It was lunch time at the orphange. During lunch there were a few that ate their meals with tears in their eyes, be it the ones leaving or their friends.
Ash was not one of them, he has already said his goodbyes to the ones he thought mattered. The orphanage was just the place where he lived, he didn't have any attachment to it. He knew that they were good to him here and that it was probably a better orphanage than many others, but he only felt thankful to the orphanage, there was no emotional attachment.
"When are you leaving Will?"
As the two were eating Ash was the first to speak up.
"In about an hour. Wanna come and see? I'll have to register my ability before anyways so I'll probably need to be there earlier."
After leaning back in his chair and thinking for a bit he decided he had time to see Will off, though there was still someone he had to say goodbye to, it could wait.
"Sure I'll see you off."
They resumed eating, and after they finished along with a small group of kids that were going with Will they left for the envoy.
On the way there Will decided it would be a good idea to talk to the others that were coming with them as he would be spending a decent amount of time with them during their transport, as the road to Primus took about four days.
"So guys what are your abilities?"
The three that were coming with them were people Will already somewhat knew from the orphanage. Atleast he knew their names, that is something Ash couldn't say.
The first to speak up was the shortest in the group, a 13 year old kid with blue eyes and blond hair named Jerry.
"I...I got [Vitality Specialist] with the Life attribute, I can take vitality away from things and give them to others.
Hearing Jerry's abilities Ash could only think of one thing.
'This guy might get exploited by the corpos for immortality or something.'
The one to say their ability next was a 16 year old girl with long brunette hair named Sarah.
"I have [Shadow Dash] of the Darkness attribute, I can jump in between shadows."
The last one was the oldest in the group a 17 year old boy named Chase, he had the most fit build out of them and was also the tallest.
"I would like to hear yours first... William if I'm not mistaken."
Will was fine with being first, but felt weird about being called by his full name.
"I have the skill [Weapon Master] with the steel attribute, I can wield any weapon with perfection and also have enhanced physical abilities while doing so. Also please just call me Will."
Hearing Will's explanation Chase nodded before speaking up himself.
"Okay, then Will it is. Anyways I have the ability [Warlock of Flame] of obviously the fire attribute. And as for what it does it's kinda self explanatory."
Suddenly Ash could see Chase turning towards him and asking a question.
"What about you, what's your ability Ash?"
Ash wasn't too surprised hearing his name as he already knew he was somewhat famous around the orphanage.
"Me... I don't really know it yet, I'm with the second batch I'm just seeing Will off."
Chase nodding in understanding looked back towards the road. And like this the group kept going till they arrived at the town square where the SCC's camp was.
Upon arrival Ash waited outside while the others went in to get their talents registered.
Sitting down at one of the benches present Ash took a look around as there was nothing else to do to pass the time. In a way the town square was the perfect place for something like this as it was the centric point of the whole town, and was where all the major roads came out from.
Looking around he could see the large blue barrier encompassing the whole town. He could also see the church in the distance, right next to it stood the orphanage.
Looking in another direction he could see the street he walked down everytime he went to Granny Agate's place.
And right behind the large tent that blocked his view was the street that led to his one and only secret cave.
'Ah the memories.'
Ash felt a bit like an old grandpa, thinking about all the memories he had of this town. No, to be accurate he only had memories of this town. This place was his whole world, and soon he would leave it for good.
Just as he was getting done with his sightseeing, the others came out of the tent.
"We all passed."
Will shouted at Ash while closing the distance.
Soon everyone was sitting next to Ash on the same bench, by this point it was becoming a bit too cramped for his comfort.
Standing up Ash looked towards the tent and could see the personnel getting ready for their journey, as they were starting to take down the tents.
After a bit more waiting an announcer stepped forward and spoke into a megaphone.
"All batch one recruits are to gather for the journey, we will be leaving in 10 minutes."
Looking at everyone Ash knew this was meant for the and said a short bye to most of them.
"I'll meet you there."
This was all he needed to say to Will. As their parting wouldn't be permanent there was no need for any long parting words.
Soon the four grouped up with the rest of the batch one recruits, and got on the transport vehicle.
After everyone got on the vehicle got up and headed for the gate.
Ash could only watch from a distance as the large vehicle left town, as he had no intention of running after it.
'See you soon friend.'
With Will gone there was only one thing to say goodbye to, and with nothing else left on his to-do list he headed for the one place he had longed for, his cave.
After a bit of walking he arrived before his small cave, it being exactly as it was left.
Some newspapers on the ground, and few other unknown objects lay there.
Looking at the cave Ash was reminded of the time when he first found it.
It was monday like any other, he was doing delivery, when while taking a longer route for fun, he stumbled across a weird patch of grass on the side of the town.
Approaching it he saw that this patch had an unusual outline. He tried to get closer, but in that moment he felt himself slowly sinking into the ground.
And that's how he found it, really a coincidence, as normally Ash wouldn't have even checked out such a minor inconsistency.
'Guess it was fate.'
Once again going into the cave he made a small bed for himself and drifted off to his final rest in this cave.
...
In the wasteland at one of the graveyards.
"You came for these stones. Do you know what they do?"
Floch looked at Adam with a tired expression.
"Well what do you think?"
Adam knew full well that he knew what these stones were and that he knew them much better than he and Reinhardt did.
"Really who are you?"
"I said you'd know sooner or later, don't be so impatient."
Adam looked annoyed, but knew there was nothing he could do against this stranger. For now he felt it was best if he guided the man towards what he wanted, without putting up a fight. With there being two pieces of the stone left still, he still had time to redeem things. For now he felt his best shot at saving everyone was through compliance.
"So are we going to the next graveyard?"
Adam asked, trying to quickly get done with things, he hoped "Floch" would leave as soon as possible.
"No, we still have to ask if we can borrow it. It's only right to ask, isn't it?
The town they were at right now was the one closest to Blackheart, Poisson.
...
"In the end it ended just like all the others."
Floch said in a disappointed tone, while looking down at the crouching Adam.
"You break every single time, you don't even put up a fight."
Floch looked at the stones sitting im his hand and looked back at Adam.
"Don't worry there's only one more and then it's time for Blackheart. I'm really looking forward to it."
This time without any snap resounding the darkness quickly flooded into the bloody town.
In the very next moment the two were standing in the middle of an endless desert with nothing in sight. The first one to break the silence was Adam.
"What do you want?"
Adam said in an annoyed tone while looking at Floch.
Without any nearby pillars to point towards Floch simply decided to tell Adam what he wanted.
"I want the stones, and only you can get them for me."
Adam looked unsure of helping Floch as he already knew he was bad news, but figuring staying on good terms was his best way of saving everyone. He decided it would be best to comply with his needs.
"Okay if that's all you want I'll show you the way."
Suddenly a large pillar of light came out from Adam's body. After a few seconds it shrank and started pointing in a certain direction.
"This way."