Chapter 2 – Prologue 2
"Are you sure about this… Supreme Leader?"
"…."
"Supreme Leader… I know you missed your daughter and your late wife. But if you do this… everyone might hate you for it."
"Just do it." The man did not bother to turn around to respond to the woman behind him. The man's eyes were fixed on the Golden Tree behind the glass.
"I don't care whether they hate me or not. All I care about is my daughter's life. As long as she returns to my side, I don't care what will happen to me."
He turned his head to look at the woman.
"If you still wish to reason with me, then leave. I have already thrown away my humanity."
At first, the woman hesitated; her eyes filled with worry. But afterward, she closed her eyes and opened it again.
"I will never leave your side, Supreme Leader."
….
"Hayui!"
—GASP!
Someone suddenly shouted right beside Hayui's ear, awakening him from that dream. Sweat dripped down from his forehead, pupils shrinking. What he saw after waking up was Ergo's face. As always, since the time they met each other, his eyes were always closed—the reason why is still unknown.
As Hayui turned his head to look to the other side, he was blinded by the rising sun and saw the figure of a woman with glasses reading a book—Sera, Ergo's partner.
Hayui rose to his feet before realizing that the pain from being stabbed by the spiders in the cave was gone. He looked at his pants, and it's still there, the hole in his pants that revealed his already healed calf; no bandages wrapped around it.
"Mr. Ergo, where are we? Did we get out of the cave? And what happened to my leg? How did it heal immediately? How did I not die from that ambush?"
"Whoa, calm down. I'll answer them all."
Ergo proceeded to take a seat on a nearby stone.
"By the way, just call me Ergo. And to answer your first question… we're outside the cave. Second, I used a special method to save you from dying, which led to your body being healed because of it."
As Hayui began to observe, he noticed something a bit off.
"Ergo, where is that gem?"
"Oh, the seed?"
Ergo pointed at Hayui's heart.
"There it is."
Dumbfounded, Hayui touched the left side of his chest and felt the normal, beating heart.
"Could you elaborate?"
Ergo grabbed a large rock from the ground and stabbed a hole in it using his short sword with terrifying precision. Hayui, watching this, feels a little amazed. Creating a small hole in a small rock is no easy feat.
"As you protected me from the remaining spider before, your heart was destroyed by that spider blade. So, in order to save you, I used the golden seed to replace your heart."
Ergo then put a small pebble that somehow fits inside the hole in the rock.
"And this is the demonstration." He threw the rock aside.
"Hayui, I'm really sorry for putting you in danger." Although his face seems indifferent, Hayui could sense the genuineness behind Ergo's apology. Knowing that Ergo is genuine about his apology, Hayui only smiled.
"It's alright. It's my own choice to throw myself in front of danger to protect you, Ergo."
As if a sign that the conversation was over, Sera closed her book and stood up. Her face remained impassive as ever. Afterward, Sera walked forward.
"Let us return immediately."
The two behind her only watched her back before following shortly.
Ergo lean in toward Hayui, taking out a phone from his pocket. "Hey, Hayui. Give me your number."
"It's XXXX-XXXX-XXXX. Did you memorize all of that? And how did you even see if your eyes were always closed?"
"I'll tell you later."
==
"So, Ergo. Which abilities have you recovered after retrieving the golden seed?"
In a vast library of towering piles of books and towering bookshelves, a lady with purple hair in an elegant dress spoke to Ergo. She carried a majestic aura, almost elderly despite her young looks. Despite the towering books around her, the lady is engrossed in her laptop.
"Nihil. I received none. Well, I did get my powers back, only for a moment though."
Ergo walked toward one of the piles of books and picked a random book. The book he pulled was called 'Pytomeryan.'
"But I still secured the golden seed. It's inside a kid." He opened the book and sat on top of a pile of books, then began to read it.
"What did you say?" Despite the lady's face showing no surprise, the tone of her voice indicated that she was, in fact, truly surprised by Ergo's sentence.
"I used the golden seed to replace the kid's already destroyed heart to save the kid. He got attacked by the spider in that cave, and almost got himself killed. Maybe because of that, I can't get my ability back. But don't worry, I already invited the kid to join my group. I'll watch over him and find a way to take out the golden seed inside of him safely without killing him."
"Hmm… interesting. So, where's the boy?"
"I escorted him home."
A few moments ago….
Since the cave was outside the city, Ergo and Hayui had to take a bus to reach Hayui's house. And after somewhat more than an hour, because of the traffic jam, Ergo got impatient and started to carry Hayui, and decided that the fastest way was to run.
"Where's Ms. Sera?"
Two figures walked through the bustling road, and the sky turned into a shade of orange as the day slowly turned into dusk.
"She already returned home. She's really looked like a machine."
As the two walked together side by side, Ergo suddenly grabbed Hayui's shoulder.
"Alright, I'm going to need your help for this one."
"Huh?"
As the traffic lights turned red, the vehicles that were facing the traffic lights stopped one by one, as any normal civilian would do. People began to walk above the zebra-cross. Hayui walked across while Ergo was holding his shoulder.
"Why do you need me to guide you? Ah, don't misunderstand. It's not because I didn't trust you. But if you really can't open your eyes, then I'll gladly help you."
Ergo put his hands off of Hayui's shoulder. "I was testing you, kid. Relax. I can see just fine."
"But how? You were closing your eyes the entire time."
"I'll let you know another time. This must be your house, right?"
The two stopped in front of a simple and small house with gray paint and a nameplate with the name "Kouho" written on it.
"That's a nice family name."
"Thanks."
Hayui turned around to face Ergo. "You want to come inside first?"
"Ah, sure. Not like it's gonna hurt."
Then, Hayui opened the door and revealed an ordinary room, a perfect match with the house design from the outside. He took off his shoes and put them on the rack.
"Did you live alone?"
"No, I lived with my big sister. She's still at work; she won't be home soon."
Then, Hayui goes off to another room.
"Take a seat somewhere. I'm going to change my clothes first. If you're thirsty, you can get some water from the fridge."
Ergo took a seat on a sofa in front of the TV. The empty room made him bored quickly. He stared at the TV for a few seconds before grabbing the remote and changing the channel.
"Today, a sudden mega-metal structure emerged from the middle of the sea."
"Oh? Interesting." Ergo nodded and focused his hearing to get a clearer sound.
"Upon its sudden appearance, three cargo ships that were passing by chance at the structure's location suddenly vanished. Experts speculated that there is an anomaly under the sea, which caused the appearance of the mega-metal structure. Right now, the government is still keeping the structure's location unknown to the public. But the government laid out a message; if any of you saw it, turn around immediately. It isn't worth your life."
Then suddenly, Ergo's pocket started to ring. Just as he was about to pick it up, Hayui appeared from his room with a plain outfit and hair tied into a high ponytail.
"Ergo, would you-" Upon seeing Ergo holding his phone right next to his ear, Hayui closed his mouth and drifted to the kitchen.
"What is it, Yura?"
"Mr. Ergo, I found another lead about the golden seed." The voice from the phone sounded cheerful.
With a delightful humming, Ergo nodded. "Nice, meet me tomorrow at my place."
Afterwards, Hayui appeared with a glass of water and milk. At the same time, Ergo had ended his call.
"Hayui. I want you to join me and form a group with me."
"Didn't I already accept your offer? I said I'll join you, remember?"
"I know. I just want to confirm it."
Ergo looked at Hayui. Hayui is wearing a black t-shirt and simple black shorts, and his hair is tied into a ponytail.
"Let me tell you something, Hayui." Ergo invited Hayui to sit down on the sofa beside him.
As Hayui took a seat, he put down the glass of milk first and turned down the TV's volume. Ergo's face was serious, which led Hayui to assume that Ergo might have wanted to talk about the golden seed inside him. Because this might've led to a serious conversation with Ergp, Hayui focused himself.
"This is about the golden seed. That new heart of yours holds incredible power. And I have a feeling that there will be another person or group that tries to capture and extract the golden seed inside you. Although I initially tried to invite you to join me to make a group because you seemed to be a promising youth, now that reason has changed from inviting you out of whim to a person I must protect at all costs by inviting you to join me. I will also teach you how to become strong so that you may finally be able to protect yourself. So, for clarity… Hayui. You MUST join me and search for the other golden seed."
"…."
Hayui only responded with silence. He grabbed the glass of milk on the table and drank it. While Hayui was chugging down the milk, he stared at Ergo. His eyes don't hold any malice, but Hayui's sharp eyes and the silent treatment turned the situation awkward.
"…. Which one should I choose? I don't want to regret my decision."
"Isn't it obvious? Join me. But if you were seriously about that question, then choose the one that you know you won't regret."
"…."
"Alright. I'm with you.
==
"And you invited him like that?"
The one speaking isn't the same lady from before, but rather, a young girl with purple hair carrying a pile of books with her hands.
"If you haven't sorted the book yet, don't bother coming inside."
The lady scolded the girl, causing the girl to immediately exit the room.
"Hmm. Let's change the topic. Did you find another lead regarding the golden seeds?"
"I did, and she's gonna be here any minute now."
Ergo put down the book and proceeded to walk toward the exit.
"I'm going out."
The lady only nodded and returned to tinker with her laptop.
As Ergo exited the manager's room, he entered the main library.
The library size was something to be amazed at. Even with the library's long history, it still stands firmly for over a million years. Not only does it have a rich history, but it is also packed with people coming to read.
'Akashic Library. This place has never changed since I was a child. I wonder if the storybook still existed. It must've been turned into dust. Right now, it's got to be over a thousand years old. I really hope they had the book, they promised me after all.'
He approached a table on the lowest floor of the library that was occupied by one person. The distance between the table and the other tables was very far, which made it impossible for other people to hear the conversation that will occur on that table.
The one who occupied the table was a woman in a black hood, and beside her was a black, straight sword.
"Yura," Ergo called her out.
The woman turned her head around, revealing a smile.
"You're finally here."
Chapter 2
End.