Chapter 3: A Small Adventure

“Huh?” Ezra stared at the children with a baffled look. After a moment of silence, he regained his composure and began to think to himself.

“So? How is it?" Kai asked excitedly.

“It’s perfect! Once we conquer the world we can banish all demons and live in a place full of love and peace. No loneliness!” Kai smiled.

“Hm… interesting indeed,” Ezra laughed. After contemplating for nearly a second, Ezra agreed. “Alright! New goal: world domination, it is!”

“Then… how do we start?” Lilith asked.

“First, we’ll meet your teachers and fellow apprentices,” Ezra chuckled.

“Whoa! You have more apprentices? How many people did you save, Ezra?!” Kai said excitedly.

“Ah… just two other children- they’re a lot like you, so be sure to treat them kindly, alright?”

“Yes~!”

…

Their destination was Skystead City- one of the main cities in the region of Gwydion. It was a neutral city that was located a several miles into the sky- directly above a large lake called the reflection lake. The Reflection Lake is sandwiched between Eradion and Gwydion. However, a war thousands of years before settled the city into Gwydion’s territory.

It took them several days before they made it to the base of the lake. The floating air transporter would take them up there. However, it would be a few hours before they could go on.

“This is taking forever,” Kai pouted, unable to sit still.

“Patience is key,” Eve told him, “at least, that’s what Master told me.” She turned to look around and whispered to him, “I don’t believe him.”

“Patience is key,” Lilith mumbled. “You should believe in him. I believe Ezra has good intentions with those words.”

Over the past few days, Lilith became more comfortable with Ezra and eventually dropped any honorifics associated with his name. Albeit, Ezra preferred being called ‘Mr.’ In the end, he allowed her to do what she wanted, as long as Eve continued to call him ‘master.’

“Sis, do you really think Ezra’s the strongest?” Kai asked.

“Considering he killed that demon… I think he might be,” Lilith said unsure of herself. Little did the children know, that the demon he slayed was undeniably weak. To look more heroic, however, he opted out to tell them. This was his biggest secret.

A few hours later, a large, metal platform with railings floated down gently. It had small, white wings attached to the side of it.

“W-whoa? What’s this, Master?” Eve asked.

“We call it an elevator.”

“How did they decide on that?”

“Only the gods know,” Ezra sighed. “Come along.” He pulled the children onto the elevator and locked the gate behind them.

They finally lifted off and started to slowly fly upwards, the scenery below them disappearing into the distance. Only the clouds and sky surrounded them.

“Wowee! This is so cool!” Eve exclaimed in ecstasy, the wind rushing and tumbling messily with her long hair.

“Hoh? Wait ‘til we reach the top,” Ezra chuckled, staring above to their destination. “Good man, how long ‘til we’ve arrived?”

“Only a few more minutes, Sir!” the operator replied.

“Wow! Y’hear that Lilith? We’re going to Skystead City!” Eve swooned. It was only one of the more romantic destinations in the world. Also one of the only cities they’ve heard about in the orphanage, despite not knowing what region it belonged to.

“Haha!” Lilith laughed, it was possibly first time she’s laughed in awhile. This thought made her a little upset. Her face turned into a frown again.

“What’s wrong?” Eve asked, concerned for her sister's wellbeing.

"I-it's nothing!" Lilith smiled to assure her sister.

Eve stared at her suspiciously before dropping the subject. "Fine," she humphed. Lilith could only let out a breath of relief. She didn't want to trouble her siblings, especially when they're entering a new environment.

Little did she know, Ezra was watching the two's exchange with careful eyes. He analyzed the situation and deducted a conclusion. These children were in dire need of help, yet they didn't know. He would let them figure out their emotions first, so he let this slide.

"We're here!" The operator called.

Ezra handed him a few coins before telling the children to get off. "Let's hurry now, we don't want them to wait forever."

Eve felt anxious. She wanted to make a good impression on the other apprentices. However, she couldn't understand why. What drove her to meet more people? A deep feeling settled down in her stomach, to which she ignored.

Skystead City was filled with tall, glass buildings. On one half they had those large buildings, on the other half, they had normal buildings- the tourist destination and residential area.

They followed Ezra into a nice looking building. It was the inn they were to stay at for their time at this city.

"Sorry we're late," Ezra said, opening the door to their suite.

"You're late," a female voice said, annoyed. "By an hour."

"The elevator took a while." The voice humphed.

"Hey, let him off," a deeper, noble voice told the female.

"Anyway, I brought three more apprentices-"

"You what?! Let them in, quick!" The female ushered Ezra.

"Alright, kids, meet Brent and Atira," Ezra gestured to the blonde-haired, blue-eyed man and to the plain looking woman with brown hair and amber eyes. Albeit, she looked kind.

Brent whistled. "And I thought you got lucky with the first two. Are you sure you're not a pedophile aiming for good looking kids?" Ezra gave him a pointed look, to which Brent put his hands up in surrender.

"T-they're so... cute!" Atira squealed, hugging the three. She began to pant. "Orion and Caelus are so cold to me, but that's okay, it's all a part of their charm. But you three, you're just like dolls!" She began to mumble inaudible words beneath her breath. Thankfully for her, no one heard her.

"Ah. Where's Orion and Caelus?" Ezra asked.

"Hehe," Brent smiled smugly. "I gave them their first mission!"

"And what's that?"

"Find a member for your apprenticeship!" Brent laughed heartily. "I even pretended to kick them out if they didn't complete it!"

"... YOU IDIOT!" Ezra roared.

...

Two handsome, young boys sit next to each other in a deserted park. One boy had silver hair that fell to his shoulders and icy blue eyes. He stood above average for a six-year-old at the height of 122 centimeters (4 ft.). His name is Caelus.

The dark-haired boy with scarlet red eyes next to him is Orion, the oldest at seven. He stood even taller at 130 centimeters (4.27 ft.).

"What do we do?" Caelus asked, frustration building up inside of him. Normally he was lazy and had passive emotions. However, one of their teachers threatened to end their apprenticeship if they didn't complete the task.

"We look to the sky and pray for Mufasa's guidance," Orion said, a serious expression on his face and his hands put together.

"Who's Mufasa?"

"Only the gods know," Orion shrugged. "We've only checked the town... I know Ezra said to avoid this, but... the forest is all we have left."

Caelus looked around, "should we go?"

"Be a man," Orion said, getting off the bench and walking towards the forest.

"So cool," Caelus said underneath his breath, before shortly following Orion.

...

"Knowing those two, they will definitely enter the forest!" Ezra rubbed his temples.

"Why's the forest bad?" Eve asked.

"A strong deity resides there," Ezra sighed. "There has been cases of injuries and deaths reported from there."

"So... what do we do?" Brent asked nervously.

"No good!" Atira cried. "They're not answering to my telepathic messages!"

Ezra glared at him. "Find them. Now. Atira, come with me. Brent, stay here and watch the kids."

"Wha- but-" Ezra and Atira departed before he could say anything.

"Hi?" Brent smiled, an awkward silence loomed over the room as the children carefully analyzed the man before them.

"Do you know how to assassinate a ruler?"

"Eh?" Brent blinked.

...

Meanwhile, Orion and Caelus walk through the dark forest...

After an hour or two, the boys got lost within the deep woods with nowhere else to go. They couldn’t even find a ravine or any source of water. After three hours, they started to rely on luck. Thankfully, they haven’t run into any trouble yet.

"It's getting dark," Orion commented, staring at the sky. "We should find some shelter."

Caelus nodded, his eyes growing heavy. After all, a young boy needs his sleep.

While treading through the thick forest, Caelus trips over one of the random tree’s roots and rolls down a small steep to the left of them.

"Wah!"

"Caelus!" Orion yelled, sliding down the steep after him. He quickly grabbed a hold of him and checked for any injuries as soon as they reached the ground.

“That was dangerous,” Orion glared, scolding the boy. “Watch where you’re going next time.”

After that small incident, they managed to love their path. However, they continued forward. The deeper they went into the woods, the stronger the mana was. It was almost intoxicating.

The mana eventually lead them to a small set of stairs that moved uphill. Looking at one another, the boys decide to go for it.

Why not?

After reaching the top, they were disappointed to find nothing. They quickly turn around to leave, but felt as if their bodies were glued to the ground.

"WHO GOES THERE?" An intimidating voice boomed.

The boys turned to a small shrine in front of them. A sudden nervous look on their face.

"ANSWER ME!"

"Caelus and Orion, sir!" Orion said. The voice paused, as if it were surprised by the tiny voice that answered.

"HM... I SEE THAT YOU'RE LOST."

"Yes, sir."

"TELL YOU WHAT, IF YOU RELEASE ME, I'LL GIVE YOU ONE WISH."

“If you promise,” Orion said jokingly, pretending to glare at the tiny shrine with no power.

“HAHA, BOY. YOU’RE A SMART ONE.”

It was just a joke? Orion frowned and wondered whether this person was competent or not. However, for the sake of not getting kicked out, he would do anything.

Without giving it another thought, they agreed. "Okay!"

A little while ago, Brent taught them how to dispel a small curse. They figured it was the same level as this curse. Their thoughts were partially due to the voice sounding like an idiot.

"Ready? Go!" Orion started pouring in mana into a small, thin paper. Caelus soon followed after him.

Actually, this paper was a dispelling rune given to them for extra protection by Atira. It was a higher level spell than what they could currently do. Something she shouldn’t have done. However, like Brent, she has her blunders.

"Ergh!" They grit their teeth as they felt all of the mana leave their tiny bodies. Their mana began to disappear faster than they thought, they tried feeding the small rune even more power.

"Haaaah!”

"AHHH!"

The children yelled as they finally gave the last drop of mana they had, completing the low-grade rune. It took more mana than expected, but at least they completed it.

Caelus crawled over to the shrine and stuck the rune onto it. A sudden light surrounded the shrine and encompassed it.

"OH? YOU... UWAAH!" The voice yelled. Suddenly, an eagle with electricity surrounding its body appeared. "Wahahaha! Free at last! I must thank you, boys. Now tell me, what is it you wish for?" The eagle stared at them expectantly, with its large, glowing eyes.

Orion coughed and wheezed out a few words without thinking, "a teammate."

"Oh? Hm..." the deity paused to think. He didn’t expect that, he thought they would ask to find a way to leave the forest. However, a promise is a promise.

"Alright, then!" Like a drop of a hat, the eagle disappeared and smoke built up where it used to be.

"What?!" Caelus exclaimed, coughing after he yelled.

"Take care of him, boys!" The eagle's voice echoed in their minds, before a cackling sound could be heard in the background.

"Waaaaaah!" A cry could be heard.

With an alarmed look, the boys looked at each other. They didn’t think the eagle was strong enough to create a teammate for them. Hopefully it wasn’t what they thought it was.

As soon as the smoke cleared out, a newborn baby laid where the eagle once was. A message was written next to the baby.

His name shall be Ley.

Crap.

"W-what do we do?" Caelus asked.

"Uh..."

____________

Here's chapter three!

Comments and criticism is welcomed. Please feel free to voice your thoughts. Next chapter won't be posted until sometime later this week, or maybe on Wednesday/Thursday.