Chapter 18: Dreadlings (1/2)
”Little Mei, Little Arion, good morning! Where do you guys want to go today?” A middle-aged man with a grey beard asked with a polite smile. He was the one who transported people to and fro between wards and was quite familiar with everyone in the Fok Grove ward since he had been living here for a long time.
He seemed a bit surprised to see Mei and Arion setting off together since the only times Arion ever traveled out was whenever he wanted to go to Central Ward and that too, all by himself.
Mei smiled as she said, ”Good morning, Uncle Kisho. We two want to go to the Central Ward.”
”Oh, to use the Golden Monolith, I assume?” Kisho asked with an understanding tone as he gave a quick glance at Arion.
”Yes, Arion was finally able to connect with Prana. He even completed the Purification Stage,” Mei said with a proud smile, making Arion beam.
Kisho's eyes widened, ”Really?”
Recovering from his astonishment, he ruffled Arion's hair as he said in a spirited tone, ”Arion, my boy, you finally did it! And you even completed the Purification Stage. This is a matter to celebrate, haha.”
Mei gave a beatific smile as she said, ”Indeed, I will take you all for a treat at Central Ward later. Today would be the first day, Arion would be undergoing the Prana Binding stage.”
”Aha, good luck, boy. I can't wait to see you stand on your feet and become a great Dreadslayer. You might even be the new face of our small ward,” Kisho said in an enthusiastic tone.
Arion felt warm and said, ”Thank you, Uncle Kisho. I will do my best.”
”Haha, good,” He moved towards the side and gestured, ”Please get on. We will be setting out soon.”
Mei gave a slight nod and gracefully entered the long carriage in which two men and two women were already seated.
Kisho lifted Arion and let Mei carry him inside to put him on a seat. He then folded the wheelchair and kept it in the luggage section.
The passengers seated inside smiled at Mei and Arion and readily gave space for them to sit.
Arion felt strange being carried like this since he never experienced before how it feels like to be a disabled person first-hand.
He realized how weak and dependent he was. Without at least one person to look after him, just like Mei said, it would be really dangerous for him to go anywhere alone.
In this state, how could he hope to look after Mei in the future?
How could he hope to fight against Dreadlings that had cast an ominous gloom over all living beings, including his and Mei's?
How could he even protect himself?
This feeling only fueled his thirst for power and his determination to complete the next stage as fast as possible. But, of course, he knew he had to at least stand on his own feet first.