Unsealing Emptiness

Jinxed.

Walking back home, Raven’s face slackened, and her eyes stole glances at Ozul while her brows furrowed.

She appeared hesitant as her timid nature took over. At last, she couldn’t bear it anymore and decided to say what she was holding back. In a soft voice she spoke;

“Um. Will you be fine? You don’t have to take the risk just for some resources...”- Her words trailed off as her voice kept lowering until it felt like she was whispering.

Ozul kept walking with a straight face. Noticing the concern in her voice, he looked at her with the same cold front, but his eyes gleamed. If Grandma Coral were alive, she would have noticed that Ozul was happy!

In a steady voice, Ozul assured Raven;

“Believe in me. I don’t do something that I am not confident in.”- Ozul’s tone might sound robotic, but Raven perceived the tenderness to assure her in that monotonous voice.

A bright smile appeared on Raven’s face as she tiptoed the rest of the way home. Ozul could not understand the reason for this sudden change, but he did not question it.

When they arrived at home, Raven read the file which held all the details related to the mission.

.....

Ozul had to retrieve a package while there may be some assailants who will try to stop him. They don’t want the information in that package to be in the enemy’s hands.

The threat can go up to an assault of multiple Rank-5 Mages!

Ozul listened to the details as it might get dangerous if he did not take note of all the details.

“The package probably contains something else. Whatever...”- Ozul muttered when he had heard all the details.

There are many other ways to transfer messages from long distances, so it was unlikely that the box contained some written information.

Ozul, though did not care either way. He will just complete the mission and receive his payment.

The only thing that irritated Ozul was that he had to leave now! The parcel was in Nork City, which was about half a day distance from Azmar City!

Picking up the package and retrieving it back will take more than 24 hours!

Even Raven was somewhat troubled that she would be away from Ozul for more than a day, but she did not insist on joining him as she knew that she would only get in Ozuls way.

Her brows furrowed and her lips pursed as she kept darting her eyes towards Ozul.

Ozul noticed her worries as he moved towards her and ruffled her hair. It always helped him, and he knew that it worked for Raven as well.

Raven forgot all her concerns when she felt Ozul’s prosthetic hand on her head. Even though she could not feel any warmth from his palm, Raven would just feel butterflies in her stomach whenever Ozul showed care towards her.

Of course, Ozul left in his usual attire. Wearing only black clothes and a black kitsune mask while running in broad daylight will only draw attention!

For a shortcut, Ozul ran through the forest. There were not any Beasts that could harm him in the way.

Ozul did not need to enter the Nork City. The package was in a hideout located in the outskirts of the City. He would need to say the code sentence, and the people would give him the parcel.

It took only 10 hours for Ozul to reach the City, and it was only because Ozul, in the meantime, did not once stop to rest!

He did not rest, not because he was showing his determination or anything. He did it because he could.

He looked for around twenty minutes before he found the hideout. It was well-hidden; even though Ozul knew the location, it still took him twenty minutes!

The hideout was an old building, and debris was scattered all around it. Some wild plants grew on the walls; it looked as if it was some kind of ancient architecture that could not survive the tides of time.

Furthermore, thick vegetation surrounded the archaic structure!

Ozul arrived at the only door and knocked on it. He received no answer whatsoever even after waiting for several minutes.

He guessed that he needed to say the code sentence. So he spoke;

“No light without Darkness.”

Ozul gently whispered those words. But even after that, no response came from the other side of the door. He sighed as it did not work.

“You won’t open the door after only changing it a little bit? Okay, It is Light in the Darkness.”

Just as Ozul said the last part,

*creak*

The wooden door opened with the screeching sound, and a man’s face covered in dirt appeared behind it.

With a face which showed annoyance, the dirt-covered man spoke in a grumpy voice;

“You should’ve said it the first time. Do you know how anxious I got after your prank!?!”- The man continued,

“And why did they even send a kid!? Ah! Whatever, It’s in your hands. I don’t care anymore!”- The dirt-covered man gave a small wooden box to Ozul.

Just when Ozul received the box, the man shut the door with a bang, which caused quite a commotion in the surroundings, as the birds on the trees flew away.

It was not as Ozul wanted to joke around, he just did not find the code sentence to his taste. So, he thought maybe a little tweaking would not change much. Alas, it did not work.

Ozul just strapped the box around his waist and started to head back.

‘No obstacles until now. I hope it remains that way... I probably jinxed it.’- Ozul thought and started running in the direction of Azmar Town.

As expected, just as Ozul was leaving the outskirts of Nork City, several shadows began to follow him.

Ozul sighed but kept jumping from trees to trees to create a distance from the City. After a while, he stopped, and all the shadows landed near him.

The shadows consisted of five male figures, covered in black from head to toe, only leaving their eyes.

Ozul was surprised when he noticed their Ranks though! There were three Rank-4 Mages and one Rank-5 Mage. But the last man... he was a Rank-6 Mage!

He had prepared to face off against multiple Rank-5 Mages, but the involvement of a Rank-6 Mage drastically changed the situation!

Advancements after Rank-5 can take years! And the power boost cannot even compare to any of the previous Ranks. The people in Rank-6 and above can store Mana even in their skin cells!

And now Ozul was about to face against someone who had taken the first step in removing the mortal shackles!