13 Incredulity

Meanwhile, sitting on the edge of her window, Rei was intent on observing the view in front of her, lost in thought.

Two moons were high in the sky, one shining with a gentle light, the other smaller one hiding in its shadow.

She didn't mind the late hour, her thoughts were on the events of a few days ago, and Cody, had just finished telling her about the chat between Rada, their father and the Elder.

She could hardly believe his brother's words.

The boy he had met in those terrible circumstances was indeed a completely different person than he let on.

After the events of that day, an indelible image remained in Rei's heart, the image of a boy who, despite his terrible condition, had not hesitated to risk his life for her. She had never experienced anything like it, her thoughts were confused.

The news that he had survived the legendary Forest of the Howling left her even more shocked. She discovered that the kind-looking boy was somehow mysterious.

What was he hiding?

Rei couldn't help but be curious.

Suddenly, however, her face grew sad, "What will happen now?"

She was afraid that his father would kick him out of the village.

Generally, the village lived off the merchants who traveled far and wide across the kingdoms, but it did not allow any outsiders to stay for too long.

She felt mixed feelings growing inside her, unknown until then. Would she be able to see him again before the end of her punishment?

Perhaps it would be too late by then. Thinking about this made her inexplicably sad, after all she barely knew him, what did she care if she would never see him again? Yet something told her otherwise, so much so that she huffed in frustration.

But Rei had no idea that the Elder had ambitious plans for Rada.

Inside his home, further away from the siblings' quarters, the Elder had been sitting for hours searching for memories and notions that might clarify what he saw in the boy.

Just before a new day arrived, Logar paid a visit to the Elder.

"Wise Elder, I have come to speak with you" the man's face was different than when he spoke with Rada.

There was an immense respect in his words.

"Oh Logar, I knew you would come ohoh!" as always the old man was in a good mood.

"Wise Elder, about that boy, I think I know what you've been mulling over until just now and I'm going to come right out and say it; I don't want him to stay in the village" Logar's gaze immediately became serious touched on the subject.

"Direct as ever Logar, not that it's a flaw."

The Elder replied and continued in an equally serious tone, "Listen carefully Logar, I'm about to tell you something I hope you don't let slip."

From the Elder's body came an immense aura that covered the entire dwelling creating a barrier.

"Tell me Elder" Logar's gaze grew more serious.

Before answering, the old man paused, unsure of the truth of what he was about to say.

"That boy... he may possess the power of the Ancients."

The Elder tried to remain as discreet as possible in saying this.

"WHAT!?" Logar yelled involuntarily, but quickly regained control of himself.

"Elder you think this is the time for jokes!?" he asked shocked, forgetting the respectful tone from before.

It was the most absurd thing he could believe after learning that Rada had escaped the dangerous Forest of the Howling.

"I'm not joking Logar, I'm not sure about the thing, but there are high chances" the Elder stared into Logar's eyes.

"But how is that possible? The Ancients are an old and buried race, they have not been heard of for thousands of years, not since the Gods themselves punished them" Logar was completely shocked by the Elder's words.

"Little to nothing is known of the fall of the Ancients, all that was passed down from our ancestors was only that they were persecuted by the ancient gods of this world because of their adverse nature" said The Elder.

"Adverse nature? Elder what are you talking about!?" asked Logar immediately.

"Legends tell that before the advent of the race of man, beast, and demon there was a race defined as the Old Ones. This old race had one and only one peculiarity, they were able to be cultivators and at the same time possessors of the Spiritual Pearl.

Because of their dual power, they were the undisputed rulers of this world and in a few hundred years they became so strong and arrogant that they wanted to challenge the very heavens ruled by the Gods.

Given the gravity of the situation, the Gods immediately launched a counterattack against the race of the Ancients. The war lasted more than a thousand years, before the faction of the Gods emerged victorious. After these events, the race of the Ancients disappeared from the face of this world, no one knows what happened, nor if they had survived. This is all that is known of the infamous Ancients."

Logar remained silent listening to the old man's words, nodding occasionally. He knew the legend of the Ancients, but many of the details mentioned by the Elder were unknown to him.

"And you say that boy..."

Logar didn't even finish his sentence, when the Elder continued:

"I think he possesses a Spiritual Pearl along with his cultivator power, after all, you were able to see his spirit as well."

"Yes sir, although his spirit was still immature, he is a cultivator without a doubt, but I didn't notice anything else," he said in puzzlement.

"Simply because the power of his Pearl was completely dormant within him. But the mark was still clearly visible in his hand, I managed to glimpse it almost by accident. Also, the boy seems to be careful not to show it, didn't you notice the way he always kept his palm facing down? eheheh he's a pretty smart kid."

The boy's nonchalant demeanor, while at the same time shrewd not to show suspicion towards him was signs of great intelligence and cunning, the Elder could only appreciate such qualities.

"His hand? Come to think of it... For a moment I thought I saw something, but I didn't give it much thought, he was making everything look normal, distracting me with his little motions!" Logar clenched his fists in anger, he had been played by a little boy and it bothered him quite a bit.

"Let me see him again and you'll see what I'm up to!"

"I have never seen a mark like his, but it is undoubtedly the power of his Pearl," framed the old man, amused by the man's expression.

"How can you tell Elder?" asked Logar.

"Because when he came out of my hypnosis I felt an external power that did not come from his spirit, the curious thing is that he didn't seem to notice it either" said the Elder thinking back to that moment, his hands ran along his thick beard as he contemplated.

"You say it was the Pearl who helped him!?" asked Logar wide-eyed.

"What Pearl is this about? What Pearl can help its possessor of its own volition?"

"I don't know, certainly not a common one, I don't want to get off balance at the moment."

"What are your intentions Elder? Wait don't tell me..."

Logar somehow sensed the old man's intentions, but he couldn't finish his sentence because the mere thought shocked him.

"Eheh, for some strange reason unknown to us, the boy seems to know very little about his current situation, you could see that too, couldn't you? He has great self-control, but I clearly saw that his was simple improvisation. Such gifts even among the most experienced people is not common."

The Elder paid no attention to Logar who stared at him with a dumbfounded expression as he was in his own world giving an account of what he had seen in the boy.

"Elder!" Logar called him to his attention with an expression that fully described his disapproval of what the old man was about to say.

"Logar! I will make that boy my first pupil! haha!" exclaimed the Elder.

But Logar's attempt was futile, the old man's eyes were already gleaming at the thousands of possibilities that lay ahead.