The rain began before dawn.
It wasn't heavy, nor constant. It fell at irregular intervals, as if the sky were undecided. Thin drops ran down the mansion's windows, drawing crooked lines across the glass. I watched that for a few minutes, still sitting on the bed, feeling the weight of the previous day slowly settle onto my shoulders.
The warning had not been an isolated event.
I knew that.
I got up and walked to the balcony. The courtyard was empty, but recent marks on the ground revealed nighttime movement. Reinforced guards. Double shifts. Vaillor still slept, unaware that something invisible had already begun to move beneath the surface.
Behind me, light footsteps.
"You couldn't sleep either?" Liriel asked.
"Sleeping isn't the problem," I replied. "It's turning off the mind."
She stepped closer, resting her arms on the railing beside me. The rain touched her light hair, but she didn't seem to care.
"I felt something strange last night," she said. "Not an enemy. More like… echoes."
"Echoes?"
"Yes. As if old decisions were demanding answers now."
I let out a tired half-smile. "That fits the current phase."
Before we could continue, Vespera appeared in the courtyard, looking up when she saw us on the balcony.
"We have visitors," she announced.
I went downstairs quickly. At the main gate, three figures waited. They wore neutral cloaks but carried discreet symbols attached to their belts. I recognized them immediately.
Messengers from smaller guilds.
"That was fast," I murmured.
The oldest of them stepped forward. "Takumi of Vaillor, we come on behalf of our guilds."
"Come in," I replied, without ceremony.
In the main hall, they sat with a certain stiffness. They were not there to exchange pleasantries.
"The tournament changed many things," the messenger began. "Alliances. Trade routes. Expectations."
"And fears," I added.
He nodded. "Yes. There are guilds that feel threatened. Others… interested."
I interlaced my fingers over the table. "If you're here, it's because you want something."
"Protection," said another, younger one. "Or at least, association."
Vespera raised an eyebrow. Elara remained silent, observing every detail.
"You know that aligning with Vaillor now is placing yourselves at the center of the conflict," I said.
"We know," the oldest replied. "But being alone is worse."
The request did not surprise me, but the timing did. The warning still echoed, and now others were already feeling the same wind.
"I cannot promise eternal shields," I said. "Nor wars that can be easily won."
"We only want a name at our side," he replied. "A symbol."
I took a deep breath. That was exactly what I feared.
"Symbols attract arrows," I said. "And I already have mine."
After a moment of silence, I made the decision.
"Vaillor will not command you," I declared. "But it will not turn its back if you are unjustly attacked either. That is the most I can offer."
The three exchanged looks. It wasn't ideal, but it was something.
"We accept," said the oldest.
When they left, Elara was the first to speak.
"You just created a political web."
"It already existed," I replied. "It just became visible."
The rest of the day passed with smaller meetings, defense adjustments, and planning. By late afternoon, I decided to go out again, this time accompanied.
Rai'kanna walked beside me through the higher streets of the city. The wind blew strongly there, carrying the distant scent of the forests.
"You're different since the tournament," she said.
"More tired?"
"More aware," she corrected. "Before, you fought to survive. Now you fight to sustain something."
I looked at her. "Does that scare you?"
"No," she answered without hesitation. "It worries me."
We stopped near a lookout point. Vaillor stretched below us, alive, ignorant of many dangers.
"Scarlet sent me a message," she said suddenly.
"I imagine it wasn't friendly."
Rai'kanna smiled faintly. "It was short. She said people like you shouldn't create roots. She said that weakens you."
"And what do you think?"
She turned to me, her eyes firm. "I think she's afraid of choosing something she can't abandon."
Night fell shortly after. Upon returning to the mansion, I found Elara in the corridor, visibly exhausted.
"I used too much mana today," she said. "Something is draining the environment. It's not natural."
"More echoes?" I asked.
"Yes," she replied. "And they're getting louder."
I went to the bedroom late. When I finally lay down, the sound of the rain had stopped, but the silence that remained was too heavy to be comfortable.
I closed my eyes knowing one thing with absolute certainty:
The warnings were over.
The next move would not come in the form of a blade stuck into the ground.
It would come in the form of a choice.