Brewing Storm(1)

I sped through the trees. 'I'M SO STUUUUPIID!!!' 'Why do you always do this Yuiji? Focus! that's what you should be doing, don't get distracted! Yet I still got distracted!!'

Initially, I was looking for my father, Yet, my mind was preoccupied with the main characters. I shook my head in frustration. 'I don't know how long those battles lasted, probably about 2 hours...maybe more' I thought.

I sniffed the air. 'Maybe a lingering scent could be found' The decaying air was long gone since the defeat of the twin wolves. The once still forest was now bustling with sounds of nocturnal creatures. I even saw a couple of monsters roaming about. It was like all this was one great big nightmare, and it was finally over.

I made my way back to the hillside where the shack once stood. 'Right, that wolf burned everything. I hoped that maybe a lingering dagger or piece of papa's cloth could be found sprawled somewhere, I could track the scent' I thought. I kicked the debris, it burst into dust.

I walked around, making sure that I didn't miss anything. It was good to have such crystal clear vision.

"Hm?' I noticed something near a tree that wasn't burned during the battle. It was buried in the soil, the tip sticking out slightly.

I pulled it out of the soil immediately.

"Ah!" It was an old journal, it looked old and ripped due to aging. I wiped the soil off of it, small words reading "Training Journal".

'Mom's old journal…' When mom was training me, she'd always have this journal to keep track of what I learned and what I needed to learn. However, one day it disappeared, and I had no choice but to use the old grimoires she brought in the past to teach myself other things.

I opened the contents.

" Day 1460,

Learn to sense Magi-toms

Combat training: Mighty Horned deer

Increase fire potency - Goal orange

I smiled a little, this brings me back. I remember having to do this routine constantly. I was only 4 years old at the time. I flipped the pages, looking as the training regiment got longer. Soon there were no other pages with writing on them. I had learned all of them.

Just as I was about to close the book, another page caught my eye.

'Huh?"

The new page didn't have much, only a few new things I've never seen before. It read:

"Yuiji's future technique training due: Age 15."

' She must have thought ahead once I entered my 2nd Morphosis' I thought.

" Techniques include:

1). Learn Illusory sense - To be able to smell through tough and potent odors, by singling it out. To be able to track any and everything via smell.

2). Master Latent ability

3). Learn Appraisal Spell - to do this you must train your eyes….

The last spell caught my eye.

'Appraisal….HUUUUUH!?!? I was shocked. Wasn't appraisal like a super-duper op skill in video games, but...I don't have a system or anything. The Last Standing wasn't a system-based story either. If I learn appraisal, I wonder what I'll see exactly.

So these are the skills I was supposed to be taught. I tried to see if there was anything else, but all pages turned out empty. 'Well...maybe it's not too late to learn them...YUP I'LL MASTER THEM AT MY CURRENT AGE JUST LIKE THOSE PRODIGIES!!!' I declared.

[Mono 1]: Suuuuuure you will…..

'QUIET YOU!'

I looked down at the journal in my hand.

'This belonged to mom...she said it used to be her favorite thing to take part of, I should take it to her' I thought. I made my way to the herbal field. When I got there, I was shocked.

"W-WHAT" The cave I normally entered was completely destroyed.

"N-no no nononononononononon" I mumbled this constantly. I picked up the pieces of rock in desperation.

'How….. I could have sworn I…' My mind flashed to when I had visited mom's grave. Father had called me yet I never closed the entrance back up with magic.

I felt my heart sink. "MOMS GRAVE!" I cried.

Though the cave was my shortcut, I had to take the long way. When I arrived, I fell to my knees. The herbal field was pitch black. All the beautiful flowers and herbs were no longer alive. Just beyond that stood my mother's statue...broken to pieces.

"N...No...mom…" I crawled forward on my hands and knees. My eyes glued to the broken headpiece of my mother. I picked it up. A piece of her face was cracked, it slowly fell on the ground.

I had created this statue myself. It took me 2 years even after mom was already buried. I didn't want her to be lonely, yet now…

I looked beside me. Where my mother's body rested, there was a large hole, as if someone dug it with a shovel. My mom's remains were gone.

The feeling of when your brain can't function is a mysterious feeling. You see what's in front of you, yet your brain doesn't process your surroundings. You are conscious, yet it feels as if you can't move a single finger.

[Mono 3]: FIND AND KILL THEM...

'When I catch whoever did this….'my heart thundered in my ears, the surrounding sounds grew quieter.

[Mono 3]: FIIIIND AND KIIILL THEEEEEM!!!

' Whoever did this….' I could feel my body heating up.

'I'LL…' Fire began to erupt in my surroundings...

[Mono 3]: KIIIIIILLL THEM ALLLLLLLL AHAHAHAHA

[Mono 1]: CALM DOWN!!!!

I felt my fingers twitch and suddenly a stinging pain was accenting my face. I didn't realize I had slapped myself. My self reason started to slowly return, and gradually the heat dispersed from my body.

Azure flames died down, and everything returned to normal.

I needed to calm down. I stood up and stared at my mom's grave. 'Don't worry mom, I'll build you a new one, where you'll be much safer' I thought. Mom wouldn't want me to be angry over this, besides I still needed to find papa.

Luckily, his scent was near this area. I followed the trail.

---------------------------------------------------

*COO* *COO*

The pale moon gleamed, shining on a pair of golden wings that glided around the destroyed village. A golden pigeon surveyed the area, its blue eyes scanning everything in sight. Information flooded into the spectators who viewed the same lens as the pigeon.

"ANOTHER VILLAGE!? THIS TIME WHEATONVILLE!!!"

A loud voice screeched in anger and shock. A tall man stood up from the table, the screen which was being shown by the pigeon, was directly in front of him. He was a middle-aged man dressed in a finely blue suit laced with gold. His hair was a dark blue that was slowly fading due to age. It was drawn back in a nice wave. He glared at the projected screen.

" THIS IS UNPRECEDENTED! THE AWAKENING IS HERE MY KING, WE NEED TO DEAL WITH THIS IMMEDIATELY OR THE KINGDOM WILL BE IN DANGER!" He shouted, his voice was coated in fear.

A man sat on his golden throne, with his chin resting on his hand. whitish-grey hair fell down on his shoulders, a prominent grey beard flowed down like a river stream. A golden crown adorned with many jewels accented his head neatly. Next to him was a young priest. His eyes glowed gold, as he was using a spell to be able to project the image of what the pigeon saw. The King's blue eyes showed no emotion, even as the screen displayed a terrible sight.

Just beyond the throne, spread a royal blue carpet. Above it, was a long slick golden table, where nobles of many prominent families sat. All gazed at the projected screen with various emotions, most were in fear, others anger, and some indifferent.

Knights in golden armor who wore helmets in the shape of tigers stood at the farthest corners of the room. Their swords unsheathed, pointed down on the floor. They stood stoically, not moving a single inch. They were the Golden Tigers, tasked with protecting the kingdom's borders and the royal family.

" Sir Judis, you should speak with care when mentioning that word. are you not ashamed of flopping that mouth like a blubbering fish! Have some dignity"

Another man, who looked much older, spoke with annoyance. He wore a green suit with golden buttons. His hair was black, specks of grey lined in between. His eyes were sinister like a snake, face lined with wrinkles along his eyes and cheeks. He shook his head in utter disbelief of this coward who calls himself a noble.

Sir Judis looked enraged " DO NOT DARE LECTURE ME YOU OLD FOOL! UNLESS MY EYES DECEIVE ME, BUT WE ARE SEEING SOMETHING THAT CAN CAUSE US TO LOSE OUR DIGNITY AND OUR LIVES ALL IN THE SAME CATEGORY." He waved his hands in exaggeration.

"UNLESS YOUR AGE HAS MADE YOU SENILE SIR RANDELL, THEN I SUGGEST YOU RETIRE!"

"YOU DARE TO DISRESPECT ME, A MERE COUNT" Sir Randell stood in rage.

Another voice interjected in, a woman "I understand why you're afraid sir Judis, however, we don't know what the cause is for the villages to be destroyed. We need more information." she said calmly.

" I agree with lady Martha, to take action against a foe we don't know of is ridiculous, we should wait to strike," Another noble said.

" Hmph, perhaps it's those rotten beast people of that horrid kingdom, they lay waste to their own citizens' land, now they target us due to their petty grudge!" someone else voiced out.

"There's no way that someone from the Beast kingdom would have the means to burn a village to that extent! It has to have been a monster from that forest that exuded the fire affinity! That soil won't grow crops ever again with what's been done to it!" Judis tried to convey.

"I believe you're just paranoid. There is no way that the great magician of the magic tower barrier is destroyed. I agree with the others, it either has to be someone from another kingdom or we should wait for more information."

Judis was practically turning red in anger. 'Do they not see that we don't have time for any of this! The more we wait the more we lose!'

The constant loss of the suburban villages meant that food would eventually shorten, as suburban villages were tasked with growing and tending to cattle.

The kingdom ran on a trading system with many of the other kingdoms Goldenstein was allied with. This has gone on for hundreds of years. However, in recent years, a sudden surge of monster activity sprung about, causing more and more shortages of imported goods. Many merchants from other kingdoms started to harbor fear of the Moon Forest, choosing not to do business in the kingdom.

"Hmph, at least some are able to grasp the true essence of common sense" Sir Randell sneered. "WHAT DID YOU JU-"

"SILENCE!" The king's voice boomed through the halls. All the seated nobles, including Sir Randell and Judis, closed their mouths immediately.

" I've heard all your claims, and I understand that action wishes to be warranted. However, until further information falls through as to who or what is doing this, we need not lose more resources."

Judis was shocked he walked towards the throne "M-MY KING, PLEASE! IF WE DO NOT SEND SOMEONE TO SUBJUGATE THAT FOREST WE'LL-"

Suddenly a sword was pointed at his neck. It was a Golden Tiger Knight. No one saw the knight move or make a sound. Yet, in an instant, a knight appeared pointing a sword at the noble's neck. The nobles trembled in fear at the power displayed.

Beads of blood dripped from Judis's neck as the tip of the sword was slightly touching it. Judis was trembling in fear, his face was deathly pale. "P-please f-forgive me my king...please.." He whimpered. The king tapped the armrest of his throne and the knight relented.

Judis fell to his knees, tears slowly trickling down his face. His pants were starting to become soaked.

"I believe there are no further objections….until more information is given, no further action is required. However, I will send more security to the remaining suburban villages." The king said

There were no objections from the seated nobles.

"Then this meeting is adjourned." The nobles stood and bowed.

" To the sun that shines on God's golden throne, long may ye reign'' They all said in unison.

As the nobles left the meeting, one person, in particular, was briskly walking forward. He had long light chestnut brown hair tied up and thin eyes like a sheep. "Wheatonville...that's where Annie lives, I need to go there immediately!" His name was Anderson Pride, the younger brother of Annie pierce.

``Annie, everyone, please be alive....please, ``he thought as he rushed towards his carriage.