Outside, the authorities arrived and quickly extinguished the flames. A group of them entered the house—three healers and two town guards carrying stretchers and splints. They found Tania cradling her brother Kael, along with Emily. Two of the healers gently took Kael and Emily from Tania's arms, laying them carefully on the ground and assessing them for injuries.

The healer who attended to Emily reached for a white linen shroud from her magic bag, draped it over Emily, and solemnly placed the Amulet of Orpheus on her chest.

The third healer rushed to Roger, checking for signs of life. He pressed his fingers to Roger's neck, searching for a carotid pulse. After several seconds, he silently opened his magic bag for a white linen shroud, draped it over Roger's body, and solemnly placed the Amulet of Orpheus on him as well.

Tania sat motionless, staring blankly at the scorched wall before her, her eyes hollow and distant. One of the healers knelt beside her and softly asked, "are you alright, Sister Tania?"

Tania turned slowly toward the healer, her face crumpling under the weight of bottled-up grief. Without a word, she threw her arms around the healer and wept, her sobs raw and unrestrained as she finally let the anguish pour from her heart.

Moments later, the healers carried out Emily and Roger each on a stretcher. Their bodies were wrapped in white linen, with the Amulet of Orpheus resting atop them—a wheel-shaped charm etched with runes of life and rebirth. Kael followed, also on a stretcher, his body was not covered, which exposed the Baybayin runes.

Tania walked behind the stretcher carrying Kael. She noticed the murmuring crowd ahead, their eyes drawn to Kael's markings. Whispers rose around her, but she ignored them, her gaze searching for Matthew, her brother.

Just a meter away from their charred home, under the apple tree, she saw three healers covering her brother with a white linen shroud.

Why is he covered? she thought. The wind spirit... it was a Titanium-ranked healing type...

As if in response, the wind spirit she had summoned appeared before her, its ethereal form drifting down. With a gentle breeze, it spoke to her mind.

“He lost too much blood. His heart... could not be saved.”

Tania's heart dropped. Her eyes widened with horror.

"No. No. NO! NOT YOU, MATTHEW!" she screamed, rushing to the apple tree. Falling to her knees, she tore the linen away from his face.

There he lay, cold and still. Lifeless.

She placed both hands on Matthew's shoulders, her voice trembling. "Matt... stop with this prank," she whispered, forcing a shaky smile. "You got me, okay? You win. Now get up... please."

When he didn't move, she shook him gently at first, then harder.

"Matt, seriously, stop this! Wake up!!" Her voice cracked. "You just… just smacked my face with a pillow this morning, you called it tradition... remember?".

"MATT!!" She shook him again, harder. One of the healers took Tania's arms to prevent her from shaking Matthew. She conjured green magic energy around her hands and pushed the healer away from her. Luckily, the healer conjured a shield and was able to protect himself from the magic blast.

"Tania! if you do that dangerous act again, we have no choice but to apprehend you until you control yourself." Sergeant of the town’s guard came and along with his men behind him created a human barrier, keeping the bystanders from entering the scene.

"So what? Can't you see half of my family was murdered in cold blood? Making my brother witness everything!"

"I know the pain of losing those you love, but raging it out here in town and hurting others isn't the best course of action, Tania, and I know you didn't want that to happen."

The sergeant offered his hand to Tania.

"I know you want revenge. I presume Kael feels the same, but revenge won’t get you anywhere in this world. It will only lead you down a path of destruction, and even lose yourself in the process. Trust me, it will only consume you from within until you have nothing left."

The wind stirred gently around her; the spirit lingering close—silent in mourning, a soft breeze brushing against her skin like a ghost, letting go a warm glow comforting Tania. Tania dissipated her magic and fell to her knees. The sergeant went and knelt before her, with him the sheathed Durandal, their father's sword. Durandal's scabbard was long, slender, and slightly curved, predominantly silver and light gray in color. Intricate patterns were carved along its length—symbols of dragons intertwined with ancient Baybayin characters that wrapped elegantly around the sheath. The sword's guard took the form of a serpentine creature's head, its mouth open in mid-roar. The hilt formed the creature's body, flowing seamlessly from the guard, and the pommel was ornate and circular, adorned with scale-like engravings that echoed the beast's coiled form. When unsheathed, the Verlin steel blade resembled a katana, its upper portion engraved with two intertwined serpents. He then placed his hand over her shoulders, comforting her, while Tania cried, embracing Roger’s sword.

The bodies of their parents were put down gently behind her back. The healers rushed and attended to Kael. She wasn't aware that a crowd was gathering around her as the guards tried to push them back. She heard chatter around her as people gathered, their gazes over to Kael.

"Kael… was it him? Did he really kill Roger, Emily, and the poor boy Matthew?" one man asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

"He's a Mordren! That power…no normal person could emit it," a woman cried. "He must be the one who did it!"

"By the Seven Gods… what kind of monster did they raise? Look at those markings!" Another man muttered, clutching onto his Amulet of Karamat as he stared at Kael in horror.

"He was always strange, that boy," an older woman whispered, shaking her head. "Kept to himself. Quiet ones are the ones you watch."

"But he loved them… I saw him carrying wood for his father at their smith, fetching herbs for his mother, and doing mischievous things with his brother, even though they were scolded and chased a couple times by the guards for their behavior," a younger woman said.

"Love doesn't stop a Mordren once the power takes hold," a hooded man snapped, his hand hovering near the hilt of a blade.

The murmurs swelled into something sharper, dangerous, ready to turn the blame on Kael. Tania stood up abruptly, her voice ringing out clear and firm.

"Enough!"

The crowd fell into a hush. Her green eyes looked at them trying to hold back her tears. "I don't know what you all think, but I know my brother. He would never hurt our family. Not willingly. Not ever in millennia!"

Someone scoffed. "You saw the evil energy he emitted and the markings he had on his body!"

"And just because of that, you accuse him of murder?" Tania shot back.

"What you felt wasn't violence. It was pain! He lost them… we both lost them. Just like all of you who lost their neighbors, friends, and family members during the raid." Her voice cracked, the weight of grief behind every word.

"If you're not here to help, then leave this place!"

Tears streamed down her cheeks as she stood firm between Kael and the crowd. The townsfolk shifted uneasily. Some lowered their eyes in shame, while others still stared at Kael with suspicion.

"You don't know who he is, Tania! He is not your kin!" A voice shouted sternly from the back of the crowd.

Tania turned, her voice softer now, but unwavering.

"Maybe I don't. Because he's just like me, abandoned and unwanted. But I know one thing for certain: he's a boy with a cheerful smile, a boy who loved our parents more than the gods above, and a boy who's gentler and kinder than anyone else in this damn town!"

Her voice broke, but she kept speaking.

"ALL OF YOU!" She cried, jabbing a finger toward the silent crowd. "You all have families. Real families, blood you can count on! But us?

"NONE OF YOU KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE THE ONLY PEOPLE WHO EVER LOVED YOU REGARDLESS OF WHO WE ARE!"

Tania paused, catching her breath, then continued. "You should all be ashamed of yourselves for spreading rumors about things YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT!"

The crowd fell silent.

Tania wept, her cries echoing through the silent crowd, until Father Howard pushed through the crowd and gently embraced her. The authorities moved in to disperse the crowd, some of their heads lowered, and some kept looking at her as if insulted by the words that came out of her mouth. As they walked away, the sound of Tania's wailing lingered in the air behind them.