Chapter 30: Udana's Words

Chapter 30: Udana’s Words

Back to the heroes.

In the woods, it’s night and the five heroes sit around a campfire.

Staring at Kurt, Zeth asks, “So, your magic was given to you?”

Kurt nods. “Yes, my master was powerful too. I remember Master Dom saying he was a B-Rank. So far, I have not come close to reaching his level.”

“He gave you magic, so he also uses Aura Magic, correct?” Sasha asks.

“Yeah, it was 2 years ago.”

Sasha turns her head toward the others. “Emily, Joe, were you given magic too?”

“No, we inherited our magic just like you and Zeth,” Emily replies. “At least in my case, I never used it to fight much, just to help around. I started buying combat weapons when I began adventuring with these two. Just for self-protection.”

“Same here,” Joe adds. “I was the only one in my family with Weather Magic so I used it to help farmers and to grow things.”

Zeth raises an eyebrow. “If you inherited it, why was your magic different?”

Joe raises a finger as he replies, “When people who have different magic have a kid, those two different magics combine into something entirely different. Though, my magic is not even remotely similar to my parents’ magic so it is definitely strange how I was born with Weather Magic.”

Kurt chimes in. “That’s not entirely unheard of. It’s just rare.”

“Rare or not, that’s interesting,” Zeth replies. “I wonder about my parents’ magic.”

Kurt smiles. “Don’t worry. We will be in your home city in a week.”

Zeth turns his head toward the campfire for a moment with a smile. “I hope so…” he mumbles before turning his head to look around at everyone again. “I was thinking we should get to know each other even better. Why not talk about what we want out of life? What are our goals?”

Emily smiles. “I’d like that, so sure. Let’s do it.”

Zeth turns his head toward Sasha, saying, “You should start us off, Sasha.”

Sasha flinches, her eyes widening and nerves skyrocketing. “Me?!”

After a moment, she calms down and narrows her eyes with a nervous frown, hesitating to even speak. “Um…”

“Is something wrong?” Joe asks.

“No, no!” Sasha shouts while waving her arms. “I just wasn’t expecting to go first! That’s all!”

She takes a deep breath and finally begins telling her story. “Well… I guess I didn’t really have any big life goals before this. I grew up as your average girl. I was always shy so I didn’t have a lot of friends. One day, I actually got invited to a party and that’s when my fight with my parents that led to me getting kicked out started.”

“A fight started over a party invite?” Emily asks, surprised by such a reason.

“Yes, my parents believed parties were for delinquents,” Sasha replies.

Joe shakes his head. “Well, that's stupid.”

“It is but at least it led to me meeting you four. For that, I’m thankful,” Sasha says with a smile. “But back to the point. I hope this journey that I’m going on with all of you will help me find a long-term life goal.”

Sasha smiles with narrow eyes as she leans back further against a log before saying, “That’s all for my turn.”

Zeth turns his head toward Kurt. “You should go next, Kurt.”

Kurt nods. “Alright. Given that I was not born with magic, I believe that I cherish having magic more by having it given to me than I would have if I was born with it. For that reason, I want to take the Aura Magic I was given and fully develop it to its ultimate potential. I would become the Aura King… no, make that the Aura God! That’s my goal!”

“That was inspiring,” Emily says. “We’ll be with you every step of the way!”

“And if you start slacking, we’ll push your ass in high gear!” Joe affirms.

Kurt chuckles. “Thanks, guys.”

Zeth turns his head toward Emily. “Your turn, Emily.”

Emily leans forward as she begins. “For me, I guess it’s not something too grand like Kurt’s but I want to sail the seas and check out all the islands in the world. With the smaller size of islands, those communities must be real close and I’d like to get to see them in person. I’d definitely start off with the islands off the northeast coast of Harmone.”

“Are you sure that it’s not that you’re interested in trying out the pirate life?” Joe says with a laugh.

Emily’s eyes twitch as she turns her head toward Joe, yelling, “Shut up! It has nothing to do with pirate life!”

Joe laughs again. “But your Channeling Magic would be great for a pirate.”

Kurt facepalms. “Good grief, Joe. Stop teasing her.”

“Yeah, I think it’s cool that she wants to check out the islands of the world,” Sasha says.

Zeth turns his head toward Joe. “Well, Joe. Since you are in the mood to talk, tell us your goals.”

Smiling with confidence, Joe says, “Call me unrealistic, but I want to be the lord of storms. I want to be able to stand on a cloud and throw lightning bolts down at the ground. If I get angered, I will bring forth fierce winds upon my opposition.”

“Calm down, Zeus,” Emily says with a chuckle. “Tell us your real goals.”

Joe sighs. “Okay, fine. What I really want is to help people in need. There are people struggling to survive in this world. I want to help them out. I also want to raise a good family.”

Joe looks at Emily as he says the last part, and she takes notice. “W-What are you looking at me for?! We’re… we’re just friends! That’s all.”

The other four laugh while Emily blushes. “Anyway, Zeth! You still need to go!”

“Me?” Zeth says with a slightly loud tone before looking into the campfire. “Well… I was kind of like Sasha. I just grew up like an average boy…”

He suddenly starts having flashbacks. The first flashback is of him discovering he has magic. The next flashback is the woman from his nightmare lunging toward him, saying “Consumption”. The third flashback is Crimson saying that he wants to consume him. The final flashback is the Third Guardian saying that he needs to ask his parents about their supposed lack of magic.

“…I have a feeling that my life is about to change in a big way. Whatever goals I had before, they went out the window when I got abducted by the Hawk Clan. I have questions and I need answers. There are things that just don’t make sense to me right now. After we meet with the Light Goddess, I will decide what my goal is.”

“That is fair enough,” Kurt states.

“I believe it’s okay not to know yet,” Sasha says, trying to cheer Zeth up. “Our lives are shaped by our experiences. When you put those experiences together, that’s when your goals start to form.”

Zeth smiles warmly at Sasha. “I like the way you put that. Thanks, Sasha.”

He stands up before saying, “Anyway, let me grab some more wood for the fire.”

Heading away from the others, Zeth walks farther into the darkness of the trees.

***

5 minutes later.

Zeth walks through the trees and reaches a pond with some chopped logs lying on the ground around it. However, he notices a young woman with black hair in a long ponytail standing near the logs. It’s Udana. A brief gust of wind sways her ponytail to the side.

“Hello, Zeth,” Udana says with a neutral tone.

Not taking another step forward, Zeth cautiously asks, “Who are you?”

“I am Udana, and I serve my master, Kogen. I am here because he is very interested in you.”

“What do you want with me?”

“Nothing yet… I just came to speak to you. You have shown that you are talented, so Master Kogen would like to enlist your help sometime in the future.”

Zeth clenches his teeth, feeling uneasy. “Be more specific. I don’t entirely trust you just because you are not attacking me.”

“What I’m saying is that if you want to prevent this world from being destroyed by the Dark Goddess, you should help Master Kogen when the time comes.”

Zeth’s unease fades away but he still stares back at her with a serious expression etched on his face. “How would I know when the time has come?”

“When the time has come, I will return to you and let you know. It has been 118 years since the Dark Goddess was last in this world.”

“That’s when the Great Chaos ended.”

“Correct, and the Dark Goddess has not been to Earth since then. Many people believe the Great Chaos being about the Dark Goddess is only a rumor. The only reason why some believe it to only be a rumor is that so much time has passed that no human who was alive then is still alive, and many have chosen to not believe in monsters. The Great Chaos caused by Hell was very much a reality. The Dark Goddess was defeated, but she did not die. Her defeat was only temporary. She will return. Her inevitable return is unknown to most people, and most of the people who have heard about it don’t believe it. They are in denial. You can help us stop her.”

“How exactly?”

“I will reveal that when the time comes. This short meeting was simply to give you a message. For now, I must go, but one day I shall return when we need you. Farewell.”

Sasha arrives from the trees just as Udana finishes speaking.

“Goodbye, Zeth,” Udana says as she jumps backward into the trees and vanishes from sight.

“Who was that?” Sasha asks.

“She said her name was Udana,” Zeth replies. “She said she wants my help to stop the Dark Goddess in the future, but didn’t give me any details. However, I’m not sure if I trust her. Why did you come here?”

“You were taking a while, so I came to make sure you were alright,” Sasha says.

“Thanks, I appreciate it. Now, it’s time to get back to the campfire.”

They walk over to piles of chopped logs and grab some before leaving.

Udana has confronted Zeth! Just what will she need of him in the future?

Chapter 30 END

To be Continued in Chapter 31: Zeth’s Home City