The cold wind continued to sweep across the training ground.
Eyrx lay motionless in the grass while the faint traces of green energy slowly faded from the air around him.
Vaeryn immediately knelt beside him.
A soft blue glow appeared around her hands.
Thin streams of energy flowed into Eyrx's body as she silently performed a healing jutsu.
Nick stood nearby with his arms crossed.
Neither of them spoke.
After several minutes, Eyrx's eyelids twitched.
Then slowly opened.
The bright sky greeted him first.
A few drifting clouds floated above.
His vision gradually focused.
Vaeryn and Nick were staring down at him.
Eyrx blinked.
"...What happened?"
"You collapsed," Nick answered.
Eyrx slowly sat up, rubbing his forehead.
His entire body felt heavy.
As if he had spent days carrying stones on his back.
Vaeryn watched him carefully.
"Are you alright?"
Eyrx nodded slowly.
"I think so."
"What happened to me?"
"You awakened a small portion of your power."
Nick answered before Vaeryn could.
"And then your body gave up."
Eyrx lowered his gaze.
"I remember the pressure."
His fingers tightened around the grass.
"It felt like something enormous was crushing me."
Vaeryn nodded.
"That's normal."
"Normal?"
Eyrx stared at her.
She shrugged.
"You only touched a tiny fragment of it."
"A tiny fragment?"
Eyrx suddenly felt less confident.
Vaeryn stood and brushed dirt from her clothes.
"Rest for a while."
"Then we'll continue."
Eyrx frowned.
"Continue?"
"Of course."
"You still haven't learned how to control it."
Eyrx dropped back onto the grass.
A long sigh escaped his lips.
"This is going to kill me."
"Maybe."
"VAERYN!"
A smile appeared on her face.
For a moment silence settled over the training ground.
Then Eyrx spoke again.
"When I awakened it the first time..."
His voice became quieter.
"I completely lost control."
Vaeryn's expression changed.
"What happened?"
Eyrx stared at the sky.
His eyes seemed distant.
"I killed people."
The wind suddenly felt colder.
Vaeryn froze.
"How many?"
"Twenty."
He paused.
"Maybe twenty-five."
Even Nick looked surprised.
His eyes narrowed immediately.
"Why?"
Eyrx remained silent for a moment.
Then finally spoke.
"It happened the day before Grace left."
The memories slowly resurfaced.
"That evening, I tried to stop her from going to Siphra."
"Investigators kept disappearing there."
"Something felt wrong."
"Grace didn't listen."
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"She never listened."
Nick couldn't argue with that.
Eyrx continued.
"While she was walking home, a truck nearly hit her."
"I thought it was an accident."
"But later that night I saw the same truck."
Nick immediately became serious.
"The same truck?"
Eyrx nodded.
"I followed it."
"Stole a motorcycle."
"Tracked it to an abandoned hideout."
Vaeryn blinked.
"You stole a motorcycle?"
"That's not the important part."
"It kind of is."
Eyrx ignored her.
"When I got there, I realized I was right."
"They were trying to kill Grace."
His expression darkened.
"A fight broke out."
"I don't remember everything."
"I just remember bullets."
His hand slowly moved toward his chest.
"The leader shot me."
"Five times."
Silence.
Even the wind seemed to stop.
"I died."
Vaeryn and Nick remained quiet.
Eyrx's voice grew distant.
"Then I heard a voice."
"It offered me two choices."
"Power with memories."
"Or power with my past."
Vaeryn's eyes widened slightly.
"And you chose?"
"My memories."
A small smile appeared on Eyrx's face.
"I wasn't willing to forget Grace."
For a moment nobody spoke.
Then Nick asked the question that had been bothering him.
"Do you know who ordered the attack?"
Eyrx shook his head.
"No."
"Maybe Darven knows something."
Nick stood.
His expression unreadable.
"I trust Vaeryn enough."
Eyrx raised an eyebrow.
"Enough?"
"Don't push it."
Nick turned and began walking toward the castle.
"Continue training."
With those words, he left.
The training ground gradually disappeared behind him.
The castle corridors were quiet.
Only the sound of his footsteps echoed through the stone halls.
Nick walked slowly.
His hands buried inside his pockets.
His thoughts drifting elsewhere.
As he passed one of the hallways, a memory surfaced.
A little girl running ahead of him.
Laughing.
"Brother! Catch me!"
A younger Nick chased after her.
Both of them laughing.
The memory vanished.
Another appeared.
His mother gently combing his hair.
His father sitting nearby with a smile.
Warmth.
Safety.
Home.
Nick stopped walking.
His expression became blank.
Then he continued.
The castle lobby came into view.
Darven was asleep on one of the sofas.
Nick sat down across from him.
Closed his eyes.
And immediately another memory returned.
This one wasn't warm.
It was cold.
The castle lobby.
Blood.
So much blood.
His father stood in front of him.
Fists clenched.
Facing a man dressed in black.
Moros.
Nick's breathing became heavier.
The memory felt real.
"Why are you here?" his father demanded.
Moros smiled.
Then moved.
A flash of steel.
Blood splattered across the floor.
Nick's father collapsed.
"No..."
His mother's scream echoed through the lobby.
Moros turned.
Another strike.
Another body fell.
Nick's little sister cried.
Terrified.
The world around him shattered.
"Father!"
"Mother!"
"Sister!"
Young Nick grabbed a sword.
Ran forward.
Tears streaming down his face.
He was only seven.
Too small.
Too weak.
Moros didn't even look impressed.
The sword clash lasted less than a second.
Yet somehow—
Nick's blade cut across Moros's face.
One eye.
Blood.
For the first time, Moros reacted.
He touched the wound.
Then looked down at the crying child.
Instead of killing him...
He smiled.
A terrifying smile.
"The thing I need isn't ready yet."
Young Nick froze.
Moros turned away.
"I'll return when you're twenty."
Then he disappeared.
Leaving behind silence.
And a lobby filled with blood.
Nick's eyes opened.
The memory vanished.
But the hatred remained.
As sharp as it had been thirteen years ago.