There had been a long silence. Both in that long wait outside of this world where whispers fell silent... and in Auren's stopped heart. But after every long winter, there was a spring that followed, and behind every death, a return awaited.
While the rest of the world of Valyria was being crushed under the iron fist of the Luxaris Empire; silent footsteps echoed in the depths of a pitch-black cave that did not exist on maps, one that even the most skilled trackers could not find.
This was no ordinary cave. It was the only path leading to the sanctuary of Lady Yuria, who had completely isolated herself from the world and its never-ending wars.
The dark passage ended at an impassable, massive stone wall. However, as the group of four approached the wall, the elderly elf Aelrindel walking at the front lightly tapped his wooden staff on the ground. At that moment, an invisible, ancient mechanism was triggered in the air. The massive stone wall rippled like a puddle of water, and a dimensional portal emitting silvery lights opened in its center.
Without any hesitation, the foursome stepped through this portal.
The other side of the portal was too surreal and enchanting to be the inside of a cave. In the heart of the underground, hidden within a colossal glass dome; an oasis illuminated by fake yet brilliantly shining crystals welcomed them. Clear pools of water babbled softly, and ancient subterranean trees with self-luminous leaves radiated a peaceful glow all around.
Yet, just beyond this natural beauty, behind massive protective wards that were hard to see but made the air tremble, the true masterpiece rose: Yuria's manor. Built with the flawless harmony of black marble and white glass, it was an elegant and majestic structure that resembled a palace but was far from ostentatious.
Lady Yuria, separated from them, had already crossed over to the manor.
As they passed through the ward barrier and stepped into the manor's wide, stone-paved courtyard, the first sound of whining rose from the group.
Lavinia, who possessed a flawless beauty with her raven hair and ocean-blue eyes, brushed the mud off her robes in disgust. Despite being one of the most powerful warriors in the world, her lazy demeanor that despised getting tired and doing work to death was upon her once again.
"Rain, mud, the disgusting stench of Luxaris dogs... And all this way on top of it," Lavinia grumbled, rolling her eyes. Then, she looked at Nythar, who was walking behind her with a wide smile, and the lifeless body on his back. "So what are we going to do with this dead boy? I still don't understand why we carried him all the way here."
Nythar had not let the cheerful expression on his face slip at all, despite Auren's muddy and motionless body he was carrying on his back. His brown eyes sparkled with amusement.
"Come on Lavinia, stop whining," he said, smiling. "The road was long, yes... but the kid is lighter than you think. Though he did get a bit heavier with all this mud stuck to him, but it's not bad for back training, right?"
Aelrindel, the most experienced of the group, fixed his green eyes on the grand doors of the manor. With his white hair and long beard, he displayed a sage-like posture.
"The Lady willed it so," he said in an authoritative and calm voice. "There is a deeper meaning in this that we cannot see. For now, let us take him to Lady Yuria's room."
Following Aelrindel's words, Zirel, the quietest of the group, spoke. Her orange hair cascaded down her shoulders, and her black eyes were as observant and expressionless as a crow's.
"If my Lady has said something, it only falls to us to do it, not to question it, Lavinia," she said in an emotionless voice. "We don't expect your lazy mind to understand the Lady's vision anyway."
Just as Lavinia was about to answer, Nythar intervened.
"Alright, alright! Don't draw swords right away," he said, laughing. "Zirel is right, and Lavinia is just tired. Let's drop off our little guest so I can take a hot shower too."
The massive oak doors of the manor opened silently. Inside, a few elegant servants welcomed them. The population in this colossal structure was quite small: a few loyal servants, four children playing in the courtyard, and guards whose numbers were few but whose strength was worth an army...
And soon, this boy they carried on their backs would become a part of that small family. Perhaps..
As the servants bowed their heads respectfully and took their cloaks, Aelrindel pointed to the upper floor with his hand.
"Nythar, carry the boy to the Lady's private room. The preparations are about to begin."
Nythar nodded, the smile on his face giving way to a momentary seriousness. Carrying Auren's cold body, he began to climb up the manor's wide stairs, towards that room where the impossible would take place. Those two souls inside Auren would very soon break the silence of this manor forever.
Nythar, along with the small and muddy burden on his back, stepped into that wide, dim room on the top floor of the manor. This was Lady Yuria's private room; a heavy scent of ancient magic and a dense wave of mana always hung suspended in the air. The walls of the room were covered with large glass windows that allowed the light of that fake sky outside to gently seep in.
Yuria was already there. She stood perfectly upright right in the middle of the room.
However, when Nythar entered, not the slightest reaction came from Yuria. She neither turned to look at the sound of the door opening, nor did she give any response to Nythar's heavy footsteps. Even her poison-green hair, fluttering in the wind, was motionless as if time had stopped. Her face, covered by the black-and-green embroidered blindfold she never took off, was turned toward the void; her consciousness was not in the physical realm. Deep within her own inner world, she was likely examining the echoes of that colossal, pitch-black second soul she felt around this boy's spirit, mapping out the paths of the ritual she was about to perform in her mind.
Nythar left his usual talkative and cheerful demeanor outside the room. He knew this trance state of his Lady very well. He advanced silently and laid Auren's lifeless body onto the wide, cold stone table in the center of the room with extreme care, as if afraid of hurting him. The boy's muddy, bloody, and broken body created a tragic scene in the middle of this flawless and noble room.
Nythar took a step back from the table and began to wait respectfully.
After a few long seconds, the air pressure in the room suddenly changed. As if a held breath had been exhaled, that heavy, static energy in the environment dissipated. Yuria's head moved ever so slightly. Her mind had returned to the physical realm, to the room. Her gaze behind the blindfold twitched slightly, and all her attention fell upon Auren lying on the table.
Yuria, without turning her head to Nythar, spoke in her usual deep and authoritative voice:
"You may rest, Nythar. The journey was long."
Nythar smiled faintly. His smile this time was not playful, but weary and filled with a deep curiosity. Instead of leaving the room, he walked toward one of the ornate, dark green velvet armchairs in the corner and let himself comfortably sink into it. He rested his elbow on the armrest and leaned his chin against the palm of his hand. He fixed his face on his mighty lady, whose visions behind the blindfold he was curious about, and on Auren lying on the table.
"No..." said Nythar, with an unusually soft yet stubborn undertone in his voice. "I want to stay here, my Lady."
On Nythar's face lay the desire to see why this seemingly ordinary dead human child had drawn so much interest from Yuria, who had maintained her silence for centuries. He felt that tonight, in this room, the impossible would happen.
Yuria did not object to him. Her silence was an acceptance. Once again, she gave all her attention to Auren's lifeless body.
Yuria slowly began to hover her hand over Auren's motionless and cold chest. Small, bright green beams of light filtering from her fingertips softly descended toward the boy's muddy body. However, this contact did not go unanswered. From the depths of Auren's body, from that slumbering second entity, small, pitch-black auras began to smoke out.
The moment this dark energy collided with Yuria's green light, a strange, toxic crackle erupted in the air. The black auras curled upward, touching Yuria's skin, slowly burning her hand and leaving thin, searing marks on her flesh.
Just then, the heavy door of the room cracked open silently. Aelrindel, Lavinia, and Zirel stepped inside. They had instantly noticed that heavy, suffocating energy inside the room and the blackish smoke rising from Yuria's hand, but none of them dared to break the silence. Nythar, sitting in the armchair, also straightened up and signaled them to be quiet. Although Yuria sensed those who entered with her aura, she did not break her concentration for even a moment; she had given all her focus to that bottomless darkness and stubborn child's soul inside Auren.
A short while later, with a heavy and controlled movement, Yuria pulled her hand away from the boy. Those green and black energies clashing in the air dispersed instantly. The small burn marks that had formed on Yuria's skin began to close and heal themselves within seconds as a natural consequence of her immense and unsealed power. It wasn't that deep of a burn anyway; however, what truly surprised her was not physical pain, but the irresistible nature of this darkness.
On her face, covered by the blindfold she never took off, a smile appeared—one that was rarely seen for centuries, harboring astonishment and a dangerous excitement.
"For the first time in my life, I am seeing something like this..." said Yuria, her voice echoing like an ancient spell in the silence of the room. "Most likely this is the boy's special power, or something much different than this, something much older."
She turned her head slightly toward the trio standing in front of the door and Nythar in the corner. That mysterious smile on her lips became even more pronounced.
"Do not look at his non-beating heart and judge him," she continued. "His soul is still in his body, stubbornly holding on so as not to leave. And believe me... the soul inside is not just one."
Aelrindel's emerald eyes widened in surprise, Lavinia and Zirel froze, while Nythar raised his eyebrows at what they heard. Two souls in one body... This was something rarely heard of even in the oldest legends of Valyria.
Ignoring the shock in the room, Yuria gave her final order in an absolute and authoritative tone of voice:
"Do not let anyone into the room."
The foursome, without asking any questions, respectfully bowed their heads at the same time and withdrew toward the door, taking up a guard position.
Yuria turned back to the table again, to that small, broken body of Auren. She slowly raised both hands to chest level. Right in the middle of her palms, a ball of green light of incredible density and purity began to form, instantly tearing through the dimness of the room, making even the surrounding shadows tremble.
To pull back that boy who had locked the door of death from the inside, the ritual was truly beginning now.