Lautaro pov

 

For the four decades I have spent in this waking world, I experienced plenty, far more than a regular Avian

I have battled monsters capable of leveling cities in mere minutes.

I have fought those one would consider greater than those monsters.

I’ve conquered some of the bloodiest dungeons and the most perilous of divine trials.

Crossed into worlds some could only dream of.

All while approaching the limit of what’s capable of an Avian.

But with previous events, I could only reconsider the meaning of the phrase, “I have seen it all”.

A cursed land, lost and unredeemable. No one would ever hope to return it to the beauty of the forest that surrounded it. Yet a single human child did the impossible.

Like a howling gale, her mana blew apart the suffocating fog. Like an elixir of life, the droplets of her blood cleansed the earth beneath her feet.

The sight of it stuck with me until that point. I just could not forget it.

I looked up at Mirion, the current guild master and the man who brought me into this guild.

He took a deep breath after a long and boring meeting with the other founding members. We mostly discussed the events of our previous encounter, its random beginnings, unsolvable conditions, strange individuals and abrupt end. Several members suggested we investigate the cause and cure, but with the involvement of the Atlantean government and their own investigations, this could have been complicated. In the end, we left it up to them to figure out.

 

I glanced out there and glimpsed the main camp area. It looked only slightly more livable after the outbreak of cryptids. As harsh as it sounded, this area wasn’t mine to fix. I had my sector to deal with back in Aztlan, and I had already overstayed my welcome.

“It’s rare for you to stay back this long, Lautaro,” Mirion said. “Something on your mind?”

He grabbed two bottles from his storage runes and tossed one towards me. 

“You seem more distant than usual.”

I caught the bottle and looked at the label. Spinnakers’ Pale Ginger Ale, the bottle read. I sighed and took a swig. Mildly sweet, acidic, refreshing enough to pull me in for a second helping.

“Leave it to you to notice,” I replied.

He nodded before walking over to me.

“Is it about Ellen?”

I looked at him without a word, confused by the question, but then understood why he would ask that.

“Oh, no,” I replied. “Though I am worried about the mistress, that isn’t what clouds my mind at the moment.”

Ellen had been in her room resting after the events of that day. She pushed her body further than she ever had before and, as expected, it came with consequences. Her ability to regenerate entire limbs helped her greatly, but Ellen was half human after all. Once the adrenaline fades and mana production dies down, paralysis of the entire extra limb, or entire body, will follow.

Other negative anatomical effects will ail her for the next few weeks, though the specifics of which eluded me even after a lengthy explanation from Mirion.

“The young explorers I spoke of, the ones that assisted me in fulfilling the condition. My statement during the meeting was that they assisted me to fulfill the condition, but I didn’t actually do much. I didn’t want to mention such details because of certain founding members, but I guess you should be the best outlet.”

He stopped mid gulp and gave me a questioning look.

My initial report to the guild was that I killed a wolf cryptid, which in turn fulfilled the condition. The other founding members were practically itching to find out what the condition was. If I were to say that a human girl with mana similar to Ellen did it, they would no doubt go looking, and I felt that those involved with the girl would prefer to be left alone.

The stardust guild is large, spanning several nations. Even with Mirion at the helm, managing such a large organization would be challenging, especially when not every guild member agreed with your way of leading. With each sector a founding member kept watch over the affairs of the guild, with the more ambitious of those aiming for the guild leader role.

I took another swig of the beverage and leaned against the nearest wall.

“I wasn’t the one who fulfilled the condition, it was those young explorers. More accurately, it was one particular human girl.”

I crossed my arms and recalled the faces I saw that day.

“The explorer group seemed quite talented. I assumed them to be from the Procyon academy, which was correct. A half elf boy with a powerful shield type artifact. A high elf that gave the impression of knowing a lot more than her age would require. She stood out the most in that group, excluding the human girl, mostly because of her eyes being etched with a rune of divinity.”

Mirion narrowed his eyes at the mention of the eyes of truth, but I quickly shut that thought down.

“She had the rune but not the aura, so she is most likely not an aspect, maybe passed down from one? I don’t quite know.”

 “I see,” he said before relaxing in his seat.

“Now where was I? Right. There was also a yokai girl that seemed rather average compared to the others. She honestly seemed out of place, but maybe there was something I didn’t see.”

I took a glance at Mirion as I got to the meat of the topic. His eyes didn’t waver, and it almost looked like he was holding his breath. I didn’t think he would be this interested.

I cleared my throat and continued.

“Now to the girl. She had enough mana to fill the skies, a purity that could rival the brightest stars and the darkness corners of the void. She wielded outlandish magic, and I even spotted her communicating with a sacred beast. I thought that she somehow fulfilled the condition, but now....”

I remembered the words of the mysterious figure before he sent me to the heart of that curse. I then recalled the magic she used, the magic she dispersed throughout the ruins. Her soul intertwined with her magic and washed over everything sentient.

 “Now that I think about it, I think she was the condition.”

Upon hearing this, he sat up straight and scratched his chin.

“Did any cult member see her?”

“Maybe, I’m not too sure. But I would wager someone did. Too many souls occupied those mines.”

Mirion clicked his tongue and got up.

“I see. Thank you for letting me know, Lautaro. You encountered something rare indeed. It would be nice to meet such talented youth, especially the young lady. Though with the matters ahead of us, I hate to say, it’s best we leave them to their devices. Besides, it seems that they already have that cloaked figure watching over them.”

I nodded and stood up straight, feeling somewhat relieved.

He then patted me on the back and turned to leave the room.

“I should be heading back now. So much to do and so little time.”

I watched him as he walked closer to the exit, thoughts already miles away from this room.

Normally I would be satisfied enough to let him leave without uttering a word, but a thought came to mind

“Oh, believe it or not. Ellen was quite fond of the girl and they seemed to mesh quite well. Not to mention, they share those strange amber-colored eyes.’

Mirion groaned, and his shoulders sagged.

“Oh, don’t even talk about that. I don’t even know where the girl got that eye color. My eyes are silver and Carina’s are purple.”

As we both exited the room, he bemoaned the fact that Ellen didn’t pick up any of his traits.

“Cheer up, at least her hair turns blond when using light magic. It’s much like your messy old crown.”

He lets out a tired laugh before shooing me away.

I relented and took the adjacent path and revealed my teleportation rune. This was my ticket back to Aztlan.

Before activating it, however, I took one last glance at the guild master and as expected, his thoughts had left this forest, just as mine did not too long ago.

I knew by that expression, the gears in his mine turned with each breath, formulating a way to check up on that group of young explorers, and that girl.

I knew the man too well and though I consider his willingness to protect others as admirable, he often stuck his nose in places it doesn’t belong, especially when it came to humans or those the cult may set their sights on.