15:00 P.M

Khovd, Mongolia

_._

_._

"Caesar."

He was playing with his phone when he s.h.i.+fted his attention to me. "Lady Ava, what brought you to my room?"

I frowned. "That phone works?"

"Huh?!" Caesar stood up and moved over to me from his chair. "Lady Ava."

"W-What?" I kept my stern face in front of him, but his sudden movement sent s.h.i.+vers down my spine. Though, I didn't know what the reason was. Perhaps it was because of Caesar's usual unpredictable behavior.

"I might have missed this before . . . But you look different," he said.

"Great." I covered my face. "Now it's you."

Caesar slung his arms together. "Wait . . . Why are you in my room again, Lady Ava?"

I looked at him and sighed. "I was wondering if tomorrow's the right time to go to that capital city."

"Oh. That's not a bad choice."

"So . . . Did you find anything about the scouts from The People's Light?" I asked.

"Hmm. You know, it's strange. They were here a few days back no doubt. But then, they just disappeared."

"Did you use Bart's Aegis crystal I'd given you?"

The days I'd spent there in Enkhtuya's hideout allowed me to develop my control over Bart's Aegis. Beforehand, I couldn't affect more than one person upon activation. I trained to become more accustomed to that Aegis until that day.

At most, I could mind-control four people simultaneously.

I did give Caesar a clump of that green crystal since it reacted to nearby non-Aegis Users when exposed to air.

Caesar nodded. "Ah, yes. It helps me a lot since the range of its effectiveness is one kilometer in radius."

"Oh, so you can hear the sound wave it emitted right? At first, I was skeptical about it."

"Hmm, in the end, I didn't find them, except for the few civilians I'd encountered."

I closed the door behind me. "They must have got out of the city and informed their group. Isn't that what scouts are for?"

Caesar laughed at my statement. "Well indeed, Lady Ava. I guess our only option is to march onto the capital city." He proceeded to rummage a backpack on his bed. "I'll get the supplies ready on my part."

"Yeah. Maybe I'll help Lily and Helena packing up our stuff. Is tomorrow too early for us to leave, Caesar?" I asked.

He turned around to face me. "Of course not. We exhausted most of the supplies Master Gheele had sent us anyway. We need to move out sooner or later."

"Yeah, I thought so too. Then, I'll head back to my room." I paused. "Wait, there's something else on my mind."

"What is it?" Caesar asked.

"Are you aware of the memory-wiping that Aegis Users went through?"

He tilted his head. "Ah, yes. Indeed. Before the Users are given their Aegis, it is compulsory to wipe their memories first. This allows an absolute loyalty to be instilled inside them. But this excludes the people from their own military. Alicia and Bart retain their memories since they are scientists working for the military."

"Oh." I put my hand at my chin. "I know that I've been through that process. Did you have your memories wiped too, Caesar?"

He shook his head. "No. I didn't go through that since I volunteered to be a part of Melker's Aegis squad."

"You volunteered?" I repeated. "That must mean you get that Aegis from an outside source. Like Gheele Folami?"

"You can say that. Though, my life before all this was fun. Being the Kurt Holm that's loved by everyone!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Kurt Holm?"

Caesar jerked his head. "W-Wait. No. That's wrong. Forget what I said." He waved his hands nervously at me. "You didn't hear anything!"

"Huh," I muttered. My hand twisted the doork.n.o.b and I looked at Caesar. "I'll get back to my room then."

Caesar cleared his throat. "Just don't let that Erhi girl probed too much into this. She's still a part of Enkhtuya."

My hand twisted the door open. "I'll let her know."

_._

_._

That night, I was on my bed when someone knocked on my door.

"Come in," I said.

The door opened and Odval stepped inside. "Ava, sorry to disturb you."

I leaped onto the floor. "No, it's fine. I'm not sleeping anyway. What is it?"

She darted her eyes away for a moment. "I heard that you'll be leaving tomorrow."

"Yeah. I want to reach the capital city by this week, perhaps. I mean, Caesar had confirmed that the scouts from The People's Light are gone by now."

"Ah . . . I see." She brushed over her dark hair. "That promise we made . . . I haven't fulfilled it yet."

I blinked. "Oh, about that. Maybe--"

"How about you accompany us on our night patrol? Just one round inside the hideout. What do you think, Ava?"

I stared at Odval for a few seconds before responding. "Okay."

Her eyes widened. "It's that easy, huh?"

"You did promise me after all. I'm not letting you go that easily." I flashed a smile at her.

" . . . If you say so, Ava." She chuckled.

"Hey, what's this promise you girls kept talking about?" said Qara poking his head from behind the door.

Odval glanced at him. "Nothing . . . Wait. I remembered. It's about my love toward--"

"Oh no, not this again. I'm outta here." Qara walked away from the scene, and Khenbish out of nowhere followed him.

Odval sighed and s.h.i.+fted her attention back at me. "If he can just look at me the way I want him to . . ."

"Huh?" My eyes stared at her. "There you again with that love thing, Odval. You haven't taught me what it even means."

She smiled. "That's what I'm going to do during our patrol. Come on, let's go."

_._

_._

I walked beside Odval on the second floor. Khenbish and Qara were up ahead of us, being extra diligent for any suspicious activities.

"Aren't they too serious about this?" I asked Odval.

She glanced at me. "Those two are always like that, Ava. Ulii taught them to be so. There's no telling when the unexpected might happen."

"Oh."

The full moon up in the sky caught my attention.

"Ava," called Odval. "What do you want to know about love?"

I looked at her. "Um, I'm not sure . . . What about you? Is there a reason you keep saying you love Qara?"

"Ah . . . About that." Her mouth curved downwards. "He's my crush, Ava. The three of us have known each other since we were ten. Now, after seven years, this feeling of mine is still there. When I was your age, it felt weird to have my heart thumped against my chest each time I saw him back then." She looked at me. "I still feel like that even now. Strange, isn't it? Not too long ago did I realized I love him."

I frowned at her. "Whenever Hope was around, I always used the chance to be by his side the whole time. My heart also felt that way when I got to be near him . . . What does it mean, Odval?"

She giggled. "How old is he?"

"Hmm." I looked at the full moon. "Seventeen. Yeah, seventeen."

"How old are you, Ava?" asked Odval.

"Twelve."

She stared at me. "When do you have that kind of feelings for him?"

"About two years ago, Odval," I mused.

She smiled. "You must have thought about him as a father figure. Am I right?"

"Yes. How do you know?"

"Well . . ." She darted her eyes to the duo far in front of us. "Anyone around that age can be confused at times when it comes to love, I would say. You're unsure if that feeling you have for him is still the same right, Ava?"

I nodded. "Y-Yes."

"Then you have nothing to worry about."

"Eh?"

"Perhaps your case is different than the others, but most of the time, your love for him is that of a father and daughter type of thing. Um, you get what I'm saying?"

I nodded again. "So, my feelings for him haven't changed a bit. I thought it was something else . . . I don't know."

Odval smiled. "It's still the same. If you still doubt your heart, then I have to see how you act around him first to say anything else. But for now, it is what it is, Ava." She patted my head.

"You're treating me like a kid . . ." I pouted.

"That's because Ava is a kid. I know you've been through a lot . . . And Ulii suspected that too. Despite that, the faint ember inside you still burns. I'm sure you'll be a wonderful lady in the future, Ava."

My eyes beamed at her. "W-Wonderful? Am I going to be pretty? Like Lily?"

"Certainly. Why would you doubt yourself?"

Both of us chuckled.

Khenbish and Qara halted and turned to us.

"They look like they're having fun," said Qara. "That little girl is our enemy, and yet Odval can be so casual with her."

"Nonchalant, you mean? Ulii trusts them in not doing any harm to us, and they gained her trust, Qara. Those people have been a huge help to us so far." Khenbish said.

Qara snorted. "Yeah right."

"We can hear both of you," said Odval sharply.

Khenbish winced. "I-I'm going upstairs."

"Hey wait, Khenbish. We move in a group remember?" Qara chased after him.

"You three must be good friends, right?" I asked Odval.

She turned to me. "Everyone in Enkhtuya said that, but that's because we are . . . Our parents died when the coup tried to drive the C.U out of Khovd. It was a ma.s.sacre on both ends." She lowered her head. "A few years back, I joined Enkhtuya because they decided to do so. Right now, all I have left are those two, Ava . . . I don't want to lose them."

I narrowed my eyes at her. "I'll make sure that'll never happen."

Her eyes widened.

"I know what it feels like to lose someone you love. It hurts. My heart felt like it was yanked out of my chest when Hope disappeared."

Her eyes drooped. "Thank you, Ava. I appreciate it. When we need help somewhere in the future, you'll be the first one I inform."

"But I don't know what it feels like to lose a person you love . . . As a crush. What does crush even means?" I asked.

She gaped. "You never have one."

I shook my head. "So far . . . No? I don't think so. I don't even know what it means after all."

She restrained her giggle and I couldn't help but frown at her."You'll know when the time comes, Ava. Everyone is different."

I smiled. "Yeah."

Both of us joined the other two later on and wrapped up the night patrol pretty quick. Nothing happened during it, so I went back to my room after all was said and done.

Slowly, I opened my door and entered the room.

"Eh?" I said.

Inside my room was an old woman I was quite aware of. She was sitting on the bed with a wooden cane in her hands.

She grinned at me. "Ava, glad you've returned. How was the patrol?"

That time, I felt the sickening emotion of hatred knocked at my consciousness. "What are you doing here, Ulii?"

"Ah, straight to the point I see . . . I'm here because I want to talk to you. If you don't mind that is?" she said.

I shrugged and sat on a wooden chair just next to the door. "Not really. But, you've been avoiding me lately, Ulii. Why's that?"

Her eyes glinted. "So you've noticed? Perceptive."

"No. Anyone would've noticed," I remarked.

She laughed and swung her cane in front of her. "Very well." Her expression stiffened as she looked at me. "I'll also tell you the reason why I did that."

That statement piqued my interest. "Oh, do tell."

Her eyes narrowed. "That white fire you used . . . I know someone who also has that particular Aegis."

My heart stopped for a moment. "And who's that?"

"Ah, I'll mention that person's name in my story. You don't mind if I tell you about my past, Ava? I'm sure it'll give you a bit of insight regarding Aegis as a whole."

I nodded. "Please."

Ulii smirked."Then, let's start with the young me . . . Well, this happens about ten years ago . . ."