[;;;;;]
Kian Egan's POV:

I opened my eyes gradually, only to be greeted by a dazzling light that passed through the window above my head. I was also greeted by the fact that this place seemed not like my room.

As I focused these blue orbs of mine, different kinds of stuff revealed themselves to me. Not just some ordinary pieces of stuff but those luxurious ones actually. When did I ever manage to have it? You know, like a king-sized bed, golden chandelier with five different colours of lighting, a royal blue curtain, a huge cabinet, a mahogany table and a weirdly ornamented door in front of my bed. Basically, if I was kidnapped, that guy supposed to be too kind to let his captive sleep in such elegant cottage. Take note, this room was actually thrice the size of my original one back in our humble house.

For now, all I remembered were those very painful moments at that fire where I got trapped accidentally, and-oh, Hold on! Fire? Painful moments?

Then, I thought of the possibility that I was no longer alive. Maybe this room was actually for people who go to...

"Good morning, Milord. I'm here to check you up, and I'm glad to see you awake now. My name is Emria, a servant originates from Metriona." A young woman suddenly entered this room.

She wore a warm smile, and her hazel orbs twinkled as they were directed on me. I looked at her with confusion, yet my curiosity shouted so loudly that I was not able to contain it any longer. "Good morning, I guess? May I ask you what place is this?"

"Oh! My apologies. Let me explain some brief details I know if you would allow," she said politely.
Frankly, that just got me even more muddled.

"Alright, please continue. I want to know," I simply responded.

The young lady moved to close the door behind her before making some graceful gesture, which then I got that she's asking for permission to sit, even though the look of shame was clear on her facade. Similarly, I felt so ashamed of my ignorance regarding whatever it was, and I stuttered to mouth her my response.

Goodness! What did I do to deserve this?

If ever Mark and the others would see this, they'd surely laugh the hell out of me. Well, a bit act of affability wouldn't hurt so bad, would it?

"Thank you, Milord. Tho it seems to me that you aren't used to this treatment, are you?"

I nodded. "Yes, indeed. Why are you wearing that kind of clothing? I rarely see that before. Unless I'm seeing the theatre in our school."
"honestly, I do not know of what you talk about right now, but I understand that you're perhaps pertaining to the world where you were born at," she remarked.

I got dizzy due to another confusion her sentence caused me. "The world, where I was, born at?" I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Oh, I suppose, we must begin now, so you can somehow get the gist of your current situation." She smiled apologetically.

"Yes, you're right. Sorry if I keep on interrupting you."

If she just knew how thankful I was since she remained liberal despite that I kept humiliating myself in front of her-

By the way, the dirty blonde girl started to delineate about what happened, and I couldn't really tell if how should I make such facts sink in. "We are now in Arthalli-goenlyn, a village created purposely by some pledged leaders of Metriona a few decades ago-to initiate the preparation for this day, when you all are coming back to our world-as said in the prophecy. "Most likely, all of us here were occupied to do lots of tasks recently to set everything we might need to give a proper accommodation once five of you arrive. Until the night before yesterday, a declaration of the certain awaited day came-which happened the day after-when you and the other finally return one by one. Lady Ellea was the one who took in charge of your healing assistance while Lord Alcaidus of Hakuainus and the pledged noblewoman from Rionastio, \lLady Amarriyo, are the ones who are assigned to look after the place of arrival. Last night, the other two lads arrived, likewise, and we began putting each of you to your respective rooms accordingly."

"You mean, there are other people who arrived here except for myself?"

"Yes, the other assigned servants are also checking up their condition right now."

I consented the information she's giving me. "I see. Is there anything more I should know about?"
"Truthfully, the breakfast is about to be prepared after not so long," she divulged. "Would you like to join us then, Milord?"

"Well, can I?"
Then, a weak growling of my stomach had just rudely intruded and caused me into a minor embarrassment.
The woman named, Emria shot a concerned look as she got up. "Of course, we're all actually looking forward to serving you at the hall with the other occupants. Some of the newly arrived lads may be there as well."

"Um, thank you for accompanying me and for answering some of my questions! Although I still have a lot of things to know, at least I'm having an idea through those details you provided. That's very much appreciated."

She slightly bent down her head at me. "It is my pleasure to be on your aid, Milord."
Now, those medieval manners remained sickening me a lot. Guess I might as well have to deal with it and get to be used.
"Sure, there is a lot of crazy stuff coming my way, huh," I softly remarked. "By the way, what should I call you then?"

"It is up to your liking."

"Well, can I call you by your name? It's Emria, isn't it?" I slightly blushed upon trying to make contact with her eyes.

She firstly seemed thinking of my offer, but then she answered, "If that feels better for you, then it's fine with me, and yes, my name is Emria, Milord."

"I chuckled before reaching my hand for formal self-introduction. "and please stop calling me that way. It just feels uncomfortable for me. My name is Kian, Kian Egan."

I noticed that she hesitated to accept my gesture, so I tended to show my sincerity. Finally, she accepted my hand. "Alright then, yet I still have to get used to that."

"It's fine. For sure you'll be able to address me with my name only soon enough. Just some practice will do," I said in a more normal tone. "I would offer my help as well if you'd like."

"Yes, I appreciate it, Milord. I can now see that we might have to make some adjustments to suit your modernized preferences," Emria responded. "Anyway, shall we proceed? I'll lead you to the dining hall now.

"Oh, sure. Thanks for your help again."

I completely got up from the bed and fixed my hair with my bare hands. Maybe I could just ask for some utilities later.

We left the room and proceeded to track the hallway, which I found very long. I was not quite sure, but I've noticed more than 25 rooms in a row as we passed by. Until later, we reached the entrance to another huge facility.

"Good morning. My name is Adalaid from Metriona. It's my pleasure to meet you, Milord." Another young woman on a white flowery attire saluted at me.

"Good morning, and nice to meet you too, Adalaid!" I shyly greeted back.

I heard Emria chuckled beside me. "My apologies, I guess His Excellency is still new for these formalities, Adalaid."

"I see. I'm terribly sorry for causing more bewilderment upon you, Milord. Anyway, they just finished the preparation for breakfast. You may now join them. Before you came, Ilona, Meorya and Aflera also arrived with three of the other lads. They are already at the table, I guess."

Emria thanked her, and she bid me to keep going. Then, before letting her lead the way again, I did the same towards Adalaid.

"Welcome to Arthalli-goenlyn, Your Excellency. Have a pleasant day!" She bowed before giving way for us.

I followed Emria at the dining hall and many people after Adalaid saluted at me as well. Seriously, what's the deal? What did I do to be treated like this?

My mind had been lost somewhere as it tried to figure out what was really the meaning of every circumstance. Until Emria spoke up about the table and the seats, which had snapped me out of my thoughts. She even noticed that I was kind of dazed and confused, so she asked. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll just sit here then," I responded while taking the nearest golden chair to me.

Well, I was totally serious about the golden chair. You know, it was adorned with light coloured textile, and I noticed its feet which were shiny metal. Actually, even the table and the utensils were enormous ones. I could say that this was indeed a dream.

"We had the same thought, but I guess this isn't a dream after all," someone blurted out and-wait! What!

"Hey, how did you... Hold on! Mark?" I cried, and wait, he wasn't the only one here. "Shane and, Nicky?"

"Yeah, guess Mark is right. This is not a dream. I did slap myself many times since I woke up, and nothing happened," Nicky stated. "Hi, Kian! It's been a while."

"Y-yeah, it's been a while, Mate. Anyway, what are you three doing here? Is Shane just fine? Why do you seem unfazed despite these weird circumstances?" I queried successively.

"Now now, you're forgetting to calm yourself down, Kian." Mark tapped my shoulder. "Firstly, we don't know either why we're here. Secondly, Shane is still in his languor state that's why. Then last, obviously, we're also dragged into this, and I bet that none of us has any idea regarding what's going on, so it's better to take time to know and realise everything, isn't it? I'm positive that we'll figure out all of this soon enough."

"I'm guessing that you've met or known each other already, haven't you?" Emria was approaching as I turned around.

I simpered. "Yes, in fact, Shane and Mark here were my childhood friends while Nicky is Shane's classmate from Dublin."

She smiled while carrying a tray with some plates of food on her left and drinks on her right. "I see, that's good to know. Coping up here will be easier for you then."

The three of us attempted to help, but the lady just shook her head and put up another beam. She said that it's her duty, so we shouldn't have to bother ourselves about anything. Then, she began to distribute the food for each of us, and we all said our thanks to her.

"Are you okay, Milord?" Emria asked once she spotted Shane, who looked so pale and weary.

The brunet looked up to be greeted by the woman's face filled with genuine concern. We barely caught how he got so shocked, and confusion flashed through his green orbs. Er, I'm just, fine. Sorry."

"Are you sure? Please let me know if you need anything. Would you want me to call for Lady Ellea?" Emria insisted with worry started to fill her eyes.

Shane shook his head. "N-no, it's fine really. I was just so tired."

I looked at Mark and Nicky, trying to say something. Thankfully, they understood and proceeded to help our friend.

"Ms Emria, don't worry so much. We'll take care of him. He merely had a long night back," Nicky denounced politely.

Mark then patted Shane, which made the uneasy man look at us. "Calm down, Shane. It's just me. Here, have some drink first." He handed the porcelain glass filled with water.

Shane nodded and accepted it. "Thanks, Mark."

"Sorry about that, Emria! This friend of ours truly had a hard time even back in our place," I briefly explained.

"Is that so? Forgive me if I had startled you, Your Excellency." She bowed down to Shane. "Please, make yourself comfortable around here."

"Yes, thank you, Ms Emria. Sorry if I made you worried. And please don't bow your head to me," Shane replied; he also blushed with the gesture.

"Okay then. I understand you, Milord. I want to let you know that we're all here to serve you whenever you need."

"Don't be so formal around us, Ms Emria. It somewhat makes us feel like we're some bunch of spoiled brats. Besides, I think you're just close to our ages, and we want to be friends with you as well," Nicky declared.

"That would be a hard one, but like what I told earlier, we will try to learn more, so we could fit your preference upon our service."

Mark invited Emria to join us on the table, but she became reluctant to accept. Until someone entered and seconded our motion.

"It's alright, you may join them, Young lady." We all looked at the new attendee.

Emria bowed and greeted the elegant man who's approaching to the dining table. "Good morning, Lord Alcaidus. Come and have your seat. I'll serve your food."

"Thank you. A pleasant morning to you too," the man greeted back. "I want you to join here after getting my food, okay?"

"O-okay, Your Excellency. I'll be just quick." The lady blushed.

We chuckled at that interaction, then the lad named, Alcaidus sat next to me. We awkwardly saluted at him, portraying their manner. "Good Morning, Y-Your Excellency."

"It's alright, you don't have to be formal to me. I'm afraid I should be the one to do that in front of you," he remarked which caused more of a question to us.

"What do you mean by that?"
. . . . . . . . . .
"Hugh! We did a lot of stuff today, didn't we?" I grumbled, taking a seat at one of the benches here in the palace garden.

"Yeah, and it was totally exhausting. Until now, I can't still believe in all of this. Never in my life, I'd thought of being a prince at all, even just for the United Kingdom, you know? Though I admit that I sometimes I wondered how Prince Harry or Prince William feel, or if how being the son of the Irish Prime Minister," Nicky, as talkative as he always is, responded a lot.

I laughed. "That's too much of a response for such a little rant, Mate."

"No! You have just spoken very little, Mate," he countered with a smirk.

As soon as we had finished our breakfast, they quickly had us escorted back to our rooms. They'd shown us our own personal wardrobes with symbols designated for each of them. When I opened mine, I had seen sets of elegant orange clothing. Each of them had the symbol that was similar to the ones on our doors and even to the emblems they'd given to us. Mine was like a small trident with a flickering flame, Mark's was a sharpened grey feather on a sword's handle, Nic's was a dagger that pierced a hole into a solid green gemstone, and Shane had an arrow stabbed on the sun.

We'd just done a very astonishing ceremony with all the noblemen here in Arthalli-goenlyn-if I got it right. Well, it had been all about introduction AND explanation stuff regarding this prophecy, reincarnation and the world-transfer thing, which were honestly too hard to believe with. I mean, how would you react if one day you'll find out that you are a prince who died 300 years ago and has been reincarnated in the human world, or what we knew as, Earth? I bet that no one could ever act as normal as we did right now because of what Mark-the most unmoving person I've ever known-had said. Maybe, at least we could be calm. For now, since we're just as equally clueless, it's better to take time to figure out and comprehend everything soon, hopefully. Other than that, each of us had shared a piece of brief delineation of how had we gotten ourselves here to one another, and it all utterly creeped me out every time the thoughts crossed my mind. Hence, I got the reason why Shane had been acting so uneasy starting this morning. I understood that it really affected him a lot, especially we'd known from Nicky that he had seen some awful dreams before all of this happened, and it kinda gave us a hint that Shane might likely be able to see things, which were related to this very unusual matter. Therefore, I'd begun contemplating if was he really just born to be like that because of what or who we really were, and he wasn't actually a schizophrenic like what everybody used to know.

"Hey, I want something to eat," Nicky muttered. "Usually, Shane and I will go to get some food after classes."

"Maybe you're just really being easy by these times, but don't forget that we aren't in our place," I said.

"Of course, I don't," he responded. "Hey, Shane, Mark, are ya hungry?" but he didn't get any reply from the duo who both were wondering somewhere else again.

"Nice try, Nicky, but those two are spacing out again." I grinned. "Oi, wonder brothers, don't go far yonder. Come back here."

Nicky and I laughed as we continued to get their attention. Then, they looked at us.

"What's your problem again, Kian?" Mark queried.

I snickered. "Nothing, we just don't want the two of you to get lost."

"Yeah, and We're asking if you want to eat too?" Nicky added.

"Meorya said that they will bring us snack here," Shane mouthed.

We rolled our eyes. "What! Why didn't you tell us earlier."

"Sorry. I just forgot about it because Nicky was talking about something insane," the green-eyed boy explained.

"So it's your fault, Nicky." I pointed an accusing finger on him. "I told ya, you're a lot talkative."

"Why me? Shane is just being forgetful at times, ya know?"

Now, Mark and I joined forces. "No, you're too noisy. Therefore, we get distracted."

"Just admit it's your fault why Shane had forgotten."

The mentioned lad blushed and looked down in embarrassment. "Why do you always have to humiliate me?"

Then, Nicky joined us too. He began laughing and teasing the pouting bloke next to Mark. "It's alright, Shae. Next time, we will just tell them not to confide anything to you because it might be forgotten. Don't worry, it's really good we're here to remind you if ever you don't remember to brush your teeth or take a bath."

"I hate you," Shane hissed, still red up to his ears.

We're in this position when someone called out from not too far. "I'm here to bring some refreshments. May I?"

We smiled at the approaching person. Emria walked over and handed each of us a plate of some fancy kind food.

"Thank you for bringing graces to us, Emria." Nicky grinned sheepishly. "Shane forgot to tell us about it."

The young lady then turned her eyes to the said lad, who remained to facepalm himself. "What's the matter, Prince Shantaire?' Oh! She just addressed him with his previous name, according to what we'd known during the ceremony. Now, he couldn't look up, and his ears were even redder.

Mark chuckled. "Nicky was being noisy, so he forgot to tell us about what Meorya said to him."

"No, they're making fun of me," Shane denounced his objection.

"But why so?" Emria looked at us with confusion filling her facade.

Yet, before we even had opened our mouth to explain, another voice was heard, and it sounded like the owner was in a rush. "Hold on, Your Excellency! You must not be irrational. Please, do not cause more trouble."

"I don't remember of giving you my permission to tell me what to do, so stop following me," the voice of a man said.

"Wo! That sounds familiar," Nicky commented. "Now, he's starting to be an ass hole again."

"Yeah, actually I've been wondering of who really that bloke is? Seems like you know 'em, Nicky," I remarked after taking a bite on my snack.

I noticed that Shane suddenly flinched and changed his expression into an unreadable one. He took a peek at the commotion a few distances away and became lost in thoughts once again. Mark was sitting the nearest to him, so he tried to get his attention.

"Do you know that delinquent, Shae?"

"The truth is, he's Shane's bully in our school," Nicky announced nonchalantly. "His name is Brian McFadden. Actually, they just had an encounter the day before all of this happened, and it was a terrible sight."

"What did you say!" Mark and I exclaimed in unison, and Emria was startled to the sudden outburst.

"Please, forgive me, everyone. I lost the sight of him, and he escaped. I'm really sorry." Another maiden named, Elycia entered and she looked pretty upset. "I failed with my duty to look after him. I sincerely apologize."

"Conciliate yourself, Elycia. You don't have to be upset about it. We aren't blaming you for what happened," Mark spoke on behalf of the three of us. "Why don't you sit here with us then?"

"But..."

"It's fine, just leave that man to us. We will handle him later. Come join us for some snack first," Nicky said cheerfully.

"Oh! Thank you. That's so kind of the four of you." She bowed before taking the seat beside Emria.
I handed her the plate of food and let her pick one. "Have some for yourself, Elycia. It might help you to relax." Then, Nicky gave the lady a glass of juice that Emria had brought for us.

"Thank you, Your Excellency! It will be my honour to share this food with you," she remarked.

"You're welcome, Elycia. We're happy and also grateful because you serve for us," Shane talked again at last.

"The truth is, we did ask that lad to come out to attend the ceremony, early this morning when we went to his detention room to deliver his food, but he seemed very annoyed. Therefore, Lord Aldrious advised us to merely let him alone and assigned some maid or butler to keep an eye on him for the whole time. Elycia was assigned to be his maid and Demorie for his butler, but he's been recently sent to relay an important message to a noble house this afternoon," Emria explicated. "Weren't you able to sober him,?"

"I did that, but he wanted to go out so badly. Moreover, we don't have permission to use our power towards them a lot, especially if it isn't necessary. It depends on the situation. That's why when I came back to serve his food, he bolted out of the detention room, so I left the food and ran after him," Elycia answered.

"Wait, so you guys actually have powers?" Nicky asked in surprise.

Emria laughed softly. "Yes, indeed, Milord. Just like what you heard from most of the speakers at the ceremony a while ago, we're known as sorcerers after all"

"That's quite amazing! What kind of powers you do have?" Nicky continued excitedly.

Honestly, I was interested to know as well. I'd been hearing a lot of nerve-racking stuff for the whole time I had spent around here, and this might be my first time to witness one for real.

"Elycia is a wind sorcerer while I wield power towards earth," Emria said.

"Is it fine if we would want to see?" Mark enunciated. The excitement was obvious through his whole face.
"Yes, can you show us even just a little of it?" Nicky seconded, patting Shane's shoulder, who abruptly switched a disposition once he heard about that sorcery thing. "Easy, Mate. This time around, you won't be hallucinating at all. C'mon, it'd be fine."

Then, he calmed down a bit after taking a deep breath. "Alright, it'll be fine."

"Relax, Shane. You don't need to panic. They won't do anything harmful, right, Emria?" Mark reassured the anxious lad with the help of the maiden.

Emria smiled sincerely and looked at the duo. "Of course, we won't resort to some drastic measure if not necessary. Besides, as servitors, we must only use our power under the nobleman's order or else, we won't use it without explicit permission."

"So you're here too, Shane Filan." The tall bloke appeared all of a sudden, and he's glaring sharply at us. "Dragging me to this place to take your vengeance, I never knew that you're fucking clever sometimes. Do you really think this could be enough to scare me?"

Shane just frowned at him, perhaps he's trying to comprehend what the bastard was babbling about. Nonetheless, the git went nearer and roughly grabbed our friend's arms. Mark glowered at the rowdy so intently like he's gonna rip off the head from the body.

"McFadden, didn't I tell you not to get near Shane or else, I'll make that face of yours disappear?" Nicky rose up, his fists were already clenched, and I could see the rage through his red turning facade. I was still observing the big idiot before us while shooting daggers, which I wished that could actually kill him.

"Right. Why don't you try, Byrne?" McFadden bluffed. "Oh, and who are these pieces of shit? Are they more lunatics of your group, huh, Filan?"

Shane got irked by McFadden's sentences. "How dare you insult them like that, McFadden? They haven't done anything to you."

"It's alright, Shane, we do not take that seriously. Frankly, he looked even more like a gobshite." Mark smirked angrily.

Emria intruded and asked, "Your Excellency, you said you want to see how my power works, didn't you?"

"Yes. Why?" I wrinkled my forehead.

The woman sniggered to me and Nicky. "Well then, will you give me permission?"

I curled my lips and nodded. "Absolutely, Emria. Go on, I'm counting on you."

My blood boiled due to rage that began to rise in me. I couldn't believe that the other lad who'd been summoned here other than us was that bastard. How dare he lay a hand on our friend just like that? Ever since we've been standing against those damn- ass who would attempt to pick on Shane because of him being schizophrenic, and we'd never let them go home without any souvenir whenever they had put an injury on Shane, even just a small scratch or bruise. Do we really have to live together with him? I might break his face if I wouldn't be able to restrain myself.

"As you wish, Milord." Emria signalled Elycia to follow, then they both snapped their fingers. "Enough of that, young lad. We do not tolerate those acts of impertinence. You shouldn't be so disrespectful and brutal towards them."

McFadden raised a brow at the two maidens. "And who are you to butt in?"

"Excuse me, Your Excellency, that manner isn't proper for this place," Elycia said irritatedly.

"So what? Should I really care?" McFadden countered. "What kind of joke are you all doing?"

Our eyes widened as a strong wind blew on them, separating Shane and Brian from each other. The three of us stood up and pulled our friend out of the scene. Then, we merely found the bloke struggling to his restrains. He's now wrapped with some sort of creeper, coiling throughout his limbs and torso.

"What the heck are you doing?" the idiot cried exasperatedly. "LET-ME-GO!"

"That's what you get for your sudden actions," Emria asserted then turned to us. "Am I doing this right, Milord?"

We granted them a salute. "Woh! So that's how it is! You're doing all great."

"How long can you keep it up?" I queried in awe.

"As long as you want, Milord, but my abilities are limited. I'm certain that Lord Nicolaydum could do more than this."

Okay, now that made me even more astonished. Like, seriously?

"What! but I could barely make the ball fly unless I kick it." Nicky perked up.

"Well, I believe that you might be able to perform something like this one of these days," the woman remarked positively.

"Yeah, sure, and I can kick you in the ass." Brian growled. "RELEASE-ME-NOW!"

"Sorry, but currently I'm working under their command. I'm afraid you cannot be released unless they would ask me to." Emria sent an apologetic smile towards her captive.

"Tch! Really, you work under that bunch of lunatics?"

"Says the one who did assault the knights and got detained." We're all surprised to see Shane standing a few distances away from his assailant with a smirk on his feature. "At least, we would never resort to violence. You don't have any rights to call them lunatics. Look at yourself first."

"Way to go, Shane. Finally, you're learning." Nicky cheered up.

I moved quickly forward and delivered a blow straight to Brian. "Don't you dare try to attack us, bastard." Unfortunately, I wasn't able to keep myself from doing that any longer. Thus, his face quickly got swollen. Yet, I didn't care if it even made him feel dizzy or something. He'd been hurting Shane for some months now, and I wasn't there to teach him a lesson.

"Kian, that hurt," Mark gibed.

"Oh, should I make it lighter?" I asked back sarcastically.

"Maybe."

Yeah, at least ten times lighter, Mate. Want me to join in?" Nicky added.

"Told ya, you shouldn't have called them lunatics, McFadden. Because they really are when they get pissed off," Shane ratified.

Then, the four of us laughed and gave a high-five to one another.

However, Brian seemed very ticked off and snorted. "You're just that fortunate because I'm tied up here. You're just being brave because I can't fight back. I'll tear all of you apart and make sure to break your bones once I get out." he threatened.

"Why don't you try, Mr Popular," Nicky retorted. "Try to convince Emria and those creepers to set you free."

"Yeah, try to use your power if you do have," I sneered before we cracked up.

Yet in amidst this laughter, the maids gasped, which made us tend to their direction. "What's wrong?"

"Your Excellency, he's..."

"Hey, what is that, a giant wave?" Nicky shrieked.

"It's Lord Obreon's power!" Elycia enunciated.

"What!" We squalled in unison.

The said giant wave rushed towards the garden, but it, passed by Brian who's seeming so smothered. Nevertheless, he's countenance suddenly turned different. Yes, I noticed it before I was pulled by Mark and Nicky. He looked horrified and in a state of panic with his mouth and eyes wide open.

"No! Let me go! Let me go! Damn it! Damn you all!"

Fortunately, the tidal wave stopped and didn't take so long. I bet that Shane had also seen what I saw, for he just dashed back to Brian who remained at his place with the vines coiling on him.

"McFadden, hang on," he shouted. "Emria, can you release him now, please? He's hyperventilating."

The lady obeyed and dispelled the sorcery cast on Brian, and we ran to Shane. He was now trying to tranquillize the lad in shock.

Stay away. I want to get out of here. H-help!" the bloke mouthed some incoherent ramblings, along with his body that was shivering, and he's coughing up some water likewise.

"Shhhh! It's alright, McFadden. It has stopped already, see?" Shane said softly while putting too much effort to keep the taller guy from moving. "Um, can you help me here?"

We merely sighed inwardly and came to give him a hand. "You've just learned to shoot him back a while ago," Nicky whined.

"C'mon, Mate, let's help him. It's Shane, there's nothing we can do about it," Mark induced. "He probably understands those one's with mental complaints."

"and what exactly does that mean?"
The three of us went to assist them to calm him down. This guy was kind of handful. Even the four of us needed to use a bit more of our strength to hold him in since he's quite having a panic attack. Before long, McFadden stopped and fainted. Emria went to call for help, and she returned with the familiar figure.

"Excuse me, Noblemen. May I now see my patient. My name is Ellea from Chiarlothea," the newcomer introduced herself.

Right, she's the person I'd seen before totally losing my consciousness the day or night before, and the one who Emria was talking about earlier. She wasn't in the ceremony though. By the way, we moved backwards at once to give a room for her.

"Hello, um, how are we supposed to address you?" Mark inquired.

She smiled and did the prevalent ancient gesticulation towards us. "I am the coryphaeus from 'The Bough of healers', previously led by Prince Shantaire Filheney of Chiarlothea, but you can call me in any way you're comfortable with. I'm not that very particular with the formalities, so feel free to address me even with my name only."

"I see, I'm pleased to finally meet you, Ms Ellea. Thanks for helping me last night with my difficulties," Mark divulged courteously.

"I'm glad to meet you; likewise, to find out that you seemed better now, Your Excellency. It's my pleasure to help with anything through my power.."
We watched as a yellow light from the healer's palm circled around Brian. Somehow, it made his complexion look better, although he remained unconscious.

How is he?" Shane asked.

The healer projected a serious expression and initiated to profess. "This is the same as what I saw yesterday. He had also shown this sign of fear and shock, Yet I'm still not certain about the possible cause."

"Maybe he had some traumatic experience with water?" Mark implied.

I frowned. "Are you saying that you think he's aquaphobic?"

"I'm just basing on what we have witnessed a while ago. You've noticed how his reaction changed when the tidal wave passed by him as well, haven't you?"

"But that one was a portion of his power," Emria interjected. "Oh! Forgive me, I didn't mean to be rude."

I nodded to tell her it's fine. "Are you sure with that?"

"Yes, I'm so sorry, Milord I.."

"No no, that's not what I mean. Don't make yourself so nervous, Emria," I chuckled. "What I mean is, are you sure of what you said about his power?"

"Oh, I see. Yes, he's precisely the one who did it. I felt the aura he released when he got so mad. Though I can tell that he hadn't meant it because that spell was not cast and controlled properly," she zealously uttered. "That's why I'm pondering now if is it really possible that he has fear with water. If so, it might convey no good."

"What can you say regarding this, Lady Ellea?" Elycia once spoke up.

"Well, I completely agree with what Emria had said. If this young lad truly fears his power, aside from the risk on himself, we are bound to face an early predicament too."

. . . . . . . . . .

"That's right, Your Excellency. You just have to make your moves more precise. Even one mistake may lead you to numerous perils," Alcaidus said in the middle of my lesson in using our tridents, the main melee weapon of Hakuainians.

"Okay, noted. I'm still learning, you know?" I replied, aiming my weapon to him.

I focused my eyes to watch his movements, so I would be able to know what would be my own next move. When he partly raised the trident, I remained alert and made a swing rightward with mine, then anticlockwise turn to block. Alcaidus swiftly brandished his weapon to target my upper, but I jumped backwards and pulled on my right, trying to make a successful assault on his stomach. However, he made a massive blow and swang his arm, turning upward until the tip of a blade almost got hit me. Luckily, I was fast enough to dodge and return the attack. A clanging sound of metals was heard as the two tridents collided through the continuous exchange of attacks. That sound had been a part of my daily life here though.

We just started to be trained by those noblemen on using our melee weapons the day after the welcoming ceremony and that watery incident with the delinquent Dubliner. It truly made them come up with the idea of our immediate self familiarization, strength and ability enhancement and magic manifestation. They'd been giving us a lot of lectures regarding this place, noble etiquettes, rules and regulations and especially, different types of magic and how to perform it. Although, the study of magic was on the least of our daily routine because it takes some amount of energy. Therefore, they let us focus more on developing our physical abilities and stamina, so we would be able to summon our magic powers without fainting or getting worn out.

Asking about that bastard, we didn't actually know. We saw him having his own lectures as well in a detention room, yet we're not sure if he listened or even paid attention to them. Yes, he stayed detained, and they even monitored him regularly in case something anomalous took place within him, on account of his fear of water that had been confirmed when a Nemosterian lady looked over his memories. Yet, take note, he's the first and only one who'd managed to actually summon his element among us five, otherwise, it didn't come out so willingly.

"Alright, this is enough by now. You may take a break," Alcaidus declared, so I sluggishly took a sit on a bench and put my trident down beside me.

"Thanks, I can finally breathe."

"I'll be heading to the main hall. Do you need anything?" my lecturer inquired.

I nodded. "Maybe something to drink or any refreshment."

"Alright then, I'll just tell to the maids. You can wait here, and I think the others are going to take a break as well," he confided before leaving.

Hey, Kian!" I viewed Nicky rushing with something on his hand. "Want some?"

"Hey, you're too noisy. You might disturb someone inside of some halls in the castle. What's that in your hands anyway?" I shouted back, eying the strange thing he's holding. "Where did you get that?"

"here, watch out," he screamed childishly. It was too late for me to notice, so the green thingy hit my head. I winced a bit, but they're not done yet.

"Incoming!" I heard a familiar voice from behind, and another one struck my skull as Mark appeared with a mischievous beam.

"Ou! Damn it!"

I was about to tackle the two eejits in front of me when-"Another one!"-the third bullet solidly landed on my right temple. Guess what, it's Shane, coming from another direction with a bow on his left hand.

"Strikeout!" they squealed all together, followed by a belly laugh.

"That's too slow of you, man!"

"You might get caught by a daemon easily."

"You truly embrace yourself being accident-prone, don't you?"

"Fine, and you're too good in pissing me off. What if I let you three get each blade of my trident. Besides, I haven't been in an accident, you meant it.," I whined.

Shane took a seat beside me. "Come on, we know you're tired, but let's just enjoy these fruits."

"No way, you just squashed them on my face. I wouldn't eat that shit," I muttered.

Then, Nicky pulled out something from his shirt, and I was dumbfounded to see a bunch of those tiny green fruit puffs. "No worries, Mate. I got a lot of 'em, see?"

"Where did you actually get that?" I questioned with wide eyes.

"We found an old tree over there." Mark pointed at the other corner of the garden, where he's assigned to do his own training with his swordsmanship.
"Nicky was actually running like a madman until he got tripped by something small and plump. Then, we found those in clumps," Shane continued. "Lady Ameriyo said that they are edible and one of the famous fruits in here, so we wanted to taste it, and Nicky went crazy on picking this many."

"Okay, then how about myself being the fruit throwing's main target?" I pouted.

Nicky grinned. "We just wanted to know how durable it is, ya know?"

"Are you saying that my head is..."

Oops, I'm not saying anything more." He smirked as he shoved the small thing in my mouth. "Now, how is it?"

Having no choice, I chewed the strange matter, and it was crunchy and juicy, like a fried chicken? Of course not, it's insanely sweet. I never knew that a green-coloured fruit could be this sugary.

"I like it." I grinned. "Give me some more."

"Oh, so it's tasty after all," he said, handing me a few pieces of the fruit. I grabbed them and played with it for a moment. Then...

"Ouch! What the heck! Kian!"

I smirked crazily. "That's what you get for making fun of me."

He growled. "Don't you know the meaning of the word, joke?"

"I do, and I'm just joking either, ya know?"

I then turned to the wonder duo, who both stared at me with pleas. "Want some jokes too?" I asked playfully. Whereas, I just got another surprise in my life.
A huge bird emerged above my head in all of a sudden, and its bulky blue eyes spotted at me. It flopped its wings frantically and went higher. Hold on, I had seen this creature. It was the same long grey paws, sharp yellow beak, and large white physique covered with yellow feathers, more like a combination of an albatross and an ostrich for being that huge, so I couldn't be wrong. Well, if I would take out the irrational comparison, its legs weren't that terribly long; maybe merely about the size of three to four rulers. Though, the body was just that big or could be bigger than the ostrich. Nevertheless, its wings were unbelievable ones, so that it could actually have Mark covered under.
"Is that a flying monster?" Nicky screeched.

"It's you, Kiashne," Mark exclaimed, standing from his seat with a wide beam. "How is it going?"

Shane and I widened our eyes. "Wait, Kiashne?" we squealed together.

"Did you just name that bird after us?" I grouched. "Also, isn't that the one who took you away?"

The tall brunet winked. "What's wrong with that? Look at him, he's so tame."

"Alright, he is tame, but you're not actually good in giving names, I say. You're asking what is wrong? Well, a lot, Marky. You just named your pet next to us." I spat.

I looked at Shane who seemed very displeased and humiliated. Again, he's turning red up to his ears.
"Aren't you two happy that I named him after you at all?" Mark pouted comically.

"Of course, we aren't. Don't you feel embarrassed about that?" I countered.

"No, and why would I? It's cute." He tittered.

"Well then, I'm gonna make sure you will say that no more." I picked up another fruit. I raised my trident and slightly pointed it to Mark.

Nonetheless, he disappeared, and the next thing happened, we saw him above, having a ride on his giant flying friend.

"What! For real? That's completely unfair." Nicky sulked. "Why Mark is the only one who got an animal partner? I'm sure, that bird has something sinister as well aside from being gigantic."

"Well, the Feeholewe has been in service under the Feeholira clan for quite long now," Emria suddenly spoke from behind us. "I'm here to bring some sweet treats from Nemosteria. It just came today, courtesy of Lord Oriene Mackadain."

"Wow! Really? Thank you, Emria," I responded, reaching the tray of another new delicacy of some kingdom from her.

Nicky walked over and joined the three of us. "Oh! we have food again."

"Come on, Lord Nicolas, why don't you take some? These are gifts for you," Emria invited him.

Yeah, you heard it right, Emria used to address us with our new names, though in a formal manner, still.

Taking a seat next to Shane, Nicky was still glancing above, where Mark was enjoying his ride with that creature.

"I've seen that bird in my dreams before we came here," Shane stated quietly.

"Yeah, that's amazing, isn't it?"

"It's not if it's named after me and Shane," I objected.

"C'mon, Mate. just let it go. Mark had already given it to him a few days ago. I think he can no longer change it for the bird," Nicky told while shoving the food in his mouth. "Besides, it also came from you that he's not good in giving names."

"Whatever, I won't accept that name for the creep." I shrugged.

Shane whistled. "Come down here first, and let's eat. Emria brought us something delicious."

Then, Mark landed in front of us, and the bird faced where I was sitting with the others. It turned its lengthy beak and bowed its head while flopping those colourful wings leisurely.

"WHAT IS HE DOING?" NICKY WONDERED.

"If I'm not mistaken, that's the gesture of giving salute for the Feeholewe," Emria answered. "After all, they were meant to recognize the Paladins of the Cosmos."

"Oh! Hello there, Kiashne!" Nicky waved at the huge creature and got rewarded with a shrill chirping, accompanied by a flop of its wings, which caused a fanning effect to the wind. "Hey, Ki, I think he really liked that name."

I groaned. "Shut it up, Nick, it doesn't even make things better. Who knows what's that bird really saying?"

"Well, I can say that he's really seeming so," Mark intervened. "But let's just forget about that. The food mustn't be neglected."

We all turned in silence as each of us was enjoying the treats. We even let Emria have a share, as what we'd done often since she had really been close to this circle after those past few days. The lady had been on our aid most of the time, and she's the person who's always available and willing to give assistance whenever needed. The other maids were also close to us, like Meorya, Ilona, Aflera and even Elycia. Yeah, they're the maids assigned for Me, Shane, Mark, Nicky and Brian. Well, there's just a bit of misfortune for Elycia because she happened to be assigned for that stuck-up lengthy guy and our friend's current major bully. That's why she's more pleasured to be with the four of us, though her responsibility shouldn't be forsaken in spite of those hardships when it comes to handling her task.

"By the way, where's Elycia and the other maids?" I asked.

"They have their own tasks inside the castle right now because today we suppose to do a wide sanitizing, except for Elycia. Of course, Lord Aldrious made it clear that she and Demorie must not leave Lord Obreon that often, for we do not know what might occur anytime soon," Emria responded.

"I see, hope she could get along here with us still," I uttered before taking a sip of the cool drink she had brought together with our snack for this afternoon. "And hey, you've just mentioned it, these were from Nemosteria, right? If I can clearly recall my lectures, albeit I'm not actually a good listener, that's the kingdom where water sorcerers came from, so it means, it's the kingdom where McFadden had lived on his previous life, wasn't it?"

She smiled with my outburst. "Well, although you just claimed that, you still got the right point, Lord Kian. He actually was the heir of the Nemosterian throne."

"Yeah, he was the heir, and you pertain each of us a prince. Does it mean that we're the heirs of our kingdoms before either?" Mark bluntly interjected.

"Well, about that, I've just known a few things, Lord Markus. I don't have every detail of your previous lives, except for those we knew from our basic studies when I wasn't yet in service here," Emria admitted.

"Can you tell us those details you know? At least it will give some conceptions regarding who we were and how we used to be. YOu aren't really forbidden to do that, are ya?" Nicky for once became serious.

"No, there's no strict rule for us when it comes to that, but could it be a help? I'm not interfering with your insights though. Nonetheless, don't you think that it is better if you merely live the way you are right now?"

"It is, but you know? We just can't help ourselves not to wonder," Shane ratified.

"Hmm, alright then. If you really wish to, I'll tell you what I know."

We remained to savour our fancy tuckers while the lady proceeded to talk.

"As you just heard, Lord Obreon was the late son of King Odarie Mackadain, who died almost a month after he turned 18 with the other four princes of the other kingdoms. Lord Markus was the youngest ruler at that time. He had inherited the throne of RIonastio once he reached his fifteenth year due to early deaths of King Merikai and Queen Aerene Hurricia Feeholira during the cosmic war.

"Lord Nicolas wasn't the eldest son of King DDianus, so initially, he didn't become the heir of the throne of Metriona. However, Prince Orechira was, unfortunately, not an exemption of the great number of losses, as a result of the said war that once occurs every 300 years. Hence, their father eventually proclaimed Prince Nicolaydum Berrylun as the newly crowned prince.

"Lord Kian's previous life's brother, Canderion Elgeon, was already the current ruler of Hakuainus, so basically, he wasn't the heir likewise. On the other hand, there had been a controversial issue regarding the heir of Chiarlothea, for King Acantary Filheney did not give his first son-who was Lord Shane's previous carnation-the right to become the next to rule their kingdom for some unknown reason and let that to be the youngest child of the Chiarlothean royal couple, Prince Ashnaire. Therefore, The two without the burden of being the next monarchs had different responsibilities in their kingdoms: Prince Shantaire was the previous Coryphaeus of, 'The bough of Healers', like what Lady Ellea told you before, while Prince Kionderile had held the command for 'The royal Nights' of his kingdom."

"Wasn't there anything said about that controversial matter like sickness or bad behaviour?" I questioned.

"Wait, are you saying that I was also an ill person before, Kian?" Shane grimaced.

"No, I just wanna know why your previous parents had done that. You know, if you were like what you are right now with your family with seven children, I would understand, considering that you're the youngest,"

Emria flashed a smile and chuckled. "Well, there were gossips back then, saying that perhaps, King Acantary made the decision because of his son's impairment."

"Impairment?" we repeated.

"Yes, Prince Shantaire actually was blind," the lady stated.

"Hold on, you mean, he's not able to see?" Nicky blurted out.

"Yes, Lord Nicolas. However, with that fact, he wasn't actually seeming like a disabled sorcerer. Prince Shantaire had such great senses, excluding his sight. He could really move around without any assistance, even in battling. Thus, that rumour was never proven to be true at all, forasmuch as, even the people today who had come from that period believed that Prince Shantaire Filheney had indeed, remained capable for the royal ordainment. Besides, King Acantary was said to be a good father. He endeared his children and even taught them with a lot of knowledge towards sorcery, melee weaponry and ethics. He was also the one who stood as his eldest child's main trainer."

"So, no one really knew the real reason," Mark alluded.

"Probably, that supposed to be a queer without clarity, and I'm afraid it might just remain that way forever, Lord Markus,"

With all of these new pieces of information filling in our minds, we became fascinated and almost put in perturbance of our sanity. You know, there's still the difficult part of starting a new life here. It never left us that easy, I guessed. The more complicated were the facts served on our plates.

"Alright, young noblemen, I hope you're all done having some rest over there. Every minute of the day must not be wasted,"

We looked at the direction of the voice, only to meet Alcaidus' authoritative posture that faced on us. Emria bowed her head, and we stood up while having a hard time following the etiquettes.

"Hurry, last two hours for this day," he commanded. "Other trainers are already waiting. Go to your respective grounds now."

"Yes, Sir!"

[-----]
Shane Filan's POV:

After my final training with my archery today, I decided to visit the library of the palace. I thought that there could be at least something that may give any knowledge to me regarding all this reincarnation thing. Of course, it was a part of the history of this world, so I guessed a book would help. Although, I was never actually a history geek. Honestly, I hadn't read a lot.

"Good evening, Lord Filheney. Is there anything I can do for you?" a woman in an elegant orange attire greeted me at the entrance.

"Good evening, L-Lady Alirey," I stuttered. "May I come in?"

"Oh, alright then. Are you going to borrow some books, or you'll read them here?" she queried while holding an orange quill and a parchment.

"Er, actually I'm not quite sure."

"Okay, I'll just let you explore inside then. Please feel free to spend your time here and just ask for some help from the bookkeepers if you need one."

"Thank you, Lady Alirey."

"No problem, anytime, Lord Filheney."

She let me pass, so the cold wind and the sweet scent that was similar to the Evening Primroses welcomed me as early as I stepped inside the somewhat spacious structure made up of refined bricks. The room was lighted by the same type of chandelier that could be found in our bedrooms and in every single hall in this castle. However, I only had approximately an hour before getting back to my fellows, so I immediately made my way towards the shelves and began looking for some items that might be connected on what I needed to know about.

There were books for all the studies they used to give us every day, even for the study of magic and the five kingdoms special weaponry. Well, speaking of weapons, Emria had said that my previous life was blind, yet he's still capable of being in a battle. Does it mean, he could even use the bow and arrow? If so, he must be praised a lot by the people back then, unlike me who had been feared and avoided because of being schizophrenic. What a nice fate! A prince of grace and honour had been reincarnated as a simple lad of disgrace and hatred.

Oh, great!

Anyway, I went here to know more about him and the others, so this wasn't the time to resent of all my flaws and misfortunes in life.

"Excuse me, Your Excellency. Is there anything I can help you with?" Another woman appeared beside me, her green eyes were shining and warm. She had an orange emblem-that small trident-liked wisp of some glossy stone with the shape of a maple leaf at the handle's tip-on her shoulder, so I concluded that this lady came from Hakuainus.

"Hello, Lady..." I cut off, not knowing her name yet.

"Oh, my apologies. I'm Lucreia from Hakuainus, and this companion of mine here is Airydene from Rionastio. We're the bookkeepers here in the Arthali-goenlyn. Pleased to meet you, Lord Filheney." She bowed and offered her hand to me.

"Yes, I'm Airydene, pleased to meet you as well." The man followed timidly. I guessed he's the ideal bookworm.

"I see, nice to meet the two of you too, Lucreia and Airydene. It's alright, you don't need to keep those formalities since we're not in the noble hall right now. Besides, I'm not used to it," I admit while accepting and shaking their hand one by one.

The girl named, Lucreia chuckled with her eyes sparkling. "So, the rumours are true after all. What an honour to meet such a down to earth nobleman like you."

"Surely, we get that a lot, but it's just we're not actually living this way back on earth," I remarked.

"By the way, may I know what you're looking for?" she queried.

"Maybe some book regarding this world's history. Can you tell me where they are?" I replied.

She smiled formally, and the two of them walked a bit, motioning me to follow suit. They took me at the near end of the rows, and Airydene pointed the shelf, which was placed afar from the seats of the library. I also noticed that there's another hallway in front of the said shelf. For some reason, it really caught my attention.

"Thank you for helping me. Anyway, if I may ask, what is in that hallway?" I inquired.

"That way leads to the diminutive memorial hall dedicated for the late princes of Melharmo. The builders of Arthali-goenlyn thought of putting it here to serve as a treasure room for some stuff from each of the Paladins. Every year we hold a certain ceremony there in regards to the precious memories of the five young lads. Furthermore, that one faces at their real memorial landmark here. I presume that the nobles will definitely let you see it one of these days."

"Is that so? I'll be looking forward to that day then," I consented.

I proceeded to walk near the shelves. They called out and asked if I still needed anything else, but I told them to not worry anymore since I was pretty sure that I could handle myself on this simple mission of mine. Therefore, after they reminded me for the last time, I commenced with my searching business.

First, I looked at the ones placed on top of the shelf, where I found some that I guessed were written earlier than three-hundred years ago. There were the histories of the kingdoms, the places, rulers, heroes, warriors, other noble personalities, things that they accomplished, world crises, origins, anything you can read in a history book. till I was already in the middle. I had scanned a few of those books but nothing yet caught my interest badly. Getting a bit worn out, I got down and leaned my left side on the shelf for a while. Hope was gradually leaving me, especially when I remembered that Emria had said, they only knew so little. Perhaps, there weren't actually a lot of records kept even through any documentary or writs about them since they had also died at very young ages.

Fine, let's stop this nonsense by now. It's already evening, and for sure, they're frantically looking for me at this moment. Maybe I would just continue this in some other time. Besides, it somehow felt like I was gonna collapse anytime soon due to exhaustion, for my day had been truly long and hectic.

Some wise, my eyes laid on the hallway a few feet distant from me. I didn't know why, but there was this strange feeling within my consciousness, giving an urge for me to go and see what's in the room at the end of it. I tried to ignore it since I wanted to get out of here either, and some doubt towards my senses had been bothering me. Who knows, maybe this was another of my delusions again. After all, we still hadn't proved yet if I was really a schizophrenic or not. And yet, I merely found myself, staggering on my track towards the said hallway.

I could barely remember hearing someone saying something from behind, but the only thing that remained clearly on my mind was the sound of a familiar voice. It had been calling out and guiding me to this way, which led to a particular area of the library, where they built a mini-museum or a room for some sentimental stuff. It's the same with a complete strong force had me kept under a trance, and all I knew was that I needed to obey its commands.

"Keep on going, my friend."

My feet began to feel heavy as I got near to the said room. Approaching the old wooden door filled with dust, my breathing then grew heavier, along with this body that soon became wobbly. I reached the grip and cranked it open only to be greeted by overwhelming darkness due to lack of any lighting material and a cold breeze that caused chills down to my spine.

I blinked my eyes several times to adjust with the sight and to be able to move around. Once it had somehow coped with the condition, lots of old pieces of stuff revealed themselves and gave me a sense of familiarity, nostalgia and an abrupt kick of pain in my chess that was quite the beginning of the torment for me. I slowly made some turns, trying to find anything to use for lighting. Luckily, there's a glass window covered with a dark curtain, so I thought of pushing it a bit to the side to let the moonlight penetrate and serve as illumination. However, before I could manage to move, the same voice called out again.

"Over here. You don't have to do that."

"Who are you?" I muttered softly.

"Look, the light is enough. You may now see what you're searching for, young lad."

Turning to the direction of the voice, I gasped at the view in front of me. There's the long white staff that I'd seen in my dream, and it seemed like glowing at my stare, but what, or who stood beside it was the one that had completely shaken every nerve in my entire body.

"Took you long enough, Shane. I've been waiting for you," the figure said to me.

Still trembling in shock, I rubbed and blinked my eyes to make sure that everything was real and I wasn't being fooled by my senses. Whereas, the man just smiled gravely and motioned the thing on his side. I moved to approach him and reach the white stick without even a little bit of hesitation, in spite of the poorly hanging on, exhausted state of my being and the pounding of my heart.

Once this hand of mine touched the thing, and electricity flowed-initially through my skin, then straight to my whole body-so I tumbled on the ground together with the cane that blew some white dust around me as it had been stricken on the wall. I coughed hard, and a sudden pain hit me on the head. I shivered because of the intensified bleakness that surrounded the area and almost made me paralyzed as my vision also started to become blurry.

"Somebody, help me." My voice came out like a whisper.

Then I finally lost the contact to the outside when the pain sharpened and I could no longer bear it. I whimpered as it felt like my world was spinning fast, and inside my head was like in a strong violent storm. Some clear images commenced flashing into my mind. It was then accompanied by many voices from different people, which caused my chess to feel heavier, and the pounding of my heart got louder and more rapid due to those old emotions that were coming back to me.

The mournful cries, joyous laughs, noble sings and loud calls for the name; Shantaire echoed through my head, along with all the sensations which were associated with each memory overwhelmed and weakened my body. I couldn't breathe well and my dizziness worsened, yet it hadn't been enough to make the scattered images disappear. Those still seemed crystal-clear instead, keeping my sufferings on all throughout.

"Please, - this is enough," I begged with my voice that sounded broken and hoars.

"I'm sorry, but you have to accept them. They were all yours."

Tears escaped from my eyes as I continued to struggle while noticing the shadowy figure standing next to me and the grief that had been drawn on his face. All of those painful emotions-regret, guilt, sorrow and longing-suffused my existence, Then I began to mumble words of sincere apology repeatedly.

Before long, another voice of someone perceived by my poor senses that sounded like yelling out at me. "Shane! Shane!" However, There's no more enough strength left in my body to give a response, having a feeling of being unable to hold up. Until I merely shut these eyes of mine, letting this body to finally surrender into cruel and hollow darkness.

"I'm sorry."

[_____]
Nicky Byrrne's POV:

"Shane, Shane, wake up! C'mon, tell me what's wrong," I cried.

Now, something happened to him again. Whatever it was, I had no idea. I was just in a hurry and found him here like this. He's shivering and lacking for air or something. He was also muttering painfully like; what in the world would he say sorry for?

The two bookkeepers rushed into this room. Maybe, they heard me shouting.

"What happened to him?" Airydene asked calmly. "We were merely talking to him a while ago."

"I don't know, He's been this condition when I came in. Do you have any idea what he was doing right here?" I denounced anxiously.

"Lord Filheney was just scanning through some books on the history section of the library earlier. Then, I saw him stood up and walked along the hallway. I tried to get his attention, but it seemed like he couldn't hear me at all. I thought he got very tired because he's having so much struggle while heading here," the lady named, Lucreia answered.

wait, did Shane have another delusion once again? Why he couldn't hear them? Why did he keep going in this room if he hadn't been feeling well in the first place?

"Can you help me take him outside?"

They nodded at me, so we carefully lifted Shane and went straight out of the library. The lady at the entrance looked so worried once she saw Shane's condition and threw some questions to us. Fortunately, we met Mark and Kian once we reached outside, waiting.

"Nicky, what took you so long? I'm badly yearning for my bed right now, you know?" Kian whined. "Hold on, is that Shane? What happened?"

"Did he pass out?" Mark followed.

"We can't understand what was going on with him. Let's bring him to a healer," I responded in panic

"Hold it, Nicky, Take a breath first. We don't want to get another patient to carry." Mark approached and helped me with our unconscious buddy. "Thanks for the help. You may leave him to us now."

"Alright, Your Excellency, as you said so. I presume you're Lord Merkaidus Feeholira and Lord Kionderile Elgeon, is that right?"

"Y-yes, that's us,"-Kian responded, stuttering due to the mention of their previous names.-"and you are?'

"Oh, I'm Lucreia, and this lad here with me is Airydene. He's kinda timid one. Even so, we're pleased to meet you. We hope there will be a better time than this for us to give our formal regards.

"Yeah, we hope that too. Surely, we might meet again. After all, we're just inside the same castle," Mark asserted.

"That's true. By the way, I think Lord FIlheney needs to be escorted to Lady Ellea immediately," Airydene commented.

"Right, let's go. Please excuse us. Don't worry, we can handle this. Thanks for helping again," I said in a hurry.

The bookkeepers bowed their heads towards the two and handed the other half of Shane's body that they're carrying. After waving goodbyes to the library officers, the three of us made our way to find the healer, but one thought had just hit our minds.

Where do we find them?

"Wait, what! Isn't there anyone of you who knows it?" I cried.

"Well, you do not either, so what to wonder?" Kian countered. "Besides we've only met Ms Ellea after Emria called her to help, and we haven't been in need of health assistance until today."

"Then, what should we do now?" I growled.

"Ask the librarians maybe," Kian suggested.

"Nice idea when we've gone too far from there already," I scoff.

"Why didn't you ask while we're still there, idiot?" Kian retorted.

"and why didn't you either?"

"Enough of that, idiots. Obviously, this isn't the time for nonsense squabbles. Let's focus on what's more important," Mark intruded.

"Right, then tell us how can we get to the healer if none of us has known even just the location, Mr Mark STEALy?" Kian snorted.

"Fine, if you don't want to, just go back and get on your beds: I'll take Shane and look for the healers myself," the taller lad uttered calmly.

"Hey there, lunatics, what's with the noise you're making during this hour?"

We turned our eyes ahead and got all surprised to see the person coming.

"McFadden!" I exclaimed.

"As expected, my presence always surprises some bunch of cabbages," he sneered.

"How did you get out of the detention, bastard?" I whooped.

The lengthy guy smirked. "I bribed the maid of course."

"You know that's stupid. Who do you think would believe in you, McFadden?" I mouthed. "Anyway, we don't have time to waste for you right now."

"Hmm, so it's him again. Ah, no wonder because he's weak and pathetic," he mocked, pointing at the unconscious Shane.

"So what? Better get out of the way or I'll duff you up, McFadden." Kian perked up due to the insult towards our mate.

"Really, even though I just came from the infirmary?" he remarked nonchalantly.

Our eyes rolled with what he mentioned. He actually heard what we were arguing about. The worse was, we might need to ask for his help.

"What? Now you're silent," Brian gibed. "You had really no idea where it is, had ya? Guess that man there might just end up dying because his so-called, friends did not know where to bring him at all."

"Yes, and he might die even while we're wasting more time here, you know?" Mark retaliated. "Don't talk like you're more of help than us because as far as I know, you care about Shane less than anyone else around here. You wouldn't even want to move a finger to help him, so just bugger off and we still have to save a life."

"Alright, why don't you follow?" He turned away and frantically gestured for us to come.

I looked at Mark and Kian and whispered, "Hey, we cannot trust him."

"Nicky, there's no more other options." Mark insisted.

"but what if he's just into fooling us? Would you want to risk Shane's life even more?" Kian hissed.

"Hey, want to come or not?" Brian yelled out.

"Come on, Shane is breathing difficultly and seems like in some sort of nightmare. You can put all the blame on me if ever we fall to his trick." Mark continued to walk. "We're coming, McFadden, just make sure you're not fooling us."

"I'm not forcing you to follow anyway. Don't do if you don't want to," he responded.

"Alright, now where's the infirmary?" I asked, trying to sound normal.

Then, he started to make strides while Kian, Mark and I were trailing behind. It was quiet, and no one would dare to speak, perhaps since each of us had been exhausted as well. Even McFadden didn't open his mouth to say anything until he stopped on his track in front of a huge glass door between walls painted with white. A man wearing an attire on the same particular colour, which was almost the same with Ms Ellea, came out from the door.

"Lord Obreon, did you forget something in here?"

So, he truly came here after all.

"I said my name is Brian, not Obreon. Also, I just brought them here," he replied with annoyance before facing us.

"I see, come inside, gentlemen. Ellea is just working with some matter. I'm sure that she can still accommodate a patient." The man slid the door open and let us in..

"Thank you, Sir." Mark nodded and turned to us with a small grin like he's saying, (I won.).

We went to the hall and saw Ms Ellea sitting on a chair made of brass. She's currently working on some papers placed on a rectangular table before her with a yellow quill on her right hand.

"Just put the patient over there." The man who assisted us pointed one of the beds in the infirmary, so we took Shane and put him there carefully.

"What can I do for you tonight, Noblemen?" Ms Ellea finally approached us.

I began telling her what happened in the library base on my own perception and what the bookkeepers told me. She listened attentively, then the healer went to Shane and proceeded to examine him. We noticed that yellow light emanating from her palm again, and this time, it circled around Shane.

A few minutes passed, she was done, so we asked what she found out.

"Is there something risky about him, Ms Ellea?"

"Well, I haven't found any risk at him, yet what I saw is his body under a trance," she stated.

"A trance?" we said in chorus.

"Yes, I found signs of being in a state of shock through his body. but the most significant is the said trance he's undergoing up to this moment. I can't quite explain it further, but it more affects his mind, and its other organs also react."

You said it isn't dangerous, but why is he breathing that way?" Mark queried while pointing at Shane's chess that kept falling down and rising up fast.

"Probably, that's truly a serious matter, Lord Merkaidus. However, I believe that we can do nothing to stop this trance unless he allows."

"What does it mean?" I questioned.

"Well, it seems like Lord Filheney is currently under a spell that occupies his mind," she responded.

"Then, how could we free him from it?" Kian ranted.

"It's impossible, LOrd Kionderile."

"What? But why?" we grunted.

"Because he's the one who cast it to himself."

- - - - - - - - - -

Another Author's Note:
Haha! Sorry.

Hello there, Everyone! How is this chapter? Do you find it interesting, or anything? Please let me know.
Also, the important thing why I had this note, it's because I want to give another greeting to one of our main characters. What a what, right? Well, since I'm updating and my mind works so slow, I had another new update on another birthday. So yeah.

Happy Fortieth Birthday to Mr Kian John Francis Egan. We all wish for this day to be so great and wonderful, in spite of the current state our world is in. And for those who love this guy, clap your hands everyone and have your own wishes for him.

Well, there's going to be more of him on the upcoming chapters so I hope you stay with me.

Not sure when I'll be updating again though. It might be on another birthday next month. Yeah, sorry for being so slow.

Anyway, that's all of what I'm here for. Thank you and please, always stay safe and healthy.

See ya!
The Author:

April 29,2020