The morning sun had barely risen above the village rooftops when the knock finally came.
Three quick taps.
Layron's body stiffened instantly.
The small wooden table creaked softly beneath his elbow as he slowly looked toward the door. The half-eaten loaf of bread in front of him had long gone cold. He hadn't touched it in several minutes.
Across the room, Falkren remained perched quietly near the window. The mechanical falcon looked almost relaxed, though the faint golden flicker inside his eye told another story entirely.
[[She's here.]]
Layron swallowed.
"Yeah. I know."
Another knock came, louder this time.
"Layron! Open the door already!"
Anya.
The sound of her voice twisted something painfully inside his chest.
Falkren hopped down from the windowsill.
Golden light pulsed across his metallic feathers.
The transformation began instantly. Phantom Shift.
Steel folded inward with soft mechanical clicks. Wings compressed. Feathers dissolved into drifting strands of golden mist. The shape of a man slowly emerged where the falcon once stood.
Tall.
Broad shoulders.
White hair swept neatly backward.
The familiar long black coat.
Tensuke.
No.
Fake Tensuke.
Even though Layron already knew it was Falkren, the resemblance still made his stomach tighten uncomfortably.
Everything was perfect.
The posture.
The breathing.
Even the faint scar beneath the left eye.
Falkren adjusted the collar slightly before glancing toward Layron.
[[Well? Are you planning to let her break the door down?]]
Layron exhaled sharply and forced his legs forward.
The wooden floor creaked beneath his feet as he reached for the handle.
One breath.
Then he opened the door.
There she was.
Anya stood beneath the morning sunlight with a grin stretched across her tired face. Her dark brown hair was loosely tied back, though several messy strands had escaped during the journey home. Dust covered parts of her academy uniform, and her boots were scratched badly enough that Layron could tell she'd spent most of the trip climbing rough terrain.
But despite the exhaustion in her eyes...
She looked happy.
The moment she saw him, her grin widened instantly.
"Long time no see!"
Layron blinked before letting out a small laugh.
"It's been two days."
"That's a long time when your instructors are trying to kill you."
She stepped inside without waiting for permission and immediately stretched her arms overhead with a groan.
"You have no idea how awful that trip was. Seriously, I think the academy just enjoys watching us suffer."
Layron closed the door behind her. "You survived though."
"Barely." She pointed accusingly at him. "You would've cried halfway through."
"Excuse me?"
"You would've."
"I absolutely would've not."
"You absolutely would've."
Layron shook his head while trying not to smile too much.
For one brief moment...
Things almost felt normal again.
Then Anya's eyes moved past him.
Straight toward Tensuke.
Her entire expression softened instantly.
"Gramps."
Falkren smiled perfectly.
"Welcome back, Anya."
The voice was flawless.
Warm.
Calm.
Familiar.
Anya practically rushed toward him and wrapped both arms tightly around his waist.
Layron's heartbeat immediately spiked.
He watched carefully.
Every movement.
Every breath.
Every tiny reaction.
But Falkren didn't hesitate once.
His hand rested gently on her head exactly the same way Tensuke always did.
"I missed you too, kid."
Anya buried her face into his coat with a tired groan.
"You should've come with us. The instructors were useless. One of them literally hid behind a rock while we were fighting a Duskrend."
Layron raised a brow. "A Duskrend? Seriously?"
Anya immediately pulled away excitedly.
"YES. And it was huge." She stretched her arms wide dramatically. "Like... this huge."
"That's not helping."
"You know what I mean."
Tensuke chuckled softly. "And how many times did you panic?"
"I didn't panic."
"Mmhm."
"I didn't!"
Layron smirked. "How many?"
Anya pointed at him instantly. "Less than you would've."
"That's not an answer."
She ignored him completely.
"You should've seen it, Gramps. The thing came charging right toward us through the canyon. Everyone froze for a second but I actually remembered the formation drills this time."
Tensuke nodded proudly.
"Good."
Anya grinned wider at the praise.
"I even landed a hit."
Layron blinked. "You did?"
"Right here." She pointed toward her own shoulder area. "The armor cracked too."
"Not bad," Tensuke admitted.
Layron stayed quiet for a moment while watching the interaction unfold naturally.
Too naturally.
It was terrifying how perfectly Falkren replicated him.
No hesitation.
No cracks.
Nothing felt fake.
And somehow that made everything feel worse.
Anya suddenly turned toward Layron again.
"Oh right. You would've loved what happened to Rael."
Layron immediately perked up. "What happened?"
Anya burst out laughing.
"He slipped into mud during combat practice."
Layron nearly choked laughing.
"No way."
"I'm serious. Right in front of everyone too."
Tensuke shook his head slowly. "Poor bastard."
"He deserved it," Anya said proudly.
Layron grinned. "Agreed."
The warmth in the room slowly settled deeper.
Sunlight streamed gently through the windows.
For a while, the conversation drifted naturally.
Anya talked endlessly about:
the canyon routes,
the academy instructors,
the monsters they encountered,
the campfire arguments,
the students who nearly failed training.
Layron mostly listened while occasionally teasing her.
And all the while...
Falkren remained perfect.
That scared Layron more than anything.
Because the longer this continued...
The easier it became to forget the real Tensuke wasn't here.
Somewhere else.
Far away.
Still standing on that ruined battlefield.
...
Miles away from the village, the wind rolled quietly across the shattered plains.
The battlefield had gone silent.
No flames.
No collapsing earth.
No roaring storms.
Only scars remained now.
Massive craters stretched endlessly across the land. Deep fractures split the ground open where the battle between Gramps and Vaelor had nearly torn the plains apart entirely.
Vaelor stood quietly beside the remains of a broken stone ridge, Vaeloris resting against his shoulder.
Across from him, Gramps stood calmly with Scarlet now fully sheathed once more.
The terrifying pressure from earlier had vanished.
But the memory of it still lingered heavily in the air.
Neither warrior spoke for several moments.
Then Gramps suddenly exhaled through his nose.
"...Go ahead."
Vaelor raised a brow.
Gramps gestured lazily with one hand.
"Pull them out."
Vaelor stared at him for a second before realization flickered across his face.
A small grin slowly appeared.
"You serious?"
"I'm bored."
Vaelor chuckled softly.
Then his grip tightened around Vaeloris.
The battlefield trembled instantly.
One by one...
The elements emerged.
Ignirion rose first.
Molten fire cracked through the earth as the massive flaming golem slowly towered upward into the sky.
Then Aquelis.
Water spiraled through the air before freezing partially into shifting ice formations.
Gaianox emerged next, enormous stone limbs dragging against the fractured battlefield.
Tempestus appeared like a violent distortion in the sky itself.
And finally...
Glacivor.
Cold spread instantly across the plains as frost consumed the broken earth beneath its feet.
The five elemental entities stood silently around the battlefield once more.
But this time...
They didn't attack.
Gramps looked at them quietly for several long seconds.
Then he smiled.
A real one.
"...Long time no see, you bastards."
The battlefield fell strangely still.
Ignirion's flames lowered slightly.
Aquelis' liquid body rippled calmly.
Tempestus circled once overhead before slowing.
Even Gaianox seemed less hostile now.
Vaelor noticed it immediately.
His expression slowly changed.
"...They remember you."
Gramps scoffed lightly.
"Course they do."
His eyes slowly moved across each elemental titan.
"I know you idiots didn't want to fight me either."
A low rumble echoed from Gaianox.
The wind around Tempestus softened.
Vaelor stared silently.
For the first time...
The truth became painfully obvious.
These weren't mindless summons.
These beings knew Gramps personally.
Maybe longer than Vaelor himself had.
Gramps crossed his arms.
"Still babysitting stubborn brats, huh?"
Ignirion released a deep rumbling growl that almost sounded annoyed.
Vaelor let out a disbelieving laugh.
"What the hell even are you?"
Gramps smirked.
"Old."
Vaelor shook his head slowly before his expression darkened slightly.
Then came the real silence.
The dangerous one.
Vaelor looked toward the horizon.
"The higher authorities are already moving."
Gramps didn't react.
Vaelor continued quietly.
"They still don't know where you are. Or where you've been hiding him." His eyes narrowed slightly. "But they will eventually."
Still no response.
Vaelor's grip tightened around Vaeloris.
"And once they find out..." his voice lowered, "this stops being personal."
The wind rolled softly across the destroyed plains.
"The rulers won't ignore it forever. Neither will the Protectors. Once they realize what Layron is becoming..."
His jaw tightened.
"...the entire world will move against him."
Silence.
Then Gramps smiled again.
Not proudly.
Not mockingly.
Just calmly.
"I know."
Vaelor frowned slightly at the confidence in his voice.
Gramps slowly looked toward the distant sky.
"That's why I'm preparing him."
The words carried terrifying certainty.
Vaelor studied him carefully.
"You really believe he can survive that?"
Gramps chuckled softly.
"If the world wants to hunt him..." His eyes sharpened slightly. "Then they'd better prepare themselves too."
The pressure in the air shifted again.
Even the elemental entities fell silent.
Vaelor narrowed his eyes.
"You're that confident in him?"
Gramps looked back toward him.
The smile on his face wasn't emotional anymore.
It was absolute.
"The world thinks it's preparing to hunt a boy."
A slow wind passed through the ruined battlefield.
Gramps' voice lowered.
"What they don't realize..."
His gaze felt impossibly heavy now.
"...is that they're preparing to face him."
Silence consumed the plains.
And for the first time since this entire conflict began...
Even Vaelor couldn't answer immediately.
---
To be Continued...
---