Everyone in the settlement was summoned to the plaza. There was a big fountain that poured seemingly endless water. Otis, Alina, and Ada were waiting for the remaining people to arrive. The sun was going down, and it would be nighttime in under two hours.
When the remaining people arrived, Ada gave her speech. "Everyone, attention. Please form an organized line and wait to be treated by our guest." She finished saying those words pointing to the little girl beside her.
Confusion spread amongst the residents. They were going to be treated by a child? Most of them didn't believe it but did as asked anyways. An organized line quickly formed, and the first person to be treated approached Alina.
Taking a deep breath, she calmed her nerves and placed both of her hands on the forehead of the resident. He closed his eyes before a golden light came out of her palms, and the person in front of her started glowing with a majestic glamour.
Opening his eyes, he could feel the strength that came back to his body. His illness was completely erased, and his physical condition was top-notch. Dirt and grime were removed from his body while his famished appearance took a healthy shape.
"It's a miracle!" He loudly exclaimed.
The people behind him all collectively gasped in surprise; they were all astonished by what they had seen. Excitement filled their eyes as they too couldn't wait for their turn to be healed. As more residents were being healed, hope was starting to ignite once more in their hearts.
Otis looked at the girl that had a smile on her face; he was happy that she was finally able to forget the past, even if just for a second. Ada, who was beside him, noticed the look on his face.
"You must care for that girl a lot," she whispered.
"Right now she's all I've got. The moment that we departed from our village was the moment in which I decided to take care of her. That is until she grows into a kind and capable woman."
Ada sighed heavily, "You're a very kind man, do you-"
The moment was broken when Alina started coughing heavily. She covered her mouth with her hands, and when she took a look at them, she saw blood. Fear was starting to creep up her spine, and sweat started forming on her forehead.
Otis placed his left hand on Alina before trying to calm her down. "Alina, take a deep breath; you're fine."
She breathed in deeply before slowly exhaling the air out. She kept repeating this process until her fear was gone. The residents were worried about her condition and broke the line to check up on her.
Otis intervened by saying, "Don't worry about her; she just used too much energy and is currently at her limit. Give her some time to rest." After Otis calmed the multitude down, she took Alina into a house that Ada had prepared for them.
Ada left them at the door before retreating to address her residents' worries. Otis took Alina to a nearby couch and let her rest.
"I'm sorry," she suddenly said. "I thought that I could help, but I made everything worse." Otis could hear the feeling of regret that those words were carrying. He placed his hand over hers and said, "You did help. Didn't you see the faces of everyone when you helped them? They were happy."
She looked unsure and avoided looking the elder in the eyes. "Listen, you are only six years old, but you're already helping everyone. When you grow up, you will have more energy to do even greater things. Don't let this get you feeling down." Otis whispered with compassion.
Alina didn't say much apart from an unenthusiastical "hm." Otis sighed before giving her a mischievous smile that she couldn't ignore.
"What?" She confusedly asked. Otis picked her up and started tickling her neck while holding her close so she couldn't escape.
"Hahaha! S-stop! Hahaha." Otis continued for a few more seconds before stopping and placing her back on the couch. Her energy seemed to have returned as she was smiling wider than ever before.
Otis looked at her smiling face and wished that things could stay like this forever, but things never go as expected.
—------
A week later, they had settled into a routine; they woke up, ate, worked, and preached the name of their creator. So far, only a handful of residents believed that there was a creator of the world. The others believed that there couldn't possibly be a god; mana was seen as the supreme energy that held everything together and what gave both Otis and Alina extraordinary abilities.
This, however, didn't deter the duo from doing whatever they could to spread the word. At night, Otis took watch with the other guards and protected the settlement, while the following morning, Alina took care of their injuries.
This week was enough to rid everyone of their illness. There were only about 110 people in the village, and she was able to heal about twenty-five people per day. Today she was taking a walk throughout the area before she heard her name being called.
"Alina! Over here." She glanced up at the roof of a nearby house, and she saw someone that lifted up her spirit. It was a dark-haired, almond-colored boy with multiple scars of varying sizes across his hands that was waving at her.
He quickly slid down the roof and approached her. This boy, who seemed to be around eight years of age, had become her friend once she healed his injured hands. She was later told by him that the wounds inflicted on his hands were made by a terrifying monster of the night that had caught him when he snuck out of the settlement.
"How are you doing, Yul?" She kindly asked.
The boy smiled in response, "I'm feeling great; I was fixing the roof for my grandpa. He asked me for help today."
Alina looked surprised. "Wow! That's so cool. Can you fix our roof? I think it's about to fall apart."
"Sure!" Yul happily exclaimed.
In the distance, Otis was looking at this interaction with a scowl on his face. The disgust radiating from him was noticeable by everyone walking past him. 'What is this smelly boy doing with my granddaughter?' he angrily asked himself in his mind.
"Sigh," Otis let this slide for now and kept on walking to Ada's house; there was apparently something that she wanted to tell him. When he arrived, he was greeted by the pleasant aroma of plants.
It didn't take long before he heard Ada speaking. "Was wondering when you would show up; it took you a while." Otis directed his gaze in her direction and said, "I'm sorry, I got distracted on my way here… What is it that you wanted to talk about?"
Ada stopped being playful and told Otis to take a seat. She took a deep breath that partially relaxed her tense muscles. "My team has found out that there's a big horde of monsters heading our direction. They will unfortunately be arriving tonight."
Otis's eyes widened at the mention of the news. "How can this possibly be!? It's simply impossible. How did they remain undetected?"
"We don't know; the thing is that they are really close, and we have to prepare for the upcoming battle. Let me ask you this: do you know why I haven't used my mana abilities?" Otis remained silent and waited for her response.
She slightly smiled before saying, "Every time I use mana, my lifespan is reduced by a month." Otis frowned deeply at the mention of this. "This is the true reason why I wasn't helping our soldiers all of these nights. I only use my mana abilities if they are absolutely necessary."
"I see," Otis responded. "May I ask what your ability is?" he questioned.
"I can grant buffs to people at the expense of my life energy. These buffs last for about a day before wearing off. While the buff is active, strength, speed, and stamina are greatly increased, easily reaching two or even three times the original amount."
"Hmm, the more powerful the ability, the bigger the price." Otis said.
Ada looked hesitant to say something; Otis could see in real time how her nerves faded away into the air. "Otis, if I die today, I want you to know th-" she didn't get to finish.
"BOOM!!" A big explosion took place outside, the walls of the house trembled, and the ground shook with force.
The door leading to the house was opened in a flash, and Sultan hurriedly entered inside. "Ada, they're here sooner than expected; we have to protect the people."
Otis's heart quickened; a familiar sense of déjà vu was starting to take place in his mind.
With a resolute expression on his face, he exclaimed in his mind, 'No! This time it will not end in tragedy. I will protect everyone.'