I rushed toward the boy. He was beautiful — painfully so.
Silver hair, blue eyes, lips pale as snow, and skin almost translucent. He was shaking, wearing only light, torn clothes that barely clung to him. My heart trembled just looking at him. Who could do something like this to a child?
I pulled him into my lap and touched his cold face.
"Hey, are you okay? Where are your parents?"
He blinked weakly. "I don't have any," he whispered. His voice faded before returning, barely audible. "Madame… I'm thirsty. And hungry."
I turned to Riven. "Bring some water and food."
He didn't move.
"Now," I snapped. "Go — and be fast."
Riven left, clearly resentful. I didn't blame him. The way I'd spoken was harsh, but I didn't care. The boy's trembling made my chest ache.
He was still shivering, so I wrapped my arms around him. It felt warm — comforting in a way I hadn't felt since coming to Sylyncia.
I'd forgotten what it felt like to hold someone. I've always loved hugs; maybe because I never got enough of them.
Then the boy hugged me back. I felt his small hands clutching my clothes, his shoulders shaking, and his tears running down my neck.
Like a lost bird that had finally found home — a bird that had held back its tears for too long, and finally found a place safe enough to cry.
So I cried too.
I'd been holding it in for so long — through my classmates, through Grita, through Riven.
When I finally wiped my face, I forced a smile and said softly, "What's your name?"
He hesitated. "I… I don't have one. Slaves don't deserve names."
His words stabbed straight through my heart.
"Then you have one now," I said firmly. "Your name is Sky."
He blinked at me, eyes wide. "Are you sure? You really want to give me a name?"
"I don't go back on my words," I said.
He smiled — an innocent, pure smile. But for a second, I thought I saw a flicker of something else behind it. A darker spark deep in his blue eyes.
Then he gathered the little strength he had, leaned forward, kissed my forehead, and whispered, "I'm yours now."
It felt… strange. He was just a kid — maybe thirteen at most. But something about him wasn't ordinary.
Riven returned, a rabbit in one hand, and drew clean water from a glowing pocket of air. I must have looked surprised, because he said, "It's a spatial pocket. You can buy one in the city."
"Wow," I said, half-laughing. "That's amazing. I've always hated carrying suitcases when I travel." Then, softer, "Thank you."
I gave the water to Sky. Riven set down some firewood and lit it with a spell — flames blooming from his fingertips.
I couldn't help but stare. "You make it look easy," I murmured. "I wish I could use magic like that."
Night fell quietly. Sky woke up when the smell of roasted meat filled the air. I fed him, and he refused to leave my lap — clinging to me as if I were the only solid thing left in the world.
"Thank you, Madame," he said, voice small but content.
Riven's tone cut through the calm, sharp and angry. "You've eaten and had water. Now leave."
Sky looked up at him, then turned to me. His blue eyes were sad but steady.
"I can't," he said. "My Madame and I are bound — for eternity, until death parts us."
Riven shot to his feet, rage flashing across his face. "What did you do?"
Sky's expression darkened, his childish innocence slipping for a heartbeat. "Madame gave me a name," he said simply.
I looked between them, confused and uneasy. "What's wrong with you two?"
Riven's gaze hardened.
"This boy… he's a Vessel — a body created to contain something that cannot exist freely. I could sense it the moment I saw him. His destiny is to wander this world until he dies."
I cut him off. "He said he's a slave."
"Of course he is," Riven said flatly. "Because only slaves are denied names. He was enslaved to make sure he'd never receive one."
Sky lifted his head slightly, his voice quiet but steady.
"Yes. I am a failed Vessel. My body couldn't endure the experiment. There was an explosion, and in the chaos, I escaped. Madame was naïve enough to give me a name."
Riven turned to me sharply, eyes blazing.
"Vita, do you have any idea what you've done? Giving a name to a Vessel turns them into something uncontrollable. They bind your heart to theirs and feed on you from the inside."
His words chilled me. Terror twisted in my chest, mixed with something that felt like betrayal.
I looked at Sky — this fragile boy — and felt fear rising for the first time.
But Sky met my gaze, calm and sincere.
"It depends on the name," he said softly. "If someone names a Vessel with hatred or greed in their heart, then yes — we devour them, and we become free. But the name you gave me… Sky… all I felt was peace, hope, and warmth. It connected our hearts, but it doesn't make me your master."
He placed his small hand over his chest.
"It's the opposite. You hold me. I am yours — your soldier."
Riven froze. His expression flickered between disbelief and alarm.
"That's impossible," he muttered. "Every experiment I've seen ended with the Vessel enslaving the one who named them. Unless…"
He trailed off. Slowly, his eyes widened.
He stepped closer, studying my face as if searching for something invisible. His fingers brushed my cheek, trembling slightly.
"…That's impossible," he whispered again — more to himself than to me.
Without another word, Riven turned away, black wings unfurling like storm clouds. He rose into the sky and vanished into the night.
Sky stayed kneeling before me, one knee on the ground, his expression soft — reverent, almost loving.
"Master," he said, voice low and warm, "may I call you that?"