Silarias jolted awake with a violent start. His breathing was a racing rhythm in his chest, and his forehead was sticky with a thin layer of cold sweat. Yesterday’s dreams involving the flaming pillars and the crushing weight of the sun were still burned into his mind like afterimages. However, the first thing he saw upon opening his eyes was not the destruction of the Ward, but two small, glinting ruby eyes staring at him curiously from just inches away. A wet, warm snout that smelled of fresh-cut grass and melted gold pushed clumsily against his cheek.
“W-WAAA!” With a clumsy move, Silarias rolled off his bed. He landed with a dull thud on the wooden floor while his heart pounded in his throat like a trapped bird. “What happened last night?!” he cried out, looking wildly around the room, half expecting the shadow fighter to step out of the walls again. His gaze fell to the corner of the room. There, sitting on a wooden chest, was Nyx. A mischievous twinkle danced in her eyes, which was a light Silarias had never seen in her before. She giggled softly with a sound like tinkling crystals as she reached out her hand to scratch the creature behind its ears.
“Yes, mmm, apparently you have a little pig,” she laughed, her voice full of childlike delight. “And he is really cute, Sil. He watched over you all night. Even Toji left him alone.” Silarias stared open-mouthed at the animal. The boar was a wondrous sight because his bristles were threads of pure light and his hooves shone like polished copper. Naturally, Silarias’s gloves and his pupils began to glow gold as the energy of the twins reacted to an external power source. But this time the heat was not destructive; it felt like the warm glow of a fire on a winter evening.
“Guli,” Silarias whispered unconsciously. The name rolled off his tongue as if he had known it for a thousand years. The gloves immediately calmed and the golden rings in his eyes receded. The pig gave a satisfied deep oink and trotted toward him, leaning against his leg with a cute clumsiness. The bond was official: the Bearer of the Dawn had found his master. Nyx sprang up from the chest with her entire face radiating a pure happiness that seemed to brighten the dull walls of the Broken Horn. “Ehh, so you like my books too, huh? I KNEW I WAS NOT THE ONLY SMART ONE!” She hopped enthusiastically around him, her usual quiet manner completely gone. “You did so much on the field yesterday, Sil. You were so strong. I saw how you tried to bend those powers.” Before Silarias could even react, she threw her arms around him in an unexpected, tight hug.
Silarias froze. His entire body became as tight as a drawn bowstring, and he felt the heat rise to his cheeks until he was red past his ears. He was the Nobody with the load of a god, but confronted with the girl’s genuine affection, he felt more vulnerable than ever. Slowly, his shoulders relaxed and he surrendered to the hug. “Hahaha, yeah, Haza!” he laughed shyly, using a cry of joy he had read in one of the books. He took her hand, where her fingers were small and cold, but her grip was determined. Hand in hand, with the golden boar trotting behind them like a loyal companion from a fairy tale, they walked down the stairs for breakfast.
Downstairs in the main hall, it was dim. Juro sat in his favorite corner at the back, hidden in the shadows he loved so much. He sipped from a cup of black coffee with his eyes half closed in a quiet state, but as soon as the two children rounded the last step of the stairs, his eyes snapped open. His gaze immediately fell on their held hands. The old warrior promptly choked on his coffee. “A-HEM!” Before the children could even reach the entrance of the kitchen, the room suddenly filled with a thick but surprisingly soft smoke. It was not a suffocating cloud of fire, but a perfect, unbreakable smokescreen that covered the entire hall in a gray mist.
In the mist, Silarias and Nyx felt a gentle, almost invisible wave of smoke weave between their palms, pushing their fingers apart softly but firmly. It was the subtle hand of the mentor, a fatherly warning delivered through the air itself. Within the dense smoke, letters of ash slowly formed that only they could read: CHILDREN CAN BE CRUEL. THE WORLD IS WATCHING. As soon as the smoke cleared, the two children stood there several centimeters apart. They suddenly realized they had almost committed a social mistake in front of the other rough mentors, who were anything but gentle with their jokes. Bones was polishing, Moria was tinkering, and Beat was sharpening his knives. Both quickly looked away, their faces glowing red in the morning light while Gullinbursti circled them in confusion.
Training began immediately after breakfast, but the atmosphere on the training field had changed completely. There was no shouting and no brutal physical punishments; instead, everyone was suspiciously nice. Beat gave him a friendly fist bump, Vespera gave him a quick hug, and Bones gave him a pat on the back with enough force to break a normal human collarbone. Silarias felt it in his gut: Why are they acting like this? Is this the calm before the storm? But he asked nothing and threw himself into the work with renewed energy.
During a break in training, Juro came to sit beside him while the smoke from his pipe formed figures of warriors in the air. “Listen closely, little lion,” he began, his voice serious and deep. “Frey and Freya are not just weapons you wield. They are parts of a soul that refuses to die. And that pig, Gullinbursti, is more than a ride or a curiosity. He is the Bearer of the Dawn.” Juro pointed to the boar, which was happily rolling in the sand. “In the darkest hours of battle, he signifies that the sun never truly sets as long as you keep the will to fight. He heals your wounds with his light and he carries the load of your transformations when your small body can no longer handle it. Do not treat him as a pet, but as your own heartbeat.”
After hours of intensive training, during which Silarias learned how to focus his energy without letting his veins burst, he was at the end of his strength. Every muscle in his body shook with fatigue. With a rumbling stomach, he walked to the main hall for lunch, dreaming of the stews Moria sometimes prepared. But the hall was empty. It was deathly silent. No set tables, no steaming plates, and not even a scent of food in the air. Nothing at all. The mentors were nowhere to be seen. Grumble, groom! His stomach roared so loudly that Toji, lying by the fire, raised all three of his heads at once and looked on in surprise. “Why is no one here? I am so hungry,” Silarias muttered desperately. He looked out the window, where a sparrow chirping on a branch briefly turned into a juicy, dripping steak in his vision. He shook his head wildly to make the trick disappear. “No, no. I am just tired. I need to sleep. Just sleep and forget the hunger until tomorrow.”
With lead in his shoes and a hollow feeling in his gut, he stumbled up the stairs to the upper hall where the sleeping rooms were. He just wanted to close his eyes and disappear into the dream world of the twins. But as soon as he pushed down the latch of the large door: “CONGRATULATIONS!!!” The noise was deafening. Fireworks of Bones’ own making went off while colorful sparks and confetti of magical energy crackled through the air. The whole gang was there. The mentors, Juro with a rare smile, Bones who had taped a party hat onto his chrome skull, and even Jane and Aurelius were present!
The hall was filled with the most delicious food he had ever seen in his life. Roasted meats, stacks of fresh bread, special fruit from the upper world, and cakes glistening with sugar. Jane walked up to him, her eyes wet with emotion, and pulled him into a motherly hug. “You have grown, Sil. We are so proud of you. You are not a Nobody anymore. You are one of us.” Then Nyx stepped forward from the crowd. She looked glowing, her hair shining in the candlelight while she held something behind her back with a mysterious look. “And what do you think? I arranged all of this for you,” she said proudly. “You did everything for me yesterday. I could not forget you during the party.” She hugged him so sincerely and warmly that Silarias was completely stunned. He stood there overwhelmed, his head spinning from the impressions. He was nearly overcome by the love and warmth of this group of outcasts, the only family he had ever truly known.
“Go outside and play,” Juro said with a rare big smile while waving a hand to clear the smoke around his chair. “It is your birthday, little lion. No training, no broken bones. Just go be a kid for an hour.” Vespera agreed while moving Silarias and the rest of the group toward the heavy iron doors of the Broken Horn. “Go on. Take Nyx, Ren, Kael, Aurelius, and Jane with you. Moria will keep an eye out.” The group of children spilled out onto the dusty training grounds. The air was still thick with the Ward’s smog, but for today it felt lighter. “Happy birthday, Nobody!” Kael shouted, giving Silarias a playful shove. “Yeah, happy birthday, little king!” Jane added with a wink while the group gathered in the center of the field.
Moria stepped forward, her moving parts hissing. She held a heavy, ball-shaped object made of reinforced rubber and scrap metal. “You want to play? Let us make it interesting,” she grinned. She tapped the ball with her finger and activated her special sound power. A visible ripple of sound energy wrapped around the ball, making it hum with a low vibrating frequency. “This ball will not just bounce. It echoes. Every time it hits something, it doubles its speed. Do not get hit.” They split into two teams immediately. Silarias, Ren, and Jane on one side. Kael, Aurelius, and Nyx on the other. Or at least they thought Nyx was there. “Wait, where is Nyx?” Ren asked, looking around.
HICK! The sound came from the back of Silarias’s team. Everyone froze and turned around. There stood Nyx, but she was not her usual calm self. Her hair was messy, her face was a deep glowing pink, and she was swaying dangerously from side to side. In her hand, she held a glass bottle she had snatched from Vespera’s private collection. “Yeahhh, Silll!” Nyx slurred with a wide goofy grin that did not fit her quiet princess vibe at all. “We are gonna… HICK… we are gonna destroy them, my Prince! You and me… the sun and the moon… and this bottle of juice!”
“NYX!” a voice thundered from the tavern balcony. Vespera appeared, her eyes flashing with pure motherly anger. “Is that my special drink?!” She did not even use the stairs; she leaped down and marched toward the girl. “That is for medical purposes only and it is definitely not for thirteen-year-olds!” Vespera snatched the bottle away while Nyx made a weak grab for it. “Aww… but it tastes like… HICK… like stardust…” Nyx muttered. Vespera did not listen and marched back inside, mumbling about wild shadows and locking the cabinets.
The game started, but Nyx was a total disaster. While the others were dodging the ball, which was now bouncing off the walls like a golden streak of lightning, Nyx was busy trying to walk in a straight line. “Sil… look at the ball… it is purple now…” she giggled, stumbling toward Silarias. He tried to focus on the game, but Nyx suddenly leaned herself over his shoulder. Her weight felt like lead and she smelled like sweet berries. “You are so shiny today, Sil,” she whispered, leaning her face dangerously close to his. Her eyes were unfocused and she began to tilt her head as if trying to plant a kiss right on his cheek.
Silarias turned bright red, his sun energy flickering in pure embarrassment. “Nyx! The ball! Watch out!” He ducked just as the ball whistled over their heads at extreme speed. Nyx did not even blink. She just hummed a quiet song and started to slide down his back, her eyes closing. She was about to pass out right there in the dirt. “GULLIIII!!!” Silarias yelled, still blushing from embarrassment. “Oink!” Gulli, the golden pig, sensed the chaos. He trotted over with perfect timing and positioned his sturdy back right under Nyx before she hit the ground. With a graceful lift, he carried the sleeping girl on his glowing bristles. “Good luck, Sil,” Ren laughed as the game resumed. “Looks like the Moon is out of order!” Gulli gave a proud grunt and began to walk calmly back toward the tavern, carrying the sleeping Nyx like a fallen warrior while Silarias stood there stunned, trying to get his heart rate back to normal.
Hours later, after the last remains of cake were eaten and the fireworks had died out, a peaceful quiet ruled in the Broken Horn. Silarias and Nyx lay in their own rooms, but the door between them stood open. The eternal threat of the Ward outside felt less suffocating tonight, as if the light of the golden pig kept the darkness away. “Nyx?” Silarias whispered in the darkness. “Are you still awake?” “Always for you, Sil,” her soft voice came through the opening, still sounding tired. “Thanks for today. Really,” Silarias said, staring at the ceiling. “I felt for the first time today that I really did not feel like a Nobody. I felt like I belonged here.”
Nyx was quiet for a moment, and then her voice sounded again, full of belief. “HICK. That is because you are not one, Sil. The books say it. You are the sun. HICK. The sun that will bring the warmth back to the world.” She paused and added more softly, “And the moon will always be there to reflect your light, even when the world thinks it is dark. I will not leave you alone in the shadow.” The golden pig oinked softly and happily at the foot of Silarias’s bed, with his light dimming to a soothing glow. On the entrance of the room lay the three-headed dog with his six eyes watchfully directed at the hallway. For one night, the war was far away. For one night, everything was peaceful in the heart of the Broken Horn.
