"Rion!" A familiar voice called out.

Rion froze.

He knew the voice very well and he wasn't ready to talk to that person yet.

He slowly turned around, and his gaze landed on Dora, who was dashing towards him.

He forced out a smile, but it cracked instantly after seeing the worried expression on her face.

Something within him twisted, and His feet moved by themselves.

He appeared before her in a moment, gripped her shoulders with a dark expression and asked in a voice heavy with worry, "What's wrong?"

Dora was startled by his sudden appearance and remarked in her head, 'H-How did he move so fast?!'

His grip tightened on her shoulders, she yelped in pain and muttered with tears gathering at the edge of her eyes, "It hurts..."

However, seeing her pained expression and the tears glistening across her eyes like gemstones, a single thought came to his head, 'Cute.'

His lips arched upwards by themselves. He let go of her shoulders, and instead of feeling relieved, she frowned.

Both of them looked at each other, and their lips parted to say something, but no words came out.

A thought suddenly appeared in his head, 'Maybe instead of running away from her love, I should tell her about my immortality?'

Just as the thought appeared, he pushed it away; he wasn't ready for it.

Both of them opened and closed their lips a few times, looking for words to say, but nothing came to their mind.

They fell silent and stared into each other's obsessive eyes.

A few minutes passed, and Rion finally managed to ask.

"What did you want to tell me?"

"Hmm?" Her eyes widened, and she muttered while scratching her chin, "Ah! That nearly slipped out of my mind..."

A gentle chuckle escaped him, and he asked, "So?"

Her expression darkened instantly, and she said, "It will be better if you hear it from the Vice Lord..."

Rion frowned, his gaze shifted towards the Great Divide, and he gave her a nod before he stepped forward.

Dora watched his back, and Rion suddenly stopped.

He turned his head towards her and stated with a smile, "Come with me."

She smiled and teased, "Okay. My liege."

A chuckle escaped him. He shook his head, and both of them made their way towards Marin's hut.

As they walked, they took occasional glances at each other, but none of them spoke, instinctively knowing now wasn't the right time or at least that was their excuse for now.

As they reached the fence encasing Redwood Den, Rion's steps halted.

Dora also stopped and looked at him with a frown.

He ignored her for a moment, and his eyes stilled at the centre of the den.

"Why are there so many powerful auras?" He muttered and dashed forward.

Before Dora could voice out her thoughts, he disappeared from the spot.

She blinked a few times and complained while pouting, "What's up with his speed?!"

His sandals scraped the ground as he came to a stop before Marin's hut and remarked in his head, 'They are inside the hut... are they group leaders?'

He pushed the door and stepped inside.

The wooden floor cried under his steps, and his eyes fell on two new figures standing by the walls of the hut.

"Ah! Group leader Rion, you came at the right time," Marin said with a forced smile.

Rion finally looked at Marin, saw the gloom hiding behind his smile and nodded.

He glanced at the two figures, and they studied him with raised eyebrows.

His gaze moved back to Marin, and he asked, "What is going on?"

Marin nodded and stammered, "I am glad that you asked..." he raised his hand towards the man on the left and added, "This here is group leader Sovra."

Rion looked at him.

Sovra was a spearman with a body packed with well-balanced muscles. His reddish brown hair flickered to the side as he turned his head towards Rion and studied him with his calm dark green eyes.

Marin shifted his hand towards the man standing on the right and said, "And this here is group leader Morvak."

Morvak had a body well-suited for short and heavy weapons, further proved by the round club resting on his shoulder, fiery red hair crowned his head like a living flame, and his sharp, amber eyes studied Rion with a battle-lusting gleam.

Just by looking in his eyes, Rion could tell that he was like those brawn-before-brains characters that he had read of in his previous life.

'I am already busy enough,' He remarked and completely ignored him.

He glanced at Marin and said, "Dora told me that there's something you want me to know."

Marin nodded faintly, a dry smile cracked his lips, and he muttered, "For the past two weeks, I've been sending the redwood guards to give my orders to the various group leaders."

He looked into Rion's eyes and continued, "But none of them have returned..."

Rion's lips slumped into a frown, and he whispered, "What?"

Marin turned his gaze between Sovra and Morvak and said, "At first I thought they were just staying at the settlement of the group leader, as it won't be the first time for them, but..."

A bad premonition shrouded Rion's mind, and he mumbled, "They weren't there either?"

Marin shook his head, "Those who reached the settlements were actually there... just not in the way they should've been."

'What does he mean by that?' A puzzled expression appeared on his face. He stepped closer to the table and asked, "What are you trying to say?"

Marin looked into his eyes and said, "Can you tell me the exact words that The Remnant had told you?"

Rion's frown deepened. Sensing the gloomy clouds filling the hut, he concluded to answer without delay,

"When next year comes, I shall return in my full strength."

Just as those words left his lips, utter silence descended throughout the hut.

Creak!

Marin's chair creaked as he leaned back on it and mumbled, "I see now..."

He glanced at Rion and said, "You misinterpreted their words."

"What do you mean?"

A hollow chuckle escaped Marin, and he explained, "They never said the war would begin next year... they said they would join it the next year."

His usually kind eyes suddenly turned sharp, and he stated, "The war has already begun."

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