Chapter 19: Aftermath and Echoes
A wound from a blade can be treated with medicine... but a wound born from worry...
can only be healed by a single promise...
A promise... to become stronger... not for oneself...
but so that the ones we love never have to be hurt because of us again.
— From "The Oath of a Guardian Knight"
That night... our small wooden house had never been so crowded.
After the adults had finished clearing the area in the forest... an emergency meeting was held immediately in our living room.
Lunaria, my friends, and I sat huddled together in a corner... The atmosphere was thick with tension.
My mother... Elena... walked straight to me. She held me in a tight embrace... her eyes filled with relief.
"You're safe now, my son... Are you hurt anywhere?" she asked, her voice trembling.
My father... Aether... came over and gently stroked my head. His gaze held no blame... only a pride hidden behind his concern.
I didn't feel guilty... but I felt "tired"... Tired of having to go through things like this... and tired of making everyone worry.
[...State 'Mental Fatigue' has occurred... MP decreased by 10 points...]
But the ones who felt the worst in this room... were two people.
One was Maestro Matilda... She sat motionless, her face pale.
"...It was my fault..." she murmured. "...If I hadn't let practice run so late... if I had been more careful... the children wouldn't have had to face such danger."
And the other... was Lunaria.
She sat with her head bowed, her small hands clenched so tightly they trembled. I could see the faint purple aura around her begin to vibrate violently...
This was the first time I had "seen" the workings of the "Echoing Curse" so clearly.
She wasn't just hearing... she was "absorbing" Maestro Matilda's guilt... my parents' worry... and the fear of all my friends... It was all flooding into her.
"It's because of me..." her voice quivered. "...If I hadn't come here... none of this would have happened... I am the one who brought danger to everyone..."
A small tear fell to the floor...
"Hey! Don't blame yourself!" Leo spoke up. "If it wasn't for you and Faelix... we would have been in real trouble!"
"Yeah! Faelix's plan was awesome!" Maya added.
But those words of comfort... only made the aura around her grow darker...
I reached out my hand... and gently touched her arm.
"It's okay," I said softly... trying to send my "calmness" to her.
[...Effect of skill 'Balance of Shadows' activated...]
Her trembling aura slowly stilled...
It was then... that the adults' meeting began.
Vulcan explained the situation, and Ronan... or "Mr. Estrada"... stepped forward.
"Our village's warning system did not fail..." Ronan analyzed with a professional tone. "...but it was attacked in a new way. The enemy used low-level magic for 'signal jamming,' delaying the alert by several minutes... It's a simple but terrifyingly effective method."
He turned to look at me. "The enemy is evolving... We must evolve to keep up."
"Therefore... aside from helping Maestro Matilda look after the children... the two of us will join the village patrol unit, to increase the frequency of surveillance in the outer areas," Elara continued.
Maestro Matilda looked at them with gratitude...
Vulcan turned to me...
"Faelix... the 'seal' I placed on you... it almost got you and your friends killed."
He spoke bluntly. "It was my mistake... trying to cage a tiger in a wooden crate."
He took a deep breath.
"I have decided... We will begin the process of 'unsealing' your power, gradually... But there is a condition... You must first learn to 'control' it... learn not to let it turn back and harm yourself and those around you."
He turned to me again... his eyes serious.
"Your first assignment, the 'Shadow Bastion'... still stands... But it is no longer just homework... It is the first 'test' on the path to becoming the master of your own power... Are... you ready?"
I looked at my father and mother... looked at my friends who were nodding in encouragement... and looked at Lunaria... who had wiped away her tears and was looking back at me with a resolute gaze...
I slowly nodded.
"Yes... I'm ready."
That day... I understood...
That carrying my own pain was heavy enough...
But watching the ones I love get hurt because of me... was far heavier.
And that... was the true reason... why I had to become stronger.