God of Nothing

Aleph was escorted to his quarters some time after that. He just let himself be led, mind still on the dire circumstances that they were facing. Vaynard, who had been cheerful in the midst of being tortured, lost the light in his eyes talking about all the threats that were headed their way. Most telling was the information that he left out, though.

His father's whereabouts must really be weighing on him, he thought. King Mios cast a great shadow for his children, it seemed. From Aleph's experience, he had always been far more composed when he thought he could leave things to his friends. Even for the crown prince, the absence of such a man at his back had unsettled him greatly.

Aleph nodded to Vaynard's attendant as he opened the door for him, thanking him for his service. He was taken to a large room with around twenty beds, with individual rooms on the far side. The room was almost empty, with most outside the barracks training or doing guard duty. He strode across the room, going over to where he spotted his disciples.

"Ah, master! Welcome back!" Brandon said.

"Hello, Brandon. Have you all settled in?" Aleph asked as he looked around. Someone was missing.

"Uh, sorta. Me and Lacey's done with the unpacking, but Rayse is–" He started, but he was pushed out of the way by Lacey. 

"Hey, Mister! Listen to this!" She interrupted. She seemed irritated about something.

"Rayse went off with Luke! They went outside of town to visit Aunt and Uncle's graves!"

That didn't sound good. Amidst the news of Herald activity all over the area, Aleph was hesitant to part with any of the young ones for anything.

"Relax, Lace." Brandon tried to calm her down. "There's lots of time until sunset. I'm sure they'll be here before then. Luke said it's only a couple hours away. They're mages, too, so…" Aleph ignored the bickering pair and held out his brooch. He injected mana into the gem, connecting his thoughts with his distant disciple.

Rayse. Lacey told me what happened.

There was a stretch of silence. His brooch shone red once again, but no reply came through. Still, the light meant that Rayse had activated it from his side, so he patiently waited. Eventually…

Master? Sorry, but I need to do this.

Aleph sighed. Here was another one whose parents cast a shadow over them. He didn't know a lot about them, but from the little he heard from Rayse and his siblings, they had been field medics, and quite accomplished ones at that. He's seen how Rayse, and especially Brandon, psych themselves up for battle by remembering those they've lost, so he understood how important this trip is.

Are you prepared?

Hmm? I brought my shield and everything. Besides, I'm with Luke and Polo! I'm sure we can handle a few stragglers like this morning.

…Alright, child, but return when you sense something is amiss. When it comes to it, I shall accompany you to their graves myself.

…Okay. Thanks, mister. Came the response. He felt the cheerful relief that washed over his disciple at that moment. He closed off the communications, and began to look for his own spot in the room, but Lacey was still venting at the side.

"Then why couldn't they have brought us!? Surely we wouldn't be a bother, right? Besides, we–"

"Lacey. I'm sorry, but as someone that also lost something in this war, there's a reason why Ray left us here." Brandon said firmly.

"I know you care for the guy, but he needs this. Luke knows this, so that's why he left with him. I dunno about Polo, but you've seen him. Maybe he thinks seeing how Rayse deals with loss will help him somehow."

"...Alright, but I still think it's dumb." She pouted, plopping down onto her bed.

"...You're just salty he didn't bring you." Brandon said in a teasing tone, but went over to console his friend anyway.

Aleph watched the scene unfold like it was his own conflicting thoughts fighting it out. He felt a bit cheated on the resolution, but if Rayse thinks this is what's best for him, he supports him all the way.

He just wished he wouldn't find trouble along the way.

__________________________________

Relief washed over Rayse as he saw the brooch's light die down. He knows he sorta sprung it on his friends and master, but the second he heard Luke say that he'd take him to his parents' grave site, he was itching to go. He didn't question it at the time, but considering their situation, he was surprised that he agreed to take him today. Rayse would have understood if he waited until the war was over, even. He stared straight ahead at the back of the one leading him with vast admiration.

They marched forward, and kept going for hours. Luke said Horses would just slow them down, so they went on foot. They had been sprinting for a while, just recently slowing because Rayse said that Aleph was trying to contact him. 

A shoulder rubbed against Rayse, interrupting his musings for a moment. He looked at their other companion on this journey. 

Polo looked vastly different from before the battle of Kyrios. His handsome, youthful face looked gaunt and sickly, as if he aged twenty years in the past couple of months. He dragged his feet, shuffling and swaying from side to side even though his mana naturally reinforced it. And his eyes, that always crinkled to the sides when he smiled, were now wide and sunken. He ambled on in silence, not even acknowledging that he bumped someone. Like Rayse, those empty eyes of his only stared at Luke's back, but whatever emotions laid behind them, he could not tell.

Come to think of it, why did he let Polo come with us? Why would Polo even want to?

He didn't want to voice out his doubts, mostly because he was sure Polo could understand them still. People mostly ignored him now, but Iona still held hope in him, and Polo himself still followed orders well despite never speaking a word. In any case, despite his current condition, he still kept up with them quite easily.

Still, Rayse couldn't stand the strange atmosphere. It was bad enough that the landscape looked bleak. The cold, barren plain stretched for miles all around him with not a lot to look at. On one hand, it let them see enemies from far away, but on the other, them walking like this felt to him like he was marching towards hell. Determined to break the ice, he unslung his pack and brought out some jerky.

"Uhhh, hey guys, I brought some food from Hios. It's really good. Would you like to try some?"

Polo stopped and looked at him briefly, not even acknowledging the thing he was holding, before continuing to walk. Luke didn't even turn back

"Maybe later, kid. We should be there soon, so wait until– Eh?"

Luke stopped, surprising Rayse. He walked over to his side to see what he was looking at, and then he saw it. There was someone in the distance, but they were coming fast.

"Who's that? One of the scouts?" Rayse wondered aloud. He doesn't recognize the person's face from so far out, but their colors were similar to Luke's uniform.

"Maybe. Can you see his armband from here? That should tell us." Luke nodded.

They resumed walking, deliberately going towards the stranger. He saw what Luke was talking about as they got closer, as the yellow armband emblazoned on the soldier announced him as a scout. They stopped a couple of meters from each other, as the scout saluted.

"Sir Luke!" He said stiffly.

"Enough of that, Connor. I got demoted, remember? I'm pretty sure you outrank me now."

"O-oh, right. Sorry, sir!"

The other person flinched, before reluctantly putting his hand down. Luke smiled, giving the young man a clap on the back.

"Lighten up! Noone's gonna tell on you this far out."

"Yeowch!" "Hehe, you're right, of course. So, what are you guys doing this far out of the city, Sir Luke?"

"Ah. We just needed to check something over at the previous camp." Luke said dismissively. "You came from there, no? Got something to report?"

For a man that just said he was a common soldier, Luke certainly still carried the bearing of a superior officer. The young man named Connor just naturally accepted it too, telling them potentially  highly sensitive information even though he didn't need to.

"You mean our old defensive line? Not much has changed. I mean, things have been strange lately, but never this close to the fortress. I was about to return to the city, actually."

Luke nodded, first to him, then to Rayse. After that, he stepped to the side, introducing everyone to each other 

"Oh, that's good. Hey, by the way, remember Rasan? This' his kid, Rayse. And you know Polo."

Connor's eyes widened the moment he saw Rayse. He bowed, which wasn't usual, before shaking his hand. Rayse noticed he tried to do the same to Polo, but averted his eyes just as quickly. Connor was a sturdily built young man, maybe around Brig's age. Rayse figured he had been running all over the place all day, but he didn't even look very winded. 

"Nice to meet you, Mister Rayse. I was in your parents' care last time, so I hope you'd take my gratitude instead of them." He said, bowing once more to him, deeper than before.

"O-oh, uhhh, thank you." Rayse said sheepishly.

Connor snapped his neck back to Luke's direction, as if realizing something.

"D-does that mean you're bringing Mister Rayse to–"

"Yeah. We will be brief, and should be quick enough to return by sundown." Luke answered. Connor looked at them all, his gaze lingering on the shield on Rayse's back and the battle ax in Luke's.

"Hmmm. Well, you do look well equipped in case something happens. I can't leave you out there though. Would you like me to accompany you?"

"Oh, would you? We'd really appreciate it."

A smile split Luke's face, clearly angling for this result from the beginning. They resumed their journey, this time with Connor in the lead. They sped up, too, which suited Rayse just fine. All this talk about his parents just made him really look forward to getting to the gravesite.

If only he knew what awaited them.