Sigilborn: EVE's Echo

The leaves crunched beneath his feet. A total of 15 days had passed since Julius had disappeared. And that was his plan: disappear in order to make sure Jonah and Lukas grow into strong tools for him to use later on.

'Alright.. That's enough travelling for today. I covered 10 miles today, again. That's a good distance.'

He put down a small leather bag on the ground. Spring had begun, thankfully, and there weren't any snowstorms now that he was down south.

He didn't know his exact location, but it was around Kentucky from the weather patterns. That meant he was getting closer and closer towards Texas, and that famed academy.

'Humans will be humans, I guess... An academy sprouted up, but it'll probably be a normal school with extra classes for Sigils and just sparring. Nothing else.'

He lay down on the ground, the setting sun marking the end of the day as his eyes closed on their own, his body exhausted from all the traveling.

'I wonder why a monster hasn't attacked me. Hell, not even those grasshoppers. I haven't even seen them around.' 

That was right, in his 15 days of journey, not a single monster had even been spotted, only normal rabbits or other animals that were already present before EVE exploded.

Just then, he felt something sharp pointed at his forehead, but instead of just opening his eyes and yelling, he let it be for now, feeling that it was manmade, refined, and sharpened.

It felt like an arrow tip as well, so. It was either a human or an animal that was smart enough to make weapons.

"Wake him up.."

A small whisper, barely audible, it wasn't easy to discern it from male or female because it was so hushed, but it was definitely leaning towards it being a young woman.

"Okay, okay.."

Another voice, a young man perhaps. Julius felt a small shake from the person, and that was his cue; they were off guard and thought he was asleep. It was go time.

His eyes opened immediately as he jumped up, using his hand as a pivot to try and kick the person who had shaken him, but unsurprisingly, he was met with a hard shove from the person holding the bow and arrow.

They were two siblings, one boy, one girl. From the looks of it, they were elves and didn't have awakened Sigils, hence, the usage of a bow and arrows, unless the girl had a sigil that allowed her to have more accuracy.

The boy was rubbing his forearm that he used to block the kick; they were both older than Julius by a decent margin, around their teen years.

They weren't kids; the girl especially seemed to be around 16. But then again, Elf biology was different than humans. They could be a year old, and Julius wouldn't know.

"It's an underhanded tactic, you know, to try and point a metal arrow at a 4-year-old while he sleeps? And you guys are barely wearing anything, want me to call Child Protection Services on your ass?"

The girl scoffed, releasing an arrow that multiplied into tens of others.

"Shut up human scum, I do not know what your junk-filled mouth utters."

Julius, in response, simply ducked down and rolled towards the girl and again tried to kick his opponent, and this time, she blocked using her bow.

But unsurprisingly, the elven boy, even though he didn't fight. Just picked up Julius by the back of his tunic, obviously bored and even a bit annoyed.

"Why are we fighting a kid when we're here to bring him into the kingdom? Are you stupid, Elainte? God, I wish I could punch your teeth in."

Julius sighed deeply; If that 'Elainte' had just not pointed a fucking arrow at his forehead he wouldn't have thought they were hostile.

"Uh.. Why wasn't that stated before, are you guys stupid?"

The girl, Elainte, put her bow down. Taking a deep breath before nodding silently. Her gaze lowered out of shame.

"I apologize. I just... Have a bad rep with humans. Especially children."

Julius raised an internal eyebrow. Knowing exactly where this was going. 

'Yeah, she's gonna say something along the lines of either she or a friend was taken as a slave. Sad days. But it ain't any of my business.'

There was silence for a few good minutes as Julius was carried by the young elf boy, Elainte, who silently trailed behind. Leaving the only sounds coming from leaves rustling in the wind.

Eventually, they reached a large black wood tree, the leaves emitting a dim golden hue, it seemed like if thousands of fireflies were gathered in one tree.

Elainte put her hand on the bark and within the blink of an eye, they were on a mountain, looking down at a gigantic city of wood, shimmering with golden light.

"This is the Elven land of Intima, it's in a different plane created by our king Lucius. No one can enter or leave without his explicit permission."

Julius listened to the boy with intrigue. But there was something that rubbed him the wrong way.

"Well. Why are you telling me this? And I assume this Lucius told you to bring me to him?"

The boy chuckled, setting down Julius onto his own two feet, the trio slowly getting lowered, they weren't moving, the distance was just getting shorter for them.

"Well. King Lucius can control whatever is in his plane; if he wanted to, he could make you laugh uncontrollably, or just die in an instant. As long as you're weaker than him physically, he's a God here."

This sent a shiver down Julius' spine, but he pretended not to understand it. Why was this world filled with actual monsters that can control reality? 

"Okay?"

The boy let out a small chuckle once more, the trio suddenly appearing in front of a grand castle made of sparkling silver with patterns akin to wood.

"You're on your own for now, kid. We can't enter the palace without cleansing ourselves, as we just came from the outside. Don't worry, King Lucius is a jolly man. You'll be fine."

Elainte said before giving a small bow to Julius and leaving immediately, followed by her brother, the boy still laughing to himself.

"Bye~" 

Julius looked at them with a face that could only be described as him saying 'I don't believe you', nonetheless, it's not like he had a choice, he would die if he disobeyed this 'Lucius'.

"Alright..." 

He took a few steps into the castle. But, it was too time-consuming for King Lucius, who just teleported Julius to stand before his throne.

Julius was immediately met with the sight of a large man with soft, warm eyes and pointy ears, and long black hair that reached down to the floor, and eyes that changed color whenever he blinked.

"Welcome. Child."

Julius was awestruck for a moment, but that only lasted for a few seconds before he went straight to his analytical mode. Lucius couldn't be this overpowered without ONE weakness, right?

"Um... Hey. Why am I here?"

Lucius shrugged, leaning back in his throne, lips turned upwards in a mix of amusement and relaxation, he wasn't taking Julius seriously at all.

"Well. You're heading for the Academy, right? Johan? Take my daughter with you."

Before letting Julius think or process the order, he cleared his throat and called for someone.

"Guards! Call Milfy here!"

"Excuse me, but... YOU NAMED YOUR DAUGHTER MILFY?"

Lucius chuckled, running a hand through his long hair before sighing in an overly exaggerated manner.

"It is a nickname."