— Claude, mage of the North, explain your journey to the West. — The firm voice echoed through the cold, dimly lit stone chamber.

Claude sat on an uncomfortable chair in the center of the room, surrounded by unfamiliar faces—former enemies who now might be his only hope.

The stone walls exuded a damp chill, as if they, too, were judging him. Torches mounted on the walls cast unsteady shadows that danced across the faces of the interrogators.

In front of him, a worn wooden table separated him from three imposing figures: Queen Maiza, with her critical eyes and impeccable posture; Guilherme, her right hand, who observed him with an indecipherable expression; and Lívia, the counselor, whose fingers were rhythmically drumming against the table.

— Start from the beginning, — Maiza insisted, leaning slightly forward.

Claude took a deep breath. He wasn’t sure his words would be enough to convince them.

— I’m not from here, I mean, not from this reality, — he began, looking at his own hands bound in front of him, still trying to process the events that had brought him to this place.

— It all started when I went to sleep. Before waking up, something inexplicable happened: I was pulled, out of nowhere, into a realm outside my universe. I woke up disoriented and with an inexplicable feeling of happiness, as if I wanted to be there, dressed in a white robe I had never seen before. That was the first step they took when they summoned us.

— My past was nothing but a white fog in my mind. The only thing I felt was satisfaction at being in that place.

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He paused, searching for the right words.

— They called me to fight. To help. A chosen one of the gods—that’s what they told me.

The silence in the room was almost deafening. The three at the table exchanged glances again, as if silently debating something. Finally, Lívia broke the silence.

— And why the North? Why would a mage like you be summoned?

Claude hesitated.

— I don’t know. I only know it wasn’t my choice. I wasn’t even a mage. Now I have some flashes of my life before coming here.

Lívia stopped drumming her fingers and leaned forward.

— We shall see. Your presence in the North didn’t go unnoticed during the last war, Claude—the young mage who earned the title Messenger of the Beyond for taking more lives than an army of a small nation.

Claude’s amber eyes glinted under the dim light of the room. He sighed deeply, averting his gaze for a brief moment, as if the words had to be expelled quickly.

— You know as much about me as I do, — he finally replied, his voice calm but measured. — I didn’t ask to be what I am. What happened... was an accident, something beyond my control. They manipulated me. They manipulated everyone.

Lívia leaned even closer, her eyes fixed on Claude’s, as if trying to extract the truth from him.

— Accident or not, no one earns a title like that without doing something to deserve it. Ashes follow you, mage. You cannot escape suspicion. Here in the West, your presence is both a threat and a promise. And we... — she paused deliberately, letting the weight of her words sink in. — We will uncover what you truly represent.

The interrogation continued, but Claude knew this was only the beginning of his journey.

Then Lívia murmured:

— Mana deorum nos adiuvabit, veritatem tuam dic.

She extended her hand, and a pale red light began to emanate from her fingers, enveloping the air around Claude like a mist pressing against his skin. He instinctively recoiled.

— What are you doing? — Claude asked, his voice tinged with nervousness.

— Ensuring that we hear only the truth, — Lívia replied, emotionless, as the light continued to envelop Claude.

A suffocating sensation overwhelmed him. It was as if an invisible weight pressed against his chest, forcing words out of his mind before he could even organize them.

— It all began... — Claude’s voice trembled, and he heard with horror that he couldn’t stop speaking. — ...when I went to sleep.

He tried to resist, but it was like fighting an invisible current.

— Before waking, something inexplicable happened: I was pulled into a realm outside my universe. I woke up disoriented, but... happy. As if I wanted to be there.

Claude shot a horrified look at Lívia, but she was unmoved. The glow in her fingers intensified as she maintained her focus.

— I don’t know why I was summoned. It wasn’t my choice. They... I was transformed. They manipulated me. Manipulated everyone... — The words came out like a forced confession, torn from his very being.

Lívia finally closed her fingers, and the glow around her hand flared even brighter.