Amestricy, ValoniaIt was already night when Hitory finished ing his father’s workshop. The magical street mps dimly illuminated Amestricy, refleg the trast between the simplicity of the city and the great magical ters of Valonia. Hitory watched a group of young people practig spells in the tral square from afar. It was a on se, but each dispy of magic was a cruel reminder of his reality.Despite the teasing he endured, Hitory always forced himself to look beyond the surface. He firmly believed he had something to offer, even if the world around him insisted otherwise. However, that faith was beginning to waver.While studying magider the oak tree on the hill, he pohe meaning of it all. Why had Zelia, his mother, a talented mage, sacrificed her life defending a kingdom that would never know someone like him?

  — “Mother... Why did you sacrifice yourself for them?” — he murmured, looking at the sky.

  It was a question that repeated itself like an echo in the silence, but no answer ever came.

  RuinsOne m, Hitory decided to explore part of the forest beyond the hill. He carried his wooden sword, more out of habit than y, as the area was known to be safe. However, somethi different that day. The air was heavier, almost as if it carried a secret waiting to be revealed.After walking for a while, he found a straructure among the trees. It was an a ruin, almost pletely rown with vegetation. Its stones were covered with inscriptions in a nguage he vaguely reized from his magic books.

  As he approached, he felt a strange chill, something he had never experienced before. Curious, he reached out to toue of the inscriptions. Instantly, a faint gloeared oones, radiating an energy that seemed to ect directly with his soul.

  — “What was that?” — he murmured, looking around as if expeg an answer.

  There was no ohere. Yet something inside him told him that pce held an importa—something he o uncover.

  Mental fusiourning to the city, Hitory noticed something was wrong. A group of bandits had ihe tral square, causing panic among the townspeople. They demanded gold and supplies, threatening the merts with ons and magic.

  Hitory knew he couldn’t pete with their magic, but he also couldn’t stand by and watch his city being looted. He grabbed a simple sword from the workshop and ran toward the square.

  The bandits uimated him, ughing at his audacity.

  — “What a boy like you do against us?” — one of them mocked, juring a small fireball.

  Hitory didn’t have time to dodge. The fireball hit his chest hard, knog him to the ground. Pain shot through his body as the heat of the impact spread across his skin.

  — “It’s the kid with no mana! He came just to get beaten... loser!” — someone from the crowd shouted.

  Those words pierced his mind like sharp bdes, making the pain even more intehen, voices began eg in the silence of his mind, disected and distorted. He didn’t uand, but something inside him was awakening.

  A mysterious figure enveloped his body, and for the first time, he felt something different—something new.

  — “What... are you?” — he whispered, his voice tense.

  The voices tinued, ign his question. Filled with rage, Hitory rose from the ground, surprising everyone around him. His eyes glowed with a wild, red iy.

  — “Want to get beaten again, loser?” — one of the bandits taunted.

  Hitory raised his head, his voice full of determination:— “Shut up.”

  He started walking slowly toward the bandits, his head lowered and his shoulders heavy, as if carrying a silent fury. His breathing was deep and uneven, and a shadowy figure was faintly visible behind him, making the onlookers hold their breath.

  One of the bandits at the front of the group ughed as Hitory approached.— “Let’s see if you dodge this time, loser,” — he said with a sadistic grin, juring a fireball in his palm.

  Without hesitation, the bandit uhe fming sphere at Hitory. However, before it could hit him, Hitory vanished from sight. In the blink of an eye, he was right in front of the bandit. His eyes, now deep and tinged with a crimson glow, seemed to pierce the man’s soul, freezing him in pce.

  — “What... are you?” — the bandit murmured, trembling. But before he could react, Hitory drove his sword into the man’s stomach. The sound of flesh being pierced echoed through the square, sileng eveerrified whispers of the spectators.

  The other bandits froze for a moment, uo prehend what had happened. But then, in a frenzy of screams, they all rushed at Hitory.

  Moving with supernatural speed, he attacked one by one. Every strike of his sword recise, every movemehal. But what terrified the ost was how he stopped, after each kill, to stare into his oppos’ eyes. His gaze seemed to e the essence of those men, as if he could see every fear, every buried regret in their souls.

  The townspeople watched in horror. The square, once filled with panic, was now enveloped in a heavy silence. Every blow from Hitory echoed like a funeral bell, and soon the ground was stained with the bandits’ blood.

  Whe one fell, Hitory stopped. His breathing was ragged, and he seemed to stagger, but his eyes still glowed with that sinister light. Then, slowly, he colpsed to the ground, his body heavy and exhausted, falling face-first onto the cobblestones of the square.

  Around him, no one moved. The air felt colder, den with what had just happehe silence was cutting, and everyone khey had witnessed something far beyond prehension.

  The DreamWhile unscious, Hitory had a strange dream. He was in ay space, alone, surrounded by dense darkness. Suddenly, a mysterious voice echoed in his mind:

  — “Look at that... he could be the Vessel.”— “But he’s already carrying it.”

  The words echoed in his mind, but he didn’t uand their meaning. He felt a presence, but there was no one around him.

  The dream vanished as abruptly as it had appeared, leaving Hitory with a feeling of emptiness.

  The AwakeningWhen Hitory finally woke up, he found himself in his bed, his body ag and his head heavy. He tried to get up, fused.

  — “What... happened?” — he murmured to himself.

  He stumbled out of his bed ao his father’s room, where Dwalgik was waiting. Seeing Hitory on his feet, Dwalgik’s face lit up with surprise, but soon overtook him.

  — “Son... you’re finally awake,” — he said, relieved.

  — “Finally? How long was I out?” — Hitory asked, still dizzy.

  Dwalgik looked at him with a serious expression.— “It’s been a month sihat bandit atta the city ter. You... were in a a the whole time.”

  Hitory remained silent for a moment, trying to process it.— “A month? But I... I killed them... didn’t I?” — he murmured, fused.

  — “Yes, son,” — Dwalgik replied. — “You killed the bandits, but then you colpsed. No one knows what really happened, but everyone is terrified of what you did.”

  Later, while resting uhe oak tree on the hill, Hitory was surprised by an ued visitor. It was an older man, simply dressed but with a sharp gaze. He introduced himself as édros, a retired knight passing through Amestricy.

  — “I saw what you did that day,” — said édros, sitting beside Hitory.— “You may not have mana, but you have something many of those arrogant mages don’t — ce aermination.”

  Hitory listened silently, abs every word.— “You have potential, kid,” — édros tinued.— “Don’t let what they say about you define who you are. Sometimes, the greatest powers e from the most ued pces.”

  Those words stayed with Hitory. He decided that, even without mana, he would find a way to stand out. Above all, he would never give up on his promise. With a new mystery in his life and an unknown power awakening within him, Hitory had much to discover about his destiny. What really happened during that fight? And what does “Vessel” mean? His future is full of questions and challenges.

  End of EP 2: Shadow and Hope