Tale of Vanguard

Chapter 51: An Unseen Journey



The evening sun bathed the abandoned coliseum in a soft and fading light as Kaelen was practicing with his sword. Two days have passed since the royal assembly, and in all that time, he hadn't from Serephira once. When they had parted ways at the capital, he had caught a glimpse of her face—gloomy, as if it was weighed down by something she hadn't shared with him.

Its rare for Kaelen to see her expression like that, maybe all the stuff about the ascension and her father's challenge are really gnawing at her. Not to mention her siblings who were also vying for the throne with their own hidden agenda.

'What more can i do?'

His mind was racing even as his body moved with precision. Serephira had trusted him enough to ask him to stand at her side, but the king's words lingered. The expectations, the dangers—they were more than just ceremonial duties. Protecting her wasn't just about wielding a sword.

'Hope she's fine...'

As Kaelen spun with a final strike, a voice rang out from the stands above.

"Nice move."

He looked up to see Thane grinning down at him. Kaelen called out to him.

"How about a quick spar session?"

Without hesitation, Thane jumped from the stands and lands on the arena ground.

"You must be crazy, I just got back from a gruesome training session with my master. You wouldn't know it, but I'm dead tired."

As Thane streched his arms and let out a tired sigh, he suddenly asked.

"Hey, do you have a communicator?"

"You mean a phone?"

Thane tilted his head, confused.

 "What's a phone?"

Kaelen chuckled and waved it off.

"Never mind. Same function, really."

Clueless about what Kaelen was saying, he pulled out a complex-orb shaped device from his pocket.

"It's convenient to have one around, you know. Makes it easy to communicate with others."

Kaelen's eyes widened slightly as he recognized the device. The day Master Cronos had left for his venture, Kaelen had seen something similar in his room—an orb just like the one Thane was holding. He hadn't thought much of it back then as he was unaware of its purpose. Now, he realized it was a communicator, something that could have been useful had he known what it was. All of a sudden, another familiar voice called out.

"Figured you'd be here."

It was Serephira, her voice was carrying over the echo of the empty stands.

Kaelen face was breaking into a mix of relief and curiosity as he looked up to her.

"Where have you been?"

Her brow furrowed slightly.

"I've been busy... you know, stuff."

Kaelen just simply sighed to her.

"You should have at least checked in. I was starting to get worry."

Before Serephira could respond, she reached into her satchel and tossed something towards Kaelen

"Catch."

Kaelen managed to catch it with a practiced motion. It was an old journal. He glanced at it, then looked back at Serephira. 

"What's this?"

Serephira smirked at him.

"Our next journey."

She leaped down from the stands effortlessly and approached Kaelen in the arena ground.

"It belongs to my brother, Raul. He's chosen not to participate in the Ascension, but he's still offering to help me in his own way. He gave me this journal."

Kaelen glanced down at the worn pages, flipping through the neatly written notes and intricate sketches.

"My brother discovered something. He believes that there's another world out there, one that hasn't been charted yet. His research points to it holding something ancient—something that could shift the entire Ascension if we find it."

Kaelen's finger traced the sketches and notes, seeing diagrams of ancient texts, and a mention of strange energies.

"Amazing..."

As Kaelen and Serephira stood there while discussing the contents of the journal and the unknown world, a slight cough broke the moment. Thane, who had been quietly observing the conversation from the side, cleared his throat.

"Uh… is it okay for me to hear all of this?"

Thane gave them a half-smile, as if he wasn't sure he was supposed to be privy to such important information.

Serephira turned her gaze towards him, a small smile can be seen curving on her lips.

"Actually, I was planning to invite you along."

Both Kaelen and Thane froze, their eyes were widening as they turned to face her. They spoke in unison:

"What?!"

Serephira chuckled at their synchronized reactions. She smirked as she glanced between them.

"I don't see why it's a problem. You did save my life once, after all."

She then give Kaelen a playful look.

"Besides, he's probably the only real friend you've made at the academy, Kaelen."

Kaelen's eyebrow twitched slightly at her remark, his jaw was tightening in mild annoyance.

'The only friend?'

He thought to himself, trying not to show it on his face.

'It's not like I couldn't make more friends... just give me a week more in the academy, maybe two, and I'd definitely have a few more. Right?'

Oblivious to Kaelen's inner frustration, Serephira turned to Thane.

 "So, how about it? You in?"

Thane stretched his arms and let out a groan, thinking for a moment before he grinned widely.

"Honestly, anything to get me out of my daily training with my master sounds like a blessing. So yeah, I'm in."

Serephira couldn't help but snort at his response.

"That easy, huh?"

"You have no idea. My master's training could kill a lesser man. A journey to an unknown world sounds like a vacation compared to that."

After Thane's lighthearted remark, Serephira's expression shifted, her smile was fading as she turned serious.

"I'll be honest with you.. this won't be a walk in the park. This journey could be dangerous. We're heading into uncharted territory—far beyond anything we've ever faced. Are you still in?"

Thane's grin softened, but without hesitation, he nodded to Serephira.

"I know it's not going to be easy, but I'm ready for it."

"Great! Then tomorrow morning, the four of us will meet at the capital's main gate to finalize our preparations."

Hearing her remark, Thane looked puzzled.

"Four of us?"

Meanwhile, Kaelen was absolutely clueless about their conversation, he was still processing Serephira's word from earlier.

'I'm perfectly capable of making friends...'

He reassured himself, though now he couldn't help but feel a little challenged by the thought.


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