Connecting Light [KNY FF]

CHAPTER 5: For the Children

This is a very long chapter. There is a slight spoiler.

A lot of events have occured. Flower Pillar, Kocho Kanae has died due to a battle with Upper Moon Two. Everyone attended her funeral. Ayume grieved her loss and provided her support to her sister, Insect Pillar, Kocho Shinobu.

Ayume is now 19 years old. She has slowly mastered the Breath of Light. She had went to the swordsmith village to make a new Nichirin sword. She now has twin swords.

Her sword has a special alloy in it that adapts with the compounds of the Nichirin metal. Nichirin metal constantly absorbs sunlight and changes colour depending on the wielder. This alloy could intially change in size due to magnetic or heat fields. However, when it was mixed with the nichirin metal, the metal can change in size due to the amount of sunlight it absorbs.

When the swords are kept in its sheath, it shrinks in size. The size of the sheath is like the size of a dagger. When the swords get pulled out, it extends to a normal katana.

The sheath of her previous sword on her belt is now replaced with her new ones. The colour of her swords remained the same.

Ayume was still training hard to master the last form of the breath of light. She just needed more concentration.

"North-East! Head North-East! Rumors of children going missing!" Koko inforned with urgency. Ayume stopped her training and instantly headed to her mission. She does not hesitate to head over to any missions required.

"Children...how cruel..." Ayume felt a hint of sadness wavering in her. She knows the cruelty being caused and she knows very well that others don't too.

Ayume was running on a path that Koko was leading her to. It leads to a village that seems depressed. Some of the people looked starved and everyone seemed sad.

Ayume entered the village and everyone faced her. Ayume had a concerned expression as she looks at the condition the village was in.

"They all...seem..." Ayume voiced in her head.

"Tortured..." Ayume wanted to shed a tear but she held it in. She lets out a smile instead.

"Please excuse me...don't mind me-" Ayume was interupted.

"Why are you here...? Leave..." an man voiced out in a warning tone. Ayume faced him and with a confused expression.

"Leave...before she gets you too..." The  man warned. Ayume felt the fear in his voice. She even felt it with the other people as well. The wave of sadness hit her again. Ayume manged to supress it and let out a warm smile.

"Can you...tell me what has happened here?" Ayume asked the man politely with a smile that gave him hope for some reason. The man fell silent as he felt Ayume's brightness.

"I can. Follow me." the man said and walked into a house. Everyone else was also quiet but they had to keep working.

Ayume entered the man's house. His daughter and wife was sleeping in their futons. The daughter seemed to be sick.

"The children...fall sick everyday. We have been giving them a medicine that was said to be able to cure them...but they don't show signs of progress. The sick children start to disappear when they get sick like this." the old man explained as he looks at his daughter. The little girl was sweating and her face seemed red.

"The village chief...is a woman with no humanity. She demands to give us our food, making us starve. She was the one who gave us the medicine for the children." The man said with bitterness. Ayume stayed silent and listened to him.