Charles slowly and carefully studied Vantias, then crossed his legs, narrowed his eyes slightly, and gave a small smile. He then placed his hands together and calmly said:
"Is there a particular reason you've come here?"
Vantias remained silent for several minutes, an intense quiet filling the room. He then broke the silence and asked:
"Have you ever seen a dying bee?"A simple and seemingly foolish question.
Charles raised an eyebrow slightly, surprised by the question, then took a deep breath but gave no reply.
Vantias closed his eyes and softly said:
"I've always been like a bee in life... There's always been one question in my mind... To protect the hive and save more lives, I must sting first... But that sting is my own death sentence, or the death of others... By doing this, hundreds of other bees can be saved..."
Charles's eyebrows furrowed, a small smile appeared, as if Vantias's words intrigued him. He then said:
"Have you decided to sacrifice yourself now?" He gave a sly smile, as though he had been trying to guide Vantias to this point from the very beginning.
Vantias didn't blink and stared at a fixed point, as if lost in deep thought. He then said:
"If I could... I would have done it. I would have embraced the blade of pain, but... it's not enough... But... by sacrificing someone else... I can."
He then closed his eyes again and reminded himself of his ultimate goal, swallowed, and said:
"I want to make a deal with you." He then stared into Charles's eyes, determined and serious.
Charles narrowed his eyes, lowered his head slightly, and then leaned forward with a mysterious and cunning tone:
"You have captured my attention... From the moment I saw you, I felt there was something shared between us." He smiled.
He then leaned back on the sofa, turning his head slightly, and said:
"A deal is valuable when both parties have something to offer..." He looked back at Vantias and spoke each word carefully: "What do you have to offer?"
Vantias adopted a neutral expression, thought for a moment, and then replied:
"I know your past..." Charles's eyes widened for a moment, then narrowed again. Vantias continued:
"I know your true goal... I will give you Marcus, and you will give me '???' in return."
Charles thought:
"Hmmm... Honestly, one of my main goals is to get rid of him/her too... But what does he want to do with it?"
Charles let out a small laugh, then, with a look of disdain, said:
"What made you think I can give him/her to you? And besides..." He looked at Vantias with a threatening gaze and said:
"If you know about my past... then you must know that it's not just about 'revenge'... I could have easily gotten my revenge long ago... otherwise, I would have reached my goal a long time ago."He looked coldly at Vantias.
Vantias closed his eyes for a moment, as if he had been expecting this response, and said:
"I know what your true goal is..." He then lifted the symbol on his hand slightly and showed it to Charles.
Vantias thought:
"In reality, I only know a small part of it, but I have to take the risk in order to reach my goal. It's hard to deceive him."
Charles slowly shook his head, leaned back against the sofa, and after a few minutes of silence, said:
"The Prophet's symbol..." He then smiled a little and said calmly: "I was right about you... I accept the deal. Now, please, tell me your plan."
...
After discussing the secret deal, Vantias left the room. Charles remained seated on the sofa for a moment, staring at the door, then slowly got up and walked to his desk.
He gently opened his design notebook, and on the last few pages, in the first one, the drawing of a boarding school was sketched, the second page showed the corpse of Elizabeth, and the third, the corpse of Kyle.
On the last page was "Vantias's corpse." Vantias was crucified in a church, his face split in half from the top of his nose, his brain completely removed and placed on a scale, with his heart also torn out, dragged to the other side of the scale. Vantias, with his lifeless hands, was holding up the scale.
Underneath it, the date was written:
896/07/29
The scene that was drawn vividly captured Vantias's true nature, showing how he was constantly caught between logic and emotion, struggling to balance them.
Charles glanced at the drawing for a moment, then carefully tore the page out, lifted it, and the page spontaneously began to catch fire, slowly turning to ash.
Then Charles gave a crooked smile and said:
"I had planned to use him for Youtav's reaction, but it seems Vantias has chosen the second option..."
...
Hours passed, and daylight slowly turned into the darkness of night.
The sky was full of stars, and the full moon shone its light onto the earth. Below, the glow from lanterns and torches illuminated the city.
People went about their lives, some still working late into the night, others attending parties or wandering through the city. Some strolled through the night markets full of potions and talking mirrors, while others searched the misty forests for mysterious creatures. Some were in the tall towers of their city, buried in ancient books and forgotten spells, studying the old magic.
Each person had their own life and path to follow. In one of the buildings of the city, in a tavern that many adventurers frequented...
An old tavern with stone walls and dim light from magical lanterns, their flames casting different colors and strange shadows on the ground. The tables and chairs were made of ancient wood, each crack and scratch telling a story of years of revelry and hidden secrets, each mark a symbol of a new adventurer and an old one, some having taken different paths in life, perhaps even lost to the world.
The sound of laughter, music from magical instruments, and half-whispered conversations filled the tavern, giving it a lively and magical atmosphere. Occasionally, a cat with glowing, unusual eyes would pass between the legs of the guests.
In the corner of the tavern, familiar faces were celebrating together.
Tap!… and the wine inside the bottle began to tremble, its glow slowly dimming.
Ha ha ha!
Vantias, William, and Dagrol clinked their glasses and drank in one go.
At the table nearby, Anna and Silfy were sitting and talking with each other...