The days passed slowly since the group's return to the capital. Three days, to be exact. But each one dragged on like an eternity of silence and distance.
In the inn where they once shared laughter, stories, and travel plans, now only shadows lingered between their smiles. Meals were eaten in silence, glances avoided, and even their steps seemed more restrained, as if everyone feared waking something asleep—or hidden—inside Jin.
He isolated himself on the first night. Slept alone, went to train without warning, returned without explanation. He didn't ask about anyone. Showed no curiosity, no concern. It was as if he'd left part of himself behind in the City of Silenced Souls.
Kaellia avoided any contact with him. When she saw him in the hallway, she turned her face away. If he entered a room, she left. The tension between them was a thread on the verge of snapping. Even Lyn, the most peaceful of them, couldn't pretend everything was fine. She tried talking, tried making him laugh with a light comment, but he always responded with the bare minimum—without even lifting his eyes.
"Yes."
"No."
"Later."
"Whatever."
Saphira, stubborn as ever, still sought openings. She touched his arm as she passed, offered tea, asked about his training… but Jin was a wall. She felt something inside him had broken—and perhaps it was beyond repair.
Allan, on the other hand, had become another creature entirely.
Where there was once insecurity, now there was obedience. Cold. Mechanical. He followed Jin through the corridors like a shadow. When Jin spoke, Allan listened in absolute silence. When Jin asked for something—even with few words—Allan complied immediately, without hesitation.
"Allan, prepare the sword."
"Yes, sir."
"Check the surroundings."
"As you wish, sir."
But it wasn't just respect. It was reverence. Almost worship. When Jin passed, Allan lowered his head, like a servant before a dark god. It was unsettling, uncomfortable. And when anyone mentioned it, Allan would only say:
"He saved me. He gave me strength. You don't understand."
That night, the sky finally cleared. The city was draped in a thin, silent mist. Jin left his room with slow steps, heading to the inn's balcony. The cold night air enveloped him, but he didn't react. He simply leaned his arms on the railing and stared at the capital's distant lights, as if searching for something he wouldn't find there.
Saphira was the first to approach. She hesitated, her fingers trembling on the frame of the open door.
"Jin…"
He didn't turn.
"What happened to you?"
Still, no sound.
"You're different. We all are. It feels like we're complete strangers sharing an inn…"
She took another step closer, her eyes glistening.
"And Allan…? He acts like you're his father. Like he's trying to earn your approval every second. What did you do to him?"
Silence. Until Jin finally spoke, his voice so cold it cut like ice:
"He obeys me because he was weak… and I gave him power."
Saphira stepped back. Her chest tightened. Those words… they didn't sound like the Jin she knew. There was no pain, no doubt. Just coldness. Contempt.
"You think that's strength?" she whispered, tears already forming. "Taking away someone's choice? You've pushed us away, Jin. You don't want to be part of this anymore. And you don't even try to pretend."
Jin remained still. And his lack of reaction hurt the most.
Saphira backed away, covering her face with her hands. Tears streamed uncontrollably, and she fled the balcony, suffocated by her powerlessness.
Kaellia was there. Leaning against the wall, listening to everything. Her eyes were narrowed, her fists clenched.
She stepped forward immediately. Her gaze fixed on Jin, her voice already burning in her throat.
"You're a damn ingrate."
Jin still didn't turn.
"I risked my life for you. Defended you when everyone wanted to abandon you. Believed you were different. That you could change things. But you know what you are?"
She approached, her steps firm, her anger simmering in her eyes.
"A parasite. A black hole. You pull everything into yourself and destroy it. Allan worships you like you're some savior, but you've chained him. You've turned him into a trained dog."
She took a deep breath, but her voice broke under the weight of her anger:
"You should've died in that village. Died with the others. It would've spared us pain. It would've spared us time. You're not special. You're just another monster… and worse: a monster who pretends to feel guilt."
Jin lowered his head. For the first time, his shoulders seemed to carry a weight.
"Maybe you're right."
Kaellia fell silent for a few seconds, shock swallowing her anger.
"I… Jin, I'm sorry. I went too far—"
"No need," he interrupted. His voice calm, neutral, as if nothing had touched his heart. "You only said what you think. And I won't argue with the truth."
Without another word, Jin turned and walked back inside, leaving Kaellia alone in the cold on the balcony. She stood there for a few minutes, motionless, her face turned to where he'd been.
For the first time… she wasn't sure if Jin was someone worth saving anymore.
The inn's corridor was steeped in an uncomfortable silence. The night seemed to weigh on everyone's shoulders.
[Saphira's Room]
Saphira was locked in her room, sitting on the floor between the bed and the wall, her knees pulled to her chest. Her eyes red, her face wet with tears. She tried to breathe deeply, but it was as if the air refused to enter.
"You're not the Jin I knew anymore…" she murmured to herself, repeating her own words, trying to understand where it had all gone wrong.
[Jin's Room]
Meanwhile, Jin sat on the edge of his bed, his gaze fixed on the floor. The candlelight flickered beside him, casting irregular shadows on the walls. A deep silence filled the room, until he, for the first time, spoke first.
"Bouros…"
The air seemed to freeze for a moment. Then, the familiar, drawling voice responded, emerging like a whisper from the corners of the room:
"Well… what a surprise. The hero finally wishes to talk?"
"I want to free Allan," Jin said without hesitation, his eyes still on the floor.
A laugh echoed through the room, dry and mocking.
"Free? What a funny word. The boy bowed of his own will. He was weak. I merely filled the void."
"I didn't ask for this," Jin whispered.
"But you allowed it. You used it. Ordered him. Fed it. And now you want to play the redeemer? No, no, Jin. That's not redemption. That's guilt."
Jin stood, facing the darkness that seemed to form around him.
"Then teach me how to free him. Or show me. Or I'll tear you apart piece by piece from inside me."
"You think you can threaten me? Intimidate me? You don't even know what I am, boy," Bouros laughed. "But… what a charming fool. You know… it might be fun to see how far this pretense of yours goes."
The shadows on the walls began to move, swirling in dense spirals.
[Inn's Common Room]
Kaellia sat on one of the sofas. Her eyes red, her hands trembling. Lyn was beside her, listening in silence, with Allan closer to the backrest, attentive to everything.
"I lost control, Lyn…" Kaellia whispered, her words breaking through sobs. "I said he should've died… how could I say that?"
Lyn placed a hand on her shoulder, firm and gentle.
"You were scared. And angry. You suffered there too."
"But he didn't deserve to hear that," Kaellia covered her face with her hands. "I just… felt betrayed. He pushed us all away. Even Allan. I saw him… becoming someone else."
Allan stepped closer, kneeling before her. His gaze was steady, unlike before.
"He never stopped protecting us," he said, with a conviction too strange for his age. "He just doesn't know how to show it anymore."
Kaellia swallowed hard. Tears fell again. Allan reached out, taking her hand.
"He needs us. Even if he pretends he doesn't."
[Jin's Room]
Suddenly, a presence shattered somewhere in the inn.
Jin felt it in his chest. The shadows trembled. He turned quickly toward the door, as if something had just left him.
[Common Room]
Allan collapsed.
His body simply gave out, without warning. Kaellia shouted his name as Lyn rushed to support him. But he wasn't hurt. Just… unconscious. And at peace.
Black shadows escaped from his skin through his pores, like smoke breaking free from a prison. They dispersed into the air and slipped under the door to Jin's room.
[Jin's Room]
The shadows entered like serpents, coiling around Jin's legs, the bed, the walls, until they vanished completely. Bouros's presence grew with intensity.
"That was impressive, Jin," he said, with an almost delighted irony. "You threw stones at those who saved you. Made one of them your servant. Pushed the others away with cold words. If you'd planned it… you couldn't have done it with such perfection."
Jin stood still for a moment, then, with cutting coldness, replied:
"You're going to cooperate with me. Willingly… or not."
The silence lasted a few seconds. Then Bouros let out a cavernous laugh that made the candles flicker.
"Oh… I want to see you try."
Jin took a step toward the door. Stopped in front of it. Took a deep breath. And, with resolve, knocked twice on the door next to his.
"Saphira…"
Saphira didn't respond to the knocks.
Or to his call.
Jin waited a few seconds outside, his gaze fixed on the wooden door. The inn's corridor was quiet, steeped in an eerie silence.
He raised his hand again, knocking softly. One… two… three seconds.
Nothing.
"You don't have to answer," he said quietly. "If you can… just listen."
On the other side of the door, Saphira remained curled up on her bed. The pillow damp, her eyes red. Jin's voice began to pierce her silence like soft shards of glass.
"I was born in an isolated village. Lived with my father, my mother… and my brother."
[Saphira's Room – Moments Earlier]
Kaellia adjusted the blanket over Allan, who was still asleep. His face looked calmer, but she didn't relax. She sat on the edge of the bed and sighed as Lyn entered with a bowl of water and a clean cloth.
"You look exhausted," Lyn said, trying to stay calm.
"I should be," Kaellia replied. "But it's something else. It's… guilt."
Lyn stopped beside her, studying Allan's unconscious face.
"For fighting with Jin?"
Kaellia nodded, gripping her hands in her lap.
"I said horrible things. Words that… can't be taken back."
Lyn knelt, starting to wipe Allan's face with the cloth.
"Jin messed up too. We all did. But that doesn't make you a bad person."
"It's not just that, Lyn," Kaellia said. "I… saw the look in his eyes. He already thought he was a monster. And I just pushed him deeper."
[Balcony – Present]
Jin leaned against Saphira's door.
"My brother Kael… he was everything I wanted to be. Strong. Respected. My father made me train every day, told me I had to be like him. But I… never was."
"My mother, Lira… she was the opposite. Kind, vibrant, radiant. When she smiled, it was like the world smiled with her."
On the other side of the door, Saphira squeezed her eyes shut, trying to stop the tears from falling again.
"And then Bouros came. And I watched… everything crumble."
"My mother died in my arms. She was smiling, Saphira. Even as she died… she smiled. My brother died protecting me. My father faced Bouros alone… and fell."
Jin ran a hand over his face. His voice trembled.
"I managed to seal Bouros. But the seal came at a cost. It bound my soul too. My anger, my pain… my love. Everything got trapped."
Allan stirred, his fingers twitching slightly.
"Kaellia…" he murmured.
She rushed to him, kneeling by the bed.
"You're back…"
Allan blinked, as if waking from a long dream.
"I… feel something different."
Lyn approached, surprised.
"Are you okay? Can you remember what happened?"
"Just fragments. But… it's like there was something inside me before. Something that's gone now."
Upstairs.
Jin leaned against Saphira's door. His voice was softer now, trembling.
"Lately… I started feeling things again. And it was because of you all. Because of you, Saphira. Even with everything I've lost, everything I've done… you brought me back for a while."
Behind the door, Saphira covered her mouth with her hand, silent sobs returning in waves.
"I'm sorry for what I did to Allan. I really… didn't have control."
He took a deep breath. The silence seemed to swallow the entire corridor.
And then, in a voice so low it was almost a whisper:
"Think what you want of me, Saphira. Please… but don't let me go."
"Not without seeing you."
He waited.
One second. Two. Three.
No response.
Jin slowly lowered his hand from the door, his gaze empty. He turned on his heels and walked silently down the corridor.
In the common room.
"It's like… Jin let me go," Allan whispered, confused.
Kaellia looked at Lyn, her eyes wide.
"He freed Allan," she whispered. "He wasn't a monster. He… was just trapped."
She stood up urgently.
"I need to see him. I need to apologize."
"Wait. We'll go with you," Lyn said, taking Allan's hand.
[Saphira's Room]
Saphira was still sitting, knees pulled to her chest, her eyes lost in the darkness.
The door opened slowly. Kaellia entered first, followed by Lyn and Allan.
"Saphira…"
She didn't turn. She only whispered:
"He saw his parents die in front of him. His brother. His mother died smiling… in his arms. He was just a child."
The words came out like a blade slicing her throat.
"And still… he survived. Carried that weight. Alone."
Kaellia approached, swallowing her guilt.
"I was too cruel. I didn't know all this. I need to apologize. I need to try…"
Jin had just gone downstairs. He paused for a second in the lobby when he heard voices from upstairs.
His body froze for a moment, but then he pulled the hood of his cloak over his face, turned, and walked out the inn's front door.
Kaellia froze… as if processing everything she'd heard.
She looked at the empty corridor. Something inside her ached. She didn't know why.
"Let's go," she said. "Before it's too late."
They went to Jin's room.
Open. Empty. Silent.
The bed was made, his pack gone. The window, slightly ajar, let in the night breeze. Everything smelled of absence.
On the desk, a letter.
Kaellia approached, her hands trembling. She read aloud:
> Thank you for everything. I'm sorry for pulling you apart. Maybe one day… we'll meet again.
The paper slipped from her fingers.
And the silence—now denser, colder—filled the room.