SSS-Ranked Evolution: Worlds Unbound-Chapter 112: dont buy

It would have gone against everything I was taught. Your land is restored, it would need some rebuilding, but it is safe to go back now." a warm smile spread across her face, a consequence of his words, "it would take us a few days to reach there but the sooner we leave, the better." taking another sip out of the cup, he really liked what he was consuming. Grape wine, his mother too used to make some on special occasions. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

Rami had told everyone that they would be going back to their land in a few days, and it had caused an uproar. Everyone was happy, celebrating, while Ren spent slower moments with Reina, talking about the things they would need to do when they got there. And as for Luna, she was getting all the food she could have ever asked for.

The night was long and just before dawn, everyone had set out to move. Rami barely got any sleep, she was busy organizing the move and Ren admired her from afar. But questions burned deep in his mind, the most prominent one being the source of the corruption. Surely darkness couldn’t just spring out of nowhere and cause havoc? Or could it be the effect of something that had happened in the past? As they travelled, Ren relaxed deeper into his head, trying to figure out how it all started.

Whatever he asked of Reina were things she had told him before. There was order in the natural world, then out of a sudden, darkness loomed and turned everything upside down. It grew stronger and corrupted the beast queens, after one of their sisters disappeared. The beasts were left vulnerable, without the guidance of their queen, it was easier for them to be exploited. Leaving many of them extinct.

Ren had seen the effect of the corruption on the beasts first hand. And even on humans, after Von was corrupted. It took over their consciousness and changed their forms to horrid creatures. But there was a way to combat it, purification power. He had it, he could use it. Question is, was it only given to beast tamers? Or could other awakened high ranking classes also have it? Could mages have it? How would he ever know when the vast majority of awakened youths are taken by the empire and bred into fighting machines?

Each time the questions got louder, he closed his eyes to sleep. Days and nights went by, they had passed Eblan and even Karnak. As much as Ren wanted to say hello to his friend, he was carrying a crowd with him, and he didn’t want to scare the remaining people of Karnak with an army of beasts. Soon they reached the land and upon getting there, some fresh grass had begun to bloom. The clouds were darkened with heaviness and it was raining.

Setting her eyes on everything, the queen felt so much sadness in her bones. The smell of death and loss was on everything but at the same time, the fresh smell of hope in the new set of vegetation was what was going to push them forward.

"Everyone lend me your ears! Break down all the worn out structures, clear overgrown bushes and anything that doesn’t look normal and moves, don’t touch it. I repeat, don’t touch it! We have a lot of work to do!" Rami rallied her people and soon, they began to work, breaking down old things that they had built so they could erect new ones.

"Is my palace still standing?" pained amusement, that was what she felt. Flashbacks hit Ren like a brick hurled at someone’s head. He watched that palace burn, and with a friend in it. He could never get over it, sometimes he would still hear Dalia telling him to run, to restore her people. Sometimes he imagined what the reunion would have been like if she were still alive.

Reina’s memory didn’t betray her, she still knew where her palace was and upon seeing it, her heart fell to her feet. She was beyond heartbroken, "what...happened?" There were tears in her eyes, but she pushed forward, entering the burnt remains of glory. Everything was either ash or covered in ash. Broken windows and pieces of wood, molten metals that had joined together to form absurd shapes. Ren followed her, to see the last of the burn site.

"It...it was the only way to free the land... the throne was the host, we burnt it, and everything came crashing down." he explained.

"We?" Reina asked for clarification, not being able to take her eyes off her throne. She could see the bodies, rotten, burnt, some completely ash. Like the creatures had tried to save the throne but died doing so.

"Yes. We. One of us didn’t make it..." he swallowed a lump in his throat, he wondered if she had remains, she deserved a fitting burial. She was a warrior.

"Who

Von who was supposed to be scared for his life was instead mesmerized by Reina’s beauty. He thought Dalia was beautiful, but Reina was the master of it. He had his mask ripped off his face, and she could see the astonishment in his eyes, and to be frank, it made her somewhat uncomfortable.

"She is beautiful." were the only words that escaped his lips and Ren gave him a knowing look before he coughed out, putting aside his awkwardness for a hot moment, "I deeply apologize my queen. I am only here to bring offerings. For peace." and with that said, some humans with baskets of fruit and other precious items had come into the tent. One of them was Elisa who was more than happy to lock eyes with Ren.

They took a quick bow and Reina was surprised. She cast a glance at Ren, and he told her to relax by rubbing his hand against his chest. Unsure but willing to trust, she ripped the knife away from Von’s neck and moved closer to Ren, putting her arm around his to show them she could trust them.

"You come for peace?" She eyed the baskets and with a snap, her people came out of nowhere to take the goods but as they took it in, she grabbed one, her favourite, a dragon fruit and took a bite out of it. It was ripe and refreshing, just what she wanted, "did you plan all of this?" she gave him a scolding glare and whispered something into her ears. It didn’t make the scolding glare vanish, but she turned to them with softer eyes, "tell me more about you."

"We come from a land not far from yours. Karnak. Left in ruins after an earthquake by the empire, we have struggled to survive. We faced monsters that came from your land when it was still plagued in darkness, many were lost because of them. Ren came along and everything changed." Von looked at his friend with knowing eyes before rising to his feet. His hand rubbed against Luna’s head when she came up to him for scratches, "I accompanied Ren to your land to help rid it of darkness."

After hearing that Reina turned to Ren again for confirmation and he nodded gently. With a small smirk, she stood up from her sitting place and delivered a short respectful bow that Von returned.

"Then I am forever in your gratitude. We will work as one from now, your people, and my people shall live in harmony, and we will rebuild together." She made a truce with them and Von was very happy. They had made their first allies, he could see Karnak returning back to her former glory. Looking at Ren, he made a gesture with his head, not invisible to Reina and seeing him stand up, she knew what it would be all about.

"I will see them off. Don’t stay up if I am late." he whispered to her before walking out with the rest of his Kind. Reina shook her head with her arms folded around her chest, men, and their antics.

Once they were out of the tent, both men embraced each other in a warm hug.

"She holds you in such high regard friend. You always get the beautiful women." Von spoke his mind from the observation he made, and it was a pat on the back to Ren’s ego, but it was then he remembered he had forgotten to be a wingman.

"I think you should hang around Elisa more, you two look good together." His words took Von by surprise and if one looked closely, Von’s cheeks had been dusted with a light shade of pink.

"Do you think so?" he had a small smirk on his face as they walked and talked together. Von told Ren everything that had happened since he left, how they were rebuilding Karnak and a few wanderers had joined them to help rebuild. At first, he was wary that they may be spies from the empire, but they proved themselves to be allies needing a place to call home.