The Moon Symphony

Estrella

I looked at the compass again. The marker is getting brighter.

"Wait, guys, I am sensing something," I said and closed my eyes.

"I can sense a group of spiritual energy. And they are hiding. You should continue walking, and I'll go ahead and check on them."

I gave the compass to Ester and let them go first. I hid on one of the rocks and felt the presence of the spiritual energy again. How many of them are here?

Five? Eight?

Let me try teleporting again. I moved to a closer spot to shorten the radius. I want them not to notice me, so instead of going in front of them, I'll sneak from their backs.

I started to focus on their location. Good thing they are not moving from there.

I teleported towards them, and I was surprised by what I saw.

Children?

What shocked me the most was their appearance. The children were covered in dirt, their faces unrecognizable. Their clothes were torn, and they looked malnourished.

What happened to them?

I slowly approached them so that they will not notice me. I moved closer to the group, then one of the children looked behind. He started to scream. Everyone started to cry too.

"Please, guys, don't be afraid of me. I'm not a bad person." I said and told them to calm down.

But instead of stopping, the children continued to cry. Apo and the others started towards us.

"What happened?" Apo asked.

"I found them here, and the children were hiding," I said.

"Listen, guys, please don't be afraid of us. We are not bad people." Ester said and gave them a warm smile.

The children started to calm down after seeing Ester. Her calming aura took effect on them.

"So tell me, little ones, why are you here?" I asked.

The children did not answer. I saw some of the kids were trembling in fear. Then one of the older kids went in front.

"We ran away from home!" The kid said.

"Why, Is it okay if you tell us?" I asked, lowering my voice so that they won't be afraid.

"Our village was attacked by bad people. They killed our parents, and we ran away to hide." The older kid said.

"What?"

Everyone was shocked by what we heard. I asked them if were are they from, and the kid said they came from Estrella. I told the children to calm down asked them if they were hungry. Baku pulled out water and bread from his dimensional storage. The children were so hungry that they finished the food instantly. I asked them how long they have been hiding. The older kid named Ernon said that they were away for almost two weeks already. They survived from feeding on leaves, and they were so afraid because they don't know if the enemy will show up.

Who could do such horrible things like this?

Apo asked if there are other survivors. The children said that they don't know. I instructed Ani and Anan to let the children change their clothes and give them food if they were still hungry. We continued to ask Ernon what happened at Estrella, but I told him that he should not force himself to tell the whole story.

Ernon told me that everything was normal when a man in the hood appeared out of nowhere and commanded his soldiers to attack Estrella. Everyone was afraid because of the sudden attack. They killed everyone, and they were looking for something. The village head fought them but lost in the end. He was outnumbered. The remaining soldiers told them to escape and to run away as far as they can, and ending up here in the place where I found them. I asked them to describe what the enemy looked like, and everyone was surprised by what he said.

They were wearing red hoods and capes, with the mark of the sun. They slaughtered everyone at Estrella as they were searching for the relic of the village.

"I'll go ahead and check the village," I said.

"I'll go with you," Apo said.

"Please stay with them, in case someone might attack them, and I'll be quick."

"Let's trust, big brother," Anan said.

"Okay, be safe, Yari!" Apo said.

I infused the compass with my energy and followed the direction. I hid my spiritual pressure to make sure that the enemies will not notice me. Ani infused my legs with "Spring Steps," making my movement lighter.

I ran as fast as I can, and in no time I reached the village. I saw that outside the village walls, some piece of machinery was broken. They look like artillery weapons.

Just how mighty warriors from Adlaw break in here?

I slowed my pace to check on the surroundings. It was too silent. I slowly entered the village gate.

I was surprised by what I saw. The current situation of the village was devastating. The houses and structures were turned into ashes, leaving slight traces. The smell of the air was suffocating. Bodies of dead people were scattered everywhere. It was so horrendous, and it made me feel nauseous.

I sneaked into the debris that was left and checked if there are remaining enemies. I can't sense any spiritual energy in this radius. I moved forward and checked further.

As I went deeper into the village, it was worse. I can feel my emotions rising. How can they do such horrible things. They even killed children.

I saw that some remaining buildings looked like part of the temple. I hurried to go there, hoping that there are still survivors.

Nothing.

I remembered the library that the deities told me. I need to find that, but I don't know if it is located here in the village. I checked the compass, and it was still reacting. I already reached the town but why is it still like this?

It was pointing southeast.

I moved in that direction to check. As I am getting closer, the compass was reacting more.

What's this?