Both of them locked eyes for a moment. Each released such a strong aura of hostility. Even though Kaelen was still only 14 years old in Zyretheil, he was not afraid to face the tall man with large muscles before him.
"I didn't come here to join any alliance or with anyone. For me, this place is one of the safest for the time being. And I need it for my own business," Kaelen answered.
He still dared to look Magnus in the eyes, "And yes," Kaelen added, "I didn't come here to fight. I don't even have a weapon, or enough strength to harm anyone."
Kaelen didn't know since when he had the courage to challenge someone like this. What was clear was that after everything that happened, he could now see the world from a different perspective.
Something darker and scarier than the curse itself.
Magnus nodded at that answer, "Not many people dare to speak like that."
This time it was Kaelen who nodded. He even folded his arms arrogantly in front of his chest, "Better that way. I don't like having duplicates."
Just as Magnus was about to open his mouth, his gaze unintentionally stopped right at Kaelen's chest. His widened eyes and furrowed brows showed how shocked he was.
Without saying anything, Magnus pulled aside Kaelen's clothes that covered his chest, checking what kind of wound the boy had.
And when he realized it, Magnus was utterly shocked to know that the boy in front of him did not have an Elarith.
"Sir, excuse me. But you've crossed your line. Even if you don't welcome guests, you still shouldn't cross the boundaries of their privacy, should you?" Kaelen, feeling uncomfortable, immediately held Magnus's hand on his chest, intending to close the wound tightly again.
Only Magnus's much greater physical strength made Kaelen fail to cover the wound back.
Magnus shook his head in disbelief, then looked straight into Kaelen's eyes, "What is this? Your Elarith is gone? How can you live in such a condition?"
"We all know what rules exist in Zyretheil. If I am still here, that means I haven't broken them," Kaelen explained. Deep in his heart, he really wanted to leave immediately.
There were still so many things Kaelen had to think about and do. Besides that, he also had to rest to enjoy his recovery. Especially since his Vaerloch also had to fall asleep because it had used its power before its time.
But it seemed Kaelen had to hold that wish when Magnus instead swiftly grabbed his hand, "I said I don't like guests, but I dislike the foul stench of a corpse in the same place with me even more."
As soon as their hands touched, Kaelen felt his soul detach from his body. Then it floated away toward the things he had tried to forget his whole life.
In memories he honestly wanted to discard, Magnus's words and actions resembled someone he deeply recognized.
Kaelen remembered when he often fell to the barren ground as a child, there would be a large hand reaching out to help him stand.
"Hey, kid, get up. It doesn't matter if you fall on the first step. At least on the second and the next, you'll be more careful not to fall into the same hole again." Those words still clung to Kaelen's head.
Then everything happened so quickly that Kaelen was confused. Which version of his father was not a lie?
Was his father the one who helped him stand from his childhood falls? Or the one who cruelly ripped away his Elarith and threw him into this hell?
Without realizing it, Kaelen had stood still for a few seconds while thinking about that. His eyes grew teary, but he refused to let those clear drops fall.
More precisely, he was unwilling to shed tears for the man he no longer wanted to remember.
When Magnus shook his hand, Kaelen finally snapped back. Reflexively, he forcefully released Magnus's grip from his wrist.
"I know what I have to do. Don't worry, my corpse won't rot here. Even if it does, I'll make sure it never reaches your sense of smell," Kaelen stated.
After saying enough, Kaelen then truly left Magnus alone. He went deeper into the cave that was honestly too luxurious to be called a cave.
How could it not? Kaelen had never expected that inside the cave there would be a crystal-clear pool where even the bottom was visible.
Moreover, above the pool there was a large hole that allowed Kaelen to see celestial bodies like the moon or stars.
When Kaelen was about to look back down, his peripheral vision unintentionally caught the silhouette of someone moving across the hole above the pool. Kaelen wanted to look up, but his soul was already too weary.
"I don't care what will happen. Even if I try to prevent it early, that doesn't guarantee bad things won't happen."
Yes, Kaelen honestly didn't care much anymore. His feelings were in chaos now, everything in his life was shattered. And Kaelen wasn't sure if he could fix this mess on his own.
That was why, even as he passed by some people near the pool, Kaelen walked straight ahead. He ignored everyone, as if he had never seen anyone besides Magnus who had attacked him earlier.
As Kaelen walked further, his feet eventually brought him to a dark corridor with many rooms inside. For a moment Kaelen paused, still unable to believe what he was seeing.
Not because of luxury, but because it was too easy and calm. Whereas something too calm always hid chaos within.
Kaelen stretched out one hand to touch the cave wall and observed it, "This is too clean for a cave in the middle of the forest. Even if many people live here, I doubt they'd choose to clean all of this and set aside their other purposes."
He sniffed the dust residue from his palm after pressing it to the wall, then looked forward again. "No matter how calm this place seems, I mustn't be careless. After all, this is a Forbidden Territory. Who knows if there'll be an explosion in the middle of the peace I feel right now."
Truthfully, Kaelen sensed something odd. In front of him were even many stairs connecting one room to another.
But like he had said before, his soul was too exhausted at the moment. So even as he stood at the top of the stairs, he ignored it all and kept walking forward.
"I'm curious, but unfortunately my body won't be able to withstand any more oddities."
"My soul has been shattered into pieces, and I don't have the glue to put it back together right now. I'll figure this out later. Only if I still have the ability to survive after all this."
Resolutely, Kaelen stepped forward and entered. He chose one of the rooms and went inside. Yes, it looked comfortable with a bed made of stone, and some other items one would normally find in someone's room.
Kaelen ignored it all and immediately lay on the bed. He tried to close his eyes and forget everything that had happened. Until he suddenly realized something and quickly sat up again.
"I must awaken my Elarith no later than tomorrow night. Or I must accept the reality of dying without avenging, without knowing the greatest secret of Zyretheil," he muttered firmly.
He fixed his posture properly, then sat cross-legged on the stone bed. Both hands rested neatly on his bent knees.
His eyes closed and a thin, transparent stream of energy—messy and uncontrolled—circulated around his chest. It was chaotic and directionless. But at least Kaelen knew he still had energy.
It took several tries for Kaelen to recover his energy. It was too weak, especially since Kaelen didn't have a vessel to gather it all.
"I know chaotic energy can't be used. But at least it can help heal some of the minor wounds."
His words proved true as several scratches that had clung to his hands and legs began to fade without a trace.
Yes, those were only minor wounds. But his greatest wound, Kaelen was sure it would not disappear easily—or maybe never at all.
---
That night, after recovering enough energy and some of his scratches had vanished, Kaelen finally left his room.
When he reached the pool, again Kaelen saw people busy with their own activities. But he ignored them once more and continued his path.
Yes, he didn't know that at that time Magnus was still watching Kaelen's movements with his sharp gaze.
Once outside the cave's mouth, Kaelen paused. He scanned the surroundings, "Too dangerous to go alone barehanded. Maybe I should make a weapon. It doesn't have to be expensive or fancy, just enough to protect myself."
Kaelen explored the cave grounds that honestly looked dark. Tonight there was still no moonlight, they were still waiting for the Aelurnis moon to appear.
After walking for a while, Kaelen found metal scraps behind the bushes. He carried them and examined them under the darkness.
Accustomed to living like this, Kaelen could sharpen his vision even in dark places.
"These are remnants from weapon forging," he muttered. He then brought the iron closer to his nose, "There's still residual fire energy here. That means these are indeed fragments of fire weapons."
Kaelen stopped for a moment, then furrowed his brows, forcing his head to think. His expression was filled with confusion as he kept sniffing the metal.
"But why would they forge fire weapons inside Elyndor? From what I've seen, the Drae'vanyth race and those grasshoppers live in harmony. Or perhaps some Vey'zareth had entered here before and forged weapons to survive?"
It had to be admitted that even though he was only 14 years old, Kaelen had more mature thoughts than other races of the same age.
Or perhaps not.
Fourteen years in Zyretheil didn't necessarily mean it was truly 14, considering one day in Zyretheil equaled 10 days in the human world.
Combined with his life experience so far, Kaelen's thinking was more mature. After all, he wasn't raised with love but with the battlefield, even since infancy.
After gathering several pieces of metal, Kaelen placed them all on a large rock. His mind kept spinning about what weapon he should make.
"I don't have time to think. Time keeps moving, and I have to start moving forward too," he muttered.
The boy climbed onto the rock, then began hammering the metal with another stone he had found.
Yes, even though it wasn't too complex, Kaelen needed quite a while to finish the task. Until hours later, Kaelen smirked while checking the weapon he had just made.
It was an iron claw. Its shape resembled a glove, but at each end, Kaelen left them sharp and pointed.
Before truly using it, Kaelen first tested it on a nearby tree. And indeed, the scratch it left was deep enough that the tree sap gushed out heavily.
Seeing that, Kaelen raised both hands now fitted with the iron claws. He observed them with a faint smile.
"This isn't bad. If I made a sword, I'd need more metal. For now, I can use this for self-defense. At least until I have a new Elarith."
"I'll name it Eagle Claw."
Not without reason Kaelen named it that, but because the scratches it left really did look like eagle talons.
Where the eagles in Zyretheil had five claws, like the fingers of humans and Vey'zareth.
Once his weapon was truly ready, Kaelen finally continued his journey toward a certain place, the Land of Emptiness.
Meanwhile, behind a large tree with a wide hollow in the middle, two girls and one young man were watching Kaelen's movements.
And they had been watching for a while.
One of the girls smiled triumphantly and looked at the other two, "I told you, that boy is exactly the one we need."
But the young man sighed softly at those words, "No, no! He's too weak! He doesn't even have a weapon, how could he possibly help us?"
"You need to learn to use your eyes, not just your mouth. Besides, didn't you see what that boy just did? He forged a weapon!"
A tsk of annoyance came from the young man, "Oh, come on. We can ask someone to make a weapon a thousand times better than that. Listen, just an iron claw won't be enough to survive in Elyndor."
"I don't care," the girl retorted, "The point is, I've decided he's joining us. If any of you disagree, I won't force you to stay."