"What do you mean?"
Arthur's head snapped up.
They were all seated around the fire, but something in Clad's voice had shifted the air — like a cold wind cutting through the warmth of the flame.
"You said the seal was placed to suppress his energy," Arthur said. "To hide him from the corrupted beasts."
"Well..." Clad stared into the fire. "That's exactly when I felt it."
"Felt what?"
The merchant said nothing. His eyes stayed on Clad.
Clad's jaw tightened. "This child's seal wasn't built to contain his energy." He looked up. "It was built to reverse it. To force it to flow backwards."
A cold gust moved through the camp, and the fire shivered.
"But that would have killed him," the merchant said. "Slowly. Painfully."
"Yes." Clad's fist closed. "Someone wanted this child dead. His internal meridians are completely shattered. Someone did this deliberately."
Arthur frowned. "Then what are you saying?"
"It seems like..." Clad pressed his hands against his knees. "He's healing himself. From the inside. Regenerating."
"What?" Arthur stared at him. "A child can't awaken his energy before the ceremony. You know that better than anyone." His brows drew together. "And regeneration — are you certain? Because if you're wrong—"
"I know." Clad's jaw clenched. "That's exactly what I can't understand."
The merchant stared into the flame. "If something so brutal forced an awakening on its own..." He went quiet. "But a child of five or six. How?"
The fire crackled. No one spoke.
Then the merchant reached out and gripped Clad's shoulder.
A faint light had begun to flicker in Clad's eyes — not magic. Anger.
"Places like this. People like this." Clad's voice had dropped. "We thought this wouldn't happen anymore."
"Clad." The merchant's hand stayed on his back. Steady. Quiet.
Clad drew a long breath. The light in his eyes faded slowly.
"The child is stable," the merchant said.
Clad nodded. "Yes. Somehow he's healing himself — but his core is severely damaged. After stabilizing him, I broke the seal." He paused. "Its only purpose was to destroy him from the inside. No ordinary mage could have woven it."
The merchant and Arthur said nothing.
"And the child himself..." Clad's eyes grew wet. "His will to live is stronger than it should be." He was quiet for a moment. "He's just an innocent child. How could anyone do this to him?"
It wasn't a question.
The merchant's gaze stayed on the fire. "Then it's settled. I'm taking him with us."
"But My Lord—"
"You said yourself he's like him," the merchant replied. "Maybe we'll get to see something good come out of this." He went quiet. Then, in a voice heavier than before — worn at the edges — he added, "And even if we don't... giving him a chance is our responsibility."
He turned his eyes toward the dark treeline.
"And don't forget who I am. I still have enough left in me to bring ruin if I have to."
Clad looked at him and nodded.
---
Footsteps crunched through the wet mud.
Arthur, who had been listening without a word, straightened. "Leo." His voice cut through the quiet. "Did you properly collect the energy from the corrupted beasts? Check the corpses carefully."
Leo stepped into the dying firelight. In his palm rested a faintly glowing orb — condensed energy harvested from the beasts.
"Yes, Sir. Already collected." He glanced toward the trees. "I'll check the corpses now." He paused. "And Young Master — he wasn't affected? He's alright?"
The merchant answered before Arthur could. "Yes. I made sure the energy didn't reach him."
Leo nodded and headed back into the forest.
At the edges of the sky, a faint light had begun to bleed through. Dawn. The birds had started somewhere in the trees.
Arthur looked at the merchant.
"My Lord... Young Master doesn't look well."
The merchant met his gaze. "The journey was long." His voice was even. "And what happened tonight was more than he was ready for. But that's exactly why it will teach him something." He didn't look away. "If he wants to move forward, he will face things far worse than this. And if he can't learn to carry it — his innocence will be the thing that destroys him."
Silence settled over the camp.
Only the birds now. And the fire, burning lower, slowly fading into the morning light.
---
**[Chapter 4 — End]**