On the tenth day of the twelfth month of 2033, the Golden Breath Pavilion was silent. The doors remained closed, but the tension had not dissipated.
The head of the Pavilion walked through the main hall, her eyes evaluating every detail, while the assistant followed her attentively.
"The events of yesterday showed more than simple disorder," said Nika, her voice firm. "They revealed flaws in our security and, worse, alerted certain… external influences about our vulnerability."
Lili leaned slightly. "That's why you decided to close the pavilion for a week. To reorganize, observe, and recalibrate everything?"
"Exactly," replied the leader, with a slight nod. "We need everyone to understand our strength and the precision of our actions. Any sign of weakness will be exploited, and we cannot allow anyone to take advantage of our gaps."
The assistant nodded. "So every detail, every protocol will be reviewed. And the allies who were close yesterday… will also be observed."
The head of the Pavilion looked toward the horizon through the windows, her eyes cold and calculating. "We need to turn yesterday's mistakes into strategy. Those who do not understand this will have no place here."
"It will take a few months for his return to the county," continued Nika, her voice firm. "During this week, I will personally begin the young man's training. From now on, there will be no one giving him orders; he will need to think and act on his own."
The assistant, watching attentively, asked in a low voice, "Do you know about his relationship with the count?"
The leader's eyes became cold and piercing. "Yes." — A heavy silence hung for a moment. "But don't think that changes what must be done."
The young maid, noticing the change in expression, did not dare to question anything further and followed silently to the Purple Room, behind Nika.
Upon entering the room, both immediately noticed the young man. He was sitting on the floor, leaning against the bed, head low, shoulders slightly hunched.
The room was immersed in shadows, and only the faint light escaping from the corridor lanterns partially illuminated the environment.
The silence was almost absolute, dense, as if the very air contained the young man's breath. He did not move when the head of the Pavilion approached, remaining still, like a statue.
The assistant gave him a quick glance, met with a subtle nod — a discreet gesture that everything was under control. With that, she left the room with light steps, closing the door behind her without breaking the quiet.
Nika then approached the bed, her voice low and cutting like a blade:
"You know what happened when they appeared, don't you?" she said, more like a bitter reminder than a question.
Entire cities had been drenched in blood. Families shredded as if they were nothing.
"Children, elders, soldiers…" — the leader's voice lowered — "all crushed by the shadow of the gods."
She waited for a reaction, but the young man remained still, his gaze lost at some distant point. No anger. No pain. Just an unbreakable emptiness.
The head of the Pavilion sighed softly, changing tone:
"But I imagine that does not matter to you now… in fact, I came to talk about something else. Your aunt. Do you remember her?" — she paused, observing the young man.
This time, something passed through the young man's eyes. Small, almost imperceptible, but real: a shadow of memory, a crack in the silence. His shoulders moved in a slight shiver, as if the memory had briefly split the emptiness surrounding him.
"She was the first kind person I met after the fall," said the leader, her voice low but firm. "You know, worse than any god are human beings themselves. They step on each other for the slightest chance to gain power."
"Before meeting her, I was exactly like you: empty, trapped in silence, with nothing but emptiness to offer."
Nika's eyes hardened for a moment, before softening her expression.
"Those born after the fall… or who have no memories of the old world… I envy them. But you, young one… no one here will give you orders. I myself will teach you everything I can."
"And I will also tell you more about your aunt: how she acted, how many girls she saved, even amid chaos."
She then rose, walking toward the door. Before leaving, she cast one last look at him.
"I said I would begin your training this week, but you will have to come to me. Remember: this is not an order. Here, no one will give you one."
The head of the Pavilion's voice trembled for a moment, and she averted her gaze.
"But, if during this time you do not leave this room… for the debt I owe your aunt, I will be forced to put an end to your life right here."
The door closed softly, leaving the room once again in silence.
Lili remained standing in the corridor, eyes fixed on the Purple Room door. When Nika passed by her, she did not speak immediately.
"How was it?" asked the assistant, her voice low, loaded with concern.
The leader averted her gaze for a moment, keeping her step firm. "We will find out over the course of the week," she replied, revealing nothing more.
The young maid swallowed hard, but could not contain her doubt: "If he does not leave… you will kill him?"
The corridor was bathed in the morning's dim light, illuminated only by the soft brightness that passed through the high windows.
The air carried the smell of freshly prepared tea and burning incense somewhere distant. The maid passing with a tray paused for a moment, daring not to interrupt.
Nika replied, her eyes fixed on the closed door, her voice almost disappearing: "If there is no other choice… I will do what is necessary."
Lili, further back, pressed her fingers against the fabric of her dress, but said nothing. The silence that followed was heavier than any answer.
"After all, she asked me to take care of him," added the leader, firm.
The assistant took a deep breath, her fingers trembling slightly, even as she tried to hide them in the fabric of her clothes.
The question that had been lingering finally escaped: "So he is the reason you did all this?"
"What I have done so far… what all of us have done… was the only way we found to survive," replied the leader, her voice firm. "Just as sending him with Teseu. I just did not imagine he would reach this state."
"Yesterday you didn't say you were going to shelter him because of a debt to the director?" asked the assistant, suspicious.
Nika averted her gaze, her eyes cold. "I lied. I couldn't tell the truth. The count has eyes and ears in here. If he discovers what happened, all the preparation we had will have been for nothing."
The young maid frowned, concerned. "There is something I cannot understand… Teseu's divinity is superior to the count's. Why didn't he kill him?"
"I thought about that too," replied Nika, firm. "However, two years ago, the count told me something strange about a meeting of the gods. Something Odin would have foreseen about the fall… but he was drunk and did not explain everything. Details are missing."
She took a deep breath, her eyes calculating. "And the mark that Teseu possesses… is a rare and dangerous power, coming from the depths of the Abyss. But that does not mean we can face him openly. Still, the situation is about to change."
The assistant swallowed hard, assimilating the weight of it. "So any misstep would be fatal…"
"Exactly," confirmed the leader, her voice firm, almost icy. "Every detail, every movement, must be calculated. The margin for error does not exist."
"And what motivated all this haste?" the young maid asked, still trying to comprehend the urgency.
Nika averted her gaze again, her eyes cold and piercing. "Unknowingly, Teseu stepped on the serpent's tail. Something the count valued greatly disappeared, and all signs indicate he ended up in the orphanage."
"That is why we are speeding things up. But that is not all: the count discovered Teseu's secret, and if he wants to possess what resides on the mountain peak, he will have to tear down the fortress he built among them."
The assistant took a deep breath, finally understanding the gravity of the situation. "So we cannot fail…"
"No," affirmed the head of the Pavilion, firm as stone. "If we fail, there will be no second chance."
The weight of these words hung over the hall, echoing silently in the corners of the Pavilion.
After the young maid left, routine resumed, but something had already changed. Every step, every glance, every decision began to be measured with extreme care.
Time in the Golden Breath Pavilion began to pass slowly. For six days, the young man remained locked inside the Purple Room. No sound escaped from there.
The only interaction was the maids who left food and water at the door, but whenever they returned to collect the containers, they found everything exactly as before: absolute silence, the room impenetrable, as if nothing breathed inside.
On the night of the sixteenth day, while the Red Zone was tinged with shadows and gray, the head of the Pavilion heard a light noise at the room's door.
There was no commotion, no conversation. Just that touch, minimal, enough to awaken her attention.
She remained seated by the window, smoking her kiseru, eyes fixed on the desolate landscape that extended before the Pavilion.
The smoke rose in slow spirals, like echoes of a memory that did not want to disappear.
"Finally," she murmured, without turning, her voice low and cutting. "You decided to come out."
And she remained silent for a few seconds, letting the sound of metal on the door and the contained breath fill the space.
Then, with her usual calculated calm, she added:
"But before talking about your aunt… or anything else…"
She paused, and then concluded:
"Perhaps I should start by telling how you died."
The cold of those words cut the air. The young man did not respond.
No anger. No plea. Just that unbreakable emptiness that had become his shield.
Nika inhaled slowly, the smoke enveloping her face like a veil, and continued:
"You will not feel pain, but you need to understand. Every choice, every step… that is how we became what we are."
"And now, you also need to decide if you want to live as one who feels… or survive as one who feels nothing."
Silence returned, heavy and absolute. Filling the room as if it had never been interrupted.
What do you think will happen in the next chapter? 👀