The entire room in the temple is filled with green light coming from the crystal. The atmosphere is quiet as Aya is standing in front of the crystal while wearing a green coat. Feeling the presence of someone near her, she turns around only to see Nicholas standing while his eyes fixated on the crystal.
"Nicholas, what are you doing here?" Aya asked him.
"I've come here to give you dinner." Nicholas lent a wooden lunchbox.
She smiles at the sight of rice with adobong baboy beside the rice. "My favourite. Have you eaten your dinner?"
Nicholas brings out another lunchbox. "Back in my hometown, eating together with a friend or family makes the food taste delicious."
They both lay their ass on the stone ground. Nicholas removes the lid of his lunchbox, and he has the same meal as Aya. Nicholas clasps his hands and closes his eyes as he utters words whilst Aya watches him with curiosity in her gaze.
They proceed to eat their meal, and as they eat, Nicholas looks at her in the corner of his eye.
"What do you want the most?" Nicholas asked.
"Huh?" Aya raised her eyebrow while giving him a confused stare.
"I mean, what do you desire the most?" Nicholas cleared her confusion.
Aya falls into silence before a smile appears on her lips. "I want to see my fiancè again, that is all that I want."
Nicholas nods slowly. "No one would miss their beloved but I don't know anyone from my biological family because they abandoned me when I was still young."
Aya becomes puzzled upon hearing his words, then, she asks, "How did you become a guardian if you don't have anyone in your life that is connected to it?"
Nicholas looks up at the ceiling of the room. "When I was abandoned, Sister Madelaine found a box with me. They didn't open it because they believe that I should be the one to open it.
"After opening it, I've gained these abilities that I have."
A couple of minutes of silence fill the room, and Nicholas turns his eyes toward Aya who's looking forward.
"How about your sister? How do you two hang out?" Nicholas asked her.
Aya puts on a smile on her face. "We bond through sparring. Well, you know, she's afraid that I wouldn't survive one day in guarding the crystal."
Nicholas slowly looks away. His head lowers, and a painful smile appears on his face. "Who else would be happy if their only family dies? For me, she's understandable."
His words gain a nod from Aya, and she sighs. After a couple of hours, the sound of the bells hitting one another can be heard throughout the whole village. Villagers whose hands are holding onto spears come out, and they scatter in different directions.
One of the villagers looks up, and his eyes are filled with terror as a wooden monster in the shape of a human lands on him. The other villagers turn their heads at him and witness the monster tearing the arms of the villager.
"NO!"
The other villager runs toward the monster and stabs the chest of monster with the spear he wields. The monster remains standing, and his hand moves across the man's eyes. Half of the man's head slips from its place, and the other villagers roar in anger as they sprint toward the wooden monster.
More wooden humanoids appear, and they stab the running villagers with their sharp wooden fingernails.
The rampage continues, and among the wooden monsters, a tall wooden man with a chiselled jaw, muscular body with its lower half covered in leaves steps forward.
He stops in his footsteps after seeing Nicholas standing miles away. "I can sense a familiar energy within him."
He opens his left hand, and it becomes longer as it forms into a blade. The blade becomes iron, and he raises it closer to his face. "However, I came here to aid Coseria, and murdering is valid for these vile creatures waste trees."
Nicholas presses the badge closer to his chest, and it sinks into his skin. Dark metal covers his fists like a glove, and his feet are covered by the same metal which forms a pair of boots around his feet.
"I'll warn you," The voice of the passerby spoke through their link, "if the badge breaks, you have no choice but to retreat."
Nicholas clenches his gloved hands and jumps toward the wooden man. He aims his other hand at Nicholas, and fires wooden spikes from his fingertips.
"What?!" Nicholas protected himself with his gloves.
He lowers his gloves, and a steel blade is going closer to his face. Nicholas holds the steel blade but the wooden man strikes his back with his elbow.
Nicholas grunts as his eyes flinch. The wooden man grabs the back of Nicholas' polo shirt and throws him toward a wooden house. The entire house collapses after Nicholas crashes against its walls, and even after his enemy falls, the wooden man continues to stare at the house with a calm gaze.
"I thought he'd give me a good fight," he said while walking forward.
"Hey!" Nicholas yelled.
The wooden man turns around, only to see Nicholas lifting a boulder.
"Where did you get that?" the wooden man asked in confusion.
Before he can move, Nicholas throws the boulder towards him, and all the wooden man can do is groan. Nicholas smiles and laughs while crossing his arms under his chest but the second the boulder begins to rise, his laugh ends.
"Heck?" Nicholas dropped his arms.
"What a trick, didn't even scratch my skin." The wooden man lowered his other hand with his other hand still lifting the boulder.
"He's a serious threat!" Nicholas closed his gloved hands, his eyes narrowing.
The wooden man throws the boulder back at Nicholas, and with one punch from him, the boulder breaks into pieces.
The eyes of Nicholas immediately meet the calm green eyes of the wooden man as he is now in front of him. The wooden man grabs the incoming punch from Nicholas, and he swings his other gloved hand which the wooden man catches with his other hand.
"Shit!" Nicholas gritted his teeth.
The wooden man raises his eyebrow. "Shit? I don't know that word because I am not a piece of shit like you."
He pumps his wooden feet against Nicholas, landing a kick on his abdomen. The wooden man watches Nicholas crash into the other multiple wooden monsters.
"You're weak." The wooden man spat on the ground.
Nicholas feels a little air pressure beside him, and he looks at it, a large eagle with blue feathers is sitting beside him.
"It's you," Nicholas said.
"I've grown this feeling of showing mercy upon you," the eagle spoke, its voice is masculine, and peaceful.
"What do you want?" Nicholas asked.
His question makes the bird look at him. "Let me speak these words, we titans must give our challenge to the new owner of Nature Crystal. But seeing your state, and feeling your determination to beat that wicked creature, it's giving the push for me to grant you the power of air."
Nicholas pushes his upper body upwards, making himself look like he's sitting. "I need to stop him."
The screams of the villagers fill the air while the tall wooden man is walking calmly past them. He groans as he wonders. "Where can I find a good opponent?"
He feels something tearing through the air, and he glances beside him but a gloved fist hits his face. He spits on the ground and looks at the man who punched him.
"That was strong," The wooden man praised Nicholas.
Nicholas jumps toward the wooden man but he catches the incoming kick from him. He immediately jumps away from the hand of the wooden man.
"Running at me again? Do you have any other tactics to utilise?" The wooden man taunted Nicholas, giving him a judging gaze.
Nicholas lets his eyes wander at the scene, where villagers are putting their efforts into their fight against the wooden monsters. Nicholas looks back at the wooden man in front of him, and with another jump, he reaches the wooden man.
Nicholas throws a wave of punches at the wooden creature but each punch doesn't cause any damage due to the wooden man swaying his body away from the fists.
Vines emerge from the ground, and they wrap around the body of Nicholas. The wooden man steps toward Nicholas, and the wooden man clenches his fist.
Nicholas coughs at the punch that lands on his abdomen, and another two punches hit his abdomen. Nicholas flinches, and the wooden man swings his other hand which turns into an iron blade.
"You know, your arsenals are useless."
With a swing of his blade, he cuts the shirt of Nicholas before pushing his blade into the abdomen of Nicholas. A piercing scream of pain fills the air, and a stream of blood flows from the wound on Nicholas' abdomen.