A Walk with Eternity-Chapter 32: The land far from the sun

"I haven’t been here in years," Kian says, his eyes wandering around his surroundings.

They were in a dark tunnel with mana powered torches lighting their way. The sounds of clicking horseshoes echoed the whole place eerily. Aside from those noises, this tunnel was quiet, almost haunting.

In broad daylight, the group set off from the Imperial Palace using horses. Yves, Kian, Ezio, Milera, and Dolunay were all using horses, while Cimmerian was riding on Milera’s horse with her. They refuse to let him walk, let alone take over the reins. They used the secret passage to avoid drawing attention from people. Yves found it ridiculous at first why they needed to stay completely hidden from the public eye when they’re all wearing the cloaks he made (which was embedded with stealth magic), but Samael insisted.

"Didn’t you often use this tunnel to escape your imperial lessons?" Dolunay reveals with a wide grin on her face, riding next to him. Kian wore a proud smile.

"Why, of course. This place is rumored to be riddled with ghosts and none of my knights had the guts to search for me in this tunnel, it’s a long ride before the main exit, too," Kian bragged, but his smile turned upside down as he heard Ezio snicker.

"I’m betting on the fact that you probably cried the first time you went here alone," Ezio teased. Kian rolled his eyes.

"You would cry too, if you were a six-year-old child," he stated and he then sighs. "The first time I learned of this tunnel was when Father took me here. He ordered me to cross this whole tunnel on foot alone," he continues on with a story. "That was the day I learned how to befriend the winds."

"Interesting," Yves comments. "Is that a tradition in the Imperial Family?"

The Slora Empire’s Imperial Family has a long lineage of air and wind mages. Yves had only learned of it a few years back. Being able to have affinity with the winds itself is considered a rare thing among the human race, so rare that only those with the blood of Slora have it.

Kian nods. "It’s a long-standing tradition every generational heir is required to face. The heir to the throne is usually selected when all imperial children are at least at the age of nine. In my case, since my mother had passed and my father had no plans on getting remarried, I was declared the heir to the throne at age five."

"That’s a lot of pressure to carry," Cimmerian says, showing concern. "It must have been hard being the only child."

Ezio and Yves remained quiet, while Dolunay and Milera agreed in silence as they looked at Kian. For a crown prince, Kian was incredibly down to earth and introverted. He takes advantage of the fact that his father is a great ruler to focus on his own personal goals. His father, on the other hand, remains supportive while actively doing his job, only giving tasks to Kian when necessary.

Kian remained smiling.

"Well, I won’t say it’s easy, but being the only child in the Imperial Family comes with great benefits. And with all of you being present in my childhood and adolescent periods, I don’t think I need siblings to have a sibling experience," he stated, his words carried by a soft tone.

Yves smiled at that, while the others reacted as if their hearts were touched right at that moment. This was one of the very few moments where one of them openly shows appreciation towards the group.

Truth be told, since they reunited, they’ve been having these kinds of moments more often than not.

Within nearly three hours, they were finally able to exit the tunnel. Kian wasn’t kidding when he said it was a long ride. The reason why it was a long ride was because this actually leads to a hidden exit only a kilometer from the capital’s gates. Just imagining how Kian could’ve walked this whole thing alone on foot all while being a child... was a ridiculous thing.

"Remind me to smack your father in the head when we get back," Yves suddenly broke the silence, talking to Kian. And Kian couldn’t contain his laughter at that comment. Only Yves would dare to do something so bold. One would believe he’s actually Samael’s biological son because of his audacity.

"Cimmerian, how are you feeling?" Milera checks up on her friend, sitting behind her. Cimmerian was the tallest among the men, and Milera was the shortest, second only to Dolunay. Fortunately, Milera’s horse is a war horse. She carries them both with ease.

However... "I-I’m alright," Cimmerian stuttered, unable to hide his discomfort over the fact that he’s riding behind her holding onto her shoulders instead of the reins.

Milera knows exactly why he seems so uncomfortable, and for that reason, a chuckle escaped her lips. "Bear with it a little more. We’ll be reaching the land far from the sun by dusk," she reassures.

"The land far from the sun?" The name piqued Yves’ interest. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

"Uh-huh. It’s a land where sunlight barely hits. That’s where the Redridge Clan resides," Ezio joins in. "Given that there’s barely any sun, expect it to be a little gloomy and extremely cold."

"We trained there for a couple of weeks together, about three times during the first three years without Yves around," Dolunay says with a small calm smile. "Travelling on horses suddenly felt nostalgic, because this is how we travelled together to get there for the first time as well."

Comfortable silence reigns over the group. It wasn’t awkward, but all of them reminisced quietly. They were young kids, training to take on the world and embracing the life that was given to them. Each of them had their sights towards their goal, but didn’t reject the idea of growing together.

And look at them now... Syvestian thought to himself. He wasn’t with them. He didn’t know what they went through individually before the accident. He was no witness to what happened for them to grow this much as people.

It’s hard to accept that they hold no resentment towards me at all...

Syvestian knows. He knows they’re not stupid enough to be completely blind to the evidence pointing at him. They proved it from the exchange earlier. At this point, they’ve probably had their own theories that the reason why all this is happening is because Yves ran away.

Guilt is eating him alive.

"Suddenly, I’m curious," Kian breaks the silence, as he turns towards Syvestian. "Isn’t it time you tell us about what happened after we left?"

All the others turned to him as well.

"I’m interested as well. From what I’ve observed earlier in the exchange with the grand duke, it seems you’ve climbed yourself up to a certain position where even the Emperor favors you well," Cimmerian says.

Syvestian raised a brow. "Haven’t they filled you in on everything, including the part where I’m the adopted son of Samael and I own a company that helped improve the quality of life?" he asks.

Cimmerian nodded. "Of course they did, we’re simply curious about what happened that led to how you are now," he says. "We can’t help but be nosy now, can we? Aside from our friend, you were our guardian and mentor, even when you weren’t with us."

"I agree. We’d love to hear stories," Ezio joins.

Syvestian stared at them and could only sigh in surrender. He truly has no story worth telling. During the past years he did nothing but bring back his old routine as a deity. Research, experiment, invent, sleep, eat, hydrate, bath, then work again.

"It’s barely even worth telling," Syvestian says. "It might even bore you to death."

"Just spill it, we have time to listen," Milera assures, and Yves sighs again.

"Well, if you say so."

It was a long journey to the land far from the sun, but to this group, it didn’t seem like it at all. Syvestian’s stories, contrary to his belief, were not uneventful at all, not in the slightest. All of them knew he had a whole life before he came down here on earth, however, they thought he’d at least act like his current body’s age.

The moment he stepped foot in the Grimestone Mansion, he didn’t even think twice before he started working like a genius. The grand duke arranged classes for him; etiquette, history, etc., and he perfectly finished his studies in a matter of weeks. Kian and the others have been indifferent to Yves showing what he’s capable of, but they can imagine the shock it must be to learn that a boy, barely even a decade old, can already carry himself like a decent grown man.

They could only think of one thing;

He truly has no care for anything other than his research.

It’s not a bad thing, it’s simply a fact that they’ve accepted. Yves thinks of nothing but his own business. He didn’t even think much about staying hidden, for as long as no one gets in between the cross fire between him and the other deities.

But now, because of his carelessness, his scope of work has now expanded.

In any way, all their hours of travelling shrunk in their mind. Their body’s fatigue had barely registered in their brain, distracted by the story-telling that had been happening for hours. Yves had never talked this much continuously, but it truly did help in getting his mind off the tiring journey.

"We’re here," Kian says as he pulled the reins of his horse, halting.

By dusk, they’ve arrived.

"The land far from the sun, Oare Canyon."