As the woman dismounted her dragon, her boots touched down on scorched stone.
She eyed the battlefield, then the unconscious boy in the knight's arms.
With a cold, calculating tone, she said, "So this boy did all this?"
The knight nodded. "Yes. This was the kid. He has… quiet mana."
She stepped forward, kneeling beside the bloodied child. Her eyes scanned his ruined body, pausing on the faint traces of magic still pulsing through him.
"So, he was triggered… by some kind of emotional trauma — and released mana in an uncontrollable surge." She looked up. "What kind of power does he—"
But before the knight could answer, a voice cut through the settling smoke.
"What in the name of the gods do you two think you're doing?!" A furious figure strode through the haze. "Destroying half a city fighting some damn monster—!"
As the man emerged from the smoke and saw the knight and the woman clearly, his expression twisted from fury into shock.
He dropped to one knee. "I-I beg your forgiveness, Sir Thorne Eldric, Lady Thalira Flameborne — of the Radiant Crusade. I didn't know you were here. I am Alric Vaelthorn, commander of this distress squad."
Eldric's voice was calm but firm. "Stand up."
Alric rose slowly, but his eyes widened in disbelief as he caught sight of the unconscious boy in Eldric's arms.
Thalira's gaze remained steady. "Eldric. We need to take this boy to the estate. Immediately."
Without hesitation, Eldric adjusted Ren in his arms. The two mounted their dragon.
As it unfurled its wings, Thalira turned back to Alric. "Thank you for your assistance. We'll take it from here."
The dragon leapt into the sky, wind blasting the rubble below as it soared upward — and vanished into the clouds.
Back at the ruined facility…
Alric and his knights moved cautiously through the smoke and rubble.
They found the aftermath of Ren's fury — guards shredded beyond recognition, stone walls stained red.
And then… Fin.
His body, lifeless. Sliced clean in half.
Alric's face tightened. "Gods…"
He turned to his squad. "Spread out. Search the entire structure. If you find anything — report immediately."
The knights dispersed into the deeper chambers.
Moments later, a voice echoed from the far corridor. "Commander! I found something!"
Alric rushed over.
In a dark chamber, huddled in a corner, were hundreds of children — eyes wide with terror, clothes ragged, skin bruised and thin.
Alric stepped closer, kneeling before one of the boys.
There — on the side of the child's neck — was a glowing seal.
"…They were enslaved," Alric muttered. "All of them."
He stood sharply. "Start evacuating them. Now. Get them food, blankets, and call the royal mages to remove these seals."
Meanwhile, at the Radiant Crusade estate…
The dragon descended into a lush courtyard. As it landed, Eldric jumped off with Ren still in his arms, sprinting into the mansion.
"Liora! We need your help!"
From the dining hall, a woman's voice rang out — half-muffled through a mouthful of breakfast. "What now, Eldric? I don't have time for another one of your dramatic field reports—"
Eldric burst through the door.
Liora turned, her annoyed expression fading instantly as she saw the blood covering Eldric… and the unconscious boy in his arms.
With a gasp, she shoved everything off the table in one sweep — plates, candles, mugs crashing to the floor.
"Put him down. Now."
Eldric gently laid Ren on the polished surface.
Liora immediately placed her hands over him. "Whisper of Renewal," she intoned, and pale green light flowed into Ren's wounds. The external bleeding began to slow.
"Where the hell did you find him?" she asked, her voice sharp.
"In Aetherion," Eldric replied. "He was on a full mana rampage. We had to stop him before he brought down half the city."
Liora's brows furrowed as she examined the boy. "That explains the state he's in…"
But then her gaze fell to his neck.
Her fingers brushed against a faint mark glowing beneath the skin. Her voice dropped to a whisper.
"Eldric… look at this. There's a seal."
Eldric leaned down, tracing the mark with a grim expression. "It's a slaving seal."
Liora's hand paused. "Then… he was enslaved?"
She exhaled and stopped the healing spell. "He'll survive — but his mana pathways are severely strained. He'll need time. Rest. Proper care."
Eldric asked quietly, "How long until he wakes up?"
"A week. Maybe less. His body is strong, but that power tore through him like wildfire."
Just then, Thalira entered the room, holding a sealed parchment. "We just received a letter from Alric."
She unfolded the paper, scanning its contents.
"He says they found many enslaved children in the facility. The bodies of the guards were... unrecognizable. One of the children — sliced clean in half."
Liora looked down at Ren, sadness heavy in her voice. "What kind of torment did you live through…?"
Eldric asked gently, "And the children?"
Thalira nodded. "They've been taken to the royal orphanage. The mages removed the seals. They're safe now."
Liora brushed Ren's hair gently away from his face.
"Let's hope… he will be too."
Eldric looked down at himself — armor stained with blood, dirt, and soot. His expression shifted to something between exhaustion and discomfort.
"I should get cleaned up,"
Liora, already kneeling to gather the mess she'd made earlier, snorted softly but said nothing. She began picking up overturned mugs and shattered plates from the floor, placing them in a tray with precise motions.
Thalira walked over to Ren's side, her steps quiet and composed. She leaned down, gently lifting the boy into her arms.
"I'll take him to the guest room," she said softly.
She turned and moved gracefully through the grand stone hallways of the estate, her boots whispering across the marble floors. At the far end of a corridor, she opened a heavy oak door.
Inside — a simple yet elegant room. A soft bed. Shelves lined with old books. A window overlooking the hills.
Thalira walked to the bed and lowered Ren carefully onto it, cradling his head so it wouldn't jar as she set him down. She slid a warm blanket over him, tucking it lightly beneath his chin.
She stood there for a moment, watching him — the rise and fall of his breath, the faint glow of his mana flickering like a candle in the dark.
Her expression softened — just a little.
Then she turned and quietly left the room, closing the door behind her with a soft click.
In the Radiant Crusade workshop...
Thalira entered the workshop to find Eldric hunched over a bench, scrubbing his bloodstained armor with a stiff-bristled brush. A bucket of water sat at his feet, already murky.
"These bloodstains…" he muttered, brushing harder. "They get stuck in the seams. Pretty badly."
Thalira leaned against the doorway, arms folded. "What do you think we should do with the boy?"
Eldric paused for a moment, then straightened, rinsing his hands in the bucket. "We wait. Let him heal first."
He grabbed a cloth, drying his fingers. "But after that… we can't just let a child with this much raw potential drift. Not into the hands of another kingdom. And not into darkness."
Thalira gave a small nod, her expression unreadable. "Let's see what fate has written for him…"
Later that evening...
The kitchen glowed warm under golden lamplight. Liora stood over the counter, carefully pouring powdered herbs into a bubbling flask. The aroma of crushed leaves and alchemical fire filled the room.
Suddenly — a whisper at her ear.
"What are you making?"
She jolted — startled — and instinctively elbowed backward.
Thump.
Eldric let out a grunt as her elbow landed squarely in his gut.
"Gods, Liora—!" he wheezed, stepping back and laughing through the pain.
She turned around, eyes wide. "Eldric! You don't sneak up on someone handling acidroot essence!"
Still chuckling, he rubbed his stomach. "I was just curious."
She narrowed her eyes at him, then smirked. "Well, now you're curious and bruised. Congratulations."
He leaned over the counter, peering into the flask. "Seriously though… what are you making?"
Liora didn't look up as she stirred. "A healing potion. For the boy. It'll help repair muscle damage, bone fractures, tissue trauma — everything his body suffered in that rampage."
Eldric nodded slowly, gaze drifting to the flickering fire beneath the cauldron. "And his mana?"
She paused, then sighed. "That's different. Mana pathways don't heal with potions. They need time — rest. If we force it, we risk rupturing them completely."
"So all we can do is wait," he muttered.
Liora gave a small nod. "Yes. Let his body heal first. Then… we'll see if his spirit survived too."
While Liora tended to his broken body — bones mending, flesh knitting — Ren's mind drifted elsewhere.
He floated in darkness.
A vast, endless void. No light. No sound. No weight.
He didn't feel his body. Just... being.
His thoughts echoed quietly, almost dreamlike.
"What a strange dream... I need to get home. I have school tomorrow... or... did I just come from school?"
The silence stretched — until a voice broke through, soft and distant.
"Ren…"
Then again, closer now.
"Ren… Ren…"
His eyes clenched shut, and suddenly—
A flash.
A warm afternoon. A familiar voice.
"Come back from school and we'll go buy toys," his sister said, smiling from the kitchen doorway, the sun behind her like a halo.
Ren's chest tightened.
Another flash.
Pain.
He clutched his head. "Why… why does it hurt?"
More fragments came crashing in.
The canteen. Cold metal trays. A boy with messy hair and a bruised cheek smiling at him.
"My name is Fin."
The first friend.
Then—
Screams. Fire. Chains. Blood.
And finally—
Fin, standing before Skarith.
A flash of a blade.
Fin— split in half.
"No… no!" Ren screamed, his voice echoing through the void.
He saw it all again. The moment Fin was struck down. The glint of Skarith's sword. The blood.
His scream tore through the dream.
Ren gasped as his eyes flew open.
He bolted upright, drenched in sweat, heart hammering like a war drum.
Breath ragged. Body trembling.
His eyes darted around wildly.
Silken sheets. Soft light from a chandelier. Carved wooden furniture. A grand window revealing a mountain skyline.
A clean bed.
Silence.
No chains. No screams.
He whispered, confused and breathless, "Where… am I?"