Theo dragged the villager on his back as he walked along the village's dirt road. Although it was a remarkable effort, he was trying to find the address that one of the villagers had given him earlier. *"At the end of Rudsir Street, the last house after the hill,"* he recalled. He had been carrying the villager for over an hour, but he kept his patience. 

Finally, in the distance, he saw a house that was in need of repair. It was a white concrete building, the standard of the empire. It had two stories, but the plaster on the walls was worn and there were holes. A child was sitting in the doorway, holding a lantern. When she saw someone approaching, she shouted: 

"Mommy! Daddy's back!" exclaimed a little girl. 

When he reached the door of the house, Theo sat the villager in the corner of the wall while he waited for his wife to appear. The villager opened his eyes, still looking disappointed with himself, and thanked him: 

"Thank you, agent." 

"Oh my!" the villager's wife exclaimed, coming out of the house in a torn white robe. "What have you done this time?" 

He sighed in dismay. 

"A knight from Vagus appeared and offered five hundred coins to anyone who challenged him." 

"You don't even know how to wield a sword, how could you challenge him?!" 

As the two argued, the girl observed Theo's golden, wavy hair. Meanwhile, Theo removed the villager's sword from its sheath. 

"Here, sir, is your sword. And take this, too," Theo said, tossing over a bag of money. "It was your initial effort, so I don't feel right about taking it all. I added another two thousand coins, so…" 

"Two thousand?! Boy, that's too much," she stammered, surprised. 

"It's okay, my family has more than enough. I think this can help for a long time." 

"Sir, handsome," the girl called, in her adorable voice, like someone who was just learning to speak. "Thank you for saving my father." 

"It was nothing," he replied, returning the thanks with a caress. 

"You brought me home, but it's so late now that I can't let you go back alone." 

"And what do you suggest? Will you accompany me to the city and then return alone? No, thank you." 

"Stay here tonight," the wife thanked him. "I made a stew, it may not be as good as the food you've eaten before, but at least you won't starve." 

"Okay. I'll leave at midnight." 

☽✪☾ 

In addition to the stew, the villagers offered him their bed and water to bathe, but Theo declined. He preferred to rest on the cold ground of that spring night. Their daughter kept poking Theo with her eyes, while also looking at a book in her hands. Upon noticing this, Theo went to her to see what she was staring at. 

It was a book about a fairy tale. Illustrated in a minimalist way, but you could understand everything. 

"What story is this?" Theo asked, approaching the girl. 

"It's the tale of the hero of light," the father replied. "You said earlier that your nickname is Lumen, didn't you?" 

"Yes. My godmother gave me this name because my family's features are very similar to the hero's: golden hair and amber eyes." 

"Where did you come from?" 

"From Louretto, in Nethuns." 

"Ah… Stay far away from here, agent." 

Theo smiled politely and looked away to the book. He began to look at the illustrations, and that was when the girl noticed and began to tell the story: 

"The hero Lumen fell from the sky like lightning, and then purified the villains and heroes so that the war would end." 

"I don't think it's quite like that..." he commented, searching his mother with his eyes. When she responded with a grimace, he understood that they had told him a simplified version to hide the cruelty of the story. 

"So, what is it like?" asked the child, curious. 

"Lumen fell from the sky like a shooting star," Theo began to count, dragging his finger across the illustrations. "He fought against the army of the ancient god of war, Ares. After defeating the army, Lumen faced the god of war himself, who did not like the affront of a human considered a demigod. The war finally ended, and the god of war was defeated. However, before he was defeated, he made the hero of light fall into a deep sleep forever." 

Theo noticed that there was an extra page, so he flipped through the book. To his surprise, there was a continuation of the story, where Lumen met a shadow before she died. His mother noticed his curiosity and quickly explained: 

"Never got to that part?" 

"No…" 

"This is Dullahan. A legendary knight, dressed in black armor and holding his own head in his arms. He is known as the messenger of death, for whenever he pronounces someone's name, that person dies within minutes. It is a legend widely spoken in this region." 

'A black knight with his head in his arms?' He thought, remembering the past. 

"Mom, so Lumen died?" 

"Yes, my dear. But death is nothing more than an eternal sleep." 

"So you can dream?" 

Everyone laughed. 

"Yes, it does." 

Their attention was drawn when the village bell rang, signaling midnight. Theo wasted no time in preparing to leave, grabbing his backpack and walking towards the door. Midnight was the time when Vagus' guards began patrolling the areas outside the towns and villages, making it the perfect time for Theo to return home safely. 

"Thank you very much for everything," Theo thanked. 

The couple bowed their heads in gratitude, both for the villager's help and for the money. Theo was already taking the first step when the villager gave him some advice: 

"Agent, don't trust just anyone. Even if you help them, you never know what they might do while you sleep." 

With an ironic smile on his face, Theo replied: 

"I have the strength for that, if you try. See you later," he said goodbye, creating a whirlwind that enveloped him and made him disappear with the breeze. 

"Wind attribute… he used it against the knight. Interesting…" the villager muttered, watching Theo disappear.