In the circular chamber, the council guards exchanged a long look. The torches hanging from the onyx columns cast shifting shadows across their wrinkled faces. It was as if the flames themselves feared what they had just heard.
One of the founding elders, Don Howard, slowly raised his hand.
"Make a note of this information, Send a knight to the Tower immediately. Emphasize that this is only a rumor, but that we have a detailed description of the suspect."
A knight in dark armor bowed deeply.
"At your command, masters."
The messenger galloped off, his cloak flapping like a raven's wing in the twilight air.
Further into the woods, Baba stopped abruptly, one hand clenched around his woven root staff. Hayden leaned forward, bracing himself against a tree trunk to keep from falling. His tanned skin had lost all warmth. His breath was short and hoarse, almost painful.
"Baba... I... I'm having trouble walking," he whispered, wiping his forehead. "I need water."
"Sit down for a moment," the old witch replied in a soft but tense voice. "Have a little drink; you'll feel better."
He brought the wineskin to his lips, but his face immediately contorted. The water slid down his throat like sand.
"It's no use. Why isn't the water helping me? What's happening to me?"
His burning gaze fixed on Baba's, searching for a truth she refused to give him.
"It's just a passing fever," she said, placing a trembling hand on his cheek. "The journey has exhausted you, nothing more."
She was lying. Her heart broke with every word. She knew exactly what his veins were crying out for blood and violence, his true nature.
If he started killing, he would draw closer to his destiny as one of the Seven Forgers of Evil, a destiny mapped out for him by a fortune teller even before he was born.
But she could never admit that to him.
As they slowly resumed their journey, a man appeared on a nearby path. He was a villager with a round, friendly face and arms laden with bundles of wood.
"By the stars! Are you all right?" he exclaimed when he saw Hayden, who had nearly collapsed.
"Yes, we're just tired. We've been walking for a long time," Baba replied.
"Come on. Don't stay here. Night will soon fall, and this area is dangerous. The Petunia village is only a few steps away. You'll have food and a roof over your heads."
Seeing Hayden's condition, Baba accepted the offer. The young man needed to rest and regain his strength.
"Thank you for helping us. That's very kind of you."
"It's only natural!"
Without waiting, Baba put his arm around Hayden's shoulder and guided him toward a small village lit by orange lanterns. The sweet smell of soup and toast wafted through the air.
Despite repeated looting and attacks by the Stalkers, the Petunia village retained a rare human warmth. The inhabitants were poor but united.
"Come on in!" said a villager whose wife hastened to settle Baba by the fire. "You're safe here."
Those words were like a balm.
But Baba knew that no one in this world was ever truly safe from danger.
When night fell, the inhabitants opened the doors to their large common room. A steaming meal was served: stew, grilled vegetables, and a few precious pieces of meat. The room was filled with a simple, lively warmth from laughter, lively conversation, and stories told around the fire.
Hayden, who was hungry, felt his strength returning slightly. He hadn't shared a meal with a community in as long as he could remember. Baba watched the scene, her eyes shining with a rare tenderness.
"Does this remind you of anything?" she asked softly.
"No, but I like it" he replied with an awkward smile.
The children asked him a thousand questions, fascinated by his braids and dark eyes. An old man told him how he had once fought a wild boar "as big as a house." Baba laughed, which was rare for her. For one evening, they rediscovered the feeling of being simply human.
When the moon reached its zenith, the village bells rang the curfew. The doors were locked and reinforced with protective talismans. The Stalkers often prowled at night, searching for prey and treasure.
In the small house where they had been offered a room, Baba fell asleep almost immediately, breathing peacefully.
But Hayden was suffocating.
A strange burning sensation ran through his veins.
His heart pounded against his chest.
His throat was dry, and he had an overwhelming need that he did not understand.
"Air... I need air."
He got up, trying not to wake Baba. He quietly opened the door and slipped outside.
The night was heavy and black. Not a breath of wind stirred.He had barely taken a few steps down the alley when he felt cold steel press against his throat.
"Well, well...what do we have here?" a hoarse voice growled.
Hayden froze. Six figures emerged from the shadows, snickering like snakes in the night.
The Stalkers.
Men with greedy eyes, armed with daggers, chains, and knotted sticks. Their clothes were torn and dirty with mud and dried blood. One of them twirled his blade in the moonlight.
"A little bird out of its nest," he sneered. "And all alone, too. Looks like luck is with us tonight."
Another approached with a twisted smile, sniffing Hayden like a beast ready to strike.
"I bet he's got something valuable on him. Or he'll sell for a good price."
They surrounded him, closing in with their weapons.
Hayden felt his throat grow dryer.
His heart was beating too fast.
Something inside him growled, hungry and almost awake.
"Don't touch me," he whispered, his voice trembling.
The Stalkers burst out laughing.
"Oh, but we intend to touch you, kid!"
The first blade came down.
Their evil smiles sparkled in the moonlight.
"Look at that. The kid looks like he's about to fall over," one of them sneered.
Another pushed him violently. Hayden fell to his knees. His breath broke into sobs he couldn't hold back.
"Oh, he's crying!" one of the bandits laughed.
"What a weakling..."
They enjoyed his weakness. A blow to the ribs. Another to the back. Hayden trembled, unable to get up. Inside the house, Baba jumped to her feet. She had heard something.
A moan.
A muffled cry.
She rushed outside, followed by several villagers who had also heard the noise. But when they arrived, they were frozen in their tracks by what they saw.
Hayden was lying unconscious among the Rangers. One of the stalkers was bent over his legs.
"Look at that quality copper," the brigand growled as he tried to undo the ankle bracelets.
"It'll sell well."
"No! Don't take them off!" Baba screamed.
She ran toward them, but a ranger hit her, knocking her to the ground. She lay there, gasping for breath, her eyes wide with horror.
Then, everything changed.
Suddenly, a chill ran through the air. The villagers, the stalkers, and even the beasts in the surrounding forests all sensed a presence rising.
A heavy magic.
Cold.
Terrifying.
Suffocating.
Hayden's body slowly rose from the ground as if pulled by an invisible force. His feet left the earth.
His eyes opened.
They were no longer human.
There were two shadowed holes surrounded by white light.
"What is this feeling?" Baba stammered, paralyzed with fear.
It was no longer Hayden.
At that same moment, in the Black Forest, the voyager's tarot card began to sparkle, signaling the awakening of the entity. The fortune teller looked at the card, his gaze darkening as his plan finally began.
A twisted smile stretched across the young man's lips. He simply raised a hand.
The stalkers were crushed to the ground, unable to move; their bodies were pinned down as if by the earth itself. Some tried to scream. No sound came out.
The gravity tightened further, and the screams began. Cries of pain, panic, and raw terror filled the air. Hayden descended slowly and serenely, and the dark magic did the rest.
The villagers recoiled in horror, unable to look away.
They saw only silhouettes collapsing, being thrown around, crushed, and manhandled; shards of metal; and arms raised in supplication. Then, nothing.
The massacre was brief.
Violent.
Unstoppable.
When it was all over, a large pool of blood covered the ground around Hayden. He stepped forward and put his foot in it. A shiver ran through his body. The white light turned red. He was absorbing the blood. He was feeding on it; it was his energy.
His blood-covered hands also sucked up the dark liquid that had soaked into his skin.
He raised his head. He met Baba's terrified gaze. He smiled at her. It was not his own smile. Then he disappeared.
Just like that. As if he had been sucked into the air.
Far away in the Black Forest, the fortune teller looked up just as Hayden reappeared, his pupils glowing with energy.
"There you are at last. I've been waiting for you, Voyager !" he whispered, amused.
Hayden regained his composure and his senses in his presence, but he seemed lost as he took a step closer.
"What do you want from me?" he whispered.
The fortune teller smiled mysteriously and disturbingly. Destiny had just opened up beneath their feet.
The clearing was silent.
Too silent. Still on her knees, Baba Amhera stared at the spot where Hayden had disappeared. Her heart beat so hard that she felt her chest cracking.
The villagers looked at the Stalkers bodies lying on the ground around her. Some murmured prayers. Others whispered, trembling.
"He took them all..."
"Was that boy a demon? Or an avenging angel?"
"I don't know, but I never want to see that again."
An elder of the village approached Baba with a face hardened by fear.
"Witch, was that your grandson? Or a creature you brought here?"
Baba raised her head. Her eyes were filled with a mixture of pain, guilt, and pure terror.
"It's not him. It's not him."
Her voice trembled.
"It wasn't Hayden you saw tonight."
The residents exchanged confused glances. Some took their children by the hand and led them back inside. Others hesitated, unable to decide if Hayden was their savior or a walking disaster.
Baba finally got to her feet, her legs still unsteady. Her mind couldn't accept what she had seen. The unleashed power... the white eyes... the crushing gravity...This was no simple awakening.
It was a recall.
The awakening of an ancient entity.
"I must find him," she whispered, her lips white with anguish. "I am the only one who can stop him or bring him back."
She hurried back to the small house that the villagers had lent her. She gathered her bag, her talismans, and her grimoire. Her hands were shaking, but she continued.
She would not let Hayden fall into the hands of the demon within him. She would not let the Seven Forgers devour him.
She left the village before dawn.
In the dark clearing, the twisted trees seemed to breathe softly, like sleeping beasts.
Still shaken but strangely lucid, Hayden stared at the fortune teller. He quietly put the Voyager's card back in its black leather case.
"You want answers, don't you?"
His voice was soft and almost warm.
Hayden nodded breathlessly.
"Yes. Who I am, why I..."
He looked down at his hands, which were still imbued with a strange, residual warmth.
"Why I did that."
The fortune teller smiled indulgently.
"The answers will come, Hayden. I promise you. But not now."
The young man frowned.
"Why?"
"Because dawn is coming, and with it...a little battle."
He slid a finger along a map depicting an army frozen in stone.
"The soldiers of the Tower are coming to see if my people are still prisoners. They want to make sure the Black Forest is truly dead."
His smile grew wider, almost joyful.
"I must welcome them. I'll remind them that nothing in this world truly dies."
Hayden didn't understand everything, but he sensed a quiet power emanating from the mage. The fortune teller approached and placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Meanwhile, you will begin your journey. Your memory won't return all at once. You will have to rebuild it by searching for what was stolen from my people."
"Stolen?"
The Crimson Gems " he replied. "They amplified my people's magic. They were scattered and stolen during the war two centuries ago. If you want to know who you are, find them. They will speak to you. They will guide you."
Hayden felt something stir in his blood, like a distant, ancient echo.
"And Baba?" he whispered suddenly.
For the first time, the fortune teller smiled sincerely, almost tenderly.
"You will see her again. Much sooner than you think. But not now. You must stand tall on your own path before returning to her."
Hayden clenched his fists, determined.
"Then... I will find those gems."
"Perfect."
His gaze suddenly darkened.
When the villagers from neighboring villages finally emerged from their homes at dawn, rumors immediately began to spread. Some took their horses. Others ran on foot.
They headed for the tower's outposts to report what they had seen or felt.
"It was a heavy, cold magic, as if the world had stopped."
"We don't know exactly where it came from. Perhaps it came from White Lily, Poppy, or even Petunia."
"It was terrifying."
The knights listened attentively.
Until one word was uttered: White Lily.
Then, the leader of the knights turned pale.
"White Lily... Is that the same village as in the report we received last night?"
"Maybe it wasn't just rumors?" whispered another knight.
"We must warn the marshals."
The voice was sharp.
"We have our target."
Armor clattered.
Horses were saddled. The shadow of the Tower loomed larger over the white Lily village.