Fin came back to reality with tears running down his cheeks, even though what he saw did not happened to him and the emotions weren't his, he truly felt that he had lost every of his loved ones even if it was just for a second.
"So are you satisfied now?" Walter said breaking the newfound silence
"No, but I at least know you're real" Fin said whipping the last tear that was rolling on his face.
He had indeed realised that Walter was real and he even grew stronger—gaining a powerful nightmare as a result, but the cost was to great. He still decided to look inward to see the nightmare he had gained and something surprising happened, what he got from the nightmare was not the devil—instead it was madness or at least the concept of it.
Nightmares [2/3]:
Spidy (he had decided to name the spider that)Madness
Bind it to an object? [YES/NO]
He hovered on the decision. But no—not yet. There were more pressing things to deal with.
"Now that we have established that I do indeed exist… gods I never thought I would say that, lets get back to why I came. As I said you will be sent to the frontlines. Army envoys are being sent to the academy as we speak but don't worry they will only be there in a week since they don't have a way to teleport here." Walter explained
"Where does that leave me, what do you want me to do huh?" Fin said sarcastically
"You have to go, you can't flee they will find you and only the gods know what they will do." His tone became somber. "Don't fight fate, you are not strong enough yet, if you try you will die. They will teach you how to fight there."
"How do you know all of this and why are you telling it to me?"
"Ah again with the questions, for the first one lets say that the future is not as unpredictable as you may think if you know how to look and, as for the second one it is a conversation for another time."
"Okay. What do you know about the war? What's going to happen to me?"
Fin crossed his arms, waiting for a response.
"It's fairly straightforward," Walter said. "Most wars come down to greed. People will dress it up in pride or justice or whatever sounds noble—but don't be fooled. Underneath, it's always about wanting more."
He paused. "Our two main players this time are the mighty island kingdom of Yvar and the great kingdom of Ardun."
"Again." Fin whispered with disdain
"Yes again. As you might recall a few years before the Godfall the kingdom of Yvar had already waged war against Ardun and won, conquering a vast amount of land up north but now that a lot of people have awakened, a small but powerful number of the have triumphed over their second trial thus becoming elevated and few actually managed to clear third trial thus becoming enlightened the kingdom of Ardun decided that it was finally time for revenge."
Fin took a deep breath. It was shaky, uneven. He still felt cold from the nightmare, like it had left something behind, buried under his skin. His hands hadn't stopped trembling, but he kept them clenched to hide it.
"So that's it?" he asked, quieter than he meant to. "You show up, drop all this on me, and then just... vanish?"
Walter stood, smoothing out his coat like he had all the time in the world. "Not just that," he said lightly. "I wanted to see how you were holding up. Not everyone survives their first trial and walks out with glowing eyes and a personal horror story."
Fin didn't laugh.
Walter's tone shifted, just a little. "You're stronger than you realize, Fin. But don't let that fool you into thinking you're ready for everything. Power without direction? That's how people lose themselves."
Fin's jaw tightened. "Like in your nightmare?"
Walter looked at him for a long moment. Then, for the first time since he arrived, his smile faded.
"Exactly."
The silence that followed was heavy. Not awkward—just full. Like something important had been said and there wasn't much left to add.
"The war's going to change everything," Walter continued. "People. The world. You. You'll be forced to make choices you're not ready for. And you won't always like what those choices make you."
Fin stared at the floor for a moment, then looked up. "You talk like you've already lived through it."
Walter smiled again, but it was tired this time. "Maybe I have."
They stood there in silence again. Fin felt the weight of it settle in his chest.
Walter tapped his cane against the floor twice. "One last thing—don't trust any letter that doesn't have a proper seal. No matter how official it looks."
Fin blinked. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You'll understand when it matters."
Before Fin could say anything else, Walter was gone. No flash. No sound. Just a soft gust of wind and a strange mix of smoke and lavender hanging in the air where he'd been.
Fin stared at the spot for a few seconds, then let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding.
"…Right. Of course that's how this ends."
He was now standing alone in his room questioning what he was going to do with his life and what life was going to do to him.
"I just want peace." He said—not talking about peace between nations, he honestly couldn't care less about that but what he truly wanted was peace of mind and world where he could live in tranquillity.
But that proved to be an extremely hard task.
He was still lost in thought when the door swung open and slammed into his forehead.
"OW—damn it!" Fin stumbled back, rubbing his face.
Ephy stood in the doorway, grinning. "What are you doing standing in front of the door like that? Also… is that perfume I smell?"
"Shut up," Fin grumbled. "You wouldn't get it. I'm going to bed—I've had enough of today."