Myrddin remained standing before the stone markers even after Ren and Sawe disappeared into the mist.

The village was still behind him, silent. People were slowly beginning to disperse, returning to their homes, to the forge, to the pens, and to the morning’s work. Some children still looked toward the trail, hoping to see the two return for some silly reason, as if the journey could be canceled simply because the village was not ready to watch them leave.

Myrddin did not move.

His eyes remained fixed on the mist.

Ren did not look back.

That was better.

The old man rested both hands on his staff and breathed slowly. For a few moments, nothing happened. Only the cold wind descending from the mountain, the distant sound of houses waking, and the mist closing over the trail.

Then his eyes changed.

Not much.

Just enough.

There was something there.

Not on the trail.

Not between the markers.

Behind the trees, a little farther to the side, where the thick roots mixed with moss and stone. A presence too subtle for an ordinary person to notice. Weak, muffled, almost erased. Someone was suppressing their own mana.

Myrddin turned only his face toward the tree.

“How long do you intend to keep hiding there?”

“Reveal yourself.”

For a few seconds, nothing moved.

Then a low laugh came from behind the trunk.

“My, my. Looks like I was right to think you were the strongest one in this place.”

A man slowly stepped out from behind the tree, raising both hands as if he did not want to seem threatening. He was thin, of average height, with dark traveling clothes and a short cloak over his shoulders. His face was narrow, his eyes restless, and his smile carried that irritating confidence of someone used to escaping problems before they could close around him.

Myrddin watched him without expression.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here? Better yet, how did you get in?”

The man opened his arms, as if the question amused him.

“I admit it was difficult to pass through the markers without being detected. Very well made, by the way. But I ended up finding a rather bizarre river that climbs the mountain. I used an artifact to suppress my presence and went up through it. Look at that, who would have thought, right?”

Myrddin narrowed his eyes slightly.

“Who would have thought?”

He repeated the man’s last words in a low voice.

“Are you from Valkar? A mercenary? No. A spy?”

The man’s smile widened.

“So many guesses, huh, oldie. And here I thought isolated hermits knew nothing about the world. How does someone like you know Valkar while living in a place this hidden?”

“That does not matter.”

“Calm down, oldie. We haven’t even introduced ourselves yet and you’re already speaking to me with such arrogance?”

The man placed a hand on his chest and made an exaggerated bow.

“My name is Glib. It is a great displeasure to meet you.”

The irony was clear.

Myrddin did not react.

Glib raised his head and looked toward the mist where Ren and Sawe had disappeared.

“I must admit, I’m a little sad. My package just left the village.”

The air seemed to grow a little colder.

Myrddin did not change his posture, but the hand on his staff tightened.

“Package? What are you talking about?”

Glib smiled.

“Oh, don’t tell me you still haven’t understood.”

Myrddin remained silent.

Glib’s smile grew wider.

“That’s right, oldie. I was hired to find a boy. Human. Seventeen years old, more or less. Dark hair, ordinary appearance, raised in a hidden village in the mountains. The order came from Maltus, a small but very rich kingdom up in the northern region. I don’t know if it was a noble, an officer, or some important person trying to hide their own name. I don’t really care, either. As long as they pay well, I accept.”

Myrddin stared at Glib for a few seconds.

“And what do you intend to do with him?”

“That was the interesting part. At first, I intended to deliver the boy to whoever hired me. Simple job. Find him, capture him, bring him back, and get paid. But then I saw something I didn’t expect.”

Glib tilted his head, still smiling.

“That boy doesn’t have a single drop of mana. Nothing. Complete emptiness. And yet, he carries stones as if they were sacks of flour. That isn’t normal. In fact, it’s so absurd that I started reconsidering the price.”

Myrddin’s expression hardened.

Glib continued, as if he were talking about merchandise.

“So I changed my mind. Instead of delivering the boy to Maltus, I’m going to sell that aberration to Valkar. They would pay ten times more. No, maybe twenty times more. A human without mana, with monstrous strength, hidden in a village that doesn’t exist on the map? That is worth more than any ordinary contract.”

Myrddin took a step forward.

“Choose your next words carefully.”

Glib laughed through his nose.

“No need to get so serious. I’ve already wasted too much time talking to an oldie. The boy shouldn’t have gone too far yet, and that feline-man with him doesn’t seem like an impossible problem. So, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll be going after the two of them.”

He brought his hand to his pocket.

Before his fingers could reach the object hidden there, Glib’s entire body was crushed against the ground.

The impact opened cracks in the earth.

Glib let out a muffled cry, eyes wide, while an invisible force pressed down on his back, his shoulders, and his legs as if the air itself had become a mountain.

“What… is this?”

He tried to lift his face, but he could barely breathe.

Myrddin walked toward him without hurry.

“Going to sell the boy?”

Glib clenched his teeth. The smile had vanished.

“That’s impossible… are you the one doing this?”

Myrddin stopped in front of him.

Glib tried to move his arms, but the pressure increased. The earth sank a little more beneath his body.

“How? How can an oldie like you use such powerful and rare magic without saying a single word? Who are you?”

Myrddin looked down at him.

“Did you really think I would let someone leave here to do whatever he wanted with the boys?”

Glib breathed with difficulty. Even so, his fingers moved a few centimeters, reaching inside his coat. With effort, he pulled out a small metallic artifact and broke the seal with his thumb.

Red runes lit up across his body.

The pressure did not disappear, but his muscles contracted with abnormal strength. He dug his hands into the earth, pushed his own body to the side, and escaped the center of the spell with a sudden movement, rolling until he stood a few meters away.

His breathing was heavy.

His face, covered in dust.

But he smiled again, even though now there was fear behind the expression.

“Gravity magic, then. I don’t know how an old man hidden in a mountain knows how to use something like that, but it doesn’t matter. Once I get out of here, I’m going to Valkar. Maybe I’ll report the existence of this village. Maybe I’ll report the boy without mana. Maybe I’ll even send information to the Arian Empire. I imagine they would pay very well for that.”

Myrddin did not answer.

Glib shoved his hand into his other pocket and pulled out a second artifact. It was a small bluish stone, crossed by silver lines.

“It was fun, oldie. But I’d rather survive than find out what else you can do.”

The silver lines shone.

The space around Glib distorted.

He smiled one last time.

“I’ll see you when I’m collecting my payment.”

In the next instant, he disappeared.

The mist closed over the place where he had been.

For a few seconds, Myrddin stood still.

Then he raised his right hand.

He closed his eyes.

The mana around the mountain vibrated.

He opened his eyes and quickly lowered his hand.

His body disappeared.

Several kilometers away, Glib appeared in the middle of the forest, stumbling over wet leaves and exposed roots. He fell to his knees, panting, and looked around to make sure he had managed to escape.

When he realized he was alone, he let out a nervous laugh.

“Damn old man…”

He placed a hand on his chest and tried to calm his breathing.

“Gravity magic without an incantation. What kind of monster is hiding in that village?”

Glib stood with difficulty. The resistance artifact was still glowing faintly beneath his clothes, but it was already cracked. It would not withstand another use.

“Doesn’t matter. First Valkar. Then Maltus. Then whoever pays more.”

He took the first step.

Then stopped.

Something ahead changed.

The air heated all at once.

Glib raised his eyes.

Myrddin was standing in front of him.

In the old man’s right hand, a mass of fire was already spinning, compressed and intense, ready to be released. The heat distorted the air around it, and nearby leaves began to dry almost instantly.

Glib’s eyes widened.

“Impossible.”

Myrddin launched the attack.

The explosion of fire tore through the forest in a straight line and struck Glib before he could activate any other artifact. His body was thrown backward, breaking trunks, ripping up earth, and opening a trail of destruction for hundreds of meters until he crashed into the ground and formed a crater.

Smoke and dust rose around him.

For a few moments, nothing moved.

Then Glib coughed.

He stood with difficulty, staggering, his clothes burned, his face injured, and his breathing broken. The resistance artifact had shattered completely, its fragments falling to the ground like broken glass.

“This… this makes no sense…”

He looked at the trail carved through the forest.

“Short-range teleportation? Spatial movement? How did he reach me so fast?”

A shadow fell over him.

Glib turned his face.

Myrddin was there.

Not dozens of meters away.

Not coming through the forest.

There.

In front of him.

Glib backed away, but his legs failed and he fell sitting inside the crater.

“Wait… wait. We can talk. I only accepted a contract. I have nothing against the boys. Business is business, you understand? I can forget everything. I can even say I found nothing.”

Myrddin looked at him without hurry.

“You spoke of selling the boy.”

Glib swallowed dryly.

“I exaggerated. It was just a way of speaking.”

“You spoke of reporting Adrossa’s existence.”

“I was only bluffing.”

“You spoke of delivering information to the Arian Empire.”

Glib opened his mouth, but no answer came out.

Myrddin took a step forward.

“I will not allow a worm like you to lay a finger on my sons.”

The word came out simple. Without hesitation.

Glib widened his eyes.

“Sons? Those boys aren’t…”

Myrddin began to conjure a spell, even though he did not need to. Perhaps he did it to make the intruder even more desperate.

“As the source of my power, I command: vibrate, O mana, and obey my call.”

Glib tried to stand.

The space around him began to harden.

“Oldie, wait…”

The old man continued:

“Weave the threads of light and the walls of wind. Nullify the laws of nature and imprison my target.”

Light appeared around Glib in thin lines. Wind closed in transparent layers. Space folded silently, forming a sphere around him.

Glib struck the barrier.

Nothing happened.

“No! Wait! I can tell you who hired me! I know things! I’m useful!”

Myrddin lowered his staff.

“Dimensional Prison.”

The sphere closed.

Glib screamed, but the sound was muffled as the barrier shrank. The space around him compressed without crushing his body, trapping him in a reduced dimension. The sphere gradually grew smaller, first the size of a carriage, then a barrel, then a small ball large enough to fit in the palm of a hand.

Myrddin extended his hand.

The sphere landed on his fingers, glowing faintly.

Everything became quiet.

The forest, which had been shaken by fire and magical pressure, slowly returned to silence. Only the trail of destruction remained, cutting through the trees like a scar.

Myrddin stared at the small prison in his hand.

Glib’s words returned to his mind.

Maltus.

A small, distant, wealthy kingdom.

Someone from there had hired a man to find a boy with Ren’s characteristics.

Not to capture just any child.

Not to search for just any fugitive.

Ren.

Myrddin closed his hand around the sphere.

“Could it be him?”

His face remained calm, but his eyes grew colder.

“What are you trying to do…”

He looked north, beyond the mountains, beyond the mist and the borders that kept Adrossa forgotten.

“…Edward?”

©JAE-HOON