The Five Soldiers

The sun was aiming straight at him, and he stood in the middle just as always. 

"My people of Meiland. This is Lars. An Easterner. He fled here without hope, without a family, and without a friend. But from now on, he is a part of our family. He is your son; he is your friend, and we shall give him food and water and treat him as our own." Yin commanded everyone in the village. 

"This is your home, Lars!" 

"Welcome home, Lars!" 

They screamed, and he stood there, sobbing and covering his face. The unexpected kindness of the strangers overtook his emotions. "Do I truly have a place here?" He wondered. 

Yin looked at him and smiled, like a proud father, and continued his oration.

"I had the honor to name the Realm. But to keep it unaddressed and uninformed to the rest of the Realm is a crime. My friends and I will be marching to all the corners of the Realm, to unite everyone. No more division. No more clashes. This is just the North. Just the North. And it's only the five of us as of now; when we return, we could have an army. We will begin today." Yin ended. 

"We pray for your safe expedition and return, our King." They threw their fists up to display their loyalty and support.

Yin Kang takes a bow and walks out of the village.

…

The five soldiers made their way to the forest.

Yin walked in the front, and Vegas caught up to him. 

"Can we name this? I'm sicka callin' it a forest." She requested.

"Why not? Have anything on your mind?" Yin reverted.

"Um… Well, for all I know about this darn place is that…Um…This was a place for lovers. They… You know… Had fun here." 

"Oh wow! That's really romantic." Yin remarked. 

"So?" She waited for the name with eager eyes.

"A place for lovers, you say. Hmm… What about Lover's Den?" 

"Goodness! You have a knack for naming things, King."

"To Lover's Den!" Neilus lifted his sword and hailed from behind.

"Lover's Den it is." Vegas approves.

Everyone arrived at their spot, and the campfire they had set last night was now dry and moist; the logs were thoroughly burned and the stones scattered. 

Colt went over to the lake, kneeled before it, drew his longsword, and wiped the blade with intense care.

"Does he always wear the helm?" Lars asked curiously. 

"Yeah, he's always with it. I too wonder why. I mean, I don't hide my ugly face cause I don't give a damn, but he ain't ugly at all. I guess he don't wanna break pretty girl's hearts with that blessed face." Neilus laughed. 

"Shut up, Neil." Colt's muffled voice from behind his helm was heard. 

"You should be the one covering your face, Neil." Vegas blurted with a chuckle.

Lars laughed with them.

"Aw. That's not so kind, is it, Vegas? Breaks my poor heart." Neilus joked as he pouted his lips.

…

The five soldiers packed their weapons and belongings for the expedition. To every corner of the world.

Vegas strapped Juno to her back and stuffed some berries and water into her brown satchel. 

Neilus and Colt both carried heavy backpacks packed with armory and other resourceful items for the journey. 

Yin Kang and Lars had nothing. Lars had the ring, and Yin had his sword, though he might never need it. 

"Vegas, do you want to go and see your mother before we leave?" Yin was concerned.

"No. She knows that I always return home." Vegas said boldly. 

Yin nodded to her response with a proud look on his face.

"So, where are we headed first?" Lars inquired.

"First, we face the impending threat. Your home, Lars. We'll begin with East and gather our troops there." Yin answered.

"But what is the plan after that? Why exactly are we doing this for?" He asked curiously.

"I'm gathering an army for myself. To fight a war. A war that will get me home again. A war that will put an end to everyone's pain and suffering. And I can't do that all by myself." Yin admitted.

"But you're a god..." Lars said softly.

"I am. I'm a god inside a human, as one." 

Lars was utterly stunned.

"Do you really think every single one of them in the Realm will kneel to you?" Lars debated.

"They will. That's what they do to gods, don't they? Kneel, pray, hail, and praise." 

"But what if they don't?" Lars's words travelled slowly and carefully. 

Yin looked down at him with a little hint of a smile. 

Lars was speechless as his eyes stared into Yin's, and there was nothing inside them to make sense of. Only the haunting pairs of eyes. One half of his pupils were white and the other black. 

It made him uneasy, so he quickly turned away to Vegas, a more pleasant view. 

"Why're you staring at me?" Vegas asked with an irritated look on her cat eyes.

"Um, I'm sorry." He looked away, and she rolled her eyes.

Lars walked towards Colt, cleaning his longsword, and sat beside him. And towards his right was a bunch of flowers, unmoved by the wind and undisturbed by any insect.

"Hey, I've never seen such a flower. It's beautiful." Lars was purely amazed by its nature.

"They're called Polychromes, but everyone calls them The Memory Flower." Colt informed.

"The memory flower?" He analyzed it as he plucked one off the bunch. 

He leaned his head forward and sniffed. 

…

"I've never thanked you for anything, Lars. You are my only friend. And family. So, thank you. For everything." 

It was Bucky's voice. 

It was the memory of their last day together, on the cliff, as the sun was setting. 

And just like that, Lars relived the happiest moment of his life, though it was Bucky's last day.

Instantly, he snapped back to reality; his eyes held tears ready to run.

"He was a good friend." His voice trembled.

Colt quickly sheathed his longsword and clutched his shoulders.

"It's okay, Lars. It will all be fine." He comforted.

Lars rubbed his tear, plucked a bunch of Polychromes and requested Colt to store them all in his backpack. 

"I will keep it safely." He promised, and he packed it along with his other items. Metals and memories.

"Hey Colt? Aren't you ever scared of him?" Lars and Colt looked at Yin.

"We've seen scarier things." 

"Scarier? Like what?" He kept asking curiously. 

"We fought a shape-shifting spirit called The White Freak. I promise you that it looked scarier than him." Colt chuckled, and Neilus joined him.

"Yeah, I thought we were all gonna die that night. But he came back flying to save our dead asses." Neilus added.

"So it's true that he can really fly?" 

"Couldn't believe my eyes either. But it's true." Neilus replied.

"So you mean to say he can fly anywhere he wants?" Lars kept growing interested. 

"I guess so." Said Colt.

"Why can't he fly to the corners of the world?! Like a bird! And take us all in his flight! And show us around the wor…" 

"Lars! Quit it!" Vegas yelled from behind him.

Yin walked towards him and crouched in front of him.

"Lars, my body gets tired when I fly. That's why."

He got up and walked away casually.

Lars's curiosity and eagerness were crushed to ashes, and he was upset.

"I see the little me in him." Yin thought to himself. It was true. The boy was filled with curiosity and had so many questions inside him, just like Yin did when he was younger. 

"Are we all set?" He checked as he glanced at his friends.

"Let's go take over the East." 

"Just the five of us."

"The Five Soldiers." He ended.