"Sigh, I wanted to meet Arkhen before leaving," Grace said as she sat across Cyrus in a carriage.
"It's okay, sis. Didn't Cyrus say that we can call him there?" Maryl said with a smile.
"Outsiders are not usually allowed there, but I can let Arkhen inside once a month. He has great potential, haha. I want to spar with him when he reaches Emerald Rank, and I feel like he will reach that rank quickly," Cyrus said with a smile.
"Yep. I still have fifteen fewer wins against him," Grace nodded while grinning. "You promised me that I would be able to defeat Arkhen once I train in Twilight Valley."
"Of course. My aunt will personally train you. Currently, she is the strongest Paragon Knight in our family."
"Paragon Knight Elisha. Mother told me about her," Grace nodded with a hint of excitement in her eyes. She knew that Paragon Knight Elisha was even more powerful than her father. She was excited to meet her and get pointers from her.
…
After two hours, they arrived at Twilight valley, and Grace's new life officially started.
Maryl stayed for five days before she had to return.
"Don't worry, I will send Arkhen here after returning to the capital," Maryl said with a smile.
Cyrus and Grace nodded.
After sending off Maryl, they returned to the valley.
Twilight Valley was a unique place between two mountain ranges. It was a village with only one way out, and a mysterious phenomenon constantly occurring behind the mountain as nightmare land started there.
But a mysterious giant tree that even overshadowed the mountain was present in the village. It always exuded amber, yellow, and white motes that protected this valley and suppressed the Nightmare Land.
It was called Tree of Twilight Goddess.
Although Grace was familiar with all people here by now since five days passed, she officially became alone in a way after Maryl left.
"Relax, Grace. This is your new home," Cyrus's mother, Rina, said with a smile.
Cyrus's family was eating at the dining table, and Grace was a bit reserved since Maryl had left.
"You won't be pressured here, and the curse also won't activate at night unless it's Sunday," Cyrus said.
"Mhmm," Grace nodded.
"You will miss home, but I won't give you an opportunity for it," Cyrus's aunt, Elisa, said with a chuckle. "You want to get strong, right? We will train every day. This brat Cyrus was trained by me. That's why he is so strong."
Cyrus ruefully smiled upon hearing that.
"Oh, come on," Rina rolled her eyes. "You know my son is talented, and that's why he got this far."
Grace smiled at the playful banter.
"Where's father? I thought he was going to return today?" Cyrus asked with doubt.
"Some urgent work of purification in the west. It will take two more days."
After eating, Rina said, "Go to sleep because your official training will start tomorrow."
Grace's opened her mouth and revealed hesitation.
Rina understood what was going through Grace's mind and chuckled, "Relax, girl. You two are not engaged yet, and even if you were, you would sleep in separate rooms until marriage."
…
As Grace and Cyrus walked through the open corridor toward their rooms, Cyrus said in a gentle voice, "Grace, don't feel pressured by engagement or marriage. I won't touch you until you are ready to accept me."
"You don't have anyone you love or crush?" Grace asked curiously.
"Oh? Do you have?" Cyrus asked in return.
"Haha, I was raised with the principle of not thinking anything about that, so nope," Grace said with a smile.
"And I knew you would be my wife from long ago," Cyrus said with a light laugh.
"Eh?" Grace was startled.
"Yep. Your royal family has had this curse for hundreds of years, so the ritual of your house member marrying into this village has been going on for a long time.
"The moment you were born with that mark, it was decided," Cyrus said with a smile. "I was always looking forward to meeting you, haha."
"Oh…" Grace was dazed hearing that before she remembered something. "About my aunt who disappeared 25 years ago…."
"Your aunt…" Cyrus hesitated for a bit before he signed and said, "She was supposed to marry here, but she loved someone else and ran away with him. However, she passed away in a year because of the curse."
Grace turned silent before signing. She could still see the sadness in her father's eyes whenever her aunt was mentioned. After all, his sister died so young.
So he didn't want to see that happen to his daughter, and that's why he raised her like that.
…
"Arkhen… today, we will learn this," Grace said in her sleep in the morning before she suddenly woke up.
"So, it was a dream," Grace wryly smiled and shook her head before waking up.
'Well, he will come here today, so it will be fun,' Grace thought as she looked forward to training with Arkhen and Cyrus under Paragon Knight Elisa!
After she got ready and went out of her room, she was surprised to see Arkhen standing outside with Cyrus as they talked.
"Arkhen! Haha, you are finally here."
"Only for today," Arkhen said with a smile.
"But you will come again next month, right?" Grace said with a grin.
"Nope. I am going on a long journey. It will be a long time before we meet again."
"Eh? Where are you going?"
"For a special training," Arkhen said as he looked at Grace. The hands he had put behind his back trembled a bit as he clenched his fist to hold back himself.
He then quickly looked away from her, turned to Cyrus, and said, "I have only one day, so I better get all the points I can get from Paragon Knight Elisa, haha."
"Yes! Also, you better return early from your long journey so that I can win against you," Grace said as she pinched Arkhen's waist.
"Haha, that depends."
At that moment, Cyrus's aunt, Elisa, also arrived.
"Come on, brats. It's time for training. The training place of the village is under the Tree of Twilight Goddess, so let's go."
After a full day of training, the three of them were super exhausted.
"I am surprised that both of you kept up with aunt's training regime. It was in the same intensity as mine," Cyrus said with a laugh. "If only Arkhen could stay here longer, we could get strong together."
"Well, there are rules, so it's really unfortunate," Elisa said with a wry smile before turning to Arkhen, "But I am sure you will reach my level with your potential in your way. Keep working hard, Arkhen."
Arkhen nodded.
The following day, Cyrus and Grace went out of the valley to send off Arkhen.
"Hey, are you going to leave without a farewell hug from your friend?" Grace said sternly when she saw Arkhen simply turning around.
Arkhen turned back and wryly smiled. "It's not like you've hugged me before."
"Come on, silly," Grace said with a smile as she hugged Arkhen.
Arkhen also hugged her as he felt a strange feeling of comfort and bliss. It was like a stream of pure delight coursing through him.
Grace also tightened the hug but quickly got a bit embarrassed and separated before saying, "Don't take too long to return."
"As I said, it depends," Arkhen rolled his eyes and quickly turned around. "Alright, I am leaving now, or I feel like you will forcefully keep me here."
"Good luck and all the best in your journey," Cyrus said with a smile.
"Thanks," Arkhen said without turning around as he raised his hand.
Seeing Arkhen leaving, Grace felt something unknown, but she put it aside as Paragon Knight Elisa flew there to pick them up for training.
"Come on, brats. It's time."
"I am sure he will get stronger fast," Grace clenched her fist with a smile. "I must not stay behind."
"That's the spirit," Elisa said with a chuckle.
…
The next morning…
"Arkhen…try...." Grace muttered in her sleep with a frown.
*knock knock…*
"Grace! It's already time. You haven't woken up yet?"
Hearing Cyrus's voice, she woke up. "Coming!"
After getting up, she quickly went to the bathroom for a shower and got ready.
"What happened? Is the training too hard?" Cyrus asked. "If it's a bit tough, I can tell aunt to slow it down."
"Nah, it's okay," Grace said before softly laughing, "I am getting stronger fast, haha. When Arkhen returns, I will easily beat him."
Cyrus looked at her for a bit before nodding and smiling. "Alright, let's go. Aunt is already at the training ground under the tree."
…
As days passed in training, one day after a month, Grace was not waking up even after knocking on the door hard.
"What happened?" Cyrus's parents arrived after hearing constant knocks.
"I don't know. Grace is not waking up," Cyrus said with a wry smile.
"I'll take a look," Rina said as she opened the door and went inside.
"Grace?"
Grace's face was full of sweat, with an uncomfortable expression as if she was in pain.
Rina quickly dashed towards her and checked her forehead, only to feel an intense fever!
"What happened?" Cyrus shouted as he and his father stayed outside.
"She has an intense fever! What kind of training is Elisa giving her?!" Rina's stern voice came out.
Cyrus's father, Loumil, wryly smiled upon hearing his wife's stern voice. "Damn, you two are going to get an earful."
Cyrus felt like crying as he sheepishly smiled, "But she was doing very good during the training, easily keeping up with me."
"How long are you two going to take?"
Elisa arrived while flying.
"Aunt. Grace is having an intense fever, go and check, please.."
"Elisa, are you sure your training is not too hard?!"
Rina said the moment Elisa entered inside.
After getting an earful for two full minutes, Elisa arrived outside with a pout. "The training was not too hard. Grace was doing good!"
After a day, Grace's fever went down, and she felt better.
But… that was just the start.
Every few days, Grace would get an intense fever. Grace was also tired of it and didn't know why this was happening.
"Grace, do you have any idea regarding this phenomenon?" Rina asked with a worried expression.
"It's bizarre. I can't find any anomaly in her body. The curse is also properly suppressed, and she is perfectly healthy, so why is she having these bouts of fevers?" Elisa said with confusion.
Even as a Paragon Knight, she didn't know what was happening with Grace.
"Let's stop training for a few days and see if it gets better," Loumil said with a thoughtful expression.
…
On the other hand, Arkhen had left for one of the most dangerous places in the world, or one can also say that it was the most dangerous place.
Just like Twilight Goddess, there were more supernatural beings, and they blessed many other families in different places depending on their merits, potential, and performance.
Arkhen went far away to one such place where three families lived, and they were also guarding the most dangerous Nightmare Land.
The origin Nightmare Region.
*Booom!*
Arkhen roared and killed another batch of nightmare creatures.
The powerhouses in this entry area were also surprised to see Arkhen.
Today, a new powerhouse arrived who saw Arkhen for the first time. The more he watched Arkhen, the more he was surprised and frowned.
"What the hell is he doing here? He should be trained and nurtured properly!" He said before turning to the others. "And you all, are you just watching?"
"Stop blabbering without knowing anything, jin."
A beautiful middle-aged woman rolled her eyes at the newly arrived powerhouse as she continued, "Do you think we didn't try to convince him?"
"What's the deal?"
"He stays here and fights here. We told him that training alone would be a waste of time and that we could improve him better under us, but he refused and said that he could do it alone."
"Lately, he plainly ignored others, not responding at all."
"Well, we watched for a few days, and he made us speechless. I'm sure I don't need to tell you that his control, mastery, and comprehension of various Steam applications and rules are off the chart."
"Just look at this combat proficiency. One idiot said that he was wasting his energy-"
"Who?" Jin interrupted her and frowned. "Who is that fucking idiot? I don't see a shred of wastage in his battle. This kid is a genius! Fuck, I am going to convince him to be my personal student."
"Good luck."
Five minutes, he came back with a blank expression.
"Satisfied? Now stay here and watch with us. He is improving like normal people gain fat when eating a lot daily."
"Something is driving him. Something powerful and deep. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here and fighting like a madman."
Velshi was surprised because Arkhen managed to enter this mysterious state the 2nd time! Moreover, it was much more powerful and profound than the first time.
Will-Singularity State!
Arkhen was at his best at the moment, and the force driving him was the goal of eradicating the source of the Nightmare plaguing this world.
The Nightmare that cursed Grace and caused her to separate from him!
He learned about what happened to Grace's aunt, so he wanted to permanently obliterate this entire thing and free her from her curse!
The fires of resolve burning in his eyes and this mysterious Will-Singularity was the proof of his determination!
He was tremendously improving while fighting, and it caused the jaws of these Radiant and Paragon Powerhouses to slam on the ground!
…
On the other hand, Grace was…having a hard time.
Even after they stopped her training, she still had intense bouts of fever, and most importantly, she was getting weaker!
Her body was not functioning fully.
"This can't go on. A whole month passed without training, but she didn't improve one bit. Instead, her condition is worsening," Rina said with a frown.
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