed him to wake him, while Prince Lue chuckled a bit.

  "Ahem… Jazmín, Caspian, welcome back. I’m glad to see you," she said, approaching them with a smile.

  "Likewise, Mei," said Caspian respectfully, sitting on a chair with a small table. "Ahem… Sister, come sit" Caspian took the war hammer he had on his back and placed it next to his chair.

  Mei noticed Blanca's furious expression. "Jazmín? Is something wrong? You look… furious".

  "No… everything’s fine, hehehe. Glad to see you," she replied nervously as her hands returned to normal. "You’ll pay for this, Xitlari," she thought, sitting next to Caspian.

  Professor Maxwell entered the room with a cup of coffee and a bag of cookies. "Good morning" He sat on a chair with a small table and began drinking his coffee with the cookies.

  Louis took a sip of the yogurt he was eating and then greeted Professor Maxwell. "Good morning, professor."

  "Caspian, Jazmín, this is Professor Maxwell, the best scientist in the kingdom. He will help us in the war with a machine he’s been preparing," Mei said, extending her hand toward the professor.

  "Nice to meet you!" both said, and the professor just raised his hand as his mouth was full.

  The door through which Professor Maxwell had entered opened again, and Reck walked in, carrying Rays with one arm. He seemed to be asleep, as his arms hung down toward the floor. "Hi everyone, sorry for the delay" Reck sat Rays on the sofa and sat next to him, then elbowed him, waking him instantly and making him groan in pain.

  "Well, I think we can begin," Mei said, approaching the large table while Mark and the prince helped Mern sit down, as he still seemed very sleepy. "As you all know, the count's problem was the least of our concerns." Mei pressed a button that covered the entire room with a blue layer. She then showed three images: of Yeynos, the dark lord, and an image of an ancient nerosma, much darker than Zthur, as they didn’t even have a picture of him. "These three are the main threats. Surely there are more involved, but the main one… is Zthur".

  Blanca raised her hand and suggested, "You said he was a nerosma, right?".

  "That's correct. It’s been 18 years since a nerosma has been seen. These beings are not just anything… To defeat one of Mayestad’s commanders it took at least three paladins, depending on their level and if they had plasma weapons. Few could face a commander alone, and when I say few, I mean three people. We train the new generations to fight in teams for this reason. The level of the nerosma is very high; they have high resistance, strength, a very different way of fighting, and besides, if they obtain magic… it's almost unlimited." As she spoke, Mei walked around the large table, explaining with total seriousness about the nerosma. "Not only that… the nerosma specialized in using lava. When invading a kingdom, they believed it was the best way to cleanse the planet. We are fortunate to have Paladin Louis A. Keeper on our side. His lava magic will be very helpful in any attack of that caliber" Almost everyone turned their eyes to Louis, making him feel uncomfortable while he was eating his yogurt.

  "How will the troops be distributed?" asked Reck, raising his hand.

  "The church will send us 2 paladins and 100 knights, so each gate of the kingdom will be guarded by 150 knights, 50 war machines, armed with plasma and elemental weapons, the Grión shield, a max kit, and any other technological weapon they wish to use, but mainly the aforementioned to reduce casualties" Mei changed the images on the hologram and showed a complete map of the kingdom, which simulated its appearance in full, with relief and depth. "Din will alert us when they are approaching the kingdom. Electric shields will be used once all troops and weaponry are outside. Now, about the paladins… At the east gate will be Ririam, Ann, Kassie, and one of the church’s paladins. At the west gate will be Reck, Jazmín, and Caspian. At the south gate will be Xitlari, the other church paladin, and me. Lastly, Louis, you’ll be in the center of the kingdom. The moment you are informed of where the lava attack is coming from, you will head there to stop it. Mern and Rays will guard the palace and place a shield over it. Also, the great shield will be activated for any aerial attacks," Mei continued to show on the hologram how everyone would be positioned and how the shield would cover the entire kingdom, using the keyboard at great speed. "Now… we will move on to war strategies. If you have any questions, let me know along the way".

  After two hours of planning, everything had finally been clarified. War strategies, routes of advance, defense points, and possible risks were all laid out. Even contingency plans in case something went wrong. Everyone was clear on what they had to do.

  "Well, that's all, if you have any further doubts, let me know," Mei exclaimed as she turned off all the holograms on the table.

  Professor Maxwell stood up from the chair. "Mei… The machine still needs a lot of work, I need support to finish it before everything begins. If you could give me some engineers and scientists, it would be a great help".

  "Of course, I’ll assign you Nila’s group, they’re quite qualified. I’ll place them under your command today," Mei replied, turning to the professor.

  "What about Rays?" Ririam mentioned while Ann was telling him not to. "He helped Jens, can we really trust him?" Ririam’s words didn’t affect Rays at all; he remained motionless on the sofa, staring at the floor.

  "Ririam... Everything is fine, we’ve... cleared up what happened. You can rest assured that Rays will do what he must, and the right way, right, Rays?" Mei looked intently at Ririam, then turned to Rays with her question.

  "Of course, Mei..." Rays looked at her for a moment, then turned his gaze to Ririam and shrugged. Reck noticed his action and shot Ririam a disapproving look. Ririam was slightly surprised and looked away.

  "Nothing else?" said Mei attentively, but no one had any doubts, although Louis tried not to show it, as he wanted to ask in private. "Perfect, I’ll go speak with the knights. You can go now." Mei was about to leave, but before that, she shook Mern. "Wake up!" Mern jumped slightly from the scare and got up instantly, then left with her and Mark from the room. Prince Lue followed them.

  "Mei! Why didn’t you assign me a position? I’m ready for this," the prince replied as he walked beside her to keep up.

  "You’re too young, young prince. Mei can’t let you get involved in this," Mark implied, understanding and respectfully.

  "Huh? But I’ve been training since my father died, Reck has trained me like never before with my impact magic, I...!" The prince stood in front of Mei to confront her decision. "I’m ready!".

  Mei was surprised by his attitude, but that wasn’t going to make her change her mind. "I can’t let you go around fighting in a war, being the only heir to the throne".

  "Is it because of my age? Do you think I’m still too young? I assure you, I’m much more mature than many older people" The prince’s words were firm, and his face showed determination.

  Mei placed both hands on the prince’s shoulders and looked at him with a hint of sadness, but without hesitation. "Age doesn’t matter... Even if you were Louis’s, Xitlari’s, or Mern’s age... I’m not going to let you... If something happens to you, the kingdom will be without a king, and I can’t allow another piece of trash like Jens to take the throne. I’m sorry if you don’t like the idea, but there’s no other option" These words made Lue understand everything. Mern looked at him with pity, but he knew there was no other option. "Come, let’s go with the knights" The prince walked to Mei’s left, head down, sad that he wouldn’t be able to do anything for his kingdom... Nor make his father proud, or at least that’s how he felt.

  In the room, Xitlari and Kassie talked while Louis remained by their side. Reck spoke with Rays. Ririam and Ann had already left. Blanca and Caspian seemed to be arguing, and Professor Maxwell silently observed through the window until he turned his gaze to Louis. "Louis, come!".

  Louis turned to see the professor, who was now gesturing for him to come closer. "See you later".

  "Sure, see you later," Xitlari replied, but Kassie looked at him with concern, as if her plan had been ruined again.

  Louis approached the professor, still holding his yogurt cup, though it was already empty. "What’s up, professor?".

  "Follow me, I want to show you a place you’ll love," he exclaimed with a slight smile on his face.

  "Sure, is it tech-related?!" Louis looked very interested.

  "Exactly, we’re going to find Nila’s group in the palace research room," he replied, and both left the room.

  "I don’t know why this still excites me so much..." Louis thought, feeling a warm spark full of excitement and curiosity.

  "Oh no..." Blanca got up to go after Louis, but Caspian stopped her.

  "That’s enough! Control yourself, you can see him later," he said, annoyed, making her sit again.

  "What? Are you jealous?" Blanca snapped back, crossing her arms.

  "Please, you said you wouldn’t even talk to him, and now you want to run after him?" he replied while adjusting his war hammer that was beside his chair.

  Kassie had heard this and grew a bit alert. "Wanna go somewhere else?" she whispered into Xitlari’s ear, standing on tiptoe.

  "Sure, but... why?" Xitlari asked, confused and frowning.

  "I don’t get a good vibe from that Blanca girl," she whispered again.

  This made Blanca alert once more. "Someone said my first name!" She stood up instantly and turned to Xitlari. "Xitlari... again?! I respected your wishes not to call you Dahlia, so stop using my first name!".

  "Ooh, yeah, let’s go... Sorry, Jazmín, see you later!" Xitlari said, then left the room with Kassie.

  "No, what do you mean with see you later!? Come back here!" Caspian slid his arms around her sides and held her tightly, stopping her from starting a fight. "Hey!... Let me go, Caspian, can’t you see we’re going to FIGHT!" She tried to break free, but Caspian had a strong grip.

  "Blanca... behave yourself. You’re about to become a paladin, you shouldn’t get mad just because someone calls you by your first name," Reck said firmly, watching her tantrum. "Xitlari doesn’t mind being called Dahlia, but she always politely asks to be called Xitlari".

  Reck’s words calmed Blanca and also made her feel bad. "Sorry... I just don’t like that name".

  Xitlari and Kassie walked down the hallway, still unsure of where to go.

  "Why does she get like that, just because of her name?" Kassie asked, looking back after hearing Blanca’s shouting.

  "I don’t know, I think she just doesn’t like the name," Xitlari replied without much concern.

  "Right..." Kassie narrowed her eyes, as if analyzing something, and softly asked, "Hey, Xitlari, have you noticed when Louis’s voice turns warm?".

  Xitlari tilted her head, thoughtful. "Yeah, many times... Do you think it’s related to his magic?".

  "Who knows..." With a bit of shyness and restrained curiosity, Kassie avoided Xitlari’s gaze for a moment and played with her fingers. "You... aren’t you interested in him?".

  Xitlari stopped walking because of the question. "What do you mean interested?".

  "Um... forget it. Wanna play a game?" Nervously, Kassie changed the subject and remembered a game she loved.

  "Hmmm..." Xitlari thought for a moment, and a memory came to her mind.

  "You need to be more social! Or you’ll end up alone. You have friends! Others struggle to have even one friend—take care of your friends!" said the spirit owl quite strictly in the memory.

  "Alright. What do you want to play?" she replied with a smile on her face.

  "Really?! It’s a card game—you’ll love it! It’s really strategic," Kassie said excitedly, and both continued their walk down the hallway.

  Far from this kingdom, which still had a bit of activity... There was a place, nicknamed the black forest, located near the eastern harvest fields. Deep in this forest was a camp... with several werewolves, all with a single color in their fur, many of them working on armor, objects, and weapons... Others trained by hitting trees, battling each other, or practicing with weapons that seemed ancient. In a cave in front of the entire camp sat a dark purple-furred werewolf on a kind of stone throne, with a very old and worn backpack beside him. From left to right there were several objects, papers that seemed to have recipes and instructions. They were on square rocks that acted as tables.

  The werewolf wore a coat and loincloth that matched the color of his fur, his eyes were purple, and his gaze was serious. From the entrance, four shadows approached: two very tall and two small.

  "We’re here... Why do we have to have two furries behind us?" said the dark lord with his robotic voice. He wore a robe to hide his black metallic armor. On the other hand, Yeynos had no robe, wearing his white haori, wide dark pants, blindfolded eyes, and a white katana at his waist with its sheath.

  "Dark lord... Are you here to offer me work with the nerosma again? If so, the answer is no, for the third time," the werewolf stated calmly, not annoyed at all.

  "That was the plan, but since you said no, well... I need you to return the favor, Gilbred," as he spoke, the dark lord glanced around, observing every unknown object to him.

  "You may leave, he’s the one who saved me." After these words, the two werewolves escorting Yeynos and the dark lord left the cave. "What do you want?".

  "Are you sure he’ll help, Renog?" Yeynos whispered, slightly leaning toward the dark lord.

  "Of course, don’t worry. Another thing, don’t get so close," Renog whispered, and Yeynos stepped away, making a face. "Last time, you told me about your plan to attack Ystir with all the remaining single-fur-colored werewolves".

  "Get to the point".

  Due to the interruption, Renog clenched his right hand so tightly that it caused a screech from the armor. "I'm sorry... I need you to help this man. His name is Yeynos, his son was captured in Ystir. Could you help rescue him the day they attack the kingdom?".

  "I think you're asking a lot of me," Gilbred rested his right arm on the stone throne and leaned his head back.

  "You think? I saved your life! And not only that, I brought you back to your prime," he replied, getting a bit annoyed.

  "Hmm... Fine, I’ll help your friend," Gilbred stood up from the rock throne.

  "He's not my friend," Renog quickly insinuated, and Yeynos turned his head toward him. "Comrades, maybe".

  "Whatever, but I have a request..." Gilbred walked past them and stood at the cave entrance, looking out.

  They both turned, and Renog said, "What is it?".

  Gilbred turned slightly back. "I need more units of that serum you gave me for my entire army."

  "Ha, ha, ha, ha, ha! You want plumorium!? Ha, ha, ha... Alright, I'll give it to you. After all, it benefits us if you attack Ystir," Renog laughed with his robotic voice, while Yeynos didn't look at all convinced by the request.

  "Are you sure? You should ask Zthur," Yeynos commented with concern, but without losing his firmness.

  "Yes, I'm sure. I'll deliver the plumorium serums to you, but you'll have to do everything Yeynos asks to rescue his son... It's a deal," Renog approached Gilbred and extended his metallic hand. Gilbred shook it without hesitation, accepting the condition without flinching.

  It couldn’t be seen, but behind that metallic helmet... Renog, the dark lord... Had a soulless, sadistic smile.

  End of chapter.