Hours after the massacre.
William, Caen, and Jane returned to the headquarters of the Blue Bird, an ancient stone building hidden inside one of the forgotten neighborhoods of Reloy. It has now become their temporary operations center, run by a small group of secret collaborators, but at the heart of this organization, the man with a thousand accounts stood... Roy, the captain of the blue bird.
A tall man, with thick gray hair, and eyes that do not age, carries a calm like a sleeping storm. When he saw William come in covered in blood, he didn't ask him, "Are you okay?" He said quietly:
"Have you finished what you started?"
William nodded briefly, Roy replied:
"So it's time for the next phase."
Behind them, the children entered in heavy silence.
No screaming, no crying. Only tired eyes, empty of innocence, staring into the void.
Some of them held on to Jane, as if it were the only rope that connects them to life, while the others sat on the ground, hardened, as if they were afraid to move so as not to be locked up again.
One of the boys, not more than ten, asked Caen in a whisper:
"Are we... free now?"
Cain came in front of him, he put his hand on his head, and answered him confidently:
"Yes... and no one will touch you anymore. That's a promise."
But inside him, he knew that the promise would be difficult to fulfill... unless the roots of the sect were completely cut.
⸻
Interrogation
Downstairs of the headquarters, a small room was lit with a dim lamp. On a wooden chair, the leader who fainted in the massacre was tied. A wound on his head, and dry blood on his mouth. But now... he started to open his eyes.
The first to stand in front of him was William.
He didn't speak, he just looked at him. The same look that paralyzed the leader in battle.
It's like the same eyes say: lie once... and it will tear you twice.
Behind the glass, Roy was watching the session silently, next to him Jane and Cain. He didn't intervene, but he watched William as if he were weighing every word and movement.
The interrogation began.
Cain and Jane are watching from afar, and they write down every word. William used a calm tone, but it carried enough horror to make the leader speak.
And in the end... after threats, slaps, and a few unforgettable words... The leader said the truth:
"It's not me who leads them... There are those who are above me."
"Who?"
"One of the great leaders... will participate in the next sects competition. Under a fake identity. His goal is not to win... but to reach something... something called the black seal."
Cain got up instead, and Jane looked at William with obvious concern. As for Roy, he said calmly without changing his tone:
"Black seal... I haven't heard of that name since the old war. If their goal is to reach it, everything we have done so far has been just the beginning."
William replied with a gloom look:
"If they're heading to the competition... we're going too."
⸻
After the interrogation
When everyone left the room, Cain stayed for a moment, then turned to William, and asked him in a low voice:
"What happened there? Inside the circle? You weren't normal, William."
Silence.
Then William replied without paying attention to him:
"Someone... or something... they tried to call him. And I was the key... but I didn't open it, I faced it."
"I faced him? Who?" Cain asked.
"An ancient king... one of those who almost tore the world apart before."
Then he finally looked at Cain, adding:
"And he knows me... and that's worse than anything else."
Cain didn't say anything, but Roy, who was listening from the shadow, turned his back and said:
"So... we're playing against those who don't die. Good. I had begun to hope from humans."
⸻
And on the horizon...
I collected all the information, maps, and the names of the participants in the grand competition organized by the sects every three years.
In the corner, put the name in red under a confused image:
"Commander Karov – The Phoenix Sect – A Fake Identity"
Roy looked at the picture, then at William and said:
"Are you ready to face something deeper than blood?"
William replied:
"I'm ready to burn the same roots."
And everyone realized that what happened... was just an introduction.