Aftermatch: This will take long.

"An assassin? Why would an assassin target a random woman in an inn?" One knight muttered, shaking his head.

Another sighed, scanning the scene. "It doesn't add up. If it were a robbery, why was nothing taken? And if she was the target… why her?"

The knights stood near the entrance, speaking in hushed tones, casting glances toward the bloodstained floorboards inside. The innkeeper wrung his hands nervously, avoiding their stares.

Outside, Alex sat on the cold stone steps, a thin blanket draped over his shoulders. His hands curled around a cup of tea, but he wasn't drinking. The warmth didn't reach him. His fingers trembled slightly, though he wasn't sure if it was from the cold or something deeper.

He stared at nothing in particular, the sounds of the waking city distant, muffled—like they belonged to a world he was no longer part of.

"Hey… are you alright?"

The voice was gentle. The girl from before—the one who had welcomed them when they arrived—stood beside him, hesitant. She looked at him with concern, her hands gripping the hem of her apron.

Alex turned to her. His eyes, hollow and dark, betrayed everything he wouldn't say. But he forced a smile.

"I'm alright. Thank you."

It wasn't true. But saying anything else would break him.

The girl hesitated, then sat down beside him, silent. The city bustled on, oblivious to the moment, to the weight of the night before.

Alex gripped his cup tighter. He didn't know who had taken his mother from him. He didn't know why.

But he would find out.

The tea in Alex's hands had long gone cold, but he didn't move. He couldn't. The weight in his chest made it hard to breathe, let alone think.

The girl beside him stayed quiet for a while, as if waiting for him to say something. When he didn't, she spoke instead.

"I... I heard what happened," she said softly. "I'm so sorry."

Alex said nothing. His fingers curled tighter around the cup.

The knights were still talking a few feet away, but their words barely registered. They were speaking about his mother as if she were just another crime to be reported, another puzzle to be solved. As if she weren't—

His throat tightened. He swallowed hard.

"They'll find who did this," the girl said, as if trying to reassure him. "The knights are investigating, and—"

"They won't," Alex cut in. His voice was quiet, but firm. "They won't find them. They don't care enough to try."

The girl blinked, startled.

"They'll write their reports. They'll say it was a robbery gone wrong, or a mistake. And then they'll move on." He let out a bitter breath. "That's what happens to people like us." Alex remembered the stupid excuse knights told them when his father died. 

Most times nobody would care about soldiers that would die in the battle, the families would get slight compensation but that would be it, but his father didn't die, he disappeared but knights didn't care enough to search for him, so after slight excuse and few gold coins they left them with those.

The girl looked down, gripping her apron. She didn't argue.

Alex set the tea down beside him. His hands felt numb.

For the first time since last night, he forced himself to remember.

The blade. The flash of steel in the dark. His mother's hands shoving him away—her last act, not to save herself, but to save him.

He had seen the figure, just for a second. The shape of them, the way they moved. But it wasn't enough. He didn't know who they were. He didn't know why.

And that was worse than anything.

Because how could he get revenge on a ghost?

A cold wind blew through the street, but Alex barely felt it. His heart had already turned to ice.

He exhaled slowly.

If the knights weren't going to do anything, then he would.

"You know… I lost my father in the war with Kalias," Mallisa said, her voice quieter now. "He was forty-five."

Alex glanced at her, his expression unreadable. "My father died in that damned kingdom too."

Mallisa's breath hitched. "Oh… I'm sorry."

A long silence stretched between them. The air smelled of cold stone and damp wood, the city just beginning to wake. Somewhere in the distance, a bell rang, but Alex barely registered it.

Mallisa shifted, as if trying to think of what to say. Then, she forced a small smile. "By the way, my name is Mallisa. What's yours?"

Alex hesitated. He didn't want to talk—he barely had the energy to breathe—but after a moment, he relented. "Alexander."

"Alexander." She repeated his name like she was trying to commit it to memory.

He took a slow sip of tea, his gaze drifting toward the knights still murmuring amongst themselves. Their words blurred together, unimportant. None of it mattered. Not their theories. Not their empty reassurances.

Nothing mattered.

Mallisa watched him for a moment. "Do you… want to come inside? You shouldn't stay out in the cold."

Alex exhaled, shaking his head. "Not really. Thanks, though." His voice was hoarse, raw. "Could you just… get my backpack from the room? It's still there. I can't—" He stopped himself, jaw clenching.

Mallisa's hand rested gently on his back.

"I understand," she said softly. "It must be hard to go back in there. I'll get it for you. The knights already searched through it, so it won't take long."

Alex managed a small nod. "Thanks."

She offered him one more fleeting smile before stepping inside.

The moment she was gone, Alex let out a slow, shaky breath. His hands trembled in his lap, fingers curled into his palms. When he uncurled them, he realized the skin was scraped raw, little flecks of dried blood near his knuckles. He hadn't even noticed.

It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered except one thing.

Finding the one who did this.

The world around him felt distant, like he was drifting outside of it, disconnected from everything except the rage simmering beneath his grief. His mother had always told him revenge was a fool's game. That seeking blood wouldn't bring peace.

But she wasn't here anymore.

And Alex wasn't a fool.

He was going to find them.

And when he did—

He would make sure they never hurt anyone again.

Alex sat there, staring at nothing. The tea in his hands had gone cold, but he barely noticed. His mind was quiet in the worst way, not empty but numb. Like his body knew if it let him feel everything at once, he might break.

Mallisa was taking longer than expected, but he didn't move. He just waited.

Then, a sound.

A crackle.

Faint.

Distant.

His breath caught.

The scent of burning wood filled his nose, thick and suffocating, curling into his lungs. Smoke swirled in the corners of his vision, creeping, devouring. He blinked hard, but the world around him had already begun to twist.

The cold stone of the city street beneath him flickered—just for a moment—replaced by scorched earth and glowing embers. Shadows stretched unnaturally in the dark. The taste of ash filled his mouth.

"AGHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

A scream.

Not his own.

Not here.

Somewhere else. Somewhere from before.

Then—

A figure standing in the flames.

Alex's heart slammed against his ribs. The image was wrong. Blurred at the edges, shifting like it didn't belong.

But the eyes. He could see the eyes.

They were looking right at him.

His breath hitched. His throat closed.

And just as suddenly as it came, it was gone.

The crackling faded. The smoke dissolved. The city returned to normal, the cold air biting at his skin.

Alex exhaled sharply, gripping the edge of the stair beneath him. His head spun, his pulse thundered in his ears.

Before he could steady himself, Mallisa returned, holding his backpack.

"Here," she said gently, handing it to him. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Alex took the bag, forcing his fingers to unclench.

"Yeah," he lied. "I'm fine."

But he wasn't.

"Here you go." Mellisa gave him the backpack with a smile.

"Thank you very much." Alex still shaking pulled the backpack off her, he recognized what was that, it was the same visions he got in the village, he couldn't concentrate on them because of the things happening but, why... why was he getting those flashes, or were they flashes? visions? A memory? A dream? A warning?. just what were those.

"Are you sure you are ok?" Mellisa asked.

"Yes---" Alex got interrupted.

But knights came to him.

End Of Chapter.