The battle at the frontier of the Wandering Land against their South and West neighbours had taken a turn.

The forces from the Wandering Lands and the West DA, together with the Topaz Guild and the Obscure Guild, had been sacrificed by a single entity.

At supersonic speeds, Luo, Jenna, and their line of X-54 jets flew above the decimated people.

But they still weren’t fast enough.

‘Shield!’

As Jenna cried out, a metal layer enrobed each plane. It just increased their survival chances a little bit.

There wasn’t anything special like a force field to protect them.

The crimson beam was coming from behind to a 45-degree angle beneath them. Their trail formation sacrificed the closer aircraft so the farther ones may survive.

Behind the general, they heard a ‘pop’ at short intervals that signified another aircraft was down.

Finally, the two remaining ones by Luo and Jenna blew up. Soon after, their own X-54 got hit.

However, the beam had almost dissipated before hitting them. Apart from an engine failure and the outer layer and wings being in critical condition, the aircraft was fine.

The two comrades plunged to the ground without any control.

They stumbled into a forest, and their door got torn apart.

Jenna fell in Luo’s arms, but she was alive.

“Argh… Jenna, get up.”

Far away, the thing that launched the attack was still grinning at the chaos it caused. If not already deserted, the vast lands were burning in fire.

“Oh well, maybe I should have put in my own strength.”

…

Titan city.

It was two in the afternoon. Aaron and Isaac were heading to a restaurant in the city center.

They walked in the middle of a wide car-free street. Despite being in such a big city, the atmosphere wasn't disagreeable.

Moreover, the city was impressive. It was colourful. White, grey, black, brown, blue, yellow and green were the dominant colours, while red and orange appeared here and there.

Even with so many colours, it presented a colour harmony hardly achievable.

However, Titan City’s skyscrapers weren't as high up as the ones in Blue City, Topaz Guild.

Aaron looked at his close friend. Curiously, he asked, "Isaac, who was your mother?"

"Which one?"

Isaac started complaining. He had never really had a mother.

"My adopted father's wife or my birth mother? Either way, I've never met her."

Aaron slowed down his pace, regretting he asked.

"Alright! Rose Finch was one of the best wind mages on the continent. She died when Alex was four, a few years after the Topaz War had ended in 2200.”

Isaac took a quick breath.

"She was found dead in the Aspen forest. My father, Henri, was devastated. Her decapitated head in his arms, he cried at the top of his lungs."

Aaron lowered his head and looked at Isaac empathically.

"A bit farther away, there was a clearing in the woods. It shone brightly since there wasn't any leaf or shadow to prevent the sunlight from hitting the reflecting snow.

"And at the middle of this empty glade stood a stone. That's where my father found me, a newborn. Wrapped in cheap blankets and abandoned on a rock.

"That’s when he named me Isaac."

Aaron pinched his nose as a chariot pulled by two brown horses passed them on the street.

“Oh. How did your mother die?”

Isaac clenched his fist. “Enemies of the DA killed her. Her corpse was ripped apart and hidden in pieces throughout the woods.”

…

It was now ten past two in the afternoon. Aaron and Isaac had made their way to the top of a skyscraper, ‘Angel’s Food’ restaurant.

Ejiro signalled them to join him at a table near a window.

“Hey, kids.”

Isaac and Aaron sat down.

“Why did you want to meet us?”

Ejiro set his Bordeaux glass on the table. “Sure, let’s get straight to the point.”

He leaned back on his chair, looked them in the eyes, and asked, “What are your thoughts on getting put up for adoption?”

Isaac froze, a glass of water dangling in his hand.

After taking a quick look at him, Aaron reflected aloud. “I lost my parents not long ago. Now Henri has probably died. I’m an orphan, but I think it's better to stay like that… For both of us.”

He narrowed his eyes. “We have a goal: it’s to beat the enemy. I fear that life getting back to normal would make me forget that.”

Aaron looked at Isaac to get his opinion. The latter plunk down his glass.

“I’ve only ever had one parent, my father. I don’t want anyone to try to replace him!”

“Fine.”

Ejiro understood their situation to some extent. They reminded him of his younger self.

“Then, how about staying at the orphanage for the time being anyways? You’ll have access to the best training equipment on the continent.”

Hearing the words ‘best training equipment,’ they accepted his offer without second thoughts.