Chapter 1: "No, I Ran Away..."

At the highest peak of the snowy mountain ranges, a young girl in a royal blue cloak silently observes the events that will occur. Her beautiful, purple, amethyst eyes show a sliver of forlorn as she stares at the vast barren landscapes in front of her.

She is witnessing thousand of fortunes and misfortunes beyond anyone's imagination.

Despite having the ability to foresee these events, she is powerless to change its outcome. She can only helplessly watch the scenes unfold directly in front of her very eyes.

What is the purpose of having the ability to foresee the future? Her heart is breaking, but her face remained expressionless. Nobody can really understand what she is currently going through.

She is too young and too weak, yet here she is trying to organize her thoughts once again. She has learned to hide her genuine emotions in front of everybody as she swears to protect everyone dear to her.

Whatever price it may cost...

"Young miss, the Divine Lord has arrived. He summons you back to the Limes Temple." a mystical flying beast informs her, breaking her train of thoughts.

She turns her head to the magnificent golden lion who came flying by her side. He has an imposing and oppressive presence of a majestic king.

His mane of gold shimmers in the rays of the sun, and flames emit from his feet. His large eagle's wings create a strong current of turbulence, almost throwing her off balance.

He is Captain Jairu of the Temple Guards of Inner Courts. The Divine Lord left her under his care and has been closely watching over her ever since.

The Sovereign King implements the Division of Realms to prevent conflict. One Realm is not to interfere as they restrict them from another.

Several Realms exist in Astra, each governed by a Divine or Blessed entity. They rarely interact and avoid meddling in each other's affairs.

Meanwhile, the Divine Lord Foeni governs the Mystic Spirit Realm. Mystical, mythological, and magical creatures are just ordinary beings in these domains. They are living in harmony with humankind and other race.

The North, South, East, West Kingdoms are under the four Holy Guardian Lords, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Turtle. There are also Grand Elders or Chieftains who lead from either human or beast clans.

She turned to him as she ends her trail of thoughts. She casts a gentle, wry smile at him as he quickly noticed her lingering forlorn gaze. Captain Jairu decided to refrain from probing her affairs.

She appreciates his gesture as she gently bows her head and then taps her toes to cast a teleport spell. She decided to head back first to the temple grounds to meet up with the Divine Lord.

The magnificent lion sighs as he lands on the spot she vacates. He can't help but wonder, what does little girl see in those barren lands. He can't help himself from worrying as he remembers the forlorn look in her eyes.

They are all aware that this little girl is from the Oracle Clan. Their power typically manifests at the age of thirteen, and she still has five years left before she awakens.

He shook his head at the possibility that she has awakened early. Many Oracles chose death once their power manifests, and it is probably difficult for a young child to bear.

One can only assume that the Oracle's awakening is a horrifying experience.

Who could guess that this little girl's powers have long manifested, and she has been enduring everything all by herself? Who would really understand the sacrifices she has to make for everyone?

Meanwhile, the Divine Lord Foeni is waiting for her as he stands in front of the Limes Temple. The luscious green forest surrounds the premises of the structure made of Limestone. The magnificent structure reaches the sea of clouds and also shines like the moon at night.

The Divine Lord is a charismatic man who looks like in his twenties. He is finely dressed in his purple robes, his jet black hair neatly tied from behind with a golden clip, and his bright ocean blue eyes are simply mesmerizing.

Who would believe he is more than thousands of years old?

He can't help himself cast a gentle smile as he sees the little girl appear and approach him. For some reason, this little girl always put his heart at ease. He has been caring for her since that day he met her five years ago.

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Five years ago, he slipped out of the temple like he usually does. The Divine Lord wears his usual purple robes. His eyes are deep blue like the vast ocean, and his jet black hair is loosely tied on his back with a golden Phoenix clip.

He is waiting for the early dawn as he leisurely lounge on a sturdy tree branch. It was a peaceful, starless night until he heard a sniffling sound from below.

Out of curiosity and concern, he started looking for the source of the sound. Much to his surprise, he found an adorable little girl concealing herself in the bushes.

The little girl has long light blonde hair, framing her flushed, chubby cheeks. Her bright purple, amethyst eyes were red from crying. When she saw him on the tree branch, she quickly stopped for some reason.

She has never seen someone so beautiful that she can't help being drawn and captivated by him.

He finally got the little girl's attention. He can't help approaching her as he leaps down the branch to meet her up close.

His long purple robes gently flutter in the wind as he gracefully glides down in front of her. It was a breathtaking sight.

He kneeled in front of her and wiped out her tear stains. He hands her his soft, white handkerchief with purple and gold thread phoenix embroidery.

"Are you lost? I can ask someone to bring you home. What clan do you belong to?" he gently asked. His melodious voice is soft and calming.

"No. I ran away…" the cute blonde child with beautiful violet amethyst sparkling eyes honestly responded.

For some reason, the Divine Lord can't help himself letting out a soft chuckle, and he wonders where did this adorable little girl found the courage to do so. She is like what?

Three or four years old and she already found the courage to run away from her clan village? Who is this little girl?

Seeing his amused reaction, she lowers her head as she explains, "You see, my Lord, the elders, were discussing the imminent future. I love this place. I don't want everything to disappear. How can they let everything disappear? I don't want any part of it. So I left…" her sweet little voice is hoarse from crying as it dries down and continues, "But then I realized, I have nowhere else to go..."

"Ah, you silly little child. You really must head back home then. These parts of the forest have so many wild beasts wandering around. I am almost certain your elders are worried. They probably meant something else, and you have misunderstood them. Older people tend to be like that." he coaxes her as he pats her head.

Her round, violet eyes are simply mesmerizing, and he can't help to adore them. They are like amethyst gems shimmering in the dark.

He then stood up as he offers his hand.

"Why won't you accompany me for a while? Let us watch the sunrise together. Then, I promise that I will take you home after." He pauses for a moment as he joked as he continued, "I can tell your elders that I took you away because I was lonely, and I found you adorable. How about that?"

"But Grand Elder says lying is bad…" she looks down and murmurs, "And not to go with strangers. I don't even know the Divine Lord's name…"

"I am Ravikanth. Call me Ravi or big brother. You can be my little sister. You can come to me if something is bothering you." he can't help being amused by this little girl as he chuckled. He can't even believe himself telling her his given name.

"Brother Ravi is very kind. Can Eu stay with you? Promise?" she said as she leans closer to him from the tree branch.

For some reason, she feels at ease and trusts this person. Exhaustion seems to have finally caught up with her as she quickly fell asleep on his shoulders.

On the other hand, the Divine Lord shifted his body as he wrapped his arm on her small frame and secured her position. For some reason, he found this little girl's action adorable. He wanted to be close to her and watch her grow up — a gentle warmth spreading into his heart.

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Since that fateful day, he grew fond of this little girl called Eu, from the Oracle Clan. He has this feeling of familiarity with her as if he has known her forever.

"Brother Ravi, will you marry me when I grow up?" the little girl Eu one day suddenly drop the question that startled the thousands of years old Lord.

"We'll see little one, we'll see…"He never really take it to heart, but he found her too adorable to reject as he half halfheartedly responded to the idea while patting her head.

Deep inside, somehow he feels as if it happened already a very, very long time ago...

He could only smile at the thought...