As Axel was looking at Guild Leader Luna, a giant spider emerged from the shadows, causing people to scream in terror. Without hesitation, Axel created a tall, strong barrier, protecting the people behind him from the enraged spider. The spider crashed into the barrier, and Axel felt a chill at the thought of how he had barely managed to protect them.
"That was close," he said, taking a deep breath.
With a sigh of relief, Axel relaxed as he saw that Kairos was finishing off the remaining spiders with his black flame beams. The scene was intense, with the spiders being pierced by Kairos' dark flames. Axel maintained the barrier for a moment longer, ensuring that there were no more threats, before finally lowering it.
"It's over," he said, looking around at the people who had taken refuge behind him.
"Everything is under control now." People began to stand up, looking around at the wreckage and dead spiders. Axel looked at Kairos, who was standing still, watching him with a serious gaze.
"When did you awaken your power?"
Axel laughed awkwardly, wanting to avoid the subject.
"There's nothing special about how I awakened, compared to your power to control black flames, my power is only healing and protection."
Before Axel could continue, a distant voice interrupted.
"Your power doesn't seem like anything small."
Axel and Kairos turned to see who had spoken and found the leader of the Luna Guild, Salvatore Di Angelo, standing a reasonable distance away. He was smiling politely, his golden eyes shining with interest.
"Indeed, your power seems to be quite... valuable," Salvatore continued, his voice soft and polite. "The ability to heal and protect is extremely useful in situations like this."
Axel felt a chill as the guild leader stared at him and replied.
"Thank you, but it really is nothing compared to what Kairos can do."
Salvatore smiled again and said.
"Every power has its value, and yours seems to be very useful. Perhaps we can talk more about this another time?" He looked at Axel with genuine interest, and Axel couldn't help but feel intrigued by the Luna Guild leader.
Kairos stood in front of his brother, blocking Salvatore's path, and said firmly.
"We have nothing to talk to you about."
Salvatore didn't seem to mind Kairos' defensive stance and responded with a smile.
"My invitation was directed at him, not your older brother."
Axel, who was behind Kairos, interjected a little offended.
"I'm the older one."
Salvatore raised an eyebrow and said.
"Sorry. I didn't notice, from his height, he seemed to be the older one." He looked at Kairos, who was considerably taller than Axel, and smiled again.
"Apparently, age isn't always an indicator of height."
Kairos frowned, not liking the observation, while Axel just shook his head, he wasn't short, like six feet tall.
"I'm not that short," Axel said, trying to clarify. Salvatore laughed softly and said,
"Oh, yes, of course. In that case, it was just a misconception." He continued to look at Axel with interest. "I would really like to talk to you. Perhaps we can find a more appropriate time?"
Axel couldn't answer when a truck arrived to help the people. Kairos turned his back on Salvatore, taking Axel with him, visibly tense.
"I didn't like this Guild Leader," Kairos said, his voice low and serious.
Axel reflected on the past, remembering that Salvatore Di Ângelo had no connection to the portals or the events that had occurred there. In my past life, he had nothing to do with the portals here. He wasn't even close, as far as I could tell. Axel also wondered about the people who were being attacked. In reality, the people in this attack shouldn't even be alive. Had his and Kairos' presence changed the course of events?
Upon arriving at the camp, Axel and Kairos were greeted by a structure that looked more like a makeshift fort than a simple camp. There were crops all around, with people working diligently to cultivate the land and ensure the group's survival. The atmosphere was one of hard work, but also of hope and determination.
Axel surveyed the site, impressed by the organization and resilience of the people.
"They're doing the best they can with what they have," Axel said, feeling a mixture of admiration and concern.
Kairos nodded, his eyes scanning the camp for any sign of danger.
"Yes, they're trying to survive," he said. "But there's still a lot to be done to ensure their safety."
As they walked through the camp.The leader of the group, a middle-aged man with a serious, tired expression, greeted them with a weak smile.
"Welcome," he said. "I heard from the survivors that there was a young man with surprising power among you." His eyes fixed on Kairos, who stood next to Axel.
Axel smiled and nodded.
"Yes, he is my brother," he said proudly. "I am Axel, and he is Kairos."
The leader, Lee, extended his hand to shake.
"Nice to meet you," he said. "I am Lee, the leader of this group of survivors. We have been fighting for our lives since the last attack."
Kairos shook Lee's hand, his gaze serious.
"We are here to help," he said. "We want to do whatever we can."
Lee nodded, his eyes showing a mixture of gratitude and despair.
"We appreciate any help you can give us," he said. "We are struggling to survive, but it is getting harder and harder, the government is taking away all the young people with power."
"Aren't there any other young people with powers here?"
Lee shook his head, his expression turning grim.
"No, unfortunately not. The government came and took away every young person with powers they could find. They said it was for the good of the guilds to have these young people under their protection and training."
Axel frowned, feeling a sense of unease.
"And you think that's true?" he asked.
"I don't believe it's just for their own good. Every guild wants to be the strongest, and these young people are seen as trump cards in that contest. I don't think the government is truly concerned about their well-being."
Axel was silent, when something else caught his attention, watching people crowd the gate while trucks arrived with essential supplies, such as water, food and clothes. Mr. Lee looked perplexed, not knowing who had sent these donations.
When Salvatore Di Ângelo got out of one of the trucks with a soft smile on his face, Axel could not believe his eyes. The blond approached him with a relaxed air and said.
"What a coincidence to find you here."
Axel looked at Salvatore with a serious expression and replied.
"I don't think it's a coincidence."
Salvatore smiled again and said.
"Maybe it's fate that brought us here again."
Axel shook his head in disbelief.
"I don't believe in fate," he said, before turning and walking away, leaving Salvatore with his enigmatic smile. Axel didn't want to waste any more time with useless conversations and decided to focus on helping the people at the camp. Salvatore watched Axel walk away, a smile still on his lips. He seemed intrigued by the young man's reaction, for no one had ever treated him with such openness and disdain before. Salvatore was used to being respected and admired, but Axel's direct and defiant attitude piqued his interest.
Axel delved into his past life memories, recalling that Salvatore had never helped anyone near the guilds. However, something didn't seem to fit. Then he remembered, this place shouldn't exist, because after the truck attack, the spiders had invaded the area.
Suddenly, a specific memory came to Axel's mind. He remembered that there was someone there who was destined to awaken his power. This someone had joined the Celestial Guild in the past, and his power was the manipulation of iron.
Axel looked ahead and saw a boy pushing an elderly woman's wheelchair.
The boy was Mr. Lee's grandson.
Lee Zhou.
After losing his home and seeing his grandparents killed, Zhou awakened his power to manipulate iron, but this traumatic event left him deeply bitter about life. Axel had watched Zhou from afar in the guilds in his past life, and noticed that he always seemed painfully sad and distant, as if he carried an invisible weight on his shoulders.
Axel looked at Zhou, who was now happily pushing his grandmother's wheelchair, while smiling as he walked over to his grandfather, Mr. Lee. This scene was completely different from the dark memories Axel had of the past. Of the past the boy would have.
Suddenly someone offered him a soda, Axel turned around and saw Salvatore with a smile on his lips.
"You looked happy looking ," Salvatore said.
"That's what you 'sir ' say," Axel replied, taking the drink.
Salvatore smiled again and said,
"You can call me Salvatore, 'sir' makes me sound old."
"It's out of politeness that I use 'sir', since you're a guild leader.".
Salvatore laughed and said.
"I'm young, I don't need that formal treatment." Axel raised an eyebrow skeptically and replied.
"Young? From what I understand, you dress like that to appear more serious, don't you?" He looked at Salvatore with a piercing gaze, as if trying to read between the lines of his words. Salvatore seemed amused by Axel's observation. Salvatore said.
"I'm close to thirty."
Axel spat out his soda in surprise and exclaimed.
"Wow, it doesn't look that old! But still, it's surprising." He looked at Salvatore in disbelief, as if trying to reconcile Salvatore's youthful appearance with the age he claimed to be. Axel's reaction was intense and spontaneous, showing that he really hadn't expected Salvatore to be so old.
Salvatore asked.
"And you, how old are you?"
Axel thought for a moment before answering. He had died at the age of 30 and returned to his 23-year-old body, so he said the most logical thing.
"23."
Salvatore smiled, finding it interesting.
"Curious," he said, studying Axel. "I had the impression that you were more... experienced."
Axel asked.
"Experienced?"
Salvatore replied.
"Yes, in the fight with the monsters, you didn't seem scared at all. It seemed like you'd seen a lot of this before, like you were a seasoned hunter."
Axel handed the empty can back to Salvatore, but instead of taking the can, Salvatore grabbed Axel's wrist and stared into his blue eyes.
Axel said calmly.
"We live in a world of guilds and monsters now. I should be used to these things."
Salvatore's touch on Axel's wrist made him feel a slight tension, but he didn't pull away. Instead, he kept his gaze fixed on Salvatore, curious as to what he was thinking.
Axel's eyes traveled down to the hand on his wrist, Salvatore's hand, noting that it was the only one he had without gloves, which were black and leather. Axel remembered his past memories, where the leader of the Luna guild had never touched people, and when he did, it was always with gloves. Many had speculated about this, suggesting that perhaps he had a problem with germs or physical contact. Axel wondered if that was still true, now that Salvatore was holding his wrist without gloves. Axel's gaze remained fixed on Salvatore's hand, as he reflected on these memories.
Until a heavy energy emanated from behind Axel, and Salvatore looked up, smiling. Kairos appeared, looking at the hand that held Axel's wrist, and said.
"Take your hand off him, Guild Leader Luna."
Kairos' voice was firm and authoritative, and Salvatore, without hesitation, released Axel's wrist, keeping the smile on his lips.
"Are you happy? I think your little brother got jealous, Axel."
Axel turned slightly to look at Kairos, curious about the reason behind that intervention.
Kairos said very somberly.
"Don't come near my brother."
Salvatore smiled and said looking at them.
"I was just talking to him. I want to recruit him to my guild."
Axel looked at Salvatore with a serious and cold expression, saying.
"I don't want to join any guild."
His tone was so cold and determined that it seemed almost deadly, causing Salvatore to raise an eyebrow, intrigued by Axel's reaction. Kairos, on the other hand, seemed satisfied with Axel's answer.
the wind blew between them and Salvatore continued to look at Axel, those blue eyes cold as ice.