The journey back to Valdren should have been ordinary.
It wasn't.
Lucien noticed it almost immediately.
Kael'Thar spoke less.
Not that the demon lord had ever been particularly talkative, but there was a difference between silence and distraction. Normally, even when quiet, Kael'Thar seemed aware of everything around him. He noticed every sound, every movement, every detail.
Today, however, his thoughts were elsewhere.
Twice during the journey, Lucien caught him looking back toward the northern reaches of Eldryn.
Toward the place where the corrupted wolf had appeared.
Toward the place where the black stone had been found.
The first time, Lucien thought nothing of it.
The second time, he became certain.
Something was wrong.
The question was simple.
Why?
Valdren greeted them with its usual noise and life.
Merchants crowded the streets.
Children ran through the marketplace.
The scent of fresh bread drifted from nearby bakeries.
Yet Lucien's attention remained fixed on Kael'Thar.
The demon walked through the city with his usual composure, his dark robes concealing most of his powerful frame. Despite years spent living among humans, he still stood apart from them.
He was too tall.
Too imposing.
Too perfect.
Even his face carried a strange nobility that made common folk instinctively step aside without understanding why.
The few who dared meet his crimson eyes quickly looked away.
As always.
As if some ancient instinct warned them not to linger.
Lucien had grown accustomed to such reactions.
The townsfolk feared Kael'Thar.
Not openly.
Not consciously.
But they feared him nonetheless.
It was different when they looked at Lucien.
A young woman arranging flowers near the market paused when he passed.
Her eyes lingered.
Not out of suspicion.
Out of curiosity.
A group of children stopped playing.
One little girl actually waved.
Lucien blinked.
Then awkwardly waved back.
The girl immediately turned bright red and hid behind her older brother.
Lucien frowned.
"What did I do?"
Kael'Thar glanced sideways.
"Nothing."
"Then why did she run away?"
The demon remained silent for several seconds.
"...You smiled."
Lucien looked confused.
"Was that bad?"
"No."
"Then why did she react like that?"
For the first time that day, a faint smirk appeared on Kael'Thar's face.
"One day you'll understand."
Lucien had the distinct feeling that he would not.
That evening, the house felt unusually quiet.
The sun had already disappeared beyond the horizon, leaving the city bathed in the warm glow of lantern light.
Lucien sat near the fireplace with a book resting on his knees.
At least, he pretended to read.
In reality, he was watching Kael'Thar.
The demon lord stood beside a shelf covered in old tomes.
One book after another appeared in his hands.
He opened them.
Read a few pages.
Closed them.
Moved to another.
Then another.
Then another.
Lucien had never seen him do that before.
Kael'Thar usually knew exactly where to find information.
Today he seemed to be searching.
Desperately.
Hours passed.
Finally, Lucien closed his book.
"You know something."
Kael'Thar stopped turning pages.
The room fell silent.
"What makes you think that?"
"You lied."
The answer came immediately.
Too immediately.
For the first time that evening, Kael'Thar looked directly at him.
Lucien continued.
"The stone."
Silence.
"The wolf."
More silence.
"You knew what they were."
Kael'Thar stared at him.
For a long moment, neither spoke.
Then the demon slowly closed the book in his hands.
"Some knowledge is dangerous."
Lucien frowned.
"To know?"
"No."
Kael'Thar's crimson eyes darkened.
"To possess."
The answer only created more questions.
Unfortunately, Kael'Thar clearly had no intention of providing them.
The conversation ended there.
At least outwardly.
Inside Lucien's mind, however, curiosity continued to grow.
Three days later.
The rain began.
Heavy clouds covered the sky, and Valdren found itself trapped beneath a curtain of endless water.
Lucien didn't mind.
Rain always made the city feel different.
Quieter.
Slower.
More honest.
Perhaps because people stopped pretending to be busy when the weather gave them an excuse not to be.
Kael'Thar had left early that morning.
A rare occurrence.
Even rarer, he hadn't explained where he was going.
Lucien spent most of the day reading.
By sunset, he had finished three books.
One about the history of Valoria.
One about magical beasts.
And one about ancient civilizations.
The third proved the most interesting.
Near the end of the book, hidden among pages few readers would bother examining, Lucien discovered a passage written in a language he only partially understood.
The translation beneath it was incomplete.
Only a single sentence remained intact.
"When the Root awakens, the world shall remember."
Lucien read it twice.
Then three times.
Then a fourth.
He didn't know why.
The sentence simply felt important.
The Root.
What root?
Remember what?
The book offered no answers.
Only more questions.
Naturally, that made it his favorite passage.
Night had fully fallen by the time Kael'Thar returned.
His robes were wet.
His expression was unreadable.
But Lucien noticed something immediately.
Mud.
Fresh mud.
The same dark soil found in the northern regions of Eldryn.
The demon lord disappeared into his study without a word.
Lucien watched him go.
Then looked toward the window.
Toward the distant silhouette of the forest.
Something connected those events.
He was sure of it.
He simply couldn't see the connection yet.
Hours later, sleep refused to come.
Lucien eventually gave up trying.
Leaving his bed, he crossed the room and approached the window.
The city was asleep.
Only a few lanterns remained lit.
Beyond the rooftops.
Beyond the fields.
Beyond the darkness.
Lay Eldryn.
A vast ocean of black trees beneath the moonlight.
Lucien rested his forehead against the glass.
And froze.
A light.
Far away.
Deep within the forest.
A faint crimson glow.
It appeared only for a second.
Then vanished.
Lucien's heart began to beat faster.
He knew that color.
The wolf.
The stone.
The symbols.
The same crimson.
The same unnatural crimson.
The glow appeared again.
This time longer.
Pulsing softly between the trees.
Like a heartbeat.
Like something sleeping beneath the earth.
Watching.
Waiting.
Remembering.
Behind him, a floorboard creaked.
Lucien turned.
Kael'Thar stood in the doorway.
His gaze had already found the distant light.
The demon's expression hardened.
For the first time since Lucien had known him, he looked genuinely troubled.
Not afraid.
But close enough to make the distinction uncomfortable.
"What is it?" Lucien asked quietly.
The crimson glow vanished.
The forest became dark once more.
Kael'Thar remained silent for several moments.
Then he spoke.
A single sentence.
One that immediately made Lucien understand how serious the situation was.
"From now on," the demon said, his voice colder than Lucien had ever heard it, "you are not to enter Eldryn alone."
Silence filled the room.
Lucien looked back toward the forest.
Toward the darkness hiding beyond the horizon.
Toward the mystery that Kael'Thar clearly feared.
And for the first time in his life, a thought crossed his mind.
Not because he was reckless.
Not because he was disobedient.
But because he was curious.
I need to know why.
The forest remained silent.
Yet somehow, Lucien felt as though something deep beneath its roots had just heard that thought.
And smiled.
End of Chapter 4