1st Awakening: Hawk's Eye

"Phew, it's done, Falke. It's okay to move now - hmm? Falke?"

Falke must have gotten tired of waiting, because he was asleep.
Despite the aids on his wings, which were quite heavy even for human hands to hold,
Falke's body rose and fell in a small puff, as if to demonstrate the will of life.

Falke, my companion, my Sacred Beast, who traveled with me from Seon through the malefic energy of the Empty Sea to Arad.
I closed my eyes quietly, listening to the sound of Falke's beating heart, and the memories of the day we first met came naturally to me.

*

A misty breeze rushed across my cheeks.
I was on patrol near a floating island in my personal airship.
Pohwa, the Combat Squadron and the smaller of the Maleficience Raiders squadrons, was often tasked with solo missions,
but lately, with the more frequent outbreaks of Maleficents in Gravity Falls, we'd been called upon to assist the Vigilantes in their patrols.

"Wait, there's a thick layer of malefic energy nearby."

I quickly turned the airship around and scanned the area. There was no sign of Maleficents.
Just as I was about to turn back after confirming that everything was okay, I heard a faint sound.
I went over and found a Sacred Beast lying wounded on the ground.
Luckily, it was safe, but its wings were badly injured and it couldn't move.

"What am I going to do with this...? Ah, I have an idea! Just wait a minute."

I attached an improvised device to its wings.
The Sacred Beast slowly adjusted, and soon it was flying.
I said goodbye and boarded my airship to return to Inae.
But I was surrounded by Maleficents and Malefic Beasts, the masters of the dense malefic energy.
I fought doggedly, but I hadn't done much actual combat yet. I wasn't strong enough to take them all on.
Just when it looked like it was all over, the Sacred Beast that I'd left behind flew in and joined the fight.
By now, Sacred Beast had gotten pretty good at using the aids.
Together, we managed to defeat the Maleficents and Malefic Beasts and escape.

"You're pretty good. I like the way you fly."

We've been together ever since, all the way to Arad.
I opened my eyes. Falke was awake, too. We looked at each other.

"I've made the perfect modifications, Falke. You'll fly more powerfully and freely than ever before."

Falke spread his wings and hopped onto my shoulder.

"Huh? Wait..."

Falke lifted my shoulders and began to fly.

"Whoa! That's a lot faster than I expected!"

It turned out I wasn't the only one who grew up adventuring.

"We were always together."

From up in the sky, I wondered if Falke was looking at the same place as I was.
Maybe we were both looking at the same place, I thought to myself.

Skills