- Gorham! Gorham!
The boy ran across the training field, breathless, sweat dripping down his forehead. Eyes wide, chest heaving. He shouted as if he carried the end of the world on his shoulders.
The village chief, sitting on a wooden log, calmly sharpened his axe. He didn't even get up.
- What is it? - he asked with the calmness of someone who had seen worse things than screams.
- One of the thieves... escaped! - the boy could barely breathe.
- And...? - Gorham showed no sign of hurry.
- What if he comes back?
The old warrior lifted his eyes for a brief moment. A cold and precise gleam.
- Do you think he'd have any chance... if he came back?
The boy swallowed hard.
- The problem is... what if he doesn't come back alone.
Now, Gorham stopped sharpening the blade. His gaze changed. Not out of fear, but calculation. A brief pause. Then, he stood up - the entire weight of age and war in a single gesture.
He breathed deeply, the smell of earth and metal filling his lungs.
- Then don't run.
- Huh?
Gorham grabbed the axe with one hand, the sound of the blade leaving the wood cutting through the air.
- If he brings company... we will fight.
The wind blew.
The forge flames flickered.
On the other side, Tila walked almost skipping, and when she looked toward a distant house from the village, she quickened her pace, and upon reaching the house, she knocked on the door. Once. Twice... three times... Nothing. She looked through the windows - nothing. Then, out of curiosity, when she turned the doorknob, the door opened.
- Bruno, are you there? - silence...
- Bruno, are you sure about leaving without telling anyone? - Kearlin commented.
- I won't be gone for long.
Our hero, with his iron sword, iron bracelet, and a cloak that only hid part of his face, started walking to somewhere still unknown.
- This is the dwarves' village, are we going here? - Kearlin asked.
- No... I just came to offer my condolences.
As he passed by, some dwarves stopped him and asked:
- Hey, tall guy, have you seen a grumpy dwarf girl named Anaalyn with an axe on her back?
- Fortunately not. - Bruno replied.
- Damn it, where did that brat run off to?
Bruno sat in the square for a few seconds, looking like he was praying or something like that.
- People like you don't pray. Especially YOU. - Kearlin said, but Bruno didn't even comment.
Bruno didn't stay even five minutes before leaving the city. He walked a bit more until he saw a small house on a hill.
- Oh, him. - Kearlin now remembered that person.
- Just these two for now. - Bruno commented.
Bruno climbed the last few meters without hurry. The dust of the road clung to his cloak. The wind swayed the strands of his hair.
When he reached the door, he knocked once. Twice... three times... slowly.
Silence.
The house on the hill was silent. Not because of the absence of life - but out of reverence. The wind there blew lower, as if it knew that this place held the last breaths of an ancient era.
Bruno stopped in front of the door. Took a deep breath. Didn't hesitate - just pushed it open and walked in.
The smell was the same as years ago: candles, dried herbs, and books slowly rotting away. Time was not kind to the wood... but it seemed to respect the owner of the house.
- Master Revan... - he said, voice firm but calm.
A weak cough answered from the back of the house. Bruno walked to the room, where an old man, with a white beard and skin as thin as paper, rested in bed. His eyes, however... still shone as if they could pierce through worlds.
- Well, well... you actually came. - said the old man, with a crooked smile and a voice made of dust and memory. - Thought you'd forgotten me, boy.
Bruno took a step forward, pulling down the hood.
- I never forget a master. And even less a friend.
Revan coughed, but the smile stayed.
- That's because your memory is long... maybe too long for this world.
Kearlin appeared in the corner of the room, materializing almost like a playful shadow.
- Wow, he's still alive? I bet a friend you wouldn't make it in time. - he said, crossing his arms, though clearly touched.
- And you... still trying to look human?
Bruno didn't answer.
Revan raised a shaky hand and pointed at the chair nearby. Bruno sat.
- How long... since the last time?
- Ten years. - Bruno replied. - You taught me the old runes and then kicked me out of your house saying I was too 'handsome to be a wizard.'
- And you were. A waste of good hair to stay in a library. - Revan laughed with difficulty, then coughed again.
Silence for a moment.
Until the old man looked at him more seriously.
- You felt it, didn't you?
Bruno nodded, staring at the unlit fireplace.
- Something big. Moving under the world. Time... feels like it's running faster.
- It is. Because the world wants to see where it all ends. - said Revan. - And you, Bruno... have you chosen which side you'll be on?
Bruno hesitated. Then answered:
- I chose to live. Even if the world falls apart around me, like always.
Revan closed his eyes for a moment, as if resting in his pupil's words.
- That... is a good answer. Better than many kings I've known.
He reached to the side and, with effort, pulled a small gray-covered grimoire.
- Take it. It's not much... but it might save you someday. Or maybe just serve as a doorstop. - he handed it with a tired smile.
Bruno accepted the grimoire with respect. Inside, handwritten pages - old formulas, notes of living magic. Things you don't find anymore.
- Thank you, master.
- Don't thank me. Avenge me if someone speaks ill of my work.
They both laughed. For the last time.
Bruno stood, stepping back toward the door. But before leaving, he heard one last sentence, half-whispered:
- And Bruno... even if you never tell anyone... I know. I always knew. You didn't come from this world... but you belong to it now.
Bruno stopped for a second... then, without turning, just said:
- I know... I always knew. - a single smile, some say fake, but for Bruno it was something more.
The door closed behind him and, with it, the last presence of Revan vanished into time. The old mage... turned to dust. Literally or not, the world felt emptier.
The road was long. And Bruno walked.
He passed through dry trails, leaves crushed under worn boots. His cloak swayed in the wind, eyes fixed on nothing.
First stop: the crossroads.
There was the old prophet. The same one who, they say, woke up once every two years just to shout nonsense and then went back to sleeping in the middle of the road.
- ELARIS! THE PRINCESS OF HELL! YOU THINK SHE HAS THESE POWERS FOR NOTHING?! - he yelled, eyes spinning like loose plates.
Bruno stopped for a second. His pupils shrank.
- Hm.
And kept walking.
- I saw you in my dreams too! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO WALKS BETWEEN LIVES!!!
- Correct... good night to you too. - Bruno muttered, not giving the lunatic any attention.
Further ahead, the path led to the edge of the Dwarven Kingdom. The gates were open, as always, and the smell of beer, iron, and stubbornness already filled the air.
Shouts echoed through the market.
- Anaalyn! Anaalyn where are you?! Show yourself, you walking trouble! - shouted a gray-bearded dwarf, climbing barrels to gain height.
Bruno just waved to a guard and passed through.
"This village never changes." - he thought. - "Only the names of the troublemakers."
Later, at dusk, he stopped at a roadside tavern. Just to rest a bit, maybe drink something strong enough to fool his head for a few minutes.
At the counter:
- I swear! A blind assassin! He cuts you before even knowing where you are! - a man said to another, spilling beer from so much gesturing.
- That's nothing... I heard Seralyne is back! That crazy elf assassin. Not just hot... deadly. Hot and dangerous, just the way I like! - another said, smiling with more teeth than charm.
Bruno just sighed and left some coins on the table.
- You think you've got a shot with Seralyne? - another mocked.
Bruno stood up, adjusted his hood.
- I've heard enough for today.
He left the bar. The breeze was colder. Thoughts heavier. And the world... louder than ever.
"I just wanted a little silence."
But the world - as always - didn't grant simple wishes.
A few minutes later, he saw an isolated house. Windows open. Smoke coming out of the roof - not from a fireplace. And muffled screams.
Bruno stopped.
Watched.
Sighed. Closed his eyes for a second. Then opened them slowly.
- Kearlin...
- I know, I know. - the helper's voice sounded before even appearing. - No interfering. No getting involved. No revealing too much. Just a little push...
Bruno stepped forward. His hands slowly moved to the simple iron sword's hilt.
- This time... no little push.
The wind shifted. Everything around shifted.
And the raiders - still laughing about what they had stolen - were about to meet the only man in the world who hated more than anything... being interrupted when he tried to have a normal day.
Smoke poured through the broken windows.
The door was half-open, creaking like a trapped scream.
Inside the house, four armed raiders wreaked havoc.
The small family - father, mother, and daughter - were cornered in the living room.
- Thought this place was too poor to pay off. But look... jewelry, food, even a cute little girl... - one bandit laughed, missing teeth showing.
The father tried to shield them with his body, nose bleeding, a cut on his shoulder. The mother cried silently, holding the trembling daughter.
Then the door opened fully.
No kick. No rush.
Bruno walked in.
The sound of his steps on the blood-and-wine-soaked wood was soft. His face partially covered by the cloak. His eyes? Fixed. Emotionless. Unstoppable.
- Oh, a hero? Wanna join the party? - mocked the biggest bandit.
Bruno didn't reply. Just slowly moved his hand... and pulled the cloak off his face.
The bandit laughed.
The second one widened his eyes.
The third stepped back... but too late.
The first strike was fast.
Bruno lunged with a clean spin, the sword cutting horizontally. The first man's chest didn't just split - it disconnected, leaving half a body, blood spraying like a macabre fountain.
He fell with a dull thud. Dead before realizing what happened.
The second tried to run. Bruno didn't chase. He grabbed a broken stool and threw it so hard that the piece of wood pierced the man's shoulder, pinning him to the wall.
The third grabbed the daughter, using her as a shield.
Mistake.
- Don't move or I-
Crunch.
Bruno was already behind him.
The thief's leg was kicked so hard it bent the wrong way. He collapsed, dropping the child. Bruno caught her gently, set her aside, and then...
One punch.
Just one punch.
Right to the side of the head.
The thief collapsed. Foaming. Unconscious... or dead. Bruno didn't check.
And the fourth, even scared, even wanting to live, charged at Bruno. But one shove knocked them both down, and Bruno landed on top of him.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 punches. The wooden floor sinking. What was once a head... no longer existed.
He turned slowly to the family. The father tried to thank him, but Bruno said:
- Don't worry. - and extending his hand, he spoke a phrase - Facilem curationem.
And the father's shoulder stopped bleeding. The daughter, however, kept crying. But with a slight nod from Bruno, he noticed a little straw doll nearby.
- There's nothing to fear here.
And in the blink of an eye, before the family could thank him, he was gone.
Kearlin appeared behind him, floating with a tense expression.
- Well... you went a little overboard this time.
Bruno wiped the blood from his blade on the enemy's clothes.
- They threatened a child. I allowed myself not to hold back.
- Bet you feel better now, huh?
Bruno just looked at the floor, where the three bodies lay among blood, wood, and glass.
- No. Just more tired.
He walked out the door, leaving silence behind.
Bruno reached his house, and when he touched the doorknob, he realized he wasn't alone.
- This again. - Bruno touched the sword but didn't draw it.
And when he opened the door, there she was, sprawled on his couch, eating some of the sweets Bruno had made.
- Hi? Girl. - instantly, Tila jumped off the couch.
- B-Bruno, sorry! I saw you weren't home and accidentally found these sweets.
- Accidentally? Don't worry. You can come eat my sweets 'by accident' anytime you want, just leave a bit for me. - Bruno smiled tiredly.
Tila froze for a second, holding a half-eaten sweet. Her eyes widened, cheeks starting to blush.
- I-I swear I only took two... or three... maybe five, but it was an accident, I swear! - she tried to justify, shrinking like a kid caught red-handed.
Bruno just chuckled, a low, husky sound, while tossing his bloody cloak in a corner.
- If you'd eaten them all, maybe I'd kick you out of the whole village... - he teased, removing the sword from his back and leaning it on a stand by the wall - but only maybe.
Tila relaxed, taking a quick bite of the sweet and flopping back on the couch, now with much less guilt.
- You look terrible... more than usual, I mean. - she said, analyzing his tired eyes and dusty hair.
- Thanks for the kindness. - he replied, heading to the kitchen to wash his face.
- Where were you?
Bruno took a while to answer. Splashed water on his face, rubbed his eyes... and looked at his reflection. He didn't tell the whole truth - but he didn't lie either.
- Just... taking care of some loose ends.
Kearlin appeared in the kitchen, floating and spinning with his arms open.
- Loose ends that involve swords, blood, and threats to innocent families! I give it a 7 out of 10 performance. Missing a hero monologue at the end.
- Shut up, Kearlin. - Bruno muttered, drying his face with a towel.
- You still talk to yourself? - Tila shouted from the living room, with a mocking tone.
- Always. - Bruno replied without hesitation - But at least I have good company.
Tila giggled and grabbed another sweet.
- You make the best sweets in the village... and also the worst excuses.
Bruno returned to the living room and dropped into the armchair beside her, sinking into the seat with a long sigh.
- Remind me to hide the desserts better next time.
- You can hide them. I have a cow's sense of smell and I'm proud of it.
Bruno looked at her, laughing with his eyes.
- So you're saying you're a thief with a biological excuse?
- Exactly! - Tila answered proudly.
- Hm... then you're forgiven. But next time, wait for me. Eating with company... is always better.
She stopped for a moment, looking at him. Her eyes seemed more attentive, like searching for something else in that sentence. But Bruno just closed his eyes and leaned his head back, finally letting his body relax.
Tila, in a rare moment of silence, grabbed another sweet - and carefully placed it next to him, like someone paying back a debt.
- Thank you, Bruno.
He just murmured, almost asleep:
- You're welcome... thieving cow.
- Hey!!
Someone else knocked on the door quickly.
"Thanks, Bruno."
He just murmured, half-sunk into the couch, eyes barely open:
"You're welcome... thieving cow."
"Hey!!" Tila nearly choked on her pastry. "Is that any way to thank someone for invading your house because they were hungry?"
Bruno just raised a hand in surrender and yawned without opening his eyes.
But then...
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK! KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
Desperate knocks at the door. It wasn't polite, it wasn't casual. It was urgent.
Bruno straightened immediately. Kearlin slipped through the wall and returned from the window, eyes wide.
"Whoa. That's not a tea salesman..."
Bruno stood, hand already on the sword hilt-by instinct, not fear. He opened the door calmly.
Outside stood a boy, maybe twelve, drenched in sweat, panting as if he had run a marathon while being chased by death itself.
"M-Mr. Bruno! Mr. Bruno!!" He gasped. "They... they're coming!!"
"Who's coming?" Bruno asked, voice already serious.
"The raiders! Those guys! One of them escaped! Came back with a bigger group, they said they're gonna take revenge on the village-" The boy's eyes were wide with terror.
Tila froze for a moment, holding the pastry like it was a shield.
"Are you sure?" Bruno asked, already heading for the sword leaning against the wall.
"I saw them! With my own eyes! There's like eight or ten of them... Gorham said to spread the word! They're gonna attack before sunset!"
Kearlin crossed his arms in midair and sighed:
"You folks have an amazing talent for attracting trouble, huh? Eat a pastry, win a war as a bonus!"
Bruno ignored him, already pulling the cloak over his shoulders and tightening the arm brace.
"Tila. Go to your father's house. Stay there." His voice was firm, but not harsh.
"Not a chance! I can fight! And you're gonna need help." She was already pulling on her boots.
"If I'd known giving you cake would bring a war, I'd have served you a rock." Bruno muttered, but there was a brief smile tugging at his lips.
"Shut up and move, Bruno. Let's save my village."
Bruno drew his sword, pointing it downward, and glanced at the darkening sky.
"Then let's go... before this night turns redder than it should."
And so the three-Bruno, Tila, and the invisible, sarcastic Kearlin-headed toward the village... to find Gorham, and perhaps, another inevitable battle.
---
The ground trembled.
Tila and Bruno stood side by side at the village entrance, with a few guards and villagers behind them. In the distance, dust rose, revealing more than ten raiders, armed and brimming with confidence.
Bruno adjusted the sword at his waist. The heavy, reinforced scabbard was ready-he had no intention of killing. Not now.
Tila, on the other hand, gripped her handmade club tightly. Her breathing was quick, but her feet were planted firmly.
"When this starts... listen to me. Don't try to be brave for nothing." Bruno spoke low, eyes fixed on the enemy.
"I'm not brave for nothing." She swallowed hard. "I'm just... a little brave while scared."
Bruno smiled.
The bandits arrived yelling, far too confident.
"Look at that! The little cow and the pretty boy with the cape! What a warm welcome!"
Before the first blow was struck, Tila charged.
She wasn't weak. Her blows were strong-she'd learned the basics from her father and her own willpower. But when she tried to hit the first raider, the strike grazed, leaving her shoulder exposed.
The enemy countered hard. She barely managed to block-and even then, the impact pushed her back several steps.
Bruno appeared like lightning. With a short spin, he slammed the raider's neck with the scabbard. The man collapsed, unconscious.
"I had him..." Tila grumbled.
"I know. I just saved him from you."
But more raiders came. Tila turned to face one-a strong woman with a short dagger-and this time she did better. She traded two, three blows, until she struck the woman's leg and brought her down, groaning in pain.
She smiled proudly... for a second.
Then another raider tried to hit her from behind. Before he could, a hatchet flew and buried itself in the ground between them.
"Leave my daughter alive, at least until I finish teaching her properly." Gorham strode forward, veins bulging.
"D-Dad!?" Tila blinked in shock.
"You're dishonoring our lineage with that sloppy stance, girl! Square your shoulders! Warrior posture!"
"You're complaining now!?"
"I've always complained! You just never listened!"
Bruno tried to hold back laughter while knocking another enemy out with a single, clean strike to the gut.
The battle raged on-intense, but brief. Bruno avoided fatal blows. He wielded the scabbard like a hammer, a shield, a tripwire to make enemies fall. And when one raider tried to run, Tila chased him down and smacked him in the back hard enough to earn her father's praise:
"Now that's a Hammeriron strike!"
When it was over, the enemies lay unconscious, some groaning, all defeated.
Tila panted, hair messy, eyes shining with adrenaline.
"I want to train." She said, still breathless, looking at Bruno and Gorham.
Bruno wiped sweat from his forehead.
"Thought you already did."
"Alone. Now I want to do it right. I want to train with you. And him." She pointed at her father.
Gorham crossed his arms.
"You're gonna wake up early."
"I already wake up early!"
"Like me." Bruno added.
Tila paled.
"...Not that early."
Bruno smirked. For the first time in a long while, he saw a spark of something new. Something worth feeding.
"Tomorrow, at dawn. And bring that ridiculous club."
"You two keep mocking me!?"
"Only because we like you." Bruno said. Then turned away, sword sheathed, relief washing over him.
---
Bruno let out a tired sigh.
He walked along the dirt trail with the calm of someone who knew exactly where he was going-even if he didn't. The sun was setting when he sensed it. A faint scent of metal, leather... and perfume?
"So it's you."
The voice cut through the air like a blade in the dark. Firm. Feminine. Ironic.
He stopped.
Before him stood an elf with hair red as fresh embers. Her eyes, deep purple, gleamed like they were laughing at him before a single word left her lips. She wore tight leather, adorned with black tattoos that coiled along her arms. And in her hands-two daggers that gleamed with lethal light.
"You who?" Bruno asked calmly.
"Seralyne Vhar'Zeth."
"...Right."
"Bruno. The one who destroyed the Iron Wolf Guild. One of the Twelve Sacred Warriors." She said it dripping with scorn, like each title was a joke told behind his back.
Bruno sighed.
"You came for an autograph?"
"I came to see if the legend knows how to dance."
Without warning, a dagger flew straight at his face.
He tilted his head slightly, the blade grazing his hair.
"Is that a yes?" She grinned.
The second dagger came with her, lunging forward like a feline. Bruno blocked with his forearm, then kicked sideways.
She spun midair, dodging gracefully, landing in a combat stance.
"Fast. And charming." She said, licking her lower lip.
Bruno pulled his sword-still sheathed.
"Is this harassment?"
"This is flirting. Learn the difference."
The fight resumed.
Seralyne was a whirlwind of sharp, precise movements. Every strike carried lethal elegance. But Bruno didn't draw his blade-he just parried, blocked, and stepped back. Even when he had an opening, he hesitated.
"What's wrong? Gonna hit me or just stand there posing like a sexy statue?"
"..."
He surged forward, striking her leg with the scabbard. She stumbled-but smiled wider.
"Was that an invitation to dance, Bruno?"
Kearlin-still invisible-whispered:
"By Utopia, this woman's gonna leave you with a kid before dinner..."
"Shut up." Bruno muttered.
"What?!" Seralyne asked.
"Nothing."
She cast a spell. A dark circle formed on the ground, and two shadow serpents rose, wrapping around Bruno. He broke free with brute force.
"Shadow magic?"
"Among other things."
The tattoos on her body glowed. A dragon, a raven, two serpents writhed as if alive.
More daggers. More attacks. More sarcasm.
Until Bruno finally struck. A block. A spin. The sheathed blade slammed into her ribs hard enough to fell a boar.
But Seralyne fell... on top of him.
They rolled, stopping with her straddling him, faces inches apart.
"Got you." She whispered, cheeks flushed.
Bruno stared calmly... but his pupils glimmered faintly. Judgment.
She wasn't a threat. She was good. Lost, maybe. But good.
"Just because she's pretty, you're going soft?" Kearlin sneered, floating beside Bruno. "You broke four bandits yesterday without blinking!"
"She's not... a sinner." Bruno said quietly.
"What? How do you know?"
"I felt it. Judgment didn't scream. If I hurt her... I'd regret it."
"That makes zero sense."
"I know."
He didn't push her off. Just sighed.
"You have an... unusual way of saying hi."
"It's my charm." She winked.
"Does that charm usually work?"
"Most of the time."
"Then I guess I'm unlucky."
"Or I'm lucky."
Footsteps. Voices. And an outraged half-cow yelling:
"GET OFF HIM, YOU COW!"
Seralyne rolled off swiftly. She stood, dusting herself with infuriating calm.
"We can continue later, Bruno. When your... pet cow isn't around."
And with that, she vanished into the forest like she was part of it.
Bruno lay on the ground, staring at the orange sky.
"That was... exhausting."
Tila fumed with jealousy.
Kearlin howled with laughter.
Silence returned.
Bruno still lying down, looked at the sky.
"...'You cow?'" He murmured softly.
"I-It just slipped, okay?! I was nervous! I didn't know what to say! I was gonna call her... uh... a despicable creature of vulgar behavior! But... that came out instead!"
Bruno raised an eyebrow, smirking faintly.
Kearlin nearly exploded from laughing.
"Oh... oh... if she knew you let anyone ride you like that, I'd be jealous too!" Kearlin teased, crossing his legs theatrically in midair.
Bruno too tired to respond.
He sighed and stood up.
"Tila..."
"YOU DON'T NEED TO SAY ANYTHING, I JUST CAME TO SEE IF YOU WERE OKAY AND I'M NOT JEALOUS, NOT ONE BIT!" She yelled, blushing furiously, turning away.
"Got it. So... wanna head back to the village with me?"
"J-Just to make sure you don't let someone ride you again!"
Bruno chuckled lightly, rubbing his forehead.
Kearlin floated behind him, whispering wickedly:
"You're every girl's dream... and every dad's nightmare."
Bruno ignored him. Grabbed his sword-still sheathed-and walked beside Tila back to the village, pretending the silence between them wasn't painfully awkward.
They walked side by side, and even without words, something lingered in the air. Bruno seemed quieter than usual-and Tila tried to look calm... but the sparkle in her eyes always escaped when he glanced at her.
Above, among the branches of a tall tree, a shadow watched.
Seralyne sat there.
Her dark cloak fluttering in the wind, one leg swinging lazily... but her chest tight, like she'd taken a blade to the heart.
"Damn... why does it hurt so much to see you like this...?" She whispered.
A glow on her back. The dragon tattoo on her shoulder blade stirred, its head turning toward her with fiery sarcasm:
"I can smell the jealousy from here."
"Shut up, idiot." She snapped under her breath.
"You should tell him..." One of the serpents murmured, sliding along her arm tattoo.
"If you keep hiding this, it'll only get worse." The other added, almost motherly.
The raven-silent as always-just nodded slowly, those black eyes seeing far too much.
"You don't understand. He... he's different."
"Yeah, different from all the idiots you killed." The dragon mocked, but with a sliver of truth.
"He looked at me... like I was good..." Her voice faltered.
"And you wanted to believe that." The raven spoke finally, deep and grave.
"I didn't want to. I just..." She bit her lip, tasting blood. "...I just wanted him to look at me like that again. But only at me."
She closed her eyes for a moment.
Down below, Bruno held something-a small bundle. Tila laughed at something he said, and for an instant... just one... Seralyne wanted to leap down, shove the half-cow aside, and take that spot.
But she wasn't a lady.
She was an assassin.
And assassins don't steal places... They wait for the right time.
"He'll see me again." She whispered-and for the first time, the tone was more vulnerable than threatening. "And next time... I won't run."
The tattoos fell silent.
The wind rustled the leaves.
And Seralyne vanished as swiftly as she came, as if she'd never been there at all.