Nathan Modernson watched silently as the merciless flames consumed Granny Bella's orphanage, advancing their way towards his own empty gaze via the reflection.
Many words floated around the atmosphere along with the surging sound of water, but the voice inside Nathan censored them out. He recalled the conversation he had with Granny Bella the day before their departure. His body tightened under the pain, yet his expression remained eerily calm.
His mother, V, was standing among the burning debris, which was surrounded by temporary fences similar to the RunaLine Cooperation incident. She debated with Fellvion Sheorad, her tone fierce yet composed. Lily had returned to him after V departed, her hand holding his arm firmly.
"Nathan, calm down…" she whispered seriously. In circumstances like these, not even she could put on a smile.
"I am calm. What else can I do?" Nathan replied flatly. "It already happened."
Not everyone's response to this tragic event was as rational as Nathan's. Some citizens thrust half their bodies out of the fence, shouting and mourning as if they were the ones engulfed in the flames. Fellvion was almost as extreme as they were; the veins in his eyes painted a distinct shade of red in his pale figure.
"Yo boss, the other bros found no traces of life, not even ashes, you know what I'm sayin'." The man named Mica reported to Fellvion. "Aren't no normal flame doin' that to human bodies. Must be Rune Arts, I tell you."
Fellvion shot a deathly stare at Mica.
"Yo, chill, boss." Mica took a step back, knowing Fellvion wouldn't harm him. "Just spittin' truths." Fellvion sighed and looked away, knowing the intentions behind Mica's overly casual attitude.
"Find out who did it," he commanded softly.
"Ay, that's like impossible right now. The surveillance Rune Arts are still disabled, you know what I'm sayin'. Aren't nobody but us is to blame for this one. Unless we get the Paradox Clan to handle it, they get things done, trust."
"Paradox Clan? Work for us?" Fellvion furrowed his eyebrows and questioned Mica, though his tone lacked the expected sarcasm.
"Got it, boss." Mica caught the meaning behind Fellvion's response. "We rely on ourselves. I'll do what I can, I got it."
"You said it was impossible."
"Boss wants me to make it possible, though, ay." Mica shrugged. "I do what boss says, you know what I'm sayin'. For real, though, these federation crews are at the top of my suspicion list, you feel me? Aren't no locals touchin' Granny Bella."
"I will not repeat myself again. Considering everything, it is you out of everyone who has a motive," Viviana raised her voice. "Taking the Rune Arts Federation as a tool to proliferate your support. You truly are fearless, and outrageously foolish, Fellvion Sheorad."
Fellvion's body shivered under the accusation, almost failing to seize control of himself. His crimson eyes shone bright among the dying flame in the background; the anger and grief were evident through his silence. After all considerations, the woman standing before him was the strongest Rune Artist in human history. No matter how great his anger was, wronging her at such a time would ruin everything he had planned.
Grey clouds began to congregate in the sky above, their dusky colour mimicking the emotions of the crowd. Both sunlight and the illumination from Mount Mirra were obstructed. Day had suddenly become night.
Stanson Sothros cleared his throat behind Viviana. "May I speak?" he asked, waiting for the nodding approval from the First Seat, which came without much delay.
"Let's not come to a conclusion in such a hasty manner," he began. "Neither the federation nor your residents expected this dreadful accident. Before accusing others, we should focus on unmasking the true culprit. This requires our mutual collaboration; a conflict is the last thing the circumstance demands."
Officials behind Stanson nodded in approval. His calm, soothing voice seemed to have even softened the features of Fellvion's men, but Fellvion himself remained indifferent.
"We require no assistance from the Rune Arts Federation," he said coldly. "The coming rain will deal with the remaining fire. Let us disband and depart from here before the cleansing begins."
Nathan Modernson was caught up in his thoughts. From the look of it, Fellvion Sheorad was definitely not responsible for the arson. An answer emerged from his heart, somehow brightening his mood slightly.
"Did you figure something out?" Lily asked curiously.
"I did, but no one will believe me." Nathan's voice was slightly excited at the fact that he might be the only one who knew the truth.
"Granny Bella planned this herself. Everyone should be fine. We will see them again," Nathan uttered as he turned and walked away; Lily's complaints followed behind as he disappeared into the horizon. For now, where they would stay for the night was the biggest problem. Lily cast a Rune Art that followed them above, sheltering them from the rain as they walked.
He looked back after they had covered some distance. The crowd followed the officials' commands and dispersed in all directions, back to their ordinary lives, while carrying the irremovable pain of the loss of Granny Bella.
There was a solitary, white shadow standing among the debris who prayed in a solemn ritual, disregarding the pouring rain that drenched his garb.
Fellvion Sheorad faced the direction of Mount Mirra, his mouth murmuring words foreign to the language of Runalond. Raindrops fell into his eyes as he gazed above, but he didn't seem to care at all. Then suddenly, he heard a familiar voice repeating behind him.
"Divine beings, have you come to guide me?" he breathed ethereally.
"Nah, boss, it's me."
"Mica, how many times do I have to tell you: don't disturb me when I'm praying."
"Let's keep it real, boss. You lookin' like a drowning rat right now, you know what I'm sayin'?"
Fellvion felt the absence of rain before his anger rose. He looked up: a colourful umbrella replaced the cloudy sky he anticipated. Mica stood behind him, his stance careless as always, but the innocence in his eyes was genuine, and weirdly comforting.
"Take it, boss. I aren't no Water Rune Artist, that's all I got."
"Do you think divine beings will approve this?"
"Hell, they would; there's no way they'd like to see their minions shuddering in the cold, ay?"
"What about you? It will take you a while to walk back to the shrine."
"Don't worry 'bout me, boss. I like bein' a drowning rat, you feel me? I'll stop disturbing you, boss. Laters."
"Thanks."
"Come on, boss! We been bros for ages! Save the customs, ay."
Fellvion didn't look back as Mica skipped away in bright, wide steps. He walked toward the centre of the debris, and like a scavenger who hadn't seen food for days, he ploughed through the burnt ashes madly.
"How could I forget…" he mumbled hollowly as he scrambled out the last handful of ashes from the ground. Nimbly flicking the dust from his nails, Fellvion's eyes lit up as a hatch entered his view, unharmed by the fire. He pulled it open and threw himself inside without hesitation.
As for what he found inside the hidden chamber, not even his closest companions knew.
All they knew was that, from that day, Fellvion Sheorad changed. He became much more hopeful, much more extreme, and most notable of all, the name "Nathan Modernson" was repeated by him ceaselessly. From that day onwards, their ultimate goal had suddenly changed to tracking down this boy, at all costs.
When he entered, Granny Bella watched from a distant mountaintop, with her children standing behind like a pack of wolves.
"How was my Rune Art?" Krayte asked proudly. "Better than most adults, even, you say so?"
Granny Bella smiled sincerely and patted Krayte on the head. "Well done, Krayte. If you keep it up, you will certainly be the next First Seat of the Rune Arts Federation."
Leon, who was distributing food from a huge box that floated behind him, mocked happily, "Krayte would never become something like that, Granny Bella. Even if he could, his lazy ass wouldn't want to."
"Out of all the children I've kept," Granny Bella murmured to herself, "Fellvion Sheorad was the first, and the only ambitious one. I left my diary in the secret chamber; once he reads it, everything will flow in the right direction."
"I shaped both the Trickster and the Saviour in the Great Prophecy; what regrets remain?"
"Boys and girls! Now, I shall formally announce the death of Granny Bella," she solemnly announced to the crowd. "My third life shall—"
Granny Bella's voice was cut off. Her smile faded gradually as a dwindling, frayed figure approached in wide steps. The children looked at him in curiosity, murmuring among themselves whether his hair or his clothes were more withered.
"Heya," the old man said with a twisted smile. "Sixty years? Huh?"
Granny Bella squinted at the bandaged greatsword wrapped behind his back. She rested her hands on her wand, ready to face the worst of the worst.
"Peace, peace," the man lifted his arms harmlessly. "I'm not here for war… I'm long past that era. People change, but you clearly don't. That light in your eyes doesn't decline with time, it seems."
"Old Hyena, that's what you go by now, isn't it?" Bella didn't take her hands off her wand.
"Yeah, yeah. Preferably so… How about you? Granny Bella?" the Old Hyena scoffed at the name.
"Bella is fine."
"Sure, sure."
"To have a figure like you visit Isterann, I'm honoured to be the one to welcome you," Bella mocked with a low voice.
"Why? My dear friend's house is burnt to ashes, how can I not visit?" the Old Hyena asked.
"Many more important matters in Runalond exist," Bella's voice grew calm after realising that the Old Hyena might truly mean no harm. "Leave the cleanup to poor Bella herself."
The Old Hyena didn't answer immediately. He walked toward the edge of the mountaintop and stared at the ruins below.
"You've been living here for a long while…" he sighed. "No sorrow seeing it engulfed by flames?"
"Wood is better off burning in splendour than rotting in boredom. Humans? More so."
"Ridiculous. What's your plan now?"
"The older I grow, the more I miss my home. I'm returning."
Hearing her response, the Old Hyena reached toward his sword and turned in seriousness. "That breaches the contract."
"The contract?" Bella laughed quietly. "That meaningless piece of paper was signed during my first life. The same laws can no longer be applied to my third."
"I see how it is, I see how it is…"
The Old Hyena sighed and drew the sword from his back. Unwrapping the bandage that bound it, a golden greatsword, one marked to be no more than a myth, was unveiled before Bella and her children.
"Then that marks you as a threat to Runalond," he said flatly.
"And all threats to Runalond… must be exterminated."
"Hallowed Sword Elderia…" Leon gasped. "That can't be the real one, right?"
"I'm afraid it can…" Granny Bella drew her wands and began spinning them across her fingers. "You really know how to wield it?"
"I know enough to defeat you."
"You leave no choice for me…" Granny Bella shook her head in resignation and declared to the children behind her, "Defeat him."
"Roger that!" the children responded enthusiastically, fearless of the mythical sword. "To what extent do we try?" Krayte asked, as he began excavating his wands from the pockets in his clothes.
One, two?
Three… Four!
Five.
"Go all in."
"You sure? I might kill him."
"I've fought him before." Granny Bella's voice dimmed. "I know how unkillable he is."
"And people don't actually change, do they?"