Chapter 811 The Rift Between Us

"Halt!" A guard shouted. Lee Seng and Keng stopped as the Merfolk guard swam over to meet them. "State your business!" Lee Seng looked past the guards. He could tell the place was afflicted by something. Keng cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"Did Leader Calis ever return?" Keng asked. "We've just returned last night and came as soon as we could." The guard's eyes narrowed.

"He's returned, but he didn't mention anything about you two showing up." The guard answered. "Did something happen? Did you betray him?"

"Betray?" Keng scoffed. "We didn't do anything. He's the one who's actin' weird." The guard tightened their grip and stepped forward.

"What do you mean by that, Fox?" The guard asked defensively. Lee Seng turned his attention to the group and stepped in front of Keng, drawing the attention of the guard.

"Can we see the Village Leader?" Lee Seng asked. "We're here just in case they need our help." The guard glared at Keng for a second longer before glaring at Lee Seng. They turned away and led the way to the Village Leader's house.

The guard turned and motioned for the twins to enter the home. Lee Seng gave a small 'thank you' nod and opened the door. He lead the way into the home.

"Hello?" Lee Seng called out. "Village Leader?"

"Hello, who might it be?" Village Leader Zax asked. A slightly older Merman came out from the other end of the room. "Oh, Saviors, you're here. I was about to send a message for you."

"Sir?" The guard called out from behind the twins. Village Leader looked over and put a hand up.

"It's alright. You can leave them with me. They're guests." The Village Leader told them. The guard nodded and turned and shut the door. The Village Leader sighed and swam forward, standing about ten feet from the twins. "I know why you're here. You're wondering about Leader Calis, hm?"

"Do you know what happened to him? We encountered Demons and when our friends went to heal him, he woke up and an acted like he didn't know us." Keng informed the Village Leader.

"He even attacked us." Lee Seng added.

"If we didn't break out of our evolution cocoons in time, someone would've been more hurt." Keng added. The Village Leader sighed.

"Leader Calis's father died two years ago. I'm sure you're aware of this, Savior Keng. Leader Calis is of the Juri Clan. His father passed away two years ago and Calis was his only child. The Juri Clan sign didn't come to him so Calis' relatives have been fighting for who's going to be the next head of the clan. I believe whatever happened when he was down there… meant something happened to Calis."

A knock came to the door and the three looked up. A moment later, the door opened and a neatly dressed Calis in polished armor. Calis's eyes hardened the moment he saw him. He turned and began to move straight for Calis, but Lee Seng grabbed Keng and held him in place. Calis's eyes looked over to the Fox Spirits, acknowledging them before stepping in.

"Ah, Leader Calis. What brings you here? The Cup is already in the hands of the Temple. There's no need to come and check on things." Village Leader Zax swam past the twins and greeted the warrior. Calis completely ignored Keng and Lee Seng and smiled at the Village Leader.

"I was wondering what happened to my team. I can't find any of them and the others told me to ask you." Calis asked.

"Ah, right." Village Leader nodded. "Your team is currently out with another squadron leader. They should be back soon. They'll be glad to see you again."

"Right." Calis nodded. His eyes flicked over to Lee Seng and Keng. Keng looked at him like he was conflicted. There was pain in his eyes when Calis looked at him. It was making Calis uncomfortable. Calis looked at Lee Seng and didn't see the same look. Lee Seng was more guarded. He was carefully watching Calis while also holding onto Keng.

"Ah! That's right. Come here, Calis. I guess I need to reintroduce you to some allies." Village Leader Zax motioned. He turned around and motioned at Lee Seng and Keng. "These two helped you find the Cup. You told me you saw Biohumans and Fox Spirits. These two were asked to help you."

Calis began to acknowledge them when Keng managed to loosen himself out of Lee Seng's grasp. He took a step forward and glared at Calis.

"Why did you attack my friends and I?" Keng asked. A strange pain grew within Calis. He ignored it and began  to ignore the Fox Spirits question when Lee Seng grabbed onto Keng. Keng shook his twin brother off and stepped closer. "Is there any good reason you would do that? Why would you do such a thing?"

"I was in the middle of explaining that to the Fox Spirit Saviors when you arrived, Calis." Village Leader awkwardly chuckled. "You see… taking upon the duty of the clan head means you lose an important part of yourself. Sometimes its memories, other times its your physical or mental state. Being the clan head takes away the part of you, you don't want to remember. I believe Calis's memories were taken. All of the recent memories."

"But he remembered the mission. Why?" Keng blurted out.

"Keng." Lee Seng tugged on Keng's hand. Keng pulled away and shook his head.

"Why didn't he remember who he was working with? Why didn't you remember me?!?" Keng shouted. Keng was hurt and it was clear Calis didn't understand why. "Never mind… We should've never came here. Fish boy would've been plenty enough." Keng pushed past Calis and left.

"Keng…" Lee Seng weakly called out. He let out a sigh. Village Leader Zax frowned and looked at Lee Seng, waiting for him to leave. "I'm… I don't know what's gotten into him. I guess Squadron Leader Calis was closer to Keng than I thought."

"Close? With a Fox Spirit?" Calis asked confused. "Why would I be close to a Fox Spirit? Especially with our people's rocky relationship?"

"Hm, I didn't get that information, but I know Keng." Lee Seng replied. "He was your point of contact for the last couple of years. Two-ish years? Well, we only met a couple of times on Earth, but… You don't remember that, so I won't try to jog your memory. I'm sorry for my Spirit's behavior. I came to check to see the status of the Merfolk. If you need my help, please ask. I'm going to check if Keng's find if that's all right."

"Go ahead." Village Leader Zax nodded. "I'm sure the Temple would like some help when you could." Lee Seng bowed with a smile at the Village Leader and then turned nad bowed for Calis.

"I'll probably be back to ask for directions if Keng doesn't give me them. See you in a bit." Lee Seng waved and exited the building, leaving Calis with the Village Leader.

"I thought things weren't going well with the Fox Spirits. Why do we have two of them all the way down here? How are they even able to breathe?" Calis asked.

"Keng wields Lady Hydran's God weapon." Village Leader Zax answered. Calis turned in shock. Village Leader nodded and continued. "We gave them items enchanted with water breathing. Savior Lee Seng is wearing one of those items."

"A Fox Spirit with the goddess' weapon… How is that possible? She hasn't given it out in almost millennia." The Village Leader sighed and put a hand on Calis.

"A lot of things changed in the past two years. Your Father's death being one of those things. You've been on this mission for over two and a half years, Calis. The relationship between Merfolk and Fox Spirits were started with me and Elder Jyu'so, but it continued with you and them. I know your memories are gone of all of that, but time will bring back those memories.

"From what I've observed, you have more of a relationship with Keng than Lee Seng. Lee Seng still acts proper around you while Keng immediately let his emotions dictate the conversation. I think your relationship with Keng is something much bigger than you let on with me or anyone." Village Leader Zax explained. He squeezed Calis's shoulder before swimming deeper into the building. "The Saviors are allies. They are the bridge to our two peoples' relationship. They are here to help, so treat them well."

"It sounds like you're making me—"

"I am." Village Leader chuckled. He turned his head around and looked at Calis with a grin. "If they need anything, help them. Hopefully this will jog your memories and you'll remember something. I need to finish up some work, so I'll leave you to it."

Calis saluted and the Village Leader waved goodbye.

'We might've been friends?' Calis thought. 'How could that be possible? Our peoples' relationship hasn't been great. The Fox Spirits… they've never done anything for us. They've always made things harder for us… Why would I have a good relationship with Savior Keng?'