"A week and a few days have passed.My body doesn't hurt like it used to.My head still doesn't fit.
Time doesn't feel the same here.The words still aren't mine.And every time I walk, I feel like I'm being measured.
Aida tries to teach me the language using gestures and drawings.I nod, repeat, make mistakes.I don't remember the last time I felt this small.
I've been able to walk for a few days now.Since then, the red-haired man watches me.Lyra doesn't watch. She interferes. From the very first day."
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Clouds covered the sky, blocking the sun's rays. Inside the cabin, the smell of wood had already become familiar to the boy. Fares sat on a wooden chair across from Aida while she explained—like to a child—how to speak in the past tense.
The boy was tired, but attentive. He had been studying that language intensely for days now, while Aida laughed softly, finding his frustration amusing and enjoying teaching him at an unhurried pace.
As he wrote and pronounced words in that language using the past tense, the door opened and an energetic voice echoed through the room.
"How's my best frieeend~?" the girl exclaimed as she burst in with boundless energy. Her voice invaded the study time, making Aida turn as Lyra approached elegantly and placed a hand on the young woman's shoulder.
"Oh, hello, Lyra. I'm glad you always come to visit us," Aida said in her usual calm voice, unmistakable.
Fares didn't understand much of what was said. He didn't lift his gaze, but it was obvious his attention was no longer on the paper.
Then she turned her eyes toward him. Not immediately. First she looked at the paper—the crooked letters, the pencil gripped too tightly.
The boy felt his heart skip a beat when he noticed her gaze on him.
Lyra laughed softly and, with a delicate motion, touched his forehead with a finger, making him lean away on instinct.
She pouted slightly.
"Hey—"
But she couldn't keep acting and ended up laughing before looking at him again.
"Hii, Faares~"
The boy took a second too long to react.
"H-hii…"
He made a mistake repeating the word he had just written.
Aida smiled.
Lyra did too.
But for different reasons.
Lyra withdrew her finger with the same gentleness she had used to bring it close, still smiling. She took a step back, turned on her heel, and returned to Aida as if nothing had happened.
"He's making a bit of progress, isn't he?" she asked, looking at the boy, who lowered his gaze back to the paper with a faint blush.
Aida smiled."Yes. He's good at remembering, and he's already recognized several words."
Lyra laughed and looked at the tense boy."Yeah, but he acts like he thinks I'm going to eat him. It's cute~"
Aida let out a short laugh."That's normal. You're unsettling."
Fares didn't understand the words, but he understood the tone. He lowered his shoulders slightly, embarrassed, and corrected his writing more carefully.
Both Aida and Lyra looked toward the door at the same time as Lyra murmured,
"Here we go again…"
The door opened without warning.
The red-haired man entered the cabin without saying a word. His presence changed the air, as if the space itself had narrowed. He didn't look at Fares first. He observed the room—the paper, the pencil, the boy's posture.
Evaluating.
Fares felt the pressure. He didn't even want to lift his head.
Lyra smiled mischievously and spoke up.
"Hey, why so quiet? Aren't you even going to say hi to your little sister?"
The man ignored her voice and advanced, stopping in front of the boy, staring down at him.
His gaze wasn't hostile.It was that of an examiner.
Aida looked at the man and greeted him softly.
"Hello, Sir Thained. It's a pleasure to see you here," she said, bowing.
Thained simply looked at her and said,
"Take him outside."
Aida stood up immediately, obeying without question. She approached Fares and, in a gentle voice, gestured to him.
"Follow me, alright?"
Fares swallowed.He placed his hands on the chair and stood up a bit clumsily. His legs still weren't completely steady, but he didn't hesitate.
Lyra looked him up and down, tilting her head slightly.
"Let's see," she murmured, more to herself than to anyone else, "how strange you really are."
Aida closed her eyes for a moment. Then she took Fares by the forearm and led him outside the cabin.
Lyra and Thained stayed behind.
Lyra smiled softly and asked without hesitation,
"Do you think he's worth it? If not… I'll keep him. He's fun."
Thained looked at her coldly.
"Shut up and go."
Lyra covered her mouth, laughing.
"Yes, sir," she said mockingly, before heading out after them.
Thained couldn't help but form a faint smile, which he hid almost immediately.
Outside, Fares looked at the landscape and realized they were near the top of a mountain. The air felt different—colder, lighter.
Aida seized the moment. She pointed upward and, with clear gestures, taught him how to say "sky," then "cloud," and finally "sun," repeating each word patiently as Thained approached from behind.
Fares absorbed everything attentively, focused on the girl and the sounds he was trying to memorize.
Then it happened.
Lyra exited the cabin and, with a carefree, agile jump, sat on the roof, lightly swinging her legs.
Fares froze in shock.
He looked around and noticed that Aida was completely calm, as if this were the most normal thing in the world.
At that moment, Thained stepped outside. Aida bowed slightly in respect and, without a word, climbed onto the roof as well.
"We've got front-row seats. Amazing, isn't it?" Lyra commented mockingly from above.
Aida let out a soft laugh.
"Yes… it is. I just hope it's worth it."
Thained walked a few steps away, creating distance.
"We're going to fight," he said in a cold, calculated voice.
Fares looked at him without understanding. Then he looked up at the roof. Aida caught his gaze and, with a serious expression, raised a fist to her chest, making the meaning of those words clear.
Fight.
Fares went cold.
Adrenaline surged instantly, mixing with fear and a flood of thoughts.
H-how am I supposed to do this…?
He swallowed.
I've never fought before.
Seeing that he had finally understood, Thained advanced.
He did so with a calm that felt suffocating—a serenity that didn't signal fury, but certainty.
Fares stepped back, his heart pounding. He didn't know what to do.
Then he remembered something.
Scattered images. Classes seen by chance. Stances memorized without ever intending to use them.
Karate.
Instinctively, he placed his feet, bent his legs slightly, and raised his arms, adopting a clumsy but recognizable defensive stance.
Thained stopped for a moment.
Not out of respect.
Out of evaluation.
With blinding speed, Fares took a direct punch to the stomach.
The impact tore all the air from his lungs in an instant. The world collapsed into his chest as his body was driven backward, feet scraping against the dirt.
The pain didn't come immediately.
First came emptiness.
Then nausea.
The boy lifted his head, trying to retreat, but a hook struck his temple directly. His feet left the ground and his body was sent flying, rolling several meters before stopping.
A sharp ringing flooded his ears. His heartbeat thundered inside his head. A metallic taste filled his mouth and his vision blurred, fragmented, as if the world were breaking into layers.
The girls watched from the roof without saying a word.Lyra kept a faint smile, eyes sharp and analytical, tracking every reaction.Aida, on the other hand, remained motionless, her calm tense but unbroken.
Fares could barely think clearly.
Thained stopped. There was no rush, no heavy breathing. He looked down at him seriously, evaluating even in that state.
"Get up," he ordered firmly.
It took Fares a few seconds to regain awareness. The ringing was still there, though more distant. He tried to rise carefully, placing one knee on the ground, then the other.
Damn… I can't win.I'm inexperienced. He… it's like he's teleporting.Facing him again would be like trying to drive a nail in with my fist.
The boy finished standing with difficulty. His legs trembled, but he didn't fall. He took a deep breath, ignoring the sharp pain in his head, and raised both hands to chest height.
Surrender.
Not defiance.Not pride.Just a rational decision.
Thained observed the sign of surrender without any change in expression. He didn't stop. He didn't respond.He simply began to walk forward.
Fares swallowed.
The man's movement wasn't hurried, but every step carried weight, like that of a hunter who has already decided the prey won't escape. There was no anger in him. No urgency. Just certainty.
He's not going to stop.
The boy stepped back instinctively, raising his forearms and tucking his neck.
Not to attack.To protect.
I have to keep him away.Protect what matters most.Fighting won't help me. It'll just get me hurt more.
His hands trembled, but his posture wasn't chaotic. He covered his head, neck, torso. He wasn't trying to win. He was trying to reduce the damage.
From the roof, Lyra tilted her head slightly.Aida pressed her fingers into the wood, silently.
Thained accelerated.
Not to attack immediately.To see what the boy would do when the distance disappeared.
He closed in without a word and threw a straight punch into the guard.
The impact was sharp. Fares's arms went numb instantly and fell uselessly to his sides.
His eyes widened in surprise, but he had no time to react.
Thained followed up, chaining a direct strike to the chin. Fares tried to step back on reflex, but his foot slipped and he fell backward, narrowly avoiding the blow by pure chance.
The air left his lungs when he hit the ground.
From the roof, Lyra couldn't help laughing.
"Oh, for the love of TheLord," she said between laughs. "The great Iron General missing a punch… guess he's not as good as they say."
The mockery hung in the air—light, but sharp.
Thained didn't respond.He didn't even look at her.
His eyes remained fixed on Fares, as if Lyra didn't exist in that moment. There was no anger in his expression, no embarrassment. Only cold, absolute attention—the kind of person who doesn't measure a fight by hits or misses, but by reactions.
Lyra tilted her head, still smiling, but her gaze grew sharper.
Aida, on the roof, held her breath.
On the ground, Fares was barely beginning to move.
He already knew he couldn't do anything against him.
He lay on the ground, his back against the cold earth, his body sluggish and his arms still numb from the impact. Every attempt to move his hands was slow and imprecise, as if they didn't fully belong to him. Standing up normally wasn't an option. Not before the next blow reached him.
Thained didn't advance.
He stood there, watching him.
There was no rush in his stance. No immediate intent to attack. He was simply waiting.
Fares understood.
Not with words, but with his body.
He forced a deep breath, ignoring the ringing in his ears. He turned his torso slightly, planted an elbow on the ground, and dragged one leg back, retreating just a few centimeters. Not to run. He couldn't. Just to create space.
Then he raised a trembling hand, open.
Not in a plea.
In a warning.
Thained inclined his head slightly.
The boy no longer knew what to do.
He waited for the blow.The next one.The one that would knock the air—or consciousness—out of him.
But it didn't come.
Thained stopped.
For a second, Fares thought it was a mistake. Then the man turned around and began walking back toward the cabin with the same calm with which he had started everything, as if the fight were already over.
Fares remained on the ground, confused, breathing heavily, not understanding what had just happened.
Lyra jumped down lightly from the roof and followed after him, stretching as if she had witnessed something trivial.
"What a disappointment," she said with a crooked smile. "I thought he'd at least make you cry."
She leaned slightly toward Fares, looking down at him with that curious gaze that neither judged nor pitied.
"But you're still alive," she added. "That's something."
Aida climbed down more carefully. She approached the boy and knelt beside him, not touching him right away, assessing his condition with the calm look of someone who knows exactly what she can and can't do.
From the doorway, Thained's voice reached them without him turning around.
"He can stay."
It wasn't an order.
It was a verdict