CHAPTER 139: CHAPTER 139 | VOW

"You know... I’ve always dreamed of sailing through the stars," Vox said softly, his voice carrying the weight of reflection as it drifted across the quiet room.

"Discovering new planets, uncovering mysteries buried in alien soil... exploring wonders that could only be found in books."

He stood at an open window of the dimly lit lodging they had been led into, his eyes fixed upward toward the velvet night sky.

*Fwoosh!

Cool wind brushed against his face, rustling his clothes faintly, but he remained unmoving, lost in thought.

"But I’ve dreamt it with you guys along," he added in a quieter tone, almost as if he was speaking only to himself,

"all of us—including Nevi, and Jinn."

There was a gentle heaviness in his voice now, a somber rhythm that clung to his words like mourning to memory.

As he gazed through the window, the stars above shimmered like scattered pieces of dreams, each one a silent promise of unexplored frontiers.

Countless glittering lights burned steadily against the black heavens, like waypoints waiting to be followed, guiding someone—anyone—towards their next great journey.

"Without Jinn with us, who would lead us now?" Kain’s voice broke the silence from across the room, concern laced through every word.

He sat with his arms folded over the wooden pillar of his bed, his posture slumped in quiet frustration, his gaze lost in the distance—as if looking for an answer that wasn’t there.

"Wait, but what if we tell Venedix that we would stay?" he continued, more hesitantly this time, like the thought had only just found its way to his lips.

*Clutter!

Verhedyn abruptly kicked off his blanket and stood, the sudden scrape of his foot against the wooden floor sharp in the silence.

He planted his feet firmly, the quiet thump of his stance filled with clear irritation.

"And what, contest the decision that Jinn had already made?" he snapped, eyes narrowing with disbelief.

He rolled his shoulders into a shrug, his tone laced with sarcasm and exhaustion as he added,

"Be my guest—have you ever tried convincing Jinn on a decision he already his mind on?"

"He’s right," Hector muttered as his eyes narrowed, the shadows under them deep from sleeplessness and quiet frustration.

He crossed his arms tightly across his chest and leaned against the wooden ladder of his bunk, the tension in his body visible with every breath.

"The moment Jinn had already decided on something, he never breaks it—that’s the way he had always gone."

His words were firm, but there was a sadness behind them, a quiet ache that none of them could ignore.

It was the truth.

Once Jinn’s heart was set, there was no turning him.

He had always been like that—unyielding when it mattered most.

"Tch..." Orin clicked her tongue sharply, her arms tightening around her knees as she sat hunched near the foot of her bed.

Her eyes scanned the room slowly, taking in the grim expressions worn by each of her friends, the weight of reality pressing down on all of them.

"We gained freedom..." she began, her voice rough with suppressed bitterness,

"but at the cost of our friend. The scheming bastards of Zerafhon—no, that Venedix... she truly has no bounds."

Her jaw clenched as she spoke the name with venom, the hatred in her voice unmistakable.

"No..." came another voice, weak but trembling with rising emotion.

Ophelia slowly sat up from beneath her blanket, her fragile hands gripping the edge of her sheets.

Her face was pale, her cheeks blotched with the marks of countless tears, and her hair was a tangled mess around her shoulders.

Her voice cracked as she looked at her friends, eyes glassy with exhaustion.

"We shouldn’t just leave Jinn here..." she said, desperation making her voice tremble.

"We just got him back... and now he’s leaving us again!?"

Her hands balled into fists as she forced herself upright, voice rising.

"Everything he did... it was for us! Every decision, every step forward—it was to protect us, to keep us safe... He was the one who always moved forward, so we can!"

Her voice cracked again, raw with pain.

"Without him leading us... we will truly be lost... everything... everything..."

The words hung in the air for a moment, heavy as lead.

And then... silence.

.

.

.

Not a single word was spoken after that, because there was nothing to deny.

They all knew it,

deep in their hearts—

Ophelia had spoken only the truth.

Since the days of their childhood, since the orphanage, since the cold winters they endured together and the stolen food they’d shared...

it was always Jinn who stood at the front.

Jinn who had picked the fights that needed to be picked.

Jinn who had protected them when no one else would.

He was more than just a friend.

He was their guide.

Their light.

Their star.

But now...

that star had been pulled from their skies, stolen away by forces beyond their reach.

Stripped from their hands not by choice, not by death, but by cruelty.

By the weight of destiny.

By the machinations of the Zerafhon Empire.

By Venedix herself—the main perpetrator of all.

And at that moment, in the heavy silence that had blanketed the room like a funeral shroud, they all realized something simple yet devastating—

If the Empire of Zerafhon had not laid siege to the city of Leran, if their warships hadn’t darkened the skies above their home and unleashed bloodshed onto innocent soil, they would not be here.

None of this would’ve happened.

They would still be inside the old orphanage—their only home.

They’d be tending to the flowerbeds that Nevi so carefully nurtured, their hands covered in soil rather than bruises, their days spent laughing, arguing over chores, stealing food from the pantry, or listening to Nevi’s whimsical stories about heroes and distant worlds.

Just like any other ordinary day.

Peaceful.

Quiet.

Whole.

But deep inside, buried beneath their longing for what could’ve been, was the truth they couldn’t deny.

Without the fall of Leran... without the chaos...

they would’ve never awakened their own strength.

They would never have unlocked the potential of their eidra, never have crossed paths with Merilyn or their other mentors who helped shape the fire burning within them now.

That, they understood.

They knew growth came with pain.

They knew destiny did not wait politely at the door.

Still... that understanding didn’t make the burden on their hearts any lighter.

The cruel weight of reality clung to them like a chain they couldn’t break.

And in the end, they had been given a choice that was no choice at all.

To leave Jinn behind and walk free...

or stay and risk everything to reach for him again, possibly earning Venedix’s wrath and their very demise.

It was a knife to the chest, no matter how they looked at it.

Silence deepened around them, as if the very walls shared in their grief.

.

.

.

Then, without a word, Vox turned from the open window.

The moonlight that once bathed his gentle features now revealed something more—something harder.

His eyes, usually warm and filled with curiosity, now burned with a fire unfamiliar to the others.

It wasn’t just sadness or grief... it was anger.

Determination.

"This leaves us no choice..." Vox said, his voice low but steady, as he walked forward, each footstep deliberate.

"We have to leave this empire without Jinn..." he paused, then clenched his fists tightly.

"But we will come back for him. Once we gather allies—once we become stronger."

His words whipped through the room like a cold wind that forced their heads up.

It was the shift they all needed.

"We must come back stronger... for him." Hector replied with a firm nod, his expression like carved stone.

Without another word, he stood up and strode to the center of the room.

With solemn conviction, he extended his hand out, palm open, inviting the others.

"This I vow," he said, his voice resolute.

"When we have the strength, we will come back for him."

The others hesitated for just a second—then one by one, they moved.

Orin stepped forward, her movements slow but firm.

"I lost Nevi..." she whispered, using her own name like a wound.

"And I hate the Zerafh... we will rescue Jinn from the filthy clutches of the Zerafhon. I’m in."

She laid her hand upon Hector’s, her grip strong.

Kain followed without hesitation, stepping forward and placing his hand atop hers.

"Jinn... he was my role model. Without him, I’d still be trapped in fear. He was like a big brother to me... to all of us," he said, his voice quiet but full of strength.

"And I vow, when I get stronger, I’ll join the fight. No matter the cost."

Verhedyn, for once not grinning or sarcastic, stepped forward next.

His expression was serious—grave, even—as he pressed his hand beside Kain’s.

"I’m sure my sharp tongue will do wonders in gathering allies. The Zerafh must have enemies hidden beneath corners of the universe—I’ll find them. Count me in."

Then came another voice.

"And me, too," said Vox, pushing up his glasses.

"I may not be strong in combat... but my mind has always been my weapon. I’ll help us find the right path—for all of us, for Jinn."

Tiny hands gathered in the center of the room, layered over each other like the roots of a tree—connected, entwined, unbreakable.

But one hand was missing.

One person still remained.

Ophelia.

She sat still on the side of her bed, her body hunched, her hands limp at her sides.

Her face was hollow, drained by hours of crying, her cheeks stained with dried tears.

But behind that sorrow—

behind her messy hair and trembling lips—

something else had begun to take root.

Rage.

Not wild, aimless rage, but a cold and calculated fury that sharpened her gaze and stiffened her posture.

Without a word, she stood and walked forward.

*tap... *tap... *tap...

Her bare feet padded across the floor, and when she reached the group, she placed both hands on top of theirs.

Her fingers shook.

But her voice did not.

That humble, gentle demeanor she always wore... it had shattered.

"If the Zerafh will not give him back..." she said slowly, her voice tinged with something dangerous,

"then I’ll find other ways. I’ll look beyond this cursed empire. If I must kneel before another—if I must call on another empire to aid us... then so be it. I will do whatever it takes."

She paused, her gaze distant.

"I’m sure that would help us in the future. Count me in."

Her tears returned, flowing freely—but this time, they burned with a different kind of pain.

Her mind conjured images of Jinn’s face, the memories they had shared, the bond they had built over the years.

A promise unfulfilled.

A friend not yet returned.

If the Zerafhon Empire could not give him back...

Then she would find another path.

One only her blood could lead her to.

The bloodline of her ancestors.

The one that led to the gates of another power entirely—

And one of the rivals of the Zerafhon.

The Seraphim Empire.

And at that fateful night where the stars shined upon them as if witnessing destiny, Jinn’s friend vowed—vowed that they would rescue him from the clutches of the Zerafh after they have gone stronger.

Their destiny and future are now aligned, their future written and each soul of each child now vowed to fight an enemy that they couldn’t have imagined to fight.

The Empire of Zerafhon itself.

Venedix herself.

Now, their journey starts as a new Chapter of their lives begin.