Aelric knew they couldn’t stay.

The moment he had spoken those words to Veyne—**the moment he had planted the seed of something greater—**he knew their time in that village was over.

The Order allowed obedience. It allowed despair. It allowed submission.

But what happened back there? That was something else entirely.

He wasn’t foolish enough to think no one had noticed. Even if the villagers remained silent, even if no one spoke a word, the air itself had shifted. And the Order would not ignore it.

He had already intended to explore the ruined temple nearby—one of the many places he had heard of in his years of traveling. It was supposed to be nothing more than faded stone and forgotten time.

But now, it was something more.

Now, it was their next destination.

Aelric adjusted the strap on his shoulder, glancing at Veyne. Despite everything, Veyne followed without hesitation, his steps steady, his posture strong. His body was thin from malnutrition, his clothes worn, but he moved like a warrior.

Yet, he wasn’t one.

Not yet.

Veyne had never fought before. Not in a real battle. He had the strength—Aelric could see it in the way he carried himself, in the raw, untapped power within his body—but strength without direction was meaningless.

Aelric would have to shape that strength.

“How far are we going?” Veyne finally asked.

“Far enough that we won’t be found,” Aelric replied. “And close enough to somewhere that matters.”

Veyne frowned. “You mean the temple?”

Aelric nodded. “An ancient ruin I heard whispers of during my travels. It might have something valuable—knowledge the Order has buried. Or tried to.”

Veyne grunted. “And you think some old ruin is going to help us?”

Aelric didn’t even glance at him. “You still think strength is enough, don’t you?”

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Veyne stiffened slightly. He hesitated, but finally answered.

“Strength is all that matters in the end,” he muttered.

Aelric sighed, shaking his head. “And yet, it wasn’t strength that saved you in that village. If it was, you’d be dead.”

Veyne opened his mouth to argue, but stopped. He furrowed his brow, trying to piece together what Aelric meant. After a few moments, he finally asked, “Then what was it?”

“Knowledge.” Aelric looked at him with sharp confidence. “Knowing how to stay forgotten. Knowing when to move and when to stay silent. Knowing what the Order values and what it doesn’t. Strength without knowledge is blind force, easily manipulated and crushed. But knowledge—true knowledge—is the only thing the Order fears.”

Veyne was silent for a long time. Then, his gaze hardened.

“Then I’ll learn,” he said simply. “I’ll listen.”

Aelric smirked slightly. “Good. You’d be a waste of strength otherwise.”

The village was silent.

The villagers had returned to their work, their blank faces unchanged. To them, nothing had happened.

But the Messenger stood at the center of the square, its silver mask turned toward the empty space where Aelric and Veyne had once stood.

It spoke, its voice an eerie echo that resonated across the air.

“Two anomalies have left this place.”

A ripple spread through the village—not through the people, but through something unseen.

The Order had noticed.

The Supreme One did not allow change.

And yet, something had shifted.

The Messenger turned toward the monument, its presence pressing against the very air.

“This must be corrected.”

And with that decree, the hunt began.

Hours passed as they traveled. The path they followed grew thinner, more rugged, twisting through old roads that few dared to take. The ruined temple was still far, but Aelric was certain of the direction.

Veyne broke the silence.

“You said you’ve been looking for knowledge for ten years,” he said. “Why?”

Aelric didn’t answer immediately.

Veyne had never hesitated when following an order, but here—he hesitated before asking questions. It wasn’t that he feared Aelric’s answers. It was that he wasn’t used to asking them.

Aelric finally spoke. “Because I need to understand this world if I ever hope to change it.”

Veyne frowned. “You think this world can change?”

Aelric stopped walking. He turned to face Veyne fully, his sharp gaze unwavering.

“If I didn’t, I wouldn’t be standing here.”

Veyne felt something tighten in his chest. The sheer certainty in Aelric’s voice was unsettling.

“And what about before?” Veyne asked. “Before you decided all this?”

Aelric looked past him, as if seeing something far beyond their surroundings. “I was alone,” he said simply.

The words carried no weakness. No regret. Just fact.

“My family died. I wandered. I learned. I gathered every scrap of knowledge I could—because knowledge is the key to understanding how to break the forces in this world. The gods, the Order, everything that keeps people in chains. And if I am to do anything about it, I need more.”

He turned back toward the road.

“That’s why we’re going to this temple. That’s why we keep moving forward.”

Veyne listened carefully. He didn’t understand everything, but he understood one thing:

Aelric was unlike anyone he had ever met.

By nightfall, they saw it.

At the edge of a ruined valley, shrouded in mist, stood the remains of a temple long forgotten. Crumbling pillars jutted from the ground, their engravings faded by time. A massive entrance loomed at the center, framed by statues so eroded they barely resembled their original forms.

Veyne let out a low breath. “It’s… old.”

Aelric smirked. “Good. That means whatever’s inside is even older.”

They approached cautiously.

The temple’s air was thick with something unnatural. The weight of forgotten history pressed against their skin.

And then—a sound.

A deep, guttural growl echoed from the entrance.

Veyne’s muscles tensed. “We’re not alone.”

Aelric remained calm, studying the darkness ahead. His mind was already turning, calculating.

“No,” he said. “We’re not.”

Veyne felt the instinct to fight. His body tensed, his fists curled—but he hesitated.

Because he had never fought before.

He had the strength, but no experience.

Instead, he did something he never would have done in the past.

He turned his gaze to Aelric.

Waiting for an order.

Aelric took one step forward, his sharp eyes gleaming in the torchlight.

“Let’s see what the past has left behind.”

End of Chapter 4