When they entered, the orcs standing by the central fire turned their heads.
Their eyes fixed on Kano.
And then, to everyone's surprise, the orcs dropped to one knee.
The dwarves traded astonished looks.
Revena narrowed her eyes.
—"What kind of show is this?"
Elgot only sighed heavily.
—"It's a long story."
Lenor Vilerian descended from the wall.
His gaze slid straight to Kano.
—"What happened?"
Elgot answered briefly:
—"Later. We need a ritual."
Lenor understood at once that time mattered and didn't linger with questions.
But when his eyes came to rest on Revena, he raised a brow.
—"Demoness, you need to get dressed."
Revena smiled slyly.
—"Don't worry, I'm used to attention."
Naira gave a derisive snort.
—"You'll get used to a sword in your chest too if you keep walking around like that."
Lianel looked the demoness over with interest.
—"Your figure's almost like mine. Maybe your breasts are a touch smaller, but we'll find you something."
Revena's eyes narrowed, stung for a beat, then she smiled slightly.
—"No, they're bigger. But fine, I'll squeeze into your clothes."
The girls exchanged cool looks.
—"Let's go."
Kano was laid on the altar in the middle of the square, beside the central fire.
Selina stood before him, her hands clenched into fists.
Revena took up a knife, studying her closely.
—"Ready?"
Selina nodded, though fear showed in her eyes.
Revena slit Kano's palm.
Blood barely seeped from his cold skin.
Then she did the same to Selina's palm.
When their blood mingled, the ground beneath their feet began to tremble.
Revena whispered ancient words.
Light exploded.
People, dwarves, and orcs fell back, shielding their eyes from the blinding radiance.
Selina's body rose into the air.
Golden light seemed to pour from her skin, bathing the square.
Elgot froze.
—"This isn't just a ritual…"
Revena also stepped back, her eyes wide.
—"What is this…"
Selina looked like a goddess of light, her body almost transparent, her eyes pure gold.
But then something else happened.
Kano began to rise into the air.
Elgot shouted:
—"Something's wrong!"
Revena retreated even farther.
—"This… isn't a familiar bond…"
Selina's eyes flew wide.
—"He…"
The light around them exploded again.
The square of Kano's city was awash with blinding radiance.
It poured straight from Selina's body, like a star on the verge of bursting.
People, dwarves, and orcs fell back, shielding their eyes.
Even Lenor, who always kept his composure, drew his brows together for a moment as he watched the phenomenon.
Elgot, standing closest, tried to assess the situation, but his magical sense registered something altogether different.
This was no ordinary familiar ritual.
Something was wrong.
And Revena understood it.
She stood a few steps behind, watching tensely as Kano's body rose into the air along with Selina.
Her eyes narrowed.
—"This... isn't just a ritual..."
Everyone held their breath.
Kano hung in the air, wrapped in white radiance.
His body, lifeless only minutes ago, seemed about to restore itself.
But his heart wasn't beating.
Elgot felt everything inside him clench.
—"He... isn't breathing."
Revena snorted, angry.
—"How can that be? That makes no sense!"
Selina lived.
She had received power, become something more than she'd been.
But Kano...
He remained there, in the light.
And then Selina looked at him.
Her gold-lit eyes filled with resolve.
She took the final step.
Selina touched his hand.
The light around them shifted sharply—from white to dark gold.
Wind rose over the square, lifting dust and whipping everyone's hair.
Kano jerked.
And then...
A beat.
Loud, powerful, like thunder sounding from inside him.
His heart gave its first beat.
A second.
And a third.
He drew a sharp breath.
Elgot felt his knees wobble.
—"He's alive."
The light began to fade.
Kano slowly lowered to the ground, his chest rising and falling.
He was breathing.
But he didn't open his eyes.
Selina drifted down as well.
Exhausted, she leaned against Naira, who steadied her.
Selina whispered:
—"He's alive... but he hasn't woken yet."
Elgot sat right down on the cobblestones, cradling his head in his hands.
—"Idiot... you almost killed us."
Revena watched it all in silence and then, smiling, thought:
"I wonder... what will he be like when he wakes?"
The celebration hadn't begun yet, but the city's mood was already easing.
When the light around Kano faded, the first to step forward was Grimtar.
Silently, without a word, he lifted Kano into his arms.
Even for the mighty orc it was hard—the boy's body felt unnaturally heavy, as if some unseen weight were pressing on him.
But Grimtar did not stop.
He carried him toward the residential quarter, where Kano's house stood.
The orcs nearby lowered their heads again.
Grimtar paid it no mind, only whispered:
—"You still don't understand who he will become..."
And with that, he vanished into the city's shadows.
The rest of the warriors, mages, and townsfolk remained in the square.
The tension hanging in the air slowly loosened into noisy chatter.
Someone was already rolling out casks.
The dwarves started banging tankards on tables, shouting toasts.
Humans and orcs kindled new fires, pulling out food.
The celebration had begun.
Elgot stood at the center of a ring, mug raised, and, windmilling his arms, began to tell:
—"Kano and I won the trust of the dwarven king! Oh yes, it wasn't easy! But in the end we cleared the ancient ruins and..."
He paused for a second, staring into the fire, then, lowering his voice a little, added:
—"But there was a price."
Naira sat beside him, listening in silence, arms crossed.
Lenor, perched on a log, raised his mug too and said calmly:
—"And while you were gone, we were fighting an orc horde."
Elgot lifted his brows.
—"And?"
Lenor took a sip and answered:
—"And now we have four and a half thousand orcs."
Elgot almost choked on his drink.
—"You negotiated with them?!"
Lenor smiled slyly.
—"That wasn't my doing."
He shifted his gaze to Naira.
Elgot swallowed a lump in his throat.
—"Seriously?"
Lenor nodded.
—"I only helped a little; she did the real work."
Naira shrugged.
—"Let's say I just knocked the nonsense out of them."
Everyone laughed, and the revelry swelled louder.