[Marcus's Perspective]
In this life, there are moments when you simply don't want to live. Moments when you can't stand, when you have no strength left to keep going. Moments when everything becomes meaningless.
I've had plenty of those moments in my life. I'd fall, then get back up again. I'd drag my feet through the rubble, driven by one thing only the desire for revenge.
The memory of that day came back to me. The cursed day when my beautiful world was crushed beneath the boots of the Midgar Empire's forces. But I buried that memory. I buried it with my own hands, just as I will bury them.
I will crush that Empire. I will crush anyone who so much as brushed against my suffering, no matter how distantly. And now, I am closer than ever. Yet I feel no joy.
On my path to revenge, I've trampled over many. Burned many. Lost things that can never be replaced. But I've never felt this empty before.
Jeven… someone who was once my friend. I sacrificed him without looking back. I lowered my head and looked at my hands. His face still haunts me every time I close my eyes. Is this really what I wanted?
I adjusted the glove on my hand, glanced at my reflection in the window glass, then ignored it. There's no time for emotions. No time for pity. I pulled up my coat, adjusted the small knife in the belt around my waist, then pulled a small notebook from my pocket. I opened it and looked at the first page.
Names were written there. Beside some of them were red marks. Jeven's name still had no mark. I closed the notebook. Not now I can't afford to break down. Not before I finish my revenge.
...
I stood before an old house, on the farthest edge of a remote village along the northern border of the Midgar Empire. I knocked. Moments later, the door creaked open, revealing a boy about seven years old with dark green hair and matching eyes.
I said:
"Tell your father Marcus is here."
He nodded and disappeared into the house. A few minutes later, Ellery came out. He stood in the doorway and said in a dry tone:
"It's been a long time, Marcus, hasn't it?"
I nodded.
"You know why I'm here."
He shook his head slowly.
"Yeah. Let's talk somewhere quieter."
Then he turned to the boy and said:
"Theoden, tell your mother I'll be late tonight."
We walked until we reached the edge of a small forest behind the village. Once there, he said:
"So, you've found me."
"You knew it was only a matter of time. No one runs
forever, Ellery."
"I've been trying for years. I can still try."
"But now you have a family. What will you do? Leave them?"
"I told you, Marcus, I'm not planning to run this time. But if the Seven truly wanted to finish me, they should've sent an entire squad, not a man on the verge of collapse."
"I wasn't sent to kill you. I was sent to give you a chance."
"A chance?"
"Yes. The Seventh Lord is willing to forgive. But you have to return to the Black Stone now."
"The Black Stone? You want me to go back to that hole?"
"You don't have a choice, Ellery. If you refuse, the family you built here won't remain."
His lips trembled slightly. He didn't reply right away. Eventually, he said:
"Let me say goodbye to my family first."
I waved my hand.
"When you're done, you'll find me at that old inn on the village's edge."
***
[Ellery's Perspective]
I stood still, watching Marcus's back as he walked away. They'd found me. I knew this day would come. I knew the life I built here, with all its warmth, would collapse sooner or later.
I had run from them for years, using my Lightning Authority, which gave me unmatched mobility. With my current mastery, I could flee before they even reached me. That's what I'd always done. But now, I'm not alone. I have a family, and I can't use my power on them.
And even if I could what then? They would still hunt me. They would hunt them. Anyone tied to me would become a target. Just being linked to my name would put them in danger. I rubbed my face with my hands and closed my eyes.
I was just a man from a noble house one of the most prestigious in the Empire: the Blackmoore family. The youngest son of the family head.
Until that day. The day the monster walked into my life the one who would later be known as Elias Grangwell. On a rainy day, he stormed the family's main estate alone… and killed them all. Every single member of the Blackmoores was slaughtered before my eyes. Only I survived.
Later, the Imperial forces cornered Elias. The monster simply raised his hands and surrendered. He was taken to the Imperial prison… and within days, he walked out, not as a criminal, but as a hero. Stories were spun around him. Newspapers filled their front pages with his image. They gave him titles: "The Savior." "Protector of the Grangwell Family." "The Beast That Slays Beasts."
And me? Everything I had was taken away. The family's wealth was seized. Our name erased from the records. The Empire justified his actions in a cold statement: "He eliminated a family plotting a coup."
A coup? Who would listen to the voice of a man who had lost everything? I swore then that I would have my revenge on Elias, on the Grangwells, on the entire Empire.
That's how I joined the Seven. But… a few years ago, the Grangwell family collapsed entirely. Wiped out for treason. Elias was killed in a clash with Imperial forces.
My enemy was dead. My goal vanished with him. I stayed with the Seven because I needed them their power, their resources, and the chance they gave me to deepen my mastery of my Authority.
I knew from the start: once you join them, you don't leave alive. The only exit is the grave. It's that simple.
But I was lucky. My Lightning Authority gave me a rare edge the ability to escape, hide, and move at incredible speed. Over time, with what I learned from them, I became capable of traveling freely between cities in the Midgar Empire.
Thus, my life became an endless series of chases. I'd move from city to city. But everything changed when I met Mara. I never expected someone so calm to change my life's course.
I met her when I had settled in the Imperial capital, in the lower district, running a flower shop. I didn't know how or when it happened, but I fell in love with her.
We married. We had Theoden. For eight whole years, I lived in peace. But peace was never meant to last forever. And now, I'm preparing to leave.
I knew this moment would come. But I didn't know it would hurt this much.
...
I stepped into the house. The kitchen was bathed in faint candlelight, with the scent of fresh bread still in the air. Mara was washing the dishes, her back to me.
I swallowed hard and approached. The creak of the wooden floorboards made her turn. She dried her hands with a cotton towel and said:
"Back early tonight? Didn't you say you'd be late?"
"I finished talking with an old colleague much sooner than I expected."
"An old colleague? What did he want from you?"
"He asked me to accompany him on a work trip."
"A work trip? Where to?"
"To Valhemera, in the north."
"And why would he suddenly come to you and ask you to go with him now?"
"We used to work together years ago, when I was a wandering knight. There's a long trust between us. He needs someone he knows well."
"And do you plan on going with him?"
"He owes me, but I owe him more. He saved my life more than once, and I can't refuse his request. Besides, he's offering good pay."
"How long will you be gone?"
"About a month."
"Come back safe."
"I really have to go… wait, what?"
"I said go. But come back to us safe."
"I will. Don't worry."
"Promise me."
"It's just a work trip, Mara, not a war."
"Just promise me."
"I promise."
...
I began packing my few belongings. Secured my sword in its sheath, then turned toward her. She stood silently in the doorway, hand on the frame.
I leaned down, kissed her forehead, and said:
"Mara…"
She suddenly hugged me tightly until I could feel her racing heartbeat. She said nothing, just held on. I pulled away slowly, then knelt to Theoden's level. He stood behind her.
I ruffled his hair and smiled.
"Take good care of your mother while I'm gone, alright?"
He nodded with childish confidence.
"I will."
...
I left the house and walked until I reached the village outskirts, where the old inn stood the one travelers always used as shelter. Marcus was at the door. Without preamble, he said:
"Are you ready to leave now?"
I nodded.
"Yes."
Before we could move, a human figure stepped out from the shadows near the inn. His features weren't entirely clear.
"At last, the prodigal son decides to return."
I didn't respond. I ignored his words. Marcus then said:
"Let's go."
We stepped toward him, then melted into the building's shadow and vanished. Behind me, I left my family, the warmth of our home, Mara's singing voice, and Theoden's small hand waving to me from behind the window. I left behind a life I had only just begun to love. No… one I had already loved.