Sanctum Lumina

Sanctum Lumina: 4

EA

The moment I saw my companions walking away with smiles on their faces, for the last time, I had nothing left to wish for except for their safety.

It's alright if I must be the one to sacrifice for their freedom. With this, my heart is at peace.

Claugh, wherever you are now, I hope you find our companions. And if you're in heaven, see you soon.

Bryle, Drey, my comrades, continue our cause. The silence of Sahonia.

Master, I hope for victory in this battle.

Slowly, I was being pulled by the megament, and with each pull, the pain in my back intensified.

Don't look back.

Just run.

I tried to remove the arrow from my back, but the pain only worsened.

I let the megament pull me. Whatever happens, happens.

Then suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind. This might be the end for me. I looked back just as someone pulled the arrow from my back, and I screamed in pain. They pressed something against my back to stop the bleeding, tied it around my body, and carried me.

The man in black.

He must be the one who helped Master.

We ran—well, he ran while carrying me, following our companions.

I saw the megaments flying behind him, not towards us, but away. It was Bohien's psychokinesis.

I glanced back at the man carrying me.

He was dressed in black, his body fully covered, even his face masked.

This familiar feeling.

Slowly, I reached for his mask and removed it.

"Another mask? You still have another mask? Like how many mask do you have there?" I said irritably, wincing as my back hurt again.

He laughed. That laugh. Gotcha! I widened my eyes, disregarding the pain in my back.

He slowly removed his bonnet while still running, and I wasn't mistaken—

"I missed you so much, kid," he said, a mix of sadness and happiness on his face.

"Claugh," I whispered before drifting off to sleep.

SHIPPO

At the Royal Palace of Northsonia

Queen Tetzel of Northsonia had developed a habit of sitting outside on the terrace of her spacious room in the palace. She did this every day, reminiscing about the last moments she spent with her lost child, who had disappeared 18 years ago.

She didn't notice the tears that had begun to fall from her eyes until a hand gently wiped them away from her cheeks.

"J-Josh, my son, do you need something?"

"No, my queen, I just came to visit you. How are you?" Josh asked, sitting beside her.

"I'm fine. And you? It's been a while since you last visited me here."

"I've been working on a new project. But it's finished now," Josh replied cheerfully.

"Is the king giving you a hard time? Is he making you do a lot of things?"

"Not really. But this is all I can give in return for the debt of gratitude I owe the king. In fact, it's more than enough. The chosen prince of Sahonia, it's more than enough, so I don't hesitate to help the king."

"Just don't forget about yourself, my son. Don't let the king dictate everything that happens in your life."

"Yes, my queen. I won't forget," Josh said, glancing at the flowers below. "Are you thinking about her again?"

Although Josh didn't specify who he meant, they both knew who he was referring to.

"I just can't stop thinking about her. Even though it happened so long ago, I still hope she's alive. To this day, everything that happened 18 years ago is still so clear to me."

This time, Josh turned to face the queen. All he knew was that the queen had lost her child, but he didn't know how or what had truly happened. She had never shared that story with him.

"Aria, my only angel, robbed of the chance to live happily, peacefully, and with a family."

Queen Tetzel's Flashback 18 Years Ago

"Aria, stay here for now, okay? Don't make a sound. I'll mislead them."

Queen Tetzel sat her 4-year-old daughter under tall cogon grass.

"Mama, come back, okay?"

"Of courses, my child."

She quickly ran in the opposite direction.

That afternoon, Tetzel learned of the king's malicious plan against his own child. It wasn't unknown to her that the king hated his own daughter, so they never returned to the palace but instead lived in the Eskosa mansion in Southsonia, in Tetzel's family's vast laboratory.

One of the guards at the mansion overheard the king's plot and immediately informed the queen.

The little princess, at such a young age, had already shown intelligence and ability—Nullification (which is why the king could never simply kill her with his powers). So she was enrolled in the Academy of Abilities, the largest school in Sahonia.

Before Aria's classes ended, Tetzel rushed to fetch her when she realized the king had found out. They were followed.

(Aria was still in uniform when she and her mother escaped.)

After leaving her daughter behind, Tetzel managed to mislead their pursuers. She returned to the mansion and ordered her guards to retrieve Aria from the spot she had left her. But by that night, the guards found nothing. They learned later that a child's body had been found drowned in the Hera River, leading to the Four Aria Falls.

Since that day, Queen Tetzel had been in a daze, staring out from the terrace of her room.

Five years later, she heard that the king had adopted a child, claiming him as his own. One day, this child, Josh, visited her—he was 12 years old.

Josh visited her every day. At first, she thought it was just a command from the king, but as months passed, she grew fond of Josh, seeing how naturally considerate he was.

Flashback Ends

"Josh? Do you really have no family left? In Eastsonia?"

Josh froze at the queen's question. All he knew was that his family consisted of just one person—the younger sibling he remembered, who he thought had been killed by a megament.

"My family is gone. Even my only sibling is gone," Josh said quietly.