In the darkness, amidst the ruins, two silhouettes stood facing each other like shadows: Thalos and Rrnaun. The townspeople, meanwhile, stood like a silent wall, lined up side by side with the orange glow of the fire behind them.
Sira didn't slow down despite the weight of carrying the heavily wounded older sister on her back; her breathing had become irregular, her face smeared with ash. Lysera was tightly holding Auren's hand while occasionally checking if her older sister was still breathing.
As they moved through the dark streets, Sira's voice trembled:
"We must enter the forest path… if they can't follow the light trails, we are safe for now."
But Lysera stopped. Her sister was so burned, so heavily wounded that her breathing had weakened, her eyelids seemed about to close.
"Sira… how much time do we have?" she whispered.
Sira replied, sweating, dark circles under her eyes:
"If the Luxaris Guards switch to battle formation… none."
Auren clung to his sister's arm; his voice was shaking.
"Is Thalos… going to fight alone?"
This question struck Lysera's heart like a dagger. Though her eyes filled with tears, she tried to look strong.
"Thalos is not alone," she said. "Sira's barrier is still protecting him… and the townspeople are there too."
But even as she said it, the fear inside her grew. They were all shaken by Rrnaun's power; he wasn't just an ordinary guard… he was a man known as the Sword of Valerith.
Just then, a light split the sky from the direction of the town. The roar of clashing metal and a sound resembling thunder shook the forest.
Auren froze.
"Thalos!!!"
Lysera immediately knelt and wrapped the child in her arms, pressing his face to her chest.
"Don't look! Auren, don't look!"
But Auren's eyes were already locked on that light. Something was gnawing at him inside: fear, anger, and another fire he couldn't identify.
As the sky trembled, the distant noise of metal tightened the child's heart.
Lysera pressed Auren's head to her chest.
"Don't look… please don't look."
Auren's small hands were trembling; his teeth chattered, his gaze wouldn't break away from the darkness.
"Sira…" Lysera's voice turned into a broken whisper. "Where… where are we going, leaving Thalos like this?"
Sira paused for a brief moment, steadied her breath.
"We aren't leaving. We're just changing positions for now."
Lysera opened her eyes in astonishment.
"What do you mean?"
As they moved through the darkness, Sira touched the bark of a tree. Under her palm, ancient runes glowed faintly.
"Everyone knows Thalos's power. But we who stand beside him… are not mere spectators. What we must do now is distribute the weight."
Sira shuddered as the intensity of the explosion behind them increased.
"Thalos cannot hold Rrnaun alone," she whispered.
The three of them retreated deeper into the forest. As the trees grew thicker, the lights of the conflict faded among the shadows.
Finally, Sira stopped. She carefully laid the older sister on the ground and knelt. Her palms were trembling; it was as if something she had kept hidden for years finally had to come out of her throat.
Lysera approached anxiously.
"Sira? Why did we stop?"
Sira bowed her head; took a tired, broken breath.
"I can't take you one step further without telling you the truth."
Auren and Lysera looked at her in astonishment.
"…What truth?" whispered Lysera.
Sira closed her eyes. Her breath seemed to release the burden of years.
"Children… I am not as young as you think. Neither is Thalos."
Auren frowned.
Sira lifted her head.
"Both Thalos and I are over a hundred years old."
Lysera held her breath. Auren's knees trembled.
Sira continued, but this time she took a much heavier breath.
"I must tell you one more thing. We didn't come here… just to protect you."
Lysera froze.
"Sira… what do you mean?"
Sira looked at the older sister's burned body on the ground. Her eyes shone not with fear, but with recognition.
"We… came to this house… for your sister."
Auren gasped.
"F-For our sister?! She was always here anyway!"
Sira shook her head.
"No, Auren… we don't think she is just an ordinary sister."
Lysera's voice cracked:
"Sira, speak plainly! Why did you come?!"
Sira pressed harder on her knees.
"Because we felt the soul of one of our masters, whom we thought had died years ago… whom we personally served, beginning to awaken."
Auren's heart felt like it would stop.
"Y-Your masters…?"
Sira dropped that heavy word like a dagger cutting through the darkness of the forest:
"One of the Elders."
The forest suddenly fell into silence.
Lysera's eyes filled with tears, she took a step back.
"My sister… is carrying… an Elder inside her?"
Auren's lips trembled.
"No… that can't be… Our sister is just our sister…"
His sentence remained unfinished.
Sira bowed her head. "I wish I didn't have to say it. But yes… the soul inside her is awakening. That's why we came."
Auren shouted in anger and disbelief:
"Did you really serve the Elders?!"
Sira took a painful breath.
"Yes… we served them."
A tear rolled down Auren's cheek.
"Those monsters?!"
This word cut Sira like a knife.
"No… they weren't monsters. Most of what you've been told isn't true."
Auren yelled:
"Then why does everyone hate them?!"
Sira's breath came out hoarse:
"Because the other half of history… didn't suit those who wrote it."
Lysera whispered:
"Did Thalos serve them too?"
Sira nodded, her eyes full of tears.
"Yes. Thalos did too. And so did I."
The shock on Lysera's face ran deep. Auren screamed:
"Did Thalos hide something from us too?!"
"We had to hide it," said Sira. "Knowing the truth wouldn't have protected you, it would have killed you."
Lysera shed tears:
"But we completely trusted Thalos…"
Sira's breath hitched.
"I know… and I know I don't deserve that trust."
Auren's scream came from a deeper place:
"We thought you were our family! We thought of Thalos as our brother, and you as our mother! Why didn't you tell us?!"
Tears flowed down Sira's face.
"Because if you knew… Luxaris would never have left you alone."
Auren clenched his fists.
"They didn't anyway! Our house burned down! My sister is like this! Thalos is dying!"
Lysera: "I can't hear this right now…" closing her eyes.
Auren asked again:
"Why did you come to us?! Why did you involve my sister?!"
Sira replied in a very slow voice:
"I didn't choose you. Before we even entered… your sister had already been chosen. The soul inside her had found her. It had bonded with her."
"So… is it not our fault?" whispered Auren.
"It is not your fault at all," said Sira. "Your fate was drawn by the lies of others."
Lysera, in tears:
"Thalos… is that why he protected us?"
Sira:
"No. He protected you because he loved you. You became his future."
Sira wiped her tears, took a deep breath.
"Children… I apologize for all of this. From now on, I will tell you everything. Who I was, who Thalos was, what the Elders were… what the soul inside your sister wants… everything."
Lysera:
"Sira… really?"
Sira smiled.
"Yes. No more secrets—"
WHIZZZ—
A short whistling sound split the air like an arrow.
Then…
An arrow pierced Sira's chest.
Lysera screamed:
"SIRA!!!"
Auren froze, couldn't even breathe.
Sira trembled but didn't fall. She moved her hand to the shaft of the blood-stained arrow.
Heavy footsteps were heard in the darkness of the forest. Rrnaun emerged from among the trees.
In his left hand was his black bow.
And in his right hand…
Thalos's head.
Blood was still dripping. His eyes were empty and open.
Lysera's scream cut through the darkness. Auren collapsed to the ground, holding his head, crying.
Sira's eyes widened, a clash of pain, anger, and helplessness inside her.
Rrnaun approached, holding the head.
He spoke in a cold voice:
"This is exactly why… Elder dogs like you need to be purged."
And the darkness of the forest at that moment descended upon them like a grave.