He ran a hand through his hair, sweat dripping from his forehead.

His old friend Henito would tell him he was overreacting or something like “Aideeen, don’t worry”.

But thanks to his caution, he was still alive.

Now he has to find it quickly and get out.

His gaze fell on the paper the woman had dropped. Aiden pressed it to his palm and read aloud: “At dawn tomorrow. In a full pot. Tell me two.”

Oh. That’s right.

He’s such an idiot. She let him go on purpose. She knew he was there. But this woman let him go, even though she was taking an enormous risk.

A thousand questions ran through his mind. But one interested him more. What if it was a trap?

They’d catch him and the thing he’d come here for. There was no place in Iridia where he would willingly leave that.

Not even in this place.

Soft vibrations seemed to emanate from the ground. If he could feel them, anyone else could detect it.

He decided to take a chance and create a temporary barrier, weave it into the carpet, and hope it would last.

At least until he found out more.

Hands formed intricate ripples and threads of words obediently following Aiden’s orders. This time, they obeyed him.

No self-deception here.

Aiden, filled with desperation and in dire need of help, these three now shone like beacons of hope.

Finally, he opened the hatch and descended the stairs, clinging to the wall at the bottom.

It felt good here. It’s like time has turned back. He switched on the torch.

The epic tales often heard as a child teemed with the hero himself.

Fearless, alone, proud on the battlefield, on the path of fate, fighting death and beasts the world will never see again.

But the real world is different.

The people in it are hungry, cowardly, weak, longing for peace and safety... and stupid. Very stupid.

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And life is fickle and with a large dose of mean humor.

His family is gone. And there was nothing he could do about it. Aiden couldn’t even find their bodies, nothing.

He was not a hero. Only one survived. It seemed to him that he was the last one to have any form of power.

yes, he loved to observe, judge, question, and discover from afar... But high magic? Too big a bite.

He lacked that basic desire to control things, people, thoughts, and the world.

The mage walked down the corridor until he found himself in an alcove on the left.

He bent slightly, put the flashlight in his hand, and looked around. Mother’s scarf was draped over a small chest.

He decided to take it with him today. Maybe it will bring him luck.

But what was worse?

Giving in to melancholy today or taking the shawl for luck?

He pulled out a key from under his shirt. Checked the contents of the box, and everything was in its place.

He decided to at least take the dark blue crystal with him. It wouldn’t attract attention and would help him a lot.

When he got upstairs, it surprised him to see that it was already dark.

The wind chilled him, so he took a quick step toward Sentara. After a moment, he recognized one shortcut that was almost overgrown, which was a good sign.

He was probably the only one still using it.

The forest became more alive as it got dark.

Sounds of wild animals filled the night. He was used to it. As silent as a cat, he glided through the area with effortless grace.

This was his magic.

After an hour, he put himself in a sweet spot with a crystal view of Sentara.

The city hummed with lively energy, vibrant and alive even in the darkest of hours.

But beneath its pulsing heartbeat, an insidious fear slithered, coiled around every corner like a serpent waiting to strike.

For his own reasons, he could go there today. Getting lost in the thick fog, pretending to be someone else, screaming like crazy under the Curaqa herb.

These thoughts reminded him of his first Curaqa experience with Henito.

He laughed, even though he didn’t want to.

They fell at least ten times on the way home, got into a fight, and woke up half the village.

The next day, they also found out that Henito almost got married to a girl from Sentara.

With the cracking of branches behind him, the thoughts of the past quickly faded and brought him back to reality.

He turned around and saw a rabbit.

Oh god, he hasn’t eaten in two days, that rabbit was sent to him by heaven itself!

Aiden raised his hand and conjured a powerful barrier of shimmering, blue energy around the rabbit.

The magic flowed from his fingertips.

The force of the rabbit's impact was absorbed by the shield, sending shockwaves rippling across its surface.

He didn’t hesitate for a moment. With a single word, he formed an arrow, and hit it before it escaped.

The only spell that worked perfectly.

Only with animals. He never admitted it to anyone.

With a few more simple spells and a blue crystal, he speeds up the complete process.

Soon he was enjoying the delicious meat.