"I believe you're one of the five, Asher," Llyord said. "Or should I say, I know that you are one of the five."
Asher left out a small scoff, turning aside for a bit before facing Llyord again.
"You don't even know me, so how are you so sure about this? And this does not give answers to my question. How do you know my father?"
Llyord got up to his feet and walked towards Asher. He laid his hand on the boy's shoulder before stumping his stick into the floor and the marble floor began to shift.
The structure of the room slowly disseminated, turning into something dark and wholesome.
A moment ago, all three of them were shielded under the roof of the counselling room, and the next minute, they were in a desolate wasteland, filled with ruins and no sign of life.
"What is this place?" Asher asked, turning about like a lost soul.
"The future, son." Llyord replied. "This is the future of the world we inhabit now and how did it end up this way? It's all because of you."
"Me?!"
"You see, Asher, all this is known because you were there… at the very center of the oracle and that is why I believe that you are one of the five to bear the light."
Llyord began to walk about the wasteland, his stick paving way for him through the ruins.
Asher was confused, he had a lot going on in his mind. All that was happening was happening too fast and it was a lot to process. But first, he had to ask a question, a question that resonates with the beginning.
'Why were there five chosen?'
If Llyord was right, then all what the goddess had said to him was absolutely true.
Before Asher could say a word, Llyord had started speaking.
"Why are there five?"
Asher's face lit up immediately, the realization dawning on him.
'He can read minds, too?'
Llyord turned back at him with an empty look on his face.
"Yes, I can and as for Orion, he just took a wild guess."
"Don't you think that's invading my privacy, knowing everything I'm thinking?" Asher protested.
Llyord had a smile on his face as he gave a response to Asher's harmless protest.
"For you, Asher, I can only read the surface of your mind as you have subconsciously blocked the intent to delve deeper into what you're thinking."
The old man's smile faded as he drew a line in the uneven ground with his stick. Stardusts began to rise from this and they began to bring a past moment into reality.
"A millennium ago," Llyord began to say, the stardusts forming ancient beings and events as he told the story.
"war broke out in paradise and every dimension was plunged into dismay. In every dimension, five evil spirits tried to take dominance and five humans, chosen to combat these evil, were sworn in by the heaven's will.
Our world had its fair share of evil as five spirits forged amongst us. One is a guardian of evil which has procreated, but once it has been captured, its children will be visible to hunters during the great cause."
"Hunters? The people who are trained to aid the chosen?" Asher asked.
Llyord was impressed at his brilliance, nodding in response to Asher before he continued.
"Its children dwell amidst us, living life like normal people would as they all await awakening from their master during the event of the great cause."
"The second evil has been killed, the third is a secret to the world because it dwells in the king, the fourth has been sealed where the power to lift the curse on the king is and the last evil, nobody knows of its whereabouts just like it doesn't exist."
"The king, how does an evil dwell within him? If this is true, who had been leading us all this while?" Asher asked again, appalled by the piece of information he had just been told about.
"That shouldn't be any of your concern, Asher. Leave the politics of this world in the hands of the older ones— you're just fourteen." Orion jumped in.
"Well, If I am the chosen as you have said, I should know this much, at least,"
"You can't be so sure yet, boy. You still have to undergo a test to prove this."
Asher's eyes shot at Llyord like he had just been betrayed even before anything had happened.
"The test is just for formalities." Llyord said, hoping his words will put the boy at ease.
"And what if I do not pass this test? What becomes of me?" Asher asked.
Llyord turned to face Asher squarely, a confident smile sitting on his lips which lit up his whole face.
Asher needs no more telling. He had already deciphered his answer from Llyord's reaction.
"I believe in you, Asher." Llyord went ahead to say.
Still, Asher wasn't satisfied.
"You keep on saying that I'm one of the chosen, and maybe you're right because you've seen the future, but whatever evil that is coming, as long as it doesn't stand in my way of ascending the astral realm with the princess, I'm sorry, but you can manage without me."
Immediately after Asher had said all this, the familiar wall of the counselling room shifted back into reality and Asher made for the door at once as if he had called for this to happen.
"Are you going to just let him walk away?" Orion asked, concerned as he watched Asher close the door behind him.
Llyord turned his empty eyes on Orion. For a moment, he sounded genuinely sad as he said,
"He might have made a decision, but he may have less choice than he thinks. He can try to deny who he is, but this won't last forever. He will be back, but for now we wait."
"But we do not have enough time… we can't keep waiting around for him forever." Orion protested.
"For Asher, we will wait."