Prologue
The world before her was a world of sound. The endless sound of hammering, the furious howling of a mad storm, the roaring of Military Artists. A song of clashing Dites echoed in her ears. She felt as if she was very close to that place, as if she could reach the people there. Leerin then realized that she hadn"t moved. She had been waiting.
The feeling differed from the time in the past when she had to hide in a shelter during a wave of a.s.saulting filth monsters. The protection executed by the Heaven"s Blade successors prevented the people of Grendan from really feeling the threat. The people only hoped for a quick end to the battle so they could return to their daily lives. The feeling today though, was different.
It was the tension brought by being in a war zone, as if time had slowed.
She was in the Academy City called Myath, and the other city that drew near was.........
(I can see Layfon very soon............)
Zuellni. The Academy City that Layfon was in. It hadn"t been a year since Leerin and Layfon parted at the roaming bus station. She never thought she"d experience this sense of agony again, but now........ She knew the term that explained her current feelings, but she couldn"t say it. Now it seemed she wanted to put a full stop on it. If she were to make a wish, she"d wish to return to the past. She"d pray everyday even though she knew it was useless. She wanted to return to that time when everyday sparkled and shone. Her adopted father, Layfon, all the brothers and sisters at the orphanage, and the occasional visits from older brothers and sisters who came with presents......... Praying helped her to suppress the stirring inside her, to help her forget that feeling.
(But.)
Very soon, that feeling and that hope would come to an end.
Because Zuellni was right before her.