FRAGMENTS OF PAIN AND BROKEN PROMISES IN THE SILENT NIGHT (Special)
The breeze was heavy that dawn.The waning moon barely washed the outlines of the tall trees watching over the camp in pale silver.Crickets sang in a distant echo, but between their voices, the silence was even more deafening.
Zyrion, sitting beside the dying fire, kept his head low.The others slept—or pretended to—exhausted from the long journey.But inside him, Zyrion waged a war none of them, not even Caelithra, could truly understand.
[Flashback: The Lost Lake]
The water was cold.Colder than it looked.His boots cracked over the damp gravel as he approached the hidden lake's edge between the mountains.
The sun barely broke the dawn, tinting the surface with a ghostly gold.
Zyrion extended his hand.
The shining crystal rested at the bottom, as if waiting for him.Its light pulsed like a beating heart.
Without knowing why, Zyrion knelt and submerged his entire arm.The cold bit into his skin, numbing his bones.
His fingers brushed the fragment.
And then… everything changed.
The pain was immediate.It shot through his arm, his chest, his head—like liquid fire.
He heard someone scream, but the sound felt like it came from someone else.His vision blurred.The fragment fused with his being, invading him, marking him forever.
When he dragged himself out of the water, gasping and trembling, he was no longer the same.
Something inside him had awakened.
Something dark.Something inevitable.
[Present]
Zyrion stood slowly from his place beside the fire, his movements stiff.
Velkran, Quindarion, Kyrahna, Taliena, and Karion slept nearby.The air felt heavy, as if everyone—even unconsciously—could sense the storm forming within their companion.
Without making a sound, Zyrion walked away from the camp.His steps led him instinctively to an old stone wall bordering a forgotten section of the forest.The wall, covered in moss and cracks, looked just as wounded as he felt.
Zyrion looked at his hands.They trembled.Not from cold.From rage.From helplessness.
He remembered the promise he had made: "Never hurt myself again."
He closed his eyes.
Then, with a restrained growl, he struck the wall.
His fist slammed into the rough surface.The pain was immediate and sharp, as tiny stones tore at his knuckles.
But Zyrion didn't stop.He struck again.And again.And again.
Each impact was a silent plea.A self-inflicted punishment.
Not far away, Taliena had stepped out to stretch, unable to sleep.The solitary figure caught her attention.
"What in the world is he doing…?" she murmured, worried.
She walked closer, her steps cautious.And then she saw everything.
The blood.The pain.The suppressed fury.
Taliena ran toward him.
"Zyrion! Stop, just stop!" she shouted.
But before she could reach him, another figure shot out of the shadows like lightning.
Caelithra.
Her hair flowed like a living shadow under the moonlight, her expression cold and furious.
"Taliena. Return to the others. Now."
Her voice was firm—so firm Taliena didn't dare argue.She only nodded, casting one last worried glance at Zyrion before running back to camp.
Caelithra remained there, standing before him.
Zyrion, realizing her presence, tried to hide his bloody hands behind his back.
"I'm fine," he muttered, voice rough.
Caelithra clenched her jaw.
"Don't lie to me, Zyrion."
She took a step closer.
"Let me see."
"No," he whispered, taking a step back. "It's nothing."
Caelithra clicked her tongue—losing patience.
"Nothing? You're crushing your hands against a wall and you have the damn audacity to tell me it's nothing?"
Her voice cracked slightly at the end.
She moved swiftly and grabbed his wrists, forcing him to show her the wounds.
Blood ran down his fingers, mixed with tiny stones embedded in torn skin.
"Damn it…" Caelithra murmured, her voice trembling with contained anger.
Zyrion lowered his head, unable to meet her eyes.
"Stop this," she said more softly. "Stop everything."
"I can't," Zyrion confessed, voice breaking. "I can't be weak."
"You're not weak," Caelithra said, stepping closer, her forehead nearly touching his."What you are… is human."
Zyrion swallowed hard, his hands trembling in hers.
Caelithra huffed in frustration but knelt in front of him with gentle movements, guiding him to sit on a flat rock.
She retrieved her travel bag, searching for bandages and ointments she had prepared for emergencies.
"I'm going to heal you. Even if you don't want me to," she muttered, kneeling before him.
Zyrion closed his eyes.He said nothing.He let Caelithra work.
She cleaned the wounds with a damp cloth—firm but careful.When Zyrion hissed at the sting, she looked up.
"You deserve it," she said mercilessly, though her eyes shone with something else.
She applied the ointment with delicate fingers, as if afraid to break him further.Then she wrapped his hands carefully, each knot firm but gentle.
When she finished, she didn't move away.She stayed, looking at him in silence.
"Why do you do this to yourself?" she asked at last, voice low and aching.
Zyrion lifted his head.His eyes—hidden behind the mask—felt emptier than ever.
"Because if I don't… I feel like I'll lose myself."
Caelithra closed her eyes, swallowing the tears threatening to fall.
She leaned closer, resting her forehead on Zyrion's chest.
"I won't let you lose yourself," she whispered. "I promise."
For a moment, Zyrion allowed his arms to wrap around her, holding her with silent desperation.
The wall behind them remained unbroken.But between them, a new kind of strength was being forged.
A silent promise.
A shared salvation.
The Next Morning
The morning rose warm, wrapped in a thin mist that clung to the tree trunks like whispers from another world.The scent of wet earth filled the air, and birdsong accompanied the group's slow awakening.
Karion was the first to stretch, letting out a loud yawn.
"Does anyone else feel like a dragon stepped on us last night?" he joked.
Velkran laughed, tossing him a piece of stale bread that Karion caught mid-air.
"The only thing that stepped on you was your ego."
Karion pressed a hand to his chest dramatically.
"So cruel, Velkran! After everything we've been through?"
Quindarion, polishing his sword beside the dead fire, smiled lightly.
"Does surviving your jokes count as 'everything we've been through'?"
Taliena, perched on a big rock, swung her legs playfully.
"I see humor is still your favorite method of avoiding insanity."
Kyrahna returned with fresh water and joined them.
"I'd prefer we do some morning training before moving on," she suggested, tying her hair into a high ponytail.
Velkran nodded eagerly."Good idea. Could use some movement after all that tension."
"Training?" Karion gasped, horrified. "Before breakfast? That should be illegal."
Quindarion stood in a single graceful movement."Come on, Karion. If you manage to dodge my strikes for five minutes, I'll let you eat two servings."
Karion narrowed his eyes, considering.
"Two servings? Hmmm… deal."
Velkran cracked his knuckles."What about a team match? Quindarion and Karion versus Taliena and me. Kyrahna can be referee."
"And Zyrion?" Kyrahna asked, looking around.
Everyone followed her gaze.
Zyrion and Caelithra were still away from the group, sitting quietly beneath a thick tree, locked in a barely audible conversation.
Karion muttered in his usual tone,"Let them be… They're probably discussing important stuff. Like 'how to break walls in style' or 'how to look intimidating without talking.'"
Everyone laughed softly—even Kyrahna.
"Alright," Taliena said, rising and drawing her practice sword. "Two versus two."
Karion rubbed his hands mischievously."Time to show off my legendary skills!"
Quindarion rolled his eyes."More like your legendary clumsiness."
They formed in a small clearing.
Kyrahna raised her hand."Ready?"
"Yes!" they all shouted.
She dropped her hand.The battle began.
Velkran rushed Karion like lightning.Karion screamed dramatically as he dodged clumsily.
"Why do you always go after me first?!" he yelled.
"Because you're the funniest to watch," Velkran replied, laughing.
Meanwhile, Quindarion calmly blocked Taliena's precise strikes.
Wooden weapons clashed rhythmically, echoing through the forest.
Karion attempted a wild maneuver, throwing his practice sword like a spear—It landed two meters from Velkran.
"It was part of my plan!" Karion shouted while rolling away from Taliena's strike.
"Sure," Kyrahna said from afar, laughing.
Eventually Quindarion disarmed Taliena, and Velkran pinned Karion—who kicked and flailed dramatically.
"I surrender! Dignity lost but life preserved!" Karion cried.
The group collapsed onto the ground afterward, exhausted but smiling.
"That was fun," Taliena said, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Yes," Quindarion added, looking at the sky. "I haven't felt something like this in a long time."
"Felt what?" Kyrahna asked.
"Freedom."
A quiet moment followed.
But the calm was short-lived.
From the corner of her eye, Kyrahna saw Zyrion walking away again, heading to a secluded spot.
His figure—still masked—looked darker than ever.
Velkran frowned."Something's wrong with him."
Quindarion sighed."And we can't keep ignoring it."
Karion, still lying on the ground, covered his face."If only it were as easy as patting him on the back and saying 'It'll be fine'…"
Taliena grew serious."He might need more than that."
Everyone looked at Zyrion—the solitary shadow under the pale sunlight.
The storm wasn't over.
In fact…it had only just begun.
TO BE CONTINUED…