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Lorian stepped out of the house, his eyes catching every detail around him.
In his right hand, he held a golden sword lined with black streaks, blazing with black flames,
and in his left hand, a dark red fire flickered, shifting as if it were angry.
He stopped at a new crater—was it carved by nature, or something else?
Suddenly, a bolt of lightning struck the Root trees.
Lorian raised his eyes to the sky,
then slowly shook his head:
"This crater… was caused by lightning."
But his expression said far more than his words. He understood what had truly happened.
Then he turned to Adam and said calmly:
"Come… inside."
Inside the golden circle,
the Manipulator's voice trembled between the golden edges of the circles:
"I was going to mention him… but there is someone who objects, and he has the right."
"That cursed Eighth Shadow…"
"I will return you to your homes."
He snapped his fingers,
as if the echo was sending messages to the distant corners of the world.
Barry, in the dungeons of the Eternal Dusk Castle,
stood still—
he had forgotten what happened.
And Asi, in her room in the Palace of the Winged Sun,
had also forgotten what happened.
But the Manipulator… had planted something deep within their emotions and souls, something that would remain with them, even if they never knew.
Tribal Mountains – Kingdom of Boro
Adam stood before Lorian, his eyes burning with determination.
"Father… I've made my decision… I will become a Magic Knight."
Lorian looked at him and smiled.
"I expected nothing less from you. Then you will travel to the Kingdom of Kyle, where the greatest magic guilds reside."
After a moment, he added:
"You will go after one year… but you must promise me not to use the blue flames tainted with black there."
Adam raised his eyebrows:
"Why?"
Lorian replied calmly:
"You will understand when the time comes."
Adam cast a quick glance toward Helen Kyles, Lorian's wife.
In her eyes, cruelty and tenderness were intertwined…
no one could tell them apart.
The next day — Coast of Ruin
The two descended from the mountains to the coast,
where black rocks guarded the shore from the raging waves.
Lorian stood before Adam and handed him a new sword named Black Slayer.
Then he said:
"For this period and the near future, this will be your sword.
You have another sword, but you will obtain it later…
its name is Dark Valendor."
Then Lorian drew his golden sword lined with black,
and said with a firm smile:
"This is my sword, and its name is Guardian of the Covenant."
The training began immediately.
Adam was defeated once, twice, three times…
until by the end of the day, he leaned against a black coastal rock, exhausted, yet satisfied.
He raised his eyes toward the sea, and a pirate ship appeared approaching, its emblem a winged blue point.
"There… maybe a pirate ship!"
He quickly drew his sword.
Lorian smiled calmly, as if everything was under control, and said:
"They are pirates… but they are our allies.
They are called the Pirates of Dayrion the Calm."
The ship reached the shore, and its captain descended: Dayrion the Calm,
a young man of twenty-three.
He looked at Adam with eyes full of astonishment and said in a voice mixed with longing:
"I haven't seen you since you were an infant… my brother Adam."
Adam froze,
shock and confusion in his eyes.
Then he turned to Lorian, who simply said:
"He is your brother… indeed."