THE REBORN WORLD OF THE CHRONICLES

The evening deepened into night, shadows stretching over the trail as Alfie and Rebekah are preparing to make their way through the dim forest paths.

"It's already dark," Alfie muttered, glancing ahead. "It's going to be hard to see our path from here."

"Stop whining and get on the horse," Rebekah snapped. "We can't waste any more time. You're basically the center of attention now—both the Shinras and the darkside spirits are after you."

"Alright, alright. Now you're sounding like Master," Alfie replied with a smirk as he climbed onto Lucy's horse, and they rode off into the night.

After a brief silence, Rebekah spoke, her voice edged with unease. "You know... we're inside the Capital. And still, no Shinra has come after you. Don't you think that's strange? Master said your Renshi aura can be sensed across the entire kingdom."

Alfie frowned. "You're right. I never thought about it until now. We've passed several Shinras on patrol, and none of them even glanced at me like I was a threat. We need to get to Master and ask her directly."

"Exactly. So ride faster, Alfie. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"You can count on me," he said, gripping the reins tighter.

They reached the outskirts of town, near the edge of the cliff and the dense forest. Alfie and Rebekah leaped off the horse and rushed into the old house.

"You're back, huh?" Lucy greeted them calmly. "We need to move. I just wiped out eighteen beta darkside spirits coming from the forest. Nothing too serious."

"That's part of the issue," Rebekah began, but Lucy raised a hand.

"Save it for the road. Mount up, we're not staying here any longer."

Alfie dashed to the back room, grabbed a clean shirt from his backpack, and then hurried to his father's site. He remembered his mother's words about the silver sword.

"There you are..." Alfie whispered, pulling the sheathed blade from beneath the shelf. "It's beautiful."

"Alfie! Let's move!" Lucy's voice called from outside.

"Coming!" he replied, racing out.

Lucy eyed the sword. "Nice. Your dad forged that for you, didn't he?"

"No time for chit-chat, Master," Alfie replied, climbing onto the horse.

"A simple 'yes' would've been enough, you brat," Lucy muttered with a smirk as they galloped toward the forest path.

As the thick woods swallowed them, Rebekah turned to Lucy. "Why are we taking this route? Wouldn't the main road out of Kingdom be safer?"

"We need to avoid the Shinras," Lucy answered flatly. "We can kill darkside spirits without issue. But if we raise a hand against a Shinra, we're done for."

"That's what I wanted to bring up, Master," Rebekah said. "Since Alfie awakened his Renshi, only darkside spirits have shown up. The Shinras in this kingdom haven't made a single move. Why?"

Lucy was quiet for a moment. "You're sharper than you look. I was more concerned about the Shinras than the darkside spirits. That's one of the reasons I set up the trial for Alfie—wanted to test if they'd strike while I was separated from him. But nothing. That silence means only one thing: the Kingdom Icon might've been disabled."

"Kingdom Icon?" Alfie blinked. "What's that?"

Lucy nodded. "Let me explain it in a way your tiny brain can process. A long time ago, the strongest mages among the Shinras created something called the Kingdom Icon—a giant Renshi circle hidden beneath each kingdom. Its purpose was to detect and monitor individuals with high innate Renshi power. That way, kingdoms could protect themselves from foreign threats."

"So, it's like a Renshi alarm system?" Alfie asked.

"Exactly," Lucy replied. "When someone with intense Renshi enters a kingdom, the Icon sends signals to the Shinras. But if that Icon gets tampered with... they'll be blind."

"Why would anyone shut it down?" Rebekah asked.

"The only ones capable of doing that are special darkside knights," Lucy said darkly. "I suspect the one in this kingdom is behind it, and he've deactivated the Icon to let Alfie pass undetected."

"So, all the Shinras think the kingdom is safe because they haven't sensed anything," Alfie said.

"Now you get it," Lucy nodded. "It's a setup. Something big is coming."

"I can't believe all this is happening just because of my Renshi," Alfie muttered.

"It's not just your Renshi, Alfie," Lucy said. "It's your potential. You're a key player in something big that hasn't even truly begun."

Alfie and Rebekah exchanged a look of growing resolve.

"We'll be ready," Rebekah said quietly.

"You better be," Lucy replied, her voice suddenly steely. "Because from here on out, things only get worse."