A silence so dreadful sat in the midst of our home—no one dared speak.
Master Xavier had left the scene long before us.
He now sat on his favorite couch, elbows resting on his knees, fingers interlaced beneath his chin. His eyes were distant. I could tell… he felt the weight too.
"Damn humans!!!"
Zayn suddenly spun around and punched the brick wall so hard his fist split open, blood dripping down to the floor.
"Just who do they think they are?! And this is what we're supposed to protect?!"
Humans, he said—funny, we were humans too. But he wasn't wrong.
Humans could be egotistical, savage creatures. Magic or not, no one truly has the right to take a life… unless they think it's necessary.
Well, I suppose this was necessary to them.
It makes me rethink how the people of this town see magic.
"Zayn, calm down," Tyra said softly, standing and fetching a cloth to wrap his bleeding hand. "We all feel the same pain."
"They were innocent. Dammit!" His voice cracked—raw and pained.
"Even if they weren't," Jace muttered darkly, "it's still wrong."
"That could've been us, you know?" Iris's voice trembled.
She was always terrified of death. The thought of being chased… captured… burned alive—her eyes said it all.
"What hurts more," Cody said quietly, fists clenched, "is that we couldn't do a single thing. We just watched while they burned away like moths."
"What could we have done?" Annabeth's tone was heavy. "We couldn't risk it."
Katara abruptly stood, anger flashing in her eyes.
"If this goes on, are we just going to sit back and pretend we don't know what's happening? At this rate, both the innocent and the 'proclaimed guilty' will die. Where do we come in as Guardians?!"
"If they were innocent," Tyra said, tightening the bandage on Zayn's hand, "then maybe they were betrayed by another magic user."
"Betrayed?" I thought. "Have humans fallen that far?"
"Do you think this is Zarin's doing?" Annabeth asked.
"Who else could it be?" Iris replied quickly. "But… I didn't feel his presence at the scene."
"He killed the innocent? To prove what point?" Jace hissed. "That he'll use any means to get to us?!"
Silence fell again. Everyone sank into deep thought.
The tension in the air was suffocating.
Master Xavier rose slowly and began walking toward his room. "Zarin may be an enemy—and a powerful one—but given his nature, he's doing this for fun. He's waiting for a reaction… and this mood is exactly what will give him one."
We all looked at him. His voice was calm, but there was something heavy behind it. Knowledge. Regret.
"The Demon King could have sent anyone else," he continued, "but he sent Zarin. Whatever he's after might cost him his life if he fails to retrieve it. He'll go to any length to succeed."
However Master knew Zarin… he knew him well. Too well.
And that made me want to know more.
"Master…" I called.
He stopped and turned, eyes meeting mine.
"Hunter?" he said softly.
I got up and closed the distance a little, bowing my head in respect.
"Master, given the knowledge you have of the enemy—do you really not know what Zarin is after? Or his weakness? Anything?"
Master stared at me for a moment. There was something in his eyes—like he was searching for how much I already knew.
"I'll tell you what I know, Hunter," he said finally, returning to his seat.
"Back in my time, the Onyx Dimension was divided into four independent realms. The Demon Kingdom and ours were two of those four."
"There were other realms?" we all echoed, surprised.
"Yes," Master said with a nod. "And only one parallel dimension to ours—the one we stand in now. We named it The Ordinary. We knew it existed, but none of us ever set foot here until the war."
We listened in complete silence.
"The Demon Kingdom dwelt on power. Their way of life was brutal. Their King could be overthrown by anyone who defeated him in combat. Power was their law. They believed only the strongest had the right to rule."
That was absurd. A ruler should be more than strength. But to them, that was everything.
"Each demon had a unique ability," Master continued. "And Zarin's power… is one to command dark beings."
Dark beings? Beings of the Shadows?
That term alone sent chills through me.
"As long as there's a shadow," Master said gravely, "he can conjure it into a creature under his command. That's why, Hunter, your own power puts you at a disadvantage. If you can't control it… it will consume you. And if that happens—you'll become one of his dark beings."
My heart tightened.
So that's why he moves through shadows—why he commands them.
Could that be why he's interested in me?
"As for what Zarin's after," Master said, leaning back, "it must be something that would strengthen his King's domain. There are only two things I can think of—the Sword of Justice, or the Vyre Stones."
The Sword of Justice… the Onyx Sword. I'd heard of it.
But the Vyre Stones? That was new.
"I doubt the Sword of Justice is here," he said, "but there's a tiny chance—an insanely tiny chance—that the Vyre Stones made their way into this world. And if that's what he's after, then a magic user somewhere must possess one."
My thoughts spun. So much… too much.
The room felt smaller now.
"What do the Vyre Stones do?" Katara asked.
"I'm not entirely sure," Master admitted. "There were five in total. They were among the highest-ranked artifacts in existence—locked away deep within the treasure vault."
Silence. No words. Just thoughts we couldn't process fast enough.
"That's enough for today," Master said finally, rising and heading toward his room.
For a long time, none of us spoke. The fire outside had long burned out, but its memory still flickered behind our eyes. The screams, the smoke, the faces—they wouldn't leave.
We all sighed, exhausted.
The world we knew was far bigger—
and far darker—than we'd ever imagined.