Four hours before the explosion
In a spacious hall, Sedrin, the host of the auction, stood examining the orders placed by Adam. His fingers trembled as he read the list: rare minerals, ore crystals, herbs sold only to the elite. He raised his eyebrows as he said:
– "But, Sir, these resources are very expensive... even large families do not demand it like that."
Adam interrupted him coldly, his tone is decisive, does not allow arguing:
– "Don't worry. The money will come... but not now."
Sidrin was silent for a moment, then bowed respectfully as he extended his hand with the resource bag:
– "As you wish, sir... but according to the laws, I did not engrave any contract on the order. It's out of warranty."
Adam took the resources without an extra word, his calm eyes hiding something much deeper than just a deal. Outside, rows of black cars were waiting for him, lined up like soldiers guarding their master. He chose one of them with steady steps, climbed into the back seat. The door quietly closed, and the sophisticated driverless car drove off, making its way through the streets of the capital in eerie silence. The shaded glass reflected the chipped neon lights, they looked like ghosts playing above its surface. Adam sat leaning back, his eyes following the elongated shadows on the road. Mumble:
– "I'll arrive before anyone notices... just as I wanted."
But his mind did not calm down. The long road swallowed up the distances as his thoughts plunged into an old memory, one name Rose out of the noise: mark Gervin. The illegitimate son of Khan Gerfen, the head of the family, who died six years before the destruction of the Gerfen family. Khan was engaged to the daughter of a powerful elite family, but he fell in love with a commoner woman... that woman was Mark's mother. Khan left before he knew of his son's existence, and he never saw his face. As for the mother, she chose to stay away, fearing Khan's fiancee, who was crazy about his love, and fearing the reputation of the black Gerfen family, which was famous for killing mixed-blooded children.
Mark remained ignorant of his origin until the moment when he lost his twin sister. Only then did the blood of Gerfen awaken in his veins, the strongest and most famous blood among all elite breeds. And at that moment the world found out about the existence of a new heir... he was hunted by everyone, and the prize on his head is incomparable. But who was caught was not any noble family, but the Corazon family, which was known among the commoners as the shadow of the family of Mexico. Ten whole years Mark lived captive in their laboratories, his body dissected and re-patched with brutal experiments.
Adam remembered the day of his first meeting with him, when he was laid before him as a broken being that could hardly be called a human being. Mark muttered in a sultry voice:
- "Kill me... please... it's my torment."
Adam was about to stab him, to add his soul to his rune... that human debris. But that day Adam hesitated for the second time in his life before he was killed. Something in Mark's eyes reminded him of himself... or maybe of someone he lost a long time ago. That's why, instead of killing him... save him.
Over time, Mark became half-human and half-deformed, unable to fully transform like the rest of his family. But his mind was something else... his genius for Magic made him shine in the organization Astra Knox – the night of ruin founded by Adam. There he acquired his fearsome nickname: Mark The Wizard of destruction.
However, she did not erase from Adam's memory that night. The night the place was flooded with blood, the bodies were torn like Broken Toys. Adam, smeared from head to foot, devours the meat with a crazy smile. One of the commanders shouted in a trembling voice:
- "The commander has lost his mind again!"
The awakened retreated, sweat pouring from their faces, the ground became a river of blood. Someone said bitterly:
– "If Sir valisor had been present... he would have been the only one able to stop him without killing him."
But valisor was not there. The harsh truth is that no one had the courage to approach. Then they all froze when Adam reached out to his chest, trembling fingers digging into his flesh. The sound of bone tearing resounded in the arena, before he pulled out a cracked, weakly pulsating ball – his gem. The breaths trembled around him. Someone whispered:
– "It is impossible... he who tears his jewelكم condemns himself to death."
Then he clenched his fist. The blue light shattered in his hand like a fragile glass, it exploded dimly, but it carried something even more terrifying: a declaration of certain death. Adam fell to the ground, blood flooding him. The awakened froze in their places, no one dared to come forward. All the breath caught, as if the arena itself refused to admit what had happened. And it was at this time that all their eyes were fixed on the body of their leader lying on the ground. That's what drove them crazy though... it ended so simple.
Contradictory feelings crept in: shock, fear, emptiness, and even hidden guilt. Some of them thought: 'Is this a fair punishment?' Others did not dare to face the thought: Who is leading us now
Amid this deadly silence Mark stepped forward with heavy steps. He didn't need to speak, he didn't raise his voice, his presence alone made the rows split in front of him. He knelt beside Adam's bloodied body, his eyes filled with sadness and hardness. He stretched out his hand, raised Adam's head to his lap, and whispered in a tone heard only by those standing near him:
— "I won't let you die, brother."
The air was getting heavier, every breath was like a rock landing on the chests. Blue light began to leak out from between his palms, first as a faint, barely visible flash. But he widened, devoured the shadows around him, turned into an arc of light enveloping Adam like a small dome of life in the midst of ruin. Trembling whispers split the rows:
- "Is... Is this real?""
— "No... can't..."
Then slowly, the blood begins to recede through Adam's body, the wounds close themselves, and the interrupted breaths return. The Mana essence fragments trembled and then gravitated towards each other, as if the world itself was forcing them to return. One of the officers shouted, his voice cracking:
— "This... is coming back! But how!"
No one answered. Even a hesitant whisper came out from another man, his voice trembling:
— "Don't say time control... there are no Greville runes here... what we see is not something we know. It's... a new magic. Something that has not appeared for four thousand years."
The light is gradually fading, as if the last thread of life is being pulled from between Mark's fingers. His black hair turned gray in an instant, and his face aged as if he had lived centuries in minutes. He smiled a faint smile as he whispered:
— "I didn't want to change the world. I just wanted to... give my brother another chance."
His breath caught, but he continued:
— "Since I was born, I lost my father... then my mother... then my sister. I spent my life just an experimental rat. But you... you've never seen me a monster... you've given me the family love that I've lost."
A tear trickled down his wrinkled cheek, mixed with his last smile:
— "If one day you could complete the rune of reality... save her. In return... take all that's left of me. Just... help her."
His body began to crumble like ashes scattered with the wind, and the awakened are silent, not daring to move. Mark Gerfen, the forgotten son of Khan Gerfen, left smiling... leaving behind a miracle that broke the laws of this world.
The hall is swallowed up by a heavy awe, and only one certainty no longer resonates in the hearts of all of them: history has just split into pre-mark... and post-Mark.