Chapter 11: Aurelia Saint John
Count Sebastian Arclay's fingers trembled as he crushed the parchment in his hand.
Count Sebastian: "I contacted The Muted."
Count Sebastian: "They have no idea where Caius is."
His voice was low. Dangerous.
Count Sebastian: "And the Baroness…"
Count Sebastian: "Is still alive."
The butler swallowed.
Butler: "My lord… did they find any trace at all?"
Count Sebastian's eyes darkened.
Count Sebastian: "Only one."
Count Sebastian: "Caius's last confirmed location was the Baron Saint John's mansion."
Silence filled the room.
Butler: "My lord… the council voting will begin soon."
Butler: "Should we not hire another—"
Count Sebastian slammed his fist onto the desk.
Count Sebastian: "No."
Count Sebastian: "If Caius was captured, he may already be under torture."
Count Sebastian: "Any move now will expose me."
Count Sebastian: "We lay low."
His jaw tightened.
Count Sebastian: "But if I ever find that bastard alive…"
Count Sebastian: "I will tear him apart with my own hands."
---
Somewhere Outside Silver Lake Town
A merchant caravan screeched to a halt.
Bandits poured out of the trees, blades glinting under torchlight.
Bandit Leader: "Everyone out!"
Bandit Leader: "Quietly!"
Bandit Leader: "Leave everything behind, and you might live."
Civilians stumbled out, trembling.
Woman: "Please—we'll give you everything!"
Bandit Leader laughed.
Bandit Leader: "Men."
Bandit Leader: "Take the goods."
Bandit Leader: "Bring the women to me."
A husband stepped forward.
Husband: "Please! Take the gold!"
Husband: "We have more at home—just leave my wife alone!"
The bandit leader's smile vanished.
Bandit Leader: "Another word…"
Bandit Leader: "And I'll kill your daughter first."
The woman screamed.
Woman: "Please—mercy!"
Bandit Leader: "Leaving you alive is mercy."
A calm voice cut through the night.
Daniel: "Stop."
The bandits turned.
A small figure stood on the road.
Black mask.
Dark cloak.
Bandits burst into laughter.
Bandit: "What is this?"
Bandit: "A kid?"
Bandit: "Go back to your mother and—"
#SWIISH#
Air moved faster than sound.
The bandit's head separated cleanly from his body.
It hit the ground with a dull thud.
Silence.
Bandit Leader: "…Elemental user."
Bandit Leader: "Careful."
Bandit Leader: "Kid, if you move—"
Bandit Leader: "We kill them."
Daniel tilted his head.
Daniel: "Hostages?"
Daniel: "I don't see any."
Umbral Passage.
#FWUMP#
The world twisted.
Bandits blinked.
Bandit: "Boss… where did everyone go?"
The civilians vanished.
Bandit Leader's instincts screamed.
Bandit Leader: "We should've run…"
Bandit Leader: "Long ago…"
He laughed bitterly.
Bandit Leader: "They called us mud-flesh."
Bandit Leader: "Looked down on us."
Bandit Leader: "Somewhere along the way… I forgot when I stopped caring."
Bandit Leader: "Men—kill him!"
Daniel sighed.
Daniel: "Why does being called a bastard always irritate me…"
Gravitational Anchor.
#THUD#
An invisible force slammed the bandits into the ground.
Bones cracked.
Bandits screamed.
Bandit Leader: "W-what is this pressure?!"
Daniel: "Earth and dark."
Daniel: "A crude imitation of a black hole."
Bandit Leader: "Please!"
Bandit Leader: "We'll change!"
Daniel's voice was cold.
Daniel: "Not feeding you to my undead rats…"
Daniel: "That's mercy."
Stone formed around Daniel's fingers.
Compressed.
Spinning.
#BANG#
#BANG#
#BANG#
Earth bullets tore through skulls.
Silence returned.
Daniel turned.
Daniel: "You're safe."
The civilians slowly emerged from the shadows.
Man: "Thank you… thank you so much."
Daniel: "Payment."
Daniel: "Whatever you can spare."
Coins exchanged hands.
Daniel nodded.
Daniel: "Hire guards next time."
Daniel: "Live."
Man: "What's your name?"
Daniel paused.
Daniel: "Akuma."
Shadow Weave.
#WOOOSH#
He vanished.
The man whispered.
Man: "A god… sent by the heavens…"
---
Baron Saint John's Mansion
#WOOOSH#
Daniel reappeared in his room.
Daniel: "Today's haul—539 Rudraksh."
Sensei: "Total savings over ten years: approximately 55,000 Rudraksh."
Daniel: "We need money."
Daniel: "And power."
Daniel: "Money makes even the powerful kneel."
Daniel froze.
#KNOCK# KNOCK#
Daniel: "Shit—hide the coins."
He opened the door.
And stopped breathing.
She stood there.
Not a child.
Not yet a woman.
Something in between.
Her face carried noble elegance softened by warmth—high cheekbones, olive-toned skin kissed by sunlight. A beauty shaped by history rather than fashion.
Her eyes held him still.
Grey-blue like a storm over the sea, threaded with gold.
Eyes that didn't judge.
Eyes that saw.
Her hair flowed like burnished mahogany, drinking light and returning it as gold.
And her voice—
Low. Calm. Resonant.
Aurelia: "Daniel?"
Aurelia Saint John.
Daughter of the Baron and Baroness.
My first friend in this world.
And the only one in both lives who knocked on my door—
Without fear.
---