The silence, after the old witness's words, was heavier than the rubble of the landslide.
The wind blew across the dry fields.
Leo remained frozen, his eyes fixed on the horizon.
But behind him, Ruggero... no longer spoke.
Not yet.
His fingers tightened slightly around his belt.
His gaze, usually carefree, lost itself in the void.
— "You mean to tell me that..."
His voice was hoarseer. Less calm.
— "...That there was a traitor among us?"
He slowly turned his eyes to the old man, then to Leo.
— "That while I was leading the civilians away... while I thought we had finally won..."
He took a step, his boots hitting the earth.
— "...Someone... pushed Rowan into that portal?"
Leo didn't answer.
Ruggero clenched his fists, his lips trembling slightly.
— "Then who?"
A breath. A muffled burst of voice.
— "Maria? You mean it was her? The heroine... my best friend? The one who was on her knees when I came back? The one who cried, saying we'd lost a giant?"
His eyes widened, a crack in his faith.
— "Or the mages? The ones who claimed the rock was too deep? Who swore they hadn't seen anything?"
He spun around, as if searching the field for ghosts.
— "And I came back, my mouth full of dust and my arms covered in blood... and they said 'we're sorry, Ruggero,' with those... empty eyes."
He groaned. Hit something. Scream. But he held back.
— "They played it sad.
They lied to the only guy who was far enough away not to see."
A silence.
Then he laughed. A dry laugh. Nervous.
— "You know, I prayed to Attira that night. I burned three effigies for them. I said I wished I'd been there, instead of chasing after trembling civilians."
His shoulders slumped.
— "But now I wonder if that's why they sent me there."
Leo looked at him, speechless.
— "I believed them... my allies. My family."
Ruggero ran a hand over his face.
— "And they may have made my friend disappear. Your father. One of the best of us." »
A silence.
Then he stared at Leo, his eyes dark.
"We're going to dig, Leíto. Deeper than these stones. Deeper than their lies.
We're going to unearth them all."
And in the dry air, the pact was sealed.
It was no longer a search for a son.
It had become a hunt.
The fire crackled softly in the night.
The clear sky let the stars shine like silent witnesses.
The south wind, warmer than the north, blew through the tall grass.
Leo sat alone, a little away from the camp.
His hand held his father's watch, placed in his palm like a sacred treasure.
His gaze was fixed. Serious. Almost adult.
Ruggero, meanwhile, was calmly sharpening a hunting knife a few steps away.
He watched, saying nothing.
Then Leo spoke.
"He's alive."
Not a question.
Not an assumption.
A statement.
"I don't know where. I don't know how. But he's alive. And he told me he'd be waiting for me."
He gripped the watch tighter.
"So me, here, now... I swear." »
He placed the watch on his forehead and closed his eyes.
— "By the blood he passed on to me. By the promise I made to him. By the blows I received.
I swear... that I will find him. And that I will know the truth."
Ruggero stopped filing.
Silence fell. Deep.
Then Leo turned to him.
— "But for that... I need power.
Strength. Instinct. Endurance.
And above all, a trainer."
He stared at him, determined.
— "Train me. You."
Ruggero looked at him for a long time. Then he calmly put away his blade.
— "You want to get into this for real, eh?"
— "I want to be able to approach my enemies without dying in the first second." »
— "Are you already thinking about infiltrating the Guild?"
Leo nodded.
— "If I want to know what happened. If I want to confront those who betrayed him... I have to get closer. And I can't stay a kid in a tavern all my life."
Ruggero crossed his arms.
— "I understand. But you've read the rules, I imagine.
Sixteen years minimum to join the Guild.
And according to the records... you'll barely turn twelve in two months."
Leo lowered his head slightly.
Then he raised his eyes, clear and bright.
— "Then I'll wait. As long as it takes.
But when I get back to Atokanayah... I'll be ready.
And there's no question of making Mom cry because of my weakness."
Ruggero smiled.
— "You sound like an old warrior... stuck in a teenager's body."
— "Because I'm not allowed to be just a child. Not after what was taken from me."
A silence.
Then Ruggero stood up, stretched, and extended his hand.
— "Very well. From today on, I'm your instructor.
But don't complain if you regret it. I've broken adults with less strings attached than I intended for you."
Leo shook his hand without hesitation.
— "Good. I don't need to be coddled."
And in the southern night, the pact was made.
The child had just set foot on a path of no return.
The door opened slowly.
The slap of boots against the floor.
The smell of soap and wax still hung in the house.
Leo had just come in.
Aurona, sitting by the window, immediately looked up.
She almost jumped, her heart pounding.
"Mi Niño?!"
He didn't have time to say a word before she had already wrapped her arms around him.
"I thought you'd take at least six days... and you're back in four?!"
Leo smiled against his shoulder.
"The south wind blows hard. And Ruggero runs fast when he's nervous."
She stepped back, looking him up and down.
"Are you okay? Not a single injury, not a single mark?"
He shrugged.
"Tired. But in one piece." »
Aurona nodded slowly. Then her tone softened.
— "Dinner is ready. But first, do you want to tell us?"
---
Later, in the living room lit by the celestium crystals embedded in the walls—a vestige of Aurona's knowledge of the North—Leo told us.
Everything.
Sitting on the couch, a steaming cup in his hands, he unraveled the words like a thread.
— The battlefield.
— The witness.
— The rockslide.
— The Netherworld portal.
— And above all… the final blow. Pushing him. Intentional.
Aurona remained frozen.
She hadn't screamed. Not yelled.
But a tear discreetly rolled down her cheek.
— "He… he was betrayed?"
Leo nodded.
— "And trapped alive in a world no human is meant to see."
She put her hand to her mouth.
Leo stood up.
He took out the watch and showed it to his mother.
— "It's still ticking. He's alive. I can feel it. He told me. And I promised him."
Her gaze turned steely.
— "I promised I'd find him. And find out who made him disappear."
Aurona bowed her head, wiped away her tears, then stood up slowly.
She placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "Then promise me one more thing."
— "What is it?"
— "That you'll live to tell me. And that when you find him...
I'll be there, with you. To tell him we never forgot him."
Leo smiled softly.
— "I promise." »
And in Celestium's shining living room, the light clung to the promises like constellations.
And Leo, almost thirteen, had just added a new star to his sky.
The Moa Fang had come alive again.
Laughter, mugs, the smell of warm bread and beer.
But in a discreet corner, at the end of a renovated corridor, Kragg stared at Leo.
He kept his gruff expression, arms crossed.
"Come back here, kid."
Leo raised an eyebrow.
"What? Another problem with the beers that foam by themselves?"
"Come on."
Kragg led him to a secluded corner, behind the sealed barrels.
There was only them... and a pair of furry ears sticking out from behind a partition.
Eline. Obviously.
Kragg, without even turning around:
"You know I can hear you, Eline?"
No response. But the ears folded back, ashamed.
He sighed, then turned to Leo.
— "So. This trip? Did you find anything? Are you okay?"
Leo crossed his arms, his gaze fixed.
— "I'm fine. And I'm more determined than ever to find him."
Kragg stared at him for a long time.
— "You know the truth."
Leo nodded.
— "Yes. But telling it to both of you... it would put you in danger. Eline. You. Even one misplaced word could attract people you never want to meet."
The innkeeper grunted.
— "So it's really not what the rumor says. Or what the guild says."
A silence.
Then Kragg nodded slowly.
— "I see."
He placed a heavy hand on the boy's shoulder.
— "Be careful, Kid. Where you're stepping... it's not just a hallway." It's a chasm. And when you jump, there's not always a ladder to get back up."
Leo replied, without blinking:
"If it takes going down to Hell to find him...
then I'll go."
Kragg stared at him one last time.
Then, with a sigh of mixed admiration and regret, he turned on his heel.
"I feel sorry for the poor idiots who get in your way."
And he left.
--
Later, during break time, at the back of the renovated pub, Leo sat on the steps, gazing lost between the new wooden planks and the sky.
Eline appeared.
Silent.
She sat next to him, without speaking. Their shoulders almost pressed together.
A long moment passed.
Then, gently, she said:
"I know you're hiding something from me."
Léo slowly turned his head.
She kept her eyes on the horizon.
"You didn't come back the same. You move differently. You look at people as if you were... somewhere else. And above all... you have that fire in your eyes."
She turned her head this time.
"II don't know what you learned there, Leo. But I want you to know... that I'm here. Even if you don't say anything. Know that I'll always be there. I encourage you to achieve your goal of finding your father, and after that, you will continue to worship me like the deity of food."
Leo smiled.
Léo remained silent. Then:
"Thank you."
Cattleya Guild — Headquarters, Central Office
Sunlight filtered through the tinted windows of the large office. Strange plants sat in hanging vases, and stacks of parchment piled high on the solid mahogany desk.
Maria Cruz, the guild leader, an imposing woman despite her natural grace, looked up from her report.
"So, Ruggero... did your vacation go well?"
The man in question entered calmly, hands clasped behind his back, a gentle smile.
"Restful. Spiritual. I... polished my effigies of Attira."
Maria raised an eyebrow, amused.
"You told me you were going to spend a whole week there. And yet... you're back in five days. Did you sell some of your holy statues to buy time?" »
A nervous tick appeared on Ruggero's face.
— "That's blasphemy. I would never sell Attira's thirteenth posture with arms folded in the morning light. Never."
— "So you traded them for Celestium."
— "...I just slept less. I used the night to keep polishing them."
Maria laughed softly.
— "You really can't lie, Ruggero."
She stood up and grabbed a thick file.
— "It doesn't matter. A high-level case is coming up soon. I don't have the details yet, but as soon as I do, I'll entrust them to you."
Ruggero nodded slowly.
— "Courtesy."
He prepared to leave.
— "And Ruggero..."
He turned around.
— "Try not to start a crusade for your own good.
Once a season is enough."
— "I promise. I'll just keep an eye on you."
He left the office.
But his thoughts swirled.
> If they find out what I learned about Rowan…
---
DioAngelo House — Training Yard
The ground crunched underfoot.
The leaves danced gently in the breeze.
Leo had just come out, wearing a light tunic.
At his hip, the sword Hastatum, finely strapped.
In the center of the yard, Ruggero, hands in his pockets, was already waiting for him.
— "Ready, apprentice demon?"
Leo smiled, and with a sharp gesture, unsheathed Hastatum.
The blade sang through the air, thin, swift, balanced.
— "I'm ready. Train me." »
Ruggero took out a simple training saber.
— "Today, we'll start with the basics. You want to hit traitors? Then start by hitting me."
Leo warned himself.
— "You better not be too soft."
— "Don't worry. I'm going to teach you how to survive... not how to dance."
And the blades clashed.
Dust rose.
The real fight, this time, had just begun.
DioAngelo Courtyard — The Burning Steel
The ground vibrated under every step.
Dust billowed up in burning swirls.
The sky was a brilliant blue, but in the courtyard… the battle raged.
Hastatum whistled through the air, cutting through the wind with precision.
Leo, his body tense, his muscles trembling, poured out everything he had.
Facing him, Ruggero, saber in hand, backed away, pivoted, and dodged with disconcerting ease.
"Faster, Leito.
Your arm isn't a club. It guides an arrow. Be the bow."
Leo snarled. He leaped, feinted a high blow, and abruptly changed the angle.
Blade down.
Circular cut.
Sliding step.
Ruggero parried, a spark flew.
Then a twist.
Leo had to pivot to avoid being disarmed.
"You want to strike a traitor? Then every blow must scream the truth. Do it again!"
Leo gasped. He stepped back, caught his breath.
His forehead was streaming.
His back was trembling.
But his eyes remained sharp.
Unyielding.
He charged again.
A dazzling series.
Three blows in quick succession, the last delivered with both hands, cutting the air like a promise.
Ruggero smiled.
They broke contact.
"Pause. Ten seconds. Not one more."
Leo collapsed to one knee, leaning on Hastatum as if on a cane.
He spat on the ground, caught his breath.
"You... hold up well for an old man." »
— "I'm not an old man. I am the old man."
Ruggero bit into a piece of apple. Calmly.
Then he threw away the core and picked up his saber again.
— "Let's start again. Now I'm going to attack. If you want to survive...
Make this sword dance."
And the training resumed.
Faster. Harder. More truthful.
Rowan's blade, Hastatum, vibrated like a living heart.
And every impact, every parry, every fall, every rise of Leo...
forged a knight in the making.
---
Isolated House — Red Silence
The old house was peaceful, bathed in a bluish glow emitted by the Celestium crystals embedded in the ceiling.
The old man, sitting at the table, slowly chewed his meal.
Silence reigned... until a sharp crack was heard.
A sound of shattering glass.
The crystals suddenly went out, one by one.
Darkness fell. Heavy. Unearthly.
The old man straightened, his hand searching for support.
He grabbed his axe, his fingers trembling, and stood ready.
— "Who's there?!"
No answer.
Just a sudden cold.
And as he took a step forward...
A flash. A searing pain.
His right arm had just fallen to the ground.
He screamed, stepped back, and pressed a cloth against the stump in a survival reflex.
But too late.
Both his legs were severed at the knees.
The world spun. The pain became a silent scream.
And amidst the shadows... a silhouette appeared.
Silent.
Flawless.
Cold.
The old man, trembling, threw his axe with one last gesture.
The figure sliced the weapon in two.
The blade flashed briefly in the darkness.
The old man murmured, somewhere between a groan and rage:
"Why...? Why me?"
The voice that answered him was soft. Sharp.
"You spoke. To two people you should never have crossed paths with.
And now... they're looking for me.
I must erase the evidence. You're the first."
A sharp movement.
The head rolled to the ground.
Then the figure wiped the blade with an elegant gesture.
"Hm. Pretty, here."
The figure slowly sheathed it.
And disappeared, like a bad dream.
To be continued