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"It’s all a ss-" I sighed, looking at the scorched walls and the staircase that looked like it would fall apart any mont.
Tracing the corners of my study table, I thought about what all I should pack for the ’summoning’.
After all, I knew we were never gonna co back here again—
I had seen it all, so things I understood…and so I was sure would co to in its own, weird way.
Well, atleast Ma was safe—
I had overco the first challenge.
I had saved my grandmother’s life..as well as the trigger that was supposed to ’tilt’ to the darker side.
Packing a few pair of garnts along with an empty diary I was planning to write everything I rembered from the Book of sin, a feeling of nostalgia unknowingly crept under .
I had been ousted from the Roro house, along with my grandma and forced to live in this rundown place that was nearer to the mirror dinsion than it was to proper human settlent.
I had been 9 years old then.
And now?
Now I was 17.
"Noah!!" I heard Ma shout from downstairs, urging to pack faster.
I sighed, running a hand through my hair as I gave the study one last glance. The air slled rotten, the aftermath of battle still clinging to the walls.
A part of wanted to stay longer, to take it all in one last ti, but I knew better.
Steeling myself, I threw the bag over my shoulder and turned towards the doorway.
As I stepped out, the floor beneath creaked.
Every sound felt heavier in the silence.
The staircase was barely holding together, the wooden railings splintered and cracked.
A part of it had collapsed entirely, leaving gaping holes where the steps had once been.
Each step downward felt like walking through a graveyard of mories—mories that were still fresh, still bleeding.
The main hall was in even worse condition. Large pieces of stone and debris littered the ground.
Smoke still rose from the scorched walls, faint crackles flickering where the fire had yet to die out completely.
The chandelier that once illuminated this house lay in ruins, shards of crystal scattered across the floor.
The once-polished wooden floors were now scratched and marred, stained with mangles pieces of flesh and blood.
Blood.
I swallowed, my eyes briefly flickering to the spot where the assassin had stood.
His body was gone, but the damage he had caused remained, an ugly reminder of how close I had been to losing everything.
How close I had co to losing her.
I shook the thought away and pressed forward.
The weight of my bag felt insignificant compared to the weight pressing down on my chest.
At the entrance, Ma stood waiting, a small bundle strapped to her back.
Even with the exhaustion lining her face, she carried herself with the sa quiet strength I had always known.
Her pink hair was pulled back into a simple knot, strands falling loose around her sharp eyes.
She had already packed everything we could carry, and I could see the tension in her posture, the urgency in her gaze.
"We need to leave before anyone cos.
If we stay, we’ll have to answer questions we don’t have ti for.
Or worse, we won’t get the chance to answer at all."
I hesitated, turning back toward the ruined house. The place we had spent years in exile. The place that, despite its worn-down walls and broken foundation, had kept us safe when no one else would.
"But, Ma... the house?" My voice ca out like a soft, tiny whisper.
She finally looked at , her expression unreadable.
Then, with a sigh, she said, "This house was never truly ours to begin with, Noah. Your Grandfather bought it for us. And besides…"
Her eyes softened. "This place has already served its purpose. It kept us hidden when we needed it to, but now it’s ti to leave it behind.
We have bigger things to worry about."
I clenched my fists. She was right. I knew she was. But that didn’t make walking away any easier.
Still, I forced myself to nod.
Without another word, we stepped out into the cold evening air.
The silence outside was eerie, the only sound coming from the distant rustling of leaves and the occasional crackle of dying embers inside the house.
The sky stretched endlessly above us, dark and cloudless, as if the world itself was holding its breath.
My grandmother reached into her cloak and pulled out a scroll, its edges glowing faintly with inscribed runes.
"This will take us near the empire’s inner forests," she said, holding it up to inspect it. "From there, we’ll have travel on foot to the nearest city and use the teleportation gates to reach the duchy."
I frowned, shifting uneasily. "And you’re sure this thing works?"
She gave a sharp look. "Have a little faith, boy."
I sighed. It wasn’t the teleportation itself that bothered —it was what lay beyond it.
The Roro duchy.
Our ho.
The place we had been forced to leave behind. The place where my na was still spoken in whispers, where people either pitied or scorned .
I didn’t get a chance to voice my thoughts before Grandma extended her hand towards . "Hold on tight."
I hesitated for only a second before gripping her arm. The scroll pulsed with energy, the runes lighting up in a sequence too fast for to follow.
Then, just as I opened my mouth to say sothing, a sharp ’ding’ rang in my ears.
The world around twisted.
Colours bled into one another, shapes stretched and distorted.
My insides spun as I felt my body being pulled through space itself, the sensation, unlike anything I had ever experienced.
My mind barely had ti to register what was happening before everything was swallowed up by darkness.
The last thing I saw was the flickering remains of our house before it disappeared entirely.
Just then, the ntion of a particular na in the Book of Sin made smile.
Azazel, right?
Here I co.
***
A/N:
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