1374 Echoes From Within
All through his journey back, Neron had multiple thoughts in his head.
He thought of the expression his father would have when he saw him in the house rather than the Academy. He knew there would probably be some letter sent to his dorm for him, but he wanted to hear his congratulations from his old man—face to face.
He also wanted to rub it all in.
'The exams were so easy! I can't wait till I tell him all about it!'
All of this anticipation and buildup—the culmination of emotions that kept climbing over the course of days—dissipated the moment he got to the front gate.
As he approached the familiar wrought iron gates, Neron's heart clenched with a mixture of relief, but suddenly began to feel dread. He had longed to return home, but now, as he stood before the imposing facade of the manor, he couldn't shake the feeling of unease that gnawed at him from within.
It almost felt... horrible.
Taking a deep breath, Neron pushed open the heavy gates and stepped into the courtyard beyond. The air was heavy with the scent of jasmine and roses, mingling with the musty scent of ancient stone. Memories flooded back to him, of lazy summer days spent exploring the gardens with his father, of laughter and warmth that seemed like a lifetime ago.
He didn't even know why he was having those thoughts now.
He previously thought about sneaking into the compound, but after experiencing how silent and oddly abandoned it seemed... he gave up on that venture. n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om
'I must be overthinking it. What could possibly be wrong?' Despite the vibe of the place being wrong, Neron tried his best to convince himself that there was nothing wrong.
His instincts were lying to him.
But as Neron crossed the threshold into the manor, his heart sank like a stone. The once grand halls were silent and still, the air thick with a sense of foreboding that sent shivers down his spine. He called out for his father, his voice echoing through the empty corridors, but there was no reply.
Fearing the worst, Neron hurried through the labyrinthine halls of the manor, his footsteps echoing in the silence as he searched for any sign of life. And then, he found it - a door at the end of a long hallway, closed and forbidding, as if it held the weight of the world within its confines.
With trembling hands, Neron pushed open the door and stepped into the room beyond. And there, lying on a bed draped in white, was his father, his once vibrant eyes now closed in eternal slumber. "...." Neron's heart stopped as he took in the sight before him, the weight of grief crashing down upon him like a tidal wave.
"Dad..." He whispered, his voice choked with emotion as he rushed to his father's side. He reached out to touch him, to shake him awake from the cruel grasp of death, but his hand fell limply against the cold, lifeless flesh.
Looking at his father's body, and how saturated it was with Mana, Neron could already tell how he died.
It was his illness that caused it.
'You were going to die with or without my help anyway. All we did was prolong the inevitable...'
This was perhaps the necessary mental gymnastics a child needed to cope with the death of his father, but for Neron... it was more than that.
This was something that had also been building up for as long as he could remember.
—His distaste for Magic.
"In the end, it solves nothing..."
Magic was wonderful and beautiful... but it was even more destructive. It was useless in times like this; when it counted most.
And Neron could see all of that now.
".I hate it! I hate Magic!"
*
*
*
[End Of Part 2, Arc 1: The Origins Arc]
This Arc was short, yet it felt so long for some reason. I certainly hope you stick around for the more interesting bits of the story.
Next Arc coming up... The Kingdom's Adventurer Arc
Hope you enjoy!