Daneel had been rooted to the spot due to the sight of the creature outside that he had had to see, and it was Perfect"s words which broke him out of that state.
Inside the conical house that they had awoken in, all was dark, save for a few lamps which had automatically come to life after detected that they were needed.
In the dim glow of those lamps, he could see the expressions of his companions in the room.
Elanev was slightly jittery, but the realization that his strength was gone seemed to have hit hard.
Faxul was extremely alert-his eyes were darting around, looking for ways to get out of this situation, and this was a testament to his character which had never really depend on power. That was something both Daneel and his best friend had in common-they knew very well how it felt to have very low potential and an almost predetermined mediocre future, and breaking off of that had given that a lot of strength that always came to the fore in moments like these.
Perfect was the most resigned of them all. His words "Heavens help us" had been said with genuine beseechment to the limitless skies above which most thought of as containing some formless power that might or might not help them, and his face was once again filled with the lament of their current situation. He almost looked like he was close to devolving into a state like before where he would be non-responsive, so Daneel decided to do something.
Stepping forward, he gave a tight slap to Perfect"s face, and this made the man look at him with shock before an emotion that he had never shown before erupted.
Anger.
He made as if to leap forward and hit back, but Daneel spoke in a calm tone.
"I apologize for that, but if I hadn"t done that, you would be whining like before. It"s clear that we don"t have time- if the same schedule is followed, the second blight will come soon. You can fight me and take all the revenge you want outside, but here, we must work together. I value my life, too, Perfect. In fact, I value it much more than you do yours, as I believe that the fate of millions of lives hinges on mine. Call it an illusion of grandeur, or the arrogant ravings of a loon. Either way, I have this thing to believe in, which gives me strength and confidence, no matter who or what comes in my way. Now, shall we get back to bonding? This is the first time in my life that I am apologizing to anyone for hitting them. I am not saying this arrogantly- I genuinely feel a need to apologize, but it was needed."
As the King of Lanthanor said this, even Elanev and Faxul looked at him weirdly.
Indeed, this really was the first time that this man who had always been sure of himself had apologized to someone.
True, there had been things that he needed to apologize for before, but then, there had been no one to approach and deliver an apology in this way.
His sincere feelings seemed to touch a chord in Perfect"s heart, as the man calmed down and ma.s.saged his cheek for a few moments.
After that, he actually smiled and said, "I understand. You remind me of my Grandfather. He is also someone who is ready to apologize if he sees that he was at fault, but if he isn"t, he would rather die than admit guilt. Once, I remember him decapitating a foe who later escaped, and his biggest despair was that it was unwarranted. Alas, no matter how much he searched, he could not find that person, and he still speaks about him when he drinks to this day. Anyway, yes, let us get back to the task at hand."
Appreciative smiles appeared on the faces of all three from the Central Continent as they heard this, as this was exactly what they had been looking for.
It looked like Daneel"s decision had worked out, even though he, himself, had known where it would lead to.
Remarking to himself on the remarkable outcomes of things when one followed one"s heart, Daneel was about to speak, but he had to pause as the house moved again.
All of them returned to their previous position, and as Daneel took a hesitant peek out of the window, he saw that the barrier was back up, and the mist had receded to where it had been before.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he was about to turn around, but he stopped when he saw all the villagers coming out and saying something together.
"The Great Bond."
"Yes, we need to rekindle the Great Bond!"
"Everyone, gather around the cypress!"
"It"s the only way!"
Curious, he turned to Perfect and was about to ask, but the man answered before that, itself.
"The Great Bond. I heard about it, but no one explained what it was. This entire thing was just weird, you know. It was as if all the things they didn"t speak about had caused them traumatic experiences which they did not want to recall no matter how much I badgered them. One woman even almost set me on fire! Anyway, the only thing I do know is that it can help. Why not go try it?"
Daneel thought for a bit as he heard this, and then nodded.
The biggest problem here was that they did not know exactly what a "bond" was.
If this "Great Bond" gave them that information, then they would be much better equipped to tackle this situation, so it seemed to be the best avenue to pursue at the moment.
Fear of the unknown was always a factor that had to be taken into account. Even before, much of the anxiousness he had seen in his companions had been because of their enemy that had been wreathed in darkness, making it so that they didn"t even know what it was.
As they all walked in the direction where all of the villagers were heading, they soon saw the cypress that had been mentioned.
It was a magnificent tree, and Daneel had spotted it before, too, as it was hard to miss in such a small place.
The most interesting thing…was that even though the rest of the land had completely turned barren due to that attack before, this tree was the only thing that still stood strong and hale.
It"s green leaves almost shone in the sunlight that had been restored, and just entering its shade seemed to calm the trepidations in the hearts of Daneel and his companions.
Not know what to do, they looked around and saw that the villagers were simply sitting down in the shade and entering a meditating pose.
Nodding between themselves, the four adopted the same pose, and for a little time, they felt nothing.
Only the sounds of more and more people walking to their location and sitting down could be heard, followed by those of many people breathing deeply.
Just as Daneel was about to question this entire approach, though…he suddenly spotted something that he had not felt before.
Between those deep breaths and those sounds of rustling leaves, a low…hum could be felt, which was deeper than any that Daneel had ever heard in his life.
It was almost as if there was a gigantic being that lay asleep in front of them, and they were listening to its humongous lungs breathe as they sat in its shade.
The first thing that Daneel felt after this revelation…was humility.
He felt humbled in this being"s presence, for some reason, and although he asked within himself, he could find no answer for this strange experience.
Was it that he had started to think too highly of himself? Or was it that he was close to a breaking point due to all the pressure on his shoulders?
Wait…where did these questions even come from?
No sooner had he asked this, that hum changed, and this time, it was one of power.
With each second, this aspect of power of that voice, or feeling, or whatever it was that had engulfed Daneel grew stronger, and he couldn"t ignore it even if he wanted to.
His blood started to pump wildly throughout his body, and his heart started to speed up, as if he was in a situation where he needed to fight, or flee.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Like an unstoppable army that marched ever onwards, this hum felt like it was coming to vanquish Daneel.
In that moment, he entered a strange state where he was convinced that he had no option but to die.
And in that state…all of his regrets started to come to life.
Have I done right by all those I met? Have I done everything I can?
These questions weren"t new, and neither was this the first near-death experience that Daneel was going through.
Yet, that state that he was in allowed him to think of the answers much more clearly, as if the feeling that his death was inevitable had resulted in a liberation that allowed him to see things as they were, instead of trying to look for ways to circ.u.mvent what was going to happen.
He found the answers, but just as he was about to give in…that hum stopped, and he found himself back in reality.
Opening his eyes and widening them with shock, Daneel looked around, and saw that Elanev, Faxul and Perfect were doing the same thing.
Apart from them, some of the villagers who had started to meditate at the same time as them had also awakened, but unlike them, these villagers all stood up with determination in their eyes.
With interest, Daneel followed them, and what he saw made the revelation that he was supposed to find here reflect in his eyes.
Each villager…went to those that seemed to be familiar with them, and spoke to them about certain things that seemed as if they had been repressed.
In one case, it was a man who had acted out of jealousy by stealing something from another.
In another, it was a woman who had gossiped about someone else behind their back.
Not intending to waste a second more, Daneel stood up and made sure that the others had seen him before hurrying back to their house.
As soon as everyone had entered, he shut the door and turned around with an expression that was br.i.m.m.i.n.g with excitement.
As soon as he shouted out the revelation, he saw the others nod, and that was when he knew that they had found the right track.
"Bonding is about sharing your weaknesses, too- it"s not just your goals and strengths that are important! Only a bond formed between those who know both positive and negative aspects of another can be called a true one!"
…
While Daneel was partic.i.p.ating in that almost esoteric spiritual journey, as he would call it later, he wasn"t aware that in his Kingdom, his sovereigns had just begun a hasty meeting.
Kellor, Robert, Eloise, Luther, Aran, and Ca.s.sandra all had worried expressions on their faces, as they viewed a display trinket in front of them.
In it, a woman could be seen ducking in and out of the central crowd in the largest marketplace in Lanthanor.
She seemed unremarkable, as she was wearing the clothes of a commoner while even carrying a bag filled with the fresh produce of the morning.
Yet, in the display trinket…her figure was highlighted in red, and the words "Hero Level" flashed incessantly in bright red letters.
With a frustrated expression, Eloise stood up and shouted, "What should we do?!"
With a sigh, it was Robert who answered, and although all those present knew that he was saying the truth, it was obvious that they didn"t like it, at all.
"What can we do? We watch, and wait. Oh, and we can hope that our King finds something in the Order to handle a proper Hero-level individual. Otherwise…things might get pretty dicey."