Aethernanos

"What a pain," lamented a middle-aged man. His long frizzy black hair was being blown by the wind as he ran his heart out. Fresh wounds can be seen on the torn parts of his black long-sleeve. Exhaustion can be seen in his silver eyes as he looked at the light at the end of the thick forest he was in. He was bare of jewelry except for the necklace with a diamond-shaped green pendant.

Leaves continued to ruffle as he ran away from the chasers behind him. A group of individuals wearing black ninja outfits with emblems sown on them, showing a gold mountain range with 13 peaks.

One of the chasers put his hands forward and made the index and middle fingers of both his hands meet in a triangular fashion. Gold Runes appeared around his fingers and quickly formed a circle. {Sky Holding Chains}.

The Rune Circle expanded before releasing seven golden chains aimed at the middle-aged man. They pierced through the thick trees within the forest like sticks on soft butter.

{Tide-repelling Mirror}. The middle-aged man pointed his palm against the attack and created a large mirror that shielded him from the attack. After this, his eyes got considerably dimmer, but it prevented the chains from reaching him.

Finally, he managed to get out of the forest. On his final steps out, he crossed what seemed like a jelly dome. After crossing the dome, he immediately pulled out an arm-sized brown feather from his pendant. Then, he leaped into the air before chanting, "Laws of the wind, answer the call of this Griffin Feather. Carry me to Merzel, Libertia!"

The feather disintegrated and turned into green Runes which circled the middle-aged man, merging him with the wind.

"Damn it!" the leader of the chasers cursed. "He actually has a Griffin Feather! We're going back. Tell the chief about the Griffin Feather. He should be outside Elezen by now. It was just a small feather, so he must have only gone for at max 5,000 kilometers. However, that is enough to take him to Libertia soil. There's nothing we can do there for now, alas," lamented the leader before turning back to the forest.

Meanwhile, the middle-aged man appeared on the coast of Merzel. It was an open beach with many people enjoying it. He appeared there out of nowhere, which merely garnered some looks from other people there. 'Finally, I escaped them. Damn the Elezenizst Alliance!' He cursed in his head.

He traversed the beach and arrived at Merzel City. There were plenty of races within the city like elves, dwarves, and humans. The middle-aged man walked into a large building with the sign, Freedom Guild. Above the words is an emblem depicting a dove breaking free from a chain.

"How may I help you, sir?" the receptionist asked.

"Lead me to Markus," he said before showing a green badge with the Freedom Guild emblem engraved on it.

The receptionist changed her smile into a wider one before saying, "This way, sir." They climbed the stairs until they reached the third floor, then the receptionist knocked, "Sir, a green badge is here to see you."

"Let him in," a deep masculine voice answered.

"Sir," the receptionist said while gesturing for him to enter before swiftly shutting the door close. Immediately after the door closed, runes glowed all over the room, creating a barrier that seemingly separated the room from the world.

"Helio, hahaha. How are you, my old friend?" Markus asked with a wide smile.

"Tsk. I'm sure you know the answer to that," Helio said with an annoyed look before sitting down on the chair in front of Markus' desk and putting his feet up on the desk.

Markus laughed hard before saying, "How could I not? You are the biggest news in one of the nine continents of this world, Elezen! How brazen must you be to steal something from one of the nine Earthquakes, the Elezenist Alliance at that! You do know that they will go to every length possible just to get their way, right?"

"I did not steal anything from them. I took back what was rightfully mine," Helio defended.

"I know that too, but we all know that what's on the hands of the Earthquakes is theirs and theirs alone," Markus said with a soft smile.

"What a great line, befitting of someone who's a member of an Earthquake," Helio mocked.

Markus shyly laughed before continuing, "Let's not discuss that, shall we? Now, what brings you here?"

"I need to get back to Elezen without being hunted down like a rat in a field of cats. I still have to collect three of my Mystic Runes."

"You realize that there is nothing I can do. The Freedom Guild, albeit an Earthquake itself, is in a neutral position. We are the mediators, after all."

"I know that. What I want is information. I heard that there is a new force rising up, something that can contend against an Earthquake. I know that you know how to reach them and details about them. Tell me about it."

Markus looked meaningfully at Helio before saying, "I'm afraid that despite us being friends, the extent of my abilities is to keep this trade a secret. The information itself comes at a price."

Helio then pulled out another Griffin Feather. It was of a similar size to the one he used previously.

"No wonder you escaped the Elezenist Alliance. I can't believe you have more than one," Markus said while looking at it with glowing eyes.

"That's my last one. Now, what can you tell me about this new force that made the top powerhouses of this world wary?"

"The Freedom Guild doesn't have much information as well. They are more concealed than the nine Shadows. So, I can only give you what I know. Don't worry, though, this is enough to solve your problem. They are called Aethernanos, 'It at which All Revolves'."