"Trust me I will find whoever did this but I won't tell you anything related to his murder until then" Michael blatantly said to her face.

  "Are you fucking kidding me right now?" She never expected this answer from Michael.

  "Do I look like I'm kidding? What you did was stupid. You lost control of yourself, endangering you us and everyone around"

  Nightmare agreed with Michael with a nod.

  "So you expect me to stand there like a stone. I'm sorry I wasn't trained to be as heartless as you were"

  "Calm down, both of you" Nightmare tried to diffuse the situation before it escalated further.

  "Shut up lizard. I'm talking to him"

  She quickly shut Nightmare before continuing to argue with Michael.

  "I get that I might have lost control of my emotions but you look you don't even care. Jack treated you like his own brother and he was your kind for god sake"

  Michael remained in silence uttering no words. He let her pour out everything in her heart. As she said, he was trained to control his emotions.

  After hearing her words he could tell that she had mistaken his calmness for lack of emotions. Although he was trained to control his emotions, it didn't mean he didn't feel anything. He just chose not to show it outside or let the emotions cloud his judgment.

  "Would you do something or be as calm as now if something happened to me?"

  It was evident that her anger slowly turned towards Michael. She expected him to find the person who killed Jack without a delay, yet hearing that he had no intention to let her know anything regarding the investigation until he finds the scumbag responsible made her blood boil in anger. Moreover, she felt like he didn't trust her after everything they went through together.

  "So you'll only trust me as long as I behave to your liking?"

  She stopped talking, expecting him to say something.

  "By acting the way you did, what did you gain? Did you find out who killed Jack?" Michael simply asked two questions instead of explaining himself.

  She kept opening and closing her mouth without an answer to give,

  "You asked if I would be as calm as now if something happened to you. The answer is yes because if I start to lose my mind, anger and other emotions will cloud my judgment. Don't mistake my calmness for lack of emotions. I just don't show my emotions the way you did. And I'm not even gonna explain myself about trusting you. I trust you with my life, that's all you gonna get from me? "

  Gaya's eyes began to water up hearing his last words.

  "I thought you would know this after everything we went through" After speaking these words, Michael took off from the forest leaving Nightmare and Gaya behind.

  He wanted some time alone to process everything that just happened. Her words hurt him, even though he hadn't realized it yet.

  "Are you happy now, snake?"

  Puffs of smoke came out of Nightmare's nostrils.

  "How could you even ask him whether he trusts you or not? Has he done anything without including you? Jack would have never wanted this"

  Tears began to roll out of her eyes as Nightmare continued,

  "Even now he chose not to tell you anything because he wants to protect you. Hear my words snake, you won't find someone who trusts and loves you as Ghost, not in this lifetime, not ever"

  She broke down to the ground, crying. Michael's words, Jack's death and Nightmare's words pierced her heart. She couldn't hold back the tears anymore.

  Seeing her break down to tears stunned Nightmare. He had never seen her like this. It was not his intention to make her cry. He slowly walked towards her before wrapping his wing around her shoulder.

  "You know how it feels to have a family that treats you as their enemy?" Gaya asked Nightmare sobbing. The moments she spent with Xanali, her mother, and her father flashed across Gaya's eyes. Her stepmother or even her real father never treated her like they treated Xanali. They loved Xanali while always viewing Gaya as a stranger.

  "I know how it feels to be abandoned," Nightmare said. He still clearly remember the time his mother threw him out of the nest and running from the humans who wanted to capture him for pleasure. Until he drew his last breath, he would never forget the first time he saw Ghost. In his eyes, Nightmare only showed love and excitement. Somehow Nightmare felt safer with him.

  "I always yearned for a family that loves me. This sect, you, Ghost, and everyone loves me unconditionally. You guys are my family," She looked at Nightmare with her teary eyes.

  "But I wasn't here to protect my family. I had nightmares of someone calling for my help, I didn't take it seriously. If I returned then-" her throat tightened in sadness.

  "It's not your fault. Do not blame yourself. Just trust Ghost, he will find whoever did this. When we get our hands on that filth, I'll help you show him the hell" Nightmare chuckled to make her feel good. He shook her shoulders playfully. Despite their constant bickering and fights and the hate between the Naga race and the Dragon race, Nightmare loved Gaya and so was she. He couldn't care less about the hate between the two races. As far as he was concerned, she was family to him.

  "Blame yourself for destroying our home. Thanks to you, we're homeless now"? Nightmare teased her. He didn't let go of her as he kept her under his wings.

  "It was a shabby house anyways" finally Gaya whipped off the tears from her face. A small smile emerged on her face.

  "Now let's go find Ghosty. And try not to act like a bitch this time"

  "Shut you scaly fuck"

  "There's the snake I know and love"

  Gaya punched Nightmare in the neck as he gave a head butt to her face. After that, they ascended to the sky searching for Ghost.

  ************************************

  The serrated mountains loomed in the distance. Gaya and Nightmare made their way towards them searching for Michael. The trees blanketed the mountains decorating the mountains in jade green. The heaven-touching apex of the mountain was drenched in brilliant light. All across their line of sight, the tips of the mountain range stuck up like a row of thorns.

  Atop the tallest mountain top, Michael was standing alone. His black coat was fluttering in the wind backward. From the mountain top, he could see the entire sect and the River town on the horizon.

  He had never come to this place before but he regretted that seeing the calmness it gave to his soul and mind. Looking at the sky, he saw Nightmare and Gaya flying towards him.

  The demon butler was standing behind him uttering no words. He let Michael enjoy peace and calmness.

  After a couple of minutes, they landed behind Michael.

  "Human" Michael heard Gaya's voice. She sounded meek, gentle, and apologizing.

  He kept gazing at the view before him as Nightmare and Gaya slowly made their way towards him.

  "I'm sorry" she hugged him from behind, burying her head on his back.

  "It's that-"

  "You don't have to explain yourself to me" Michael interrupted her,

  "You spoke your mind"

  His distant words began to hurt her,

  "You're right, I'm not gonna explain myself to you. I love you and I trust you with my life too, that's all you're gonna get from me" She hugged him as tight as she could.

  For a few minutes, they just stood there without moving until Michael turned back,

  "I promise I won't lose my mind again," Gaya said, looking him directly in the eyes.

  "No, you won't" Michael caringly embraced her. After seeing her teary eyes, he couldn't be mad at her anymore. He loved her so much that he couldn't see her cry.

  "I will make sure no one hurts the people we care about anymore," Michael said before gently kissing the top of her head.

  Eventually, Nightmare couldn't stay back; he came to join the hug. He grew big enough to wrap both of them in his wings. He then wiggled his head in between Michael and Gaya.

  "I missed this so much" Nightmare purred.

  "What are you gonna do?" Gaya asked,

  "We're going to make our sect stronger than any other sect in this entire continent and it's time this continent has seen a 6-star Alchemist"

  An unwavering resolution appeared in Michael's eyes. With the system's help, no matter the cost, he planned to become a 6-star myth-level Alchemist. At that time, he would find an existence equal or stronger than the Guardian Guild to associate himself.

  It was time he played the offensive instead of defensive. Since they decided to mess with the people he cares about without thinking about any consequences, he would make them regret crossing his path.

  "Let's start kicking asses by winning the upcoming championship tournaments" Nightmare reminded them about the tournaments.

  "Oh shit, I almost forgot about that. It's tomorrow isn't it?" Gaya took her head back from his chest,

  "Nope, they postponed it by a week"

  "Why?"

  Nightmare just realized something as he looked at both of them,

  "You don't know, do you?"