At first, Ray was a bit surprised at the idea of Slyvia coming with them. Out of all the people, the one person he was sure about that would never come was her. For a second he was wondering if he was even seeing the same person. Too many times when he had seen her she had always been in the plain robes that the elders wore, the official uniform that hadn't changed much since the time at Avrion. Right now, she has head to toe in her adventurer gear, some improved armour from last time and a fancy sword and shield.

Although before it had her family colours of blue and white, they were now red and black to go with the whole Redwing theme.

Seeing her like this, he couldn't help but start to think about certain thoughts.

What would he do if she was to get hurt? Will she be able to take care of herself? What happens if someone tried to kidnap her? Is it safe for her to travel with them?

The feeling he had indeed was similar to that of a parent worrying about their child. It was as if they had just started going out to the world for the first time.

"Are you worried?" She asked, seeing that Ray was frozen in place and hadn't said any words for an entire minute. The others had seen this type of reaction twice from Ray now in such a short amount of time.

He was first speechless when he saw his mother, and now the same thing happened again when Slyvia arrived.

"Of course, I'm worried." Said Ray, "Who...Who will look after the city?"

The others watching wanted to either hide or go behind Ray and give him a big old slap on the back of his head. How could one person be so dense?

Hearing these words, Slyvia decided to storm right past Ray putting her belongings and climbing onto the back of the carriage.

'What's wrong with her?' He thought, confused by her actions. The weight in each of her footsteps had hit the floor hard and now sitting in the back of the carriage she had both her arms crossed.

"If you haven't forgotten, there are five other elders in the city who are more than capable of running the place." Slyvia no longer spoke in a soft tone like she was earlier. The others could tell she was really upset, and they knew why.

"Anyway, if you must know the reason why I have decided to join, it's because of my brothers," Slyvia explained.

It had been a long time since Ray had seen or heard of Slyvia's brothers, the last time he remembered seeing them was during the Avrion Tournament. If he remembered correctly, all three of her brothers were soldiers in the Alure Kingdom Army and had quite the high experience in fighting on the Frontlines. The eldest of the three brothers was a General, while the other two were captains.

The Shadow Continent not only expanded to the point where it affected Avrion, but it also swirled around it to the point where the Alure Kingdom needed to defend its borders from them as well. And this was where Slyvia's brothers were stationed.

But their powers were in magic, not in swordsmanship, so what would they be doing at the tournament?

"Although technically we aren't part of the same Kingdom, as I am with the Redwings. But I have been in touch with them regularly. They told me that the battle on the border has now calmed down, and they have been asked to escort the Alure Kingdoms contestants to the Empire. It's been a long time since I've seen them, and some things couldn't be said in a letter in case it was intercepted."

With that all said and done, the group boarded on the carriage and were on their way to the Empire.

The carriage they were using was the special one that was powered by beast crystals. So they didn't have to worry about things like looking after horses and such.

Although Ray was first against the idea of Slyvia coming with them, his mind soon changed. As the group started talking more, it really did remind him of his childhood. Even if he was silent for most of the ride. The exciting feeling of them going on an adventure, and the look on their faces made him smile.

However, Slyvia was also silent for most of the trip, and whenever she made eye contact with Ray, she would quickly turn her head away.

Clearly, he had done something wrong, but he didn't quite know what. The others could also feel the weird tension on the carriage, but they couldn't let it continue this way for the whole ride.

After all, to get the Empire, one way or another, they would have to pass at least three Kingdoms. It would be a long journey, and even with the fast moving carriage would take them about a week to get there.

"Ray, can I ask something?" Martha asked, "When this is all over, say we get rid of the Shadow, the Empire isn't our enemy anymore, and the Redwings are living a happy and comfortable life; what do you plan to do after that?"

Ray started to think, so far, the only thing he truthfully had on his mind was getting his body back. If he did achieve everything, perhaps he would just rest once again like a peaceful dragon. That was all he ever wished for.

"I would be able to finally have some rest," Ray replied. Hearing this, the others felt like Ray sounded a little like an old man. He was only seventeen, barely touching the eighteenth year, although he looked a little older. The words sounded like he was tired and weary, and they all felt a bit sorry for him.

But this answer wasn't what Martha was trying to get at; she was trying to steer the conversation towards something else.

"And when you rest, do you see that with someone, maybe a family or something perhaps," Martha asked.

Now Slyvia and the others who were by her side knew what she was trying to get at. A little embarrassed, Slyvia stomped on Martha's foot as a signal for her to stop.

Right now, she didn't need an answer. She was happy being ignorant. Maybe if she knew how Ray felt, then it would change the way she thought, because she was scared about his answer.

"A family.." Ray paused, looking at everyone. Then words that everyone had never thought he would ever say came out of his mouth, "The Redwings are like a family to me, but I don't see myself as part of the family."

The others wanted Ray to expand on his words, but he quickly left the carriage after and went out to the front to make sure they were still going in the right direction.

When going through each Kingdom's borders, they chose to not to lie and said exactly where they were from to see if the Empire really was planning onto something or not.

They didn't declare the King was with them but just pretended they were citizens of the Redwing Kingdom.

The only thing that seemed to happen as they passed through borders and were stopped by random people were the taxes. Usually, a toll fee would have to be paid as you went through each area.

In this case, the Redwings were being charged nearly triple what the regular price was, but not wanting to cause a fuss, they paid it and continued to move forward.

"Ray, do you want to stop off at any of the other Kingdoms, perhaps?" Kyle couldn't help but ask, hoping to make the whole thing a bit of a fun trip for himself and lift off the depressed mood.

"I think it will be best if we only stop for supplies or to eat once in a while," Ray replied. "But completely stopping is not a good idea. If you really want, we can stop off in a Kingdom on the way back. That is if the Shadow hasn't attacked us already by then."

As he spoke these words, Ray started to play with the pendant around his neck. His mother had given it to him when she left, and according to the others, his mother was also originally from the Empire.

This was something he didn't know, and he was wondering what was so important about the pendant. Maybe there would be more things than just getting stronger he could find out at the Empire.

Finally, after traveling through all different weather and terrains, they could see the Empire in sight up ahead. Even though they were just looking at the border, it looked as if a high wall had been built all around the border, not letting anyone in or out.

This type of thing made sense for a city but not for a border.

It made the others wonder whether or not the wall went around the whole continent line, and when they took over another Kingdom, did they extend it?

Looking at this alone made them release the strength of the Empire. They only had a single small city, and somehow they called it a Kingdom.

Looking at the Empire's border line, it was like an ant going up against a mammoth.

'So this is the place that tried to cause so much trouble, huh. Let's see if I can return the favour.' Ray thought as he started to move ahead, ready to cause some big trouble.

****

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