Revelations and Ruin

Later that evening, the injured man sat in our small home, his voice low and urgent as he spoke to Satoshi. I stood nearby, trying to take it all in, but every word felt heavier than the last. He was asking me to leave the village—to join the Azeron Guardians and train with them.

The idea set my mind spinning. This was it. The chance I had always dreamed of. A way to see the world beyond these mountains, to understand my strange connection to Lumina, to finally find answers about who I was.

And yet, as thrilling as it sounded, doubt crept in. Could I really leave? Satoshi was the only family I’d ever known. This village was my home, the one place I truly understood. Was I ready to give all that up?

When the Luminarian finally left, Satoshi remained by the fire, quiet. The flames crackled softly, casting long shadows across his face. I could feel something unspoken between us, a weight he’d been carrying for years. The silence stretched, almost unbearable, until he finally sighed and spoke.

“Renjiro,” he began, his voice heavy. “There’s something I need to tell you. Something I should have told you years ago.”

I frowned, a knot tightening in my chest. “What is it?”

Satoshi stared into the fire for what felt like forever, his expression troubled. Then, with slow, deliberate movements, he stood and crossed the room. He bent down and pulled something from beneath the bed—a strange, worn relic.

He placed it on the table between us, and I couldn’t look away. The black-and-gold symbol engraved on its surface gleamed faintly in the firelight. I didn’t know why, but it sent a chill through me.

Satoshi sat back down, his eyes fixed on the relic. “It was a stormy night,” he began again, his voice steady but burdened. “Rain was hammering against the windows. I heard thuds outside, urgent and panicked. When I opened the door, there was a woman in a black cloak—injured, exhausted.”

His words sent a shiver through me. I stared at him, waiting, the knot in my chest tightening with each pause.

“She was pregnant,” Satoshi continued, his eyes distant. “Barely able to stand. I took her in. She never told me where she came from or how she got here. Her eyes… they were a striking orange hazel, but glazed over with exhaustion. She carried something with her.” He motioned toward the relic on the table. “This. A black-and-gold relic.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his voice trembling slightly as he went on. “That night, she went into labor. It was difficult, and I did all I could to help her. She named you Renjiro.”

My breath caught. I could hear my heart pounding in my ears.

Satoshi’s voice softened. “I left her resting for just a moment, but when I came back, she was gone. The door was open to the storm, and only you remained.”

I stared at him, my thoughts racing. This couldn’t be real.

He met my gaze, his face etched with years of secrecy and care. “I took you in and raised you as my own. I never saw her again. I didn’t know how to tell you—or if I even should. I wanted to protect you from a past that seemed to chase her here. A past that might still be looking for you.”

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms as I tried to process what he was saying.

“I’ve always feared,” he said, barely a whisper now, “that one day, whatever she was running from would come back for you. That’s why I never told you. I thought if I kept you close, kept you safe, I could protect you.”

The room suddenly felt too small, the walls closing in on me. My chest ached with anger and an aching sense of betrayal. I looked at the relic, the symbol gleaming like it was mocking me. It was a link to a mother I’d never known, a past I’d never even imagined.

“I… I don’t understand,” I said, my voice cracking. Then my eyes caught something else.

I froze, staring down at my arm. The same symbol was there, engraved into my skin—a mark I’d always thought of as a birthmark.

My fingers trembled as I touched it. It had always been there, but now it felt like more than just a mark. It felt like a key to something I didn’t understand.

“I don’t know where you’re from,” Satoshi said, his voice softer now, “but I’ve always believed you were destined for something greater than this village. This might be your chance to find out who you are.”

His words hung in the air, each one digging deeper into me. My entire life, everything I thought I knew, suddenly felt like an illusion.

Satoshi looked at me, his eyes full of emotion. “That’s up to you. But whatever you decide, just know that I’ve always seen you as my son.”

The weight of his words pressed down on me, but all I felt was anger. It rose in my chest, hot and uncontrollable. I gripped the edge of the table so tightly my knuckles turned white.

“What?” I hissed, my voice sharp. “You knew this? All these years, and you never told me?”

Satoshi flinched but met my gaze. “I—”

“No!” I cut him off, standing abruptly. My chair scraped against the wooden floor as I gestured wildly toward the relic. “Don’t give me that! You’ve been lying to me my whole life. You knew I wasn’t from here. You knew I was different!”

“I was trying to protect you—”

“Protect me?” I let out a bitter laugh. “By keeping me in the dark? By pretending I was just some village boy like everyone else?” My voice cracked. “All this time, I’ve been living a lie.”

His shoulders slumped, but his voice stayed calm. “I didn’t want you to feel burdened by something you couldn’t control—”

“And whose choice was that to make?” I snapped, my anger boiling over. “You had no right to decide that for me! You robbed me of the chance to know who I am!”

Satoshi’s face twisted in pain, but I didn’t care.

“I trusted you,” I said, my voice low and shaking. “You were my family. And now… I don’t even know if I can trust anything you’ve ever told me.”

The silence in the room was suffocating. My chest heaved as I fought the tears threatening to spill over. “How could you hide this from me?”

“I did it because I love you,” Satoshi said quietly.

I shook my head, stepping toward the door. “I need air.”

Without waiting for a reply, I stormed out, slamming the door behind me.

I went to the blacksmith shop, hoping the familiar rhythm of the forge would quiet my thoughts. I needed to do something—anything—to keep my hands busy and my mind from spiraling.

The tools were where I left them, gleaming faintly in the dim lantern light. The heat from the forge had long since faded, leaving the air cool and still. I grabbed a hammer and a piece of metal, setting it on the anvil.

Strike.

The sound echoed through the empty room, sharp and steady.

Strike.

I pounded the metal, letting the rhythm drown out the roar of my thoughts.

You’re not from here.

Strike.

I raised you as my own.

Strike.

The hammer slipped in my grip, slamming into the edge of the anvil. A sharp pain coursed through my arm, but it was nothing compared to the storm in my mind. My hands trembled as I picked up the twisted piece of metal.

It snapped in my grip.

I stared at the broken tool as my breaths came faster and faster.

Then I lost it.

It surged through me like fire, burning away the confusion and doubt until there was only raw, uncontrollable rage. I grabbed the workbench and flung it across the room with ease.

It crashed into the far wall, tools clattering to the ground in a loud, violent mess. The sound echoed through the shop, leaving behind an oppressive silence.

My chest heaved as I slumped against the wall. The adrenaline faded, leaving behind an ache that settled deep in my bones.

I sat there for what felt like hours, my thoughts running in circles. The revelations of the night replayed in my mind like a broken record. Who was I? Where did I come from? And why had Satoshi lied to me all these years?

The lantern burned low as the hours slipped by. My head drooped, exhaustion finally taking hold.

A faint rumbling jolted me awake, pulling me from the edge of sleep.

I blinked, as I tried to place the sound. It wasn’t thunder—it was deeper, more unsettling, like the earth itself was groaning.

Something felt wrong.

The air was charged with an energy I couldn’t explain. My eyes darted to the workstation, where I saw a cup, slowly lifting off the ground.

It hovered there, trembling in midair before clattering back down.

My temples throbbed, a sharp headache blooming out of nowhere. I pressed my fingers to my forehead, but the pressure only grew worse.

Then I saw it.

The faint blue glow returned, flickering at the edges of my vision. I caught my reflection in a nearby shard of metal—my pupils had slit vertically again, glowing with that same eerie light.

My senses sharpened, every sound amplified until it was almost unbearable. 

Something was coming.

Before I could move, the shop exploded.

The force sent me flying backward, my body slamming into the ground as shards of wood and glass rained down around me. The roar of the blast rang in my ears, drowning out everything else.

Heat engulfed the room as a brilliant red glow poured through the shattered windows, illuminating the wreckage. Flames licked at the walls, casting wild, flickering shadows.

I tried to get up, but my limbs wouldn’t respond. My head spun, and everything blurred at the edges. The last thing I saw before the darkness took me was the roof sagging under the weight of the destruction.

When I woke, I was buried under rubble.

Smoke filled my lungs as I coughed violently, trying to push the debris off me. My head throbbed, and every muscle in my body ached, but I forced myself to move.

The air was thick with ash, stinging my eyes and throat. Flames still crackled nearby, the heat pressing against my skin. I blinked through the haze, trying to make sense of what was happening.

What had caused the explosion? And why did it feel like… like the world itself had turned against us?

Forcing myself to my feet, I staggered toward the doorway, my heart pounding in my chest. I had to get out. I had to find Satoshi.

But as I stumbled into the open, the true scope of the devastation hit me like a blow.