After a day in the Hall of Heracles, things began to shift in Ryu's life. Ryu sensed it more than anyone, the change, the weight in the air, yet fear never touched him, nor did regret.
But it wasn't the same for Takumi. Fear had taken root deep within him, shaking his soul despite Atlas's calm assurance. He couldn't help but believe that something darker was being planned, something personal. And this time, it wouldn't just be bullying. It would be revenge.
Takumi and Ryu sat in Ryu's room.
Takumi kept voicing all his worries, his words tumbling out one after another, but Ryu barely listened. He was too busy spinning the wheels of his skateboard, lost in thought.
Then came a soft creak, the door slowly opening.
The sound pulled Ryu's attention back to the present.
It was his mother, Srishti.
Takumi instantly fell silent and forced a smile.
Ryu set his skateboard aside and stepped toward the door, concern flickering across his face since his mother was home far too early.
"Mom, are you okay?" Ryu asked, his voice carrying a trace of fear.
She looked at him, then noticed Takumi awkwardly peeking from behind her son.
"Evening, Mom," Takumi greeted, trying to sound casual.
Though she wasn't his real mother, Srishti had always treated Takumi like her own, and he, in turn, loved her just as much.
Her voice trembled as she spoke, devastated.
"When did my son start behaving like a goon?"
Ryu's body stiffened; Takumi froze completely.
"God have mercy on me," Takumi whispered under his breath.
Srishti turned to him next, tears in her eyes.
"I trusted you, Takumi. I thought at least you would stop him. Do you kids realize what a grave mistake you've made? Do you think their fathers will just sit quietly after you humiliated and beat up their sons in public?"
Ryu stepped forward quickly.
"But Mom, it was training! Sir Atlas asked me to."
Her gaze cut through his words, sharp and pained.
"Then explain that to their parents. Do you have any idea how I found out? The whole Inferno knows the shame you've brought upon them. Even if you didn't think of yourself, Ryu, you should have thought about me. I work day and night alone, hoping to give you the best I can."
Tears streamed down her face.
Ryu's heart grew unbearably heavy, and Takumi's hands began to tremble.
Without a word, both boys rushed toward her and embraced her.
Ryu spoke softly.
"Sir Atlas has sorted it out, Mom. He promised everything is alright."
Srishti took a step back. Her eyes turned red, not from crying, but from rage.
"Atlas..." she hissed. "That name disgusts me. He is nothing but a poisonous snake. The horrible acts he has committed..." Her voice broke for a moment. "Never dare to speak his name before me."
She turned away and walked toward her room.
Before slamming the door shut, she looked back at them one last time.
"You both must learn to keep your distance from him."
Both boys looked at each other, then quietly walked toward the table their mother had left behind.
A small smile crept onto their faces. It was food from the restaurant where Srishti worked.
Even though there wasn't much, they shared it between themselves and made sure to leave some for her too.
As the evening deepened, Takumi rose to leave. He walked to Srishti's room and spoke softly through the door.
"Mom, I'm leaving now. Please take care."
He stepped out of the house, and Ryu followed him, walking together down the dimly lit street.
Soon they reached near the house of Mr. and Mrs. Kazumi.
Takumi waved at them with a cheerful smile, but the couple's eyes met only Ryu's, their smiles warm and polite.
Takumi's smile faded.
"Looks like I'm invisible to their eyes," he muttered.
Ryu chuckled, nudging him lightly.
But as they turned onto the main street, the laughter died.
A crowd had gathered ahead, whispers filling the air, heavy and uneasy.
People looked shaken. Ryu and Takumi slowed their pace, listening.
"Did you hear?" someone whispered. "There was another attack near the Blackwood Forest. Three guards at the local post were the victims this time."
Another man added in a grim voice.
"Even the Watchers who came to investigate didn't step inside. After all, it's the forest of the damned, where the souls of those who died during the formation of the Triads still wander."
A girl among them scoffed, trying to sound brave.
"Maybe those are just stories made to scare us. Who knows, maybe there's a Triad lab hidden there. Think about it, those loud, menacing humming sounds... I don't think ghosts make those."
Ryu glanced at Takumi and said quietly.
"I don't know what kind of pathetic souls still choose to remain on this hellish land. Maybe hell itself would be a lot nicer compared to Earth now."
He let out a dry laugh.
"Maybe it's easier to believe the lab theory."
But Takumi didn't share his amusement.
"My uncle once told me what he saw near Blackwood," Takumi began, his voice low. "A gigantic figure, nearly seven feet tall, wrapped in strange, tattered cloth. Its eyes glowed red in the dark. That night, hundreds died there, soldiers mostly. Even the elite units didn't make it out alive. After all these years, it's still there. I'm sure it's not the government."
Ryu's laughter faded. His expression hardened, eyes fixed on the ground as if seeing something distant. Even his mother had warned him about that place, Blackwood Forest, lying at the farthest edge of the Valley of Inferno, a desolate region at the nation's border.
It wasn't named for any blackwood trees.
It was named for the darkness that lived there.
Takumi took a step back.
"Anyway, see you tomorrow."
He turned and walked away. The chatter of the city faded into the distance. Above him, the long train tracks stretched across the sky, and the sun was almost taking its leave.
Ryu turned and started to run home. But suddenly, he stopped.
His thoughts drifted toward Blackwood. The attack. The dead guards. The strange humming sounds. The stories of the forest and the gigantic figure Takumi's uncle had seen. Even the possibility of a hidden Triad laboratory. Too many things had been mentioned in a single night for him to simply forget about it.
He looked toward the south of Inferno, where the forest lay beyond the edge of the Valley.
He knew he should go home. His mother was waiting for him, and she had already warned him to stay away from Atlas and anything connected to the people in power. Blackwood was exactly the kind of place she would never want him to visit.
But that only made him more curious.
If there really was a Triad facility hidden inside the forest, why were the Watchers afraid to enter? Why had so many soldiers died there? And who was the gigantic figure Takumi's uncle had seen?
Ryu clenched his fists.
He had spent his entire life being told what he could and could not do. Where he could go. What he could become. Even his own curiosity had always been something he was expected to suppress.
For once, he wanted an answer.
"I'll just take a look," he whispered to himself. "Then I'll come back."
He turned away from the road leading home and started toward Blackwood.
The farther he went, the quieter the streets became. The lights of Inferno slowly disappeared behind him, replaced by cracked roads and stretches of empty land. The journey would take nearly an hour, but Ryu kept moving.
Whatever waited inside that forest, he needed to see it with his own eyes.
A little farther ahead, near a white oak tree, he saw a woman in a dark veil. Her eyes were swollen with tears as she cried out, "Where are you, my boy? I can't bear to suffer this anymore. I'm sorry."
For a moment, Ryu thought of his own mother. He stepped closer. There was something unusual about the woman. She was tall, and her eyes shone like bright stars. A strange emotion stirred inside him, something untouched and unfamiliar. His body trembled. He looked down at his arm as if to steady himself.
As he approached her, words slipped from his mouth before he could stop them.
"Mother."
He froze. He hadn't meant to say it. The woman turned toward him.
"What happened to you, Mother? Why are you crying?" he asked, his voice shaking.
He realized then that maybe he had called her that because of the pain he saw in her eyes, pain that reminded him of his own mother earlier that day.
She reached out and held both of his arms. Her touch was cold yet strangely comforting.
"Will you help me find my son?" she asked softly.
Ryu noticed something odd. There was no Pulse band on her wrist.
"How did he look? What happened to him?" he asked gently.
She wiped her tears and said, "My son... I lost him a long time ago. I've been looking for him all over the world. But you can help me find him."
Ryu's expression shifted, though he tried not to show it. He thought perhaps her grief had driven her mad.
"Do you have an image of him with you?" he asked.
She shook her head.
"No. But he is unlike any other. You will know him if you ever come across him."
She cupped Ryu's face in her hands. The cold of her touch was overshadowed by a sudden, ancient warmth that seemed to settle in his chest, a love familiar from the edges of his deepest dreams.
"You should leave now," she whispered. "It's getting late."
Ryu hesitated.
"What is your name?"
The woman smiled faintly.
"My name... my name is Ashra."
"Ashra..." Ryu whispered softly. "And your son's name?"
She looked at him with her shining eyes and said, "AEON."
"AEON," Ryu repeated. "I've never come across such a name." He hesitated, then added, "But I promise I'll look around for him."
He glanced at her again.
"Do you have a home? You shouldn't stay here so late."
Ashra's gaze drifted toward the forest.
"My home lies with my son," she said gently.
Ryu smiled faintly.
"If your house is far, you can stay with me and my mother tonight."
She shook her head slowly.
"Don't worry about me now, Ryu. Go home. I know you will find my son."
Ryu turned and began to run. After a few steps, he froze. Something struck him: she had called him by his name.
He looked back. The woman stood under the white oak tree, her veil swaying in the wind. Beside her was a sika deer, its antlers glowing faintly in the dusk.
Ryu blinked, and in that single heartbeat, she was gone.
His eyes widened, fear flooding through him. He turned and ran, faster than before, the echo of her words and that haunting image burning in his mind.
He didn't stop until he reached home. His breath came in ragged gasps as he stumbled through the door. The lights were dim, the house quiet. His mother was still in her room.
Ryu walked down the narrow hallway and knocked softly on her door.
It opened after a moment, and his mother looked at him, her eyes filled with concern.
"Ryu? What's wrong?" she asked.
Without saying a word, he stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. She could feel the tremor in his body.
"Can I sleep with you tonight, Mom?" he asked quietly.
She smiled gently, brushing his hair back.
"Of course, you can."
He lay beside her, his head resting on her shoulder. Her warmth slowly eased the fear that still lingered in his chest. Yet even as his eyes grew heavy, the name echoed in his mind, Ashra, and the memory of that glowing deer beneath the white oak refused to fade.