Chapter 8: Xyrus City
The mood is gloomy after Arthur falls into his "death". Alice blames herself for causing her son to die. Everyone is distraught, including Alexander. He doesn't have any choice but to let Arthur fall and meet Sylvia.
Sometimes one's fate can't be changed. Alexander is terrified of the butterfly effect. His choices have consequences, and he will pay for them if he makes impulsive decisions.
He isn't strong enough to bring change, but he doesn't know how to grow stronger other than being the only white core mage.
Being a white core mage is not enough. He wants greater power... the power to make a difference in the world.
He knew that being a white core mage wasn't the pinnacle of power, that there was more to it, but he didn't know how to get there.
He sighed as he stared at the sky. Feeling lost in his thought.
He ponders about his true goal... Power? Wealth? Knowledge? Love?
He doesn't have a clear goal yet, but perhaps along the way, he will discover one that is meaningful to him.
Alexander's POV:
Mum has been trying to kill herself... Shit, I don't even remember any of this crap. Durden beating Dad for being irresponsible which is fair. I only stay silent as Angela comforts me.
I didn't show any emotions... I won't let emotions take me over. I knew that it will become better but I can't stand watching this horrible view.
Because Mum always trying to kill herself, The twin horns members distance me and mom so I won't be traumatized.
This reminds me of my previous life, where soldiers who blame themselves for letting their comrades die often try to kill themselves, but someone is always watching to make sure they don't.
Sigh... I really can't do anything, do I?
Suddenly I heard Durden screaming, "Reynolds! We had to stop Alice from killing herself! This isn't the time to be moping! Get off your sor---"
I feel someone closing my ears, I look up to see Angela trying her best to smile at me. I know that deep inside her, she doesn't like the situation at all.
Angela has a motherly aura so I feel comfortable around her.
I close my eyes as I fall asleep to Angela's embrace.
* * *
We arrived at the floating city of Xyrus through the teleportation gate with no further complications.
Dad successfully consoles mom and stops her from trying to kill herself, which is a plus for me. Mom has been apologizing to me and I think Dad mentioned me somewhere along the line, but I don't want to know.
I hug Angela since the Twin Horns members will be separated from us.
"I hope that you grow up to be a strong boy, Alex," Angela said, with a smile. I nodded. There's nothing much for me to say.
Feeling someone ruffling my hair, I look up to see Adam grinning at me, "Yeah, you better catch us up if you want to be strong!"
I smirked, "I'll beat your ass the next time we meet."
Adam laughed, "I'll wait for you, brat!"
Next is Jasmine. She didn't say much, but she said, "Be safe."
I gave her a curt nod, I guess the reason why she said it, perhaps because she was feeling guilty about allowing Art to die, but nonetheless, I appreciated her concern.
Helen just gave me a tight hug and her strength is no joke.
And Durden, he's ruffling my hair too, like Adam. Is my hair really soft? I mean, I never really took extra care of my hair, so I really don't know if it's really soft or not.
As we walked to the teleporter with mum, Dad gently held my hand.
* * *
"Alice, what do you say about living here from now on?" Dad ask with a serious face.
Mum give a confused look, she replied, "What about our home in Ashber? We just got it all fixed up. A lot of our stuff is still there."
Dad shook his head at this. "I think it'll be better for us to have a fresh new surrounding. Our home in Ashber has too many memories of Art. I don't think we'll be able to get over it if we stay there. We'll hire some merchants to deliver some of our stuff from Ashber here to us. Besides, Alex will get better education in Xyrus city."
I nod in agreement, even though Ashber is my hometown but it's a small city and doesn't have proper education and it'll be a waste of time if I study in Ashber.
She looked down as she decided before giving a small nod. "What about a job? How will we afford to live here? This is a very expensive city to live in, Rey," she added, a worried look on her face.
I look to see dad's face, a genuine smile formed on his face, "I know an old friend that lives here. He's asked me to be his guard numerous times years back and we still keep in touch from time to time. He's a fairly renown merchant in this area and has a large manor. I'm sure he'll have a place for us to stay. They're good people, Alice."
She looked a little doubtful at first but after arriving at the manor and seeing dad hugging my old friend, her worries lessened.
"Rey! My friend! The hero who saved my life! What brings you to this little city?" A thin bespectacled man in a suit exclaimed.
The maid that answered the door left after she saw Vincent hugging dad. Soon after, his wife and daughter came out as well, curious as to what all the commotion was about.
"Tabitha! Meet my dear friend Reynolds, his wife Alice, and his son, Alexander! Alice, Reynolds, this is my wife Tabitha and this here lovely lady is my daughter, Lilia," Vincent exclaimed, picking up his daughter. She looked to be around the same age as I and Art were, with lovely hazel eyes that remind me of a kitten and long brown hair, braided.
She waves happily at me, I wave with a smile.
"Tabitha! It's great to finally meet you. Vince had told me so many great things about you during our trip together to Xyrus City. What a cute daughter you guys have."
After me and mom introduce ourselves, Vincent then urged us into the living room to get comfortable.
"So what brings you here, Rey. Last time you sent me a letter, you said you got yourself settled all the way up in Ashber." He said, handing mom and dad a glass of wine while I got a glass of milk... Well, no complain about that since I'm still a child.
Dad took a deep breath and told them the story before we got here, I sip my milk with a stoic face.
"You asked me several times to teach your Auction House's guards a thing or two about magic. Is that offer still up in the air? If it is, you would be doing me a huge favor. I really just need enough to rent a small house around here and live a simple life. It's just that I don't my wife to go back to the old house in Ashber where Arthur was born and raised in." Dad asked
A big grin appeared on Vincent's face. "Nonsense! No friend of mine is going to be sleeping in a small hut. As a matter of fact, I was actually looking for someone! We just renovated our Helstea Auction House so it could accommodate three times as many people. With that, we got a fresh new batch of augmenter recruits that really need some work around the edges. You would be perfect to shape them up a bit, Rey. Can you do me a huge favor and work for me?" He put on a desperate face.
Dad nodded, he shook his outstretched hand and discussed the deal. Dad was reluctant at first to live in the big manor but agree nonetheless.
And finally, we settled on Helstea manor. Dad working for Vincent and we live pretty comfortably in the big manor.
And soon, a few months had passed. During this time, I didn't do much except train with swords with Dad, but of course, it's only a short training since my body can't be forced, so I have pretty much free time during the day. Since Art isn't here, Lilia becomes my new friend, but of course, it's kind of a hassle since she was a real child and not like me or Art. She is still a normal child with no adult mind.
I still haven't got my teacher yet since dad told me that I needed to get used to the city before I got my own teacher to teach me magic.
Also, mom's belly was getting bigger and I knew that soon my little sister would be born.
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