Chapter Two: Twist of Events
Ever since Lucian became ten, he began to experience the same dream, the staging scenario of the Frost Empyrean and the faint shadow called Arrogance.
The dream tormented him every time he slept, making a restful sleep seem like a far-reaching fantasy.
Even so, he couldn't help but always ponder whether that dream truly followed the sequence of events of his past. But he had never remembered having a brother.
For all he knew, he had always been an orphan living in an orphanage until it was destroyed during a beast tide and he barely survived before being adopted by an old couple. So whether or not that Frost Empyrean was truly his brother was up for debate.
However, seeing the Frost Shade city on the map spread out on the table, Lucian subconsciously chose to emigrate there. Who knows? Perhaps he would find something related to the Frost Empyrean there and would try to figure out how they were both related to each other.
Lucian folded the map and placed it inside a worn-out backpack. He also picked out the few clothes he had and just shoved them into the bag.
…
It took some time, but soon he was ready to depart. He had tidied up the room and packed all his belongings. But just as he was about to exit the room, he couldn't help but look back reluctantly.
This was the house he had been staying in since he left the outskirts a month ago. Although the 100-gold-note payment wasn't even one-tenth of his formula's real worth, he had still accepted it and used it to at least increase his standard of living.
Letting out a low sigh, Lucian was about to lock the door, but stopped when his gaze landed on an inconspicuous box pushing out from under the bed.
He quickly went over and picked up the dusty box. He immediately opened it and saw a silver ring wrapped in a small cloth inside.
His eyes flashed as he remembered that this was the parting gift his caretaker at the orphanage had given him, just a day before the orphanage was destroyed.
Lucian had never worn the ring before as he saw it as the only thing his true best friend in this world had left behind.
Even until now, he had never met the grand expectations of the caretaker; hence, he didn't see himself as worthy of wearing the ring. But now that he might die at any moment, Lucian no longer had excuses to not wear the ring.
Hence, he immediately wore the silver ring on his right hand as he left the room.
However, unbeknownst to Lucian, a dim golden light flashed on the ring for a very brief moment.
Lucian locked the door and left the key in the keyhole, then turned his back and left. He knew he had to leave. That cruel CEO was currently hunting him and had probably already sent someone to capture him at his home.
There was also the problem of his inconsistent sleep, which could erupt at any time. Once the intense urge to sleep surfaced, he would have to find a place to rest. Otherwise, his sight would begin to deteriorate the longer he stayed away and this could even lead him to become fully blind.
While deep in thought, Lucian exited the residential building. Looking back one last time, he let out a sigh and left with fierce determination burning within him.
…
Although it was deep into the night, a few carriages occasionally passed by. As for cars, they were in the extreme minority. Although this world was quite advanced in technology, its main focus was on the magical side of things.
Most of the countries which truly focused on the advancement of technology were mostly occupied by normal people (those without a mana flame); hence, it was suitable for them. As for countries dominated by supernaturals, their main development was on the magical side.
Ashfield city leaned more to the supernaturals' side; hence, cars were a rare sight. Currently, Lucian's aim was to leave Ashfield city, so the best thing for him to do was to take a carriage out of the city and find his way from there.
He trotted down the almost desolate street with calm steps as he observed the carriages that occasionally sped by.
At first, he was nonchalant, but he soon noticed some people cloaked in black following him from behind. They were approximately sixty metres away and he just pretended as though he hadn't noticed them.
"They sure came fast," he murmured to himself as he increased his pace slightly.
Trot! Trot! Trot!
The sound of a carriage passing by caught Lucian's attention. Unlike the previous ones he had seen, this one was quite large and it was carrying some wrapped goods. Also, it was closely followed by two carriages from behind, seemingly to protect it.
An idea popped into Lucian's mind and he couldn't help but feel a bit guilty.
'I'm sorry for what I'm about to do…'
He steeled his heart as he walked onto the road… and collapsed.
"ROAR!"
"GROWL!"
…
The ferocious beasts pulling the carriages roared in fury as they saw the defenseless Lucian lying on the floor before them. They were about to pounce on him, but were quickly stopped by the drivers, who pulled the reins to halt them.
The suddenness of their stop caused a massive chain reaction that almost tumbled the carriages. After the beasts had calmed down, one of the drivers stepped off the carriage and approached the motionless Lucian, rolling him over and checking his pulse to determine whether he was still alive.
"What's up, Ben? Is he still alive?" a gruff voice rang out as one of the drivers, who was a robust man, approached. He bent down and picked up Lucian's bag to observe it.
Ben, the middle-aged man holding Lucian, got up and shook his head.
"Nothing much, Edward. No wounds whatsoever. He seems fine by every definition of the word. He probably just collapsed on the road due to overexertion. Let's just place him aside and continue on our way."
As soon as Ben finished, Edward was also done rummaging through Lucian's bag. He turned to glance at Ben and said in his gruff voice:
"He seems to be a traveller. His bag contains only clothes and other miscellaneous items, nothing suspicious. Hence, I'll spare his life. Let's just throw him to the side."
However, before Edward could carry that out, the last driver — a tall man with long black hair — arrived next to him. He stared down at Lucian with a weird expression as he said hesitantly:
"Don't touch him. The young miss wants us to save him. Hence, we should take him with us."
"What?!" Ben and Edward exclaimed at once, forgetting that it was night, which caused their voices to echo throughout the street.
The tall black-haired man immediately had an irritated expression on his face as he berated:
"Lower your voices, you fools! We have to quickly leave as the enemies are still on our trail. There's no time for questions. Edward, take him into your carriage. Just give him a vial of healing potion and let him rest. Ben, quickly return to your carriage and let's go."
Although they both had a lot of questions, Ben and Edward could only nod as they knew that they were short on time.
Edward went over and carried Lucian into his carriage while also pouring his green liquid into his mouth. On the other hand, Ben went over to sit on his coach box, preparing to ride. The tall black-haired man warily glanced around as he carefully retreated toward his own carriage, too.
However, just as he sat down and held the reins, he seemed to have picked up on something and swiftly turned around, glancing towards the cloaked people who had been following Lucian previously.
By now, they were about 20 metres away. Seeing that the black-haired man had noticed them, they took out knives and machetes as they slowly approached.
"Leave us the carriages and goods, then scram the hell out of here and we'll consider sparing your life," a bulky man sneered as he raised his knife, its sharp edges glinting under the cascading light of the street lamps. He was the only one who hadn't put on a cloak.
Then the bulky man glanced at Edward's carriage and added plainly, "Oh. And leave that youth you had just saved behind."
The other cloaked men, who were only eleven, immediately surrounded the three carriages as though a single wrong word from their occupants would make them attack.
A deep scowl appeared on the face of the tall black-haired man as he glanced at all the people around him.
"A mere band of hooligans dare to be this cocky with us. Ben, Edward, I'll leave them to you."
"Of course!"
Ben and Edward immediately leapt off their carriage with cold smiles on their faces.
Ben's body turned to stone and he stomped down, causing a low shockwave to push back the cloaked figures.
Following which, Edward, whose hands were covered in flame, punched outwards. The result was numerous flame waves shooting forward and covering the cloaked men.
"Argh~" Screams resounded as the cloaked individuals made a mad retreat. Albeit, part of their clothes and skin were already burnt.
The bulky man's expression changed drastically as he gritted his teeth.
"You dare to harm my men. DIE!"
With a loud roar, the winds surged and formed a large palm that struck down. Not wanting to give the tall black-haired man a chance, the bulky man also stabbed forward with his knife as a huge wind projection of the knife came for the tall black-haired man.
"Hmph!" the tall black-haired man coldly snorted as he raised his hands. Immediately, the bulky man was lifted into the air, and the large palm and knife projections were easily shattered.
The bulky man had a pale expression on his face as he mumbled listlessly:
"Telekinetic essence… telekinetic essence… it's actually a telekinetic essence."
The tall black-haired man stared coldly at the bulky man as he shook his head.
"What a pity. A weakling like you wants to kill me. But I have to agree with you that you actually succeeded."
The man paused as he gazed behind him into the distance. Several carriages could be seen heading toward his position with dazzling speed.
The tall black-haired man waved his hand, and one of the bulky man's hands were squashed. Then the bulky man was thrown to the side.
"Ben, Edward, let's go quickly. We've delayed here for too long."
Ben and Edward nodded with solemn expressions, and they quickly embarked on their respective carriages and sped away.
…
Lucian sat inside Edward's carriage with a lost expression on his face. He wasn't the only one inside the carriage as there were two others. From what he had inquired of them, they were servants of their young miss — who was currently in the carriage of that tall black-haired man.
The two servants had apprehension and worry written all over their faces as they nervously stared at each other, their bodies trembling slightly.
Lucian could understand their feelings. After all, they were being chased. Initially, he had been feigning unconsciousness to get help from these people in leaving the city. However, betraying all of his expectations, they had even beaten up those trailing behind him.
When the epic battle had begun earlier, he couldn't be bothered putting up the 'unconscious' act any longer as he and the servants went over to the window to peek.
He had just pretended as though the healing potion administered by Edward was just that effective. Either way, he and these mysterious people were now in the same boat. Their lives depended entirely on whether they were caught or not.
Lucian clenched his fists tightly as scenes from the earlier battle flashed past his mind. If he survived and left the city, he would definitely seek to find the herbs and concoct the awakening fluid, hopefully becoming one of the famed Supernaturals in due time.
He was also grateful that these kind people had taken him with them out of the city, giving him a chance to find the herbs. Although it was unintentional, they had also helped him ward off those people sent by the greedy CEO, so he made a promise to himself to repay them once his power was sufficient.
As for those people who seemed to be chasing behind the carriages, Lucian couldn't be bothered with them. Just how many death encounters had he faced in this life?