Lucien, with eyes wide open, was shocked at what he had seen. His eyes darted at the hands of Licht that had a crimson fire on it. He lifted his hands, pointed at it, and spoke in a rasped tone.
"You can use… magic?"
"No!" Licht nervously put the crimson fire out of his hands, panic soaring in his voice.
'He clearly saw it,' Licht moved toward Lucien.
He leaned forward, his voice is low and sharp. "Don't tell anyone what you saw here… or else." He raised his hand again, letting a small ember of crimson fire spark back to life in his palm.
Lucien staggered back, trembling. His eyes were wide, lips trembling and slightly parted. He gave a quick nod, not daring to speak.
Licht let the flame vanish and stood up straight, brushing dirt from his knees. He turned his attention back to the forest.
He still needed to hunt.
But before he could take a step, Lucien's voice rang out behind him.
"Can you teach me that?!"
Licht froze mid-step. He scanned the area quickly. 'This kid!'
He turned and faced Lucien again. "Are you insane?" he whispered harshly, eyes narrowing. "Shouting like that out here, what if someone heard you?"
Lucien shrank slightly, but his expression didn't change. "Please! I won't tell anyone, I swear! Just… teach me. Anything!"
Licht stared at him, lips tightening. 'He's not backing down.'
He let out a deep breath and scratched the back of his head. "I'm not supposed to… I don't even know how I'll explain this if anyone finds out."
"But I won't say anything! I promise!" Lucien insisted, stepping closer, his voice dropping into a whisper. "I just… I want to learn. Please."
Licht looked away, quiet for a moment. He didn't want to get involved. He didn't plan to be anyone's mentor, especially not to some noble's kid. But still…
If Lucien kept pushing like this, there was a bigger chance he might slip and tell someone.
'It's better to keep him close and controlled… than let him be a wild card.'
He sighed. "Fine."
Lucien's eyes lit up. "Really?!"
"But I'm not teaching you magic. Not yet," Licht added quickly. "You don't even have a mana core. You'd explode if you tried something like that."
Lucien blinked. "Explode?"
"Not literally. But close," Licht said, walking toward a clearing. "If you really want to learn, you start from the basics. Survival first."
Lucien tilted his head. "Survival?"
"Hunting, tracking, knowing how not to die in a forest," Licht replied bluntly. "That's your first lesson."
Lucien followed behind him, still bouncing with excitement. "Then you'll teach me magic after that?"
Licht didn't answer right away. He crouched low by a trail, eyeing a set of rabbit tracks pressed lightly into the damp soil.
"I'll decide that later," he muttered, focusing on the prints. "Now stay quiet and follow what I do."
Lucien nodded quickly and crouched beside him, mimicking his posture.
Licht pointed at the ground. "See this? Soft prints, but the edges are fresh. The rabbit's close."
Lucien nodded again, eyes fixed.
"Good. Step where I step. Move slow. No noise."
The two of them crept forward through the trees, moving like shadows. Licht was surprised because Lucien, for all his talk, wasn't completely hopeless. He followed directions. He was light on his feet.
He thought inwardly, 'This kid is some sort of genius… He follows every step, speaks well, and thinks clearly for a one-year-old.'
Licht pressed his palm to the ground again, releasing a faint pulse of mana just enough to feel nearby life.
'Three. At least three ahead.'
He motioned for Lucien to stop. Then he reached into his belt pouch, pulling out a small handmade snare. Nothing magical, just skill and timing.
"You'll learn this first," Licht whispered. "Snare traps. If you can't kill it directly, make it come to you."
Lucien nodded, hanging onto every word.
And for a second, just a second… Licht forgot he didn't want to teach anyone.
…
Inside the study of House Arthas, the air smelled faintly of old paper, ink, and cedarwood. Sunlight filtered through arched windows, glinting off the polished armor pieces and weapons that lined the room like silent sentinels of a storied past.
Julius poured a deep amber wine into two cups, sliding one across the table toward Ernest, who accepted it with a small nod.
"To old friends," Julius said, raising his glass.
"And the strange times we live in," Ernest added, clinking his cup gently against the other.
They both took a slow sip before silence settled between them, comfortable yet heavy with unspoken thoughts.
Julius finally broke it. "I assume the real reason you traveled all this way wasn't just for wine and nostalgia."
Ernest smirked. "You know me too well."
Julius leaned back in his chair, eyes narrowing slightly. "So? What news from the south?"
Ernest's tone shifted. "You've heard the rumors. The recent scouting reports near the border..."
Julius nodded. "The mana stone deposit."
"It's not just a deposit, Julius," Ernest said, setting his cup down. "It's a vein. Massive. Untouched. Buried deep along the ridge between Pendium and Aesir Empires. If the information is accurate, it might be the largest source discovered in the last fifty years."
Julius didn't reply at first. He simply traced the rim of his glass with his finger.
"Do you realize what that means?" Ernest continued. "Power. Wealth. Influence. Enough to tip the balance between empires if it's harvested properly."
"I'm aware," Julius murmured. "Too aware."
Ernest's gaze deepened. "And you're close to it. Closer than anyone else in the Pendium's central region."
Julius gave a slow nod. "Which is why I've started receiving military requests. Invitations cloaked as honors. Strategic deployments disguised as goodwill."
Ernest's mouth twitched. "They want control. Or at least influence over whoever manages that territory."
Julius swirled the wine in his cup, then drank the rest in one long pull.
"It's not just the empires I'm worried about," he said, his voice low.
Ernest tilted his head. "You're thinking of… that family?"
Julius didn't answer directly. Instead, he stood and walked toward the window, gazing out toward the distant forest. "People get desperate when resources that powerful suddenly surface. Greed becomes ambition. Alliances fracture. Even old names start whispering things best left buried."
A brief silence hung between them.
"I'm not looking for a fight," Julius said. "But I won't let my family be used or crushed by anyone."
Ernest leaned back, considering his friend's words. "That's why I came. Not just to visit. But to remind you… you're not alone in this. And to see with my own eyes what kind of man the boy will grow up under."
Julius glanced over his shoulder, a rare softness in his expression. "He's… unusual. Too quiet for a child. But mentally strong."
Ernest gave a small smirk. "Lucien said something when we're introducing them, he said your son looked like he was staring through him."
Julius gave a short chuckle. "He probably was."
"They're not alike," Ernest added. "Lucien's restless, eager, reckless sometimes. But he's good at heart. I'm hoping Licht's calm might rub off on him."
Julius turned back toward the window, his gaze landing on the garden path where the boys had last been seen. "Or the other way around."
Ernest laughed. "Either way, they'll need each other. The world's shifting, Julius. Fast."
Julius nodded slowly. "I know. And if war ever touches our homes… I want Licht to have someone standing beside him, not just a sword in his hand."
"They'll figure it out," Ernest said, raising his glass again. "Eventually."
"To sons, then," Julius said, voice quiet but firm.
"To sons," Ernest echoed.
They drank, and somewhere beyond the estate walls, a ripple of fate continued to unfold, one step at a time.
…
The forest was calm again, birds chirping faintly above the rustling leaves. Lucien trailed behind Licht, still tense from earlier, but his eyes were now filled with something excitement.
They moved quietly through the brush, Licht leading the way. His steps were light, calculated, and silent. Lucien tried to mimic them but stumbled slightly, crunching a twig underfoot. Licht turned and gave him a look.
"Stay behind me. Watch."
Lucien nodded quickly and zipped his lips shut.
Licht crouched low and pressed his palm to the ground. A faint pulse of mana spread beneath the earth. His crimson eyes narrowed. "Three… not far."
He slinked between trees, keeping to the shadows, his breathing steady and low. Then, he saw them, three plump rabbits nibbling at the base of a crooked tree.
Licht raised his hand slowly. Crimson energy flickered faintly along his fingers, but he didn't attack with magic. Instead, he reached for a stone.
The first stone snapped through the air with surgical precision, and it hit, right into the skull of the closest rabbit.
The other two flinched and darted.
Licht burst into a short sprint, sliding low beneath a branch, and grabbed another stone mid-run. With a quick spin of his wrist, he hurled it forward. The second rabbit flipped into the air and dropped, unmoving.
The third made it further it is nearly gone, until Licht's hand flicked, and a small ember of crimson fire whistled through the air like a whisper.
It turned into a burned and motionless rabbit.
Lucien's mouth hung open. "That was… amazing."
Licht turned back, brushing the dirt off his knees. "Rabbits rely on sound and sudden movement. If you're quick and quiet, you can get close."
He held up one of the rabbits by its ears. "You want to learn magic? Learn survival first. Mana means nothing if you can't eat."
Lucien nodded rapidly. "Okay! Teach me. I'll do it."
Licht handed him a small stone. "Then start by landing a hit."
Lucien took it and crouched beside him, eyes scanning the underbrush with determined focus.
Licht watched him, arms crossed. 'This kid better not mess it up.'
A rabbit darted from a nearby bush.
Lucien flung the stone… and missed completely.
The rabbit vanished into the forest.
Licht sighed.
"This might take a while."