"What about the free nations in the southeast?"
The Emperor calmly raised his head and looked at Elie thoughtfully.
"Good question, Brudmand. I'll see if they make a move or not. They're not united anyway. And..."
The Emperor was not familiar with the situation there for one very good reason. Chaos had reigned there since the dawn of time. The nations found themselves with a new ruler almost every year. Wars were always waged by a different family claiming the throne. The reason for this chaos was also very simple. They were all almost as powerful as him.
It was madness to attack them and madness to try to contain them in an alliance.
The Emperor frowned and looked grim.
"If they get involved, I'll send you there because nothing can stop them."
Marc was surprised to hear this. Were there nations that could not be stopped by the Empire of Zvenne? No one knew the situation there. These lands had simply been named Chaos. The lands of Chaos.
The soil was poor from drinking the blood of men, war had dried up the waters, and the sun no longer shone as brightly because of a problem the world knew nothing about. Chaos saw its situation worsening day by day without anyone intervening.
At least, that was what the world thought of them. In truth, no one had ever been there to see for themselves. People's imaginations had run wild, spewing forth words of horror and crisis about this country.
No one dared to put a country there, and Chaos was not actually its real name.
So Marc couldn't help but shudder when the Emperor told him to go there to solve the problems that he and his huge army couldn't handle.
"Why me?"
"It's simple, Zeymond. You are stronger than me."
Marc was surprised by this answer, but at the same time he already knew that he was stronger than the Emperor. For some reason, the aura had been a little more favorable to him.
He was just surprised to hear Turcan himself admit it in front of his allies. In general, an emperor must show himself to be superior and powerful, leaving no sign of weakness, but here he was simply saying that someone in the same room as him could defeat him.
It was disturbing.
Marc looked at his hand. His dark black and red aura was still escaping from it. He closed it and looked at the Emperor with a determined gaze.
"I will retrieve the books. You will win this war."
Marc knew that despite the sad fate that awaited them, they could do something to mitigate the damage. The hope that permeated Lavoisi's books grew within him. Although they might also bring pain and horror, no one could predict what would happen until he had read the books.
He had to find them.
However, Marc realized something at the last minute.
"Um... I think I left them at home."
Silence fell over the room once again. Everyone looked at Marc with completely stunned expressions.
Nathanaël was now watching the news on TV. Marc and Elie's faces flashed across the screen as traitors to Garida.
"No way! What the hell have they done this time?"
Nathanaël closed his notebook and went to check the news on his computer. It revealed that two teenagers had been identified as Zvenne spies accompanying the Emperor Turcan. Their homes had been carefully guarded, and no one could access the village.
Nathanaël zoomed in on the images. Two people in black suits were holding rather special books filled with strange symbols in their hands.
"Shit."
Chris was also watching the news. His face fell when he saw Marc and Elie accused of treason against the nation.
"That's not true, Marc! So this is the kind of training you do to become so strong. Beyond rubbing shoulders with another world, you dare to rub shoulders with Garida now. What am I supposed to do?"
Chris wanted to pick up his phone but suddenly remembered that anyone who had come into contact with those two could be suspected. And so there was a slim chance that someone might suddenly come to his door to take him away too.
"Are they going to come here? Should I run away or not?"
Chris looked at his phone. His wallpaper was a selfie of him just before entering the private property where they had found the second book. You could see Marc being grabbed by the white beings and Elie running towards him, and Chris, unaware of what was happening.
He had taken a photo of himself with his phone so that whoever found the device could come to his aid if things went wrong. Ironically, he had captured the exact moment when everything started to go wrong, smiling calmly in the photo as if nothing had happened.
Looking closer, Chris could now see the auras. He stared at Marc and his dark aura on the screen before hugging him tightly. His desire for revenge had grown. Although it wasn't really revenge, but more of a rivalry that had come out of his own imagination.
"Oh no, I'll get you. Wherever you go, I'll get you. I'll make sure you see me as the most stylish, the strongest, the most charismatic, and you'll have to respect my name. And so..."
Chris called his parents to let them know, then set off for the capital of the Zvenne Empire in his car.
With his hands on the wheel and a fiery look in his eyes, he drove at full speed along the roads of Garid without even looking behind him.
His parents watched him leave, even though he had told them he had someone to catch up with.
Their confused faces appeared in his rearview mirror. Then, finally, he had the good sense to leave with them to spare them from war and bombs.
Just in case...
"Damn it, I was so focused on Marc that I forgot to take them with me. What kind of ungrateful son am I?"
He refocused on the road, forgetting his worries. Then suddenly, a hand rested on his shoulder. He turned around and saw his mother looking at him with a rather worried expression.
"Um, Chris... we have time to pick up a few things, don't we?"
It was true that it wasn't very practical to leave without anything when he could take the essentials. Chris braked gently, put his hand to his face, and began to swear.
"Damn it, I was so busy hating Marc that I didn't even think to take anything with me..."
Manon looked at the news. Marc's face on the screen repulsed her. She didn't want to be involved in this, but seeing Marc on the screen comforted her a little. Ever since that young girl had burst in, she no longer felt at ease in her own home. So seeing that everyone else was in such a mess comforted her a little too.
She tried to call Chris, but he didn't answer. In the end, she realized that she was the only one who hadn't joined in this stupid adventure. Everyone had ended up leaving her alone in her efforts to reject her strange visions and delusions of the end of the world.
Manon sighed:
"So, you decided to join their adventure too. What a mess..."
Manon sat down heavily in her chair and sank into it. Her gaze lost in space, she imagined a life where this vision had never come to her. She could have remained normal while trying to get closer to Chris. She could have stayed with her friends and enjoyed life a little longer with higher education. That was what she had already tried to do, but with such a dream and such a vision, it was impossible for her to live as if she had seen nothing. The emptiness in her gaze intensified. She lost track of time. Lurking in the shadows, a dark and black aura had infiltrated her house, but she did not notice it.
Manon sighed again.
"Ah..."
A simple slice of toast to eat, with a thin layer of jam and no butter. The person took a small bite of their small lunch and then went to their room. When they passed through the living room, they saw their phone on the table and decided to pick it up. When they opened it, they saw the face of a young boy with dark black hair and eyes almost as black as his hair, accused of treason against the Garid Empire. War had been officially declared because of this so-called young spy. The person remained glued to their phone before finally looking up and letting their arms fall.
"So, it's begun."
Marc was equipped with weapons from the empire. He wore the same armor he had worn when they visited the ruins. This light black armor seemed to absorb light.
The black armor appeared to be carved from an unknown material, neither metal nor leather, but something denser, colder. It did not shine. It did not reflect anything. It swallowed light, like a flaw in reality. Each plate was thin, fitted to the millimeter, tracing a human silhouette without ever revealing it. No curves, no ornamentation. Just straight, sharp lines, as if carved with a scalpel.
The shoulder pads were slightly raised, not to impress, but to protect vital points. The breastplate, smooth and without symbols, seemed to breathe with him, contracting with each movement, like a second skin. The arms were covered with articulated segments, silent, capable of following every movement without ever getting in the way. The gauntlets, on the other hand, were more massive. Reinforced. Designed to strike.
The legs were sheathed in the same dark material, with reinforcements at the knees and shins. No cape. No fabric. Nothing that could catch or slow him down. Just a white ribbon, falling straight from the belt. Pure, intact, almost provocative in its clarity.
He kept the sword that Nathanaël had given him. It had originally been metallic gray, but since Marc had been using it, its black and red aura had completely changed it. It was dark with red veins running up to the tip.
It was a simple double-edged knight's sword, not very wide, that had ended up looking as if it had been corrupted.
Marc grimaced. But he didn't have time to complain any further because the Emperor arrived beside him.
"Remember, Zeymond. You have only one thing to do. Find your books, find the ones that remain, and if you see those horrible monsters along the way, kill them."
Marc turned his determined face toward the emerald-eyed Emperor.
"Understood."
"I won't send you any help. You don't need it, but I do. And I doubt there's anyone as strong as you on this earth."
"Understood."
Then Turcan changed his tone slightly.
"Be careful, though, because you're now getting involved in matters beyond your understanding."
"Fine."
Then, with a quick, elegant gesture, he turned away with a small wave of his hand.
"Go say goodbye to your parents and leave."
"Yes, boss."
"Stop calling me boss."
Marc then walked out through the palace's main door. His parents were waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. They were both worried, even though David was doing his best not to show it.
He walked over to them.
With a slight embarrassment, he scratched the back of his head before smiling weakly.
"I guess you weren't expecting that."
Marie spoke first.
"Not at all, we knew exactly what was going to happen. We're beings from the other world too."
Marc's expression froze. Then, filled with excitement, he looked at his parents with stars in his eyes.
"Really???"
"No..."
She said it in such a monotone voice that David had trouble holding back his laughter. Marc seemed disappointed.
"You're forgetting that you still owe us an explanation."
"I know, I know. You can ask Elie. She's going to stay and protect you, and I've already told her everything."
"Very well."
Seeing that they had nothing more to say to each other, Marc left without looking back to continue his mission. It was pouring rain that day. Water ran down his armor. With his head down, he wondered if it was really a good idea to leave them like that. They hadn't seen them much since he'd been involved in this case, but he'd done everything he could to not leave them without answers.
It was painful to leave them there when they were worried. Even if they didn't believe him, Marc didn't want to worry them.
"Is this the right thing to do?"
Suddenly, David's voice rang out in the rain.
"Marc."
Marc turned around in surprise.
"I...you know...I wouldn't be a good father if I locked you up at home for your own good...and I don't think that's the right thing to do for the good of the world...but I'm still worried, you know. ...I don't think your mother and I will get used to it anytime soon... and...you know..."
Suddenly, Marie interrupted him.
"Honey, why are you stuttering?
"Huh?"
"I'm fed up. Every time you have to say something important to someone you care about, you stammer."
"But... I... I..."
"You have to stop acting like a child."
Then she turned to Marc. A faint smile appeared on her face, but for some reason it warmed his heart a little.
"What your father means, Marc, is that we're very proud of you, but also very worried. We don't know where you're going, we don't know what you're doing, and we don't even know if you're okay. But no matter what you do, we sincerely hope you'll be happy. Because, after all, you're our son."
David shrugged his shoulders as if he had said the words himself.
"There. That's exactly what I said."
"No, you didn't say anything."
"Exactly."
Marc didn't want to cry in front of them. After all, they were the only ones who knew how to make him feel this way.
He turned around and ran to his parents to give them a big hug.
"Don't worry. I think I'll be okay."
His mother hugged him, her face drenched by the rain, but she was smiling nonetheless.
"You've just made things worse, but it doesn't matter.
Now go."
Then his father spoke.
"See you next time, soldier."
"Honey!!"
"What, he's a soldier, isn't he?"
Marc smiled and walked away in the rain. As he left, he saw Elie at the window smiling at him. He smiled back at her. This time, he was ready to face those bastards. Even though the world was against him, he had people to protect.
"This time, it will be different."