The days folded into one another, stitched with laughter and the simple rhythm of youth. They met almost daily now, as if the city itself had woven their paths too tightly to unthread. Draemhold was still the same—its cobbles, its bells, its endless merchants hawking wares—but for the four boys, something beneath the familiar was shifting.
Nathan, ever restless, dragged them through crowded alleys to taste roasted nuts and honey-wine from market stalls. Divine watched with half a smile, scribbling notes even as he sampled sweets, always searching for patterns, always turning even joy into symbols. Courage sparred with dockside workers, never backing down, bruises marking him like trophies. And Nelly… Nelly often hung back, watching, listening, the world a stage where shadows leaned too close to him.
It was during one of those ordinary afternoons, when Nathan insisted they race across the aqueducts, that something happened.
The stones were slick from rain, the drop below dizzying. Courage leapt first, his staff strapped to his back, moving with unflinching resolve. Nathan followed, his laughter echoing. Divine moved slower, clutching his notebook.
Nelly hesitated. Then his foot slipped.
Time warped. The stone edge tore from beneath his heel—air rushed against his chest. Panic seized him, but before he fell, something caught. Not a hand. Not flesh. A dark coil surged from the wall itself, solidifying, a band of shadow gripping his arm and hurling him back onto the stones.
The others froze.
"Nelly…" Nathan whispered. His glow had flickered in that instant, a reflex, but it hadn't been needed.
Courage crouched, eyes sharp. "That wasn't luck."
Divine's quill scratched furiously. "Shadows. Obeying you. Just as I thought." He looked up, excitement burning. "This is your Pathway."
Nelly's chest heaved, but he shook his head. "It—it just happened. I didn't mean to."
Nathan forced a grin. "Then it means you've got something watching over you too. Like me." He lifted his hand, the glow answering, brighter now, pulsing as though eager to be acknowledged.
Courage slammed his staff down. "Then we all do. Powers tied to those… Pathways Divine talks about."
Divine closed his book with a snap. "Not tied. Chosen. Shadows for Nelly. Light for Nathan. Strength for Courage. Time's whisper for me."
The air grew heavy. Four boys, standing on rain-slick stones, all staring at each other with a mix of awe and fear.
Nathan broke it first, laughing too loudly. "Then that means we're special. Heroes in the making, right?"
But Divine didn't smile. He looked at Nelly, his voice low. "Special, yes. But also marked. And markings like this never come without cost."
That night, when they parted, Courage punched Nelly's shoulder and said, "If these powers are ours, then we'll master them. Before they master us."
And as Nelly walked home, the shadows followed him again—this time closer, as if pleased.
And so they embark on a new journey towards their pathways. But what awaits them?