Tree of Ours

Aftermath

Xile and the remaining troops of his were returning back to their domains. Xile was being carried throne lifted up by his henchmen. As Xile and his troops fall back, he reminisced back to his memories and remembers his promise to his father. Xile laughs at what he had experienced earlier knowing he will come back stronger than ever. He held out his hands with a picture in it. "Well, this battle of conquering lands just got a lot more fun.", he said to himself. The image was a group picture with him, his father, his mother, and little Kyle smiling at the camera. Turns out, Xile is Kyle's brother but for now, they are rivals in their own command. 

Back at the city, Kyle's squad were looking everywhere for survivors all over the town. Some of them were found crushed by buildings and some are badly injured. The injured were brought to the hall since the restoration clinic was also destroyed during the chaos. Jill was still injured badly, so she stayed with the other survivors. Aleigh and Hiura were left behind to take care of the known patients, while Kyle, Master Shura, Lesley, and Vhiel were doing a final search for survivors. Along the way, they only found deceased troops of both sides. Some were impaled by spears, some were crushed by boulders, and some were attacked by an unknown element. Master Shura approached some of the deceased troops to get a sample of the unknown element. He gave some of the samples to his apprentice, which is Vhiel who was looking around shocked at what war can give to both sides. Vhiel wasn't really a fan of wars and chaos. He saw his mother's death in front of him, his father's sacrifice on distracting the patrolling enemies to make Vhiel and his brother make a run for it. Flashback to that time, his brother got caught in a trap and sent an alarm to the enemies making them panic. His brother can't break free due to its strong elemental fiber wrapped around the trap. These situations back when he was still a young kid, made him fear war. Kyle noticed the shock on Vhiel's face and puts a hand on his shoulder startling the traumatized Vhiel. "Woah! Calm down bro. It's me.", said Kyle. "I-I'm sorry for my behavior. Let's get back to searching for enemi- I mean survivors out there.", Vhiel said as he was looking nervous. Master Shura noticed this and sighs. "What happened to Vhiel, Master Shura?", asked Lesley. "Well, let's just say he was also a survivor of the Great war, just like Aleigh.", replied Master Shura as he was finishing on collecting samples. "Vhiel! Hold this. Be careful, for it contains a powerful unknown element.", said Master Shura to Vhiel as he hands it to him. Master Shura came closer to Vhiel and whispered, "Control yourself and your past. We aren't meant to keep it.". Vhiel nods and puts the sample to his pocket. They head back to report to Jill about the status of the city and if ever there were other remaining survivors. Vhiel lead the way but he keeps looking around him. Master Shura sighed in a worried tone and Kyle approached Vhiel to confront him. "Hey Vhiel. Stop looking aroung, alright? It'll make your past come back to you ASAP." said Kyle as he walks with Vhiel beside him. They talked all through out the walk back to the hall. "He really is the one, isn't he?" asked Master Shura to Lesley. "U-um, yeah I guess so?" Lesley replied in a confused tone. "What do you mean by "the one"?", asked Lesley as she catches up to Master Shura. "You'll find it out in the future. I have no intention nor reason why should I tell you about it, Lesley.", said Master Shura. Lesley stopped in her tracks still looking confused at what made him answer her like that. 

After a few minutes of walking, they reached the temporary shelter of the remaining survivors. Jill can already stand up, but she was still struggling on walking. She was injured on her left leg due to an attack by the enemy when they were defending the city. "Heyoo, we're back! How's it going?", asked Lesley as she faces to Jill. "Well, I'm a bit better than earlier now. I ended up getting injured just because of a medium leveled attack of a troop. I'm still weak like in the past right?" asked Jill as she struggles to walk to Lesley. "Woah Jill, sit down. Your leg won't get better if you keep hurting yourself." suggested Lesley. "I'm fine. See? I can stand straight meaning I can walk now.", said Jill confidently as she walks to them but ends up tripping. "Jill! I told you to rest for a while. Stop resisting the side effects on the herbal tea I gave you." said Aleigh as he picks up Jill from the ground. "I'll be fine. Don't worry.", said Jill as she slowly falls asleep. Aleigh returned her to the bed and laid her down. Aleigh lend out a big sigh and checks his list of patients he still needs to heal. "Oh hey guys, just in time. Can you help me and Hiura here? We're kinda in a rush on attending everybody at the same time so a few hands will be a big help.", asked Aleigh as he turns to Kyle and the group. "My child, I see that you're doing the job of a servant right now. I thought you're the only boss of yourself and serve no one anymore?", asked jokingly by Master Shura. "Well, we can't let the past haunt us and make us regret everything, right Sensei?" replied Aleigh as he chuckles. "Heh. You do still got it." said Master Shura, "Now, lead us O great Aleigh." he added with a little bow to Aleigh. Aleigh chuckles and distributed the others to their own tasks. Kyle and Lesley were asked to accompany each other on the right side of the shelter, while Master Shura and Vhiel were asked to take care of the left side. They all went back to work, while Jill is asleep and replenishing her energy.