Chapter 5: chapter 5
As Kale Phoebes, previously known as James Tanaka, stepped out of the Adventurers' Guild of Horizon, his heart raced with excitement and anxiety. Accompanied by the hero's party consisting of Arios, Aggath, Leanne, and Mina, they set forth on a quest to locate the residence of Rein Shroud, the enigmatic beast tamer. The streets of Horizon bustled with activity, as merchants peddled their wares, and townsfolk chatted animatedly with one another.
it was getting tiresome for the group and James can still sense some anger and hatred within arios as they walked down the road which leads up to a big house which seems to have a lot of rooms. James as surprised that this house is his new home and base, "okay, i guess it's time for the moment of truth. now we don't want to cause any trouble while we are here, that means each one of us... arios." james said as he turned his face towards arios giving him a warning glare. the group nodded as they cautiously approached the door, preparing themselves for what would be waiting there. James took a deep breath, knocked on the door calmly.
"Rein! It's me, Kale!" he shouted hoping to get his attention. The silence enveloped them as they waited for a response, the atmosphere thickening with anticipation. Each second dragged on, their nerves growing increasingly strained. But then, the sound of footsteps echoed from inside the house, followed by the creaking of the door opening.
all was still as a familiar figure emerged in the doorway, it was just as his past life and current life remembered rein, he was a tall, well-built man with a striking appearance. His ash-grey hair is messy, falling in a black mesh with bangs across his forehead, complementing his green eyes. but seems to wear a half-black, half-grey shirt with folded sleeves, accented by a brown belt around his waist that includes a pouch for his ammunition or essential items. He wears light black pants with a grey blazer tied around his waist and sports a pair of sturdy leather boots. On his left side, he wears body leather armor, while his legs are covered in full leather armor. it felt like an eternity as they gazed at each-other as the memories of their lives filled their minds as rein's eyes widening in disbelief. "K-Kale?" rein said as james approached him and in an instant he gave rein a big hug "REIN!" james shouted happily as rein hugged him back "Kale how did..." rein said but james suddenly interrupted "rein thank goodness you're alright... i thought you were dead." james said to rein as they ended their hug and started laughing together. the hero's party was surprised and confused by this so-called reunion.
They couldn't believe that these two individuals knew each other. How strange, they thought - but then again, they had already witnessed few extraordinary happenings in their own journeys. They wondered if the world was much smaller than they initially thought.
The group shuffled uncomfortably as the unexpected reunion unfolded before them. But they couldn't deny the joyous atmosphere emanating from the two old friends. It was a stark contrast to the tension they had experienced earlier. Arios, especially, couldn't shake the conflicting feelings stirring within him.
On one hand, he despised the beast tamer archetype for their perceived weakness and lack of respect. However, observing the bond between Kale and Rein, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy. After all, Arios had been alone, devoid of companionship, since his feud with Rein commenced. Despite his attempts to mask the turmoil inside him, the lingering memory of Kale's reassuring touch stirred resentment towards the beast tamer.
"kale it's really great to see you again... You'd better come in, i have lots of things tell you." Rein said, til he turned his gaze towards the hero's party standing behind james. rein could only just frown as he saw arios and his group "don't worry rein they are just sticking around for now, i have things to chat with you about. oh and i go by james nowadays." james said before turning his face towards the hero's party as they all stared at the ground and remembering how they treated rein in the past. But rein decided to welcome them in any way. As the group entered the house, its interior was decorated with old paintings hanging on the wall and various hallways. after they've finished touring around the house rein gathered his fellow companions to the kitchen, but at first james felt part of him from his past life knew that he was going to meet reins friends eventually, but the other half of the current him was amazed and surprised. hey had no idea that rein became popular with the ladies. "kale i want you to meet kanade, tania, luna, sora, and nina. guys i want you to meet an old childhood friend of my who... i kinda forgot to tell you about." rein said as he introduces them to james, but then he came up with an idea to tease rein a little "its a great pleasure to meet you all, my i'm surprised you got yourself a harem of ultimate species i see." james said teasingly as he noticed kanade tania and sora's cheeks were all red, nervous, flustered, and embarrassed about James' comment on rein having a harem. rein seemed confused of what james meant, but he was oblivious to the term. "Just kidding around and having a bit of fun, that's all." james said as he sat down in a chair, making himself comfortable.
as everyone started to be calm until they noticed a floating woman entering the room as she went through the wall, it was tina hollee the ghost housekeeper or phantom maid and james knew she also played a role in reins adventures. the hero's party was spooked by tina's sudden appearance... "GHOST!" the hero's party all said in unison. but before mina could enchant a spell, james stopped her "mina wait I sense no ill will in this ghost." james said as everyone stared at him with confusion on their faces.
as things start to settle down tina then introduces herself to the hero's party, as she had introduced to rein and his companions "my name is tina hollee, i used to work as a maid in another city, well then i sort of died about 30 years ago and eventually i round up here." tina said as the hero's party felt surprised "30 years dead, traveling all the time with no heavy chains that you forged in life. i think that makes you a lucky ghost i think" james said as tina felt surprised and a bit flattered. the hero's party and rein's party were confused of what james meant by that. "Setting things aside, i want to ask... rein it's good to see you, how are your folks doing?" James asked, but from the look on rein's face, he began to frown in sadness. "They didn't survive, sadly?" rein said, as one part of james knew that rein's parents were killed by the demon attack on the beast tamer village. While the other part of him was shocked and saddened by this. "rein... im so sorry. if only we were there we could have done something." james said to rein feeling terrible about what happened. About an hour later, the hero's party decided to camp outside next to rein's new house for a while until morning. james however couldn't sleep but only stare at the horizon as he started thinking to himself about the village. The priestess mina began to feel sorry for james and rein for loosing their village not to mention being the last survivors. "you cannot blame yourself for what happened to yours and rein's village." mina said calmly but there was a hint of sadness in her voice. then arios just scoffed "no wonder there are so many and so little useless beast tamers in this world now, because of their so-called village burned, they couldn't even protect themselves." arios said coldly and openly. But then james tightened his fist and spoke, "SHUT UP!" james shouted with anger in his voice while giving ario and his party the death glare. they all shudder as they became silent. "arios... how would your friends feel if you turned into a major disappointment?" james asked him, knowing he wasn't just talking to arios, he was talking to the entire party. "Excuse me? how dare you say that to the hero you insolent beast tamer." arios exclaimed with anger. james just stood there silently as he continued to speak "i was just asking a question." james said calmly while mina took a moment to speak "i'm afraid questioning arios is like questioning the will of god." mina said, but james kept going "you mean questioning the will of the gods, you know the legend of the hero as much as i do. you on the other hand mina follow the will of the one true god. So it's not the same thing." james said trying to make mina understand his point of view and deep down mina knew that he might be right about there being only one true god, but he did have many names and faces. "well to me i think the question you ask isn't involving your village so i say to you, it's not the same." mina said, but james just kept on speaking "its precisely the same! rein and i were born in that village and they practically raised us. They were our family just as arios has a family." james said, arios then shouted "you know nothing about my ancestors and our relatives, so you should just shut up!" arios interjected, James wouldn't listen. "arios you know as well as i do we both have relatives. and how will you sleep knowing that you lost your family and friends like how rein lost his." James said trying to reason with arios, but it might be angering him more "i think i'll have a good night sleep with you stop questioning my judgement and about my past. While i don't like being compared to that worthless excuse of a beast tamer, friend or family of yours!" arios growled in anger as he walks off in the distance "it seems arios is under a lot of anger right now." aggath said. james turned to mina "mina since arios needs some... time... to himself... so i think it be good time to ask you something..." James said but was interrupted when mina interjected "please stop you done enough talking today, you've already angered the hero enough and your already spreading doubt in the hero's party." mina exclaimed, but james continued on "mina the hero's party is already filled with doubt, i can even see conflict in your soul, i'm no demon nor am i an angel... not even a god, but if i know one thing for sure, it is clear to me as a fact that arios is going down a dark path. you saw the anger showed in horizon. if you are going to ask why then let me tell you why, evil begins with ambition or jealously. also others think there is more ways of going down a dark path than anyone can even realize. anger and hatred is what also leads you down the path of the dark side... it only starts with fear, which leads anger, anger leads to hate... hate!... leads to suffering." james explains as the party becomes silent and confused as they couldn't understand what he meant by that. but james just used the same quote he heard in star wars films that he used to watch in his past life. james even remember those words loud and clear as if it were fresh in his mind 'fear is a path to the dark side. fear leads to anger. anger leads to hate. hate leads to suffering.' james thought to himself, quoting yoda in his head. "im sorry if i've upset you all and disrupting your group. plus if arios was present here, i don't think he would... how should i put this, i say it would only arouse his anger further to the point he might go... insane. i just thought if i could talks some sense into that guy, maybe it might lead him down to a good path of reasoning, but it seemed that it might have only made him worse." james explained with regret and sadness in his voice. "i know that what you are trying to do is in your opinion right, but it is not your place to judge the hero because he is the chosen hero and its true that he is being too harsh on beast tamers, including your friend and i know you two are like brothers." mina said in a soft and calming "if its okay with you i must ask you something mina. yes it involves arios, but i'm not saying he isn't the true chosen hero but i'm just only asking in a hypothetical way, so please be honest with me; how would you and the hero's party sleep knowing that arios failed or betrayed you?" james asked mina as she went to lay down and going to sleep.
but after a brief moment james already knew her true answer for he had somehow read her thoughts 'i can't answer your question in front of everyone, but i'm sure you can already hear my thoughts and know what my answer is; if arios did betray us, i would be devastated and heart broken, indeed i would not sleep at all. But i must endure and praying that thankfully it has not happened, and it never will' mina thought to herself.
james then telepathically spoke in mina's mind "thank you for telling me the truth, in fact i too pray that arios will not betray you." james said to her in her head. "i know that you care about him, mina, i can tell that you have feelings toward arios. It's hard to endure, regardless there are times you must speak out to others about your feelings, but if you try to repress them for too long, you might end up suffering emotionally. or worse they'll destroy you." james spoke openly and mina felt a tear in her eye feeling torn apart from inside.
she could sense the torment and pain in james' words, but at the same time, she realized there was a hint of wisdom embedded in them. she decided not to respond nor confront james about his revelation, instead, she simply closed her eyes and focused on her own thoughts and emotions. After a few moments, mina fell into a deep and peaceful sleep, hoping that her dreams would be free from turmoil and despair.
Meanwhile, james remained awake, lost in his thoughts and memories of both his current in this world and past life from another. Rein, having noticed his discomfort, approached james hesitantly, with a concerned expression on his face.
"Is everything alright, Kale?" rein asked gently as the moonlight cast an eerie glow on the spacious lawn of the property. The wind began to pick up, rustling the leaves and bushes "Actually, no," james responded, deep in thought.
"There's a lot going on, rein, and it seems like you're unaware of the situation brewing within the hero's party. It's also been weighing heavily on my mind. I can see the anger in arios' heart, and the hatred he harbors may drive him to the edge. I can't bear to watch him ruin himself." james said as rein sat next to him, trying to understand the situation at hand.
"arios maybe a total jerk, but i'm sure he'll get over it eventually." rein said, despite not knowing that arios gave edgar a ring to use him as a pawn to kill rein with it. James just couldn't tell rein what arios tried to do, otherwise it would ruin the hero's reputation and set arios's anger towards all beast tamers.
He felt a weight on his shoulders, a burden he had to carry alone. He looked up at the sky, the stars twinkling beautifully, a sight he missed from his previous life. He couldn't help but think of his family and friends, lost to him forever. A tear trickled down his cheek, but he quickly wiped it away. He couldn't afford to be weak. Not now, not in this world.
Rein, sensing james' sadness, placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Hey, Kale, I know things are tough right now, but you're not alone," rein said earnestly. "I may not fully understand what you're going through, but I promise to always be by your side."
James, touched by rein's reassurance, couldn't help but feel grateful for their friendship. He smiled weakly at rein, and replied, "Thanks, Rein. That means a lot to me." later rein went back inside the house while james sat there in the grass while star gazing.
Suddenly, james felt a gentle tap on his other shoulder, He turned around to see Kanade, her cat ears twitching slightly, and her tail swishing behind her. She wore a concerned expression on her face.
"Kale, are you alright?" she asked softly, her voice laced with worry.
James offered her a small smile, trying to hide the turmoil within him. "Yeah, I'm fine, Kanade. Just... thinking about some things."
Kanade's eyes narrowed slightly, not entirely convinced. "You know, if you ever need someone to talk to, I'm here for you. after all a friend of rein's is a friend of meow."