Staff Meeting

He gives a big smile, seeing us happy even after everything that happened.

"Well, boys, I want you to follow me."

He starts walking through the city, and Éder and I follow, like a mother taking her children to the park. As we walk through the city, I can't help but notice how beautiful this place is. All my life, I lived in the countryside, where everyone knew each other.

Here, it's completely different. Every street we enter has more and more people.

"Is this your first time in a big city, Lucas?"

I am extremely surprised when I hear this question. Éder asks it, but he already knows the answer. I don't want them to think I'm a country bumpkin; they'll probably make fun of me.

"No, I've been here a few times."

Éder smiles and responds:

"You've been here before? What do you think of the hot springs?"

What is that? I have no idea. Is he teasing me, testing me?

"Stop joking. I know that doesn't exist."

He starts laughing at my response. I think I chose the worst possible answer.

"You're lying. Hot springs are places where people go to relax. I'll show you later."

He finishes speaking and adjusts his shirt collar.

"No need to lie, Lucas. It's okay not to know."

"All right. Thanks."

It still surprises me how he can be so kind to me.

***

After a long walk through the city, we finally reach our destination. Hugo takes the lead and stands before a door.

"Well, guys! This is where we'll be staying!"

He opens the door and enters first. Éder is next, and as I enter, I see him standing still, smiling from ear to ear. Once inside, I see a very large room where green is the dominant color.

"This will be our meeting room!"

When he finishes speaking, I can see several bookshelves at the back of the room. In the middle, there's a round sofa where we'll probably discuss things. To the left of the room, there's a staircase leading to the second floor.

"Guys, this is where we'll stay for a while."

Éder and I are extremely surprised by what we see.

"The stairs lead to our bedrooms. While it's still daylight, I want to talk with you."

He goes to the center of the room, sits on the sofas, and waits for Éder and me to sit next to him.

"Come on, Lucas."

Éder, still surprised since entering the house, takes the lead and sits beside him. After he sits, I sit to Hugo's left.

"Well, guys. I believe Éder already knows, but I should give some context."

He takes a deep breath and prepares for what he's about to say.

"I was part of the royal guard of the Kingdom of Ecrom seven years ago. I was one of the Royal Swords, one of the most respected in the kingdom."

As he speaks, I quickly recall his gravity magic.

"This is related to the gravity magic you used earlier, right? Just by clenching your fist, I was pinned to the ground."

He smiles, probably not expecting me to know that his affinity is gravity.

"Certainly, Lucas. Anyway, before joining the royal guard, I was trained by my master, Scott Linide. He taught me everything I know, along with my companion Lawrence. We were his only disciples, trained and raised by him since childhood."

As he speaks, I can sense his anger when he mentions Lawrence's name.

"After Lawrence and I became royal guards, our master stepped down, not because he was old, but because he no longer wanted war. He was always calm and serene, never took a life. He was very strong, the strongest I've ever seen."

As Hugo says this, I see a reflective look in his eyes. Talking about this seems to stir a deeply hidden part of him.

"Some time after he left, Lawrence disappeared, and a few months later, we started receiving reports about a squad called the Specters. We learned they had discovered the Primordial Life. The king sent us on a mission to annihilate them, as we didn't know their exact numbers, and he sent ex-royal guards, including my master."

He sighs again, as if the worst is yet to come.

"We arrived at the location, a forested area. There were seven of us, and eight of them. Each of us was responsible for facing one of them. It was hard to recognize each Specter; they all wore black clothes and an animal mask. When we arrived, each of us was taken to a different place; they used conceptual affinity. I fought someone with magma affinity. After the mission, we learned that the person I killed was the king's son, who had disappeared thirty years ago, Maicon Golifreid."

"Maicon Golifreid?" I jump up from my seat, unable to believe what I just heard. "HUGO... Repeat that name again."

Hugo looks at me, trying to understand why I reacted so strongly to the name.

"Do you recognize that name, Lucas?"

"I know the damn owner of that name, Hugo."

Éder, seeing me getting upset, stands up and tries to calm the situation.

"Calm down, Lucas. Take a deep breath and tell us how you know that name."

I sit down again and try to calm myself.

"That man was a priest in the village where I lived. He let someone important to me die. A few years later, when I was twelve, he told his family he was going to pick some fruit for a snack. And he never came back. The village believed a bear had killed him because the area was known for having many bears. But there's something funny about it: after his death, no bears were ever seen in the forest again."

As I say this, Hugo is surprised and widens his eyes.

"Now it all makes sense..."

He puts his hand over his mouth and starts reflecting.

"At the start of the mission, we heard about the bears, but we never encountered any. Damn, it was probably him who used the conceptual affinity. He had two types of affinity."

Éder quickly reacts to this.

"Is that really possible? I've read about it in books but never saw anyone manifest a second affinity."

There's a moment of silence as everyone processes the information, until Hugo breaks it.

"Well, this information surprises me too, Éder and Lucas, but I'm not finished yet. After killing Maicon, I returned to where everyone was and heard noises and destruction ahead of me. I went there immediately and saw with my own eyes Lawrence taking Joseph's life. At the same moment I saw him, I noticed he was without a mask, but he didn't have a single scratch, only a smile for what he had just done."