Destiny

However, I think Ezra already has a definite personal opinion.

The days that passed after that incident passed normally, and the Forum withdrew the punishment and gave me an apology for how rude they were to me to the point of leading me to collapse. But deep down I couldn't blame them for anything, I couldn't even explain what was happening to me.

Adrien even came to visit us more often, and informed me about how the reconstruction of the cities was going after the Calamity left several destructions in its wake. It was a slow procedure, but sure, Adrien assured that they would recover sooner than we thought if they continued at this pace.

My days in the Noumenon passed normally, it has never been a job involving much effort other than organization and observation. However, something in me felt that things were no longer the same, and over time being between these walls and the shelves inside the library became suffocating for me. Sometimes when I had the opportunity to return home early I would take my bow and arrows, as well as the map that Adrien made for me on one of his visits, because the previous map was lost with the rest of his cabin.

I spent some afternoons walking through weeds and rocks to try to find a safe path between the lesser-known corners of the island. I was even curious to understand why the zone of civilization had a considerable limitation on the size of the island, although the most logical answer was It would probably be inside the empty volcano that is now known as Labyrinthos. Whose projects and experimentation to create ideal terrain for exotic creatures would be more entertaining work than the complete exploration of the island.

Thanks to Adrien's map, I was able to find an easy way to get back home just by looking at the position of the sun, I just had to get close to the shore next to the rocks and the sea to know where to go. On the way I found some trees and pine trees with holes, when my finger brushed over them, I noticed that they were made by arrows and I smiled to myself thinking that Adrien probably passed by here to leave his mark, I just hoped that the trunk of these didn’t has been damaged a lot.

There were also times where I felt watched, but Adrien warned me in advance that students from the reconnaissance and espionage department might be hanging around the area to practice their skills. So, I decided not to pay much attention while practicing.

I spent several months repeating this routine, but there were times when Aaron and I would return home together and it wasn’t possible for me to practice with him nearby; After all, knowing him, he'd make me listen to a sermon until his tongue hurt from talking so much.

But this day was different...

While I was trying to shoot an arrow, when I shot it, it never touched the trunk of a tree in front of me, because my arrow had been cut in two and was now on the ground. And when I tried to reach out to pick it up, a dagger landed right next to me.

I raised my head carefully and paid close attention to the sound, my ears perked up when I managed to perceive the sound of a person's breathing from above. I stood still, waiting for his next move.

¨Hey, where do you want to go by shooting so many arrows?¨ I heard someone's voice with a tone of sarcasm.

I didn't answer, but I stayed in my place, my eyes scanned the trunks of the trees around me, hoping to find the person who was talking to me, but it seemed like he was using an illusion spell to hide. Which didn't surprise me at all.

¨Hey, I made you a question, aren't you going to answer?¨ He continued insisting, but his tone was rude.

"I don't talk to people who are so cowardly as not to show themselves when they shoot a dagger almost in the face." I responded defiantly, if there was one thing I didn't like, it was being played with like that.

¨Oops, does it bother you little princess?¨ His tone sounded mocking.

I wasn't in the mood to deal with pranksters, much less spoiled children, so I got up from my position and with a quick movement with my bow and arrow I aimed up where I could see a small shadow and shot there. Then I saw how the shadow staggered and jumped somewhere else.

¨Are you trying to kill me?!¨ He shouted now sounding angry.

¨It seemed like that was your intention towards me with that dagger, I'm just giving you the answer back¨ I said sounding annoyed.

The shadow jumped from one branch to another, from one tree to another it moved, it looked like a slippery squirrel at this moment, probably its intention was to confuse me to prevent me from landing the next blow, but I didn’t want to continue this game of point and shoot towards the prize and lowered my bow, trying to show that I didn't want to continue with that. When he noticed this gesture on my part, I heard how he landed on the nearest tree behind me.

¨...How did you know I was there?¨ He said, sounding tired.

“You're not good at staying silent” I told him.

Then I felt his shadow descending towards me and I jumped forward and rolled around to face him; Leaning on one knee, I saw a young Aura, with blue skin and dark scales with glowing orange eyes. He seemed to be only a couple of years older than me.

We looked at each other for a few seconds, until in our awkward silence we finally put an end to this game of hide-and-seek.

¨My name is Maral¨ He said and stood up. "Maral Kahkol"

I also got up, as we were standing face to face, I could see that he is tall, but he still needs to mature a little, because as I have heard, the Aura can measure up to 2 meters in their adult stage, even surpassing the Elezen, but at this moment, he barely surpassed my height, he would probably be close to that; When I was just about to open my mouth to speak and introduce myself, he spoke first.

¨You are the younger sister of Aaron and Adrien Urih; Destiny Urih I have heard a lot about you¨ He said and crossed his arms. ¨However, I didn't expect that after getting into so much trouble when you went to Eorzea without permission, that you would be willing to get into new ones, if any of my classmates ever tell our professors that you are in this area, I can only imagine that you will receive a letter for the next call to the Forum for your behavior.¨

I crossed my arms, actually kind of surprised to he knew even a little bit about me.

¨But something tells me that you are not snitches, there is a reason why you have the espionage department, not only do you learn to be stealthy, which you have failed today, but also to keep secrets very well.¨ I said without seeming affected by his words.

To my surprise, he smiled.

"You're clever, but that doesn't take away my curiosity to see you shoot arrows in such a far corner. The way you hold that bow, it doesn't seem like you're just practicing for fun. What are you trying to do here?" He asked and I noticed how he was looking at my face, scanning my gestures and probably something that would reveal my thoughts more easily.

"I'm just looking to be stronger" I said without giving much thought, but my answer apparently brought more questions to young Aura.

¨But why do you want to do that? I mean from my knowledge, you have a good family, and you don't seem to be in a bad position to need to go into battle, you even have a pretty face, you could even get a husband and never work in your life, not even the possibility of taking another weapon in your hand... Well that would only happen if you were looking to stay on the island of course.¨

In addition to having flaws in his stealth, he talks too much. It says mere theories about a person about their personal life from the present to the future without considering other possibilities, such as the person's will. I sighed to myself, I didn't have to explain my life to a complete stranger and give them reasons to imagine new scenarios.

¨What I do shouldn't worry you, better try to improve your stealth.¨ I said as I turned around to leave.

¨So that means you want to leave the island?¨ He said suddenly and I stopped.

I didn't say a single word, but then I felt him approach me again and try to look at my face again, trying to figure me out again.

"Listen, I have heard a lot about what happened with the fall of Dalamud and the Battle of Cartenau, it was a very dangerous and frightening scenario, one would think that a person would be traumatized to return to the place where they saw such a nightmare" he insisted.

"I have my reasons" I responded without flinching, but inside I was already eager to leave and burning with anger, however I didn't want to show this to him.

He kept his gaze fixed on me, as if waiting for a reaction from me of some kind, and then he changed position and put his arms behind his head. He walks a few meters away from me and then lowers his head to look at me out of the corner of his eye again. Seriously, I didn't understand this guy.

¨If you want to survive out there, you won't achieve it just by shooting arrows... You need to know the basics.¨ His words resonated in my mind, but I didn't want to hear a lecture from him.

“I know some things” I said, trying not to sound smug.

¨Really?¨ He paused and smiled, mocking. ¨Do you know how to collect wood? Turn on a wood fire? Or do you even want to prepare a tent to camp at night?¨

I changed position and faced him, already tired of his teasing.

¨Yes, but preparing a tent for camping no.¨ Then I crossed my arms. ¨But I learned that a viable option to avoid predators is to climb trees. Or preferably high places with good visibility, but you should not be in sight, but in the shadows.¨

Then he nodded his head, ran his tongue over his teeth making a clicking sound and then smiled big.

¨You seem like a decent person, did you have another life before coming to Sharlayan?¨

I didn't want to answer that, instead, I sighed and tried to leave.

“If you are good with your homework, you will have to find out for yourself.” And with that said, I decided to make my way back home.

Of course I had my reasons for leaving the island once again, but I had to prepare for it, I didn't want to shelter in the walls of Gridania again waiting for stronger people to protect me again. I couldn't do anything before during the events of the Calamity... And that feeling hasn't stopped tormenting me since that night...

It had been almost 1 year since those events...

That night, when I was looking at the stars after that unusual dream, I tried to find solace by looking at the sky, like I always used to do; I looked for the constellations, and watch the stars shine in different colors, to observe the brightness of the full moon, and even try to follow the trail of a shooting star that passed over the sky.

But none of that had the answer I was looking for, there were no words in heaven that could explain to me the reason why many people lost the memory of adventurers who were no longer here. Then I tried to focus on the words I could remember from that dream, although they were few, I could understand a couple of things.

I could vaguely remember having helped an adventurer, I didn't remember if they was a man or a woman, I couldn't remember their appearance and I couldn't hear their voice, but if I could remember that them was injured, I help them, and even support them in the work, we exchanged many words, but they talked about heroes and adventures, about stories that they heard and that they wanted to make a difference and to help those who need it...

¨ To make a difference and to help those who need it...¨ I whispered those words as if they were important, they created a strange feeling in my chest, like a kind of mantra that I had to do for myself too.

In my time in the Gridania infirmary, many people asked about these adventurers, and out of curiosity, I ended up hearing that most of these people sought glory or fame about their deeds, searching for treasures by accepting challenges and battles that ordinary people couldn’t do, face danger with courage to protect... Not many adventurers had good intentions, but of the few who tried their best... They no longer had a face or name, and that... Destroyed the hearts of many.

It was then that, under the starry sky and the cold air entering my lungs, I remembered that there was a pleasant warmth in the words of the adventurer I met, although I could no longer remember it, a part of me told me that, they was a good person, and they truly wanted to do the best for others. I remembered the feeling how nice was it to spend time with them, but now...

That person no longer existed in the world...

During those months that I spent practicing using my bow and arrow more intensely, I remembered the words of this adventurer. And then I thought about my life; I had seen myself how cruel and raw the world could be, a hell that can consume you if you face it alone. There are people who simply see a vulnerable being to do whatever they want with them, who do not care about the well-being from others only just the benefit they can obtain, whose selfishness could kill more than one person along the way, to the point to end their life; Just as there are those who see the weak as tools to serve others, oppressing them with fear and binding them with false promises of freedom, those who enjoy seeing the pain of others, because they are pleased to see someone weaker than them...

With each of these thoughts, I shot the arrows with more anger at the trees, reaching the point of feeling my fingers hurt from holding my arrows roughly and I only stopped when I ran out of arrows and looked at my hand with cuts and blood bathed in it...

There were days when I came home with my fingers bandaged, but at no time did Aaron ask me any questions about it. I guess he was waiting for me to explain my injuries. Fortunately, that never affected my work, I was still able to hold the books and record them, so I didn't see the need to take a break for this.

When I returned to practice, I just hoped I wouldn't see again that Aura that interrupted me on the previous occasion, with him in the middle, I was worried about hurting him. But for my misfortune... He was standing there.

I silently walked forward with the intention of walking past him and looking for another place to practice my aim, but then I felt him take my arm.

¨You know the trees aren't to blame, right?¨ He asked and I raised an eyebrow, not understanding his intentions now.

¨Don't you feel any love for nature? Unleashing your anger against their trunks is not going to recover what you have lost.¨ He insisted, but I raised my arm so that he would let me go and move him away, but instead he squeezed my arm a little more.

"Could it be that you did your homework? Or do you just want to bother me again?" I asked in a sarcastic tone.

When I looked into his eyes, what surprised me most was seeing that there was concern in them. And I realized that he was holding me by my arm with my hand injured by so many hours of furious practice to shoot arrows.

¨I didn't do it, but I can easily say that you didn't do this to yourself because of your desire to practice for self-defense or just be stronger... This is anger.¨ He kept his hand firm and didn't let go of my arm, but he wasn't squeezing it anymore.

"That's not your problem, so I'll ask you to please let go of my arm" I said in a warning tone.

Maral paused, trying to gather the words he sought to express.

¨I decided not to investigate your life, so I don't know anything about you, only what my classmates and I have been able to see from afar and hear out there. But I can see in your eyes that you have suffered a lot." He said, for the first time he spoke in a soft tone and there was not a hint of joking.

¨Whatever it was, anger won't fix any of it. And you may lose yourself"

I looked at him in silence, I had no intention of talking about my life with a stranger. After that, he let go of my arm.

¨...Tell me something, was everything in your life bad?¨

He asked and walked a few meters away from me. I turned around to see him, but he only showed me his back.

"Maybe this is just personal opinion but... I think you should try to remember the good things too, after all, there must be a reason why you have a nice smile."

Before I could say a complaint about it, I saw him take a big leap upwards and I could hear him laughing out loud as he jumped from one tree to another. I didn't understand at all what bug had bitten him to say those words.

It was probably him trying to bother me again, which, he run away just to leave me with this feeling of confusion. In the end I decided not to think about it too much, and just take it as a mockery towards me.

I decided to sit in the grass and brush as I look up again, the stars are just making their appearance in the sky, but there is enough illumination for me to understand my surroundings.

I looked at my right hand covered in bandages and sighed at the slight sensation of pain between my fingers full of wounds, it was clearly the reflection of my arduous nights of practice, but I couldn't deny that all that time I was also feeling deeply frustrated by my thoughts about our world. Although I didn’t have a normal childhood, there were situations that made the suffering less...

I ran a hand through my hair, ruffling it as I sighed... And finally I decided that I didn't want to train today, so I let myself fall on my back in the grass and brush, and I saw the sky and the stars, the night was coming and the stars would cover the sky in that vast black sea that has always been out of our reach.

During all that time, I tried again to find the constellations, but I didn't have much luck with all the trees around me, limiting my area of vision of the sky, but that didn't bother me at all. Since the moon was more difficult to hide between the trees, especially if it shone with all its splendor when it was in its full phase.

At some point I ended up taking one of the arrows and started playing with it with my good hand, making it spin around in the air a few times, and then holding it in my hand to play with the feathers and the sharp metal tip; For some strange reason, I felt hypnotized just holding it and playing with it. Before the bow and arrows, my father had taught me to use a small knife, but he only taught me to use it to defend myself against small animals, but if I was unlucky enough to find a large one, I had to hide until he came to find me or wait for the beast to take another path.

But in the end... He was always there to save me.

I sighed sadly at the memory.

Unfortunately, time plays very badly with the mind and you end up forgetting almost all the details of your life, and only the ones that had the most impact remain, I was no exception. I remembered my parents, but the moments of happiness and peaceful days felt very far away for me, and I hardly remembered much about them. Which sometimes gave me a little anxiety about forgetting them.

But I did remember clearly what my uncle did to me... I remembered my sisters when we worked for him. I even remembered clearly how he handed me over to Garlemald soldiers after selling me.

The days I spent as a slave were deeply etched in my mind... The fear, the anger, the pain, the helplessness I felt when I was trampled by them every day. But... She wasn’t like that, Khistis was different... She, despite being Garlean, took good care of me and it was she... Who freed me from that life.

My vision became cloudy as I felt tears emerge in my eyes, a feeling of sadness and relief washed over me like that day. I could never forget that feeling I had when I got out of that bag and in a long time I had left my cell to see the stars, the forest, the wind, the night... They were the greatest and best gift I received in my life.

When I met Adrien, it was the beginning of a new life that I had never thought I would have, I met my brothers and thanks to them, I was able to feel like I belonged somewhere again.

I didn't want to forget any of them; to my parents, my sisters, Khistis, or my brothers... Even... Mr. Leveilleur and the adventurer I met.

My tears didn’t stop falling that night, as I recounted all the good and bad things that happened in my life, each of them showed me a small part of the world in its cruelty, but also showed me its beauty and goodness.

Time passed since then...

With every visit I made at night to continue practicing, the more often I had Maral's company with me, apparently, apart from not doing his homework, he used to sneak out of some of his classes just to annoy me with his new methods of hiding and sharing his ways to “survive”. Although I found his jokes in bad taste, I admit that he was pleasant company over time and we became good friends.

We even trained together several times to continue growing in our fighting style. Thanks to his support, I managed to improve my aim a little more and was able to shoot arrows when a high-speed target appeared in front of me. Just as he would ask me for help to test his hiding skills, with my good hearing and sense of smell, I could easily detect where he was and the challenge was that I wouldn’t find him, which, sadly, he couldn’t achieve. But a part of me wondered if he even had any intention of getting serious about improving his stealth skills.

Also, we had moments of breaks, where he, being very curious and observant, used to listen to many interesting rumors and gossip, but he always asked me for discretion in not sharing them because he would probably be the one who would get into trouble.

My work at the Noumenon was no different than usual, but when Aaron finally decided to ask me what I did with my free time, because he ended up noticing that I wasn't home after my work hours, I ended up telling him the truth about my nocturnal activities during training of using my bow and arrows, but that I did it with a friend from the reconnaissance and espionage department.

His only reaction to this was to run a hand over his face and say that "I was easily following in Adrien's footsteps by making friends with them."

I smiled a little sheepishly, knowing that probably a new worry had been added to Aaron's list. But the surprises would not end there.

We spent 5 days in the makeshift infirmary until Aaron was finally able to have contact with Sharlayan and a friend of his so that he could help us return to the island, during which time the healers checked on me every few hours and helped me receive therapy to to keep my body moving, every time they touched my feet, my whole leg hurt up to my head, but thanks to healing spells and medicine the pain could be tolerated for a few bells.

I wasn’t used to seeing all the wounded around me, some were moved and others remained, there were few who had minor injuries and could leave only with a small prescription for medicines and potions. It was really a bitter thing to see all this, and I really wished I would never touch another nursing in my life once I fully recovered my health.

As dawn fell upon us on the 6th day, we took a carriage with other patients to be transferred to different parts of the three city states, my brothers bought a wheelchair to help me move easily as we made our way to Limsa Lominsa to take the boat to Sharlayan.

While waiting for news, I looked at the sky, there isn’t a single cloud in sight, I could only see the beautiful blue extending as far as the eye could see, but I couldn’t get rid of that strange feeling in my chest, in which I still remembered the red sky and the fragments of Dalamud falling like meteorites over Eorzea, there was something in that sky that... It was familiar and terrifying.

I ducked my head and shook it, trying to get the thought away, but that wasn't all I was worried about; I remember that before I fell unconscious that day, everything turned bright blue like the sky, and I could swear I heard a voice...

I looked up at the sky again, vaguely hoping to hear that voice again, but there was nothing, I could only hear the ocean water and the seagulls flying nearby. But not the voice I heard that day.

When we returned home to Sharyalan, Aaron received a letter from the Forum requesting his presence, I assumed it was for disobeying the city rules and leaving the island without consent. Adrien and I tried to support our brother as best we could when we waited for him outside the gates. Then we watched as he came out and approached us, sighing in relief, as if all that time he had been holding something in his chest that he had finally been able to let go.

That night Adrien offered to cook, but Aaron kept insisting that he continue to rest due to his injuries, the two argued in the kitchen for a while until finally they both decided to cook together and Adrien would only assist him with things that didn’t require much effort, but from his perspective, his brother was exaggerating a bit about his health condition.

When we were both finally able to recover, Adrien returned to Gridania to continue working as a soldier; He promised to send letters more regularly as well as more visits, he only asked us not to be impatient, because Eorzea had suffered a lot of damage from the Calamity.

Instead, the Forum called me as soon as I could stand on my own feet, also with the same intention of scolding me for having abandoned my job and the island without prior notice when permission to travel directly to Eorzea wasn’t being given to the Citizens, my punishment for my recklessness was to work overtime to make up for the days I missed and during that time they also lowered my salary. This, according to them, would be enough punishment to make me reflect on my actions of getting involved in other people's affairs. They promised to restore my normal salary once my period of attending overtime ended.

They left me no choice but to reluctantly accept this. But if I thought twice, that was a better option than being forced to leave the island. During that time, I spent long hours working in the library, recording, reviewing content, and reorganizing scroll information. There were days when I had to stay inside to sleep while I continued working, and only went out to rest for a few hours and take showers. On some nights, Aaron came alone to give me dinner for the day and lent me some blankets so I wouldn't get cold.

One early morning when I returned from buying a coffee at The Last Stand, I heard the murmur of some students in the hallways between the shelves of books.

¨ Have you heard about that rumor is true?¨ The voice of a young boy sounded.

¨Which one? You know there are many rumors flying around on the island, be more specific.¨ This time it was the voice of a girl with a high pitch.

¨Do you remember that one of the most recognized archons of Sharlayan, Louisoix Leveilleur, left the island to help the land of Eorzea? ¨

Hearing Mr. Leveilleur's name made my ears perk up and listen more closely to what was happening.

"Ah yes, I heard that he was involved during the appearance of the primals and in the events of the Calamity." The voice of another young man was heard, but with a critical tone.

¨Well you see... The archon Louisoix Leveilleur... Died during the Calamity ¨ The youngest boy finally said and the others around him were heard gasping in disbelief at the news.

I felt a sudden leap in my heart at the news, when I was in Gridania I briefly met Mr. Leveilleur, but he was very kind to me and gave me advice when I wanted to get closer to my brother. I couldn't believe that he...

¨I-It must be a mistake! Stop joking like that Neoport!¨ The girl responded, her voice sounded trembling, I couldn't distinguish if she was afraid or if she was doing her best to deny that the news was true.

“I'm not joking Trisha!” Neoport sounded nervous too. ¨I heard that Elder Seedseer found the archon's broken staff after the Battle of Carteneau!¨

¨Do you mean the Tupsimati?!¨ Said the other man.

“The same one.” Neoport continued and talked about the details about the magic staff, but by that time, I had already moved away from them and took a seat in my work corner where I had left the most recent book record.

I sighed to myself... And suddenly I felt more tired than I had been in days. I couldn't believe that Mr. Leveilleur died that day... Although the only thing I knew about him was what everyone else did, I felt bad thinking that, in his last moments of life, he was far from his loved ones... For a cause he believed in with his heart.

How could his family take the news?...

I shook my head and looked at the paper with the record again... But I only looked at the paper for a few seconds until my head clicked on a detail.

It is assumed that the adventurers who were so close to the Calamity in the Battle of Carteneau could no longer be remembered due to their presence at the event, the leaders and certain people stayed away... But it took them a while to find the staff and survivors...

I ran my fingers to grab the bridge of my nose, scolding myself for thinking about such a possibility when I didn't even have enough evidence, I couldn't even understand what were the factors that made some people disappear from others' memories... But if that were the case... Then why haven't we forgotten the existence of Mr. Leveilleur?

I tried again to force myself to remember the adventurer I met in my short period in Gridania, I had been trying to remember them for days, but nothing came to my mind, it was as if I saw a white spot in my memories and I couldn't even see their body or hear their voice. I remembered some words, but it didn't seem like they were mine, but like someone else's, like they had been that adventurer's...

The more I thought about it made me feel dizzy, when I looked up, I started to see how everything was spinning around me, and the next thing I remembered was that everything went black.

When I opened my eyes, I was in a place I had seen before, Bentbranch Meadows, I was sitting and in front of me there was a light, as if someone should be there, suddenly, I saw words floating in the air coming out of that light, but these evaporated so quickly that I could barely read some parts.

¨...great stories, of heroes who fought to protect the world from great threats... great villains... living great adventures, exploring new lands and facing new challenges... helping those in need, extending a helping hand or words of comfort...¨

I stretched out my hand to try to reach the words, but they escaped from my hands, and then more words appeared, again and again more appeared. I tried to move and reach the light that was in front of me, but for some strange reason, my feet seemed to have anchored to the ground, I wasn’t able to move and I could only watch as the words of that light evaporated into the air.

¨... different stories... and... if there were people like them, the world could be a better place... share kindness... strength... protect what we hold dear...¨

I felt the anxiety to reach those words, I was sure that they were important, and I felt helpless that I couldn’t reach them... While that light spoke, more words were missing and less coherence they had.

¨... pain... helplessness... contempt... abandon... hope... they supported each other¨

Please... Don't let me forget you...

¨ ... just stories... don't give up... better day.¨ ¨

I felt my tears overflowing, desperate to reach them, my body moving away and their light fading into the air until nothing remained. But when everything around me began to turn dark, a single phrase of words manifested in front of me, full of light...

“I want to make a difference and I want to help those who need it.”

I woke up abruptly with a cry of surprise, with cold sweat on my forehead and on my bed at home. Which seemed really unusual to me, because... The last thing I remembered was being in the Noumenon when I was listening to the conversation of those students...

I touched the sheets that covered me between my hands, feeling the texture of the fabric between my fingers made me understand that I wasn’t dreaming; I looked up at the glass ceiling of my room to determine what time it was, by the position of the sun... It was already more than noon.

I ran out of bed and washed my face, readjusted my clothes and brushed my hair. When I went down the stairs to leave, I saw how the door opened earlier and Aaron entered, with a surprised expression when he saw me standing and adjusting my coat.

¨I have to go Aaron, if I go right now I'll probably be able to complete my day and I'll take more overtime...¨

“Calm down Destiny, they gave you the day off” Aaron said, raising his hand to stop me when I tried to walk past him.

I blinked a couple of times, unable to understand how that was possible, especially since my punishment given by the Forum required that I be responsible with my work attendance and punctual, only then would they consider that I had fulfilled my punishment.

¨How?... ¨ I asked trying to formulate words.

Aaron sighed and when he closed the door I noticed that he was carrying a paper bag in his arms and my nose could detect a delicious aroma coming from the bag.

"You fainted at work" Aaron said and walked towards the stairs further down, he shook his head in my direction, making me understand that he was asking me to follow him.

¨Some students found you unconscious on the floor and called a healer. They called me shortly after they found you and the healer told me that fatigue and high levels of stress were probably the reason you collapsed.¨

Aaron and I arrived at the kitchen and dining room of the house, he opened a chair and asked me to sit down. When I approached the table, my brother sat in front of me and began to open the paper bag; taking out two metal containers and freshly baked bread wrapped in paper.

I finally took my seat when my nose detected what was inside the metal containers, my ears fluttered happily on my head, waiting impatiently.

Aaron realized this and got up to pick up some plates to serve the contents on them. Once he opened the metal container, that was when I realized that my nose correctly detected the food. Chicken and mushrooms, one of my favorite dishes.

“I took the liberty of going to Last Stand to order this for both of us, and I brought a set of extra vegetables to accompany the dish” Aaron said as he brought the plate towards me with cutlery and more vegetables included.

Even though I have little affection for vegetables, I considered my situation twice before saying anything, I really needed to eat something better, especially since I had passed out while working.

¨When you finish you will eat some fruit and rest, tomorrow you will be able to work again.¨ Aaron said as he unwrapped the freshly baked bread from the paper, the smell of the bread made me feel like my mouth was drooling; In addition to the fish, meat and sweets, I really loved smelling the freshly baked bread.

¨Have I told you how much I love you brother?¨ I said to Aaron smiling when I took some bread for myself.

"Don't let Adrien listen to you or his heart will break." Aaron said in a serious tone, but I could make out a small smile on his lips when he bit into the bread.

For a few minutes we were eating in silence, but then I remembered that Aaron probably did have to go back to work, and I looked up slightly at a clock we have near the kitchen, where I could see that he has just under 10 minutes left until his break time ends.

"Brother" I said trying to get his attention.

He just made a sound, letting me know that he was paying attention to me.

¨Why did they give me the day off? I mean, they could have just given me medicine so I could continue working¨. I was really confused, after all the rules of the Forum are so strict that I really doubt they wanted to give me special treatment at this point.

"Because I insisted" Aaron responded.

My eyes widened when I heard this.

¨When you were temporarily transferred to an infirmary, a member of the Forum introduced himself.¨ Aaron putdown his plate and got up to wash his hands."It wasn't a pleasant conversation, but to sum it up, I reflected my displeasure at the punishment they gave you considering that little time had passed since you recovered from your injuries."

Aaron turned off the water but stood there with his back to me.

¨They were inconsiderate and that bothered me a lot...¨

At this moment I didn't know what to think, for years Aaron had always followed the orders of the members of the Forum without question, much less raising his voice at one of them, because he has always been a man who stuck to the rules. But at this moment, when he turned his back on me and told me all this... He had fought a lot for me, but this would also cause him problems; How did he feel about it? I couldn't say it as he turned his back to me and his tone of voice sounded as firm as ever.

¨Although the healer pointed out that you needed to rest for 3 days, the Forum only allowed you to rest for today, so, as a measure for you to continue working, they decided to prescribe certain medications and a note of recommendation for you to eat Archon Loaf¨​

I grimaced at the mention of the Archon Loaf and Aaron turned to look at me just in time for me to make this gesture.

¨Don't make that face, Archon Loaf has good nutrients that can help you at this time, you will recover faster this way¨ He insisted.

"The reason I didn't want to enter the Studium was because of that, brother" I pointed out in a disgusted tone.

¨I know and I made it clear that I will not ask you to enter the Studium if you don't want to, but you must eat the Archon Loaf so that you can recover, not to mention that it is an order from both the healer and the Forum so that you can continue attending your work schedule.¨

I sighed heavily in disgust, but gave in to the idea that I had already caused too much trouble in so few weeks, so I resigned myself to having to endure eating those slices of cardboard-flavored bread as my punishment ended.

“I have to go, I have to get back to work” Aaron said as he left the kitchen and approached the table.

"You better be in bed sound asleep when I come back." Aaron caressed my head, even if he spoke to me in a firm and rough tone, I knew that he was not doing it out of malice, but that this was his way of worrying about me.

“Understood boss” I said, trying not to sound rude or sarcastic. But Aaron just looked at me out of the corner of his eye as he went up the stairs and I heard him start to take some things from his room before leaving through the front door of the house.

After cleaning and eating some fruit for myself, I decided to go to bed, but I couldn't sleep. Especially since I had already spent several nights working overtime without being able to sleep at my usual time. I ran a few fingers along the bridge of my nose, my tail wagging agitatedly under the covers, reflecting my uneasiness and discomfort. Even looking at the glass ceiling to see the sky didn't calm me down.

I kept thinking about that dream I had when I passed out... And about the missing people. I even questioned if the Forum had any explanation for this event but I couldn't think of anything about it, not even they were present at the event, but at least if they should have reports about the events of that day. Also... They should consider the factors in case there was any anomaly for those who disappeared...

I moved out of bed again and again, restless before new possibilities... When night fell, I had already given up analyzing this problem, because in the end, I don’t have evidence or more information about the case, the only thing I could do was let the real investigators see for it. But I couldn't just leave it aside... Not when I forgot someone.

I got out of bed, already tired of playing with the sheets, I took the ladder near my bed and placed it on the wall, carefully I began to climb to open one of the windows of the crystalline ceiling and rest my arms on the stone right to one side of the glass to get out, however, touching the cold stone with my feet gave me a terrible chill throughout my body and I felt the pain return for a few seconds. Fortunately for me, I managed to maintain my balance and walk on the cold stone of the roof of the house.

I took a seat in a comfortable place on top of the semicircular building, and looked at the stars and the moon, although I was already used to the cold nights of Sharlayan, the stone on the surface made the cold more intense. But still, I didn't want to move from my place.

Unlike my room, which only allows me to see a fragment of the sky, going out here allowed me to have a complete view, perhaps... I hoped that the sky would have the answer I was looking for, but I only found the constellations and stars shining with different colors in the distance.

Seeing the sky like that reminded me a little of the dream I had before waking up in the infirmary during my time in Gridania, there was light and darkness, stars and voices... I had never experienced anything like that before, and I didn't understand who those were from. voices.

But... I couldn't forget the words I heard in these dreams...