There wasn't enough money left.
And the house's meager resources were melting like snow in the sun.
So Aurona had no other choice.
She accepted a position as a servant in the manor of a local lord, an influential noble merchant from Atokanayah, whose name often came up in rumors... but never in accusations.Too powerful. Too discreet.
The first few days, everything seemed fine.
She came home with a few coins, sometimes a loaf of bread, sometimes a rare fruit.
She smiled.
She said:
"From now on, things will be better."
And Leo wanted to believe her.
Even though he could already see that smile... no longer reached her eyes.
--
One evening, she came home later than usual.
She was still smiling. But something was wrong.
She had her head down.Her hands were shaking.And a dark stain on her sleeve, which she quickly covered.
"The chef is clumsy, you know. He spilled beet juice on me."
She laughed. But her voice was shaking.
That night, Leo heard his mother cry.Not like usual.Not softly.Not silently.
She cried as if she were about to break.And it was the first time... since the funeral.
--
Leo didn't sleep.Not really.He lay in bed, his eyes open, his jaw clenched.
Something...was wrong.Something dirty.
He was supposed to protect her.And yet, she was coming apart. As if an invisible hand had crushed her, then released her just enough for her to stand before him.
The next day, he got up as usual.He grabbed his bag. He said,
"I'm going to class."
But it was a lie.
He slipped through the alleys, climbed walls, jumped between roofs like he'd seen them do in childhood games—only this time, it was real.
He reached the manor.
Heavy, rich, grotesque.
He found a perfect angle, hidden in the shadows, just above one of the windows in the east wing.And he listened.
At first, everything seemed normal. Cooking sounds, light conversation.
Then she appeared.
Aurona.
His mother.
Always straight. Always dignified, even in silence.
She greeted the staff, retrieved her bag, and headed for the exit.
But then...
"Stay a little longer, sweet Aurona."
The lord's voice. Greasy. Soft. Falsely polite.
"I must go home. My son is waiting for me."
"What if he's no longer waiting for you?"
A silence.
"If you don't want anything to happen to him... you know what you must do. And above all, you won't say anything. To anyone."
Then, colder. Quieter.
"Go wash up. You know what that means."
She didn't answer.
There was the sound of rustling fabric. Footsteps.And a scream.
A muffled, broken scream.His mother's.
---
On the roof, Leo was frozen.
His heart was beating rapidly. His throat burned.
And in his eyes, there was nothing naive anymore.Nothing childish anymore.
Only rage.Pure.Silent.Devastating.
He clenched his fists.And he swore, wordlessly:
> "I swear to you, I will never let anyone hurt her again."
He was trembling.
Not with fear... but with rage.Pure, cold rage. Burning like boiling water.
On the roof, Leo knelt, panting, his teeth clenched.
And then... something inside him exploded.
A shiver ran through him, from the back of his neck to his stomach. His heart began to beat too hard, too fast—then differently.
He felt a fluid warmth spread through his veins, as if dark particles were coming to life beneath his skin.
His eyes went black for a moment.On his chest, under his shirt, a symbol appeared, drawn in a thin blue glow, vibrating to the rhythm of his heart.
He gasped.
"...Is this... my aura...?"
Tiny dark particles swirled around him, invisible to the naked eye, but he could feel them. He was connected to the air, to the humidity, to the living.
And he knew.This power... he wasn't going to use it to impress anyone.He had to protect his mother. Now.
But not just any old way.
If the nobleman suddenly disappeared, Aurona would be accused.If she was the last to see him... she would pay.
No.
He had to get her out of the manor, in front of witnesses.And he had to make it look like the nobleman had been attacked long afterward.
He needed an alibi. For her.
So... he straightened up, his mind racing faster than ever.
He tore off a corner of his shirt.Wrapped it around his face, forming a makeshift black mask.
Then, he slid gently down the roof.His new aura vibrated slightly. It masked him, almost concealed him, as if the humidity itself absorbed his presence.
He tore off pieces of straw, old wooden tiles.
Placed them carefully.
He threw the first piece through a side window, devoid of any soul.
Crash.
The sound of breaking glass echoed.
Then a second piece, hurled toward the nearby forest.
"Over there! I heard something!" a guard shouted.
Footsteps shuffled, orders flew.
Leo smiled beneath his mask.First distraction successful.
He crawled to another opening in the roof, overlooking the corridor adjacent to the bathroom.
He could hear the nobleman's sticky voice.
"Come now, beautiful Aurona... you don't want to endanger your dear son, do you?" »
— "…I…"His mother's voice. Broken.
A third projectile flew past, ricocheting off the wooden ledge near the entrance.
The nobleman jumped.
— "What was that?! Who's there?!"
— "One of the employees, maybe?"
Leo murmured.
— "Change your mind… buffoon. Change your mind…"
The sound of hurried footsteps was heard.
Panicked guards returned, hissing:
— "Good Lord! There's an intruder! He fled through the forest, we think!"
— "WHAT?! And you're bothering me now?!"
— "The staff saw him! He was prowling around the house!"
Perfect.
Fear. The image of an intruder. A witness. A distraction.
And above all... the nobleman was losing interest.He shouted more orders. He delayed his moment of predation. He began to have the surroundings watched.
Meanwhile, Aurona rushed out, passing several servants. One of them greeted her. Another watched her leave without suspecting.
She had been seen. She had an alibi.
And Leo, still on the roof, waited a moment longer, camouflaged by his own aura, until the moment came.
The moment he would return.And strike.The night was heavy.
In the heart of the manor, the nobleman found himself alone in his chambers, sated, frustrated, but still master of his domain.He poured himself a glass, raised it to his lips, ready to wash away the humiliation of having been interrupted earlier.
That's when the curtain shuddered.
Slowly.Almost imperceptibly.
And in the shadows, a figure stood out.
Silent.Masked.Eyes black as night.
The nobleman jumped, knocked over his glass, and abruptly recoiled.
"Who... WHO ARE YOU?!"
His hand shot out for a spare dagger lying on the counter.
But Leo moved before him.
His aura vibrated in the air, particles around his feet concentrated, driven by rage. He dodged the dagger, slid along the wall, grabbed the nobleman's arm, and twisted it sharply.
"The guards?" he hissed."Unconscious. Behind the door. The others? Lost in the forest. Are you scared? Good."
The nobleman, panicking, tried to scream.Leo stamped on his foot, then punched him in the ribs, hard enough to send him crashing into a column in the room.
"I... I can negotiate! I can pay you! Offer you a position! Magic, talismans, women!"
Leo walked slowly toward him.His steps were calm.But his gaze... was that of a suppressed storm.
He didn't respond.
The nobleman tried one last blow, weak, desperate.
Too slow.
Leo grabbed him by the arm, twisted it, and shattered his left knee with a clean blow. The cry of pain was muffled by an uppercut so violent that the nobleman crashed onto his own bed, his nose bloody, his teeth half knocked out.
He was panting. Moaning.
"What... what do you want...?"
"Nothing," Leo replied.
And he approached.
"This isn't a settlement. This isn't revenge."
He raised his hand.
"This is a sentence."
A hail of blows rained down on the nobleman's face. Clenched fists. Relentlessly. Without hesitation.He didn't count the blows.He struck for all his mother's tears.
Then, in chilling calm, Leo grabbed the dagger that had fallen to the ground.
"This is the last time... you'll ever lay your filthy hands on her."
And without trembling, he slit the nobleman's throat.
Straight away. Silently.
The body stirred. Struggled. Then... nothing.
Just blood.And silence.
---
Outside, the sound of boots was getting closer.The guards were returning.
But Leo was already moving.
He climbed back onto the roof, hoisted himself up silently, and leaped from one building to another, guided by instinct, by urgency... and by the nascent aura within him.
He ran.He didn't stop.
All the way to his house.
There, under the pale moonlight, he removed his mask.
He went inside. Silent.And collapsed in his room.
Heart heavy.Body cold.But soul...free.
To be continued
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