Rain fell lightly over the rooftops by the time Daniel and Elara returned to the guild. Adventurers rushed in and out bringing reports of border sightings and strange disturbances near the forest paths. The atmosphere was restless but something else lingered beneath the noise a quiet ripple of anticipation. People had witnessed Daniel calm the refugees. Whispers spread through the hall calling him the soft spoken stranger the fear tamer the outsider who understood too much.

Elara led him into a narrow hallway lit by hanging lanterns. Their warm glow flickered against the stone walls. She stopped beside a reinforced wooden door. Her expression shifted into something cautiously serious. The guild wants you to meet someone she said. Someone we cannot reach.

Daniel felt the tremor in her voice not from fear but from worry. He asked Who is inside.

A child she answered. A demon child found near the border. Alone and half starved. She has not spoken a single word. Every healer who tried to approach her felt sudden terror as if something inside her pushed their fears to the surface. Some believe she is cursed. Others think she carries a message. All I know is she is just a child.

Daniel placed a hand gently on the door. Let me try.

Elara hesitated. If she harms you it will be my fault.

He shook his head. Children do not harm for pleasure. They harm when they cannot express pain.

Elara unlocked the door slowly and Daniel stepped inside.

The room was dim. A small figure sat curled in the far corner knees hugged tightly to her chest. Her skin was pale with faint traces of violet along her arms. Short dark horns curved gently from her head. Her eyes were wide shining with a quiet trembling light.

Daniel lowered himself to the ground leaving a careful distance between them. My name is Daniel he said softly. I am not here to touch you or force you to speak. I only want to sit with you if that is alright.

The child flinched her breath ragged. She stared at him with a fear so deep it almost pulsed through the air. Daniel felt a cold wave press against him like a storm pushing through walls. It was not magic. It was trauma. A mind battered by memories too sharp for someone so young.

He steadied his voice. When I was young I felt scared too. Not the same fear as yours but the kind that makes your chest tight. I remember feeling alone even when someone sat beside me. But someone once told me that fear is heavy because we carry it alone. Maybe you have been alone too long.

The girl’s fingers dug into her sleeves. Her voice finally broke free as a hoarse whisper Please do not tell them. They will take me back. They will say I am wrong. They will say I broke the pact.

Daniel kept still. What pact.

Her eyes filled with tears. The pact that says we cannot speak to humans. That we must stay silent. That we must not tell them what we saw.

Daniel felt the air shift. Something important was hiding inside her words. He asked gently What did you see.

The girl shook her head violently. If I tell you people will die. Humans will fear us more. Demons will punish me. Both sides will blame everything on me.

Daniel lowered his head slightly closing the distance in a careful calm way. You are a child. You are not responsible for the anger of two nations. You did not create their fear. You only survived it.

Her breath hitched. A single tear slid down her cheek. I do not want to be the reason they fight again.

Daniel whispered You are not a reason for war. You are a reason for truth. And truth often begins with someone brave enough to speak even when the world tells them to stay silent.

Silence settled thick and heavy. Then slowly she lifted her hand and pointed at the window. Daniel followed her gaze. Dark clouds were gathering near the horizon swirling in shapes that did not look natural.

She whispered They are coming. Not humans. Not demons. Something that feeds on fear. Something that pushed both sides into fighting. Something that wants the world to stay broken. I heard them in the forest. They whisper through dreams. They tell people what they fear most.

Daniel felt a chill crawl along his spine. This was bigger than a border conflict. Bigger than misunderstandings. Something was manipulating both races stirring terror through invisible threads.

The girl looked at him desperately. Will you believe me. Even if no one else does.

Daniel answered with a steady calm Yes. I believe you. And I will help you.

For the first time her shoulders eased. She leaned toward him just slightly like a flower turning toward faint warmth.

Elara opened the door slowly eyes wide with concern. Daniel turned to her and spoke in a low serious voice She knows something crucial. Something that could decide the future of both races. We cannot let anyone silence her.

Elara stepped inside eyes softening as she looked at the girl. Then we protect her together.

Outside the clouds deepened casting long shadows across the city. Horns echoed again distant uneasy.

Daniel felt it now. The fear shifting like a living thing. The world was not simply afraid. Something was feeding that fear shaping it sharpening it turning it into a weapon.

And somewhere in that rising darkness he sensed a presence watching him. Waiting.

He was not brought here by accident.
The world had summoned a counselor for a reason it did not yet dare speak.