Night At Copper Borough

Night had already approached and people were leaving their respective work places to go to their homes. The streets began to be emptied, and silence prevalent in the area.

With that, Veritas was laying down the cold soil outside the Beast Master Den.

"The Moon looks beautiful tonight.."

Staring at the everlasting moon, Veritas looked forlorn as if something from within him had been lost. Something very important..

He lingered there for a couple of minutes before finally deciding to go back home. As Veritas stood up, he used the Winds to remove the soil from his clothing.

It was a tiring day for him, especially after he lost all his money from gambling..

Veritas looked lost but he kept moving his legs to the direction of the main road. At this time of the night, there were no carriages to be seen.

So, Veritas decided to walk all the way to Diamond Borough.

It.. was a very long walk.

Upon looking at his surroundings he saw the drunkards enjoying the beauty of the night sky. He heard their laughter, their qualms, and even some of them were fighting.

He could hasten the time it would take for him to reach Diamond Borough but Veritas chose to walk slowly and appreciate the nightly landscape of Elrod. 

Within a couple of minutes, his progress seemed to be stale. He had not even arrived to Silver Borough yet!

He pondered about the exact time that he was going to get back home. It would take at least 4 hours or more to get back. By then, it would have already been morning!

'I'll just stay at an inn..'

With that decision, Veritas looked around and saw a normal-looking establishment that resembled an inn. Naturally, Veritas walked towards it not realizing his dire predicament.

A few moments passed and Veritas had arrived inside the inn. It looked to be cozy, and clean, so that was a positive view for Veritas.

However, the Winds felt off when Veritas first walked into the place. He could not discern the feeling but Veritas had acknowledged this fact.

So, upon reaching the counter, Veritas asked for a room for 1 night only.

"That'll be 75 Black Elrodite.."

Veritas then brought out his wallet and his eyes widened.

'I-I don't have any money left!'

He looked at the clerk with a sheepish expression and laughed awkwardly. To which the clerk responded with a cold gaze upon him. 

"Ahh, hehehe, fair lady.. it seems that I don't have any money with me. Perhaps you can put it in my tab?"

The clerk squinted her eyes towards Veritas' blasphemous statement. She then sighed and replied back somberly.

"Since you are the Prince.. I guess we could put it in your tab. As long as you pay it back soon."

Veritas' eyes gleamed, he placed his palms on the left side of his chest and he bowed lightly. 

"Much appreciated, I will remember this.."

The clerk looked at Veritas with disbelief and she instructed him on what room he was going to be designated in. She gave the keys accordingly and gestured for him to go.

Veritas ascended up the stairs until he had reached the 3rd floor. After that he walked along the tranquil halls, searching for his designated room.

'Room 303. Room 303.. there!'

Upon arriving at the room, he inserted the keys and made his way inside where he saw a cozy small room with a 1-person bed and a lamp on its side. 

He saw mirrors atop a desk, a closet, and a small door that led to a miniature bathroom. Veritas checked every corner of the room to verify the cleanliness and safety. 

Upon doing so, Veritas verified the room's validity and locked the door behind him, a clicking sound could be heard. 

"Ah... Finally! A soft bed after a long day!"

He dove face down the bed and drowned himself in the softness of the blankets. 

Upon laying down for a couple of minutes, Veritas decided to take a bath first before going to sleep. 

It was a fast rinse of his body, so it did not take more than 6 minutes. 

Veritas did not bring a change of clothes, so he only wore underwear and went on to lay down in the bed once more. 

He closed his eyes and thought of his plans for tomorrow.

'I haven't got the chance to train my mental fortitude with Bello, so I'll do that. I have to check the enrollments too. I have to tell Mother to make me a potion that brings luck tomorrow...'

While lost deep in thought, Veritas very slowly fell into a deep slumber. 

In this peaceful and cold night, the Prince slept cozily inside the warm blankets of his soft bed, ever-so innocent and defenseless.

*

Veritas was met with a landscape filled with long grass that stretched across the horizon. The atmosphere felt hazy and dreamy, as if he was remembering a memory. 

Once he opened his eyes, he immediately took notice of the familiarity that this place had resembled him of… 

Upon racking his brain, Veritas came to the conclusion that this place was the same as the one he had first been at when he reached his Soul. The everlasting horizon of grass, the dreamy atmosphere, and the nostalgic feeling of the place.

It all seemed too familiar to him!

However, there was something different on the horizon. Instead of blades of grass that stretched kilometers, Veritas saw a massive cyclone that was connected with the clouds. 

Dark clouds existed in that direction, looking as if a storm had come. 

Feeling a sense of urgency deep within his heart, Veritas ran to the opposite direction of the cyclone. 

He tried using Will of the Winds and Windsong, but the feeling was different! It was as if they were getting pulled towards the massive cyclone.

Veritas did not stop running though, he used his legs to run as far as he can. He did not seem tired at all due to this weird characteristic of this place. 

For hours upon hours, Veritas ran, not stopping at anything. The endless grass didn't seem to change, but the massive cyclone was beginning to reach Veritas. 

Veritas felt the strong winds touch his skin, he felt the moisture and abruptness of it. 

Hearing the thunder roar behind him, Veritas could not feel more urgency at the situation.

'I have to get away from this place as far as possible!'

But words could not bring him very far, and so couldn't his legs.

In a matter of seconds, the cyclone engulfed Veritas and hard rain fell on the endless blades of grass. 

Veritas was wet and his clothing feld cold to the touch. Due to the strong winds caused by the cyclone, Veritas was forced to take a knee and hold himself together to brace the storm. 

Then, he was no longer in that pose but rather, he was holding himself together as if he was hugging his entire body all at once. 

As the cyclone got deeper and stronger, Veritas could feel pain within his physical body. It seemed like the winds and rain was beginning to cut his skin.

For a few seconds it was like that, but after that! 

Veritas felt his Soul crumbling.

He was losing control!

The winds somehow managed to stir up and fluctuate his Soul. So, Veritas disregarded bracing his body and focused on enhancing his Soul. 

'Ah! Sh-'

He had endured this torture for what seemed like hours, Veritas could not even open his eyes to see whether the cyclone was ending or not. He only had to wait and steel his resolve until it was over.

He felt an eternity pass and the pain was overwhelming. Veritas was tempted to give up and rest but he had not done so! With all his will, Veritas kept his Soul composed. 

The winds screamed at him, the heavy rain pierced his skin, and the thunder deafened his hearing!

Until finally..

The cyclone had stopped, the thunder merely echoed along the background and Veritas could not feel the winds and heavy rain on his skin any more!

After calming himself down, he rested for a couple of seconds before finally opening his eye. At first, he tried to feel the Winds but they seemed so silent.

This was a different feeling of silence, it felt like there was nothing there to feel. 

Back in the Golden Tower when Veritas used up all the Winds inside, he felt silence but it was completely different from this one!

In the Golden Tower, he could still feel the presence of the Winds, but here...

It was as if the Winds were gone.

However, upon seeing the scenery around him, Veritas could not help but fathom the area that he was at.

There were walls of wind that surrounded him, stretching as far as the eye could see. There was still a mass number of grass but they were not as prevalent as before. 

He thought about this scenario and could only come to one conclusion..

"The Storm's Eye."

Indeed, Veritas was inside the middle of the storm, where calmness and tranquillity existed. This was not a good thing at all, but it gave him comfort knowing that he had been temporarily given a refuge.

However..

Upon looking around, Veritas saw a simple wooden hut amidst the storm.

It was average-sized, and looked like it could house a person or two.

Veritas pondered what kind of individual lived in an eternal solitude. So he thought that such a person must've been someone very weird!

With those thoughts, Veritas decided to make his way to the wooden hut.

When suddenly! Veritas' immediately felt a sense of dizziness within his mind. It seemed like his mind was beginning to split apart!

As his vision blurred and blackened, Veritas heard calm whispers within his ear.

It said:

"Wak█ █p!"

Everything went black.

*

It was the middle of the night and Veritas had been woken up by a soft voice of the winds. 

However, the softness existed only in his dream.

In reality, every wind and air around Veritas was screaming at him.

"LEAVE!"

"GET OUT!"

"GO!"

Veritas was knocked out of his sleepy state, and he immediately went on guard. He was not wearing anything, but Veritas very quickly conjured a Wind Veil around him.

He used Windsong to conjure a perfectly suited Wind Blade and held it with a tight grip.

He felt the silence linger around his presence, yet the Winds were screaming so loud at him!

So, Veritas used the Winds to scan every corner of the room.

'Nothing..'

He moved on to the bathroom and closet.

'Still Nothing'

Veritas then gazed in the direction of the room door. He felt an ominous presence coming from within. 

Veritas used the Winds to check outside his room and to his surprise.. there were 17 individuals outside of it.

And.. They were all standing still, facing the door.

Veritas eyes then widened and chills crept up his skin.

'What is happening outside?!'

The Winds screamed louder at Veritas' ears, clearly telling him the urgency of the situation.

He felt... their cheekbones widened and their lips forming a downward arc. Their eyes looked dead and pale, Veritas felt his body get heated up and tremble slightly.

The 17 people outside were.. staring directly at Veritas and were smiling widely.