The stone path leading to the Reward Hall cut through a stretch of ancient blackwood trees, their canopies arching overhead like silent sentinels. Sunlight filtered through the leaves in thin, fractured beams, casting long shadows that stretched across the road.
Valdis walked between his siblings, one of his hands held by his sister, Isolde.
They had a little conversation as they walked, as though trying to make up for the years the lost apart.
Malrik, as always, carried himself as though the path belonged to him.
"You know," Malrik said casually, glancing sideways at Valdis, "For someone who made the heavens take notice of him during his awakening, you look quite calm."
Valdis glanced at him and said. "What can I do but accept the situation as it is? All I can do is pass all the tribulations the heavens will set and become strong enough to the point I can outright ignore the heavens."
"Malrik heard this and started grinning wildly. "That's the spirit, a man should face whatever challenges he sees in life without fear."
Isolde walked on Valdis's other side, her expression calm, eyes forward. "Don't inflate his ego,"
Malrik chuckled. "Does he look like someone who'll let a few words get to his head?"
Isolde looked at Valdis, nodded, and didn't say a thing. She just continued walking down the path with her siblings.
As they continued down the path, figures began to appear ahead—members of the Ebonhart household, trainees in dark uniforms, guards on patrol. One by one.
Once they saw the three of them walking down the path, they stopped what they were doing and bowed deeply as the trio passed.
Not hastily.
Not reluctantly.
With genuine respect.
Valdis slowed down a little, his gaze flicking from one figure to the next.
"Why are they… bowing like that?"
As Valdis looked at them, he noticed that each individual had a look of deep-rooted respect as they bowed.
Malrik looked at the people bowing and sighed. Light flashed past his eyes as his aura now had a sad feeling to it.
Isolde looked at Malrik. She noticed the shift in his mood and sighed before saying.
"It's been such a long time since then. What happened that day wasn't your fault to begin with. You did the best you could at the time. You even avenged them; you painted the ground of that secret realm with the blood of those who dared harm them. The only thing left is for you to forgive yourself and let it go."
Hearing this, Malrik suddenly halted and raised his head as he looked towards the sky.
"I wish it were that easy, Isolde, I really do." After he said this, he continued walking until they passed the crowd, and the path became lonely again
Valdis noticed a shift in the mood and wisely stayed silent. He turned to his sister, who held his hand tightly for answers.
Isolde saw this and answered before he could ask. "Their bows are neither for you nor me, nor because we are the direct descendants of the Ebonhart lineage. Ebonharts don't suck up to anyone, that includes family. We prove our worth through strength. Unlike in other houses, status means nothing here; everything is earned, including respect. Don't forget that."
Valdis turned to her. "Then why do their eyes hold so much respect in them as they bow?"
She glanced toward Malrik, her tone even. "Him."
Valdis was a little confused. From what she said earlier, respect in the Ebonhart house was earned, but what could his brother, Malrik, have done to earn this level of respect from other members of the house?
Malrik shrugged, "Respect is a heavy thing. Hard to shake off once it settles. especially when you are undeserving of it."
Valdis frowned slightly, not understanding his brother's statement, "I don't know what transpired, but from the looks on their faces, they definitely hold you in high esteem, so whatever you did to elicit this response must have been special."
Isolde stopped walking.
Malrik followed suit, turning to face his younger brother fully. "Looks like it's time you learned why people don't look me in the eye."
She exhaled softly. "Within the Ebonhart household, Malrik is called many things. Outside of it, only one name stuck."
She met Valdis's eyes.
"THE MAD BUTCHER"
Valdis blinked.
Isolde continued, her voice steady. "Within these walls, Malrik is seen as a symbol of strength and courage, but outside these walls, he's a symbol of death and destruction."
She resumed walking, and Valdis followed, listening closely.
"A few years ago," she said, "a secret realm appeared at the border of the Blackspire Kingdom. It was left behind by a divine realm powerhouse before he ascended."
Malrik's smile faded slightly as he started recalling the events that occurred that day.
"The realm was sealed by a restriction," Isolde went on. "Anyone over the age of thirty who attempted to enter was erased on the spot. No resistance. No mercy, so the creator of the secret realm prepared it for the younger generation to explore, but the central attraction was also tests created to choose a successor from everyone present."
Valdis inhaled sharply.
"The royal family and every major noble house sent their heirs," she said. "The secret realm contained Treasures and Opportunities that could define a generation."
Malrik spoke then, voice calm, but if you listened closely, you would hear the rage shimmering beneath the calm. "I entered with fifty members of the younger generation of the Ebonhart duchy at the time and was selected as the leader for the exploration."
Isolde nodded. "He was the first to reach the core, passed the final trial, and got the inheritance."
Valdis looked at Malrik and asked. "And that's when the trouble started?"
A sharp smile tugged at Malrik's lips. "Yes, the Crown Prince didn't take it well."
Isolde's eyes hardened. "He demanded Malrik hand it over. The prince tried taking it by force but was quickly reminded why he was ranked second."
"That must have completely enraged him," Valdis said
"Yes, but he couldn't beat Malrik in a fight, so he sought the help of the noble heirs who wanted the crown princes' backing, and they ganged up on Malrik," Isolde said.
Malrik's tone was almost bored. "They underestimated me."
"And overestimated themselves," Isolde added.
Valdis looked at Malrik in shock.
These were heirs of their respective houses, so everything they received from resources to weapons will be top-tier, and Malrik fought such a force and won. And from the way he talked about it, he didn't take the fight to heart.
"After his second failure, he spread the news that Malrik got the inheritance and also added that he also had a divine-grade herb," Isolde said, her voice barely concealing her anger.
"That must have attracted a crowd," Valdis said
"An immortal herb is enough to drive saints insane; a divine herb will do a lot worse," Isolde said
Valdis imagined the chaos that would unfold when news of a divine herb's appearance spread.
"A lot of people tried individually or in groups, but every attempt failed, even the heirs of the other duchies tried and failed. That was also the moment Malrik's true strength was revealed." Isolde continued
"Let me guess, since they couldn't get to you directly, they would look for something they could lay their hands on and use that to suppress you," Valdis said
Isolde and Malrik looked at him in shock because this was not something they expected to hear from an eight-year-old child.
"They began hunting and capturing the other members of the house, trying to use them to lure me into a trap, saying that they would kill them if I didn't come. Unfortunately, I was participating in a trial, so I was cut off from the outside for a while," as Malrik said the final part, his fists were clenched tightly.
"By the time I got the news, twenty people had already been killed by beheading, no less. Twenty members of the Ebonhart house died without a complete corpse. Hearing that, I felt something in me snap," he continued.
"What did you do?" Valdis has a feeling that his brother's reaction to such might be insane
"A little over five hundred individuals entered that secret realm, and less than two hundred returned. The rest died beneath your brother's blade. Most of the people who survived the slaughter were people from weak families who couldn't afford to offend either party, so they just stayed away from the storm, and that decision saved them," Isolde said
Valdis took a deep breath and looked at Malrik, and suddenly, his lazy older brother looked a lot bigger in his eyes.
"So that's where the nickname came from, but such an incident would have stirred a massive storm throughout the kingdom," Valdis said
"It did at the time, each of the ducal heirs was missing at least a limb except one. As for the crown prince, he almost died. What saved him was a protective token the royal family gave him just in case he encountered danger, so he could at least preserve his life," Isolde said
The information hit him like a storm.
An attack on any member of the royal family was a serious crime, but attempting to kill the crown prince outright was treason.
'Damn, that's crazy, ' Valdis thought
Malrik listened from the side like he wasn't the one being talked about.
Valdis hesitated before saying. "The Crown Prince… isn't he considered extremely talented?"
Malrik laughed once. "Second-most talented junior of our generation, they say."
Isolde's lips curved in a mocking smile. "Only because the true second doesn't care about the rankings and is focused on improving her combat power."
"Who's that?" Valdis asked
"The heir of House Pyraxis, she's the only ducal heir who walked out of that secret realm with all limbs intact," Malrik said.
Valdis's interest sharpened. "The one known as—"
"One of the Four Flowers of Blackspire, the flame lily, Seraphyra Pyraxis," Isolde finished. "Yes."
She glanced sideways, almost amused, and continued.
"Beautiful. Fierce. And utterly obsessed with battle. The Crown Prince desires her, but she despises him," Isolde said flatly.
Valdis raised a brow. "Why?"
"She hates leeches," Isolde replied. "Men who stand tall only because their families hold them upright."
Malrik smirked. "She admires strength. Real strength, not strength built up by pills and high-level techniques. The crown prince is all power, no substance."
"Besides, she l heard she likes Malrik," Isolde suddenly said.
Malrik, who had been listening, suddenly choked on air.