INTEGRATION DAY

Her soft voice, as though a whisper reached his ears.

"I am carrying your baby!"

He was dazed. This was not what he expected, not at that moment. Frank was stunned so much that he didn't know what to say.

"What! Really?" that was all he could manage to say. His mind was spinning at the moment even as he heard Noel asking him.

"Are you not happy?"

It was not a question of being happy for her or not. Frank was thinking about what that simple statement meant in relation to his mission. He realized that with that declaration he was automatically becoming a family man! He would need to be there for his family, especially at this unprecedented times. Danger was lurking everywhere.

But he had also a mission for other planets! In the first place, he came from earth and soon or later he would need to be back there! Will he leave the young family all along here? Then there was the question of time. The Amarkale time seemed to be many times faster than earth time.

If three days on earth were a whole fifteen days in Amarkale, didn't that translate to a year on earth being five good years in this land! If he went away 10 earth years then his child would be 50 years old in Amarkale! Gosh! Frank couldn't stomach this.

'How long am I going to be gone from here? How long will I take to accomplish my mission?' he queried himself. Then he remembered something about time restoration that Noel had spoken to him about. His senses returned to the reality and he looked at Noel.

"Frank, don't you want this baby?" Noel asked calmly.

"No! No! Absolutely not. I am really happy. I am going to be a father!" He tried to be so jovial as he could.

"I understand you are troubled."

"Yes, just wondering about your safety while I am gone. How much I will miss my child when it is born!"

"My love, that can be solved when you find the stolen spectre of the time traveller!" she said cheerfully.

"What! The golden spectre that the Dark Lord stole from your father?"

"Yes. He who wants to reign forever can't use it now because it isn't activated!" she explained to him.

"And to activate it he would require your blood! Yet he can't get to you because he is barred from re-entering Amarkale. Hence he can only use agents! That was why my mission was to get to you as fast as possible and eliminate those agents!"

It was now clear to Frank. His mission now made sense to him. Noel nodded at his comprehension.

"If you want to be able to travel back to Amarkale any time you so desire you must have that golden spectre with you!" Noel repeated.

Frank could see himself fighting the Dark Lord with all his might. For the sake of his unborn child and his wife Noel, he would do anything.

"I must get the spectre then!" He vowed out loud.

But he knew it would require more than a declaration of words to fight that existent called the Dark Lord!

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"Citizens of Amarkale!" The Chief Seer spoke. His Voice carried all around to the thousands of Amarkale citizens gathered outside the palace.

It was the day of integration!