Bell wanted to go back to the farm immediately after the news as he couldn't fully believe Kaelis's words.
Once they returned, Bell didn't react at first.
He just stood there, staring up at what's left of the house with wide eyes, like the scene hadn't fully landed yet.
Then his jaw tightened. His throat moved. His fingers curled into a fist.
"…it's nearly gone."
Barely a whisper.
"Yeah," Kaelis said softly. "I'm sorry."
Bell shook his head—once, twice—as if trying to shake the thought loose. But it didn't go anywhere. His breathing hitched. His shoulders trembled.
"Grandpa…he…he said he'd always be there when I got back."
His voice broke halfway through.
Kaelis didn't interrupt. He let Bell talk, let him crumble at his own pace.
A choked sound escaped him, and he covered his face with both hands.
"I—I didn't even get to say goodbye."
That did it. The composure he'd been desperately trying to hold onto snapped, and Bell broke down—quiet at first, then shaking, shoulders heaving as everything hit him all at once.
Tears began streaming between his fingers.
Kaelis stepped closer and rested a hand on his head.
Not trying to be overly comforting. Just steady enough for Bell to latch onto.
"Let it out," he said. "It'd be weird if you didn't."
Bell cried harder at that—messy, red-eyed, trying to breathe through it but failing every few seconds.
But the storm eventually slowed. It didn't mean it was gone though, it just became manageable.
After a while, Bell sniffed hard and wiped his nose with the corner of his torn sleeve.
"I… I'm sorry," he murmured, turning to Kaelis.
"For what?" Kaelis asked.
"For… all of this. You didn't have to deal with me."
Kaelis snorted. "Stop trying to talk like an old man. You lost someone important. Crying doesn't make you a burden. And besides…"
He flicked Bell lightly on the forehead, "you're my little disciple."
Bell swallowed, shoulders trembling despite himself.
That's right… he had lost the person dearest to him. The one who raised him, fed him, taught him, scolded him, cared for him—without a single complaint.
Someone who chose him every day.
And now he was gone.
Even so… Bell still had someone standing beside him. Someone strong enough to lean on.
Someone who wasn't going anywhere.
Bell looked down, embarrassed—but a little relieved, too. "…Thank you, Master."
Kaelis sighed through his nose. "Good. Hold onto that. We've got things to do."
"…What do we do now?" he asked quietly.
Kaelis exhaled and glanced back toward the direction of the farm.
Smoke was still trailing faintly into the sky.
"We go back," he said. "Pack whatever survived. Clothes. Tools. Anything that matters to you."
Bell hesitated. "And… after that?"
""Orario."
Bell blinked. "…The labyrinth city?"
"Yeah. You won't get stronger staying here. And your grandfather wanted you to move forward anyway."
Bell looked toward the burned horizon, expression tight but more settled.
"…Right!"
Bell paused at the doorway, taking a shaky breath before stepping inside.
The air smelled like smoke, dirt, and memories.
Kaelis stayed behind him, giving him space but staying close enough in case the kid needed grounding.
Bell's room was half-ruined, but a few things were intact:
A small wooden carving Deus made him.
A few bundles of clothes.
A chipped cup Bell insisted on using every morning.
Along with a couple books Deus read to him when he was younger.
"Grab everything! The books are valuable!"
Knowing that Deus was Zeus, the books were probably acquired during his reign and carried here.
They might hold some key knowledge.
Bell continued: a tiny pouch of coins Deus hid under the floorboard.
He gathered them carefully, handling each item like it was made of glass.
Kaelis grabbed the practical stuff—blankets, spare clothes, anything that didn't have holes burned into them along with the lands title.
When Bell finished packing his small bundle, he stood in the doorway of the house for a quiet moment.
"This place… feels emptier," he whispered.
Kaelis didn't say anything flowery. He just nodded. "Yeah. Happens."
Summoning a small keychain sized sword imbued with the [storage] attribute, Kaelis stored the luggage away into another space before handing it to Bell.
"What's this master?" Bell studied the keychain.
"It's something you can use to store things in another dimension space. It's yours now, take care of it."
"…um." Bell looked like he wanted to ask something but he set it aside.
They then went to wash up and changed clothes.
Now in the suit he got for his fourteenth birthday, Bell tightened his grip on his bronze-blue sword, eyes red but determined.
"…Let's go," he said.
Kaelis stepped beside him. "Ready?"
"No," Bell admitted. "But… I don't want to stay here anymore."
"That's enough. We'll sell the land for money once we reach Orario."
"Mhm."
Kaelis watched him for a minute before deciding to impart some knowledge unto him.
"You know… people like to pretend heroes get chosen," Kaelis says quietly.
"But most heroes? They're just people who had something happen that forced them to change."
"What happened to Deus…" Kaelis paused, choosing his words carefully. "It's horrible. But it's also… the kind of moment that decides who you become next."
Bell looks up, confused.
"You don't have to be a hero," Kaelis adds. "But you can be one. And a lot of heroes start from exactly where you are—losing the person they relied on the most."
They started down the road, leaving the broken house behind them.
Creek!
Once they were a safe distance away, the ground around the house began to hum.
A huge circular pattern—big enough to encircle the entire home—lit up beneath the dirt, symbols rotating with the house at its center.
Both Kaelis and Bell stopped and stared.
"A… magic circle?" Bell whispered.
Before either could say more, the house gave a low, hollow groan.
Its frame collapsed inward, breaking apart silently, crumbling into fine dust that scattered in the wind like sand.
Bell stepped forward, stunned. "It's… gone…"
Kaelis exhaled through his nose, still watching the last of the dust drift away.
"I guess… the old man really didn't want you staying here," he muttered.
Even he hadn't expected Deus to prepare something like this.
The sun was still high. The breeze was steady.
"Let's go."
And somewhere far ahead, past forests and hills, a massive city surrounded by towering walls waited for them.
Chapter 52 end.
——————————
I trieded my best.