Ed's Point Of View

[POV switch back to Ed]

[Sometime before previous chapter ]

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"I asked because I wanted more information," Viktor said as I was spacing out thinking about Hagen.

"You there?" A voice echoed and brought me back to reality.

"What are you doing? Listen in, we're talking about something important." It was Adante's voice that pulled me back into this world, as he looked at me with warm, reassuring eyes.

I stumbled for a bit to find my words as I was trying to say something. "Yeah, okay. Forgive me for my impertinence" I said, trying to stay respectful.

"There's no need for you to be so respectful." Adante tried to cheer me up with a pat on my back, as he tried to reassure me of Hagen's safety.

"Why would you be so worried about Hagen right now? Do you actually care about him now? I thought you two hated each other right?" Valeria asked as she adjusted her seat to one near me. 

As the conversation continued, my attention was drawn to the very aromatic scent of some fresh tea being brewed and also the smell of freshly baked snacks filling the air. I saw the room crack open and Lyra brought in a kettle of steaming hot tea and some cookies.

My mouth instantly started to salivate as the aromas permeated the air, and she slowly walked towards all of us with a smile on her face.

"I brought all of you some warm and comforting beverages to help ease all of your pain, you know?" Lyra said, her tone upbeat.

"Also, why are the legions assembling in the city, me and the boys have seen several legion army men, which is pretty unusual Val. Is there going to be some sort of parade?" Viktor asked, his voice more serious than before, but his question fell on deaf ears as she had locked her eyes on what Lyra was bringing/

Valeria's eyes lit up like a little girl's eyes, and her hands slyly reached for the cookies before anyone else could, but before Valeria could grab all of them, Lyra slapped her hand away.

"Leave some for the others too, don't hog it all up." She said, a tinge of coldness in her voice as Valeria looked on with a slightly hurt expression.

In the meantime, I tried to pour some of the piping hot tea into one of the sets of glasses, but I ended up missing my mark and covered my hands in scalding hot tea. I instantly recoiled from the immense pain and placed the kettle down.

Valeria and Lyra screamed out in symphony "Watch out!" as Lyra immediately scrambled to get some cloth to wipe it off, Valeria pulled out her handkerchief and started to wipe off all the excess tea.

"God, are you okay?" She said with a face of concern. Somehow, all of the pain in my arm had disappeared. Valeria and I continued to have some intense eye contact, but what I wasn't paying attention to, was the fact that the scalding hot tea had burnt off a part of my skin, and she was rubbing away at my skin raw.

Once both of us broke eye contact and looked at the arm, all the pain in the world came rushing back, and my brain remembered that my arm was set on fire.

"Aaaaaaa that huuurts! Someone, please bring cold water!" I shouted as Lyra rushed out to get some.

Valeria though, kept rubbing the wound with her napkin, this time with more vigor. 

"Dammit, friggin snap out of it Valeria!" I screamed as I pulled my arm away from her, and she finally came back from her state of shock.

A look of horror dawned upon her face as she realized what was happening, and started to scream "Oh my god, I'm so sorry so sorry." as she frantically looked around the place to help my hands.

Lyra in the meantime, had rushed in with a bucket of water, and Valeria immediately took hold of my hand and put it in the bucket. It did hurt, but not so much.

For the first time in a long time, I felt like I could be at ease. I was exhausted, and seeing everyone take care of me, just brought up this fuzzy warm feeling in my heart. If I really wanted to, I would just give everything up and live a quiet life with Valeria and the rest of this group.

Just this group of people, goofing about, going on breathtaking adventures, living life to the fullest.

Lyra had brought in a new handkerchief and tied it to my hand, dressing up the wound in a neat way.

Before I even realized it, I found tears streaming down my face, as it dawned upon me that this was all I wanted.

Just at that moment, a deafening roar blotted everything out, loud enough to rattle all the silverware, everyone fell to the ground, and the tremors stopped.

"Is that an earthquake?" Viktor asked as he got up from the ground, and we all quickly made our way to the roof.

As we walked up to the roof, it was clearly visible that there was some sort of explosion near the main gates of the Imperial Nexus.

"What the hell is happening?" Zorro said as my eyes widened, and my worst fears were confirmed.

"Are they crazy enough to attack the Imperial Nexus if it means getting rid of Hagen and what remains of the first legion in the castle?" I asked, my voice cracking from the nervousness I had.

"They?" Zorro asked, appearing a bit confused. 

"He means the other commanders like the one we fought outside in the streets," Adante said, now trying to maneuver his arm around to see if it was usable in combat.

"I mean, if someone is orchestrating all this, and pushes the right levers, then the chance that they will attack our own castle for their gain is-"

*Ka-Boom!*

Zorro's words were cut off by a second deafening boom that emanated from the same origin point, and this was strong enough to have a pressure wave push us back a couple steps.

Valeria's eyes lit up in a deadly shade of green as she readied herself to fly to the Imperial Nexus.

"I have to go." She said, her voice cold.

"No. You're in no condition. Let's go together." I placed a hand on her shoulder, trying to prevent her from going in this alone.

"I will also join you two." Viktor placed a hand on my shoulder, gripping it firmly but reassuringly, and I felt like I was ready to fight again.

With a determined look on her face, Valeria turned around and stood on the railing.

"Let's get there quickly."