Chapter 32 – A Day of Peace
[KUTO – CAPITAL OF ZORDIS, AFTERNOON]
The air was still heavy.
Three tests. Three consecutive days. The body was collecting its price now that the adrenaline had finally faded.
Kuto lay on his back on the fractured ground, staring at the gray sky, lungs burning with each breath. Sweat glued his clothes to his skin. His muscles trembled on their own — not from fear, but from pure fatigue. The kind that goes deep into the bones and stays.
Around him, the others were equally destroyed.
Haru curled on his side, hugging his own knees. Jack face-down, pressing his face against the earth. Romeu cried softly — not from pain, but from relief at still breathing. Selina laughed with a hysterical, broken sound. Sônia stared at the sky with empty eyes, processing something that words hadn't yet reached. Dimitri sat with his head between his hands, trying not to vomit for the third time that day. Sensi tried to levitate, fell back with a dull thud.
The shadow bear lay defeated in the center of everything, dissolving slowly into black particles that the wind carried away.
It was Haru who broke the silence, voice coming out hoarse:
— If that was only the third test... I don't even want to imagine what comes next.
Kuto gave an involuntary smile — more a facial contraction than a genuine expression.
— The important thing is that we won.
Silence.
Then Jack began to laugh. Low at first. Then hysterical. He turned his face to the sky, still lying down, and screamed with everything he had left:
— **WE WON, MOTHERFUCKERS!**
The scream echoed through the destroyed field.
And then everyone laughed together — not because it was funny. But because they were **alive**.
---
Gunja and Célia came running through the rubble, hands glowing warm gold. One by one the group received the restorative touch. Pleasant heat spreading through the destroyed muscles. The HP and MP bars on the HUDs filling slowly, steady, reassuring.
Kuto closed his eyes while the magic worked.
**"Ding!"**
**[+100 VelPoints acquired]**
**[TEST 3/3: COMPLETE]**
**[STATUS: CANDIDATES APPROVED]**
Up above, the floating pavilion hovered motionless against the sky. Three figures watched. The supposed king of Zordis on the golden throne. The queen regent beside him. And to the right, slightly apart, the young woman whose hair caught the light even on a cloudy day.
Raimi.
Kuto looked at her without meaning to.
And the thought returned — as it had returned for three days, in the intervals between tests, in the moments when his body stopped but his mind didn't.
---
*It had been at night, before the first test.*
*He was in the palace gardens, alone, mentally preparing for what was to come. Raimi appeared without warning, steps almost silent on the stone.*
*— May I ask you something? — voice lower than usual.*
*Kuto didn't respond. Just waited.*
*— The marriage was officially announced this afternoon. — She looked at her own hands. — With my cousin. The ceremony is in two weeks.*
*Silence.*
*— I want to know if you would accept marrying me and becoming king of Zordis.*
*Kuto had understood without her needing to finish.*
*— You're asking me to marry you just like that, out of nowhere.*
*Raimi didn't look away.*
*— Yes. I want to be your wife and you my husband.*
*Kuto remained silent for too long.*
*And then he asked — why me?*
*Raimi added, voice lower still:*
*— I chose you because you don't pretend to be who you aren't. And because when you defended me that night... it wasn't out of obligation.*
*He hadn't responded. Just turned and walked away.*
*And the tests had begun the following morning.*
---
The King stood, voice echoing amplified by magic:
— **Zenk. Bring them to us.**
The royal mage materialized in the air. Young. Short blonde hair. Blue eyes completely empty of human emotion. He raised his right arm with a fluid movement, almost tedious.
A bluish aura exploded from him, visibly distorting the air. The magical pressure was absurd — Kuto felt it in his bones as if gravity had changed its mind. The group began to float gently.
Romeu grabbed himself and screamed.
Sônia spread her arms and laughed.
Kuto observed Zenk throughout the ascent. *He isn't even making an effort. Just does it. Like breathing.* The thought was uncomfortable for the clarity it carried. *We are strong. But there are levels above us that we can barely imagine.*
When they landed on the pavilion's marble, Kuto raised his gaze.
Raimi's eyes were already on his.
She looked away quickly.
*Still waiting.*
The regent spoke with genuine respect, evaluating each of them:
— Three tests. Three victories. Many candidates have failed the first over the years. You completed all of them.
Jack couldn't contain his curiosity:
— Your Majesty, that creature. The shadow bear. Where did it come from?
— From a forbidden spell. Created by the Mages of Fear — the regent responded, serious. — Sorcerers who allowed themselves to be consumed by shadow magic. They absorb the terror of others and shape it into physical form. The monster you faced was a reflection of your own fears. That's why it was so powerful.
Jack raised an eyebrow, smile almost defiant:
— Then why didn't you just send Zenk to handle it?
The regent laughed:
— Zenk is a very busy man. He spends weeks locked in his laboratory creating the marvels that sustain this kingdom. In fact, if you hadn't appeared, he would have eliminated the creature this afternoon. Fate simply moved things forward a few hours.
*All that suffering... and he would have resolved it in minutes.* Kuto didn't feel humiliated. Just realistic.
---
When the pavilion descended, the capital of Zordis revealed itself completely.
It was magnificent.
It wasn't a medieval city — it was a magical metropolis. Wide streets paved with stones carved in glowing runes. Carriages moved by themselves through the avenues, guided by complex enchantments, without horses or drivers. At the corners, translucent humanoid figures floated like living traffic lights, gesturing, changing color with soft sounds like bells. The houses were polished white stone with colored glass windows that projected rainbows, some floating slightly above the ground sustained by constant gravitational fields.
At every corner, in every plaza — blue triangular banners fluttered. At the center of each one, embroidered in golden threads with their own light: an open grimoire with pages turning by themselves, surrounded by seven stars.
**"Per Magicam, Excellentia."**
Sônia looked at everything with almost childlike eyes:
— This is... the future.
Dimitri, beside her, shook his head:
— No. It's the present. Thanks to him.
Zenk floated ahead completely indifferent, as if all of this was just normal.
Jack completed, voice carrying genuine respect:
— That's true power. Not destroying. **Creating**.
The regent handed the group a translucent crystal card, pale blue, runes pulsing softly.
— The Royal Card. Use it freely while you're in Zordis.
Then he and the queen regent withdrew.
Zenk stayed. His blue eyes moved across each face in the group as if cataloguing them. When he reached Kuto, he stopped — just half a second longer than with the others. Minimal pressure in the air. Then he spoke, without emotion:
— If you wish, you may visit my magic department tomorrow. I'm certain you would learn a great deal there.
And disappeared — body dissolving into blue particles that faded into the air.
Romeu let out a long sigh:
— That guy isn't human...
---
They left through the city with Raimi wearing a light blue hood, eyes gleaming with excitement she clearly hadn't felt in a long time.
Jack dragged everyone to the Arcane Forge of Velerithon — black marble facade, weapons displayed like works of art. He stood at the window with the eyes of a child.
Selina pulled him away by the ear before he reached the door.
— No. Not today. **Not today.**
Haru then led them through secondary streets to an establishment almost hidden — no sign, only a symbol carved into the dark wood: a dagger piercing an eye. The interior was too dark. The owner lit candles one by one, revealing shelves covering all the walls. Daggers of every size, every shape, some with blades that seemed to absorb the very light.
Haru picked up one with a black blade and a carved bone handle. Raised it slowly.
His eyes gleamed in the wrong way.
— Beautiful... — he murmured, with a smile no balanced person would use. — ...isn't it?
Romeu took a step back:
— Officially scared.
Kuto observed Haru in silence. *There's something broken in him that he carries without realizing.*
Romeu chose the clothing store next. Whispered something to the owner about the boldest pieces. Selina's kick arrived before he finished the sentence, launching him through the counter with a crash of splitting wood.
The group exploded in laughter.
Even Kuto let out a muffled sound that could have been a laugh.
Raimi laughed so hard tears streamed. *When was the last time?*
The escape came soon after — a strong wind pushing Raimi's hood back. Three seconds of exposure. Someone in the crowd screamed her name. The group shot through narrow streets, jumping crates, dodging carriages that honked indignantly, until throwing themselves into a hidden alley breathing with difficulty.
When the sounds of pursuit faded, Raimi lowered her gaze:
— I'm sorry. It was my fault.
Kuto placed his hand on her shoulder.
— The fault isn't yours. We just wanted to get to know you better. And in the end, we even managed to.
She smiled, surprised and grateful.
— But I still want to show you something.
---
The cliff was at the highest part of the city. When they emerged at the top, everyone stopped.
The golden rooftops of the palace gleamed under the dusk. The magical lanterns began to light up across the entire city, creating an artificial constellation. And beyond, far beyond, the mountains painted orange and pink by the setting sun.
The wind made Raimi's hair dance.
— I always come here when I want to remember who I am — she said, voice calm, almost to herself. — Royalty is a prison of protocols and expectations. But here... here I can just be me.
No one responded.
They stayed there, watching the sun disappear completely, the sky turning deep purple. Then returned to the palace — tired, but with something light that three days of hell had tried to steal.
---
The palace gardens were empty.
The others had already gone up. Kuto was about to do the same when he heard her footsteps.
Raimi stopped before him.
The magical lanterns floated between the trees, soft light oscillating gently. The night wind carried the scent of flowers Kuto still didn't know the name of.
She was silent for a moment. Then looked at him directly — without looking away, without the blush from before, just serious eyes meeting his.
— Kuto.
Pause.
— About the request I made you... the three days have already started counting.
It wasn't pressure. It wasn't plea. It was just a fact spoken aloud.
— You still haven't given me an answer.
Kuto looked at her.
Cold expression. Indifferent gaze. Nothing on his face betraying what lay beneath — if anything lay there at all.
The silence stretched between them like fabric that neither of them pulled.
Raimi didn't retreat. Just waited.
And Kuto kept looking at her without saying a word.