CHAPTER 93
Morning sunlight spilled across the valley, warm and golden, dancing through tall grass that swayed in the gentle wind. The sky was a clear, endless blue. It should have been a peaceful day a beautiful day and for a moment, it was.
Out behind the family's small wooden home, Kael stood beneath the old oak tree, holding two wooden practice swords. His posture was relaxed, but his presence was steady and strong a man who had endured, who had chosen love over anger time and time again.
Januza and Azerin stood before him now young teenagers, lean and tall, sweat already forming on their brows.
Arin stood a short distance away at a clothesline, spreading their freshly washed garments beneath the sunlight. She hummed softly, watching her family with the kind of smile a person wears when they know happiness can be fragile.
Kael lifted one of the practice swords and pointed it forward.
"Come on you can do better c'mon faster!" he barked, stepping back as both boys rushed him.
Their wooden blades clacked sharply a flurry of strikes.
But Kael was experienced.
He parried each one.
Tap.
Tap.
Tap.
Fluid. Effortless.
Januza narrowed his eyes. "Wait— Papa, you're too strong!"
Azerin stepped back, panting dramatically. "Yeah Come on Papa! You're unfair!!"
Kael paused ,then suddenly threw his head back and laughed.
"HAHAHAHA!"
Arin looked over, smiling even wider.
Kael reached out and patted both boys on the head, ruffling their hair roughly.
"It's okay, it's okay," he said, voice warm. "One day… you'll become stronger stronger than me."
Both boys froze.
Then...
Their faces lit up.
"Oooooh stronger than you, Papa?!" they exclaimed at the same time.
Kael nodded seriously .... as if making a sacred vow.
"Yes. You both will become strong so that you can look after each other."
The wind blew gently, carrying the meaning of those words.
Januza immediately puffed out his chest and pointed at Azerin.
"Eiii!! Of course I'll be the strongest! I'm the older one!"
Azerin's eye twitched.
"EH?! YOUUU!!!!" he stomped his foot. "We're twins, idiot! You are NOT older!!"
"But I came out first," Januza replied smugly.
Azerin froze, then let out the loudest, most dramatic groan in the world.
"WHYYYY YOUUUUUUU!!!!!"
He grabbed his hair and rolled on the ground like a dying goat.
Arin couldn't hold it anymore she burst into laughter, her entire body shaking.
Even Kael laughed softly the kind of laugh that has relief in it.
The kind that says, This happiness… is real.
Arin walked over, wiping tears of laughter from her eyes. She knelt down between the twins, placing a hand on each of their shoulders.
"It doesn't matter who's stronger," she said gently, voice full of love.
"What matters is that you always look out for each other."
Januza and Azerin both went quiet.
Kael looked at Arin, his eyes soft.
He nodded.
"She's right," he said, voice deep. "We're a family. That's what matters."
The sunlight glowed around them, warm, gentle protecting them.
But peace is always fragile.
Footsteps crunched along the dirt path.
A man a villager passing by.
His eyes narrowed when he saw them. His lip curled.
Bitterness. Hatred. Disgust.
He stooped, picked up a rock
and threw it.
THUD.
It struck the side of their home with a dull echo.
"You cursed bastards!" the man spat.
"Go live with the pigs! Your family doesn't belong here!"
The warmth shattered.
Kael's smile disappeared.
His hand slowly lowered to the hilt of his real sword leaning beside the training stump.
"Tch…" Kael muttered under his breath.
"I've had enough of this."
He stepped forward fury flickering in his eyes.
But Arin grabbed his arm.
"Wait." She shook her head.
"Don't do this. Let them talk. This isn't us. We know who we are."
Kael's jaw was tight.
He wanted to fight.
He wanted to protect his family.
But Arin's words reached him like they always did.
He exhaled, slow, painful.
"…You're right," Kael said quietly.
"I'm sorry."
The villager snorted.
"Ohhh, what's wrong? You scared?!" He laughed cruelly. "You want to fight?!"
He picked up another stone...
and threw it.
CRACK.
This time ....
It hit Azerin.
Right on the head.
"Ahh."
Azerin's hands flew up, blood beginning to drip down his temple.
"AZERIN!!!" Arin screamed.
Kael rushed forward.
Arin grabbed her son and pulled him close.
Januza stood frozen.
Staring.
The villager bent to pick up a larger stone, heavier, jagged raising it high.
"Stupid brats... should've never been born!!"
But before the stone could fall
Something happened.
A shift.
A breath.
A ripple in the air.
Januza moved.
No he didn't move.
He was fast to fast.
And reappeared right in front of the man.
Kael's eyes widened.
"He's… fast."
Azerin's bleeding stopped for a moment as his breath caught.
"Januza…?"
But Januza didn't hear them.
His eyes normally calm, gentle were empty.
He stared into the man's soul.
Cold.
Silent.
Sharp.
He spoke slowly voice like a blade dragged across stone:
"Do you want to die?"
The villager froze the rock slipping from his hand.
His knees trembled.
He couldn't breathe.
It felt like there were blades pressing against his neck.
Like death itself stood behind him.
"I— I— I'm sorry—" the villager stammered, voice breaking.
Fear primal fear swallowed him.
But Januza stepped forward.
His shadow stretched, long and sharp on the ground.
Wait wait wait i-i'm sorry I won't happen again I promise the villager said but januza's voice was quieter now but far more terrifying:
"No one touches my family."
His fingers curled ready to break the man's throat.
"I'll kill you."
Arin's voice cut the air sharp, panicked, trembling:
"JANUZA!!"
Like someone yanked his spirit back into his body
Januza gasped.
The villager ran.
Stumbling. Screaming.
"C–CURSED CHILDREN!!! THEY'RE CURSED!!!"
His voice echoed through the valley.
Silence fell.
Only the wind moved.
Azerin slowly looked at his brother — fear, confusion, love, all tangled.
Kael stared in disbelief.
Arin held Azerin close, shaking with shock.
Januza…
stared at his hands.
His heart hammered.
His breath was uneven.
What… was that…?
That wasn't me.
It felt like… something else moved me.
Something dark… cold… hungry…
He swallowed hard.
"What was that…?" he whispered to himself.
His voice hollow.
"It was like… I wasn't myself."