Vincent's house was quiet when he returned.Too quiet.The kind of silence that made the chain around his heart feel louder, as if each pulse tugged at something invisible and unforgiving lodged deep inside his chest.
He stepped inside, and the voice spoke immediately, cold and certain.
"You must prepare. Take all your money. Every coin."
He stood still for a moment, looking around the small space he had lived in for fourteen years.A handful of tools.A crooked bed.A few shirts folded too neatly to hide their age.A wooden bowl.A patched blanket.His life, contained in a room barely large enough to stretch his arms.
I look like someone packing to disappear…No. I'm packing to return.
He knelt and lifted the loose floorboard where he had hidden his savings. A small leather pouch sat in the dark, light enough to pick up with two fingers. He weighed it in his hand.
A faint clink of coins.Not much.Barely anything.
"Good," the star murmured inside him. "Now go. You must buy what you need. A weapon. Supplies for the road. Water. Medicine. Bandages. A compass. A map. There is no room for carelessness."
Vincent tightened his grip on the pouch.
"I do not have a lot of money," he whispered.
"Then make wise choices."
Easy for you to say. You're not the one who has to shop on a budget with a cosmic entity breathing down your ribs…
He took a breath, tied the pouch at his waist, and stepped outside into the crisp morning.
The village was already alive.Blacksmiths hammered glowing metal.Merchants unloaded crates powered by shimmering vivacium crystals.Awakened villagers carried heavy loads with ease, strengthened by the spiritual power flowing naturally through their bodies.
Vincent felt out of place among them.Like he was walking through a world he'd known all his life, yet seeing it for the first time from the wrong angle.
He made his way to the main street.
The grocer spotted him first.
"Morning, Vincent. You look like trouble. What brings you here in such a hurry?"
"I… need to prepare for a trip."
"A trip? To where?"
Vincent forced a smile.
"To the nearby city. They're recruiting young people for the army. I thought I'd… try."
The man blinked in surprise, then grinned as if suddenly proud.
"Ah, so you're going to become a soldier. Good for you, boy. Make this village proud."
I'm already lying to the entire population. Fantastic start.
He bought bread, a wedge of hard cheese, two packets of dried rations, and a sturdy water flask. When he turned to leave, the merchant tossed a red apple into his hands.
"For the road. And take care of yourself."
Vincent nodded, swallowing a strange tightness in his throat.
The voice murmured again.
"Efficient. Continue."
He went to the forge next.
Heat slammed into him before he even stepped inside. Sparks danced in the air. The blacksmith, Marten, looked up with a huff.
"Well, look at that. If it isn't young Vincent. What do you need? Another wooden practice sword? Or did Bellona break yours again?"
"Not this time." Vincent swallowed. "I need… a real sword."
The blacksmith froze.
"A real one? For what?"
Vincent repeated his lie.
"I'm leaving. I'm going to join the army. I need to be prepared."
The man let out a slow breath, his eyes softening in a way Vincent didn't expect.
"So you're becoming a man now. Hm."
He walked to a rack of weapons and pulled out a simple but well-crafted steel sword.
"This one suits you. Not too heavy. Not too light. Balanced. A good blade."
Vincent took it.It felt strange in his hand.Too real.Too cold.But right.
"How much…?"
Marten waved the question away.
"Nothing."
"What? No, I can't just—"
"You can. And you will. Consider it a gift. A departing present. Take care of it… and yourself."
A warmth rose in Vincent's chest, almost painful.
"Thank you. Really."
"Wait." The blacksmith bent down and rummaged beneath his bench. "You'll need this too."
He handed Vincent a thick leather belt for carrying the sword.
"And take these boots. Walking in those old things of yours will tear your feet apart."
The boots were sturdy, dark, and brand new.
Vincent stared at them, overwhelmed.
"I don't know how to thank you."
"By coming home one day."
Vincent nodded, unable to speak, and left the forge with more than he ever expected.
He stopped by the apothecary.Bought bandages, herbs, salves, and disinfectant.Then the cartographer, who gave him a rough map of the southern lands and a slightly crooked compass.
Each shopkeeper asked him the same things.
"Where are you going?""What are you planning?""Why so suddenly?"
And each time he answered with the same story.
"The army is recruiting. I'm going to join."
They believed him.They encouraged him.Some even gave him small things for the road.
A blanket.A pinch of salt.A few dried fruits.
They think I'm going to bring honor to the kingdom. I'm actually chasing some ancient ring for a star living in my chest. This is absurd.
The star's voice glided through his mind.
"A quest is a quest. Their opinions are irrelevant. Move."
Eventually he reached the edge of the village.
He stopped.Long enough to let the moment sink in.
Boots new and firm.Thick trousers of reinforced leather.A light white shirt beneath a black travel jacket.A scarf coiled around his neck.A sword at his hip.A heavy bag across his shoulders.
And one direction burning inside his mind.
South.
Vincent breathed in the cold air.
A child walking alone across the continent… this is ridiculous.But I'm not alone. Not anymore.
The chain around his heart throbbed lightly, as if acknowledging him.
"Go," the star whispered. "The south awaits. Your journey begins."
Vincent stepped forward.
The village faded behind him.The world opened ahead.
And he walked.
****
Bellona
The room felt too large.Too quiet.Too hollow.
Bellona sat on the edge of her bed, knees pulled close, her long chestnut hair unbraided and falling messily over her shoulders. Tears soaked the loose strands, tracing warm trails down her cheeks before dripping onto her clothes.
She wiped her eyes again, but the tears kept coming, as stubborn as the ache in her chest.
She thought of Vincent.Of his ridiculous grin.Of the way he talked too fast when nervous.Of the strange glow she had seen in his eyes that morning… a glow she couldn't explain.Something foreign.Something frightening.
Another sob escaped her throat.She pressed a hand to her mouth to muffle it.
Why did he leave…? Why now…? Why so suddenly…?
Her heart clenched painfully.
Vincent… idiot… why does it hurt so much…?
She lowered her head, shoulders trembling, and let the tears fall freely.She didn't want anyone in the castle to hear her.She didn't want anyone to know she was crying.
She had always been the strong one.The fierce one.The one who laughed when others faltered.
But right now she was breaking.
She curled forward and whispered into the quiet room.
« Come back… please… »
A warm voice answered.
A woman's voice.Soft.Comforting.Like her own… but older.Wiser.
"Do not cry, child."
Bellona froze.Her breath stopped.She jerked upright, scanning the room.
"Who… who's there?"
Silence.Then the voice again, closer, almost beside her.
"You will see him again. Without any doubt. But he will not be the same as before."
Her heart jumped violently.
"What do you mean? What happened to him? Is he safe? Where is he?"
"He has been touched. Approached. And guided away from his former path. But not toward darkness. His destiny has shifted. You must grow stronger for what awaits."
Bellona shook her head, tears falling again.
"I do not care about destiny… I just want him to live…"
"Then become the strength that will meet him in the future."
The voice wrapped around her like a warm blanket.Then it faded, dissolving into silence.
Bellona stared at the empty room, chest heaving, tears still clinging to her lashes.
Vincent was no longer the boy she had known.And she…She could no longer be simply Bellona.
Something had changed in both of them.
She wiped her face with trembling hands.
I will see you again, Vincent. No matter what you become.
Vincent
The sun stood high when Vincent reached the southern roads.He walked steadily, the weight of his new belongings shifting with each step, the sword at his hip tapping softly against his leg.
The plains stretched endlessly around him, golden with season's warmth, and the wide road cut through them like a pale ribbon. Travelers passed occasionally. A merchant caravan. A pair of farmers. Two riders wrapped in cloaks.
All of them heading toward somewhere familiar.All of them belonging to the world he had just left.
The star's voice resonated calmly within him.
"Three months. That is the estimated length of your journey if you walk every day. Slightly less if you push yourself. Considerably more if you fail."
Vincent grimaced.
"Three months on foot. Wonderful."
"You wished for an easy path?"
"I wished for wings," he muttered. "Huge ones. Preferably with feathers of pure gold."
"Then walk."
Vincent sighed.
I definitely got scammed. Should have read the cosmic contract more carefully.
He followed the wooden signposts along the road, each marking the direction of distant towns and villages. Every step carried him a little farther away from his home… and from Bellona.
He had been gone for only a day.But a strange emptiness already gnawed at him.
A merchant caravan approached from behind, wheels rumbling against the dirt.Six wagons passed him, heavily loaded with goods.Armored guards walked alongside, weapons gleaming in the sunlight.Most cast suspicious glances toward the boy walking alone.
One merchant leaned over from his cart.
"Hey, kid! You lost? Roads are dangerous!"
Vincent lifted a hand.
"No, sir! I'm heading to the nearby city to try joining the army!"
The man burst into booming laughter.
"A future soldier! Hah! Good luck then, little warrior! And walk fast, or the road will swallow you before the army ever does!"
The caravan rolled on.
Vincent exhaled.
"They all think I'm becoming a soldier," he muttered. "If only they knew."
The star's voice cut through the air inside his mind, sharper this time.
"Prepare yourself. You will kill."
Vincent stopped dead.
His fingers tightened painfully around the strap of his bag.
"…What?"
"You will be forced to kill to survive. On this path, beasts hunger. Men hunger. And both will threaten you sooner or later."
A cold shiver crawled up his spine.
"I… I've never killed anything. Not even a rabbit. I don't know if I can."
"You will learn. Evolution demands blood. So does destiny."
Vincent let out a shaking breath.
"You're great at comforting me. Really."
"That is not my purpose. My purpose is to prepare you."
He resumed walking, though his steps felt heavier.
The road curved gently and led toward a dark shape rising in the distance.A forest.Vast.Lush.Alive.
Tall trees tightened into dense walls of foliage, their crowns forming a thick ceiling of green. Birds sang somewhere deep within. The air carried a faint scent of moss and earth.
Vincent halted at the edge of the woods.
"Let me guess," he murmured. "This is where trouble begins."
"This is where you begin."
He tightened his scarf.Shifted his bag.Placed a hand briefly on the sword at his side.
Then he stepped into the forest.
The light dimmed.Shadows thickened.And the world swallowed him whole.