Chapter 8

They began talking in hushed tones about the situation from the mainland at North where the main trades are being executed. The messenger had reported about the signed treaty in terms of land and economy shares between the colonizers and government.

There was only minimal benefit at the country's end of bargain and the West is slowly being sold off. "Does that imply the government forsaking us?" Muren exasperatingly asked. "Have the government finally lost it?"

"The great war is only getting worse, comrade. We must be prepared for that."

"Mother predicted that the colonization might last longer than the great war itself."

"Your mother? Madam Luren, the famous medium years ago? I thought she had retired from being a shaman. Can I meet her?"

"She is a bit sick, hence I do not recommend you meeting her. She must only entertain significant conversations. I am sorry about it, comrade."

"No, it is fine. Anyway, I cannot stay for too long. The guards will be suspecting me. I shall take my departure then."

"Of course. Take care and we shall meet again."

When the messenger was gone, there was an abrupt glitch of scenario that took place in Muren's disarrayed vision.

He must have gotten the peculiar ability from his mother – the predicting of future and oftentimes, a vision that is currently happening from afar.

Aside from sipping moonlight and swimming in flower bed gardens from the glitch just above earth, but below heavens, there were few other things his eyes could see.

Future predictions are frequently inaccurate, but the omniscient sight of something occurring from somewhere past his domain has always been correct.

Nothing is always as it seems, they say, and Muren knew it more than anyone else.

This strange ability had always set him apart from the other officials from the government he worked with.

The betrayals and counterfeit processes he had prevented from passing through were countless.

It is not an overstretch to say that Muren had salvaged the entire country from before the great war and various colonizers during his service at the government.

But now, regretfully, that same government had been abandoning them because of their incapability. He could only view the great war as a mere excuse for the government's betrayal to its own countrymen and from that point, Muren hated it to the core.

He hated betrayal more than anything.

His ponderings had been interrupted when another visitor came in and informed him that there will be a secret wedding between two villagers who were deeply in love since childhood.

From time to time, Muren would let in the joys between the crevices of their ordeal.

After the cruel takeover, most of the unborn children were forced to be aborted and the wedding plans were cut off.

Muren joined the other villagers at the deep forest where the little ceremony was being held.

Around 30 other villagers went to witness the unofficial marriage between the two beloved resident from the same village.

The usual rituals were recited.

Afterwards, the groom put on an improvised wedding ring made out of a small, round wire around the woman's finger. This put a smile on her lips which was finally kissed as everyone clapped in a minimum noise.

Watching the small ceremony of marriage, he could not help but remember an actual wedding ceremony before that occurs grandiosely inside a temple or church with a high ceiling and an official priest.

The rites were beautiful and each moment was as magical as the moon.

The bride would walk in, crying as she joins her groom.

Then they would walk towards a prosperous life that everyone ends up loving.

And with that, the pretty face of Ai had suddenly occurred to him.

She was all he could think of when marriage came up.