Theo De Lawrence (2)

Theo dragged the villager on his back as he walked along the muddy road of the village. Although it was a remarkable effort, he tried to find the address one of the villagers had given him earlier. 'At the end of Rudsir Street, the last house after the slope,' he recalled. He had already been carrying the villager for over an hour, but he maintained his patience.

Finally, in the distance, he spotted a house in need of repairs. It was a white concrete structure, typical of the empire. It had two floors, but the plaster on the walls was worn, and there were holes. A child was sitting at the door, holding a lantern. Upon seeing someone approach, the child shouted:

"Mom! Dad is back!" exclaimed a little girl.

When he reached the house's door, Theo sat the villager against the corner of the wall while waiting for his wife to appear. The villager opened his eyes, still seeming disappointed with himself, and thanked him:

"Thank you, agent."

"Heavens!" the villager's wife exclaimed, coming out of the house in a torn white tunic. "What did you do this time?"

He sighed in dismay.

"A knight from Vagus showed up and offered five hundred coins to anyone who would challenge him."

"You don't even know how to wield a sword, how could you challenge him?!"

As the two argued, the girl stared at Theo's golden, wavy hair. Meanwhile, Theo pulled the villager's sword from its sheath.

"Here, sir, your sword. And take this too," said Theo, tossing a bag of money. "The initial effort was yours, so I don't feel right keeping it all. I added two thousand more coins, so..."

"Two thousand?! Boy, that's too much," he stammered, surprised.

"It's fine, my family has more than enough. I believe this will help for a good while."

"Handsome sir," the girl called, with her adorable, learning-to-speak voice. "Thank you for saving my dad."

"It was nothing," he replied, returning the gratitude with a head pat.

"You brought me home, but now it's so late I can't let you go back alone."

"And what do you suggest? Will you accompany me to the city and then return alone? No, thank you."

"Stay here tonight," the wife offered. "I made stew. It might not be as good as the food you're used to, but at least you won't starve."

"Alright. I'll leave at midnight."

☽✪☾

Besides the stew, the residents offered him their bed and water for bathing, but Theo declined. He preferred to rest on the cold floor that spring night. Their daughter kept poking Theo with her eyes while also glancing at a book in her hands. Noticing this, Theo went over to see what she was so fixated on.

It was a book about a fairy tale. Minimalistically illustrated, but clear enough to understand.

"What tale is this?" Theo asked, leaning closer to the girl.

"It's the tale of the Hero of Light," the father answered. "You said earlier that your nickname is Lumen, right?"

"Yes. My godmother gave me that name because my family's traits closely resemble the hero's; golden hair and amber eyes."

"Where are you from?"

"From Louretto, in Nethuns."

"Ah... That's far from here, agent."

Theo smiled politely and turned his gaze back to the book. He began observing the illustrations, and that's when the girl noticed and started telling the story:

"Hero Lumen fell from the sky like lightning, and then he purified the villains and heroes to end the war."

"I don't think it's quite like that..." he commented, glancing at the mother. When she responded with a grimace, he understood they had told her a simplified version to hide the story's cruelty.

"Then how is it?" the child asked, curious.

"Lumen fell from the sky like a shooting star," Theo began, dragging his finger across the illustrations. "He fought against the army of the ancient god of war, Ares. After defeating the army, Lumen faced the god of war himself, who didn't appreciate the affront from a human considered a demigod. The war finally ended, and the god of war was defeated. However, before being defeated, he caused the Hero of Light to fall into an eternal sleep."

Theo noticed there was an extra page, so he flipped through the book. To his surprise, there was a continuation of the story, where Lumen encountered a shadow before dying. The mother noticed his curiosity and quickly explained:

"Never got to this part?"

"No..."

"This is Dullahan. A legendary knight, dressed in black armor and holding his own head in his arms. He's known as the messenger of death, for when he speaks someone's name, that person dies within minutes. It's a legend often told in this region."

"A black knight holding his head in his arms?" he thought, recalling the past.

"Mom, so Lumen died?"

"Yes, dear. But death is nothing more than eternal sleep."

"So can you dream?"

Everyone laughed.

"Yes, you can."

Their attention was drawn when the village bell rang, marking midnight. Theo wasted no time and quickly prepared to leave, grabbing his backpack and heading toward the door. Midnight was when the guards of Vagus began patrolling the areas outside the cities and villages, making it the perfect time for Theo to return home safely.

"Thank you so much for everything," Theo said.

The couple bowed their heads in gratitude, both for helping the villager and for the money. Theo was already taking his first step when the villager gave him some advice:

"Agent, don't trust just anyone. Even if you help them, you never know what they might do while you sleep."

With an ironic smile on his face, Theo replied:

"I have the strength for it, if they try. See you later," he said, creating a whirlwind of wind that enveloped him and made him disappear with the breeze.

"Wind attribute... he used that against the knight. Interesting..." the villager murmured, watching Theo vanish.