I had taught him magic, as well as everything I knew.
But very quickly, something struck me: Neru was progressing at an abnormal speed.
Where it had taken me years to understand certain principles, he grasped them in a few days. Sometimes even surpassed them. It wasn't just talent — it was as if magic recognized him naturally.
I introduced him to the mountain shaman.
Even he, not easily impressed, remained silent for a long time after observing him practice.
— This child… he murmured finally. He doesn't walk toward magic. It walks toward him.
With Neru, we were still preparing remedies for Ryan Bostagus. Yet, despite his seriousness and efficiency, I sensed in him a persistent unease. He wasn't proud of what we were doing for that man.
The years passed.
Neru grew up at my side.
At barely nineteen years old, he possessed a mastery of magic that far surpassed mine. And far from saddening me, it filled me with joy. Seeing him become so strong reassured me, as if a part of me knew that one day, he would need that power.
In other cities, he participated in magic competitions.
And he won them.
Where I, despite all my experience, had never managed to distinguish myself.
One evening, as we were returning together, Neru stopped dead.
Posters covered the walls: the smiling face of Ryan Bostagus, presented as a hero, a benefactor, an icon of healing. Everywhere, his name shone.
I saw Neru's fists clench.
He knew.
He knew that all of it was just a lie.
That the real efforts, the sleepless nights, the risks, the moral weight… everything rested on us.
He tore off a poster and shredded it with a sharp gesture.
— Oops… he let out, without any real irony.
I sighed softly.
I had known for a long time that he had never held Ryan in his heart. Where I remained indifferent to the exploitation, as long as lives were saved, Neru couldn't tolerate injustice.
— One day, Ravena… he often told me, we should stop. Cut ties with him.
I didn't respond.
But Ryan knew.
He knew that Neru didn't like him.
And in his gaze, I saw a new worry being born.
This story…
Wouldn't end well.
With time, the tensions between Ryan and Neru only worsened.
The exchanges, once tense, became openly violent. Arguments broke out, voices rose, and some words spoken could no longer be taken back.
One day, Ryan crossed an irreversible line.
He threatened Neru with death.
This time, it was too much.
I had already tried, many times, to calm things down, to play the role of intermediary. But from that moment, I understood that the situation had become dangerous. Ryan saw nothing else but his interests, his wealth, his image. The rest had no importance.
Neru, he could no longer bear to see me exploited.
And me, in all that?
I wanted to continue saving lives.
Ryan's influence, despite everything, allowed me to reach regions of the world where I never could have gone alone. Without him, I knew my remedies wouldn't always arrive in time.
But on the other hand…
My attachment to Neru was too strong.
I never would have borne losing him.
So I cut everything off.
I announced to Ryan that our collaboration was ending. That our contract was broken and that I never wanted to see him here again. He stayed frozen, incredulous. He tried to convince me, to bargain, to promise. But I refused.
All of it no longer made any sense.
It had become absurd… and dangerous.
With Neru, time flowed differently.
Strangely, life was sweeter this way. Just him and me. Without pressure, without shouts, without threats.
Two weeks passed.
Ryan Bostagus's fall was rapid.
Deprived of my remedies, he tried to reproduce them using machines. But magic can't be copied. The artificial potions were unstable, sometimes ineffective… sometimes worse. Instead of healing, some worsened the diseases.
As I expected, he ended up calling me.
He begged.
He promised to stay quiet, to never threaten Neru again, to be careful. He said people were dying, that without me, everything was collapsing.
I wanted to refuse.
But the idea of seeing innocents fall ill, suffer, die… tightened my heart. That sadness was stronger than my anger.
So I agreed to resume work.
Under Neru's hard and silent gaze.
He was angry.
He hid it poorly.
And yet… he helped me anyway.
It was at that moment that I understood one thing:
That decision… would cost us dearly.
I asked Neru to go gather medicinal plants behind the house.
The rain had just fallen without warning, heavy and continuous, pounding the tin roof. He took an umbrella, gave me a brief smile, and plunged into the gray curtain.
I resumed my work, trying to focus on the preparations in progress. Yet, a diffuse premonition tightened my chest. Something was wrong. I didn't know what, or why… but that sensation refused to disappear.
Time passed.
Then the door opened.
Neru stood there.
His umbrella had fallen at his feet. His clothes were splattered with blood. Not a few splatters. Too much. Far too much. His hands, his sleeves, the bottom of his pants… everything was soaked.
The most terrifying thing wasn't that.
It was his face.
He wasn't trembling.
He wasn't panting.
He wasn't afraid.
He seemed… satisfied.
— Neru…? I stammered.
I felt my legs weaken.
My heart began to beat so hard it hurt.
— Calm down, Ravena, he said softly. I'll explain everything to you.
His voice was steady. Too steady.
I approached, hands trembling, not even daring to touch him.
— What… what happened…?
He breathed in slowly, as if searching for his words.
— I killed Ryan.
The world collapsed.
I stepped back, then another. My back hit the work table. I felt the room spin.
— You… what…?
— It had to be done, he continued. He was going to kill me. And he would have destroyed you afterward, one way or another.
I shook my head, unable to accept what I was hearing.
— Neru… tell me you're lying.
He didn't look away.
Then he explained.
He told me that, while walking toward the forest, he had sensed a presence. That Ryan had come back, but not by the usual path. That he had taken a detour. That he was following him.
Ryan had a knife.
He was waiting for the right moment.
When Neru had crouched to pick the plants, Ryan had sprung out. He hadn't said anything. He had struck.
A brief struggle. Confused.
Under the rain.
Neru had dodged. The knife had fallen. Ryan had tried to retrieve it. Neru had been faster.
— I didn't think, he said. My body moved on its own.
I closed my eyes.
— And after…?
— After, there was no choice left.
He finally lowered his gaze.
— Come. I have to show you.
I wanted to refuse.
I wanted to collapse.
But my legs moved despite myself.
The rain hadn't stopped. The forest seemed darker than usual, heavier, as if it knew.
He led me to a small clearing slightly downhill.
Ryan was there.
His body lay on the soaked ground. Inert. Eyes empty, frozen in an expression I didn't want to understand. The rain was slowly washing away the traces around him, but not everything.
I brought a hand to my mouth to stifle a sob.
Then I saw.
Something was wrong.
His abdomen was opened… but strangely empty.
Too clean.
Too silent.
There was nothing where there should have been something.
I felt an icy chill run down my spine.
I turned slowly toward Neru.
— Neru… what…?
He was looking at me. Still that calm. That mastery.
— Ravena, he said simply. Don't ask questions you don't want to hear the answers to.
His words pierced me.
I understood then that what had happened went beyond the simple act of defense.
Something else had taken place.
Something deeper. Darker.
But I said nothing.
I asked nothing more.
Because deep inside me…
I was afraid of the answer.
The rain continued to fall, washing the ground, erasing the visible traces.
But not those that had just been inscribed in us.
And at that precise moment, I understood that Neru was no longer just my little brother.
He had become something else.
And that the world, from now on, would have to pay the price.