Chapter 13
Five days later, early in the morning, Thiago woke up.
He quickly got ready and rushed out of his house. His eyes searched for his friends… but they were nowhere to be seen.
A strange unease settled in his chest.
Without hesitation, he broke into a run, heading toward the edge of the village.
Suddenly, he stopped.
His eyes fixed on the hundred stone steps below.
He needed to get down… to reach the main road.
But there was no way to move fast on those steps.
He paused, thinking.
Then his eyes caught something a narrow drainage channel running along the side of the steps.
An idea struck him.
A faint smile appeared on his face.
Nearby, he spotted a large piece of wood.
With some effort, he lifted it, struggling for a moment before finally holding it steady. He carried it over and placed it at the edge of the drainage channel.
He took a deep breath…
Then pushed the wood into the flowing water.
In the same instant, he jumped onto it, landing firmly on top.
The speed hit him instantly.
His hair whipped back in the wind, and a grin spread across his face as he rode down.
Water splashed hard against him, striking his face as he rushed forward.
The speed kept building. Control slipped from his hands… yet a thrill remained, and he still enjoyed the ride
After racing past more than fifty steps, the end of the water path came into view.
Then he saw it
The path ahead curved sharply upward.
He was heading straight for it.
His eyes widened.
"Ahhh!" he shouted, gripping the wood with all his strength.
In the next instant, the speed launched him upward
The wood and his body shot into the air. Then, slowly, he opened his eyes.
Below him, he saw vast rice fields stretching into the distance. People were working in the fields, small and calm beneath him.
Beyond them, mountains stood tall… and the rising sun painted everything in warm light.
It was a beautiful scene.
For a moment, he forgot everything.
And then
His grip on the wood slipped.
Then it hit him… he was in the air. He panicked, moving his arms as if trying to swim through the air. He suddenly stopped. Slowly, he looked down, And then he dropped… fast. He was dropping fast… straight toward a tree below. He crashed into the tree, Branches snapped around him as he slammed through the leaves. The impact knocked the air out of his chest. Instead of falling straight to the ground, his body got caught in a tangle of thick vines and long, rope-like grass growing between the branches. They wrapped around his arms and legs, slowing his fall. He hung there for a moment, breathing hard… the leaves rustling around him, his body still shaking from the impact. He dangled from the tree, caught in the thick vines.
Then, despite everything… a small smile appeared on his face at what had just happened. As the smile spread across his face, the vines gave way
snapping one by one and he dropped straight down onto the road.
He lay there for a moment, looking at the sky with a faint smile.
Then
the smile vanished.
In an instant, he stood up and began running toward the castle once more.
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Viora was ready for her duty.
She closed the main door of the house and stepped outside, walking across the yard.
"Yoooiiii! Where are you going?" her grandpa called out.
"Going to work," Viora replied, not turning back.
From the window, her grandpa spoke again, his voice calm but heavy:
"The moment hope dies… the devil begins to breathe. Don't forget."
Viora stopped.
She slowly turned back and looked up at him in the window.
"Again…?" she said.
Without another word, she turned and continued walking. As she walked, she reached into her side bag, pulled out a book… and slowly opened it. At the top of the page, one name stood out "Nerok Zeraph".
She whispered the name in her mind…
"So… he's the one I begin with."
"Papa… no matter what, I will find the truth," Viora said firmly.
Thiago ran through the streets, heading straight for the market.
He was late.
And today… was the selection tournament. He raced toward the tournament grounds. Then he reached the grounds.
A massive wall surrounded the area, enclosing it completely.
He stopped outside the gate
Too late.
It was already closed.
He lost again.
"What do I do now…?" Thiago murmured, pacing side to side, his hand running through his hair in frustration.
After a long silence, he moved toward the bamboo grove near the grounds and sat beneath it… thinking once more. In that quiet moment, a gentle breeze drifted through the bamboo…
and golden leaves began to fall, one by one, covering the ground in silence.
Then, slowly, his gaze lifted… toward the bamboo above him.
His eyes widened slightly… and a faint smile spread across his face...