"I hope I will have the answer that you are hoping for when the time comes," Velen said with a stoic expression.
All of a sudden, the expression of the elder, which seemed warm all this time, changed to a very serious expression. "Listen carefully, Velen, although I don't know what happened or who did it. Just before we felt Dolores's spiritual presence, I was able to feel the time suddenly shift. Almost as if time had stopped moving for a few seconds. I am sure most of the people on my level have already felt it. I am not sure if you felt it."
Elder continued as Velen's expression turned to that of disbelief, he wanted to ask questions, however he didn't dare interrupt the elder. "It felt like time had stopped moving for a few minutes for the entire continent. I can't say how long the time was frozen; however, I am sure this isn't a very good sign."
"Ho... How is that even possible? Did it have something to do with Dolores's appearance? Just who could have done something like that?" Velen asked impatiently as the elder stopped speaking. Velen seemed to have been shaken to the core after hearing such an unbelievable story. 'If it were someone else saying the same story, I would have instantly laughed it off. But hearing this from the elder? How can I ignore anything he says?' Velen mused.
'If something like that really happened, people like the elder are the only ones who would be able to feel it. He possesses power that rivals even that of an elder dragon. He has a complete mastery over space magic as well, on top of that. If he says something like this happened, how can I not believe it?' Velen thought about the topic, and suddenly he felt a mountain of pressure on his shoulders.
"I don't know how it happened, or if it really happened. All I felt was a shift in the space, as if the time had shifted without me realizing it; that's the best way I can explain the situation to you. If it really happened, I know just one thing: this was not something that could be done by any living beings. No living being on this world is capable of doing something so miraculous. The only culprit that comes to my mind is, it was the doing of a god." Elder said in a very serious tone.
"I don't think any god could have done it, though. We have never seen any god interfering with life on this world. We don't even know if the gods truly exist; the only thing that proves their existence is the blessings." Elder said. Velen agreed with him; the only way people knew about the god was through the blessings some people had since birth.
People born with these blessings went on to become more powerful than their peers. Having a blessing in this world was very powerful, which was why many people turned to worship[ the gods that they believed in. Blessings were not restricted to the newborns; there were many instances where people were blessed at many different ages. However, only the followers of the faith had the chance to get blessings.
"This is something beyond our power, that is why it would be wise for you not to dwell on this." Elder cautioned Velen as he fell deep into his thoughts.
"I shall take my leave for now; it seems I have a lot of things I need to do right away." Velen bowed once more as he exited the garden. Unlike when entering, while exiting, his footsteps became heavier. First of all, I need to strengthen our young generation. I was thinking of declining the invitation to the tournament at first, but it seems I should reconsider. If things go the same way they did the last time, the ones to be more affected by this will be the younger ones.' Velen mused.
......
While all of this was happening, Rudra went around the town. He wanted to bid farewell to the ones who had helped him in the past. He grew up in this town, so there were many people who helped him, be it by providing jobs or in other ways. Although the people in the town were mostly poor, when they saw Rudra working to gather money for the orphanage, they all offered him small odd jobs. Because of that, he never had to worry about the funds.
'I will never forget the kindness you all have shown me. I promise I will repay this debt one day.' Rudra mused emotionally after looking at the faces of the people who came to bid him farewell. The news of his leaving for the academy spread like wildfire; that was why many people who loved him came to say their goodbyes.
"Good luck, little boy. I hope one day you become as strong as Maria. Come back to the town whenever you have the chance. We will really miss you." An elderly woman in the middle of the crowd said emotionally. She was Lana, she was a widowed 70-year-old female, and she had no one left in this world. Rudra would regularly help her with small chores that she could no longer do. She didn't have any money to give to Rudra; however, he did it anyway.
There were many people in the crowd, like Lana, some had helped Rudra, who had helped Rudra. The gathering quickly became emotional. Rudra somehow made it out of the crowd; now, only one destination remained in his mind. He had done everything left for him to do in this town, so he walked straight to the baron's mansion.
'I don't know when I will be back here, for 15 years this has been my home. Out of those 15, I don't have memories of most of the years. However, all the memories I have from this place are most of the happiest memories of my life.' Rudra mused on the memories he had made in this town, although this town wasn't beautiful, and although this town wasn't clean, he still loved this town dearly. He looked around the town from the gates of the Baron's mansion; the town in its entirety was visible from this place. He saved the image of the town deep in his heart, never to forget.
'I will grow stronger and make sure no one dares to lay their hand on this place anymore.' Rudra promised himself as he opened the gates to the baron's mansion. This was going to be the first step in his journey. A journey that would flip the entire continent upside down. Whether this journey was going to be good for the continent or would it bring about the destruction of the continent, it was yet to be seen.
....
Once Rudra entered the mansion's courtyard, all he could see were countless men and women clad in armor. All of them looked intimidating; most of them were giving off spiritual pressure just by standing still. They were standing in a formation in front of the mansion. No one, not a single one of those people, displays any un-disciplined behavior.
'This must be the soldiers that are garrisoned at the Frontier Fortress. The Duke's own personal army. Just by looking, I can tell that they must be very powerful. From the looks of it, they don't seem very old; most of them are in their 20s, from what I can tell. To be so young, yet they are so strong. No wonder Frontier fortress is considered one of the most secure borders.' Rudra thought as he examined the people in the formation, he was awestruck by their mere presence.
Rudra was 15 and judging