Luke was sitting in the Hazor residence, looking up at the starry sky. Various thoughts began to sink the youth, like a strong tide on a rainy day. "Balance, can we talk?"
[Of course, did you feel any discomfort with mana?]
The Half-wolf suddenly activated the <Eye of Horus> skill, and within that flash, he could again see Ayla, who turned around showing surprise at the young man's attitude.
"I figured that since you are in my consciousness, I would be able to have more time to talk in the<Eye of horus>."
The Goddess smiled at the boy's insight. The two then sat down and Luke proceeded to speak:
"That mana inside me, controlling it was not a problem, but it's like my life is being held down by the suffering of so many people. That's so... horrible and confusing."
As the half-wolf looked down at the ground, Balance entwined her arms around Luke's head, reclining him on her chest. Her touch was as real as any pain in the Horus Dimension, though without heat.
The Goddess then began running her hand through Luke's hair, patting him.
"Death is a critical point in this world. It needs balance, even though it was away from their will, the mana that now resides in you is no more the souls of those who left, but just the energy that remains after they are gone," said Ayla.
Then, she let go of him and looked deep into Luke's eyes giving then a kiss on the man's forehead
"It's okay my kid, you don't need to feel guilty about it." She continued.
Luke was just looking, and from a confused face, he gradually changed into a peaceful expression, feeling reassured and welcomed.
"I will guide you through the world on your journey. If you find a high-level mage, who specialized in curses, you shall be able to create an item to cope with the side effects of your divided soul. It won't be enough to surpass it thought, you still need to find the rest of the Cursed Items, or kill the nasty demon that made it to you." Ayla then hugged Luke, who was visibly tired, even in the <Eye of Horus>.
He lay under the thighs of the Goddess, who continued to run her hand through the young man's hair
"If I were a mortal, I could also fall in love with you." She spoke.
Luke with his eyes closed, gave a smile, and slowly began to feel a strange warm sensation in the Goddess's lap, then he fell asleep.
A few hours passed, it was still night and the weather was a little chilly, Luke slowly opened his eyes and realized that he was in Meredith's lap.
She had a blanket around her body and one of her hands was resting lightly on the young man's chest. Luke was wearing casual clothes, and his body was also covered.
"You can go back to sleep honey," said Meredith, realizing that Luke had woken up.
A small puff of smoke came out of the half-fox's mouth, which again affirmed how cold that night was.
Luke then looked up at the sky, took a deep breath, and asked:
"Do you remember what we used to do on days like this?"
Then, the girl smiled. "I could never forget, I tried to warm you with hugs and the warmth of our tails."
The man noticed how distant she seemed, probably reliving the moments of the past.
"You've always been by my side Luke, I want to reciprocate that. Sometimes, I wonder what it would be like if you had stayed on in Oukiwa, if you would just be mine."
So, Luke slowly stood up and hugged Meredith. "I will not disappear again, and just as you missed me in my time in Vasconcelos, now there are other people who wish for my return as well."
The girl then looked at the young man with a smile and said: "I trust you, Luke. You have always been the man I love."
From the fox girl's eyes, tears began to fall, slowly.
Luke reclined his head and brushed his ears against Meredith's, just like in the old days, "I will protect you and every one by my side, and if you so desire, you may always remain with me."
The two then got up and went to lie in bed together, remaining in each other's arms all night long, exactly like the old cold days.
The next morning, Meredith woke up to find herself alone in bed. She got up and looked around the room, but there was no sign of Luke. The half-fox then went to look for him outside, but he was nowhere to be found. Meredith then felt a strange feeling in her heart, but just as she was about to go back inside, she heard a voice calling her name. She turned around and saw Luke coming toward her, he was sweaty and was carrying a wooden sword.
"I was training; I'm starving right now. Do you want to eat breakfast?"
Meredith then felt relieved and happy, and the two of them sat down to eat together.
Then after eating breakfast, Meredith and Luke met Hazor in his office.
The Young half-wolf had talked again with Balance, who directed him to discuss the proposal with Hazor.
"I need your help, I know you can't infer to the revolution, but I want to know, where can I find a high-level mage who understands curses."
For a moment, Hazor pondered, until he looked into Luke's eyes with a serious expression. "Near Yukiat, there is an island called the Diamond Plateau. There resides the First Academy of Magic of the Melki Empire, specializing in the training of battlemages. There are many capable mages there, even though it is a facility intended to teach combat magic, it is the only place where you could find mages without direct contact with the empire."
Meredith then held Luke's hand, who was now demonstrating that he was thoughtful.
'Balance, I just need a mage good enough to help me with the curse, so it doesn't have to be a Sensory Mage right?'
[Exactly, and if we go to the academy, we might be able to recruit more soldiers for your revolution.]
Luke then pondered a bit, and then confirmed with his head, that he would soon be leaving again for Yukiat, heading to the first Melki Magic Academy.
Hazor thought for a while, feeling confused about how to go on, his heroic blood wanted to take a direction he knew he couldn't choose. So, he looked at the two of them and continued.
"I know one of the teachers at the academy, he can take you and place you as students."
Luke could not hide his surprise at Hazor's decision "Is it really okay for you to help us so directly?"
The swordsman then smiled and looked again into Luke's face. "I'm just helping two promising youths get into a simple magic academy. I cannot imagine what you intend to do there."
Of course, Hazor already knew what would happen, he was sure that Luke would take this opportunity to recruit more followers, young people have a much harsher sense of justice. He knew that guiding the two of them to the academy would directly influence the future of the empire, but that didn't take away the feeling in his chest of the need to act as a hero should, the duty to do the right thing.
Luke continued to train at the Dojo for the next three days, while he recovered and tried to stabilize the gigantic amount of mana inside him, Hazor guided him with sword practice.
Training with the sword made Luke realize that it was time to change equipment, his Behemoth Axe was no longer such an exceptional weapon. A blade was needed, so the young man pondered and decided that he would look not only for a mage but also for a blacksmith.
The young man was practicing the forms passed down from Hazor, when he then stopped and began to think.
'Balance, what do you think is better, an ax, a katana, or a dagger?'
[Don't waste your energy talking to me for such futile questions, I care about you, okay?]
'And why do you care about me? I've been thinking about it since that yesterday.'
[When I walked through your soul and reached your consciousness, I could also see parts of your memory. I think it brought me a little closer to you, I created a kind of affection or something like that].
Luke laughed at this vague answer and went back to striking blows with the wooden sword.
Then came the morning of the leaving day, Meredith and Luke were ready with their packs and equipment. Hazor then finished drawing a magic circle, that made both the half-wolf and half-fox were expressing their confusion. Both imagined that they would be taken by carriage or that they would go on foot, making a long and exhausting journey.
After finishing the circle, Hazor looked at the two.
''Professor Zhanid has arranged to receive you both at a teleportation circle in New Yukiat, leaving from there you will have a week's journey to catch a port.''
The two accepted and climbed into the magic circle, which then began to emit a faint blue light.
Luke looked at Hazor and said: "Don't forget to keep an eye on Walley for me. He is a Corrupt who betrayed the Melki Empire, but he is very perceptive. At the moment, he hates the Demons as much as we do, except he may still want to do things by himself."
Hazor waved to them and then a glow covered the vision of the two half-beasts, just like when Luke was teleported to the Skd?dsgen Forest for the Tournament of Legends.
Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freew𝒆bnov𝒆l.c(o)m