Somehow he'd made it.

What just happened?

Saulo had defeated Aaron.

He had no idea what happened, but he was grateful that he wasn't the unconscious person on the ground. Inexplicably, he managed to hurt him enough with his halberd to make him faint, but the wound he caused him, even with the power of his ultimate ability, shouldn't have defeated him, much less knocked him unconscious.

This last event confused him because of how the fight happened.

In a simulation in his head, the attack he made should have caused an average damage if Aaron did not block it. Trapped within the smoke zone, Saulo couldn't retreat to rethink his strategy or seek to use his supporting objects while, unlike him, Aaron was prepared both to attack with a powerful blow and to defend himself without any delay. Between the two ultimate abilities that collided head-on, Saulo should have ended up defeated for the simple reason that his enemy was more powerful and experienced on the battlefield.

But then... why?

Without abandoning the doubts of his head, Saulo hastened to take the sword and shield of his unconscious owner. Even if his bearer was defeated, the sense of danger didn't disappear.

Really, what happened?

"…"

The prisoner man!

Saulo momentarily panicked.

He had forgotten the elderly man, the person for whom he ended up confronting the thieves. Preparing his halberd, he turned decided to face the remaining comrades of Aaron.

"Huh?"

Or that was he thought...

"Young man. Thank you so much for helping me."

"What happened here?"

Saulo shouted in surprise.

As he turned around, reality hit him head-on.

The elderly man had not only freed himself, but he was preparing to tie the other two thieves to the tree where he had been held captive minutes before.

W-w-what?!

"I was very fortunate that you showed up. Without your help, I would still be trapped."

"How...?!"

Saulo couldn't exclaim for a prompt response. He considered himself a quiet person who didn't shout unless it was necessary. He firmly believed that If you could avoid raising your voice in a conversation, you should do it.

It was the case that now he didn't care about that thought he had as a rule.

The fact that, from one moment to the next, an elderly man with advanced age was able to free himself from the ties of a rope and had the strength to defeat his captors, left him completely astonished.

"The rope wasn't tight enough around my arms. So it was easy to free myself. And in a moment of carelessness, I untied myself and knocked these two out."

An image of the reconstruction of the facts floated in Saulo's mind as he listened to the feat of man.

"I’m sorry that I put you in danger. If only I had been stronger, they wouldn't have hurt you."

The elderly man, who held a wooden staff for support, slowly made a movement in which his gaze turned to the ground.

"L-lift your head please,"Saulo said in an obvious rush to stop him. "You are the victim here. Under no circumstances the guilt is yours. Besides, I was wounded because of my own lack of power."

"I understand. Then let's leave it as a personal defense achieved by a joint effort."

Saulo nodded to the man who stood leaning on his cane.

It was suddenly, when surprise gave way to curiosity.

Two blue orbs of incessant color watched him closely. Almost transparent and out of this world; what puzzled him wasn't the particular color of those eyes. As if he could see through him, the old man's gaze pierced his body straight to his soul.

"By the way, are you all right with that last wound you received?"

"Last wound? Wah!"

Saulo reacted in what was clearly a surprise. In what he had been talking about, he hadn't noticed the wound on his shoulder. But when the elder pointed it out to him, it was as if by magic the pain had suddenly appeared.

Then... he did cut me.

But for Saulo, this wasn't the only wound he had received.

As the adrenaline left his body, the aftermath of the fight began to feel in accelerated synchrony. A slight cut on the thigh, two medium cuts on the right forearm and one on the left, in addition to the one on his shoulder and finally, the deepest wound he received: the cut on the chest from when their weapons collided. Likewise, his entire body was wounded from abilities based on smoke power, leaving his chest noticeably red and scarred.

To his relief, the cold fog refreshed the affected areas, making his wounds a little less painful.

"It's surprising that even when he was distracted, he managed to impact you with his ultimate ability"

Holding his affected shoulder, Saulo was grateful that the cut he received hadn't been deeper. Without a doubt, the outcome should have been different.

"Here."

A thin skeletal hand crossed Saulo's eye.

It was the elder's, who extended an object he had taken out of his clothes.

A shining green sphere.

A healing orb.

An object that for Saulo was on his "there's no way I can pay for this"list. The times that in his community had been extremely necessary, it had cost them an important sum of money to acquire a single orb.

"This costs too much money to spend on me,"Saulo said in conflict when he noticed what it was.

"I know, but I insist,"replied the elderly man in a tired, but calm voice.

"I know that I'm bleeding a lot, but my wounds aren't fatal. To heal me, here in my backpack I carry alcohol and bandages."

He said it as he looked with concern at the little green sphere that this person intended to give him.

"I have observed the state of your wounds and that is precisely why I am giving you this orb. You must know that as miraculous as its power may seem, even the most powerful orbs cannot heal fatal wounds. I insist. Think of it as a sign of my gratitude for saving me. Besides..."

The elderly man coughed to clear his throat before speaking again.

"... the passing of years is something that cannot be stopped. There is no cure for what is naturally inevitable."

Saulo didn't want to continue wasting the elderly man's will, so he took the orb and crushed it with his hand.

The relief was instantaneous.

In a pleasant sensation, a torrent of warm power flowed through his body. After a few seconds in which the green glow spread through his body with small particles appearing here and there in his most affected areas, the healing effect ended up closing his wounds. The blood remained on his clothes, but beyond that and his tiredness, there was no indication that he had recently participated in a fight.

"How do you feel? Better?"

"Yes, really better. Thank you... How do you feel, sir? Do you need water or help to walk?"

Asking back, Saulo hoped to repay the use of a healing orb in him.

"No, don't worry. You've helped me enough already. More than you can imagine and what an old man like me deserves. But I thank you for your concern."

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"N-no. I'm the one who should be grateful."

That weak response came from Saulo, who with a weak gesture hid the conflict that was forming in his mind. The fact that an older person who should be resting would have fought instead, made him feel fortunate to be alive and guilty for forcing this person to make an effort out of proportion to his age and health.

I just had some luck.

"With what I do want you to help me is to help me tie this guy. He looks like a strong person; but without his sword or shield, his attributes are reduced to zero. But still, let's not take any risk."

"Yes,"Saulo said confirming the situation of which he was aware.

Apparently, Aaron's two comrades wanted to intervene and the elderly man knocked them out before they could attack. Thus, the three members known in the vicinity of the city of Boggio as 'The Dark Heralds' were defeated, and their weapons had been taken from them. If a user lost his summoned weapon, he was therefore unable to use his abilities or to fight with the attributes his weapon gave.

"Then allow me."

Taking the ropes with which Aaron tied up the elderly man, the task of immobilizing him became a shared effort.

"Like with the two young men, you have to tie them firmly, but leaving enough space for them to breathe without escaping."

"I just remembered,"Saulo said, holding the rope. "This man mentioned having served in the army up to the rank of commander. It's clear that he has knowledge in making knots of ropes and sure that he also has training in escaping from this type of adverse situations. We have to be careful."

Although the elderly man had freed himself, the image of this person unconsciously tied to a tree was kept as a reminder of the extension of capacities that Aaron possessed.

"That sounds dangerous. Should we call the police?"

"No!"

Saulo hastened to answer, pulling the rope with enough force to break a rib. In response, Aaron didn't complain about the sudden pressure applied to tie him, but Saulo couldn't help but apologize in his mind.

"I meant. Don’t call the police yet, please."

His shock was due to the fact that there was a powerful reason why he didn't want the presence of the police.

"Hm... I assume it has something to do with you traveling alone."

"Yes."

Saulo preferred to respond before the silence made it evident. By some strange force beyond the values he held, he dared not lie to him. Whether it was for getting out of the pinch or for the gratitude he felt toward this person, lying would be like spitting in his benefactor's face.

The elderly man looked straight at Saulo without changing his expressions, but, at the eye contact, the younger of the two felt a slight chill. What this person was about to say to him would bring with it the suspicions that for age no longer represented a novelty.

"Well,"the elderly man said, averting his gaze a little. "I'm not who to meddle in the affairs of others."

"Fuh."

A faint sound was heard.

Although he was trying to hide it, Saulo was now breathing calmer.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

"!"

Suddenly, an accelerated breath, which was not his, brought him back to the worry of moments ago. That was not the sound of a simple cough.

"COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH! COUGH!"

It was the sound of death approaching.

"Are you all right?"

Coughing very hard, the man couldn't help but kneel. Covering his mouth with one hand, he finally spoke with a broad smile.

"Of course. I feel wonderful."

Of course not!

The man's words didn't match his condition. He didn't look wonderful and wasn't likely to feel wonderful either.

"You're bleeding a lot!"

The elderly man's mouth, full of blood, gave him a more deteriorated appearance than he already had.

"Excuse me. I'm not as young as I used to be, and as you can see, age wreaks havoc on my body."

The grass turned each time more red. This did nothing but increase Saulo's concern. He had to act fast. He had no medical knowledge, but even so he would try to relieve some of his pain.

"I think I have a handkerchief in my pocket."

"No. You don't have to bother about an old man. You'll waste a fine piece of cloth on me."

Saulo gave him the handkerchief, ignoring the hand that was rejecting it. A simple piece of white cloth embroidered with blue lines that the young man was extending with his hand.

"Thank you."

Stained completely in red, the small piece of cloth wiped after a few moments in its entirety the blood from his mouth.

"I'll feel better soon. It's a pain that comes and goes."

Saulo hoped so. In his first aid kit that he carried in his backpack, it was barely equipped with alcohol, bandages, gauzes, tweezers and scissors.

And I don't think a cat band-aid will do much here.

"Boy..."

"Yes, give me a moment while I look for where I put my bottle of water."

I'm sure the alcohol was around here... I can't believe it. This backpack comes equipped with a strange mechanism to protect its bearer and instead, I can't find a simple bottle of water.

"... I would like to invest in you."

"I think it's here... Huh?"

With his hand still inside his backpack, the task of searching the bottle of water was forgotten by what he thought he had just heard.

"Can you repeat that, please?"

"I said I wanted to invest in you. For having helped me, I have made a decision. A reward that I bring with me."

Saulo didn't immediately return to his senses when he heard what that meant.

This person wanted to offer him a reward.

Did I hear wrong? He said something about investing in me, but how he said it... it was heard as if...

Still with his doubts, he stood up, leaving the inside of his backpack in a mess. But that didn't matter to him now.

"What do you mean by investing in me? Something like a monetary aid? You don't have to give me anything in return. I helped you because it's the normal thing to do."

Saulo couldn't stop thinking about that last thing he said. Perhaps in another context, he would accept a reward. Both a thanks and a little money would have the same value to him after doing an action to help someone.

However, he, who had trouble paying for direct transport to the capital, was tempted to receive any reward that the elderly man brought with him. After all, he had helped against one of the thieves of this path. On this occasion, however, he refused. If he accepted the money, he was taking away a hope of quality of life from this sick person.

But since what the elderly man said wasn't clear, he'd have to confirm exactly what this reward was all about. Especially, that part of investing in him.

"It's not a monetary aid. It's just like I said it. I'm going to give you a reward, investing in you."

... This needs further explanation.

"Since you are in doubt, I'll show you."

Being taken unawares by movements with a speed not proper to his age, a "W-what?"was Saulo's best reaction to what was happening.

From among his clothes, the elderly man took a small object. Whatever that was in his right pocket was now hidden behind the five fingers of his right hand.

"Come closer... Don't be afraid."

The order was given.

Or so Saulo felt it. The elderly man wasn't forcibly demanding that he approach. But the seriousness and calm with which he spoke, transmitted a power of speech that made him obey immediately.

While walking, Saulo's gaze focused on the elderly man's clenched fist. The intrigue of the revelation made him anxious and fearful.

What is this person holding?

By the time Saulo approached, a few meters separated him from a rejuvenated man. Not in the physical, but in the expectation of what he wanted to reveal.

"This is what I want you to see."

It was too late to put aside his doubts.

The elderly man moved his fingers without delay, revealing what he was hiding.

…

An ordinary bottle. So small that it would be difficult to fit more than a sip of water into the plastic recipient.

That was his first impression.

The next second, Saulo blinked several times so that the illusion of what he was seeing would fade away.

A multicolored substance danced within what the bottle allowed it. There would be nothing strange about this if he overlooked two details.

The first detail had to do with what the substance was doing. The reality, the one he knew, dictated that water couldn't move unless a force was exerted first. However, dancing within what the bottle allowed, this substance moved slowly by itself without touching the edges of the bottle.

The other detail, which provoked his most absolute surprise, was that the substance itself was made up of a mixture of different colors. This was by no means the same as mixing oil with water, where the former floated and the latter sank because of its lower density. The reality, the one he thought he knew until today, indicated to him that there was no substance so heterogeneous in its constitution of colors as to exist.

With those two details in mind that defied reality; in consequence, his notion of normality was crushed without logical argument with which to counterattack.

Being immersed in the lethargy of surprise, one more detail caused Saulo's emotions to be eaten inwardly.

"... Those colors are..."

"Yes, they are all the colors that make up the trinity. Each and every one of them."

Ocher, orange, blue, silver, turquoise, light blue, lead, green, linen, gray, red, cyan, brown, lavender, gold.

The boy named them in his mind as he recognized them with his gaze.

The fifteen colors with which an individual was able to be born.

"This is the beginning, the end and the truth of all creation. What originated the 'Principle of Three'."

"What?"

His body temperature decreased, as if it had just been stolen by the surprise itself.

Saulo, being a bearer of halberd, had been born of the color gray. It was the color that identified him and other users who fought with a halberd and used shadow abilities.

Born of the gray, and with the capacity to summon a halberd and use the shadow.

These three characteristics made up his 'trinity' or what was also more formally called the 'Principle of Three'.

Like him, all possessed a trinity, inseparable in its nature.

It was general knowledge that each living being had three characteristics that made up a 'trinity': a color-a weapon-an element.

For example, the former commander named Aaron possessed the lead-sword-smoke trinity, while Saulo possessed the gray-halberd-shadow trinity. The elderly man's trinity remained a mystery because by the time Saulo realized, his weapon was gone.

But Saulo's surprise was in respect with a particular word that the elderly man had said.

I didn't understand that first thing he said about the creation. But did I really hear that? He has said that the Principle of Three was originated by this multicolored substance.

"I'll tell you more when we get away. These group of thieves who are tied may not escape, but they may hear us."

Saulo nodded silently.

"Let us walk, while I tell you our history as a species. A war story that could repeat itself."

"W-wait a moment, please. Does this story you are going to tell me have to do with this multicolored substance? You mentioned that this is the beginning, the end and the truth of all creation. The origin of the Principle of Three."

"That's right."

Absorbed in confirmation, Saulo entered into confusion for what that revelation meant.

"This is the Trivalence."