The Road to Home. (Part 8)

Rain hails down with no mercy. Pushing me back as I press forward. To only slip over and toppling me down flat on the muddy concrete floor. Feeling my breath taken away by the raging gales. I look down to the flooded floors, while the rain stomps me down. Hammering storms, strikes beside me creating small sparks where a tiny friction shocks me.

"Aaaah," I scream feeling the burning pain resisting it with Qi. Where is the field that protect me just now?

"Sov..." hearing Rana's voice diluted from the heavy storms.

Suddenly having my right hand grabbed tight. I was pulled over, Rana holds my right hand firmly with her left. Leading the way as she runs. I followed suit gripping her hand and followed.

Looking down as I raise my left hand covering the face, "Rana where are we? Why is the storm so strong!" I scream as I ask.

"We'r... Midd... Clou..." Rana reply, barely hearing her with the sound of the rain and thunder.

Suddenly Rana jumps high pulling me in the process. Stepping on a metal crate with a symbol of a heart split in two with an arrow. Before jumping over a metal fence with some spiky metal ropes... If I remember correctly those are called barbed wires right? I feel the strong winds blow from below. Looking down the concrete floor no more. Surrounded by grey clouds as the heavy rain pours on us.

"Rana! Where are we jumping?!" I ask once more.

Feeling pulled over and feeling Rana's right hand wrapping over my neck. She screams at me face to face or mask, "Where else. We're taking a shortcut. You wanna go home quickly right."

The scenes change abruptly as she says that. Gloomy blue skies, surrounded with endless dark clouds stretching far and beyond. Before I knew it I was already scrambling away with my arm hitting something in the process, hugging Rana tightly with both arms. I close my eyes on reflex not wanting to see anymore. Digging my face deep in her chest plate as we have a free fall.

"Ranaaaaaaaaa!? Nooooo Mommy, Daddy saaaaave me?!" I scream in desperation.

"S-sova please calm down," Rana reply softly with a very soothing yet alluring voice.

"Dammit, no, no, no. Not this again. I can't, I can't?!" I scream, as the scenes from the past appears once more.

Feeling someone holding both my cheeks, lifting my head up. I heard a soothing voice, saying, "S-Sova everything is g-going to be alright."

I scream back, "No you're lying. You're all lying. You're going to be dead. And now we are all going to be dead!"

"Sova l-look at me." She reply calmly.

"No," I scream back.

"P-please just give me a chance. Open your eyes and look at me," she says calmly in a soothing manner as she lets go of my cheeks.

I take a deep gulp. Preparing my self... Finally I open my eyes slowly. Showing Rana's face without her mask on as her long hair blows upwards, I get to see her face clearly now. Her large, round dark brown eyes with long eye lashes glimmers in this gloomy weather. She has a small nose accompanied with a small mouth. With a light natural pink lips. Her fair smooth white skin contrast to her black clothing, as she blush looking at me. She says, "Y-you hit away my mask when you s-started trashing around and hug me p-please calm down. I-I got this."

I hesitantly nod and look at her when she says, "Sova t-try look at the city from here, I- I will hold you t-tight."

"What?! No!" I answer back immediately.

"I n-need you to see where we can l-land. I can't really look d-down when my scarf are blocking the v-view below," She answered back while looking away.

I brace my self and said, "That's not a reason... Okay, I'll try."

As I begin to look down, the wind pressure blows through my face. Enhancing my self with Qi to minimize the pressure. I look down to the city. As the wind blows, the towering wall that stretches endlessly above, fall behind me. Below me is a vast spread of houses, markets, harbours, and industries more than your eyes can see. Coloured with a motley of green, yellow and brown. Slowly turning blue as it goes to the harbour that's on the right and the markets and industries turning purple as it goes to the left. Woven together with the misty haze that hung above with te rain. In the distance 2 great fortress stands dwarfing over the buildings below. While between them, a great wall borders across the harbour and the vast ocean outside... I breath in the new air of light I never saw before. This great city, that I once I thought was already big, blows me away even more than the first time I cross the massive gates that soar so high above.

"S-Sova I know you're b-blown out by the scenery but look for a place to land, and can you l-loosen the hug a little it's getting to tight," Rana interrupts me.

"Huh? Oh right... Wait no, I might fall if I loosen up," I hold her tighter. When I hear her saying kyaa in a low voice... I ignore it to spot a tall inn below me and said, "There is a tall inn below us land there."

"I c-cant see with how t-tight you're hugging me now. P-please loosen up," she plead, still looking away from me.

"... Fine," I loosen the hug when I said that.

"T-thank you," as she said that she looks below and start holding the collar of my shirt, proceeding to chant something and multiple flames with different colour appeared around us along with some weird runes and writing. When she say, "spirits of the other realm, help guide our way below in the darkness to come, Spirits way."

When the flames beside us started swirling around us. Covering us in a colorful spectacle and envelopes us. The flames dispersed and we are now in the roof of the building. As I let her go. The roof top is quite empty yet really big with only a few green baskets made of straws woven together by hand. Tidied up below the roof to prevent rain from making it wet. With cables that connects from one end to another definitely for drying clothes. Rana drags me below a roof, letting me go and starts sitting down crossing her legs. I sit down beside her as I slouch, looking down to the floor... Hearing the sound of the soft droplets of rain different than just now.

"Sorry I guess I let my fears get ahead of me again," I said to her.

"Huh, oh y-yes." She pulls her scarf to cover her face as she said that.

Sitting quietly once more. I look at her unlike me, her clothes are not soak in the rain. When she looks back at me with her whole face covered once more and ask, "U-um is there s-something wrong?"

"I'll be honest, who are you? You are like a totally different person," I exclaim.

"W-well I can't help it real life is d-different than behind the m-monitor okay. I-I don't have my usual half mask a-and you make me lost that mask which is already very im-important. That old man cut all my extra strings too," she answered back.

I answer back "Oh, Rana I'm really sorry."

She looks away then says, "I-I won't f-forgive you. Y-you you big jerk," then starts mumbling something I don't understand.

Silence fills between us with only the raindrops drums the roof. Looking at the grey sky while listening to the soft falling rain drops. Leaning back against the wall behind me. I take a huge breather. I break the silence by voluntarily say, "I'm seriously done," I look at Rana and ask, "Um Rana why are you not soak like me?"

She looks at me again and said, "T-that's because I keep the b-barrier on all the time. If you're a expert you will k-keep it on even when you are sleeping, like your p-passive muscles. D-don't you know?" she ask me back.

I shake my head and say, "No, I don't."

"Y-you can use a Qi wave slash but you don't know b-barriers. Have you been l-learning the basics right? Tell me w-what you can do with Qi now."

"Well, first is definitely enhance, sense, weave, sharpen, coat, and the graduating technique Qi burst. Like that wave slash thingy."

"I'm s-surprised all your techniques are all m-mostly offense. Well thinking of R-Rubeca that's not really surprising n-now."

As she said that. I brace my self and ask, "Say Rana you know a lot of things people don't tend to know right?"

When I said that she twitch and begins to stare at me between the gaps on her hair, her eyes sharpened and she answer, "Y-yes but remember there's a price. T-the one in the c-cell is just a f-free pass."

I stare back at her and say, "I just need a confirmation."

Rana looks away and say, "I-I guess that's f-fine. You k-know I thought you already quite resistant to f-fear, but you still cling and scream for your p-parents."

"I told you that if it's only a few feet above. I'm pretty sure anybody would be traumatize if you dive free fall from the sky like that!" I yell at her back.

"Kyaa. Ah um, s-so what do you want to confirm," asking back sounding a little panicked.

I take a deep breath and finally ask what is filling my mind, "Sorry... It's about my sister Rubeca. Ever since I left to become a hunter I've been seeing sides of her I've never seen that breaks all the impresion I had for her. Being someone I can look up to, a kind and ally of justice, a sister that would protect me no matter what. I-I mean s-she promised me. M-maybe it's just me, that thinks she really is just someone who is *hick* Truly kind a-and someone who I can strive to be. B-but I really need to know the truth. You have already met her back then right? Is all the story I heard true? Did she really kill all those people. Did she *hick* R-really tried to kill me?"

Rana looks back at me. Staring as she sharpen her eyes when she says, "... Yes. T-there is no point denying it. There is time when she is kind and generous b-but there is time when she becomes a ruthless m-multi personality psycho. If you are a normal person that heard her tales. Y-you know she is just bad news through and t-through."

When I feel something shattered inside of me. I can only reply with, "I-I... see. I really hope you're lying," Slouching down lower as my eyes get teary for some reason.

Rana wraps some of her scarf around me, patting my back and say "Sova I h-have no more reason to l-lie, t-the only thing I can say is w-war changes everyone n-nobody is excluded. And the final threshold she has probably b-breaks inside the Reliquary when she falls down. N-now please look at me Sova."

Rubbing my eyes and snot. I look at her face to face no more mask between us. She blush and says, "Let me tell you something to cheer you up."

"*hick* Okay," I answer back.

She unwraps the scar around me and stands, "Sova t-try look at the city from here."

"Still *hick* Still no, I won't," I replied back.

"P-please I want to tell you something. You r-really like heroes and the like right?" she ask

"You could just explain form here," I answer back.

"P-please," she plead.

"... Okay," I answer back.

I stand up and she started walking to the rain. Standing near the bar fences as she looks beyond. I followed her and started crouching down behind the fence as I hold the bars firmly. Looking between the gaps. Shaking as I slowly go closer to Rana. She start hold my left arm with both her arms, pulling me up.

"S-Sova please just look. Y-you were m-mesmerized when you're airborne just now," Rana say trying to convince me. Before she lets go of me.

Holding the fence I look at the city trying my best, not to look down. When I see it once more the vast view of the city but unlike just now I can only see the endless spread of green, yellow and brown. With one of the fortress blocking the view of the sea. I could see smoke and mist colliding together in the air. Listening to the whispers and honkings from the streets below and beyond while still not looking down. Unlike the sector I live in.I couldn't hear the endless smite and hammers of steel but replace by the nonstop shouting of people promoting their items and listening closely the sound of the waves and crisp of something getting cooked.

"P-pretty grand isn't it. Say what do you know of this c-city Sova?" Rana ask me.

"Well this is the city where the First Emperor of Rucina built, with all his exploits and of course named after himself in his honor and accomplishments."

"Wrong," she denied me firmly immediately.

"Huh? Which part I-I'm pretty sure everything I said is true," I say to comfirm my self.

Rana pulls up her scarf. Covering half her face when she ask me, "S-say don't you ever wonder why Central'is kinda too big for a h-human with it's over size gates, roads, even the h-halls and rooms of course don't forget the Reliquary... Well most of them already got renovated."

"Well not really I thought with how he influence the world and stuff having that kind of things is pretty normal. I mean look at the tales of heroes from back then, the nobles and many more. They got all those riches and influence, some even got enough resources to build a giant bridge that connect one continent to another," I answered back.

"W-well history b-begs to differ Sova. I mean what borders the l-line between C-central and ground level. The walls? I-it could be, but it's half the truth. Look at the buildings from above. Some are green blue and purple r-right?" she asks.

"Well yes, what about it?" I ask back.

"W-wait don't t-tell me you don't really k-know what's going inside the C-confederation right now! Do you even read the newspaper at least," she asks in panic.

"Well I usually leave those politics and goverment stuff to aunt and sis only May has the will to stay awake in that conversation... I mean who reads the newspapers it's freaking boring and it keeps making your hands dirty."

Rana stare backs looking quite irritated and punch me in the shoulders softly and says, "Y-you you... Never m-mind there's no point telling y-you if you don't really know. Um, At least what other stuff do you know of this city?"

"Well I do know some trivia like this city encompass more than half of the Confederation."

"B-beep, W-wrong it's only around 45% of the entire C-confederation have you ever seen the map of your country at least?" she denied me firmly while sounding embarrassed.

"N-no." I answer back.

She looks away and said, "Ah, y-you're hopeless."

"Well excuuuuuuse me," I said as I hold her shoulders and turn her face to me. When she say eep and covers her face with her scarf. Seeing the scarf to unfold revealing a black cross stitch between the blue.

I ask her one more time. "What are you trying to tell me stop beating around the bush."

"U um, well w-what I want to say is that y-you shouldn't just accept what you hear and read. Y-you should look at it yourself and have y-your own thought at it. Y-you can be surprised with how p-peoples opinion always differ."

"Ah, oh... You. You're right. I should see her first when I get back... No I'm going to see everyone."

With my resolution being reinforce... Now I'm going to try even harder. Sis, May, Aunt Wait for me I'm Getting closer.