Celia was slowly and carefully preparing some basic provisions, checking the contents of a small bag she had prepared for their imminent journey. The movement in the room was quiet, broken only by the sound of fabric rustling in her hands, but it was charged with a subtle tension that almost touched the air.
This journey would be different from anything Theo had experienced before; they had no specific destination, no clear plan. Only to train Theo.
She looked at Theo from time to time, who stood motionless by the broken window, silent as he was now, gazing at the distant horizon where the first rays of dawn danced.
His eyes had become very dull now. They had lost that naive childlike look that used to characterize him.
Now, there was something else. Something darker, tougher, as if carved from rock and suffering.
Celia sighed, trying to control her own grief. Elena... her sister, who was an integral part of her soul. She remembered Elena laughing, a light laugh like birds chirping in the morning, she remembered her warm eyes looking at Theo with boundless love, she remembered how she would place her hand on her shoulder and whisper reassuring words in the hardest times.
How many times did we talk about Theo's future? Celia thought bitterly, how many times did Elena dream that Theo would grow up in a safe world, far from the horrors of mana and magic?
Now, all those dreams had turned to ashes, just like the village. Kyle, the stern, tireless man, appeared in her mind. She remembered how he saw something special in Theo, something no one else could see. And the long discussions with Kyle about Theo's training, about his apparent harshness that hid a desire to protect the child and prepare him for a cruel world. But he died trying to protect this home, this boy whom he considered his son.
'I'm sorry, brother, I couldn't protect Elena, and I will try to protect your only son.'
"Are you ready, Theo?" Celia asked in a calm voice, finishing arranging the provisions. "We'll set off soon. We won't wait for the sun to fully rise."
Theo did not answer, but he nodded slightly, without taking his eyes off the window, as if his eyes were glued to the dark horizon.
Celia knew he wouldn't speak. She no longer expected him to. But she hoped to see anything in his eyes. Anything that indicated he was still there, behind that absolute silence, behind the walls he had built around his soul.
"I know this is hard for you, Theo." Celia said, slowly approaching him, and gently placing her hand on his shoulder. "But we have to go. We can't stay here. There's nothing left for us here but painful memories."
Theo finally turned to her, and looked directly into her eyes. His gaze was sharp, like a blade, but it also carried a hidden question, a question about the future, about the meaning of all this pain.
"Don't worry, Theo." Celia answered his unspoken question, smiling at him. "I won't leave you alone. I'll be by your side. Always. Every step of the way."
Celia sighed, and looked around the small, ruined room. It held countless memories. Happy and sad memories. Memories of Elena preparing food, and Theo training. But now it was just silent ruins witnessing the tragedy.
"This village... is no longer our home, Theo." Celia said in a faint voice, almost a whisper. "It took so much from us. It destroyed everything. But it won't take everything. We'll take our memories with us, whether painful or beautiful. And we'll make new memories, better, stronger."
Celia paused for a moment, then looked at Theo again. Her eyes widened slightly as she sensed something within him. The second mana ring that had formed in his heart pulsed unstably, like a powerful engine just installed in a frail body. This rapid formation, this forced evolution, was a sign of Theo's exceptional ability, but it was also a sign of the damage done to his soul.
"We're going, Theo." Celia said, holding his hand, holding it firmly, trying to transfer some of her stability to him. "We're going to a new place. A place where you can start anew, away from the ghosts of the past. A place where you can become stronger. Stronger than ever before. Stronger than everyone who hurt you."
Celia felt a strange power surging in his hand, the power of dark mana that danced violently, she had never felt it with such intensity before. It was the power of pain and anger, but it was also the power of determination and resolve born from despair. This new ring was destructive and unstable, like a ticking bomb, requiring intense and precise training to tame it.
"I will train you, Theo." Celia said, looking directly into his eyes, trying to penetrate the wall of his silence. "I will teach you everything I know about mana. About the element of darkness. About how to control your strange element, and we will also stabilize your ring. I will make you stronger, you will take revenge, Theo, you will take revenge for everything we lost. This is my promise to you, and your promise to yourself."
Theo did not respond, but his eyes burned with anger.
He hated the monsters intensely now, hated them, loathed them greatly, and wished to torture them one by one.
His element responded to this interaction, and mana began to flow strangely in his body, and the second ring became strangely more stable.
Celia did not miss this and observed it accurately, as it was difficult to hide her shock afterwards, but her face remained frozen and her mind worked very quickly as she analyzed what was happening.
Theo's element was already very strange, and she had managed to access dangerous information about his element, which led to her being hunted by an unknown mage, causing her delay in returning to the village.
Celia looked at Theo calmly, and was trying to be cautious about what she would say from now on.
"But this won't be easy, Theo." Celia warned, pressing his hand more firmly, emphasizing the seriousness of her words. "The path ahead will be long and difficult. It will be full of dangers and enemies, some of them monsters and some of them humans."
Theo nodded again, this time more strongly, and with more determination, he was no longer just a broken child. He understood. He understood everything. He realized that his path had changed forever, and that silence would become his companion, and revenge his goal.
"First, we'll go to a completely random place." Celia said, smiling mysteriously, her smile holding some ancient wisdom. "I don't know exactly where, there is no specific kingdom or city we will go to, only fate will lead us. We will follow fate, Theo, and we will hide in the shadows. We will embark on a long journey, I will train you intensely during it, harder than Kyle's training, I will make you wish for death from the intensity of the pain, Theo. We will face countless dangers, but each one will be a lesson. Every battle will be training. This training will not be like Kyle's training, but it will be training for life, on how to survive in this cruel world. And we will see where fate takes us in the end."
Celia looked around the room for the last time, a final farewell look at every corner, every memory. Then she took her small bag, and walked quietly towards the door that was open to the ruin.
"Goodbye." Celia whispered, as she left the destroyed room, leaving behind the ruins and painful memories.
Celia and Theo left the house, and walked side by side towards the garden, where Kyle and Elena rested peacefully. They stopped in front of the graves for a last moment.
Celia looked at the headstones, then looked at Theo, who was staring at the dirt silently, his eyes reflecting thousands of lost memories and dreams.
Celia felt as if she heard his voice in her head, despite his silence.
He remembered Elena, remembered her gentle touches, her reassuring words before bedtime, and how she would sit beside him and tell him stories. He remembered how she would smile at him, even in the darkest circumstances. He remembered her blood-stained face, and his last scream when he realized she would never smile at him again.
And Kyle, his strictness that hid deep care. He remembered how he pushed him to his limits, and how he would yell at him, he remembered Kyle's gaze that made him get up even after falling countless times. He remembered Kyle's harsh face.
At that moment, Theo felt unbearable pain devouring his soul, but he did not collapse. But there was a promise he made to himself in the depths of his silence.
"We will return soon." Celia said in a firm voice, as if she was speaking on Theo's behalf too.
Then she took Theo's hand again, and they walked towards the destroyed village gate, leaving behind everything they had known. Towards the unknown, towards fate.