As time passed, the days blurred —
each one drifting like a petal across the sea of memory.
Tori's journey on Aspin was nearing its quiet, bittersweet end.
Three days remained.
Three days until the rite of passage.
Three days until the world would ask him to become something more.
And with those three days, only one thing remained undone.
He descended the stairs slowly, each step echoing like a heartbeat.
Sunless walked beside him, silent, steady.
Together, they entered the living room.
Their parents sat waiting — not with expectation, but with warmth.
"Mom… Dad," Tori said, standing tall, voice steady.
"Please hear what I have to say."
His eyes held a storm.
His heart, a quiet tremble.
"All my life… I've never truly felt like I belonged.
Not completely.
Not in blood.
I'm part of a lineage I don't understand — powers I didn't ask for.
And honestly… I'm scared."
His voice cracked, but he didn't falter.
"But that fear… it's what led me here.
It's what made me choose.
Despite the uncertainty, despite the weight of the unknown…
I know what I want."
He smiled softly — sadness folding into resolve.
"I'm going to become an adventurer.
You already know that.
But that's not why I'm here."
He stepped closer.
"I'm here not as your son…
but as an aspiring adventurer."
Alice and Eric watched him — their eyes full of light, their smiles complete.
"Alice. Eric," he said, using their names with reverence.
"Please allow your son Sunless to accompany me.
Not just as my brother — but as vice captain of the guild I've named Elutheria."
He paused.
"Elutheria means hope.
The freedom of our souls.
The right to choose our own path.
I don't want it to be just a name.
I want it to become a symbol.
A flag that carries the weight of humanity's dreams.
And I can't do it without him."
He bowed deeply.
Sunless watched in awe — the moment etched into his heart.
Alice's expression shifted — widened with emotion.
She stood, walked to Tori, and lifted his chin.
"You don't have to ask," she whispered.
"You've always been part of this family.
I remember the day I found you in that alley —
you were the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen.
That golden sparkle around you… it felt like destiny."
She embraced him.
"I love you, son.
Not as a stranger.
Not as an orphan.
I love you as my own flesh and blood."
She called Sunless over.
The three of them embraced — a moment suspended in time.
"So yes," she said, voice trembling.
"You can take Sunless with you.
But please… this is my only request."
She placed her hands on their faces — ethereal, trembling.
"Don't die.
Please… don't die.
I don't know if I could survive losing either of you."
Eric stepped forward, placing his hands on their heads.
"You two boys…
You are my pride.
My joy.
My legacy."
He looked at them — eyes glistening.
"After all these years of training, of refining your cores…
I believe in you.
I believe you'll survive.
I believe we'll meet again."
He pulled them into a hug.
"Write your mother often.
Don't travel so far that you forget where you came from."
"You always have a place here," Alice whispered, tears falling freely.
She reached out to Beatrice.
"Keep them safe, little one.
And keep yourself safe too."
The tiny fox leapt into the hug, curling into their warmth.
That morning, the Reglard family held their final meeting —
not with ceremony,
but with love.
[ A primordial observer that has decided to go anonymous is smirking at the bittersweet moment.]
Elsewhere…
Issac stood before the great hall of his noble home.
The doors loomed like judgment.
He stepped through them, heart pounding.
His father sat tall — lean, sharp-eyed, dressed in luxury.
His mother, blonde and poised, glanced up from her nails.
"You called us for something important," she said, voice clipped.
"Get it over with."
Issac inhaled.
"Okay… here goes."
"I've decided not to join my brother's guild.
I'm joining a close friend's guild instead."
He stood with arms behind his back — prepared for anything.
His father exploded.
"How dare you!"
"Your brother prepared a special spot for you!"
"You disrespectful. Ungrateful. Bitter child!"
He stood, slapped Issac hard across the face.
"We told you to follow in his footsteps!
To be great like him!
But instead… you're a failure!"
Issac didn't flinch.
He stared into his father's eyes — no resentment, no fear.
Only clarity.
His mother smiled faintly.
"Oh, let the boy do what he wants," she said, grabbing her bag.
"If you called us for something so trivial, you should've made the choice yourself."
She walked past him, heels clicking like echoes.
"Do what you want.
You planned on it anyway.
You're no longer bound by the Reevire name."
She touched his shoulder lightly — then left.
Issac stood stunned.
Of all people, she had let him go without a fight.
His father seethed.
"Fine. Pack your things.
If you care more about your friends than your own brother…
go live with them.
For all I care."
He stormed out.
Issac stood alone.
The silence was heavy.
Leroy, his butler, stepped forward — eyes soft.
"Master Issac," he said gently.
"I will accompany you.
Even if I must serve someone else…
I want you to carry a piece of home with you.
Even if this place only brings pain."
Issac's gaze softened.
"Thank you, Leroy.
Thank you for being here all these years."
Leroy handed him a bag — filled with luxurious equipment, polished and prepared.
Issac took it slowly.
Three days remained.
Three days until the journey began.
And though the storm of family had raged…
it had finally passed.