> “Why are you even here?”

As Markus and Catherine went outside the perimeter of the Eden Flowers, Eddie and Torrie settled down at the side of the Traveller’s Path. The glowing Eden Flowers cast a gentle, golden light over the path, creating a serene atmosphere amidst the dense darkness of the Deep Glaive.

Eddie sat with his elbows resting on his knees, absently watching the slow sway of the glowing flowers. Beside him, Torrie’s small fingers moved with delicate precision, weaving the blossoms into a crown. She worked with quiet focus, her brows furrowed in concentration, but every now and then, she stole glances at her brother.

“So, Torrie,” Eddie began, filling the silence. “How do you feel about seeing Catherine again?”

Torrie glanced up, twisting the final stem into place.

“I’m happy.” She said, “Not every day you meet someone with so much knowledge and experience. Aunt Catherine has travelled far and studied so much. Being able to learn from her is fascinating.”

“Yeah,” Eddie flashed a smile “it’s... good to see her again.”

Torrie’s smile remained, but something about it was off—too small, too polite. She studied him for a moment before tilting her head.

“And what about you? How do you feel about meeting her again?”

“It’s alright.”

“Just that?” Torrie’s fingers stilled on the flower crown. Her voice was light, but there was something searching in it, something cautious. “Nothing else fascinates you about her return?”

Eddie hesitated, shifting where he sat. The glow of the flowers reflected in his eyes, but there was something distant about them.

“It’s just... seeing her again is... cool… She’s awesome.” Eddie replied. He glanced at Torrie, whose previously bright demeanour had now shifted to something more serious.

Torrie’s eyes searched his face, her gaze intense. “Are you telling me that’s all there is to it? You don’t feel anything else about her returning after all this time?”

Eddie shifted uncomfortably. “It’s not like that. I just... I don’t know.”

Torrie’s smile had vanished entirely, replaced by a frown of concern and confusion. “Eddie, I thought you’d be more... interested. You used to look up to her so much when we were young!”

Eddie’s jaw tensed, his eyes flicking toward the trees. “Maybe… I don’t know,” he muttered.

Torrie’s fingers paused mid-motion with the flower crown, her face a mask of frustration and somewhat hurt.

The Eden Flowers glowed softly. Their light cast long shadows that danced across their faces. The once-comforting glow now seemed to highlight the distance growing between them.

Finally, Torrie let out a breath. “If you’re not interested…” She hesitated, then turned her gaze back to him, firm and unrelenting.

“Why are you even here?”

-o-

Moonlight pierced through the dense canopy of the Deep Glaive, casting jagged patterns across the forest floor. Twisted vines and ancient trees loomed like sentinels, their gnarled forms seeming almost alive in the shifting light. The forest was oppressively silent, broken only by the occasional rustle of leaves and the distant, haunting call of some unseen creature.

Catherine walked through the darkness of the forest, lit up by a white glow she conjured from her staff, Markus is following behind her, his grip tight on Eddie’s flintlock rifle. The weapon was raised, its polished barrel glinting faintly in the pale light. Every whisper of movement sent his heart racing, his eyes darting toward every shadow. At the slightest rustle of a bush, the rifle twitched in his hands, his finger hovering dangerously close to the trigger.

“You haven’t answered my question, Markus.” Catherine said, her eyes still forward.

“Look, ma’am. I’m here because Eddie clearly don’t want to!” Markus groaned, “In fact, I’m clearly a better shot than he is!”

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“But you clearly looked scared,” Catherine said, brushing the bushes out of her way with her staff, “You’re holding that thing like we’re about to be ambushed by an army of bandits.”

“Easy for you to say, ma’am!” Markus lowered the rifle but kept it ready. “You’ve got magic and stuff! And you're like.. Elven! I’m just a fisherman's son and I've only got only this—and it’s not exactly comforting.” He gave the rifle a wary look as if it might betray him at any moment.

“We’ll be fine.” Catherine said, her voice quiet but steady. “I’ve been through worse, believe me. And I promise you, we won’t be facing it alone if anything comes at us. Beasts this centuries tend to be much more smaller in size, so it will be a piece of cake.”

“Alright,” he muttered. “One centuries old or one week old, I’m still keeping this thing ready.”

They continued deeper into the forest. The silence between them seemed to press in even closer, distant howls and rustles of bushes are the only thing they could hear, the darkness growing thicker. Catherine kept her senses sharp, but sensing Markus’s unease, she knows he needed something to keep his mind off his surroundings.

“You know,” she began, her tone conversational, “I used to visit Eddie’s home a lot when he was younger. We’d go adventuring in ancient dungeons, exploring caves and abandoned ruins. But an illusory forest is definitely first for me in ages.”

“Really?” Markus glanced at her, his face pale. “Yeah, I remember Eddie used to talk a lot about his adventures in the dungeons, that was what made him quite popular at school.”

“Was he now?” Catherine chuckled. “Eddie was always the first to stray off the path, treading the path uncharted. He was always adventurous, seeking new experiences, no matter the danger.”

She paused. “We got ourselves into trouble more times than I can count. But no matter what, Eddie always seemed to enjoy the risk of it. Alfred and I had to pull him out of danger more times than I’d like to admit.”

“Yeah…" Markus exhaled, his breath slow, measured. "That sounds like him,” he murmured. “That was the Eddie I remember. He was reckless, always pushing the limits. Even when he was in school.”

Catherine frowned slightly at his tone. “You talk as if we’re speaking about two different people. What’s the matter with Eddie now?”

“Eddie now...” Markus sighed, “He seems different. He doesn’t seem like the same person.”

Catherine slowed her pace, turning to look at him fully. “Different?” she echoed, the warmth from before ebbing away. “How so?”

“Didn’t you know he was expelled?”

The word struck Catherine. Her breath hitching for just a moment, her steps faltering before she caught herself. In the dim light, her expression barely shifted—only the slight furrow of her brow, the way her fingers curled tighter around the edge of her brass-mahogany staff.

“Expelled?” Her voice came out quieter than she intended. “From Aella Academy?”

Markus nodded.

For a moment, she didn’t move, didn’t speak. The forest felt different now.

Why had he never told her?

“How can he be?” Catherine asked, “He is the prodigy of your year wasn’t he? Or so what Alyssa told me in her letters.”

“He was…” Markus said, “Until one day… he was so reckless…”

Both of them continues to walk, the howls and unnerving chirps of different creatures continue to sound.

Markus exhaled, rubbing his arms as if brushing off an unseen weight. “Back at Aella Academy… there was a kid named Davies. He used to bully me a lot. I wasn’t as adept at magic as the others, so I was an easy target. Eddie—he was my only real friend. Maybe because he didn’t fit in either.” He hesitated, then added, “People were jealous of him. They hated how effortlessly talented he was. He spent more time with me than with the others… maybe because I didn’t look at him with resentment the way they did.”

“One day, when Eddie and I were hanging out, Davies was especially brutal. He said I was leeching off—that I had no right to be around someone like Eddie.” Markus let out a hollow chuckle. “He challenged me to a Duel. And, of course, I was no match for him.”

Catherine felt her stomach tighten. “Eddie stepped in.”

Markus nodded. “Yeah. He was always impulsive, always throwing himself into the fire before thinking twice. He challenged Davies instead.”

Catherine could picture it—the reckless fire in Eddie’s eyes, the sharp defiance in his stance.

“None of us knew how it would end,” Markus continued. “Davies didn’t take Eddie seriously. He was a Conjuration student, and everyone knew Alchemy wasn’t suited for dueling. Eddie should’ve lost. He should’ve lost.”

Markus hesitated, then exhaled slowly. “But he didn’t. Instead, he scarred Davies. Badly. His face—” Markus shook his head, as if trying to shake the memory. “It was a mess. There was no coming back from it. And after that, Eddie was expelled.”

Catherine’s breath caught.

“Scarred?” she repeated. “Alchemy… couldn’t do that directly. Not unless—” Her eyes narrowed. “Wait. Were they battling in a classroom? Near any metal?”

Markus shook his head. “No. It was in the woods. Just like this... There was no metal, no resources for him to transmute.”

Catherine felt a chill crawl up her spine.

“The Aella Council deemed it black magic,” Markus said. “Said it was too dangerous, that there would be too many questions, too much risk to the academy’s reputation. Expelling him was easier than letting it turn into a scandal.”

Catherine clenched her jaw. That was it, then. That was why Eddie had never told her.

She had always sensed there was something buried beneath his quiet distance, something brittle in the way he carried himself.

“I had no idea…” Her voice barely rose above a whisper. “Eddie never spoke about it. I’ve always wondered why he seemed so distant.”

Markus let out a slow breath, his shoulders sagging. “It was a turning point for him. He became cold—cut off from everything he was passionate about. From that point on, he believed Alchemy was black magic. He burned all of his textbooks, got rid of his uniform—” Markus swallowed. “It’s like he tried to erase that part of himself.”

He hesitated, his voice quieter now. “That’s why… I’m here.” His fingers tightened on the wooden stock of the flintlock. “Because at least—I want to give back to him. To show him that he doesn’t have to throw himself into danger for my sake anymore. That someone else can protect him or anyone he cares and loves. For once.”

Catherine didn’t say anything.

Because what was there to say?

It wasn’t just that Eddie had lost something important to him.

He had lost himself.

She had been right about him.

Just… not in the way she wanted to be.