Somewhere outside Neversummer

"We'll arrive at high noon tomorrow...the sky is getting dark and all manners of beasts will probably come out—especially with the abnormal behavior of predators not hibernating this winter" Grant muttered in a voice loud enough to be heard by the entire convoy.

"The children are getting tired as well. Alright. Let's just set up camp for tonight."Braum ordered.

It had been two days since the group departed Lancester. The journey had been quite uneventful with the exception of some occasional wild beasts or bandits stupid enough to attack them. The group has trekked through a considerable amount of distance with only six more hours of riding the Vaux Ogruns left until they arrive in Neversummer. But the darkening skies brought a sense of danger if they kept on moving. Perhaps if the four Yakanan were just by themselves they would not think of stopping to rest like this. But the presence of children and two untrained civilians with them meant that they needed to take extra care in protecting them. This was evidently also the reason why Kelvin was not fond of the idea of taking these people with them.

The mood in the campfire was quite cheerful with the addition of the orphans. These children just escaped the depths of hell and they were extremely lucky if one saw the fates of some of their other friends. As usual, Niko disappeared from the campfire and Kelvin minded his own business. Surprisingly, Urada was quite good with the children and she kept them entertained by telling them stories of Yakana. This was further encouraged by Braum as he thought that letting them know what Yakana was like might help them better adapt to the new environments later when they arrive.

"No way! The world is...round?" Larry, one of the twins spoke with excitement. Urada just told the kids basic scientific knowledge of Yakana.

"It's more accurate to call it a spheroid...but you guys will learn about it more in Yakana, alright?" Urada said with a smile more beautiful than usual. It seemed that will all the agonies and atrocities that they have witnessed throughout the journey, the innocence of children will calm even the most hardened veterans.

"That is so cool! I want to be one of those mech pilots you talked about as well! Controlling a gigantic metal beast...That's awesome!" Even Deckard, the tall boy who Kevin dubbed 'doesn't know manners' was excited in hearing all the unbelievable details of Yakana.

"Me too! Can you tell us more?" Mary, the other half of the twins muttered. Urada continued her story. But the last of the orphans, Rachael, stayed quiet listening. The trauma she received may have been more severe than what was initially thought. But children being as immature as they are—they are quite insensitive to this fact.

"Hey, are you mute? Sister Urada here is telling us stories of a secret kingdom! Aren't you interested in this at all?" Deckard was quite annoyed that Rachael was unresponsive throughout the whole ordeal.

A figure then approached their location, it was Braum.

"Now now, give Rachael some space. I think she'll open up to us when she's ready" Braum spoke with a tinge of wisdom and dignity in his voice. He was used to be the youngest of the bunch. But with the presence of the children, he felt that this was also his time to show his more mature and protective side.

"Urada, continue your story" Braum said. Urada nodded and proceeded to tell even more stories about Yakana. But the children weren't the only one immersed in that new knowledge. Grant and Lisa were also nearby secretly listening in their conversation. Throughout the various stories, their faces exuded an interval of shock and surprise as the things that Urada was telling them about this secret kingdom would have stirred the entire world if anyone found out. Earlier in the journey, the ARIM device that was in the hands of Grant was taken away by Kelvin after Kelvin had another argument with Braum about letting Grant keep such an important device. After quite a long argument, they agreed on a compromise that Grant would only be allowed to wield the device if they needed his detective ability and skill. Grant quite missed the feeling of having the ARIM. Different than normal people, Grant used the ARIM almost continuously as he looked at every detail of the environment to see their hidden properties. He was enthralled by how such a technological marvel the ARIM was. After hearing Urada's story, he was even tempted to come with Braum to Yakana to see such utopia himself. But the utopia he was picturing was destroyed when he leaned of the upcoming civil war.

"So even you guys are at war right now? I thought you guys were leagues ahead of any other nation!" Deckard said with surprise. Urada just told them of the impending civil war. Something that the children should know even if it would worry them. Urada stayed silent, she did not know how to answer.

"We are still humans no matter how advance we are. Unlike the elves who are content with their current conservative lifestyle or the dwarves who maintained their peace as long as they have access to the things they want—humans are greedy and despicable creatures that will find any reason to wage wars and conflicts. Whether it be the color your skin, the god that you believe in, or in this case, a difference in ideology. The militarists want the same thing as us—the eradication of the Kaiju and the survival of Yakana. But they also want a dictatorship and the invasion of other kingdoms...we can't let them win" Braum answered. His face frowned as he pondered the meaning of this war. He knew that this war was just a hindrance standing in his ways. Blocking him from the more global threat—the evil god he saw in those visions.

The children were struck speechless. They were still too immature to understand everything that Braum just said. Even Urada and the two Estalian who were listening in could not find any words to reply back to Braum.

'I said too much' Braum thought. His entire mindset has changed after he saw those visions. If before he was just a blank slate of a prince who abruptly agreed to take on the responsibility to be the new king because he was bored of his life in the forest, now he is a king burdened by his mountainous responsibility to protect his citizens and in longer terms—protect the entire world.

Braum did not know what else to say in the cricket silence. He left the children and the others there to find another member of his group to talk to. Near the camp, he saw Kelvin opening his tablet device looking at something.

"Kelvin, what are you doing here? Where's Niko?" Braum asked. He couldn't find Niko anywhere after he searched.

"Niko is scouting the area to make sure that the event of someone spying on us like before NEVER happens again. That was a grave mistake we made. We are the proud Yakanan special forces. The Ghosts of Yakana people call us. Something like that was an amateur mistake. Especially in this backwater region. As for what I'm doing...I'm reporting to my superior." Kelvin replied.

"Reporting?" Braum asked again.

"Yes. Throughout the journey, I have been in contact with my commander of the special forces and also the fifth general of the Royal Forces—General Kraus Kaseli...Niko's father." Kelvin replied.

"His father...Niko told me he didn't have a good relationship with the general due to his brother, Petriks, is that true?" Braum remembered the time when Niko told him of his past of why he joined the special forces.

"Yes. His older brother, Petriks, is an ace pilot in the royal forces. He's a Nova, someone who unlocked the potential of the Battle Force to step into the next stage." Kelvin replied.

"The next stage? so using the battle force aura isn't the end of it?" Braum asked.

"No. People who became Nova will possess highly unique abilities. For example, your late brother, Prince Horus, was able to wield blue flames so hot that he was able to melt metals instantly. And Toziro's ability was even more impressive than that. But a Nova is becoming rare these days. Even I haven't unlocked it yet. That's why we need Toziro and his group back to Yakana...all of them are Nova...they should be able to train other people to become Nova as well. We are having a severe shortage of Nova whereas the Militarists have quite a few of them" Kelvin explained.

"I see...and what is the current state of Yakana? Did your superior tell you?" Braum asked yet another question.

"I'm sorry, even if you are the crown prince I am not authorized to tell you the details. But I can say that Yakana is still recovering after the deaths of the royal family. Many citizens are left in the dark and are very worried about the future since there hasn't been any announcement regarding the successor of the throne. But General Kraus is acting as a temporary leader of our kingdom and he is calming down the masses. As for the militarist...there has not been any confrontation for a while. They seemed to be busy developing their mech factories for now. This should buy us some time to train the citizens after we retrieved Toziro and his squad" Kelvin explained again.

"Tch. Alright. Let me know if you hear anything else. I'll be sure to change those 'authorizations' after I become the king" Braum left towards the campfire again.

"General, were you listening?" Kelvin said to his tablet. A pop-up screen showing a shadowy figure showed up.

"Yes...you were right. His mannerisms have changed. I think he'll be ready for the throne soon. And Lieutenant...remember the remote I gave you before the mission. If Toziro and his squad don't comply with our request of coming back to Yakana or if they hurt our crown prince....detonate the chips in their heads." The shadowy figure in the tablet ordered Kelvin.

"Affirmative." Kelvin nodded.