Margaret clutched the sack of grain against her chest, her hands trembling.
"My husband died fighting a Darkside Spirit," she said, her eyes filled with grief. "And now you expect me to let you take my son to hunt the same creatures that killed him?"
She shook her head.
"No. I won't allow Alfie to join the Shinra Academy. Going with you is out of the question. I've just lost the man I love. I can't lose my son, too."
Margaret turned and walked toward the small garden in front of the house.
Marco followed quietly.
"Are you certain about this, ma'am?"
She didn't answer.
"Alfie's Renshi awakening will attract Darkside Spirits to this town," Marco continued. "If he doesn't learn to control it, he won't survive. Keeping him here won't guarantee his safety. You could still lose him."
"Then use the same technique Falco used," Margaret snapped. "Seal his Renshi. Stop him from using it."
Marco sighed.
"It isn't that simple."
He stopped beside her.
"The technique Falco used took me decades to understand. It involves severing the connection between a dual Renshi user and their inner Renshi castles."
Margaret turned toward him.
"Can't you do the same for Alfie?"
"No." Marco shook his head. "Only the owner of the castles can close them. I still don't understand how Falco managed it at such a young age."
Margaret lowered her gaze.
"Then teach Alfie. Give him the knowledge Falco had. Someone must have taught him."
"That's exactly why I need to take him with me."
Marco's tone grew firm.
"It could take months to teach him. I can't stay here that long. Once he learns to control his Renshi, I'll bring him back."
Margaret fell silent for a moment.
"What about my other sons? What if they awaken the same Renshi?"
"They won't awaken the same kind as Alfie."
Marco shook his head.
"Last night's outburst triggered their Renshi, too, but what awakened inside Elijah and Marcus was standard Dark Renshi. They're ordinary Renshi users."
Margaret still looked worried.
"They can safely attend the Shinra Academy. It's protected by powerful barriers that prevent Renshi auras from escaping."
He paused.
"They'll be safe there, and they'll become strong enough to protect each other."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"I'm still scared."
She tightened her grip on the sack.
"If I lose them, too, I don't know if I could survive it."
"I understand."
Marco's expression softened.
"But this world doesn't give us many choices. Sometimes, the only way to protect someone is to make them strong enough to protect themselves."
Margaret looked down before meeting his eyes again.
"Then promise me something. Swear that you'll keep Alfie alive."
Marco placed a hand over his chest.
"I gave Falco my word. I'll give you the same promise. I will protect Alfie."
Margaret drew a long breath.
Finally, she nodded.
"Alright."
She glanced toward the house.
"Take Elijah and Marcus to the Shinra Academy. Take Alfie with you and teach him."
Her voice trembled.
"I trust you."
Then she looked back at him, a new question troubling her.
"Wait. If the academy is safe, why can't Alfie go there, too?"
Marco's expression darkened.
"Because of the history that governs this world."
Margaret frowned.
"What do you mean?"
He gazed toward the sky.
"Because of who---and what---Alfie is."
Marco took a slow breath.
"To understand that, you need to know where Renshi came from."
Margaret remained silent.
"Long ago, Renshi didn't exist in the form we know today. A massive star appeared in the sky."
His eyes narrowed as he recalled the old stories.
"It was so bright that night disappeared for more than a year. Eventually, people named it the Father of Renshi after what transpired."
"When the star vanished, the world changed. Plants, water, soil... everything became filled with this unknown power."
"At first, humans simply used it to improve their lives. They used it for farming, construction, healing, and countless other things."
Marco paused.
"Then something unexpected happened. The first children with innate Renshi were born."
Margaret listened intently.
"Some people feared them. Others worshipped them....The fear was greater.
Eventually, that fear led to war."
His voice darkened.
"Entire planets were destroyed."
"Eventually, the human race accepted the Renshi children, and they became the first generation of natural Renshi users."
He paused before continuing.
"But generations later, something far more dangerous appeared."
Margaret's eyes narrowed.
"The Twelve Children."
"They were born on the same day in different planets, each possessing both light and dark Renshi."
Marco looked at her.
"Their power surpassed anything humanity had ever seen. When their true abilities awakened, their auras became so powerful that entire planets were destroyed."
He let the words settle.
"People gave them a name."
"Wizards."
Margaret remained silent.
"The Wizards were rejected for years. Eventually, they decided that if the universe feared them, they would rule it and not be rejected."
"They spent decades conquering planets before creating a plan called Project Reborn."
Marco's voice grew heavier.
"Their goal was simple. They intended to absorb the Renshi of every planet and become the only beings powerful enough to control the universe."
Margaret swallowed.
"How were they going to do that?"
"The Wizards created something called the Non-Renshi Storage. It was made from a strange gigantic tree found on a world known as the Planet of Floatation."
Marco continued.
"The tree was unlike anything else in the universe. It contained no Renshi of its own. Because it was completely disconnected from planetary Renshi, it could absorb Renshi without immediately becoming overwhelmed."
"The Wizards used several of these trees to build a massive extraction system. They planned to connect it to planetary cores, drain their Renshi, store it, and then absorb that energy into themselves."
Margaret's eyes widened.
"They wanted to steal the Renshi of entire planets?"
"Exactly."
Marco's expression hardened.
"But they made one mistake. The tree was neutral only because it had never been exposed to Renshi."
He paused.
"Once foreign Renshi entered it, the tree itself began to change. It became a massive Renshi conductor."
"Human Renshi scholars eventually discovered this weakness. They secretly created their own versions of the Non-Renshi Storage and prepared a countermeasure."
Margaret leaned closer.
"What happened when the Wizards started Project Reborn?"
"The moment they tried to drain the first planet, the human countermeasure activated."
Marco lowered his voice.
"The artificial storage systems redirected the Renshi back toward the Wizards. They were suddenly forced to absorb unstable energy far beyond what their bodies could handle."
He looked at Margaret.
"Their greed became their downfall. They lost control."
Margaret whispered, "Did they die?"
"No."
Marco shook his head.
"They survived, but their Renshi became corrupted."
He paused.
"And that corruption created the first Darkside Spirits."
Margaret's eyes widened.
"They were born from the excess Renshi produced by the failure of Project Reborn. At first, they didn't even have bodies. They drifted through space, consuming the Renshi of planets."
"As they grew stronger, they eventually gained physical forms."
Marco's expression grew grim.
"The first generation came from the corrupted Renshi of the Wizards themselves. Humans called them the Ancient gods."
He continued.
"After them came more generations of Darkside Spirits. Each generation became weaker than the one before it, though there were always exceptions."
Margaret slowly turned toward the house.
"And the witches?"
"Witches came later."
Marco's voice softened.
"Not everyone born with dual Renshi became a monster like the wizards at first. Witches also possessed both light and dark Renshi, but their power was far weaker than that of the Wizards."
"Humans didn't understand the difference. They only saw the darkness, so they became afraid of the new dual Renshi users."
His eyes darkened.
"At one point, humans even tried to kill the millions of babies born with dual Renshi."
Margaret covered her mouth.
"But the new rulers of the universe stopped them... the Ancient gods."
"They gathered the witches and moved them to a single planet."
Marco looked directly at Margaret.
"They called that planet Home."
She stared at him, overwhelmed by everything she'd learned.
The witches lived alongside the Ancient gods for many years.
However, over time, they became consumed by an insatiable lust for greater power, much like the Wizards before them.
Their growing greed eventually corrupted them, giving birth to a new generation of powerful beings known as the Darkside gods.
Marco shook his head.
"They were simply feared because they resembled the Wizards at first,but they became a corruption themselves."
He paused.
"And that's where Alfie becomes a problem."
Margaret's heart sank.
Marco met her gaze.
"If Alfie goes to the Shinra Academy and they discover that he possesses both types of Renshi, they won't treat him like an ordinary student."
"Because of what happened in the past."
He took a breath.
"The Shinras were originally created to hunt witches."
Margaret's face paled.
"Before Darkside Spirits became the greater threat, witches were their targets."
Marco paused.
"They may have stopped hunting witches openly, but the fear never completely disappeared."
His expression grew solemn.
"I know because I'm one of them."
Margaret froze.
"What?"
"I'm a dual Renshi user. Second generation."
Marco looked down at his hands.
"My parents died protecting me, and I've spent most of my life hiding who I really am."
He raised his gaze.
"I survived by relying mostly on the light half of my Renshi."
Margaret stared at him in disbelief.
"So... you're saying Alfie is just like you?"
"Yes."
Marco nodded.
"But Alfie's awakening was different. He awakened his Dark Renshi first."
He paused.
"That makes him dangerous, not only because of his power, but because other witches and powerful Renshi users may already have sensed him."
Margaret's heart began to race.
"Then the Shinras..."
"If they discover what he is, they may try to eliminate him."
Marco's voice turned cold.
"No academy. No training. No second chance."
Margaret's eyes filled with tears.
"You mean... they would kill my son?"
"If they believe he's a threat, yes."
Marco stepped closer.
"That's why we can't stay here. Powerful people may already be coming. We need to leave before they arrive."
Margaret stood silently for a long time, struggling to absorb everything he'd told her.
Finally, she looked toward the house, then toward the distant hills.
"I... I never knew any of this."
"Few people do."
Marco's voice softened.
"But now you understand. This isn't simply about training Alfie or taking him away from you. It's the best way to keep him alive."
Margaret wiped the tears from her face and took a deep breath.
"Then take him."
Marco looked at her.
"But promise me again."
Her voice trembled.
"Protect him. Not just from the Darkside Spirits. Protect him from everyone."
Marco lowered his head and placed a hand over his chest.
"On Falco's name, I swear."