Cain let out a breath of cold air. Despite the lack of moisture in the air due to the arid nature of their environnt, Cain felt a wet sensation all ovee his body.
It was odd, like sothing was looking at him from a distant dark corner, yet he was unable to see who or what it was.
He looked around.
Everyone else didn't seem to notice anything. They had already made their way around Death's Barrow and we're now deep into Sandsea territory.
All they had to do was travel for a few more hours, and they would arrive at Valestorm.
So far, things had been going fairly well. So we'll, Cain was beginning to have doubts. For him, things usually went south very quickly. For things to have been this uneventful even after so long was putting him off.
'I'm getting paranoid again.'
He sighed, 'How long have we been traveling? Three days? Maybe more?'
He stared at his hands. Due to his enhanced physique and healing, most of the marks and scars left behind after his training or a battle disappeared rather quickly. Hence, they were very dirty, but unblemished nonetheless.
'I've gotten so used to killing, I feel strange when I don't do it for a while... I feel restless.'
It certainly wasn't a good feeling. Like an alcoholic knowing the drinks were bad for him, and yet, he just couldn't get enough of it.
His heart, his soul said no, but his brain and his body were adamant.
His case was similar...
"What are you thinking about, Cain?"
"Hm? Nothing, really..." Cain said with a chuckle.
Despite the journey not being perilous, they still had to be cautious.
As such, Cain and Khan were situation at the forefront of the group, while Boulder and Lucia were situated at the rear. That way, each would be able to play at their strengths in the case of a surprise attack.
Khan seed unconvinced, but decided not to prode more. He then seed to rember sothing,
"By the way, what class are you?"
Cain raised a brow, "Class? What is that?"
Khan chuckled, "Oh, it's just sothing we use to classify all the different types of humans blessed by the system or a patron Celestial."
Cain shrugged, "You'll have to explain a bit more."
Khan raised his hands, "Well, there exists nine loosely categorized classes; Swordsman, Mage, Marksman, Hunter, Healer, Summoner, Assassin, Brawler, and Utility. I believe they are self explanatory."
Cain chuckled, "So that's what you ant..."
Khan nodded, then his smile turned a bit weird,
"Yeah. But the thing is... I've been trying to figure out what class you fall under."
Cain fell silent for a mont. Classifying like this indeed made a lot of sense. For example, there were so many skills and spells, so much so that almost no two people could have the sa arsenal of skills, spells, or abilities.
However, there were similarities. Similarities in terms of how these abilities or spells were used, their thod of creation, or even their execution.
All these Gould be considered when looking at the skills, and by default, the skill set of the individual.
For example, soone who primarily uses a bow or gun would have skills or spells that perhaps increase their damage with ranged weapons, or vastly increases their perception, or increase their range of attack. Likewise for soone who uses a sword and shield.
The main point of classifying these, was to make it easier to designate roles to individuals. Cain was no stranger to this at all, although he had been confused initially.
Now the problem arose; what class was he to fall under?
It just so happened that his arsenal of skills were far broader than the average man. What's worse, his skills didn't conform to a single class. He has a lot of spells, which would make him a mage. However, at the sa ti, he also possessed the ability to use Ki and a blade like a swordsman.
At the sa ti, he was no stranger to espionage, so he could qualify as an assassin, although not a very good one.
He could heal others and himself, so he could very well be considered a healer. The {Divine Essence of tallurgy} was a great utility skill, and he could use several ranged weapons. He had also tad more than one animal, so he could be considered a Hunter
Perhaps the only thing he hadn't truly gotten a hang of was the Summoning thing.
He turned back to Khan, his expression serious,
"To be truthful, I haven't really thought about it deeply. Let's just say I don't have a class particularly."
Khan nodded thoughtfully, "I thought so as well. Just how did you get to this point? Most of us usually just stick yo one role as it is far easier to get and create skills from a particular class than otherwise."
Cain scratched his head, "I have no idea as well. That's just how things turned out to be."
He shrugged, "By the way, why did you ask?"
Khan shook his head with a smile, "Nothing. I was just curious. I also wanted to make small talk."
Cain chuckled, "Is that so..."
He hesitated for a second before speaking,
"I guess it is difficult for to put a label on myself, call it an identity crisis if you will."
Khan humd, "I see... So you are indecisive. That's why your repertoire is to broad. That's incredible!"
Cain laughed awkwardly,
"Impressive? I don't know about that..."
Khan shook his head, "It really is..."
With a wave of his hands, he summoned his blades,
"My skills and abilities allow to cut through a lot of things, but that's mostly it. I do not fuctiooas much besides a killer. But you, you are different. You are different from most of us."
Cain fell silent.
Khan continued, "You are also strong. I bet no one in the entire Valestorm will be able to stand up to you besides the Champion himself."
Cain smiled wryly, "Trust , I'm not that impressive."
Khan shook his head, "I'm not inclined to believe that."
He narrowed his eyes as he stared deeply at Cain,
"Pilgrims have a wide range of skills, especially those with an affinity for light, although they aren't a lot here. Pilgrims with an affinity for light can see the future in bits and pieces."
Cain raised a brow, "Can you see the future?"
Khan laughed, "A little. I was a bit better when I was still a Pilgrim. Now, the effectiveness is quite reduced."
Cain sighed, "So, what did you see that's making you say all this?"
Khan smiled, and said in his deep, magnetic accent,
"I didn't see much. However, I could feel it."
Cain stared at him in confusion,
"Feel what?"
Khan's gaze turned a bit strange,
"I'd like to call it an Ember. An Ember of Destiny."
Cain frowned, 'An Ember of Destiny? What the hell is that?!'
"It isn't as bright as a fla, yet it also isn't as dull as a spark, or a glow. As such, I can only describe it as an Ember."
Khan turned to face the sand before him,
"An Ember either withers away after the flas have died out, or is used to begin the fire anew. The question is, Cain... Just what kind of ember are you? Are you going to die out, or will you create a new fla..."
Cain fell silent once again, his mind devoid of anything besides Khan's words.
"You..." Cain wanted to say sothing but was unable to.
Boulder called out from the back,
"Khan! Co over here for a mont."
Khan smiled at him,
"Just think about it."
With that, he slowed his pace and turned around, leaving Cain to his thoughts.
'That guy... Just what is he? What can he see?'
He was so disturbed, not just because of Khan's words, but because there was a probably an underlying ssage between he had hidden between the lines.
'Ember, huh... Ember of what? A dead Celestial Beast?'
Cain had no idea of knowing what exactly Khan ant for now. So decided not to think about it too much.
The relationship between himself and Ashur was known by less than five people in existence.
However, should anyone else find out, he had no doubts he was as good as dead. If he didn't die imdiately, he would be forced to go into hiding for the rest of his life.
It would be even worse if anyone found out while he was here.
Because the Golden Dragon who had murdered Balangol and destroyed his domain, was none other than the self-proclaid Bastard of the Heavens, Ashur.
Cain sighed...
'Perhaps I am being a little bit too paranoid. There's no way to link what he just said to that.'
He chuckled to himself, 'Yes, I'm definitely reading in between the lines too much.'
A few seconds later, Khan jogged back to the front of the moving entourage.
He was curious, "What's up?"
Khan's expression was a bit ugly as he stared at Cain with barely concealed terror,
"We... We might have just caught the attention of a {Sand Wraith}."
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