CHAPTER 137: PATHFINDER’S ECHO OF HOPE

Then there was also Florian.

Florian’s arrival had been met with inquisitiveness and hostility. For the Exalted, it was also a situation unlike any other they had seen before.

The Exalted One didn’t care to explain himself to anyone, simply assigning Florian to people who’d show him around.

A few of the older generation, like his brothers who were still alive, stood rooted in shock when they saw Florian, but a look from the Exalted One made them school their expressions.

He named Florian as one of the contenders for champions to be selected for the convergence, much to the surprise of every other Exalted, making them wonder who this fellow was.

Some thought it amusing, particularly those who had no chance to compete in the first place, while others, like Arcadius, Yennefer, and a few other talented siblings, clearly did not take the announcement smoothly.

There were also other Half-Exalted from unions between some Exalted and natives, who because of the status of the Exalted who coupled with their native parent, had been brought into the fold and were a cut above every other Half-Exalted. They especially hated Florian to the bone.

The years of bootlicking and politics they had gone through to rise in positions and opportunities in the capital, even with their current status, and never given any of them this level of favor from the Exalted One.

Florian had become the subject of some clearly unveiled distaste and hate, but he didn’t really care much for any of that at all. He had been given the opportunity to learn directly from the Royal Archives.

Exalted inheritances which he’d never have even dreamed of were open to him now. He had started down a secret pathway unavailable to even a lot of Half-Exalted.

This level of exception by the Exalted One even began to make some of them a bit wary.

In their world, there was no such thing as a free meal. Everything operated on the premise of equivalent exchange.

They began to think along the lines of; ’What exactly could the Exalted One want from the boy to spur such a level of favoritism?’

They had no idea, but at least they were sure that whatever it was would not really be something they could say they would want to switch places with him to do.

That pacified them a bit, and after that, some of their impressions on him had begun to take on a more smug outlook, like they were watching a show to see what the final act would be.

But like usual, Florian did not care at all...

He was currently in his room, seated with Rita who had a dead look in her eyes. She still hadn’t recovered from the despair of losing her master, her friends, people she’d just made connections with... Zephyr...

Yes. She had really thought Zephyr was dead. She had heard the word Pathfinder thrown around a few times now, but she had been too shaken to even bother asking for any further information, so she thought Zephyr was among the Freehold members wiped out of existence...

But at least she had gotten a hold of herself better now compared to the first day, which had been a mess. After the Exalted One handed them over to the aides in the Castle and basically left them to their devices, Rita had cried her whole heart out for the first few days. She had barely even eaten anything at all.

And all Florian did was watch her like some exquisite specimen as she cried.

She eventually moved on from that stage of grief. Now she was just hollow.

"...Oh. It seems this friend of yours... uhm... yeah, Zephyr," Florian, who was staring at her as he ate, said, causing her to perk up visibly for the first time in a few days. Her eyes locked on to Florian with life burning behind them again.

"It seems he’s the pathfinder they keep speaking of," Florian shrugged with a mouthful as he watched the effect of his simple words on Rita’s expression with interest. Just those few words had caused her to go through more range of emotions than the entirety of the time she had been here.

"... Zephyr is the Pathfinder?" Rita whispered lightly with a croaked voice that hadn’t spoken for days. She leaned forward over her now cold, untouched meal as she stared at Florian intently.

"Yes. Unless this Zephyr is a different person, then..." he had fully paused his meal now, taking in the abrupt change her emotions and psyche was going through.

He watched as she leaned back in her seat with a visibly turmoiled mind. There was hope on her face again as her mind moved through the implications of his words...

Hope.

He saw hope in her eyes again.

Previously, if she had been told to die right there and then, she wouldn’t have cared at all. What was there to live for really? It was only the thought of her father—Frederick—that was out there, back in the small town she’d come from that prevented her from doing something stupid...

But now... Zephyr. He was alive. And not just alive, he was also the Pathfinder!

There was still hope... Hope for a change...

As Florian watched her, resuming his meal placidly, but it was just a facade. His hands couldn’t help but tremble...

He was excited.

Utterly and thoroughly excited.

The thought of this ’Zephyr’ person really made him excited.

Who could he be to cause such a change to someone who was nearly ready to give up on life.

Rita was now brimming with hope in her eyes, and had even started to push the meal in her plate around to try and eat as her mind moved a mile a minute.

Was a pathfinder really so great? Was this ’Zephyr’ really that great? He remembered that his now late grandfather—Crestwood, had also mentioned the guy so specially like he was an enigma...

He couldn’t wait to meet Zephyr... What would the expression on Rita’s face be like when he killed this pathfinder...? this symbol of hope in her heart?

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Astrl