Tale of Vanguard

Kaelen's eyes locked onto the beautiful girl standing across the room, his brow furrowed in confusion. The girl had a long, pale blond hair cascaded down her back. The contrast between her hair and the polished silver of her armor was stark and mesmerizing, the armor's reflective surface was catching and amplifying the soft glow of her hair.

At her waist was a rapier glinted with a deadly elegance, its hilt adorned with intricate designs. But it was her eyes that truly captivated Kaelen—fiery red orbs that seemed to burn with an inner flame, their intense color standing out against the otherwise serene palette of her appearance. Looking at her, Kaelen felt a sense of familiarity.

In the doorway where Kaelen stood still, Master Cronos figure gradually came into view. The girl's gaze shifted to him, causing a slight irritation on her face.

"Where have you been, old man? You haven't been to the palace in the last few weeks!"

she snapped, her voice laced with annoyance.

Master Cronos, startled by the girl's voice, began to walk toward her.

"It's good to see you too, Serephira. How is your mother doing?"

"Don't avoid my question, old man. Do you know how hard it is for me to get her permission to visit you?!"

Kaelen caught a glimpse of Master Cronos from behind, noticing the distressed expression on his face. He couldn't believe the old man's usual calm demeanor was gone, all because of the girl standing before them. The last time he saw the old man looking troubled was in the sanctuary when they were confronted by Madam Nyx. Does he have a problem dealing with women in general? 

To relieve the tense atmosphere in the room, Kaelen decided to introduce himself to the girl. Noticing his intention, the girl glared at him, implying that she didn't have time to deal with him—not yet, anyway—causing him to flinch a little. He quickly pushed the thought out of his head and decided to let the old man handle his own problem.

'Well.. do your best, old man'

Unlike her previous tone, with a stern expression on her face, the girl looked at Master Cronos:

"Master, you do know that the ascension is coming soon, right? It's just a matter of time until Father announces it."

Master Cronos sighed heavily as he rubbed his temple.

"I already have plenty of problems on my plate."

Hearing the old man's response, her expression once again turned to one of irritation.

"Yeah, right. You think I'd believe that? The kind of problem you probably have is spending your time wandering around realms looking for relics for your collection."

"Watch your tone, young lady. Collecting relics is what keeps us older folks from getting bored in our long and arduous lives."

The girl simply shook her head in disappointment.

Kaelen, clueless about the conversation they were having, decided to go upstairs to his room for a much-needed nap. After what felt like an eternity spent fighting for his life, he felt he deserved a rest. He quietly walked along the walls of the room to avoid any unwanted problems between the two people who looked like they were arguing.

Out of the corner of his eye, Master Cronos saw Kaelen about to walk up the stairs, when suddenly an idea came to his mind.

"Boy!"

Hearing the old man's voice behind his back, seemingly calling him, Kaelen turned around. He looked at Master Cronos showing a big grin on his face. Kaelen didn't like the look of it; he just wanted to go to his room peacefully without any disturbance.

'i had a bad feeling about this'

Master Cronos gestured subtly with his hand, signaling Kaelen to come closer

"Why don't you introduce yourself first to her"

Hearing the old man's order, Kaelen couldn't help but feel perplexed; he had already tried to do that, only to be met with her aloof reaction. But as he looked at the girl again, this time she didn't seem to mind the old man's order.

Kaelen slowly approached her.

"Uh... nice to meet you, I'm Kaelen," he introduced himself, his voice hesitant.

She didn't respond right away, her gaze lingering on him in silence. After a moment, she finally spoke:

"Serephira." She replied to Kaelen quick and simple.

The old man addressed Kaelen:

"If you didn't know by now, she is Seraphina's twin sister"

Kaelen eyes widened in suprise, that explains the sense of familiarity he felt upon seeing her. She is related to the girl he met back at the sanctuary. But a wave of confusion washed over him—how could they be twins with such different attitudes? Seraphina always had a calm and quiet demeanor, while the girl in front of him exuded a loud and assertive presence. Well, he couldn't expect all twins he met to have the same behavior as one another.

When she heard her sister's name, a shadow seemed to pass over her expression, and her voice took on a gloomy tone

"I see, so she's returned already..."

Observing her expression, Master Cronos spoke to the girl in a solemn tone.

"Serephira, to make up for the lost time that we should have spent training, I'll train you more thoroughly before the academy starts."

What Master Cronos said made Serephira begin to show a slight interest.

"On one condition: I want you to fight and win against that boy over there."

Master Cronos pointed to the clueless boy who was simply standing there, minding his own business.

Upon hearing the old man's condition, both the boy and the girl wore identical expressions of bafflement. The boy then asked, with a confused tone:

"Excuse me?"