The horse-drawn carriage bumped along the dirt road. I sat across from Lia, feeling out of place in my dirty clothes while she looked every bit the noble lady.
Through the window, I saw wide green fields stretching far into the distance. The grass swayed in the wind, dotted with yellow flowers. Far ahead, a huge white mansion stood against the blue sky, its many windows shining in the sunlight.
The guard driving the carriage turned to look at me. He had short yellow hair and sharp blue eyes. "Who's this, my lady?" he asked in a rough voice.
Lia gave him a serious look. "Ryota, this is Tsuki. He's my guest. Be respectful."
Ryota frowned but stayed quiet. He looked strong - his arms were muscular under his uniform, and he sat very straight. I glanced down at my own dirty hands and torn clothes, suddenly feeling out of place.
The guard snorted but didn't say more.
As we got closer to the mansion, I saw its tall iron gates slowly opening to let us in. Part of me wondered if I really belonged in such a fancy place.
The carriage rolled through tall iron gates, revealing a sweeping courtyard with a grand fountain at the center. Water sparkled from the fountain, catching the sunlight like scattered diamonds.
The mansion itself stood proud and pale behind the fountain, its walls made of smooth white stone. Tall windows lined the front, their glass was so clean it seemed to swallow the sky. A wide staircase led up to heavy wooden doors carved.
To the left, a garden bursting with color—rows of red roses, purple lavender, and small white flowers whose name I didn't know. The air smelled sweet, like honey and rain.
To the right, neat gravel paths wound between carefully trimmed bushes shaped like birds mid-flight. A few stone benches sat in shady spots, perfect for resting.
It was beautiful, but cold. Every blade of grass, every rose petal looked perfect—too perfect, like a painting rather than a real place someone could live.
Lia stepped down first out of the carriage and holding out her hand and said "This is the estate, come let's walk around."
We walked along the smooth pathway and the big wooden door to the main hall opened by itself.
It has a couch, a table made out of glass mater. Its floor is made out of porcelain materials. There are 2 stairs bending to the second floor.
"So before we talk about something else, how about you take a bath on the second floor let Ryota guide you."
I was taken to the second floor with Ryota.
"So this is the bathroom, for your clothes, pants and your boots you can put it outside, Yumi will give you new clean clothes."
After taking a bath, the boy changed to new clothes and flippers.
"Wow, I've never worn clothes this comfy before" he muttered to himself.
Ryota: "Tsuki, mademoiselle Lia and master Waganaki await your arrival in the main hall. There are something to talk about."
The boy came down the stairs and is greeted by master Waganaki himself, the owner of the mansion and the father of Lia.
Waganaki: "So you are the boy named Tsuki right."
A hawk nose man, with white quiff of hair and its walking stick clicking like a clock counting down my welcome.
"Yes," replied the boy.
Waganaki: "I've heard about you saving my daughter's purse from being snatched. Thanks to that, it has valuable memories of my late wifes."
Tsuki shifted uncomfortably "Yeah no need to worry, I just did what anyone would do."
Waganaki: "Come here and sit down with us, we wanted to test something about your magic."
Tsuki: "Why all of sudden?"
Waganaki: "There is a type of magic that is forbidden in this world and its user must be one of the evil goddess subordinates. So here touch this orb"
Tsuki pressed his palm against the orb. Seconds passed, nothing happened.
Waganaki's frown deepened. He knocked the stone twice with his knuckle—it immediately glowed blue under his touch. "Fascinating. Not even a faint spark."
Lia tilted her head "Could the stone be faulty?"
"Unlikely," Waganaki said, though his eyes lingered on Tsuki's lean frame.
"Alright boy, I have nothing more to do with you. You can explore the mansion with Ryota guidance. Ryota accompany Tsuki around the mansion."
Ryota: "As you wish sir."
The boy and the guard exit the main hall.
"That boy is not ordinary. There are people back then that i know doesn't have any magic or mana" said Waganaki.
Tsuki: "Phewwww, that was very exhausting. This mansion is so big.
Is this my room? It's so big."
Ryota: "Yes it is. You may live here and use our facility for a few days."
Tsuki: "Why is there an extra room here? Are you guys inviting people to live here often?"
Ryota: "Well, sometimes we had an important topic to discuss with our guest, but you are lucky to be invited by Miss Lia herself even though we had no important topic or any information from you. That's it for today you can sleep, tomorrow I will teach you sword fighting."
Tsuki: "Huh? What for?"
Ryota: "This is an order from my master. So don't ask me. Now go to sleep, it's already late."
Then Ryota came out of the room.
"That guy acts really cold huh"
Knock, knock
"What do you want again?"
The door opens and it's Lia who knocked on the door.
Tsuki: "Oh hello, are there any problems?"
Lia: "No, I just wanted to know how you are doing. So, how was your relationship with Ryota?"
Tsuki: "Nah, that old man is cold to me and seems like he doesn't like me because he always gives me a sour expression."
Lia sit next to Tsuki. "Old man? Well, Ryota is actually in his forties, so you're not wrong."
Tsuki blinked. "Wait really? He was older than I thought. If he was old, why was he still holding a sword"
She chuckled. "He's been our family guard since before I was born, he vow to protect this family at all cost so he is willing to do anything for the greater future. Acts tough, but he's the one who sneaks cookies to the kitchen kids when no one's looking."
Tsuki: "Then why's he so cold to me?"
Lia's smile faded a little. "After my mother died ten years ago, he became... extra protective." She quickly changed the subject. "So, how's the room?"
"It's huge," Tsuki admitted, looking around. "Back in the slums, I sleep in a space where the breeze passes by, so it was a common thing to catch a cold."
Lia walked over to the window. "What was your life like before today?"
Tsuki shrugged. "Not interesting. No family. Just... surviving."
Suddenly, Lia pulled a wrapped honey cake from her pocket. "Here. I thought you might be hungry."
Tsuki's eyes widened. "You stole from your own kitchen?"
"Borrowed," she corrected with a grin. "You'll need energy tomorrow. Ryota may be old, but his training is brutal."
As Tsuki ate, Lia added, "Don't worry about Father's questions earlier. He suspects everyone."
"That's comforting," Tsuki said with his mouth full.
Lia laughed. "Get some sleep. And don't wander - this house is bigger than it looks." She closed the door softly behind her.
I slept and waited for tomorrow and morning sun.
"Wake… up"
The sound whispered into my ear once again.
A tall black figure awaits me in the corner of my room. Talking and its words mixed with strange sounds. My body was locked in bed, my breath became fast and shallow. A black figure is coming near me..
"Pzzzt... They... kssshhh...watch….pzzzt…"
That voice—the same one that woke him every morning—had never been like this before. For the first time it came with a shadowy figure.
The tall black figure coming towards me,
Slow. Deliberate.
Coming closer.
The black figure is getting closer, sweat is all over my body. Cold into my skin and its pore.
"Blood…. Lies…"
I screamed in fear, trembled in fear.
GASP
Tsuki woke drenched in sweat and gasp, finger clawing the sheets. Heart pounding fastly.
"Are you okay Tsuki, you are so sweaty. Do you have a bad dream? You are startled just now." Lia asked while she was at the door.
"I'm okay"
Tsuki didn't tell her about the shadow that he just encountered.
Tsumi sat in silence, the taste of fear still bitter in his mouth. The memory of that lingered—tall, cloaked in dark mist, eyes like dying stars. And the voice
"They watch"
But who?
"Tsuki? Are you really okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine. I just had a bad dream."
"So, are you ready for your training?"
Then Tsuki and Lia came down the stairs going to the yard.
Tsuki tried to forget everything he just saw by diverting his mind.
The sun was just rising, painting the sky with soft orange light. Tsuki stood barefoot on the stone ground, wooden sword in hand. Ryota stood in front of him, calm and serious, holding his own wooden blade.
"Again," Ryota said.
Tsuki rushed forward with a swing. Ryota dodged easily and tapped the back of Tsuki's leg with his sword.
Tsuki lost balance and fell hard onto the ground.
"You're too open," Ryota said coldly. "You left your leg exposed. A real enemy wouldn't show mercy."
Tsuki pushed himself up, dust clinging to his hands.
"Again."
Tsuki swung from the left this time. Ryota blocked it, stepped aside, and hit Tsuki's right shoulder with the wooden sword.
"Wrong footwork. You leaned too far forward. Keep your center balanced."
Tsuki gritted his teeth. His arms ached, legs shaky. But he stood again.
"You hold it like a stick, not a sword," Ryota said. "Tighten your grip. Keep your arms close."
Again and again, Ryota struck—not to injure, but to punish every mistake. A hit to the side when Tsuki left it open. A strike to the wrist when his grip was loose. A sweep to the leg when his stance was weak.
"Do you even want to learn?" Ryota snapped when Tsuki hit the ground again.
"I do…" Tsuki breathed hard. "Just… never done this before."
"Is this how you teach everyone?" he muttered.
Ryota didn't respond. He circled him like a hawk. "If you can't fight with this, you'll die even faster against someone with magic."
Tsuki tried again. This time, he blocked Ryota's swing better.
"Still bad," Ryota said flatly. "But not useless."
By the time the sun reached the top of the sky, Tsuki was on the ground, panting. His arms felt like lead.
Ryota tossed a towel at him.
"Rest. Tomorrow we start real practice."
[After the Training]
Ryota knelt before his lord, head bowed
"So how was the training?" asked Waganaki to Ryota inside the office.
"As expected, he might have a heavenly physique. A body forged for battle."
Waganaki: "So, there are chances that he is one of that clan. Keep watching him and report to me if there is something new."
~
Tsuki sat in the stone benches and drinking a bottle of water.
"Phew… My arms are sore" Tsuki bragged.
Lia: "So how was the training?" She brought a cheesecake from the kitchen.
Tsuki: "That old man shows no mercy, my bones will be broken if I don't dodge his last attack."
Lia smirks. "Yeah, he was once a trainer and every appretiance treated cold by him. He was very disciplined and principled."
She changed the topic.
"Have you heard about the fallen god?"
"Why should I care about that? I probably wouldn't be interested in such stories, I'm just thinking about myself, that's all."
"
Well it's not just a story, thousand years ago. There were fallen gods. They all had a type of black magic, a forbidden magic.
There was:
God of Illusions – A god that makes you see or feel things that aren't real.
God of Bloodlust – The manifestation of the instinct to kill, the frenzy of battle. People do not worship him. They feed him, whether they know it or not.
God of the Future – A god that forsee the future and choose what will happen.
God of Despair – A god whose power chained people's mind, feeling that there are no hope.
God of Stagnation – A god that controls the time of the present.
God of Knowledge – A god whose knowledge exceeds everything even the limit of nature itself.
"
"That has nothing to do with me though." Bragged Tsuki.
"Well, just telling a story that almost everyone in this town knows. It might be helpful at some point."
At night, Tsuki in the hallway met Ryota who was passing by him.
Ryota: "I would like to convey a message from Lord Waganaki, Lord said that you can stay in this place whenever you want."
Tsuki: "Are you serious?"
Ryota: "Because of your kindness, bringing back our most valuable asset, you are allowed to stay in this place. Consider this as a gift from Lord Waganaki."
"I know that Lia's bag is a very valuable asset for her and her family. But, is it really worth that much so I could stay in this place?" A thought that struck Tsuki's mind.
With hesitation, Tsuki accepted that kind offer from lord Waganaki.
~
"Prey…"
The voice that clawed into his consciousness and haunting him came again.