Chapter 311 - THUNDER READY FOR A FIGHT (1) (1/2)
**********************************************************************
” Live, then, and be happy, beloved children of my heart, and never forget, that until the day God will deign to reveal the future to man, all human wisdom is contained in these two words, 'Wait and Hope.”
― Alexandre Dumas
***********************************************************************
WHOOSH!
The birds swoop down and snatch a few fish as they quickly swallowed the fish. The sea waves ripples as the fish on the bird's mouth struggle to get free
The birds shrieked, the sound does not sound like normal bird
But just right before the birds managed to swallow its prey; an arrow struck the bird on its head and its head exploded as the sailors quickly make sure that the bird's body fall into their small boats.
The birds are called the Devil Birds by the sailors that sail the Pandemonium Sea. It has big black wing that looks like Devil Wings and they are large like a human adult.
Considering many thing after the Fall become big even birds and fishes become birds.
But oddly enough the Devil Birds while have a massive size and terrifying countenance, they are extremely weak and they are easily one shot kill by one arrow to the head.
They are also sailor's most favorite hunt when they sail the sea
Then laughing the sailors that caught the bird continues their journey sailing out from Pandemonium Sea making the birds into their snack in their long journey home.
Not far away from this scenery, one woman is looking at all this matter with clear eyes
She smiles as she looks at this scenery of people living and she smiles looking at the sea. She takes a deep breath. Inhaling and exhaling.
The sound of the sea, the smell of the salty breeze, she takes it all in like she is experiencing it all for the first time.
She stands still in that moment and closes her eyes. And she thinks of him. The sea keep waving and waving, kissing the shores each time.
She then opens her eyes and she smiles again.
After what happened to her she seems to lose something but she also gain something important.
An equivalent price.
She finally understands what is truly important to her and what her heart truly desires.
In front of her eyes is a vast sea but more than that she saw hundreds of ships coming and going from the Port of Newark, a city in the northern part of Pandemonium
This woman is wearing a white robe, her eyes clear and innocent. Her white robe flows gently and her hair smoothly waves back.
Just by standing there she looked otherworldly. Then in the distance she saw Sea monsters are easily being dispatched by the fleet of ships that is coming to the Port.
She admires them and their perseverance to sail the Pandemonium Sea, a sea regarded so treacherous and dangerous that in the past none dares sail it.
Like their leader the Death Monarch, the people of Pandemonium seem to inherit the domineering and confidence of their leader in dealing with anything and everything.
They do not compromise, they are fearless and they all knew how the game is played in Pandemonium.
Only the strong survives.
They were all lions and tigers. The entire continent of Pandemonium is full of crouching tiger and hidden dragons, hidden talents and dangerous people.
Death Monarch while he rarely employs a hands on approach in the administration of Pandemonium, he is undoubtedly the spiritual leader of Pandemonium which makes his position as the leader of Pandemonium unassailable.
She looks at the sea monster, writhing in pain before being hauled up into the ship by the ship captain.
She smiles and she chuckles. There is no longer fear in her eyes this time. Only determination and an unshaken will.
This woman is none other than the famous Oracle Erika. She is at the harbor waiting for her boat.
On the road leading to the port there are many of her believers respectfully waiting for her, leaving her alone in the Port with her bodyguard Antonius.
Antonius feels this is better for him because it would make protecting the Oracle easier as he looks toward the crowds.
His eyes is vigilant not because of the crowd but because of the people hidden inside the crowd.
Mixed with the crowd Antonius notice a few men dressed in black, looking at them. Those people must be the men of Shadow Guards.
Sasha also seems to send a few of her people to ensure nothing bad happens to the Oracle in Pandemonium soil.
She is also like the Death Monarch. Rarely seen but her presence is felt all across Pandemonium.
In Pandemonium itself, Sasha name is kind of a taboo among the officials. No one likes to be under the surveillance of the Shadow Guards for days.
Antonius sighed but he chose to ignore it. As long as Sasha did not try to do some weird things to the Oracle, he could tolerate the eyes of the Shadow Guards.
Then he resumes his duty.
Sometimes he looks toward the Oracle and there is a complicated emotion in his eyes. He sighed.
After Erika woke up from her sleep instead of wanting to return back to the Center Palace she instead asked him to bring her away from Pandemonium.
This shocked Antonius greatly.
After all, Erika from the very beginning wanted to meet Death Monarch but suddenly after she woke up she changed her tone.
And then when he nodded as a sign of agreement she smiled and without warning she kissed him in the mouth.
Then leaving him speechless like that she only smiles before she lays back on her bed and sleep.
And that was it.
Even when they were boarding the carriage this morning she did not say anything and only treats him like usual.
Even until this moment she did not explain anything to him. He didn't know the meaning of that kiss.
Or whether it has any meaning at all.
Erika notices someone is looking at her. She turns around and she saw how Antonius try to avoid her eyes.
She comes toward Antonius and then she chuckles
'What?'
The wind blows by her hair as it waves gently and it only serves to highlight Erika beauty. She usually becomes old after doing her divinations but now she has returned to normal.
Her face is full of youth and there is just something different about her. She seems carefree.
Antonius shakes his head and said
'Nothing' Erika grins and asked
'Really? Nothing?'
The sea breeze passes them by and the sound of the wind sometimes blurred her words.
The sound of ships coming and going also makes their words drowned by the other sound in the Port.
But Antonius clearly heard it. 'No it is not nothing' he wanted to say. But then he swallowed those words.
But then he wanted to blurt it out. He is torn. Then mustering his courage he told himself.
'What is wrong with asking a few question right?'
He come closer to Erika fearing anyone could still hear him even from this distance between him and the crowd and then he said to Erika
'We need to talk about what happen' Antonius said
'Oh'
Erika grins and then with a teasing expression she said
'Specifically about what?'
Antonius knows Erika is teasing him so he said
'The kiss'
'Oh. What about it?' Erika ask back like she was discussing the weather or asking whether you had breakfast
Hesitating Antonius ask Erika
'What does it mean?' Erika touch her chin and smiling she answered
'Does it have to mean something?' Erika once again ask back, but her eyes is full of playfulness
Antonius frowned
'It didn't mean anything?' He asked, his tone slightly rose without meaning to. Erika chuckles and answered.
'No, it does meant something' And Antonius is slowly getting annoyed
'If it means something…..What does it mean?'
'Guess' Erika said and she laughs.
For the first time in a long time she laughs in such a carefree manner. Whatever happens to her in the time she was unconscious changed her drastically.
The Oracle Antonius knew is always solemn and always serious.
It was like someone that is burdened by such a heavy truth that she always seems to slouch because of the weight.
If Erika is the witness of Time Ending, then Antonius has always been the witness of Erika suffering.
He had seen it many times.
How she always pushes herself to see through Time and divine the future for the sake of humanity.
He saw the moment where Erika suffers from backlash of her trying to peer through the Veil; he saw how painful it is for her.
And what is more painful than that is that she keeps going even through the pain.
And that hurts him too, seeing her suffering like that.
So, he had always guarded him. Even though, all of his debts are repaid and he owed her nothing else, he is still beside her, loyally guarding her from all harm.
After all these years he still there.
Always loyally stays beside her.
While his other contemporaries make a name for themselves becoming the Seven Warlords, he rejected fame, fortune and wealth and stays beside her content on becoming only her guardian.
Because he saw how this young fragile little woman suffers so much pain that it would make any man heart weeps with sadness if they could witness what he had witnessed.
Because of that he could not leave her. Because of that, he stays.
And he also stays because he had learned to appreciate the strength of this woman that no other people had managed to see.
So, when he was asked to guess what the kiss means, he is speechless and his mind is blank. There is one meaning he would like but he knew it is not possible.