The citadel stood majestically in the center of the city. Surrounded by another wall smaller than the one around the city itself.
'Why did they need such big walls?' As Ren wondered, his eyes swept to his surroundings. He stood in line in the courtyard as rations were being distributed to people one by one. The courtyard itself was surrounded by four white polished walls gleaming in the sunlight, their surfaces reflecting the rays on the marble floor beneath his feet.
As his turn came to pick the food, the person distributing it took one glance before hurling a plate at him. Ren caught but didn't respond to the provocation. The one serving the food was a middle-aged female who acted a little stiff unlike the ferocious teenager beside her.
Everyone started chatting with themselves and ignored the group. Ren didn't mind the cold shoulder as he had grown up with it. But suddenly, Selene poked his shoulder and asked.
"Do you miss your parents?" She had a concerned look in her eyes, which kept darting to the others around her. Some people ate alone in the silence while others conversed with their family.
'Ah, she thinks I am sad. Aren't you an interesting one? Let's see what your goal is,' With a small hidden smirk, Ren dropped his head while nodding quietly.
Selene didn't speak for a second. She looked around briefly before continuing, "Don't worry, wherever they might be, at least they are safe. Mine... were not able to escape and gave up their lives to protect me. And if something brought you here, I am sure there would be a day when you can go back to your world."
Ren's mind instantly drew a picture of Aunt Nyra but he immediately clenched his knuckles, trying to forget about it. But the more he tried, the more the memories of her kindness and care started to resurface within his mind. And before he knew it, a tear slid down across his cheek and fell on the plate.
'What?' His eyes widened in surprise as he touched the streak of water across his cheek, and before he could wipe it, a hand gently pressed onto his back and gave him the comfort he had forgotten for a long time. Evan and Lina were lost in their own time while Caleb and Ronan looked awkwardly around them before focusing on the food in their hands.
Out of nowhere, Ren heard the sound of approaching footsteps. He looked up only to find a group of three nearing him with two of them having a hedious smile on their faces.
"Aww, looks like someone is crying. Do you miss your mommy?" The person at the front sneered, while the two behind them laughed while clutching their stomachs.
But they still held a cautious distance from Ren, probably because of the snake that rested on Selene's shoulders.
The man looked to be around twenty-two years old with eyes that were slightly narrower than the rest. Ren didn't want to be bothered with anyone, but he didn't hate Selene's company. But if someone like him thought that they could do whatever they want, it was probably their worst choice.
"At least I have one, unlike some people." Saying this, he just stood up and started walking to the other side to continue his meal in peace.
'Aunt Nyra, of course.'
All the voices died down, the courtyard fell into silence before someone couldn't control themselves and burst out laughing. The man who had spoken just now felt his face burning red as realization dawned upon him. Immediately turning behind, he screamed and attacked Ren.
'You fell for it.' Before the man could react, Ren turned around his body and smashed the steel plate directly against his face.
Bang.
The plate now etched an outline of the man's face as he screamed once again, but this time, it was in pain. Brett felt blood trickling down his nose as his vision started to turn dizzy. He fell down with a thud on the marble floor but the sound wasn't louder than the sound of the plate crashing into his face.
Selene just chuckled to herself and didn't bother Ren anymore.
The two lackeys tensed up, and shivered in fright as they felt goosebumps all over their bodies. But unlike their expectation, Ren went to grab another plate and this time, the person handed it to him with a forced smile on his face.
The incident passed without any other unexpected situations. One by one, the people who had eaten started to enter the other narrow pathway. It was the same one in which Aron had gone earlier.
Ren went to the other side of the courtyard and regrouped with the rest. Brett was already carried away by his two lackeys after falling unconscious. The strength flowing in Ren's body wasn't something to be underestimated.
This narrow pathway was similar to the one from which Ren had entered the courtyard earlier. But this time, there were no more narrow slits in the walls and the passage was bright and comfortable to walk in despite the number of packed people ahead and behind of him.
The narrow pathway opened to another courtyard that was also open from the above. But this one was larger, no, far larger than the previous one. The walls were etched with rows of wooden weapons and the ground was filled with training dummies kept at a fixed distance apart from each other for one to train without worrying about hurting the others practicing next to them. If Ren had to give an estimate, he was sure the number of dummies would be more than two hundred.
"Now this is what we call a training hall," Ronan muttered with an excited look in his eyes as he stepped into the training courtyard.
The whole place screamed of grandeur. Ren assumed this place to be the practice grounds of the guards who were in charge of maintaining the city before the apocalypse and was now used by the survivors.