The silence that followed that terrifying scream was deafening, so much so that Isaac's ears were left with a dull ringing.
Agathe's small body trembled in his arms like a leaf in the middle of a violent storm.
Isaac tightened his thin arms around her in an attempt to comfort her.
What could possibly trigger that kind of reaction in a child??
Agathe returned his embrace even more tightly, and the young boy, who had not even known her twenty minutes ago, suddenly felt a warmth clench around his chest like a vise that left him breathless.
That feeling of fear when you imagine danger befalling someone you love, that horrific anticipation of the future that awakens such a powerful desire to protect that it gives birth to immense strength in critical moments.
She's so small, so fragile, and yet the love she feels for me is immense, he thought, looking at her with gentle eyes. I won't let anything happen to her! I swear it!
A burning flame replaced that fear, a flame impossible to extinguish, born from that desire to protect.
The sound of footsteps on the stairs resumed, and as the door opened, his mother burst in, slightly out of breath judging by her short, quick breathing.
Her gaze swept across the room, and when she saw Isaac holding a trembling Agathe in his arms, her body relaxed slightly.
- "Mom! Did that scream really justify gripping that kitchen knife so tightly?" he asked, trying to lighten the mood.
At those words, she lowered her eyes to the knife and smiled faintly, relaxing completely.
- "Yes, son, it did justify it, though I'm not convinced it would have been of much use. Monsters like that don't really fear the Unengraved like us…" she replied.
She then approached the two children on the bed and placed a gentle hand on Agathe's trembling head.
- "Agathe, my daughter! Even if we have no powers, the Engravers watch over us, you know that, don't you?"
The little girl, who must have been around twelve by now, nodded while still in her brother's arms.
- "Then you also know that the first Engraver, Mordred the Great, raised great rune walls for us, supported by seven pillars, and together they form an indestructible barrier that monsters cannot cross," she added.
The little girl nodded again, now calmer at those words.
As for Isaac, he was not calm at all!!
Those golden inscriptions I saw from the window earlier aren't just for decoration??? So I was right! The new layout of this Paris really is because they're at war! And not just any war either, but against supernatural monsters!!!
And while his mind raced, his mother continued.
- "So, my heart, stop being afraid. Even if we are humanity's last bastion, we will always be safe! And besides, you know this so long as I, Margault Melbourne, am alive, no one will lay a finger on my daughter! Not even a monster!" she promised her.
Agathe raised her head, her eyes still a little watery.
- "Promise?" she squeaked.
Margault lifted her little finger, and Agathe instantly understood and hooked hers with it.
A small silence settled over them.
Then they suddenly both turned their heads toward Isaac.
- "What are you waiting for?? Have you decided to ruin this moment, young man?" Margault scolded him.
Isaac was abruptly pulled out of his thoughts by his mother's voice, took in the situation, and immediately hooked his finger with theirs.
- "Good! By the solemn promise of the little finger, I declare that we will protect each other from those monsters, and that nothing will happen to us because we will watch over one another! Promise?" she asked.
- "Promise," they answered in unison.
Once those words had been spoken, Margault sat on the bed, tenderly stroking Agathe's leg, and after a while the little girl finally fell asleep in her brother's arms.
Isaac then looked at his mother, and she returned the look with an extra touch of gravity that made Isaac frown, but Margault said nothing more, choosing instead to look away.
In that silence, she too eventually drifted off, her back against the wall and her hand still resting on her daughter's leg.
Isaac straightened up without waking anyone, took the kitchen knife from his mother's hands, and set it down safely.
A few moments later, the flickering light finally went out.
Like an actor paid for his role and his timing, he thought with a smile.
His smile faded, however, as he took stock of his situation.
I died, and now I'm in a world of monsters, with a mother and a sister to protect, zero powers, and a weak body. Great.
He clenched his fist, already coming up with a training plan to strengthen this body, one that would never last in any of the apocalyptic stories he had read in his previous life.
Here, the map is blank. This world has lost all cartography. According to my mother and the bits of information she let slip, we are the last living humans. That should terrify me, but I can't help being excited. My life as a cartographer is finally going to have meaning, even if it means taking enormous risks.
His gaze fell back on his little sister.
Well, calculated risks instead. I have a little sister in this world.
Sleep finally claimed him as well.
The gray morning light filtering through the curtains pierced the darkness of Isaac's sleep, and he slowly emerged from his gentle dreams.
- "How long did I sleep? Three or four hours at most. I still feel tired," he muttered to himself as he rubbed the back of his neck, his muscles protesting at every movement.
Agathe, still curled up against him, let out a small protestive whimper when he gently slipped out of her embrace.
- "Sorry, little sister, but the smell coming from the kitchen downstairs is more tempting than sleeping in!"
He went down the stairs, and he had been right. The clatter of utensils coming from the kitchen, coupled with Margault's soft humming, told Isaac that breakfast was going to be promising.
- "Everything tells me we're poor in this house, and even if it's not a caviar feast waiting for me, it smells incredibly good," he thought, practically salivating.
He quietly approached his mother from behind without her noticing, and suddenly grabbed her by the waist in an attempt to scare her.
- "AAAH!" she screamed, spinning around before realizing it was her son.
- "Hahaha," he laughed.
- "You little brat, scaring me like that! Go wash up first! Cold water will knock some sense back into you!" she scolded him.
Still laughing, Isaac looked around for what seemed to be the bathroom, and after opening the wrong door, purely innocently, of course, as if he knew exactly what he was doing, he found it.
- "Hm?"
There was no switch to turn on the light. He searched for anything resembling even a distant cousin of what he knew, but found nothing.
However, his sharp eyes noticed a small mark carved into the wall, not far from the door. He brought his face within a few inches of it and ran his finger over it from top to bottom.
Immediately, the bulb lit up and the room filled with light.
- "How strange, truly strange. Could this be a rune? It looks like something the Viking peoples used…"
Still thinking, he stepped into the small bathtub and turned on the shower by means of a different rune.
The cold water that poured from the shower was accompanied by a grimace from Isaac, still used to the luxury of his former modern life.
Once he got out of the shower, he dried himself with a clean towel and noticed his own reflection in the half-cracked mirror hanging above the sink.
- "Oh my God, I'm gorgeous!! Ladies, be careful, your hearts are about to fall," he exclaimed, nearly mesmerized by his pearly white eyes, which gave him an ethereal air in sharp contrast to his black hair, dark as raven feathers.
He ran his finger along his jaw, his cheekbones, and his slightly gaunt cheeks. Then he nodded in satisfaction.
- "Isaac! Agathe! Breakfast is ready!" Margault shouted from the kitchen.
The boy finished dressing, abandoning his budding narcissism, and went to join his new family.
Like the good cartographer he was, he noted the entire layout of the house and realized that, just as he had suspected earlier, their family was poor.
Whether upstairs or in the main room, there was no decoration, no excess, nothing but the simplicity of efficiency to allow a life, or rather, in their case, a survival.
He sat down at the wooden table, where a bowl of hot soup and a piece of bread, still a little hard, were waiting for him.
- "What are you doing, Mom?" he asked, noticing that she seemed to be sewing a garment.
- "Darling, you know very well. As non-Engravers, we have to find a trade, and mine is sewing the uniforms of the Atheneum students. By the way, you'd do well to keep preparing for the tests next week."
- "The tests?"
- "Yes, the tests, Isaac. The Engravers judge whether you have a resonance with Ink, and if you do, they make you take the entrance exams for the Atheneum! Did your accident make you lose your memory? Do I need to examine you??" she asked worriedly.
- "No, it's fine, I'm okay. Yesterday's scream still has me shaken, that's all…" he said, pretending to tremble a little again.
His mother stood up and gave him a brief comforting hug before returning to her work.
- "A little courage, my boy. The monsters outside won't feel any fear, and you must be ready to defend yourself as soon as possible. Believe me, overcoming fear is the first step…" she taught him.
He nodded at her words and took another spoonful of hot soup.
Damn it, I need that affinity with this Ink. My survival in this world depends on it, even if I have no damn idea how to find out whether I have it… I'm a scientist! Research doesn't scare me!
The soup in his mouth suddenly tasted bitter when he thought about his prospects if he turned out to have no powers.
And as if a god had heard him and decided to help, a sound he thought he might have imagined suddenly rang out inside his head.
[Ding… Cartographer System Activated]