THE MONK WITH HAIR

Soon after, I continued to do their bidding, and the Death List appeared out of nowhere, telling me that I may ask him to restore my memory. I agreed, and the next morning I awoke remembering everything that had happened. Remembering what I'd done was driving me insane. I accepted my fate soon after and never requested them to wipe my memory again. So I kept doing their bidding without question, never bothering to inquire about the origins of the names they provided me; all I had to do was kill them and go on.

Years passed, and I occasionally remembered the man's two children. Curiosity got the best of me, and I resolved to track them down and find out what happened to them. They'd been placed in foster care, and they were shortly separated. The older sister became involved with drugs and was greatly influenced by them. She had many overdoses and attempted rehabilitation, all to no avail; she died as a result of an accident while inebriated. When the younger daughter turned eighteen, she was no longer in the foster care system. Fortunately, she found a nice family who helped her pay for college. She quickly graduated, acquired a job, and settled down in her life, so she started seeking for her sister. Her sister had died, and she was the one who was expected to go identify her body when word got to her.

Her sister's funeral was paid for by her. I couldn't bear it any longer and went to the funeral. It was filled with her sister’s friends, drunkards and addicts. People sniffing drugs and drinking booze directly in front of her grave made the burial a nightmare show. It wasn't like there were a lot of them; there were probably around twenty of them, and half of them didn't even make it to the conclusion of the burial. They arrived because a buddy of theirs who was selling drugs was going to be there, and they didn't even know her sister's name. I sat there, watching the horror I had inflicted on these youngsters, and there was nothing I could do about it.

That memory will stay with me for the rest of my life. Because it was I, not the watchers, who did everything. And you must learn to bear that responsibility on your own. It's preferable to trying to forget about it. I was present when you returned, and you stated that you attempted to assassinate your master. I saw the agony and dread in your eyes, the same agony and dread I felt when I realised what I had done to that poor family. Kid, you have to learn to deal with it, accept the consequences; you won't be able to wipe your memories forever, and it's best if you learn to deal with it before you run out of options,” the old man said. He set his cup down and peered down the route that led to his house. Sam, the young kid Nelanian had seen the day before, was racing excitedly towards them, arms spread. He was yelling at his grandfather.

Nelanian wondered if the same thing had occurred to him, if he had slain an innocent man or woman and deleted his own memories to forget about it. As he contemplated the situation, he took another long sip of tea.

SUNSET CITY 

Luciana, Jalon, and Norval were at the hotel's reception desk. The keys to their rooms were being handed over by the receptionist. They waved her off as they made their way to the elevator. A tall strong man passed them by as they proceeded down the hall. He was dressed in a slim-fitting suit with an emblem on the breast pocket of his jacket. It was recognised by the candidates. It was the logo of a well-known Seolara corporation, the same corporation that was sponsoring Eadmer Todd. They remembered seeing him with Eadmer Todd at that point. When they met at the airport, he was assisting him in loading his bags into the cab.

As they all boarded the elevator, Jalon stated, "I think the tiny man must be around here somewhere."

They went up a few floors until it came to a halt and a new person in. He was dressed in a long brown robe with intricate embroidery on the collar and sleeves. It went all the way down to the man's shins and reflected light back into his eyes, indicating that it was made of a strong silk-like fabric. His neck was adorned with a huge bead necklace, and he was clutching a thick book in his hands. Despite the cold, the man was going barefooted across the concrete halls, and he appeared to be doing it rather comfortably. As he stepped in, he greeted the candidates and stood beside them, opening the book and pulling out another bead necklace, which he wrapped over his hands.

“Excuse my lack of etiquette; I haven't yet introduced myself. My name is Wardric Waller, and it's good to meet you all,” he remarked as he extended his hands to the students. Before acknowledging Norval's greeting, Luciana and Jalon instinctively stared at him. Wardric had a pleasant smile that, when he decided to smile, would brighten the entire room. His voice was calming and tranquil, and his foreign accent made ordinary words sound exotic. Wardric had short stubby hair showing on his head, contrary to popular assumption. It was common knowledge that Yulcite monks preffered to shave their heads clean, thus meeting a monk with hair took the students by surprise.

“My name is Luciana. She shook the man's hand and said, "We are grateful."

“Luciana? Is Ithea's princess? Wardric inquired, forgetting to retract his arm once he had shaken her hand. Jalon seized Wardric's hand and shook it violently, almost causing the jewellery around his wrist to fall off.

“And my name is Jalon, Jalon Barr. I'm sure you've heard of me. ” he inquired. When he shook Wardric's hand, he seemed to be amused by the sound of the beads crashing against each other.

“I'm not sure I've heard of you before? Are you related to her? Wardric inquired, confused and perplexed.

“Eww no. I am Jalon Barr, the international modelling sensation. You know, like the face of Social Media on Ithea, the next Champion? ” Jalon inquired, surprised that Wardric had no idea who he was. Wardric, on the other hand, had no notion who was shaking his hand.

“Hello, my name is Norval Greensmith,"  Norval pushed Jalon away and shook Wardric's hand, saying, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

“Greensmith. I've also heard a lot of things about you. Wardric praised Norval's non-aggressive handshake, saying, "They claim you are the sharpest man IAA has ever seen."

“What! You've heard of him but haven't heard of me? I'm more well-known than this guy?! “Jalon stated. He added, pulling out his phone and walking over to a corner on the elevator, "Well, it appears that you are not my type of company."

“Don't worry about him; we all choose to ignore him on occasion,” Luciana explained.

“Well, I hope I'm able to make your time here as pleasant as possible. Wardric added, "I went around the amenities and they do have a good swimming pool."

“Excuse me if I ask, but don't you feel cold?” I mean, it's freezing in this city, and you're not wearing any shoes? ” Norval inquired, worried.

“It's nothing to be concerned about. We experience significantly worse winters in Yulcite, with substantially colder temperatures. I'm also going with a group of monks from my monastery, who don't want me to deviate from tradition."  Wardric remarked, slightly bowing at the conclusion, "Even if I am far from my home, tradition is still tradition, and it applies in foreign soil."

“That is a strange tradition,” Luciana said at the end of her statement, eliciting a snicker from Wardric. The elevator fell silent once more, and they discovered that it was not as lengthy as they had anticipated. Wardric quickly went forward, punched the stop button, and exited the elevator.

“It was a pleasure to meet you. Wardric added, “I hope to see you in the trials,” bowing slightly at the end before walking away.

The elevator doors closed as it resumed its ascent.

“Is that the man you'll be facing in the trials?” He appears to be extremely intimidating; it's always the polite ones who don't say much that terrify me the most. Mostly because they let their actions speak for themselves,” Luciana explained.

“Don't be concerned. “I have something under my sleeve that will help me battle him, and it isn't particularly alchemy; sometimes the best techniques are the simplest,” Norval replied, confident in his abilities.

“Well, your opponent and my opponent have met. “I suppose the only thing left is to meet the Lorth mage,” Luciana concluded. They both returned their gaze to Jalon, who was scrolling through his phone. Before returning his focus to the screen of his phone, he peered up and poked his tongue out at them, making a strange face.

“Do you think he'll last long in these trials?” ” Luciana inquired of Norval, addressing Jalon.

“I give him the first day of the week. “Trust me, if anything touches or destroys his hair, he'll be out of here before we know it,” Norval said. As the lift came to a halt and the doors swung open, they both burst out laughing.

OUTSIDE THE ETHEL RESIDENCE

Outside the gates, a van with a large emblem on its side and the words ‘Inter-Kingdom News' shining was parked. Two men sat outside it, one savouring his sandwich and the other brushing dust off the camera lenses. Judy Ben Mor and Cecily were standing outside the gate. Several high-end automobiles were parked at the mansion's entrance. Cecily's mother had arrived to pick her up, and the two of them were now inside the mansion. A verbal battle raged between her and her sister, Cecily's aunt.

“Are you certain you can handle it all?” Judy inquired. “I am very sure I have been through worse tantrums than this,” Cecily informed her. “My mother will yell for a while, then get bored of her obnoxious sister and drive away,” Cecily explained. Three bodyguards stood behind her, keeping an eye on the van and the two men outside it.

“Thank you very much for your kindness. Judy apologised, "I'm sorry I had to bring discord into your house."

“Conflict is always present in our house, and it will always be here. So don't worry about it; we'll just learn to live with the nasty blood,” Cecily explained. Have a safe trip, Judy, and please let me know if you manage to contact Nelanian,” she said.

Judy replied, "I won't forget; you'll be the first person I call." Before stepping to the van and meeting the two men outside, she gave Cecily a tight hug. Judy drove away with the vehicle as Cecily stepped back inside the compound and the two exchanged one more wave.