Owners of other shops left their shops and ran towards Malenie's tent. By the time they arrived, John had already run off. He hid behind a closed shop and called for Ethan.
Meanwhile, Alan and the soldier, along with the goblins, went to check what had happened near the tent. Inside lay Malenie's body, her face half-burnt.
Ethan sensed John's location and rushed toward him.
John was sitting on the ground, his back against the shop. His eyes were wet—not because he wanted to cry, but because he couldn't understand. Everything that had happened so far pointed back to him.
"All the losses… all the deaths… they happened because of me…?"
He clenched his right fist and struck the ground again and again, repeating the same words under his breath. He didn't stop until blood started dripping from his knuckles.
Ethan stepped forward and grabbed his hand—but John pushed him away.
"Stay away from me… I don't want you to die like her."
Ethan knelt in front of him without hesitation.
"My lord, if it is a death by your hands, then it will be heavenly."
John froze.
Then slowly, he moved forward, dropping to his knees and pulling Ethan into an embrace.
"Ethan… I don't want people around me to die… I don't want to make these kinds of sacrifices…"
Ethan said nothing. He didn't comfort him, nor did he pull away.
The silence deepened. Only the sound of heavy rain and distant voices near the tent filled the air.
After a while, John pulled himself together.
He stood up and wiped his face. His fist was still clenched. Blood dripped steadily from his knuckles.
He signaled Ethan to follow.
They walked toward a tree a short distance from the portal and stopped beneath it.
They took a breath and John finally relaxed and got on his knees and just rested. Ethan kept a check of the surroundings to make sure no one had an eye on them. Ethan finally looked up and smiled.
"My lord…the rain."
The rain that poured endlessly finally stopped and a bright sun was right on top of their head. Its bright light painted the horizon golden. The birds flew high in the sky. The seven colors shined bright in the sky.
John forced a smile on his face and replied.
"Yeah…looks like her screams silenced the sky itself..."
Few hours passed by,
The group finally gathered and everyone had their sights on the portal and that was their destination for now. They walked the pathway and reached the portal. Just beside the portal was a person standing. An old man, with a hunch. And a green suit with a stick in his hand, taking support from it.
With a smile he gave them a small guide.
"Hello! Dear Travelers. I am Miguel Francisco! And I will give you all a basic run down about this portal."
He stretched his hands and he explained.
"So, when you enter this majestic portal, you might feel something strange. Maybe getting cut in half! But don't worry! It would be like that only for two or three seconds! Because you will be travelling at a speed faster than light itself! So? You all ready??"
John sweated a bit. His chest tightened and heart beat increased. But eventually he closed his eyes and stepped into the portal first. His body felt normal and his heart beat became steady as he was thrown out off the portal to a massive underwater city. The Submerged City.
An old man stood there, similar to the one on the surface. He gave a small smile. Soon, the whole group was thrown off the portal to the same place.
John stood tall in front of the old man when suddenly he got a System notification. And his eyes widened as soon as he saw it.
[Promise: Stay with me. Status: Broken]