"Wait, what do you mean by hunted by the three factions?" Grey asked with a raised eyebrow, his heart thumping loudly in fear as he quickly scurried to check his chest for any mark—but there was none.
"It means you’ll be found, tortured, and killed by the factions," Finral said with a glare.
"That is... if you’re found," Clarice added sharply as she shot her son a disapproving look.
"Yeah, if he gets found," Finral muttered with a sneaky smile.
"But rest assured, as long as you don’t show your chest, no one will know who you are," Yami said with a shrug. "Next question."
’This is just getting more dangerous by the second. Being hunted doesn’t sound like fun, and I still need to be alive if I want to discover who I am,’ Grey thought while trying to calm his wildly beating heart.
"This continent... what’s its name? Who are the three factions, and what exactly is this term you used earlier—a warrior?" Grey asked, his curiosity outweighing his fear.
Yami pushed his plate away, leaned back in his chair, and rested his hands under his chin as he stared intently at Grey.
"I guess it’s time for a little history lesson," Yami said with a smirk.
The kids all groaned loudly in unison.
"Yay. Time for a history lesson—all thanks to Grey," Finral grumbled, rolling his eyes in frustration.
Ignoring Finral’s complaints, Yami continued his speech.
"This continent is called Vayun. We have three major factions that govern and oversee everything. These three don’t see eye to eye, and each is spread out across the continent. None of them dares to step into another’s territory, otherwise... there would be war."
"Wait—Vayun? Who the hell came up with that ridiculous name?" Grey chuckled, clutching his belly in amusement.
"Not my fault. Blame the creators of the continent," Yami chuckled too, raising his hands defensively. "Anyway, as I was saying. We have three main factions, and their names are: the Aetherian Faction, the Umbrafell Faction, and the Noxarian Faction.
Each faction is comprised of three main clans, with smaller ones under their governance. These clans operate almost like kingdoms within the factions."
"Wait, hold on a moment," Grey interrupted, raising his hand. "So... there are three factions that rule over the entire continent, and each one controls three major clans, plus a bunch of smaller clans beneath them?"
"Exactly." Clarice nodded with a small smile as she watched him process the information.
"And the warriors? What are they?" Grey asked next.
"Remember I said no clan or faction can cross into another’s territory? Well, in case such a thing does happen, or if an outsider shows up, every faction has its own trained fighters. These elite fighters are called Yun Warriors."
"Wait—Yun Warriors?" Grey repeated, then burst into laughter. "You just went ahead and took a name straight out of your continent’s name!"
"Precisely," Yami said, grinning like it was the most clever thing in the world.
’His smile... it’s beautiful,’ Vanessa thought with a dazed look, completely lost in her own thoughts as she continued staring at Grey, barely listening to her father’s lecture.
"Now, I can’t tell you all our history just like that," Yami continued, his tone suddenly more serious. "Even though I brought you here, you’re still technically an outsider to this world.
We don’t know where you came from, and telling you everything about us would be putting our entire continent at risk. I hope you understand that, Grey."
"Yeah, sure," Grey said as he waved his hands, his mind racing with different thoughts. "One more question—what faction are we in?"
"That..." Yami trailed off and then turned toward Vanessa. "Vanessa, why don’t you tell Grey what faction we belong to."
Vanessa, who had been lost in thought, suddenly jolted back to her senses and turned to face Grey again.
"We’re in the Aetherian faction, and luckily for you, you didn’t land in either of the other two," Vanessa said with a loud chuckle.
"What do you mean?" Grey asked with a raised eyebrow.
"You see," Clarice took the conversation forward, her voice soft but clear. "We in Aetherian believe in order, protection, and to an extent, being welcoming.
Although, I won’t lie to you—the Aetherian faction can be ruthless. If they want something, they’ll find a way to get it... even if it means using force."
"But the other factions," she continued, "are quite different. While Aetherians may seem kind on the surface, the Umbrafell faction is what I’d call the truly kind one.
Instead of using force, they resort to calmness and wisdom. They prefer to talk things out rather than fight. They’re more like monks if you ask me."
"Meanwhile, the last faction lets chaos guide them," she added with a small frown. "The Noxarian faction is more ruthless than all of us combined.
They kill first and ask questions later. So yes, you’re lucky you landed here in Aetherian rather than in the Noxarian faction... or even the goody two-shoes Umbrafell faction."
"Okay, that’s a lot to take in," Grey said, arching a brow as he began rubbing his temples.
’This world... this continent... is governed by strange rules I haven’t even scratched the surface of.
Me losing my memories, my identity, and then finding myself in an unknown world... whoever is directing my life’s story is doing a terrible job.’
"Do you have any more questions, or can I go to bed now?" Finral asked with a huge scowl on his face.
"Yeah, one more," Grey said, his gaze shifting toward Finral. "Why are you always grumpy and frowny? I bet you have no friends. You probably won’t get one either with the way you look."
"How dare you?!" Finral shouted, slamming the table in anger. The section he hit cracked and shattered instantly, while the air grew thick and slightly suffocating.
"I’ve been quiet, coolheaded, and I’ve watched you act however you please. But now... you’ve gone and pissed me off!" Finral roared. In the blink of an eye, he appeared directly in front of Grey, who instinctively gulped.
"Won’t you do anything?" Clarice asked as she turned toward Yami.
But Yami just raised his index finger to his lips, signaling her to keep quiet, then pointed back at the duo with the universal sign for just watch.
"Uhm... Finral, right? Kindly chill. I was just kidding," Grey said nervously as he raised his hands in a defensive posture.
But Finral grabbed them, and the next instant, Grey let out a chilling scream as pain surged through him—it felt like his hands were twisting and breaking.
’What kind of monstrous strength does this guy have?!’
"Your mouth looks and sounds ugly. Let me help fix that!" Finral shouted as he swung a fist toward Grey’s face.
A loud clash rang out as a blonde-haired female suddenly appeared in front of Grey. Her hands vibrated from the force as she blocked Finral’s punch.
Before Finral could react, a small figure leapt into the air—twisting her body mid-spin—and launched a powerful kick into his face, causing him to skid back an inch.
"Ow! That hurt!" Millie shouted as she landed and began rubbing her leg, while Grey stood there with his mouth agape.
"Enough, Finral," Yami’s voice boomed across the room. He could see his son preparing to attack again, but the moment Finral heard his father’s voice, he scoffed and backed off, turning away in frustration.
"Nice job, Vanessa and Millie," Yami praised with a nod. "And Millie, work on your hip twist more. Put more strength into your legs properly next time."
The two girls nodded their heads with discipline while Grey remained rooted in place—stunned.
’What the hell is going on?! Who the hell are these people?!’
Hey Magus Legion! It’s being long since I last spoke. I just want to welcome you all to the Vayun Continent where things are totally different from Continent Arondale where Grey comes from.
Kick back, buckle up and get ready to go for a rollercoaster. This is the continent where we get a new power up that would help along the way. And I’m sorry that Grey might feel pathetic and weak. I want him to build things up from scratch.
So with that, his cockiness will slowly come back as he awakens his power up. So just keep calm with me. Thank you 😊 ✌️