Chapter 135: The Morning After

Chapter 135: Chapter 135: The Morning After

The sun rose.

It was a slow, gentle sunrise. The sky turned from black to purple to pink to orange. The stars faded. The moon disappeared. The world woke up.

Daniel was the first to wake.

He opened his eyes slowly. His body was sore. His muscles were aching. His bones were throbbing. But he was alive. He was breathing. He was here.

He sat up. He looked around.

The courtyard was small. It was hidden. It was quiet. It was surrounded by tall walls and old buildings. It was a good hiding spot.

The others were still asleep.

Paul was leaning against a wall. His head was tilted back. His mouth was open. He was snoring softly.

Cheeky was curled up in a corner. Her cloak was wrapped around her. Her hood was pulled low. She was shivering slightly.

Brick Head was sprawled on the ground. His arms were spread wide. His legs were tangled. He was snoring loudly.

Fluffy was curled up beside Daniel. Her head was resting on his leg. Her ears were twitching. Her tail was wrapped around her body.

Mittens was curled up beside Fluffy. Her head was resting on Fluffy’s shoulder. Her cat ears were flat. Her tail was still.

Lyra was sitting against the wall. Her eyes were open. She was watching him.

Daniel smiled. "Morning."

Lyra nodded. "Morning."

"How long have you been awake?"

"A while."

"You didn’t sleep?"

"I slept a little."

Daniel looked at her. At her tired eyes. At her exhausted face. At her determined expression.

"You okay?" he asked.

Lyra nodded. "I’m okay."

"You sure?"

"Yes."

Daniel didn’t believe her. But he didn’t push. He just stood up. He stretched his arms above his head. His joints popped. His muscles relaxed.

"We need to move," he said.

Lyra nodded. "Where?"

"Somewhere safe. Somewhere we can train. Somewhere we can get stronger."

Lyra looked at him. "And where is that?"

Daniel thought about it. "I don’t know yet."

"You don’t know?"

"I’ll figure it out."

Lyra sighed. She stood up. She stretched her arms. She looked at the others.

"We should wake them," she said.

"Yeah."

---

They woke the others.

Paul groaned. He rubbed his eyes. He looked around. He was confused.

"What time is it?" he mumbled.

"Morning," Daniel said.

"Already?"

"Yes."

Paul groaned again. He stood up. He stretched. He winced.

"My body hurts," he said.

"I know."

"Everything hurts."

"I know."

"I hate my life."

"I know."

Cheeky woke up quietly. She sat up. She pulled her hood lower. She looked around. She was nervous.

Brick Head woke up loudly. He jumped to his feet. He stretched his arms. He yawned.

"Good morning!" he shouted.

The others winced.

"Quiet," Paul hissed. "We’re hiding."

Brick Head blinked. "We are?"

"Yes."

"Oh. Right."

He lowered his voice. It was still loud.

"Good morning," he whispered.

Fluffy woke up slowly. She rubbed her eyes. She looked at Daniel. She smiled.

"Master," she said.

Daniel smiled. "Morning, Fluffy."

"Fluffy is hungry."

"I know."

"Fluffy wants meat."

"I know."

"Can Fluffy have meat?"

"Later."

Fluffy’s ears drooped. "Okay."

Mittens woke up last. She was scared. She was confused. She looked around. She saw the others. She relaxed.

"Good morning," she whispered.

Daniel nodded at her. "Morning."

---

They sat in a circle.

Daniel looked at them. At his team. At his family. At his friends.

"We need a plan," he said.

Paul nodded. "We need a lot of things."

"First, we need a safe place. A place where we can train without being found."

Paul thought about it. "There’s a village. A few days from here. It’s small. It’s quiet. It’s hidden."

Daniel nodded. "Good. We’ll go there."

"Second, we need supplies. Food. Water. Medicine."

Daniel nodded. "We’ll get them on the way."

"Third, we need to get stronger. Much stronger. Lord Ashworth is at stage four. We’re at stage three. We need to reach stage four. Maybe even stage five."

Daniel nodded. "We will."

Paul stared at him. "How?"

"Training. Leveling up. Fighting. Getting stronger."

"That’s not a plan."

"It’s the best I can do."

Paul sighed. He buried his face in his hands.

---

Lyra spoke.

"I have a question."

Daniel looked at her. "What?"

"Lord Ashworth. He’s the owner of this city. He’s powerful. He’s dangerous. He’s going to come after us."

Daniel nodded. "Yes."

"How do we stop him?"

Daniel thought about it. "We don’t. Not yet."

Lyra blinked. "What?"

"We don’t stop him. Not yet. We’re not strong enough. We need to train. We need to get stronger. Then we can stop him."

"But he’ll keep hurting people. He’ll keep enslaving people. He’ll keep being a tyrant."

Daniel nodded. "I know."

"And we’re just going to run?"

"We’re not running. We’re retreating. There’s a difference."

Lyra stared at him. Her eyes were wide.

"What’s the difference?"

"We’ll come back. We’ll get stronger. We’ll stop him. But not today. Today, we survive."

Lyra was silent. She was thinking. She was processing.

"Okay," she said. "Okay."

---

Cheeky spoke.

"I have a question."

Daniel looked at her. "What?"

"Lord Ashworth. He’s at stage four. He’s very strong. How do we beat him?"

Daniel thought about it. "We get stronger. We reach stage four. We reach stage five. We reach the aura realm."

Cheeky blinked. "The aura realm?"

"Yes."

"That’s... that’s impossible."

"Nothing is impossible."

"Daniel, the aura realm is... it’s a legend. Most people never reach it. Most people never even get close."

"I know. But we have to try."

Cheeky stared at him. Her mouth was open.

"You’re serious," she whispered.

"I’m always serious."

"You’re never serious."

"I’m serious now."

Cheeky was silent. She looked at him. At his calm face. At his determined eyes.

"Okay," she said. "Okay. We’ll try."

---

Brick Head spoke.

"I have a question."

Daniel looked at him. "What?"

"Where are we going?"

Daniel blinked. "I just said. A village. A few days from here."

"Oh. Right." Brick Head nodded. "What’s the village called?"

Daniel looked at Paul. Paul shrugged.

"I don’t know," Paul said.

"You don’t know?"

"I don’t know the name. I just know it’s there."

Daniel sighed. "We’ll find out when we get there."

Brick Head nodded. "Okay."

---

Fluffy spoke.

"Fluffy has a question."

Daniel looked at her. "What?"

"Can Fluffy have meat now?"

Daniel sighed. "Later."

"But Fluffy is hungry."

"I know."

"Fluffy wants meat."

"I know."

"Can Fluffy—"

"Later."

Fluffy’s ears drooped. "Okay."

---

Mittens spoke.

"I have a question."

Daniel looked at her. "What?"

"Am I... am I really allowed to come with you?"

Daniel blinked. "What?"

"Am I allowed to come with you? I’m not strong. I’m not useful. I’m just... me."

Daniel looked at her. At her scared face. At her trembling body. At her wet eyes.

"You’re allowed," he said.

Mittens blinked. "What?"

"You’re allowed to come with us. You’re not strong yet. You’re not useful yet. But you will be. We’ll train you. We’ll help you. We’ll make you strong."

Mittens stared at him. Her mouth was open. Her eyes were wide.

"You... you will?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because Fluffy likes you. And Fluffy has good taste."

Mittens looked at Fluffy. Fluffy was smiling. Her tail was wagging.

"Fluffy likes Mittens," Fluffy said. "Mittens is Fluffy’s best friend."

Mittens smiled. A real smile. A happy smile.

"Thank you," she whispered.

---

Daniel stood up.

"Alright," he said. "Let’s go."

They stood up. They gathered their things. They prepared to leave.

Daniel looked at them. At his team. At his family. At his friends.

"We have a long journey ahead of us," he said. "We have a lot of training to do. We have a lot of enemies to defeat."

He paused.

"But we have each other. And that’s enough."

They nodded. They smiled. They were ready.

Daniel turned. He walked toward the exit. The others followed.

They walked out of the courtyard. They walked into the streets. They walked toward the unknown.