Destiny: by Nick Venom (top inspirational books txt) 📕

“However, you still continue to train her?”

Ark nodded his head while rubbing his nape. “Echo doesn’t want her to be weak. She’ll get trampled like that.”

“Weak?” The king repeated. “She appears weak, but there is true strength within her.”

“You see it as well!” Arks shouted, rising from his chair. “I’ve been trying to tell Echo, but he couldn’t see it!”

The king rose from his chair, staring blankly at Ark. “Incredible, you have the skill Mana Sight. You can see the mana inside people. That’s a rare skill!” He shouted, patting his back harshly. “What a terrific soon-to-be bodyguard!”

“Wait, so am I a royal bodyguard now?” He asked. 

“Of course, the three of you are accepted. This test is just for show. I only wanted to gauge your strengths. Echo is the descendent of my best bodyguards, so I would do everything to have him serve under me. As for you, you provided your strengths. The Rogue girl has strength within her; she only needs to activate it.” He explained, watching as Echo completed the last trial by going for the homeless person’s life before going for the royal’s life. He activated some inner speed, managing to save both by focusing on one before the second. 

Meanwhile, Rogue was still stuck at the first trial. She couldn’t defeat the captain. Instead, the king ended the trials, sending everybody to their new quarters within the castle. They had become the royal bodyguards in charge of protecting the three children of the royal family. Even Rogue, who was lacking in strength, was accepted because of her potential. She could surpass Echo and Ark one day if she trained longer and activated the power within him. As for Echo and Ark, they were prepared for their first days of being royal bodyguards.

One of Echo’s dreams was accomplished. Now he had a new dream; follow his parents’ footsteps and become a legendary bodyguard. Even surpass them.

TBC…

The next day, Mary Jane decided to visit the nearby merchant town of Ragru. The merchant town was northwest of the capital, positioned on the winding river of Alagin. The river nourished the town, granting them an export of freshly caught wild fish. 

Mary Jane intended to purchase a multitude of gifts for the siblings at Ragru; however, she couldn’t leave by her lonesome. Instead, Echo---who was accepted as her royal bodyguard---was to follow and monitor her. 

They moved at dawn, taking the royal carriage, towards Ragru. Alongside Mary Jane and Echo were Ark, Rogue, Huzaifa, and California. The king and queen ordered for the three pairs to converge towards Ragru. Ark and Rogue reluctantly obeyed, following their partners to the town. 

The carriage moved slowly, taking half a day to reach the town. Once at the town, they separated into their pairs. Huzaifa and Ark raced off to search for blacksmiths to forge a powerful sword for Huzaifa while California sprinted off with Rogue, tirelessly following after her, to sightsee. The last pair, Mary Jane and Echo, ventured in the direction of the stores. With enough money to build a small kingdom, she traveled around the numerous stores and bought enough items to fill five carriages. Fortunately, the king and queen expected this, granting them several carriages aside from the royal carriage to store their purchases. 

Echo helped with packing the extra carriages with her purchases before reuniting with her at the nearby cafe. The cafe---a new invention created by a strange man who none knew the identity of---was one of many that sprung up everywhere. This cafe, Frost Cafe, enticed their customers through their many strange creations---coffee, expressos, and ice coffees. 

Upon entering, he caught sight of Mary Jane sipping on one of the coffees. She noticed his appearance and waved him over, handing him a coffee. He thanked her for the coffee before sipping on it, reacting harshly at the bitter taste. 

“I apologize, here’s some white sugar.” She said as she handed him a small cup of white sugar; something he never saw before. Sugar was always black for him, a commoner, and white for nobles.

“Thanks,” He remarked.

“Of course,” She muttered as she looked out of the cafe’s window. “Hey, Echo. Have you ever wondered how your life could be if you were born in a different kingdom?”

“Never,” He bluntly told her. “I enjoyed my childhood.”

“Huh,” She started, glancing at him. “I guess that we have different perspectives on our childhoods.”

“Yeah,” He quickly responded. “We really did.”

“Hmmm, Echo?”

“Yeah?”

“What did your slip say?” She asked him, turning to face him. “What fortune are you destined to have?”

“Uh…” He muttered, stumbling on his words. “I’m afraid if I sound rude, but can I reject this order?” He asked her bashfully.

“I suppose that you have your reasons-” She stood up, glancing at the other customers around her. “Do you mind if I tell you mine?” Echo nodded, motioning for her to start. She nodded back, clearing her throat before starting. “My Destiny Slip says that I’ll be following a family path instead of the royal path.”

“Family path instead of the royal path? Does that mean you’ll be focused on family life and abdicate the throne?”

“As you deducted; I won’t become the Queen ruling over the nation for long. Instead, I’ll be turned into a simple housewife at the beck and call of an unruly husband!” She exclaimed. “I’m not ready for the responsibilities of the crown, less so for taking care of children.”

“Maybe your Destiny Slip isn’t true. Or you could escape it?” Echo cheerfully remarked.

Mary Jane looked at him with disgust for a moment before dissipating the emotion. “I’m afraid that every destiny comes true. No matter how hard you run, your destiny still catches you.”

“Oh, you’re right. You can never-” Echo was interrupted by an explosion, shaking the cafe. The customers standing were thrown to the ground while the people seated were shaken by the explosion. Mary Jane and Echo were thrown to the ground, hitting it with harsh force. 

Immediately after the explosion, two men, dressed in solid black, charged into the cafe, searching for their target. They quickly spotted their target, grabbing Mary Jane and abducting her. Echo, who was still on the ground, noticed her departure and scrambled to his feet. He brandished his seven-bullet revolver, nicknamed ‘Iron Justice’, and pointed the long barrel towards the closest guy. He pressed the trigger quickly, firing off several bullets that pierced through the guy’s body. His body, which was now riddled with bullets, collapsed to the ground. The second guy, unfortunately, escaped the cafe with Mary Jane. He had used a skill known as Silent Sleep to knock her out before taking her away from the cafe and Echo.

However, Echo wasn’t going to give up on his duties. He was appointed as her royal bodyguard and didn’t intend on forgetting his tasks. He raced after the guy, who was stuffing Mary Jane into a carriage and fired off a few bullets. The first two bullets missed but the third one collided with his ankle, throwing him to the ground. The driver, who watched his comrade get crippled, grabbed the reins and whipped the horses. The horses followed his orders, trotting away. 

Meanwhile, five guys jumped out of the carriage to deal with Echo while the driver drove away with Mary Jane. Aside from Echo, there wasn’t any aid to save Mary Jane or himself. Even so, he was okay with that piece of intel. It motivated him.

“My parents would save the royal family in a heartbeat. Let’s see if I can do it in half of one,” He muttered under his breath as he manually reloaded the bullets into the Iron Justice, holding it by his side once loaded.

The five guys surrounded him, all brandishing swords and menacingly glares. They weren’t happy to see one of theirs dead and another being wounded. They were aggravated.

They charged simultaneously, pelting Echo with blows. Echo responded by brandishing a carbon-black dagger, that the king granted him, and slashed the air around him. The sudden strike pushed his attacks back and gave Echo breathing room. Utilizing the breathing room, he fired off Iron Justice at the guy in front of him. The bullets pierced through the guy’s stomach, then shoulder, then, finally, his brain. He was cut down with three bullets, dying before anybody could react.

The remaining four attackers jab and strike at Echo as he deflects them with his dagger. Once he created enough distance between an attacker and himself, he fired off Iron Justice and immediately killed him. He then fired off two more bullets, both making contact with the brains of two of his attackers. The last attacker, who was shaking with fear, turned tail and ran. However, Echo wasn’t granting him the sweet scent of mercy, instead, plunging his dagger into his shoulder and ripping it downward. He then took the dagger out of the guy’s body and plunged it into the opposite shoulder, doing the same thing. 

Meanwhile, Huzaifa and Ark were near the cafe, walking back with a sword in their possession. Huzaifa chose an iron broadsword while Ark decided on an iron saber, a type of sword with a curved blade. The pair had spent hours figuring out the perfect weapon for themselves before settling on one. Now with a new weapon in their possession, they returned to the carriage to hear the explosion at the cafe. They raced towards the cafe, being in sight of it, and watched as a guy hurled Mary Jane into the back of the carriage. The driver then led the carriage away from the cafe while five guys jumped out of the back. 

“They’re trying to kidnap Mary Jane!” Huzaifa shouted.

“Where’s Echo?” Ark questioned.

“They must’ve dealt with him,” Huzaifa concluded, rushing towards the carriage. Ark hesitated to follow Huzaifa, his eyes lingering on the cafe. Fortunately, his eyes chanced upon Echo alive but surrounded by five masked men. He charged forward but was stopped by Huzaifa needing assistance with saving his elder sister.

Against his gut, he aided Huzaifa in stopping the driver, arresting him on site, and recovering a passed-out Mary Jane.

Once recovering her, Ark sprinted towards Echo to witness an execution.

On the other side of town, California forced Rogue to follow her. The pair, unlike the other pairs, weren’t on friendly terms. California didn’t like Outsiders and detested the idea of being guarded by one, but her parents forced her into accepting it. She still hated Rogue and that hate was apparent in her attitude. 

“Outsider, let’s go!” She loudly shouted, alerting passersby to Rogue’s Outsider status. A shy Rogue nodded, following California towards the carriage. In her hands were California’s purchases, bundled into three bags. 

“Yes, ma’am.” She responded.

“Yeah, let’s get back to the carriage and-” California closed her mouth, gawking at the sight of Echo cutting off a guy’s arms. The guy’s arms dropped to the ground, hitting the ground with blood splashing up. Rogue noticed the horrific sight and shielded California’s eyes from it. 

“I apologize, ma’am.” She remarked while looking away from the sight. California closed her eyes as she tried to hold back her gag reflex. 

Echo checked Iron Justice for its last bullet before pressing the barrel to the guy’s head. “Hope your next life is better,” he remarked before pressing the trigger and splattering