Anazitis stepped into the dimly lit hotel, his mind weighed down by everything he had just learned. As he turned to thank the old man who had helped him reaching to the hotel to meet his friends, a gust of wind brushed past him—and just like that, the old man was gone,Vanished in the wind.
Anazitis froze. The hallway was empty. No footsteps. No fading presence. It was as if the man had never existed.
Who was he? did i see him somewhere?
Brushing off the eerie thought, Anazitis entered the room and shut the door behind him. He let out a tired breath, rubbing his temples.
"This is more complicated than I expected," he muttered.
The door creaked open before he could gather his thoughts. Lion stepped inside, sharp eyes scanning Anazitis's face.
"What happened? Did things go well?" he asked.
Before Anazitis could answer, Halfy strolled in, grinning like he had just won a bet.
"Of course it did," Halfy said, flopping onto the couch. "If it hadn't, he wouldn't be standing here, would he?"
Anazitis shot him a glare before collapsing onto a chair to collect hi though.
"I'll explain everything," he said, his voice edged with exhaustion.
The room grew quiet as Anazitis recounted the events of the sages' meeting—the cryptic discussions, the tension that clung to every word, and the weight of the secrets he had uncovered, the truth he heard the real truth.
Halfy leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"I thought it would be some hidden, yet ordinary, information," he admitted. "But this… this is more than I expected."
Lion nodded, his expression unreadable.
"It's not just surprising—it's dangerous." He exhaled sharply. "And that knight, Dinatos… Something was off about him. He wasn't just distracted—he was wary, as if he was expecting something to go wrong he wasn't believe in what happened."
Halfy furrowed his brows.
"That's true. I met a girl from the academy she was with the khinght… and she wasn't normal either. There was something about the way she spoke. She was act if i think of it was like she know something ."
Lion tapped his fingers against the table.
"Their attitude wasn't like people who truly believed in what was happening. They were cautious—too cautious."
Anazitis scoffed, his patience wearing thin.
"I risked my life to get this information, and you two were just casually chatting with the knight? And the academy girls"
Halfy smirked.
"That's why I don't like how you do things. You always overreact."
Anazitis shot him a glare.
"And you? You looked like you were enjoying yourself."
Lion chuckled.
"Honestly, I expected a fight. When the knight start to see black fire in the forest, I thought he go immediately. I was ready for a real battle to not let's him go , but then… nothing happened it's like the fire never happened something else happened"
Anazitis leaned forward, his voice low.
"That's because they used a barrier spell. The fight did happen—it just wasn't where you could see it. Skotadi, a Chaos Seeker, clashed with Igetis."
The air in the room turned heavy. Halfy and Lion exchanged stunned looks.
"Wait… what?" Halfy's voice dropped, eyes wide.
"A Chaos Seeker fought Igetis?" Lion clenched his fists. "That's far more important than anything else!"
Anazitis nodded grimly.
I wonder what happened in the forest when i left it.
Silence. Then Halfy's expression darkened.
"That's why the Ring turn into ash and they leave …"
A chill settled over the room.
Lion's eyes flickered with recognition.
We had a conversation about someone fighting igetis but i didn't though it was Chaos seeker, it was more serious than I thought.
Anazitis gave a slow nod, his voice barely above a whisper
Chaos seeker it was strong it's my good luck that he was there now he the one to plame about the black fire.
Anazitis and lion said it louder they can Who is the winner and did you see all the fight just one information about them will make a lot of gold
"Keep it down. We don't need unnecessary attention."
Unbeknownst to them, two hotel maids stood near the counter, whispering among themselves.
"Those guests are quite lively," one of them said with a smile.
The other, however, eyed them carefully.
"They're planning something. Did you see their clothes? They have a lot of gold, they can go to better hotel,and they didn't just come here to rest."
The first woman shrugged.
"Well, they tipped us well, so I won't complain."
Anazitis pretended not to hear them but made a mental note of their words. As he stood, he turned to the others.
"We're leaving. But keep in mind—the mess in the forest. If it shows up in the news, we'll avoid the knights. If it doesn't, we'll meet them and report what happened."
Halfy smirked.
"And we'll get a nice reward for it, won't we?"
Anazitis rolled his eyes.
"Let's just head to the magic shop first. We need supplies, and materials "
As they stepped toward the exit, Anazitis caught sight of the maid who had been whispering earlier. He hesitated, then placed two gold coins on the counter.
She looked up in surprise.
"Thank you," she said softly. "Visit us again."
Anazitis merely nodded before turning away.
Lion and Halfy exchanged grins.
"Looks like someone has a soft spot," Lion teased.
"I saw nothing," Halfy added with a smirk.
Anazitis ignored them and pushed open the door. The cool night air greeted them as they stepped onto the quiet street.
From the shadows, someone watched. It was an old man—the same one who had once carried Anazitis. He exhaled softly, his voice calm yet heavy with meaning.
"So, it has begun," he murmured. "I only hope this city can be saved… and restored to what it once was."
Not far away, the maid observed the scene while sipping from a steaming cup of coffee. She sighed, stretching her arms.
"Night shifts again," she muttered to herself. "I'll need plenty of coffee to get through this. But with these two gold coins… I won't have to work too hard. My smartness earns me more gold than that fancy hotel down the street ever could."
Other workers glanced at her, whispering among themselves. One of them raised an eyebrow.
"She's so strange," on of her coworker said.