74 Chapter 73: Second chance.

Rigel, Kiko, and Quaz left the mountain because there was nothing else they could do there. Rigel tried to enter the Monolith, but even though he separated his soul from his body, he couldn't enter it like the spirits did. He wondered what was in there, and what kind of secrets they were hiding from the world.

"Rigel..." Kiko looked up at Rigel with a troubled expression. "Are we really going to my village now?" she anxiously asked.

"Do you believe they can survive on their own if we take our sweet time here?" Rigel asked back.

Kiko looked down and she was scared that her family didn't make it out alive. What Rigel said was right because it would be best to go there and find them before it was too late.

The Tinykin village was a-week journey from the mountain, but Rigel didn't want to go there by walking. He manipulated the Mana and created a stream of wind so he and Kiko could fly in that current. They flew way faster than Rigel thought, and Kiko had to grip on his back with everything he got. Although it sounded dangerous, they both enjoyed it because of the scenery below the sky.

It took them only 6 hours of flying to reach the hill where Kiko's village was hidden behind it. Rigel looked at the village and they were flattened by Players, destroying everything that they could destroy. He could see the clay-made utensils and tools scattered on the ground, and he could see the debris of the building that only went up to 2 meters tall.

Kiko looked around the debris, hoping she could find any survivor that had decided to come back to the village. Unfortunately, she couldn't find anyone, so she decided to retrace the path she took back when she tried to run away from Players.

Since Rigel had become more sensitive to the overflowing lingering emotions compared to Kiko, he could sense them from far ahead. He looked at the direction that Kiko took, and it was exactly where the emotions were coming from. He also noticed that Quaz didn't want her to go there for some reason by the look on how he followed her.

They followed the steps Kiko took back then, and they found out that the Tinykin went inside the forest. Kiko was relieved that the villagers managed to run into the forest because there would be a chance they escaped from Players.

The atmosphere became more eerie and Rigel could feel the overwhelming emotions from within the forest. Quaz started to feel uncomfortable by it as well, but not Kiko because she was too focused on searching for her people.

The deeper they went, the more clear what emotions they were. Rigel could see a child peeking at him from behind a tree. Those eyes were empty and filled with hatred, but the child's expression showed her sadness.

"Kiko..." Quaz whispered as he walked behind Kiko. "We are getting close..." He pointed out.

Kiko realized when she saw the lingering emotions around her that had taken forms of their former self or body. She could see the expressions and the voices which made her eyes teared up. She was determined to look for them no matter what she would find in the forest.

Rigel and Kiko heard a howl in the distance, and Kiko ran as fast as she could because she had a bad feeling about it. When she saw the packs of wolves, she burst into tears when she saw her people, the villagers were being eaten by the wolves. Their bodies were being torn apart, seeing how the wolves enjoyed the feast.

"Argh! Go away!" Kiko screamed as she ran toward the packs of wolves as she swung her little arms. "Don't eat them!" Her voice was filled with anger and sadness.

The wolves didn't feel threatened by her presence, they were glad another food came to them. They surrounded her and were ready to pounce on her. She tried to use magic, but since she was unstable both mentally and physically, she couldn't do it. She panicked and that was when Rigel came in and killed all of the wolves by impaling them off the ground.

Kiko was making weird noises of frustration, disbelief, and anger. She looked around as she wiped off the tears from her eyes so she could check if her family was among those corpses.

She kept looking around and the most thing she feared actually happened. She saw her children lying on the ground dead with one of them losing both arms while the other lost her legs and head. She was shocked and lost all the strength in her body, and when she fell, she saw her husband's half face in front of her, only the skin.

Kiko cried so loud that it echoed throughout the forest. Rigel looked around and suddenly a child held his hand with his cold hand. He was suddenly brought back to the past when it happened.

He saw the Players burning the forest and surrounded the villagers with fire. He listened to their laughters while listening to the screams of the villagers, begging for mercy. He watched the Players watching the villagers get burned alive. They watched as the villagers ran away through the flames, burning their small bodies in exchange for freedom.

The Player didn't chase those villagers because they knew what lived in the forest. They waited until packs of wolves came after they smelled the scent of blood and flesh. They cheered for the wolves as the wolves went in formation to ambush the villagers.

Rigel understood why the Players killed those villagers, and it was exactly the same reason why he was confused by their decision to sell Kiko. They thought the Tinykin race was a-good-for-nothing race that didn't even have any value. They just wanted to get rid of Non-Players and received "Rewards" from the Gods. That was when Rigel understood why Players didn't hesitate to kill Non-Players.

He was brought back to the present and saw Kiko holding the stiffened bodies of her children while crying. Quaz was standing there, unable to comfort Kiko because there was nothing he could do for her. Rigel approached Kiko and gently put her in his arms, letting her cry on his chest.

The sound of Kiko's crying lasted for an hour until she exhausted herself to sleep. Her eyes were swollen and she couldn't open her eyes because of it. She fell asleep in Rigel's arms, but she mumbled in her sleep as if she was having a nightmare. Rigel didn't know what to do whether he woke her up and made her cry again or let her sleep and be haunted by nightmares.

"You said you wanted her to have a second chance. What kind of second chance do you want her to have? Revenge?" Quaz looked at Rigel.

"It's up to her what she wants to do with her life. I'm not going to tell her what to do," Rigel answered as he stood up and held Kiko in his arms. "As long as she doesn't regret her decision, that's enough for me," he added and carried Kiko out of the forest.

Quaz turned the forest into a resting place for the lost souls. He made the forest fertile like it used to be since he was a water spirit. He rejuvenated the ground and the trees like nothing had happened before. He grew flowers from the seeds and made them as the gravestones, memorials for the innocent souls.

Rigel saw the shoes that Kiko's children wore, and they were the same as the ones that Kiko wore. He realized that Kiko made those shoes for herself and her children and why she didn't want to throw them away.

"I wish I had a mother like you," Rigel said as he looked at Kiko and held her tightly, making her comfortable in his arms.

The morning came and Kiko had a high fever from witnessing the fate of her villagers and family. Quaz was doing his best to recover her health while Rigel communicated with the lingering emotions in the village.

"She'll be fine and should wake up soon," Quaz said.

"Can you bring her to the 1st floor? I want her to be with the people I know that could help her grow," Rigel said as he cleaned the debris. "I'll show you the map where they are," he added.

"What about you? She would be sad if she found out you left," Quaz looked at Rigel.

"No, she won't. If she wants to see me, then she knows how. All she has to do is to climb the tower and find me," Rigel looked at Quaz. "I believe in her, and I believe you will protect her and guide her," he added.

Quaz didn't say anything else and nodded with understanding.

Rigel, Quaz, and Kiko went back to the town where the tower was. Kiko was still asleep on Rigel's back, and then Quaz materialized his form. Quaz carried Kiko and went to the 1st floor while Rigel stayed since he had unfinished business.

The moment Quaz went to the 1st floor, the first thing he saw was an old friend's face. A woman in a black dress dancing with evil energy lingered around her body.

"It has been a while, child," Quaz looked at Nyctri.

"Hm? You're still alive?" Nyctri raised her eyebrows as she looked at Quaz and Kiko. "Oh?! Is that a Tinykin?" She hurriedly approached Kiko and grabbed her from Quaz's arms.

"She's Rigel's friend. Maybe more than friends because they have a special bond," Quaz answered.

"Then I should protect her as well," Nyctri gently caressed Kiko's cheek. "Poor child..." She looked sad when she saw Kiko's past.