Age of Heroes (Age of Heroes Chronicles)

Chapter 450: Luck is another name for destiny (2)

PRESENT TIME

'I…am sorry' Arial said.

'It's fine. You were muddle headed at the time.' 

'Ouch' Arial winced in pain when Ana wiped his shoulder blades. Jolt of electricity crackles inside him

'Sorry. Was it painful?' Ana said

'Extremely' Arial said and then looking at the woman he suddenly laughs, his laugh reverberated in the cave.

'Why are you laughing?' Ana said, suddenly blushing

'It's nothing' Arial said.

'What is your name?' Arial asked.

'Tatiana.' She said and then after a slight pause she said 

'You can call me Ana.'

'Ana. Ana' he repeated he it again. 

'Thank you and I'm sorry.' He said regret washed over him. 

He is truly sorry to almost kill the innocent little girl. 

She is a woman, comely in appearance but possesses quite a lithe figure, making her to have the innocence of a maiden.

And to think she even went as far as healing him. Such gratitude will not be forgotten. Arial pay kindness with kindness, cruelty with cruelty. 

This is the way he has live his life in this timeline and he will not change.

'Did I hurt you?' Arial said, concern in his voice. She shakes her head. 

'No, you did not outlander.'

Outlander? She called him outlander? Arial was about to ask, but first he need to show his gratitude towards her.

'That's good.' 

He tries to move his body to show a gesture of thanks, but lightning coursed in his body giving him a jolt of painful shock, making his body stiffened for a moment.

'Don't try to move. Sheesh' Ana said. 

'You are too critically injured to try to move.' 

'I'm not yet healed?' Arial said in puzzlement. 

For all his life, after he trade his normal human heart to a dragon heart, whatever injury that is inflicted upon him, external or internal, it has always healed frighteningly fast.

And this is more profoundly displayed when his internal energy improved this last three years. 

Spears, blades, swords, this kind of weapon pose no threat to his life. Only expert of the greatest kind that could even made him injured. 

It could be said other than the Four Immortals in the Human Continent, no one could even wound Arial let alone contend with him. 

'Outlander, what are you thinking?' Ana said looking at the dazed expression in Arial face, looking like his is thinking about something very deeply.

'This does not make sense. I always heal fast.' Arial said it to himself but Ana hears it.

'You did' Ana said.

'I did? What do you mean?' Arial said looking intently at Ana face. The woman becomes a little girl, blushing red. 

Considering the circumstances, rightly so.

The man was half naked, in a cave where they are alone, beside the shore, beckoning of tranquility and calmness, a place perfect for lovers. 

Not to mention the man himself is dashing and princely. Powerful and dashing. How could Ana heart not waver?josei

Then she said as she calm her beating heart to calm itself

'Normally one that suffers such damage to their meridians like you would have crippled core of power or worse dead. But you in a few hours have healed yourself. I have never seen such remarkable healing abilities other than the Gifted of Cassini. You heal fast Outlander'

Arial heard this but what he is most annoyed is the word Outlander.

'How do you know I am an outlander?' Ana look incredulous at Arial, like it was the obvious of things

'You don't look like any of the tribes. Some tribes have marks, some tribes have tattoos, and some have their own distinctive way to recognize them. Not to mention you speak in the Common Tongue without the accents of the Thirteen Tribes. You must come from the Human Continent. They speak Common Tongue there right?'

Arial nodded.

'How do you speak it then?' Arial ask.

'I learned it in my city. Most of them learned Common Tongue especially most of the Knigh- 'Then she stopped. 

Is it wise to talk so much about her background? She still doesn't know anything about this man other than he is a powerful man from a foreign land.

Then she quickly changes to another topic of conversation.

'But mainly because you are in the beach with armours I have never seen and you have a family crest.'

'What about it?'

'The Land of Shadows has no noble families. We have no house crest, no Kings or Queens. We rule ourselves by the Laws of our revered Ancestors and by the rituals of our predecessors. Seeing the crest I know you might be these nobles class. Thus an outlander.'

'Is that so?' Arial asked

'It is so.' Ana reply.

'Now shush. I have to wipe the herb again.' And Ana is wiping Arial body with the green liquid slathered all around his body but Arial could also see the liquid is absorbed inside his body.

This time Arial body is beginning to refine the beneficial properties of the herb faster since Arial is conscious now and his body is also undergoing changes that even he does not know. 

In his dantian, lightning coiled around the core of his power, circling it like a snake trying to eat his own tail. 

Arial does not notice this of course, so subtle of energy, not yet awakened.

Absorbing divine power means to absorb one of the elements of nature. And in his body now was the power of lightning, to call upon lightning from the world. 

Magic fill Arial bodies now, ancient magic, ancient power of the Old Gods. Thunder Eagle in the age of Gods was the mount for the God of Thunder. 

When Amara wins the War of the Gods, she absorbs all power of all the Gods into her. And one of it was lightning, the control of thunder and storms, and the manipulation of it. 

But now, a part of it is in Arial body. 

An abnormality, an anomaly has been born. 

Someone who has never has trace of magic in their body is now filling itself with boundless magical energy, rivaling that of his internal energy. 

Imagine what such being would become. He would surely become the overlord of all, possessing power that shakes heaven and earth, defing the laws of the Universe.

The power is roaring inside him, held back only by the superiority of his internal energy, like the fierce battle between a tiger and a dragon both trying to dominate the other.

The lightning turns violent and attacking the core and inside Arial body, his internal energy formed to become a blue energy clashing with the golden lightning, like a guard of a great fortress, denying the lightning entry fighting it with all it has, which in turns making the energy in Arial body unstable and chaotic.

His dantian is under siege by a powerful force of nature, like a man fighting the storms of destiny, fighting with all that he got.

It does not detract from Amara power, for the lightning inside Arial body nurtured from the energy of the Universe. 

Not harming Arial, only benefiting him. But still, such a fusion is a travesty of the fundamental laws of the world. 

How could Arial not have any dire consequences?

It has its side effect. If Arial was to meet a bandit instead of Ana in that beach, even he could not do anything but accept his terrible fate. 

It is his luck to meet Ana. But one could say, luck is just another name for destiny. It is his destiny to meet her, as is hers to meet him.

The meeting at the beach, crossed destiny, star crossed lovers, revenge and forgiveness, acceptance, all of this started the day they meet.

A love that started from a vendetta…. could it have a happy ending?

Arial then look at Ana who is walking toward him. Ana put his head down to his hay bed, as she walks away getting a fresh batch of the ointment.

She wears something that looks like hunter attire. A faded purple tunic with a lace in her neckline, and an attached baldric strap. 

She also has a hooded cape around the back of her head.

She is wearing a matching gauntlet and belt, which features a silver accent and details a star shinning bright.

It was a subtle look, and the dark colors of her attire would certainly make her easier to hunt.

She looks like a hunter but her power certainly not of concern. 

How could she even hunt here? Arial has heard that in the Land of Shadows, dangerous beast roam the land, each one is dangerous and could wreak havoc.

'What you are looking at?' Ana said as she turns his face to look at Arial. She feels the outlander look at her from behind so she turned around

'I was loo-'

'Looking at my hips?' Ana said as she realized where Arial is looking.

Arial suddenly is incensed. He is injured but he really wanted to explain himself. He was actually analyzing Ana; how could he think to look at her that way.

'I DID NOT LOOK AT YOUR HIPS!' And then he coughed blood. 

Even the slight exertions of his energy could turn him to such states. Ana quickly ran to his side.

'Are you alright?'

'Uhuk, uhuk. I'm fine' and Arial tries to calm his internal energy, but in vain. His dantian is still fighting the lightning

'Just lay down, Outlander.' Ana said, worries trace around her face. 

Ana is too kind for her own good. 

Hearing this Arial creased his eyebrows. He doesn't like the connotation of outlander even though it is true.

Ana was about to go when Arial hold her hand and she was force to turn as her face look at Arial face and she slightly blushed.

'My name is Arial Vermont' Arial said and he smirk. And with that he collapsed from exhaustion. 

Ana look at the man, Outlander….no, Arial Vermont….she mused and she smiles.

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LONG TIME DOWN THE ROAD

He looks at her, looking from a distance. Arial look at Tatiana, crying her hearts out. She was in front of Titania grave.

'I'm sorry. Because I made you go alone, I'm sorry. It's because of me you ended up like this.' 

She hit her chest and howls in pain, crying her hearts out, her tears fall to the solid hard ground. Arial heart was softened. He…. hesitated. 

He doesn't know what to do. He found her wife killer. But she is dead. And now, his suspicion is finally cleared. 

Ana was Titania sister.

Even though he knew now…he doesn't know what he should feel for her. Hate? Is that what he feels now? No. It's emptiness. And he doesn't know who kill Titania. 

Whoever kill her…is obviously from the Order of Death, the true culprit of all this tragedy.

Could Ana also be in that group? Could she, the one who have saved him, be an assassin like her sister?

After hours and hours blaming herself for her sister death she climbed down from the graveyard. 

Looking listless and like hope was snuff out from her. And for a moment Arial feel his heart ached for her misery. 

Almost so much he wishes Titania, his wife killer is alive right now. He doesn't know what to say, what to do at that moment.

Arial feet unconsciously moved towards Tatiana looking at her from a distance, hiding himself among the shadows, his eyes did not leave her not even for a second. 

He tells himself that this is because he needs to know what else she knows. But what he wouldn't admit to himself was that he was worried about her.

He follows her until Ana lie down at the river banks. Then tears formed in her eyes and she cried silently.

Arial seeing this wanted to go to her….and hugged her.

In Ana mind right now, she remembers her strong little sister, her independent and lovable little sister. 

She might be an assassin and she has a lot of flaws, but she was her only sister. And she did right by her.

Her only family in this whole wide world. And today she lost her. She lost her forever. And she misses her already. 

If she did not trust him, if she did not tell where she was…. would her little sister still be alive?

From the distance, Arial just look at her...and his determination burned. He needs to know. He needs to end this….end the Order of Death.

And making this decision…he waited for Ana. Waiting for her….to tells him the truth of what really happens.

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