Now that all the others had been sent to their assigned ntors—it was finally Orin's turn.
She waited quietly, expecting to be taken to so unfamiliar place, like the others.
But instead, rilyn led her back through the sa paths they took and toward her house.
Orin frowned slightly, confused, and raised an eyebrow as she looked at her.
"Back here?" she asked softly.
rilyn didn't answer right away.
She simply opened the door to her ho, her hand resting on it as it whirred softly and creaked open—the sa door they had walked through not long ago.
The familiar scent of wood drifted into the air, wrapping around them.
"This isn't a mistake, child," rilyn said as she stepped inside. "After thinking it over carefully, and after speaking with one of your friends—I ca to a decision."
rilyn rembered how Kain had described Orin. He had called her an overprotective sister, always there for her family and friends. She had been one of the constant figures beside Jinn during his squabbles at the orphanage, never backing down from a fight, even if it ant putting herself at risk.
Kain had also said that Orin was outgoing and kind, soone who would go out of her way to protect the people she cared about—no matter the cost, even if it ant she would get hurt in the process.
Yet, after the loss of her sister, Kain had noticed a change in Orin's attitude. She had beco quieter, more reserved, as if she were constantly lost in her own thoughts, thinking things over in silence.
rlyn then turned to face Orin, her voice was calm but firm. "I've decided that I am the most suitable person to teach you."
For a mont, her face changed. Her eyes seed to look far away, as if rembering sothing painful.
"I too, have struggled with the loss of loved ones," she added quietly, her voice low and laced with a bit of sadness. "I know what that weight feels like."
rilyn's words made Orin's eyes widen in surprise, but deep inside, sothing else burned dangerously—an uncontrollable fla of anger that refused to fade.
She still carried the fury toward the Zeraf who had taken her dear sister's life.
And above all, there was the rage aid at Venedix, the one who led the brutal attack on the city of Leran.
The pri cause as to why Nevi had died.
As the two of them stepped inside the house, Orin's face twisted with emotion.
Her eyes burned with resentnt, and she scoffed at rilyn's words, unwilling to let them touch her burning heart.
None of it mattered.
Not rilyn's story, not her past, nor her understanding.
Orin had already made a vow, one that rooted itself deep into her soul—she would take revenge on Venedix and the empire that followed her.
No one would change her mind.
Not rilyn.
Not even Jinn.
Even if her path led to death, she would not turn away.
The fire inside her was steady and fierce, an eternal fla that would not die out—not until it consud every last one of her enemies.
Not until it relished on the revenge it is yearning for.
Whatever sadness rilyn carried, whatever pain she will speak of—will an nothing to Orin.
Orin's heart was set. She would have her revenge, no matter the cost.
But despite that, rilyn already knew.
She had expected Orin to carry this kind of anger—this deep thirst for revenge. It was sothing rilyn herself had once felt, back when she had lost her own family.
Back when she had lost her dear children and husband at the maws of the dreaded offsprings of Ikrax.
She also knew she had no right to ask Orin to let go of that path—that path of vengeance.
Not yet—or ever.
Not until Orin ca to understand its weight on her own.
rilyn walked quietly into the house, leading the way into the living room.
*crack... *snap...
The soft crackle of the fireplace filled the silence, and its warmth spread gently through the space.
But Orin—felt none of it—well, figuratively.
She stood with her arms crossed tightly over her chest, her jaw were clenched and stiff.
"I won't stop you," rilyn said at last, turning around to face Orin.
"Revenge... it burns bright at first. It gives us purpose—But it's a fire that takes more than it gives."
Orin said nothing.
Her eyes elsewhere—narrowed, watching the flas dance in the hearth. Their light flickered in her gaze, matching the fire that burned deep inside her.
"I'm not here to lecture you, Orin," rilyn continued, her voice calm yet firm.
"I'm here to give you the strength to survive long enough to do what you believe must be done."
That made Orin look up.
Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say sothing—but no words ca out.
They stayed caught in her throat, trapped behind all the pain and anger she hadn't yet fully learned to speak aloud.
rilyn stepped closer,
*clack! *clack!
her face calm but heavy with old mories.
"But when the ti cos—when you're finally standing in front of the one who took everything from you—your choice will be your own," she said.
"Whether to destroy or to live for the sake of the lost... that decision will belong to you—and you alone."
Orin turned her head away, biting the inside of her cheek.
I don't care... All I need is to get stronger—nothing more and nothing less...
Just enough to kill that wretched person
Just enough...
Her heart pounded hard in her chest, still filled with anger—but beneath it, sothing else shifted.
Was it doubt?
No,
She was unsure.
Yet one thing is certain for now—she must get stronger for the sake of surviving—and rilyn is the key to that.
She lowered herself onto the nearest seat, slow and tense, her fists tight on her lap.
"Then teach ," she said, her voice cold but steady.
"Teach everything."
rilyn looked at her for a long mont, then gave a single, firm nod.
"Very well. But know this—I won't teach you how to destroy. I will teach you how to endure."
Inside the quiet house built among the winds, the two individuals sat across from each other.
One was driven by revenge, her fire fierce and unrelenting.
The other moved with the weight of duty and the scars of past loss.
Only ti would reveal whether Orin's flas would burn themselves out—or grow into sothing...
that could burn worlds.
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