Kairo and Shiri stared at Theo, their jaws slack.
"WHAT?!" they both exclaimed in unison.
Theo flinched at the volume but quickly raised his hands in a calming gesture. "Please… calm down. I know it's hard to believe."
Shiri blinked rapidly, tail coiling in agitation. "Hold on. Wait, wait, wait. That giant bastard of a lizard—that thing—was your brother?!"
Kairo leaned forward, his sharp gaze unblinking. "Theo… are you absolutely certain? Or is this just fear talking? You were shaken when you saw the kabolts—"
Theo's expression remained steady, though sorrow weighed down his eyes. "Please, calm down and listen. I'll explain everything."
Kairo and Shiri exchanged a glance, then both nodded. Onyx silently shifted his stance behind them, lance resting against the ground like an anchor.
Theo lowered himself onto the grass, wooden sword lying across his lap. He took a slow breath before beginning.
"I grew up in the now-distroyed place called Leverek Village," Theo said, his voice dipping into a distant softness. "The villagers there were… very superstitious. They worshiped the ruins nearby, believing them to be the dwelling place of gods. That's why they built the village so close, even though monsters attacked us from time to time."
He looked at the ground, small hands clenching. "Sometimes, groups would enter the ruins. Most never came back… but those who did always returned with trinkets—strange relics. That was enough for the villagers to keep believing."
Theo swallowed. "I was three when I first appeared at the village gates. I don't remember where I came from, or who my parents were. To the villagers, I was a blessing—'a child sent from the gods.' They raised me as one of their own."
A faint smile tugged at his lips, bittersweet. "For a while… I was happy. They loved me."
Kairo and Shiri leaned closer, listening without interruption.
"But… when I turned eight, everything changed. My horns began to grow." His voice cracked slightly as his fingers brushed against the ridges on his forehead. "The villagers… their kindness turned to fear. Horns were a curse to them—the mark of monster blood. Overnight, I became an outcast. They called me tainted, cursed. I was shoved to the outskirts, forced to live alone. And I… I never knew my real parents to ask them why."
Shiri frowned, tail tightening against the dirt. Kairo's jaw flexed, his silence heavy.
Theo continued. "When I was ten, a party of adventurers came to Leverek. A dwarf, an elf, two beastmen… and their leader, a human named Karnal."
At the mention of the name, his voice softened further. "They were different from everyone I knew. Strong, fearless… like the heroes from stories. I admired them instantly." His eyes shimmered. "And Karnal… he treated me like I wasn't cursed. Like I was just a boy."
Theo's gaze drifted upward, as though watching the memory unfold in the sky.
"Hey, kid," Karnal had said, ruffling Theo's hair as the young boy stared up at him with wide eyes. "Don't let anyone tell you what you are. You'll grow into whoever you decide to be."
Theo remembered beaming, his small fists clenching with excitement. "Can I be strong like you one day?"
Karnal had laughed, a bright sound that carried through the village square. "Of course. Stronger, even. Just wait and see."
Theo's voice trembled as he returned to the present. "For months, their party stayed in Leverek, preparing to raid the ruins. In that time, they became… my family. They saw how the villagers treated me and promised me—when their mission was over, they'd take me away with them. I would join their party."
Shiri's brow furrowed. "But… they didn't."
Theo shook his head slowly. "No. One day, they set out for the ruins. A month passed. And then… only Karnal returned."
The village square was silent as Karnal staggered through the gates, one arm missing from the shoulder down. Blood soaked his tunic, his face hollow. Theo ran to him, tears streaming.
"Karnal! Where's everyone else?!"
Karnal dropped to his knees, clutching something glowing faintly green—a gem. His voice cracked. "Gone… all of them. The ruins… they devoured us. Only I made it back."
Theo stared at the stump of his arm in horror. The villagers, however, hardly looked at the injury. Their eyes were fixed on the green gem.
"A gift of the gods!" one cried. "A blessing!"
Even as Karnal collapsed, they crowded around the gem, entranced.
"Karnal retired as an adventurer," Theo said softly. "With one hand, he couldn't travel anymore. He lived with me in the shed the villagers had shoved me into. And for three years… he became my brother. My only family."
Theo's face darkened. "But the village… changed. They became obsessed with the gem. Blind followers, whispering prayers to it. Even Karnal… sometimes I'd catch him staring at it, like it was whispering to him."
He shivered. "I didn't feel its pull. But whenever I was near it, my heart grew heavy. Like it was suffocating me."
Theo's voice lowered, thick with dread. "Then… came the ceremony. They brought the gem out to cleanse it, planning to place it atop the highest point of the village."
His fists clenched. "Karnal… he couldn't resist anymore. He touched it with his stump. And before my eyes… his arm regrew. But it wasn't human. It was scaled. Black. Like a lizard."
Theo remembered the cheers. "A miracle! The gods blessed him!"
But soon… the miracle twisted into horror. Each day, Karnal's body changed more. Claws. Scales. His eyes… cold, greedy.
Then one night, screams tore through the village. Theo hid in the shed, peering through cracks. Karnal—no, Karhux—rampaged through the streets, villagers crying out to him even as he tore them apart.
Theo bit his lip until it bled. "He spared me. Every time I tried to run… he found me. And when he caught me, he… he forced something into me."
He clutched his chest, trembling. "A bright orb of light. He would shove it into me, and I'd feel it burn, like my body was splitting apart. Then I'd pass out. And… and that's all I remember before the village burned."
Silence stretched after Theo's words. The only sounds were the rustle of leaves and the faint rhythm of Onyx's armor shifting.
Kairo furrowed his brow, thinking, (That green gem… it must be the Gem of Ruins I claimed after defeating Karhux.)
Kairo finally exhaled, eyes narrowed. "So the monster… Karhux… was once human. Your brother."
Theo nodded, tears streaking down his cheeks. "Yes. He was Karnal. My brother."
Shiri rubbed his chin, deep in thought. "Those orbs… could they have been his mana? Forcing it into you, trying to change you?"
He crossed his arms. "That would explain the unnatural scales. If he wanted Theo to become like him… he might have been trying to transform him."
Kairo's gaze sharpened. "And that gem—the relic—it turned him into a monster. But how?"
Suddenly, a shimmer pulsed before Kairo's eyes. The Command Nexus manifested, its glimmering form visible only to him.
[ beings who seize relics without their own terratory will undergo forced transformation, their flesh and blood is reshaoed by the relic, they become guardians of those relics, bound to the relic until they die, their powers are connected to the relics and they will protects them with their lives, they arnt real lords,, hence they are most commonly called false lords]
Kairo's breath caught. So… relics don't just empower. They corrupt.
The Nexus faded, leaving him with that revelation.
He looked back at Theo, whose trembling had begun to still. The boy wiped his tears, whispering, "It feels better… telling someone."
Kairo smiled faintly, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Then from today, you're one of us. No matter your past, you belong here."
Shiri nodded firmly, his tail brushing against Theo's side in a gesture of comfort. "Family isn't just blood. You're ours now."
Theo's eyes widened. Then, for the first time in years, he allowed himself to truly smile.
The weight of his brother's shadow still loomed. But now… he wasn't alone in carrying it.