Chapter 35: The Truth Behind Everything

Vitar spread his arms to his sides and spoke loudly, his voice echoing through the mountain: "I am Vitar, the greatest Guardian of the North. I have come here to kill you... and protect the world from your power, Guardian Eldar!"

Adrian stared at him in confusion. "Is... he talking to me?"

Before he could finish, Vitar suddenly charged at him at incredible speed. Adrian raised the Flagerum just in time, and its seven straps shot forward to block the attack. But Vitar simply reached out and caught all seven straps with one hand.

Adrian's eyes widened. He tried to pull the weapon back, but Vitar yanked him forward and grabbed the Flagerum itself. In the next moment, the weapon began to disappear between his fingers. It burned without any flame, turning into black ash that scattered into the air.

Adrian stood frozen, staring at his empty hands in disbelief. He had lost the Flagerum.

Before he could understand what had happened, Vitar appeared in front of him. The first punch came from the right and struck Adrian in the face. Before he could regain his balance, another punch came from the left, followed by a third and a fourth. The punches came so fast that Adrian could barely see Vitar's fists.

Blows landed from both sides until Vitar delivered a punch far stronger than the others. Adrian's body was sent flying. He crashed onto the ground and slid across the rocks before hitting the dirt hard enough to leave a hole in the ground.

Adrian tried to raise his head, but Vitar was already standing in front of him. He bent down, grabbed Adrian by the neck with one hand, and lifted him slightly before smashing him into the ground.

Adrian's head slammed against the rocks. He tried to move, but Vitar's grip kept him pinned down.

Suddenly, Vitar's body began to change. His skin turned a glowing blue, and his eyes lit up with the same color. Thin streams of blue energy shot from his eyes, stretching through the air like threads of light before entering Adrian's eyes.

Adrian felt something pierce into his mind.

The next moment, he screamed.

The pain was unbearable, as if iron hammers were pounding against the inside of his skull without stopping. The black aura surrounding Adrian's body slowly began to disappear, while the energy continued invading his mind for several moments before finally stopping.

Vitar removed his hand from Adrian and stood up, taking several steps back.

Adrian tried to stand, but the pain in his head made him stagger. He barely managed to get to his feet before falling back onto his knees.

He raised his head toward Vitar and asked in pain, "What... did you do to me?"

Vitar calmly replied, "I didn't do anything to you. Your body is just a little exhausted because of the examination I performed on you. But it will return to normal soon."

Adrian glared at him angrily. "Didn't you say you came here to kill me? For a moment... I thought this was the end for me."

Vitar looked at him calmly. "Are you afraid of death?"

Adrian lowered his head for a moment before answering, "I'm not afraid of death... I'm more afraid that I won't be able to avenge my family against Eldar."

Vitar raised an eyebrow. "Then why don't you do what he asks you to do?"

Adrian frowned. "I don't understand what you mean. Everyone keeps saying the same thing, but the truth is, I don't even know Eldar. He sometimes talks to me... but he controls my body."

Vitar remained silent for a few moments before saying, "That's why I didn't kill you."

Adrian looked at him in confusion.

Vitar continued, "I saw the incredible power inside you, and I saw the painful memories you carry. But what truly stopped me from killing you... was realizing that you are the only one capable of defeating him."

Adrian's eyes widened slightly, and Vitar continued, "Now that Eldar has placed a part of his power inside you, he thinks he has a chance to defeat us. But there is one thing he doesn't know... you will be the one to kill him in the end."

Adrian remained silent for a moment before saying, "I still don't understand what you mean."

He struggled to stand and moved toward Vitar, but Vitar grabbed his hand and stopped him.

Then he said, "And I know where you will find what you're looking for."

Adrian quickly raised his head. "Really?"

Vitar smiled. "You're looking for Eldar's daughter."

Adrian froze. "How did you know I was looking for her?"

Vitar answered, "Because we know that if Eldar somehow manages to reach our world, the second thing he will do after opening the gate... is search for his daughter."

Adrian frowned. "Why does he want her?"

Vitar's expression changed slightly. "Don't think he misses her. Eldar's power requires him to be free of love and emotions. He has to cut the last connection he has to someone he cares about."

He paused for a moment before continuing, "And his daughter is that connection."

He fell silent for a moment, then said, "That's why he wants to kill her."

Adrian's eyes widened.

Vitar continued, "If he manages to kill her, his power will increase tremendously. Combined with the dark power he obtained from the mirrors, he may become capable of returning to our world."

Silence fell between them.

Then Vitar said in a serious tone, "And if that happens, no one will be able to stop him. Not even the Guardians themselves. He will be hundreds of times stronger than them... thanks to the dark energy he will gain from the mirrors after killing his daughter."

After a few moments of silence, Vitar said, "There's something else I discovered while I was inside your mind."

Adrian looked at him in confusion. "What is it?"

Vitar replied, "I discovered something important. You are connected to Eldar's mind because of that power. Since Eldar controls it, he can see what happens through you. But in return... you cannot see what is happening inside his mind."

Adrian raised an eyebrow.

Vitar continued, "But I was able to. After weakening the energy barrier inside your mind, I managed to see something I was never supposed to know."

Silence filled the area for a moment.

Then Vitar said, "That information made me certain that you had nothing to do with what Eldar did. That's why... killing you would be unfair."

Vitar lowered his eyes toward the ground before speaking in a more serious tone. "But I'm afraid this truth will cause you even more pain."

Adrian looked at him. "What truth could hurt me even more?"

Vitar remained silent for a few moments before saying, "Your mother's soul... didn't transfer the power to you willingly."

Adrian stared at him. "What do you mean?"

Vitar looked at him and asked, "Have you ever wondered why Eldar kept your mother's body intact after killing her?"

Adrian didn't answer, so Vitar continued, "It was part of his plan from the beginning. He kept her body intact, then transferred part of his power into her soul."

Adrian's eyes slowly widened.

"Then he made her believe that the power had somehow been stolen from him. He also opened a path for her soul that was never supposed to exist. A path that allowed her to reach your dreams... and then transfer the power to you."

Adrian stared at him without saying a word.

Vitar continued, "He made her believe that she was the one who managed to do all of that. But the truth..." He paused for a moment before saying, "Everything that happened was according to Eldar's plan."

Adrian remained frozen for several seconds, as if his mind refused to accept what he had just heard.

Then he asked in a low voice, "Why... did he do that?"

Vitar answered, "So he could deceive us. He tried hundreds of times to contact someone from this world, but he couldn't. Then he came up with an idea."

Vitar looked at him and continued, "If he couldn't reach us... then he had to make someone from this world reach us."

"But that was only possible if he tricked us. And that's exactly what he did. We all believed that your mother's soul was the one that escaped from the mirror and gave you the power willingly."

Adrian lowered his head slightly before asking, "Then why did he put part of his power inside me?"

Vitar replied, "Because the gates don't allow people who were banished to other worlds to return easily. There is only one way... the power of a Guardian."

Adrian raised his head, and Vitar continued, "That's why he transferred part of his power to you. Since he is a Guardian, you now carry the power needed to open the gate. Through that, he was able to connect his mind to yours... and use your power to open a path to our world."

Silence filled the area again.

Then Vitar said, "He deceived all of us... and through you, Eldar managed to open the Reflection Gates for the Bemor."

Adrian remained standing there, unable to respond. Everything he thought he knew about his mother and the power he had received was slowly falling apart in front of him.

Adrian spoke in a low voice, as if everything was finally starting to make sense.

"So... that's why Malkar didn't kill me."

Vitar looked at him and slowly nodded.

"Exactly."

Adrian remained silent for a few moments before frowning.

"But... why did he kill Philip?"

Vitar's expression changed slightly before he answered, "Because his plan was to make you angry."

Adrian froze.

"Make me angry...?"

"Yes." Vitar took a step forward. "He wanted to awaken the power inside you and use your anger to draw our attention to you. He knew we would sense the appearance of a Guardian's power and come looking for its source."

Adrian lowered his eyes as old memories began flooding back into his mind—Malkar, the children, Dan, and all the times Malkar had tried to provoke him.

Vitar continued, "At first, he tried to make you angry by using the children... then he used Dan."

Adrian suddenly raised his head.

"I remember..." His breathing stopped for a moment. "He was trying to provoke me the entire time."

Vitar nodded.

"But you didn't give him what he wanted. You were angry, yes... but your anger wasn't enough to awaken the power."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"That's why he waited."

Adrian's gaze sharpened.

"Waited for what?"

"Your mother's soul."

Adrian froze.

When Adrian's mother's soul returned the rest of the power she carried to him, Malkar realized that the opportunity he had been waiting for had finally arrived.

Adrian slowly lowered his head and whispered, "But he could have waited... Why did he kill Philip?"

Vitar looked at him seriously. "Because Malkar saw how much you feared losing him... and how attached you were to him."

Adrian's eyes widened slightly.

"He knew Philip was the person who could break you the most."

Silence filled the area.

Then Vitar said, "That's why he used Philip's death against you."

Adrian's fingers trembled as the image of Philip returned to his mind—his small body in Adrian's arms, his lifeless face staring back at him.

Adrian clenched his fist tightly. "He... killed Philip just for my power?"

Vitar calmly replied, "Killing him wasn't his only goal."

Adrian raised his eyes toward him.

"He wanted to set you free."

Vitar paused for a moment before adding, "And he succeeded."

Adrian's breathing became unsteady. The memory of the black aura surrounding his body that day returned to his mind, along with the pain and anger that had almost consumed him.

Vitar continued, "When your anger reached its peak, your power fully awakened."

He looked directly at Adrian. "And the moment Malkar realized that his plan had worked... he left you."

Adrian stared at him. "He left me...?"

"Yes. You lost consciousness afterward, but Malkar had no reason to stay. His plan had already succeeded."

Adrian remained silent for a moment before saying, "And Faldrin..."

Vitar raised his eyes. "What about him?"

"Why was he there?"

A faint smile appeared on Vitar's face. "Because we had asked him to go to your world."

Adrian's eyes widened. "You... asked him?"

"Yes. He was supposed to find you and bring you to us."

Adrian lowered his head. "So that's why he saved Dan and my grandfather..."

"Yes."

Adrian remained silent for a few moments before closing his eyes. Faldrin's old words echoed in his mind.

"I never abandoned you, not even for a moment..."

Adrian slowly opened his eyes. For the first time, he began to understand what Faldrin had really meant.

Vitar said, "Faldrin found you and Dan under the rubble before it completely collapsed on top of you. If he had been even a little late..."

He stopped. There was no need to finish the sentence.

Adrian understood.

He lowered his head and remained silent for a few moments before saying, "So... every time I thought I was alone..."

He raised his eyes toward Vidar. "There were people trying to help me... and I didn't know anything about it."

Vidar said nothing.

Adrian kept staring at the ground, his anger mixing with another feeling he couldn't identify. He clenched his fist and said quietly, "But there's one thing I still don't understand."

Vidar raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Adrian looked directly at him. "If Malkar planned all of this from the beginning..."

His expression changed. "Then why do I feel like I still don't know the whole truth?"

"So... all those battles..." His voice trembled. "They were all part of Malkar's plan."

He slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with anger and shock. "He could have burned my mother's body and killed all of us easily... but he deliberately made himself look weak."

He clenched his fist tightly. "He made me believe that I was the one who freed my mother's soul... and that I was able to kill the weak Beimur with my own power."

Silence filled the area for a moment.

Then Vidar said calmly, "That's right."

Adrian looked at him.

Vidar continued, "Malkar's power is enormous. If he wanted to destroy your entire world, he could do it without any trouble."

Adrian remained on his knees, unable to accept that everything he had thought were victories might have been nothing more than carefully planned steps in Eldar's plan from the very beginning.

He slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The black aura around his body remained for a few moments before slowly fading as he regained control of his emotions.

Several minutes passed before his breathing finally returned to normal. Then he opened his eyes.

"I understand now... everything," he said calmly.

He raised his head and looked at Vidar with sharp eyes. The confusion that had filled his gaze moments ago was gone. He seemed to have regained control of himself.

Then he said firmly, "I'll make them all regret it."

Vidar watched him for a moment before saying calmly, "But remember... this isn't the time to fight."

He paused for a moment.

"It's time to make a plan."

Elsewhere in the world, inside the Mirror World, Malkar stood beside the throne of the Guardian Eldar.

"They've discovered our plan, my lord," he said.

Eldar remained seated on his throne without showing any concern.

"That doesn't matter."

Malkar raised his eyes toward him.

"I knew they would discover it sooner or later," Eldar continued. "I didn't deceive them for all this time for nothing."

His eyes paused for a moment before a faint smile appeared on his face.

"I wanted to open the gates..."

"And I've already achieved my goal."

Silence filled the hall for a few moments before Malkar asked, "What about your daughter, my lord?"

Eldar looked at him coldly.

"It's still too early."

"As long as Adrian hasn't fully mastered my power, I can still use him to achieve my second goal."

His smile slowly widened.

"And once I do that..."

"There will be no reason to keep Adrian alive anymore."

Silence filled the hall.

Then Eldar began to laugh.

It was a low, sinister laugh that echoed through the hall as his distorted reflection appeared across the surrounding mirrors.