BXBX NOVEL Chapter 822 Barracks Trip: Learning About River
Lee Seng and River trudged through the overgrown forest. Life had come back to the place and Lee Seng was still amazed there was no sign of the curse. River's steps were quiet. Lee Seng found himself turning to physically check if River was there or not. The blue Fox spirit's Wind Elf heritage had definitely influenced the way he moved about. River grew more timid because of this, wondering if he should say something or not. The feeling grew within him until he couldn't handle it anymore.
"What is it?" River stuttered. "Why do you keep looking back here?"
"Has anyone told you, you walk very quietly?" Lee Seng answered with a question. River eased up. It was this, again. He nodded at Lee Seng. "You must get it a lot, huh?"
"Yeah." River nodded. "People always wonder why I'm so silent. It's like my presence is dead air or something…"
"Don't think of it like that." Lee Seng turned to look at River. They walked side by side while Lee Seng smiled like an idiot. It was that idiotic smile that eased River's anxiety. River felt more at ease with Lee Seng, a stranger, compared to Keng, who smothered him like he was his little brother. "We're all good and bad at stuff. It's what makes us unique."
"It feels like a curse, sometimes…" River looked down at his feet. "I feel like I'm too quiet so nobody knows I'm here."
"Least you have everyone in the Temple." Lee Seng elbowed River. Lee Seng's smile grew larger and his eyes started to shrink. "Fae, Lily, Keng, and I will always notice you." River braved a smile and nodded. He was trying to fake it, but the observant Lee Seng noticed it and wrapped an arm around the Savior. River's body tightened up. Lee Seng's sudden contact was scaring him more than comforting him. Lee Seng rubbed River's shoulder a couple of times before releasing it.
"I used to think similarly, too." Lee Seng looked at the path in front of them. "I used to think that if I stayed quiet, I wouldn't be seen. I got pushed around, beaten up because of it." River's eyes widened.
'Is that going to happen to me?' River asked himself.
"Nothing like that will happen to you." Lee Seng answered River's question without looking at him.
"Are you a wi—"
"Nothing like that." Lee Seng smiled at him. "Y'know, I was very impressed you got one over Ritsuka the last time we were here. You were so cool. Where'd you learn to fight like that?"
"You remembered something like that…?" River asked, lowering his head as he rubbed the back of his head.
"Of course! I need to know what my allies are like when we fight together!"
"Allies? W-we're not just students?"
"Of course not!" Lee Seng shook his head. He folded his arms together and looked at River. "We're allies! You and I along with the others. We'll eat together, sleep in the temple together, go on missions together, get rid of curses together, and help people together."
"Help people… I can do that…?" River looked at his hands. Lee Seng nodded.
"Of course! You can do everything in your power to make people be more safe! Hell, you could even go off this Realm and cure a curse elsewhere, too!"
"I can do such a thing?"
"Yeah!" Lee Seng nodded. Lee Seng let some time pass and allowed River to take it all in. There was more to the Saviors than he originally thought. He thought he would just be here to train. He thought he'd be alone… "Say, River…"
"Hm?" River looked at Lee Seng.
"Why did you come to the Temple?" Lee Seng looked at River.
"Y-you're asking a big question like that, right now?" River gulped.
"I guess so." Lee Seng looked up at the sky. Dark blue leaves meshed with the sky blue sky. Puffy white clouds slowly moved in the sky. River looked down, feeling the wind brush against him. He looked at the path in front of them and thought for a moment before answering.
"I guess Miss Lily was one of the few people who told me I exuded a light that could fight against the darkness?" River scratched his palm, letting the wheels in his head turn. "She told me she saw a silver light shining on me like God Vox'su was telling her I was the one. She told me I had an 'air' about me that could draw people to be calm."
"You make people feel calm?" Lee Seng asked.
"I guess…" River replied, biting his bottom lip. "When she said that, I thought about it and believed she was right… Every time something happened in the village, I was always the person who somehow made people calm. I… I dunno."
"Okay." Lee Seng nodded. "Lord Vox'su's light was the reason why she approached you… and when she talked to you, she noticed that you were calm?"
"Well, not really… She was trying to get me to join and I said no… It wasn't until something happened, she saw how I handled the situation."
"What happened?" Lee Seng asked, stopping. River stopped and turned to face Lee Seng.
"Well, I think it's nothing, but where I come from, we deal with annoying monsters that like to ransack us all the time. Well, they did this a couple weeks before and everyone thought they weren't coming back for a while. Turns out the monsters decided to attack, leaving the place in a hard position.
"Miss Lily protected everyone with all she had, helping those who couldn't fight to safe places… She even helped those who were injured. I saw it and felt something inside me buzz." River touched his chest. "I-it feels like all those other times I felt peaceful. It grew and I knew I had to help her. She noticed this and somehow strengthened it." A silver light washed over River. He lifted his hand up to Lee Seng and switched the energy. It became sharp like a blade.
"All I remember at that time was a single thought in my head saying 'I don't want them to die. I don't want them to die.' The next thing I knew, I was waking up in a hospital bed and Miss Lily was there waiting for me. She asked me what happened and filled me in on what I didn't remember. She told me a silver light enveloped me and changed me. I fought those monsters. I kept getting up when I was beat down. I kept going until they were all killed. I passed out with a large amount of injuries that should've killed me… She told me the others had seen this and told her it happened a lot before. It happened whenever I felt this calmness - this peace - in my chest." River explained.
'A fighter.' Lee Seng thought. He pushed past River's physical form and saw the silver form that hid beneath him. 'A Warrior… A Warrior of Peace?' The AI's UI grew around Lee Seng, quickly loading in the words into the search bar. River's silver form was bright. There was a calmness that came with it and it was growing.
[There wasn't a match associated with the search words, but I managed to find something similar to this based on the conversation.]
'What is it?' Lee Seng asked the AI. The screen changed and it was a page off the newly integrated Saviors class. The page was about a calming effect some Saviors had. These types of people were integrated into groups to keep balance. Their calm auras manifested in different ways such as what River was describing.
[It seems these 'calm warriors' are natural born leaders. I theorize River is one of these people.]
"A natural born leader." Lee Seng whispered, aloud. "Interesting."
"Huh?" River asked. Lee Seng snapped out of it. "Did you say I was a natural born leader? I-I could never—"
"River." Lee Seng set a hand down on River's shoulder. River immediately felt Lee Seng's energy wash over him. It felt… familiar. It felt like the same energy that came from his chest. "Lily was right to choose you. You're stronger than you think. I think with time and training, we can bring whatever is within you out."
"I-I don't know, sir." River pulled away. He looked elsewhere, unable to look Lee Seng in the eye. He liked the feeling Lee Seng gave him. It felt peaceful. He felt like he wanted to agree with Lee Seng, but he wasn't anything like Lee Seng was saying. "I'm too scared to fight. I just like reading. I-I—"
"It's okay, River." Lee Seng's voice cut through his anxiety. Peace washed over him as he fiddled with his hands. "You don't need to be that person now. You will grow into it. There's no need for you to be that person quite yet. Heroes aren't made overnight. They're made through hard work and dedication. We just—"
A large blast of energy pulled Lee Seng and River out of their conversation and towards the same area. Lee Seng could hear a cacophony of discordant music playing while River could smell fear… He could smell blood.
"A beacon." Lee Seng muttered. He looked over to River who was shaking. "C'mon, River! They're not that far!" Lee Seng grabbed River and pulled him along.
"B-but I smell it! They're scared! S-something bad's happen—" River yanked himself away from Lee Seng. "I-I can't go there! I-I'm not—"
"Calm down." Lee Seng spoke in Fox tongue. Lee Seng turned and lowered himself enough to peer into River's scared eyes. River was trying to pinch his nose and cover his ears. "Listen to me. Focus on me right now, River. We don't have much time right now. There's a small window of opportunity and we need to get there as fast as we can. Listen to my voice and just focus on me right now. Look at me, 'kay?" River gulped and shook as he looked up. Lee Seng's purple-red and purple-blue eyes shimmered with gold. He blinked and River felt the need to breathe. He let out a cough and sucked in some air. "Breathe. Take a moment to steel yourself. Focus on me, alright? We can do this. We can do this together."