"Did you understand everything that I said?" Liana asked, raising a brow.
Ser nodded silently.
"Good." She leaned back slightly, her tone softening. "Then, I have a question for you," Liana raised her index finger. "Now, that you have found out you are a wielder, what are you going to do now?"
"Hm.?" Ser looked at her blankly. "I… don't know."
Liana frowned and leaned closer, her voice lowering. "Listen, Ser, there are many paths a wielder can take. So, what will you do? Or should I give you some options since you do not seem to know?"
She folded her arms. "You do realize you can't stay here forever, don't you?"
Ser nodded, his face still calm and unreadable. He fell silent for a few moments, lost in thought.
"Maybe..." He murmured quietly.
"Hm?" Liana tilted her head.
"Maybe, I can do what you do," Ser said, clenching his fists. "Aren't you also a wielder, Miss Lia?"
Liana's lips curled faintly. "I am. I am a Wanderer, Ser. Do you want to be one too?"
Ser nodded firmly.
"But…," Liana's expression grew serious again. "It is a very dangerous life. Once you start down that road, there is no turning back. Are you sure? I am not forcing you."
Ser shook his head.
"No, Miss Lia. I want to be like you. You helped me when I was nobody. I want to repay that debt."
He paused, his voice trembling slightly. "Even if I do not remember anything before being a slave… or before I ended up here, I am sure I have never felt the way I do when I am with you. You are not just the one who saved my life; you have also taught me so much, even though it has only been a few days. I want to help you… and stay with you, Miss Lia."
For a moment, Liana did not say anything. The air between them grew still.
Her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.
Then, with a soft laugh that almost broke into a sob, she wiped the corner of her eye. "Oh, Ser.." she whispered. "You really are such a fool."
She crouched slightly so their eyes met. "You do not owe me anything, do you understand? I did not help you because I wanted something in return." Her voice trembled faintly. "I did it because… never mind"
For the first time, Ser saw a fragile warmth behind her confident smile.
"But if you truly want to walk the same path as me," she continued, taking a deep breath, "then I will guide you. Just know this; it will not be easy. There will be days when you will wish you had never said these words."
Ser nodded, determination flickering in his eyes.
"Good," Liana said softly. "Then from this day onward, you are my apprentice… and my son."
Ser smiled at her words; faint, unsure, yet unmistakenly real. For the first time, Liana saw life flicker behind those emotionless eyes.
Liana couldn't look away for a while.
"Wait, here." She said softly.
She disappeared into the next room and returned moments later, holding a few folded black and grey clothes.
"These are yours," she said, handing them to him. "A pair each. Keep them in your room and rest for today."
Her tone softened, carrying warmth beneath her usual composure.
"Your training begins tomorrow."
Ser took the clothes carefully, as though they were something precious, and nodded before stepping into his room.
***
The nights that followed were far less peaceful than the day.
No matter how quiet the house grew, Ser's screams would always return; raw, helpless, echoing through the dark.
Liana had grown used to it, though she wished she had not.
Each time, she would rush to his side. Each time, she would find him trembling; a boy lost inside a storm of memories he couldn't name.
And each morning, he would wake with no recollection, only the faint weariness in his eyes.
The cruelty of his past clung to him like a parasite, feeding off the light he was trying to build.
Tonight was no different. On the eve of his first day of training, the air itself seemed to thicken before the inevitable cry.
"Ahh!" Ser's voice tore through the silence.
Liana pushed open the door without hesitation.
Ser writhed in his bed, clutching his ears, eyes shut tight as if to block out unseen horrors. His breath came ragged; his face contorted in pain.
Liana's expression hardened, though her eyes betrayed sorrow. She knelt beside him and placed a hand on his forehead.
At once, dark matter began to swirl; thin, smoky tendrils that glowed faintly in the moonlight.
The black energy seeped out from Ser's body, drawn by her will. It pulsed and twisted before vanishing into her palm like mist devoured by shadow.
Ser's breathing slowed. His trembling ceased. His expression softened into peace, fragile but pure.
Liana brushed a hand through his sweat-damp hair. Her fingers lingered there for a moment; tender, protective, yet weighed with silent guilt.
"Even now…" she whispered to herself, her voice barely audible.
Her gaze lingered on his sleeping face a moment longer before she rose quietly and stepped out into the dim corridor.
The night air outside was cool. A faint mist rolled over the silent valley below her home, silvered by moonlight.
Liana leaned against the wooden railing, eyes heavy with thought.
Her hand; the same one that had drawn the darkness from him; still faintly shimmered with black residue. She clenched it into a fist until the faint light vanished.
"It's getting stronger," she murmured to herself. "Whatever's inside him… it's waking faster than I expected."
Her expression darkened, the faintest trace of fear glinting in her eyes.
"But he's still just a child. I can't let it take him again."
She exhaled, her breath turning white in the cold. The stars above seemed distant; too far to reach, too faint to offer comfort.
For a long while, she stood there in silence, staring into the night.
Finally, she turned back toward the room, whispering almost to herself,
"Sleep well tonight, Ser. Tomorrow… your real journey begins."
The door creaked shut behind her.
And in the darkness of the quiet home, something unseen; something faint and alive; stirred beneath the boy's skin.