In the quiet stillness of the wee hours…
"Prepare yourselves. You have five minutes."
Half-awake and still heavy with sleep, the two struggled to process Dayesh's command.
Exactly five minutes later, a portal tore open before them. Its swirling light leading back to Caelumn.
"What are we going to do in Caelumn?" one of them asked, unease evident in his voice.
"I received troubling news," Dayesh replied coldly. "Didn't you know before coming here? Why didn't you inform me that armed forces are rampaging there again? And worse… they belong to the Ordo Vireth. How are they crossing into our world?"
"W-we thought it had already been resolved," Khafa answered nervously. "When some of them were captured, they were executed immediately and displayed as a warning. We believed that was enough to stop them… so we didn't bring it up."
"Yes, big brother," the other added. "We made sure everything was peaceful before we decided to leave Caelumn. We never expected this."
Dayesh said nothing. But the tension around him was suffocating.
The night before they returned to Caelumn…
As Dayesh entered his room, his eyes immediately caught a single envelope lying on the floor.
He paused.
His gaze swept across the room, sharp and calculating. No presence. No trace of intrusion. And yet… something felt off.
Slowly, he picked up the envelope and opened it.
As his eyes scanned the contents, his hand clenched tightly, veins surfacing, his knuckles whitening. He doesn't have an idea who sends the letter to him.
No one noticed their arrival.
Meanwhile, after preparing breakfast, Sapphire frowned in confusion. Not a single one of the three men had come downstairs.
Curious, she made her way up to their rooms.
She knocked.
No answer.
She opened the door.
Empty.
"All that effort… what a waste," she muttered with a sigh. "I guess we'll just eat this until tonight."
Five days later…
"They still haven't returned… and they didn't even say where they were going."
Sapphire's chest felt tight with unease.
It had been six days since their last conversation.
She tried to reason with herself. They were probably on a mission, maybe something difficult that required more time. But still… not a single message? Not even one explanation?
That was what unsettled her the most.
At Caelumn
"We meet again."
Dayesh's gaze was sharp enough to cut through steel as it locked onto Maruq, the man who appeared to be commanding the opposing forces.
"I suppose it's fitting… that your life ends here."
"Don't be so certain," Maruq replied with a smirk beneath his cloak. "You couldn't kill me before. What makes you think you can now when I've grown even stronger? Thanks to Jauna… her power is truly something else."
At the mention of Jauna, Dayesh's expression did not change.
"I thought you had already abandoned that cult."
"It's not that simple," Maruq said quietly. "Leaving them isn't an option. I merely follow orders."
There was a brief silence.
Then Dayesh moved. No warning. No signal. Just death.
Maruq reacted instantly, drawing his blade in a fluid motion. His stance resembled that of a knight. Disciplined, precise. But his movements carried an unnatural agility. He darted forward, cloak trailing behind him like a shadow.
Steel met nothing.
A sudden slash...
Blood.
Maruq staggered back, eyes widening.
"What?!"
He hadn't seen it.
Another strike. This time deeper. A cut across his side, clean and invisible.
Dayesh stood a few meters away, calm… almost still. His movements were minimal, efficient. Each step deliberate, each motion calculated.
Yet with every flick of his wrist, something unseen lashed out.
A whip. No, something sharper.
Something lethal.
Maruq gritted his teeth and lunged again, faster this time, aiming directly for Dayesh's neck.
But Dayesh was already gone.
A blur. A whisper.
Pain exploded across Maruq's back as another unseen strike landed, tearing through flesh.
"Show yourself!" Maruq roared, swinging wildly, trying to predict the invisible weapon.
But it was useless. He couldn't see it. He couldn't read it. And he couldn't stop it.
Dayesh continued advancing. Silent, relentless. His face remained unreadable, devoid of emotion. Yet every strike carried weight… not just force, but something deeper.
Resentment. Loss. Everything he had buried inside himself.
One strike on Maruq's shoulder.
Another. On its thigh.
Another. On its ribs.
Each blow landed with terrifying precision, targeting vital points, draining strength from Maruq's body.
Soon, his movements slowed. His breathing grew ragged. His grip weakened. He dropped to one knee.
Dayesh stopped in front of him.
For a moment… everything was still.
"Any last words?" Dayesh asked coldly. "Did you at least say goodbye to Jauna?"
Maruq let out a weak, bitter laugh.
"She already knows… what's happening to me," he said, blood dripping from his lips. "She accepted me… even with hands stained by killings I never wanted."
A brief pause.
Then—
"I see."
Dayesh raised his hand. The invisible weapon coiled and in one swift motion, he drove it straight into Maruq's chest.
Right through the heart.
Maruq's body stiffened… then fell lifeless to the ground.
"Burn their bodies," Dayesh ordered.
His men obeyed immediately.
No one dared question him.
The air around him was heavy, dangerously so.
He returned home briefly.
"Big brother!" Dioh called out as he opened the door.
But Dayesh walked past him without even a glance.
"Big brother! At least acknowledge me! Didn't you miss us?"
"I'm tired," Dayesh replied flatly, before locking himself inside his room.
Dioh ran toward their parents, announcing his return.
Joy filled their hearts, but it was quickly replaced by quiet sadness.
"It's alright… let him rest," one of them said softly. "He just came back from a mission."
Inside his room, Dayesh went straight to bathe.
As water poured over him, his mind spiraled. Fragments of memories collided.
Jauna. His connection with Sapphire. His daughter, Lzith. The threats looming over Caelumn. Everything blurred into chaos.
"I should sleep…" he murmured.
"At last… you've come back to us, my son."
"I only returned because of the threat," Dayesh replied. "I won't stay long."
"That's fine, big brother," Dioh said with a smile. "Knowing you're safe is enough for us."
The meal was quiet. Heavy.
After eating, Dayesh stood. "I'll head out for a while."
He found Khafa and Ghoth. "Are you staying here long?" he asked.
"Not really, big brother," Khafa answered.
"Same here," Ghoth added. "Nothing for me to do."
"Go back to my house first. Keep yourselves busy," Dayesh instructed. "I have something to take care of. I won't be returning yet."
The two exchanged glances, then nodded. "Alright."
"Go on," Dayesh dismissed them.
He returned home once more and slept.
This time, he allowed exhaustion to take him completely.
"Oh? Why is it just the two of you? Where's Dayesh?" Sapphire asked.
"He stayed behind. Said he had something to handle," Ghoth replied.
Sapphire simply nodded.
She didn't want them to think she was worried.
Days passed. Routine repeated itself.
Time slipped by unnoticed, until two weeks had gone by.
And still, no sign of Dayesh.
"Gosh… I can't sit still anymore," Sapphire muttered, biting her nails in frustration. "They said he just had something to handle… so why is it taking this long?"
She froze. "Why am I even worrying about that man?"
Sapphire sat by the window, absentmindedly stirring a cup of tea that had long gone cold. Her eyes were fixed outside, but she wasn't really seeing anything.
He said he had something to take care of.
Then why does it feel like he just… disappeared?
She let out a quiet sigh, resting her chin on her palm.
Maybe it's just a long mission.Maybe he's injured.Maybe he forgot.Or maybe I'm just not important enough to inform.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the cup.
"That's ridiculous…" she whispered under her breath.
She wasn't anything to him.
Not family.Not a partner.Not someone with the right to ask where he was… or when he'd return.
And yet, why does it bother me this much?
She clicked her tongue, annoyed at herself, and stood up abruptly.
"I'm overthinking."
But even as she said it, her eyes drifted back to the door.
As if expecting it to open at any moment. "I'm not waiting," she muttered.
Still, she didn't leave.