Hello Readers!

So I lied about the next post being a month from now. Actually, I suddenly gained some extra time, and I started writing and I just couldn't stop. There are a lot of sensitive stuffs in this chapter folks! I cried a few times while writing because it was just so sad....Sniff Sniff :)

Enjoy!

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Calb stepped out of the waterfall with a renewed frustration. He had started his meditation like always. However, he felt as if he was doing it for the very first time. Calb understood that, in any task, there will be some off days and some good days, but today was an off day like no other. Nothing went right with his meditation tonight. In fact, he even stayed in the waterfall a little bit longer than usual, trying to get it right.

The truth of the matter, though, was that even though he had felt like he hasn’t made any progress during all these months, he realized his error. Because of the change that came over him due to the arrival of the PIDO, as well as the increased quantity of mana, his method of accessing the mana no longer was sufficient. In fact, it felt like his mana was being drained by the water running down over his body, as if somehow the water was sucking all the mana out of him, and he had no way of stopping it.

What he realized from that experience was that, in contrast to what he have been thinking these past weeks and months, he had, unknowingly, established a ritual and a feel for the process. Therefore, he couldn’t wholeheartedly denounce that he had not made any progress at all. So even though he was, initially, dissatisfied at his predicament of having to get in tuned with the nature, he was, at least, optimistic. However, for the fault of being somewhat of a perfectionist, not a second passed before he was pounced with another realization that PIDO, in effect, had made all the sweat and toils of past 4 months into near nothing because his body is no longer the same body that he had used to make the progress with. So in a way, he felt like he was starting from scratch. He had wanted to take a step forward, but he ended up taking a step backward instead.

Calb, now, understood what Taron was telling him about earlier when he told him there would be some need for adjustments to the increased mana pool, in order for him to advance in his training. He had initially told Taron that he understood what he was telling him, but he now realized that he really didn’t understand what Taron was talking about after all. Just thinking about the magnitude in which what Taron had said differed from what he thought he understood, Calb felt overwhelmed and discouraged.

In order to shake off the, what seems like, a never ending cycles of frustrations and doubts, Calb walked down the road heading toward the valley. He wanted a change in scenery, and for some reason he thought of that place. He took a detour and entered a wooded forest, and after about an hour, he came to a small clearing on a mountain ridge. In actuality, it was a white rock formation about the size of a small hill surrounded by trees on all sides. Calb came to this spot often whenever he thought back on his life in the space. This lofty spot was an ideal spot for him to lie down and look at the stars. Even though he saw the stars every day of his life while living in space, there was something about looking out into the space from a planet, and even though he was now on a plane rather than a planet, the feeling of awe didn’t differ at all.

For some reason, tonight, he was being reminded of all of his glory days where he had everything at his disposal and had the confidence to do anything he thought of doing as the Legendary Commander of the Phoenix! Even though he would never want to go back to the old days, in real life, in this moment of insecurity, Calb half-heartedly wished he was back there again, if only for a couple of weeks. Even though he is at a right place in life, even though he gained a second chance at happiness, and even though he regained the second chance at love, he just felt so alone.

“Calb....” A deep and gentle voice echoed. “Calb....” The gentle voice rang out again. “Calb, the Lonely, hear my call.”

Calb awoke at the voice of someone calling his name…, but he was not where he should be. He was lying on a bed of grass and wild flowers, and there were nothing but assortments of wild flowers in all directions from where he lay. And the sky…was nonexistent, just a white luminance. It was as if all things other than the field of grass and wild flowers did not exist.

Calb got up and looked for the owner of the voice. Not seeing anyone, he yelled. “WHERE ARE YOU?”

“I am right here.” The voice was neither far away nor near, but it still had the deep, dense tone that seems to come from all directions. “I am the Warrior Lamea.”

Calb was dumbfounded. “Are you talking about THE Lamea?”

“Yes.” The voice rumbled again from all directions.

Not knowing what to say in such situation, Calb blurted out what came to his mind first. “What can I do for you?” ‘What can I do for you? What kind of dumb question did I just blurt out?’ Calb talked to himself in his mind, feeling foolish and self-conscious.

“That question is something I should ask of you, Calb the Traveler.”

“What do you mean?”

“I felt your heartache and I heard your cry of the soul. I know of your frustrations, and thus, I have called your name. Now speak.”

Calb didn’t know how to take in what Lamea, THE Lamea, was saying. He understood what he was saying, but at the same time he didn’t really comprehend, as if Lamea was speaking in little segments or in his own jargon. It almost seemed like ancient way of speaking where the language was still at its infancy, like a dialogue that didn’t depend on the completeness of the spoken word and using only the essential words.

“I don’t know what to say. I don’t know what I am supposed to say. I am hearing you, but I don’t understand the message that you are sending me with your words.”

“You feel alone, but you are not. Now feel.”

“I don’t know what you are telling me to feel. I don’t feel….”

“Now feel.”

“Feel what?”

“Now feel.”

Calb didn’t know what to think. His mind was going haywire without any hint of knowing the meaning behind Lamea’s repeated phrase. ‘Feel what? What am I supposed to feel?’ As he was thinking that, a gentle wind blew across his face.

He recognized the breeze for what it was, and was about to refocus on the Lamea’s words when he felt it! He felt the tingling of his skin, he felt the subtle warmth that phased through his body, and he felt the gentle pulse coarse through his body, but unlike that of a blood pulse. Whereas the pulse from the blood circulation is localized to the specific artery in which one’s attention is focused, the pulsatile sensation that Calb was feeling right now was more diffused in its travel, where the feeling almost resembles that of a permeation of senses heading along the direction of the pulse.

“What is this that I am feeling right now?” asked Calb with a hint of excitement.

“You are feeling that which you have been struggling to feel since the time of our meeting.”

“Time of our meeting? What are you sayi….”

“I am Lamea. Now feel.”

Just when he thought the conversation was going a bit more smoothly, Calb was hit with another road block. He didn’t know what to do. He was raking his brain trying to make some sense out of all this, and he was about to give up when Lamea spoke again.

“I am Lamea. Now feel.”

A subtle difference in Lamea’s repeated direction caught Calb’s ears. ‘Instead of just simply saying, “Now feel” only, like he had done before, he is adding “I am Lamea” this time? There has got to be a reason behind the addition.’ As he was thinking this, he felt a similar pulsatile feeling again, but this time, it was coming from the ground!

“I am Lamea. Now feel.” Again, the pulse ran up Calb’s feet to permeate through the rest of his body.

Calb’s mind was on hyper-drive. He was sure now. He was so close to understanding Lamea’s meaning, and he enlisted the aids from the nano-brain and the PIDO to decipher the meaning behind this message. ‘What was the difference between this pulsation from below and the one due to the wind? What are the similarities?’ As if Lamea was answering his inner dialogue, Calb felt the gentle breeze and the resulting pulsation at the same time that he felt one from the ground, and what he felt were the same! Calb had his answer.

“All these time I was trying to be in tuned with the nature, I was trying to be in tuned with you?”

“Yes.”

“I am Lamea, the Source. Calb the Traveler, lonely no more.”

“I guess you understood the frustration that I was feeling, along with my insecurities huh?”

“Calb the Warrior, Lamea the Warrior grants you a gift that was delayed.” A ball of yellow light emerged out of the ground and floated toward Calb’s PIDO and stopped 1cm from the PIDO. Calb then felt a sensation from his forearm and PIDO started to suck in the green ball of light, and the green light started to stain one of the inscriptions all along the length of the whole inscription.

“Calb the Wise, Pleevon the Mage grants you a gift that was delayed.” This time, a ball of red light descended from the sky, and as before with the yellow ball of light, the red ball of light stained another inscription pattern on the PIDO, all along the length of it.

“Calb the Young, Manvil of Life grants you a gift that was delayed.” A ball of white light descended from the sky and stained, yet, another inscription pattern on the PIDO, all along the length of it, and there remained two other untouched inscription patterns.

“Calb the Old, Nigel of Death grants you a gift that was delayed.” A ball of black light descended from the sky and stained one of the remaining inscription patterns on the PIDO, all along the length of it.

“Calb the Phoenix, Kazan the Beastmaster grants you a gift that was delayed. Open your hands and receive this gift.”

Unlike the first four balls of light, this time, a small egg of pure green light descended upon Calb’s open hands, and as soon as it touched Calb’s hand, sudden jolt of electricity shot out from Calb’s hand into the egg, and at the same time, a different jolt of electricity shot out from the egg to enter into his hand. Then, with a bright spark, the egg of light transformed into a little baby eagle with a touch of green aura, and the residual light from the egg floated toward the PIDO and stained the last remaining inscription on the PIDO, all along the length of it.

“Calb the Orphan, this baby chick feeds on your mana. May it protect you in your time of need.” The surrounding started to dim out, and at the same time, started to fade away.

“Calb the Instrument of God, God sends his blessing on your journey that is about to start.”

“Calb! Wake up!” Serina woke Calb with a shake.

“O..Oh! Hey Serina…?” Calb didn’t expect Serina to come out here this late.

“Why must I always be the one to wake you up? I have already woke you up twice earlier, and this makes third time today! I guess I really should call you Mr. Sleepy Head from now on huh?”

“How did you find me? I didn’t tell you where I was going?”

“Do you think this master huntress can’t even find one Sleepy Old Man at this hour?” Serina sat next to Calb. “So what was bothering you that you came this far from the house?” Serina’s voice turned gentle with a hint of worry.

“I was frustrated. I have been struggling to be one with the nature for so long, and it seemed like I was going nowhere. When the PIDO arrived and gave me the boost in mana I was very happy, but when I started to meditate, it seemed like my mana was seeping out of me uncontrollably, and I couldn’t make any sense out of anything as to the reason for such chaos. Then I have realized that, without knowing, I have actually made some progress, but upon my realization that, due to a sudden increase in my mana, my body is not like what it used to be, and thus, it is almost as if I am having to start all over again. I just felt so hopeless at that point, and I just started off walking to clear my head. I didn’t really have a destination in mind, but when I started walking, I just had this urge to come here.”

After a brief pause to scan the stars again, Calb resumed. “I was looking at the stars, and I started to think about my previous life where I was the Hero of the Galactic Star Federation. People looked up to me. I had everything and could do anything I wanted. It seemed so easy to look back to those days of glory when I am so helpless at this point. Then I felt so pathetic at the thought of me reminiscing about the past.”

“Calb, face me for a little bit.” Calb turned as asked, and what saw was a genuinely caring face of a beautiful woman looking straight at him.

“Calb, I don’t think that you are pathetic at all. I haven’t told you this before, but I am really glad that you came to this world. Even though it may not look it to grandpa, but I was very lonely before you got here. Only thing I thought about was going after my mother, and deep down inside, I was kind of hurt and felt rejected by my parents. Then you came along and my life turned around for the better. My daily life is full of happiness, and I live with healthy sense of purpose now because of you. Do you remember what you have told me at that cliff side overlooking the Continental Tower? I was self-absorbed at the time and was feeling sorry for myself. Then you came along, and you gently, but firmly, set me straight by telling me about your childhood, living as a foster kid. You made me realize just how spoiled and immature I was being, and that was the day that I have decided to change myself.”

The two turned to stare at the stars, and they sat side by side once again. Then Serina continued, “Do you know what I see in you? I see in you a gentle man with kind and generous heart. I see in you a conscientious man that strives to do what is right, and I see in you a man that, despite all of his successes from his old world, is capable of humbling himself to common folks. I see a man that tries hard to improve, and I see a man that is worthy enough of having me.” Serina grabbed Calb’s hand and locked her fingers between his and looked deep into his eyes.

Calb didn’t know what to say. He didn’t realize that Serina knew of his feelings for her. He was waiting until he became her equal before confessing his feeling for her, but, as usual, she took the matter into her own hands rather than waiting on a man to make the move.

“How did you know?” asked Calb.

“Hmmpf! Do you think you are so difficult to read? I knew a long time ago, but it took me a while to get used to the idea that I would be getting into a relationship with an old geezer from another world.” Serina stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

“So you are okay with it then?” Calb asked, not that he agreed with the “old geezer” comment.

“I am giving you the honor of holding my hand am I not?”

Looking at the interlocking hands, Calb replied, “I guess so.” Calb gave her a warm smile.

“So tell me, what did you dream this time?” She leaned her head on Calbs shoulder.

“Hmmph, it is a bit more complicated than usual. A lot had happened, and I am still sorting out the details, but here.” Calb pulled Serina’s hand and gave her a shot of the miniature PIDO.

“Now, cup your hands together.”

“Like this?” Serina did as told.

“Okay, this will tingle…, I think.” Calb concentrated and green light started to gather around Serina’s hand. The light started to take form and out came the baby chick, a gift from the Kazan the Beastmaster.

Serina was intrigued by the light and when she saw how the light turned into a baby chick, she was pleasantly surprised.

‘This little chick is a baby eagle. It was a gift to me from Kazan the Beastmaster.’ Calb spoke to her with his mind.

‘Kazan the Beastmaster? Who is that?’ asked Serina still holding onto the baby chick.

‘I am not sure who that is, but Warrior Lamea told me it was from Kazan the Beastmaster.’

Serina’s eyes got real wide when Calb mentioned Warrior Lamea. ‘Are you talking about “The Hero Lamea”?’ Calb nodded.

‘That’s the one. I know what you are thinking, I was shocked too, but how else can you explain this little baby eagle? Plus, this baby eagle isn’t the only gift that I received. Lamea gave me something else too, but I haven’t really studied it yet.’

‘It is hard to believe, but why are we speaking with our mind, by the way?’ It just dawned on her that they were speaking through the PIDO.

‘It is because of this little chick. It can hear our conversation through the PIDO as well, and you should be able to communicate with it too, with your mind. Isn’t that right little one?’ Calb turned to the baby chick and ask the question.

‘Wow, it nodded. I can’t believe it can understand you!’ Serina decided to talk to the baby eagle also, ‘Hey little one, can you hear me?’ The baby chick nodded. Serina’s face brightened at the realization that she was communicating with a baby eagle.

‘Do you have a name?’ The baby chick shook its head.

‘Why don’t you give it a name?’ suggested Calb.

‘Are you sure? It was a gift to you, you know?’ Though Serina was giving Calb the room to take back what he said, but it was written all over her face that she wanted to, and Calb was more than happy to let her.

‘I don’t think this little chick would mind.’ Calb looked at the chick. ‘Can my friend Serina give you a name?’ As if sensing Calb’s heart, the baby chick nodded. Serina was holding her breath, hoping for a yes, and she was ecstatic when the baby chick okayed it.

‘Go ahead Serina,’ smiled Calb.

Serina seemed ready, but at the same time there was some hesitation. She then asked the baby chick, ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’ The baby chick seemed helpless. ‘Are you a boy?’ The baby chick shook her head. ‘Then you are a girl?’ She nodded. ‘Can you not speak?’ The chick shook its head to say ‘no.’

Serina was a bit disappointed at the response. She would have liked it if it could speak to her, but a thought occurred to her. She asked the chick, ‘Will you be able to speak when you grow bigger?’ The chick nodded. Serina felt relieved and happy, and she immediately started to think of a name.

She pondered for a few minutes, and it seemed she had one, but then she scratched the thought right away, and after multiple trials and scratches, she looked at Calb and said, ‘What do you think of Corea?’

‘It seems like a nice name, a beautiful name,’ smiled Calb.

Serina looked at the baby chick and asked, ‘Do you like Corea?’ It seemed to the two of them that the baby chick smiled to them as she nodded her answer. Liking the response, Serina said, ‘Then your name will be Corea! It is nice to meet you Corea. My name is Serina.’

‘Serina…Serina.’ The baby chick named Corea suddenly spoke Serina’s name.

‘WOW! Corea, you spoke! Calb, Corea spoke!’ Serina was really delighted.

Calb was delighted because Serina was delighted. ‘Hello Corea, my name is Calb. Nice to meet you.’ Calb smiled at Corea.

‘Calb…Calb….’ Corea then flapped her wings, and she managed to flap her way over to Calb’s shoulders and rubbed her cheek against his. Then, after a while, she flapped her wings again, and she jumped and flew at the same time, over, to Serina’s shoulder to rub on her cheek as well.

‘She is so CUTE Calb!’ She brought her finger up to Corea and started to pet her head. ‘I wonder when she will be able to speak fluently.’

‘I don’t know. Lamea told me that she feeds on my mana, so I guess it could be that her growth may depend on my advancement.’

‘Well, then, mister. You had better stop feeling sorry for yourself and make some progress so I can play with her better.’

‘Hey..hey…hey. You should be saying that for my benefit!’

‘Don’t you know anything? Do you not realize that you have just lost your spot in my heart to Corea?’ She stuck out her tongue again. Calb helplessly shook his head, and thought to himself with a defeated smile, “I have been replaced already!”

They stayed at the spot for a while longer to play with their new found friend, and they headed back to the house. On their way back, Calb told Serina of the whole conversation that he have had with Lamea the Warrior, but because Serina was not knowledgeable about the four mysterious figures, they had just decided to mention it to Taron the next day.

“You met who!?” Taron was awoken out of his groggy state the next morning. It turned out that Calb and Serina weren’t the only ones that didn’t get much sleep the night before. Taron was busy applying sealing inscription on a scroll that he had written to the Overseer of the Chamea Falls. He had faith in his granddaughter to safely deliver the scroll, but because of the sensitive information written on the scroll, he had to make sure no one else besides the Overseers can break the seal to the scroll. However, if he had really grasped the real capacity of the PIDO, he could have had a better rest.

“I met Lamea the Warrior, master.”

“’The’ Lamea….Lamea the Hero?”

“Yes.”

“And he had given you a gift as well as the gifts from Kazan the Beastmaster, Pleevon the Mage, Manvil of Life, and Nigel of Death!?”

“Yes.”

“Serina! Bring us a drink, we had better sit down for this.”

“O-kay…grandpa….” Serina responded with a smile. Though she, herself, didn’t know of the four names, the mere mention of the name “Lamea” was a big news. She anticipated much enjoyment from watching her grandpa losing all his composure after hearing what Calb had to tell him.

“Tell me everything!” Taron and Calb sat down, out on the front deck. Not wanting to miss any of it, Serina quickly brought the drinks over and sat next to Calb, across from her grandpa with a smug face.

“Have you had time to decipher all the things that were given to you?” asked Taron

“I didn’t get an in-depth look at everything, but I do have a general understanding of the gifts.”

“Can you demonstrate?”

“Yes sir.” Calb concentrated and brought out Corea onto his palms. “This is Corea. She is a baby eagle that I received from Kazan the Beastmaster.” Corea, first looked at Calb and Serina. Then, realizing that there was a third person, she turned to face Taron.

Taron looked over Corea, and the first thing he realized was the green aura that was about her. His look, then, became somewhat distant while looking at Corea, and he returned and said, “She really is from the Beast Plane, but unlike the other beasts from there, she is a bit special in that she is a familiar of an actual beast in the Beast Plane. I would imagine if you were to head over there, now, you would see the original over there.”

“What are you talking about grandpa? I have never heard of the Beast Plane, and I didn’t even know there were other planes besides Lamea Plane.”

“Well, you didn’t know because I have never told you about it. In fact, those four names that Calb mentioned, they all are the “Heros” of their respective planes, just as Hero Lamea is that of Lamea Plane.”

“So there are four other planes besides the Lamea Plane?”

“Well, to be precise, there are five other planes, including God’s Courtyard, to make 6 planes in total.”

“Why didn’t you tell me about this before?” Serina was confused.

“Because you didn’t need to know! If Calb was not visited by the Hero Lamea, I would not have told you now.” Taron seemed a little flustered, as if he didn’t know what he should say to Serina.

“But WHY grandpa?!”

“Because I didn’t want to lose you too!” This was the first time Serina ever heard her grandpa really yell at her. “That’s what happened with your foolish mother, and that idiot of a father of yours. I told them about the Planes against my best judgment, and look what has happened? That idiot father deserted the two of you, and that foolish daughter of mine followed, leaving you behind. Do you think I want the same thing to happen to my precious Cooky?” Serina’s eyes were brimming with tears, and in an instant, she bolted to her grandpa and hugged him hard.

“Your mother, right now, is on the Plane of the Beast, and as for your idiot father, I don’t even know where he is. I would imagine your mother is still searching for him.” Taron’s face softened as he returned his granddaughter’s hug.

“Now, listen, both of you.” Taron pushed his granddaughter off to look at her and Calb. “Initially, I wanted to send you off to Chamea Falls, only to deliver a message to the Overseer of the Chamea Falls and come back. However, visitation from Hero Lamea changed all that. It seems like I need to prepare you two to make your way up through the Planes to God’s Courtyard.”

Taron looked at Calb. “Calb, the fact that you were brought here was the main reason for this mission. Throughout the history of Lamea Plane, there were only few major catastrophic events that really shook the planes, and each and every one of them was preceded by the so called “Messengers of God” visiting us. You, Calb, are that being that is about to shake the foundations of this Plane. Well, to be exact, you are here to lessen the devastation that is about to come. I had hoped that I could stall your inevitable journey through the Planes, but things are moving faster than I had hoped. Therefore, here is your mission.” Taron looked at the two of them.

“You are to deliver this scroll to the Overseer of the Chamea Falls. Upon completion, you are to immediately head up to the next plane, which will be the Plane of Magic. However, the journey to the next plane is not that simple. In order for you to be able to head up to the next plane, you have to first visit every other continents on the Lamea Plane and visit at least one Overseer in each continents. There are 5 Overseers on each continent, just as there are 5 on this continent. Here are the names of the continents that are on the Plane of Lamea: our continent Garmea, Romea, Farmea, Dormea, and finally, Zormea.”

“I will give you a scroll with detail of all the Planes before you leave, but the same thing applies to the other planes. In order for you to advance to the next plane, you must visit each and every continent on the Plane and visit the Overseers, in order to gain their Blessings of Ascension. A Blessing of Ascension is like a ticket that is tallied at the InterPlane Towers. If you get to the so called InterPlane Towers, and yet, you have not received all 5 Blessings of Ascension, the tower will not activate. Also, you can’t cheat by visiting 5 Overseers of one continent and get their Blessings of Ascension and hope to go up to the next Plane. Overseers of each continent have different Blessings. Therefore, it is useless to gather 5 from one continent. Do you understand?” Taron looked at the two of them.

Serina and Calb, both, nodded.

“Now, Calb, I do realize that you are, currently, not at a level where you are able to challenge the InterContinental Towers on your own, and I apologize to you for my lack of skill in developing you faster.”

“No..No Master Taron. I don’t think it was lack of skill on your part, but lack of talent of my own. You have provided me with much knowledge and insights that I failed to utilize to the best of my ability. I don’t blame you at all.”

“Ha.Haah…. You do not need to humble yourself so much Calb.” Taron chuckled to himself. Disciple’s shortcoming is the Master’s shortcoming. Do remember that. Is there a fault in an ignorant man in not being able to accomplish something he has no knowledge of? Of course not. It is the duty of the Master to lessen the ignorance of his disciple. In my selfish desire to hold onto my Cooky a bit longer I failed you.”

“But I….”

“Calb…, you are a good man, much better man than that idiot father of hers. You got a good heart. There is no need to make excuses for this old man. The fact is the fact. What we must consider is to determine what we must do now.” Taron looked at Serina. “Serina, you better get packing while I try to catch Calb up to speed.”

“Yes grandpa…” Serina rose from her seat to leave.

“One more thing Cooky.”

“Yes?”

“You better thank the God that he brought Calb into your life!”

Serina smiled, looking at Calb and then to Taron. “I will grandpa!” Serina walked off to her room.

“Calb, take good care of my Cooky.”

“I will sir.”

As if everything has been settled, look on Taron’s eyes changed. “Now that everything has come to light…, Calb.”

“Yes sir.”

“It seems to me that the key to getting you caught up in a short time is the PIDO. Why don’t you tell me every detail of that thing of yours….” Calb and Taron spent the next 5 hours discussing about the function of the PIDO and how its functionalities could best be utilized for the most optimum growth, as well as combat proficiency.

As Serina began to pack for the departure, tears started to flow. She was reminded of all the good moments that she had with her grandpa. She recalled the times where her grandpa gave her piggy back rides as her mother chased him, scolding him for spoiling her, and how she would always run up to give her grandpa hugs whenever he would come back from his trips. Of course, he had never forgotten to bring her treats that her mother specifically forbade him from giving to her, from the market. She then remembered the time when her grandpa came to her rescue when she had failed to conquer the InterContinental Tower and was about to be killed by the Wood Snakes. She would never forget how much he cried thinking she may never recover from the damage done to her by all the psychic attacks she had received from the Wood Snakes. He had never left her alone for a whole month after that incident, fearing she would run off again on her own.

Even though she didn’t have much to pack, as she had already packed most of her stuff the night before, it still took her a while. Everything tasks that she did, every steps that she had taken, and every turns she had made for the preparation of her departure brought back memories. She watered the plants for the one last time; she looked at her grandpa’s room for the one last time; she readied the meal for her grandpa for the one last time; she warmed her grandpa’s bath water for the one last time; and she folded her grandpa’s laundry for the one last time. She walked out of her house for the one last time….

When she joined her grandpa and Calb again, they had just about wrapped up the last details of their training. She looked at her grandpa with a tear filled eyes, and seeing her granddaughter doing her best to keep a smile on her face, Taron sent Calb to go wait for Serina at the road, as the master and disciple had already finished their goodbyes. It was already prearranged that Calb would be storing both his and Serina’s luggage in his PIDO since there was no transference of weight, considering all the items would simply morph into energy packets to be stored in his PIDO.

“Well, Cooky, I guess this is a goodbye.”

“Yes grandpa.” Tears in Serina’s eyes finally overflowed and trickled down her face.

“Come here Cooky. Give your grandpa one last hug.”

“Yes grandpa.”

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Yes, the long awaited departure!

I hope you guys understood all the tear jerkers (at least, I hope that you have sensitive enough soul to develop some fluid around your eyes ;) ) in this chapter.

Thanks for reading!

-----MooShoo-----