THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 348: 348: FAREWELLS

Azir was the first to move. The moment Sagiri stepped onto the roof, the boy rushed forward and threw his arms around him, almost throwing his weak body off its feet. He tried to speak, but his voice broke before the words could leave his mouth. Tears gathered in his eyes despite his obvious effort to hold them back. Sagiri rested a hand on his head and sighed.

"Pull yourself together, Azir. This is rather un-city lord behaviour ." Azir immediately scrubbed at his face, but did not move back far enough.

"I am together," he muttered, earning a doubtful look from everyone present. Sagiri’s expression softened slightly.

"Watch the city while I’m gone. I will be back before you know it," Sagiri said, patting the boy’s hair. Azir nodded fiercely, trying to pull himself together, which was of no use.

"I will. I will not fail you. You are yet to spar with me, so come back."

"I am the supreme chief now. Where else could I go?" Sagiri said with a forced laugh past his pain. His body was tender, even o ouch, and the hug from Azir made him feel like he was going to break. Only then did Sagiri look toward Zifara.

"Watch the city for me," Sagiri said in a firm voice.

Kai inclined his head.

"I intend to." His gaze lingered on Sagiri for a moment. "Be back soon." Sagiri didn’t answer immediately. Then he gave a small nod.

One by one, the boys turned toward the General and Azir. They saluted.

"Don’t become enemies of the south when you rise in rank. I will have to kill you." ZIfara said.

"Not if I kill you first if you become an enemy of Tagayia," Kaka answered immediately. The General smiled before he returned the gesture with solemn respect.

"I will expect nothing less from you." Zifara said.

Azir, on the other hand, was trying desperately to stand tall and strong despite the tears threatening to return. He saluted back, and it was funny to watch.

Satisfied, the boys climbed onto Zaira’s lowered head. Sagiri remained behind for a few moments longer. The wind tugged at his cloak as he looked over the sleeping city one final time. Then he stepped onto the serpent’s head as well.

Zaira slowly lifted itself, finally. For a brief moment, the colossal beast paused. Its crimson eyes settled upon the General and Azir. The enormous serpent lowered its head ever so slightly, almost like a nod. Then it turned toward the gate. The scales along its back caught the first hints of dawn. The beast simply began descending from the War Fortress, carrying its passengers away.

The journey lasted half a day. Zaira moved with effortless speed across the desert, its immense body flowing over dunes, rocky ridges so fast the boy boys had to hold tight not to fall. The South gradually faded behind them.

By midday, they finally reached the barren lands that separated Tagayia from the South. The change was impossible to miss. The land looked wounded. Vast plains of grey stone stretched in every direction, broken only by jagged rock formations and deep fissures carved into the earth. Nothing grew here. No birds crossed the sky. No beasts wandered the ground. Even the wind sounded different, carrying a hollow whistle through the endless emptiness.

It was a place neither side truly claimed. Too harsh for settlement. Too empty for prosperity. Yet it stood between two worlds. To the south lay the deserts and tribes that Sagiri now ruled. Beyond the barren lands, far in the distance, lay Tagayia and everything waiting for them there. Zaira finally slowed. The massive serpent raised its head slightly as its crimson eyes scanned the horizon before it stopped.

Zaira came to a halt upon a stretch of cracked stone overlooking the barren lands. The serpent lowered its head slightly as the wind swept across the empty wasteland. Sagiri rose from where he had been sitting and looked toward the distant horizon.

"This is as far as I go." The boys exchanged glances.

"What do you mean?"

Sagiri pointed ahead.

"Tagayia is only ten vaara from here." His gaze remained fixed on the distant north. "Any further and Zaira could be seen." Nobody argued with that. A beast the size of Zaira crossing into northern territory would not go unnoticed. Sagiri turned toward Kiuga.

"Before you enter the academy, drop a message." Kiuga raised an eyebrow.

"To whom?"

"Salka." Sagiri’s expression remained unreadable. "Tell the one you serve to be wary of his ears." The words caused Kiuga’s amusement to disappear.

"And tell Salka..." For a brief moment, something softer crossed Sagiri’s face. "Tell him I will see him in three months." Kiuga studied him for a moment before nodding.

"I don’t know what you mean, but I can do that." Sagiri gave a small nod in return. Then he looked toward the horizon once more. Beyond those barren lands lay Tagayia. He had unfinished business.

The mood grew lighter once the decision had been made. Kiuga was the first to step forward, driving a fist lightly into Sagiri’s shoulder. "Try not to become emperor of another country before we get back." He snorted and followed with a pat on the back.

One by one, the boys offered their farewells.

Two hours earlier, they had changed back into their War Academy uniforms, replacing the clothes of the South with something familiar to the North.

Eventually, Zaira lowered its head toward the barren ground below. The boys began jumping down one after another, preparing to cross the remaining distance to Tagayia on foot. Sagiri watched them go.

Then, without warning, arms wrapped around him. He stiffened instantly. Lira. The sudden contact should have hurt. Everything hurts lately. His skin was so sensitive that even clothing felt abrasive. Instinctively, he braced himself for another spike of agony.

Instead, the opposite happened. The moment she hugged him, a strange sensation spread through his body. It felt as though he had been dropped into cool water after standing beneath a desert sun. The relentless heat beneath his skin eased. The pain started fading to a distant hum in his bone. His racing thoughts slowed. The pressure behind his eyes lessened.

For the first time in days, he could breathe without feeling as though something was tearing through his chest. Sagiri froze completely. Lira seemed just as surprised. Neither of them moved. Around them, the others stopped and stared. Even Zaira turned one crimson eye toward them. The cool sensation continued spreading through him, washing across nerves that had known nothing but pain since the Pool.

Sagiri blinked once. Then twice. Because for the first time since entering the Pool, something had actually helped.

The relief lasted only a few seconds before Lira’s legs gave out. Sagiri caught her automatically as she collapsed against him. The color drained from her face almost instantly. Around them, the others froze. Sagiri stared down at her in silence. The pain inside him had lessened. By nearly half. He knew better than to believe that was a coincidence.

His eyes lingered on Lira’s pale face as the realization settled in.