Heavy rain fell relentlessly on the city of Arkham, turning the streets into murky mirrors beneath a sickly gray sky.
In Hall Manor, the atmosphere was even heavier.
"The monsters of the Demonic Forest have ravaged several villages under our protection..."
The knight reported in a tense voice.
The rain pattered against the windows, filling the brief silence that followed.
"And that's not all. Monsters that normally don't leave their territories are moving in packs. Rank II Irontooth Wolves. Rank II Trolls... with a Rank III leader."
Zephyr's jaw tightened slightly.
"Migration?"
"It doesn't seem like it, my lord. It's as if they're being pushed... or directed."
Zephyr didn't respond immediately.
If territorial creatures were abandoning their domains, then something worse must be driving them away. And if that was true, the problem was not an isolated incursion... it was the prelude to something bigger.
"And there is another matter," the knight continued. "Rumors have reached us from the city of Calic that the kingdom of Kamelot has mobilized troops near the border."
This time, the silence was thicker than the rain.
Too many coincidences.
Zephyr let out a long sigh.
This was much more delicate than it seemed. And just now, when he had been summoned to the capital... when the king himself had summoned him. He couldn't refuse. Not without arousing suspicion.
His gaze drifted to Alfred, Lucas, and Alaric, the men he trusted most, after his wife and son.
Adam.
The timing couldn't have been worse.
The door burst open, and another knight entered, soaked to the skin.
"My lord, another report has arrived. The village of Merrow has been razed."
Zephyr rested both hands on the table.
"This is not natural migration. It's forced displacement... or something is driving them out."
"What do we do, my lord?"
He felt the weight of everyone's gaze upon him. Every decision he made would determine the fate of the territory. There were a few options. The margin for error was nonexistent.
After a few seconds that seemed like an eternity, he spoke:
"We will prepare for the worst. However, as I will not be present, everything will be left in the hands of... Adam."
No one objected. Everyone knew that Adam was the rightful heir to those lands.
But Zephyr knew something else: delegating authority was not the same as delegating responsibility.
...
The sky remained covered with thick clouds that did not disperse even with the wind. In that region, prolonged rains were rare. Three days without sun were already beginning to be an anomaly.
Adam watched the crop from the eaves of the makeshift shed.
The raindrops hit the freshly tilled soil, forming small puddles between the furrows. The rain wasn't torrential... but its persistence was more dangerous than any violent storm. The freshly turned soil absorbed water quickly but also became easily saturated.
With that persistent rain, the risk wasn't immediate flooding, but slow rot.
Adam knew it.
If the ground collapsed, he would lose weeks of work. And with it, the precious Mana Dragon Lotus herbs, plants that required a delicate balance.
It had been raining nonstop for three days. Nothing like this had ever happened, not even in his past life.
Below, workers hurriedly dug channels to divert the water, unaware that if the clouds did not dissipate soon, no channel would be sufficient.
Adam sighed, wishing the damn rain would stop already. He turned his head toward Asterin, who was floating beside him with a slight frown.
"What's wrong?"
Asterin did not respond immediately. She stared at the mist-covered horizon, as if trying to make out something beyond the curtain of water.
Before she could speak, a soldier appeared, running through the rain. He arrived soaked, his uniform clinging to his body and mud splattered up to his knees.
"Young master!"
Adam turned to him.
"What is it?"
The man was breathing heavily, his chest rising and falling violently.
"Your father sends word that he needs you urgently."
Something tightened inside Adam. It wasn't just a surprise. It was a cold feeling that ran down his spine.
"Let's go. Quickly."
Without wasting any time, he left the field with the soldier, leaving behind the constant sound of rain hitting the ground.
…
Once inside his father's office, which remained exactly as he remembered it, Adam crossed the threshold and felt the pressure almost immediately.
The air seemed thicker in there.
He looked at Zephyr's three most trusted men. Their faces were stern, too serious for an ordinary meeting.
"My lord, I have brought the young master, as you commanded."
The soldier bowed slightly before withdrawing. The door closed with a sharp click.
Adam watched him go for a moment... then turned his eyes back to his father.
Zephyr wasted no time.
"From now on, you will be the temporary head of the family until I return."
The words fell with the same force as the rain against the windows.
Adam stood motionless.
For a second, his mind couldn't process what he had heard.
"...What?"
Zephyr continued:
"The king has sent for me. I will leave tomorrow at dawn. Alfred will explain the current situation to you. From this moment on, the entire Hall family is under your responsibility."
So it was about time.
Adam had forgotten something crucial: at this time of year, his father was summoned by the king. He had been so focused on farming that he had overlooked this detail.
A mistake.
His expression hardened.
This was the turning point.
According to his memories, the next thing would be the monsters' attack. He needed no further confirmation; the tense expressions in the room said it all.
And then...
His father would fall inexplicably ill.
Adam had returned to the exact moment when everything began to fall apart. The moment when his world turned into hell. The beginning of the Hall family's downfall.
But this time would be different.
Now he was the temporary leader.
And he would not allow history to repeat itself.