The morning sun broke gently over Pearlbay, painting the sea with golden ripples. The air still carried the weight of yesterday's battle, yet for the first ti, the village breathed without fear.
Khael slid open the wooden door of the lodging house, the hinges creaking softly. Outside, waiting near the steps, stood Rael, Lira, Ceyla, and Juno.
Khael's eyes scanned them once, then he asked calmly,
"Where is Kaen?"
Lira tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, her voice light but honest.
"He's talking to the kids he t…"
Rael scoffed, folding his arms.
"What a loser."
Khael couldn't help but laugh, the sound deep and easy.
"Hahaha…"
Ceyla tilted her head, smirking faintly.
"Why do you ask about him anyway?"
Before Khael could answer, Juno's low voice cut in, teasing.
"Soone's jealous."
Ceyla spun toward him instantly, lightning snapping faintly at her fingertips.
"I'm not jealous."
Juno smirked, unbothered.
"I didn't say a na."
Khael's lips curved upward, silent amusent flickering across his face.
Ceyla caught it imdiately.
"What are you smiling at..?"
Khael shook his head lightly, his voice carrying a rare gentleness.
"It's just that… you two are closer now than before."
Ceyla blinked, then let out a scoff, her cheeks faintly pink.
"This brute, heh…"
Juno gave a small shrug, his expression calm.
"Well, we've been doing missions together since you were gone… three years is a long ti."
At those words, Khael's smile faded slightly. His eyes lowered, guilt tugging at him.
"So… sorry."
Juno glanced at him, then chuckled softly.
"I'm just joking, don't take it to heart."
The air seed lighter again. But then, Rael suddenly turned away, striding toward the edge of the path without warning.
Khael frowned.
"Where are you going?"
Rael didn't look back, his tone sharp.
"None of your business."
He stopped mid-step, shoulders tense. After a pause, he muttered quieter, but still audible—
"…Tsk… training."
Khael's eyes softened.
"(Rael… he's opening up to . My advice… it's working.)"
Lira, who had been silent the whole ti, smiled faintly at the sight. There was no need for words; her quiet presence said enough.
Ceyla, arms crossed, rolled her eyes and muttered under her breath,
"Jerk till the end."
The morning carried on, fractured but warm like fragnts of a bond slowly being pieced back together.
anwhile Kaen and the Children
The morning air by the shore was bright, filled with the chatter of gulls and the salt-scented breeze. Kaen crouched in the sand, his sleeves rolled up, a mischievous grin on his face as three small figures gathered around him.
The Avel twins, Toren and Lys, barefoot as always, their sandy blond hair bouncing in the wind, leaned in close. They looked nearly identical save for the chipped tooth flashing in Toren's grin.
Toren tugged at Kaen's wrist with unfiltered excitent.
"Brother Kaen… can you show us that cool move again?"
Kaen tilted his head, pretending to think, then smirked.
"Oh… you want that one?"
He raised his hand, heat swirling from his palm.
"Echo Art… Fire Doll."
Flas blossod into a small figure arms and legs stubby, head round dancing clumsily in circles atop his palm. Its fiery body twirled and stumbled like a drunk jester, each step leaving sparks that fizzled against the sand.
Lys squealed with laughter, clapping her tiny hands.
Toren's eyes lit up like twin suns.
"So cool!!!"
Kaen puffed his chest, grinning wide.
"Heh, of course it's cool. I trained three years for this."
From the side, Kiro Dallin watched silently. At ten years old, his thin fra looked even smaller under the oversized shirt sagging from his shoulders. He tried to smile with the others, but his eyes weren't on the fire doll.
They were sowhere else.
Back in the cave.
The mory slamd into him dark, damp, suffocating.
That shape had lurched upward from the black water, scales glistening, patches of human skin grotesquely stitched against fins and barnacles. Its bulging yellow eyes rolled wildly, and its mouth split wide, jagged teeth gnashing like rusted blades.
The voice echoed in his skull, guttural and broken, yet horribly human.
"OUT—OUT OF MY COVE!!"
The Fisher Man.
Half-man. Half-fish.
All nightmare.
Kiro's chest tightened, breath shallow.
Toren snapped him out of it, waving a hand in front of his face.
"Hey! What are you spacing out for, Kiro? Co on—Brother Kaen's showing us his special moves!"
Kiro blinked hard, forcing himself back into the sunlight, into the laughter of the twins. His hands trembled slightly as he tried to clap along.
anwhile, Kaen smirked to himself, the little fire doll spinning a clumsy cartwheel in his palm, leaving streaks of orange light in the air.
"(Hehehe… this kid. He knows I'm amazing.)"
But Kiro's eyes, for just a heartbeat, weren't filled with wonder.
They were filled with curiosity.
Sothing else stirred beneath that quiet gaze sothing heavier than the childish awe of monts ago.
As Kaen continued showing off, letting the fire doll leap from hand to hand like a perforr, Kiro bit his lip. His small fists tightened at his sides.
"(Maybe… maybe if I tell Brother Kaen what we saw that day… maybe he'll believe .)"
He took a breath, gathering the courage he wasn't even sure he had.
"Brother…"
Kaen turned, blinking in mild surprise.
"Hnmmm?"
Kiro hesitated, the words sticking to his tongue.
"Do you… do you know about caves?" Official source is novelFirｅ
Toren's head whipped around instantly, his voice rising in alarm.
"Kiro—! Are you gonna tell him? About that cave? About the fisherman—"
Kaen's smirk faded. His brows furrowed slightly as the playful warmth in his voice cooled to curiosity.
"What do you an… fisherman?"
Lys shuffled nervously beside them, her hands twisting into the hem of her shirt.
"Um… maybe we shouldn't—"
But Kiro shook his head, determination flashing in his young eyes.
"It's better if we show you, Brother Kaen."
Kaen tilted his head, the fire doll vanishing in a swirl of embers.
"Show …?"
The shift in tone was undeniable. The playful spark of monts ago was gone, replaced by a low, steady tension that humd beneath the morning breeze. Kaen's instincts stirred the sa instincts honed by battles and blood.
"(A cave… a fisherman… sothing's off. And the way they're acting — they're hiding sothing serious.)"
He glanced at the three kids Toren's uneasy grin, Lys's darting eyes, and Kiro's trembling resolve and felt his own heartbeat steady into the rhythm of a fighter sensing a storm on the horizon.
"Alright," he said finally, dusting off his hands and straightening.
"Then lead the way."
The three children exchanged a nervous glance. Then, with hesitant steps, they started toward the jagged rocks beyond Pearlbay's shore toward the secret they swore they'd never reveal.
And Kaen followed, fire still faintly glowing in his hands, unaware that what waited in that cave was not a re story… but a remnant of sothing ancient, hungry, and watching.
To be continue
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