The morning started too ordinary.
And that was exactly what made me suspicious.
Nothing out of place. No strange noises. No bad feeling in the air. Just the smell of coffee coming from the kitchen and the low sound of voices talking.
I went down the stairs slowly.
Elara was arranging the table. Vespera was cutting fruit. Liriel was complaining about something no one was paying attention to. Rai'kanna was watching through the window. Lyannis leaned against the wall, silent as always.
I sat down.
"Good morning," I said.
"Good morning," they replied almost in unison.
I picked up the mug and, before taking the first sip, I heard knocks at the front door.
Three firm knocks.
They weren't hesitant. They weren't aggressive. They were confident.
Rai'kanna was the first to look at me.
"Are you expecting someone?"
I shook my head.
I stood up and walked to the door.
When I opened it, I found two men dressed in the uniform of the Vaillor guild. Behind them, a third man in more formal clothes, probably someone from the city administration.
"Mr. Takumi?" the man in front asked.
"That's me."
He gave a slight bow.
"The guild master requests your presence today. It is a formal request."
"Is there a problem?"
"We were not informed. Only that it is urgent."
Urgent.
That word always weighs more than it should.
I thanked them and closed the door.
When I returned to the kitchen, they were all looking at me.
"What is it?" Elara asked.
"The guild master wants to see me. Today."
Vespera frowned.
"That's never a good thing."
"Or it could be," Liriel said. "Maybe they're finally recognizing that you're the most important adventurer in the city."
Rai'kanna crossed her arms.
"I don't like urgencies."
Lyannis simply said,
"We're going together."
I shook my head.
"No need. I'll go first. If it's something serious, I'll call you."
Elara sighed.
"Then go. Before we start imagining a thousand things."
I finished my coffee quickly and left.
The city was busy as always. People walking, merchants opening shops, children running. Everything too normal.
But as I walked toward the guild, I noticed something.
People were looking more than before.
Whispering.
It wasn't hostility. It was curiosity.
Recognition.
When I entered the guild, the usual noise gradually lowered. A few heads turned. A whisper or two.
I went straight to the reception desk.
"The master is waiting," the attendant said, already pointing toward the hallway.
I knocked on his office door.
"Come in."
I opened it.
The guild master was seated as always, but there was something different. He wasn't relaxed. He didn't have that carefree air he usually carried.
There were papers spread across the desk.
Maps.
Reports.
"Takumi, sit."
I sat down.
"What happened?"
He looked at me for a few seconds before answering.
"You've noticed that the city is paying more attention to you?"
"I have."
"That's not by chance."
He picked up one of the papers and slid it toward me.
It was a report from another city.
Then another.
And another.
"These are reports from three different kingdoms."
"Reports of what?"
"Strange demon movements."
My stomach tightened slightly.
"That's not new."
"No. But the pattern is."
He pointed to the maps.
"They are not attacking randomly."
I looked more closely.
The marked points formed something.
A curve.
A path.
"They're moving toward Vaillor."
The silence that followed was heavy.
"Are you sure?"
"Absolutely."
I took a deep breath.
"When?"
"We don't know."
"Why didn't anyone say this before?"
"Because until yesterday it looked like coincidence. Today it doesn't anymore."
I stared at the map for a few seconds.
"You think it's him."
It wasn't a question.
The master nodded slowly.
"The fifth general."
I felt the same chill I had felt in the dream.
He continued.
"And there's something else."
I looked at him.
"Some of these movements began shortly after you returned from the dwarven kingdom."
That made me go cold.
"You think he's following me."
"I think he's approaching you."
I remained silent.
That changed everything.
"Do you want me to leave the city?" I asked.
"No."
He answered too quickly.
"I want you to stay."
"That puts Vaillor at risk."
"Vaillor is already at risk. The difference is that with you here, we have a chance."
I looked at the maps again.
This time, I didn't just see points.
I saw a path.
A path coming straight toward me.
I stood up slowly.
"Thank you for the warning."
He nodded.
"Takumi."
I stopped at the door.
"Prepare your group."
I left the office feeling the weight in my chest grow heavier.
The guild seemed louder now, but distant. As if I were hearing everything from underwater.
When I returned to the street, the sun was still high.
The city carried on as normal.
But for me, nothing was normal.
I walked back to the mansion more slowly than usual.
Thinking.
Organizing.
When I opened the door, they all looked at me at the same time.
No one needed to ask.
They saw it in my expression.
Elara was the first.
"What is it?"
I took a deep breath.
"They're coming."
Silence.
Rai'kanna stepped forward.
"Who?"
"The fifth general. And his army."
No one panicked.
No one screamed.
Lyannis simply asked,
"How much time?"
"We don't know."
Vespera closed her eyes for a moment.
"So the peace is over."
Liriel crossed her arms.
"Finally."
I looked at all of them.
"Get ready."
I went upstairs in silence.
When I entered the bedroom, I closed the door and leaned against it.
For the first time since we returned, I felt that the peace had truly ended.
It was no longer a premonition.
It was no longer a dream.
It was real.
They were coming.
And this time, it wasn't for the world.
It was for me.