The evening wind drifted quietly as they finally parted ways.
The refugee children who had survived began walking toward their own directions, their small footsteps leaving the ruins of Maya behind, carrying the ambition and vengeance they had sworn only moments ago.
But two children did not follow the group.
White and Alyssa.
Or more precisely… they had nowhere to go.
The days that followed passed heavily.
They wandered without any clear destination. Sometimes they ate whatever scraps they could find in small villages. Sometimes they slept in empty huts, abandoned buildings, or beneath the shelter of trees.
They survived.
Just like they always had.
Until one night.
Clear river water flowed calmly beneath the moonlight. The forest around it was filled with the sound of crickets and the soft rustling of leaves stirred by the night wind.
White and Alyssa were bathing in the river.
Cold water washed away the dust of their long journey.
Alyssa submerged herself up to her neck and let out a relieved breath.
"At last… after so long… we can bathe in peace."
White splashed river water over his face, then brushed his wet hair back.
But suddenly his eyes narrowed.
He turned toward the forest across the river.
"Alyssa," he whispered softly.
The girl looked at him.
"Someone is watching."
Alyssa stiffened immediately.
"Hah?!"
She quickly moved closer to a river rock.
"Where?!"
From behind the trees came a faint laugh.
"Hahaha… sharp eyes you have, kid."
Leaves shifted.
Someone stepped out from the forest's shadow.
A young man stood there.
His gray hair was neatly combed. A long black robe hung elegantly down to his knees. His gaze was sharp, as if it could pierce through someone's thoughts with a single glance.
The man folded his arms casually.
"It's not my habit to peek at children bathing."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"But I was curious… who are the two brats bold enough to disturb my time."
Even though his voice sounded relaxed, the aura coming from his body felt heavy.
An invisible pressure filled the air around them.
White immediately stepped in front of Alyssa.
His survival instincts activated instantly.
"Who are you?" he asked sharply.
Alyssa instinctively hid behind him.
The man did not answer right away.
The wind around them suddenly shifted in a strange way.
In an instant—
the man vanished.
"Hahaha… you're quite cautious."
A voice echoed from two directions at once.
White's eyes widened.
In front of him now stood the same man.
But behind him—
in front of Alyssa—
another figure appeared.
A woman.
She had the same face as the man. The same gray hair. The same sharp eyes.
Yet her aura was different.
The figure before White radiated the pressure of an Archmage.
While the one standing before Alyssa carried the razor-sharp aura of a Supreme Knight.
"You want to know who I am?" the man before White said.
"My name is Meither Magnus."
He raised one hand slightly.
"But before you right now… stand two of my identities."
The woman behind Alyssa continued the sentence in the same calm voice.
"Each of my identities carries a different role."
The man pointed to himself.
"As a man, I am an Archmage."
The woman crossed her arms.
"And as a woman, I am a Supreme Knight."
Their voices almost sounded like a single voice speaking in strange harmony.
White and Alyssa were both stunned.
But the woman spoke again.
"And the reason I revealed myself to you…"
She looked at both of them.
"…is because I find you interesting."
White clenched his fists.
"Interesting?"
"Why are you interested in us?"
The male Magnus smiled faintly.
Meanwhile the female Magnus walked slowly toward Alyssa.
"I'm interested…"
she said softly,
"…because I've already chosen you."
White frowned.
"You chose us?"
The male Magnus nodded casually.
"That's right."
He stepped closer.
"You're not ordinary children."
"I don't know why, but one thing is certain. You survived the destruction of a refugee camp."
"You led the other children out of the darkness."
He stared deeply at White.
"And now you stand on the edge of something far greater than yourselves."
White gritted his teeth.
"How do you know all that?"
"And even if you know…"
his gaze sharpened,
"…I still refuse."
The male Magnus chuckled.
The female Magnus crossed her arms.
"Interesting."
"A child chased by the future, yet still rejecting his past."
A faint smile appeared.
"I like that."
White frowned.
"What do you mean?"
The female Magnus stepped closer and lightly patted his shoulder.
"I'm offering something you cannot refuse."
Alyssa bit her lip.
"What are you offering… that we must accept it?"
The male Magnus smiled wider.
"Power."
The female Magnus added softly,
"And perhaps… identity."
She looked at Alyssa.
"And a new family."
The atmosphere instantly grew heavier.
The female Magnus continued.
"Not merely the power to survive."
"But the power to change the world."
She pointed to herself.
"I will train you as a Swordmaster."
The male Magnus pointed to himself.
"And my other self will train you as an Archmage."
He chuckled softly.
"Two different approaches."
"Two paths to power."
"With that…"
his gaze sharpened,
"…you will become more than just two weak children."
White glanced at Alyssa.
The girl still looked frightened.
But behind that fear…
determination had begun to appear.
White looked back at Magnus.
"What if we refuse?"
The male Magnus smirked.
"Then you'll live as two children with no direction."
"Kids simply waiting for their turn to die at the hands of the emperor's lackeys."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I know who you are."
The female Magnus looked at Alyssa gently.
"You…"
"The last Succubus in this world."
"The final demon that should already be extinct."
Then the male Magnus looked at White.
"And you…"
"A discarded Griff."
"Blood of light that gave birth to darkness instead."
A thin smile formed.
"A darkness capable of devouring darkness itself."
Magnus looked at both of them.
"I did not come merely to observe."
"I came to guide you… and adopt you."
"Toward a far greater destiny."
White fell silent.
His mind spun.
He remembered the destroyed refugee camp.
The people who died.
The promise of fifteen years he had made.
Finally—
White drew a long breath.
He looked straight at Magnus.
"Alright…"
A small grin formed.
"Old man Magnus."
Alyssa inhaled as well.
"I accept your offer too… Mister Magnus."
The male Magnus laughed with satisfaction.
"Good."
He raised both hands casually.
"From today onward…"
He looked at them both with a wide smile.
"…you are my adopted children."
That night and the river bore witness to something that would be born through Magnus's intervention. From that moment began a long misunderstanding that would slowly grow into a strangely harmonious family.