THREE DAYS LATER

ALEXANDER

The journey toward the castle had gone surprisingly well, which meant disaster was overdue. We had traveled through forests, crossed rivers, and somehow survived three days with academy students following us. That alone deserved a medal, unfortunately, Victor existed.

And Victor had developed a problem. Specifically Noa. The first incident happened on day one. Victor had approached carrying firewood, a lot of firewood. Far more than necessary. He placed it beside Noa with what he probably thought was a cool expression.

"I gathered extra."He said calmly.

"Good."Noa looked up briefly.

That was it. It was all it took, and Victor looked strangely happy for the next two hours.

"Did she just reward him?"I stared.

"I think she accidentally did."Rosalia sipped tea.

The second incident happened on day two. We encountered a fallen tree blocking the path, before anyone could act, Victor dramatically stepped forward.

"Allow me."He said.

He raised his sword, struck the tree and the blade became stuck. Completely stuck.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Victor pulled, and the tree won. Noa walked past him, and with one kick the entire trunk split in half. She kept walking, and Victor stared at the destroyed tree, then at Noa, then turned even redder.

"Is this healthy?" I looked at Aiko.

"Negative."Aiko adjusted his glasses.

"Thought so."I sighed.

By day three, the academy students had begun learning an important lesson: Lucky chaos was not normal at all. Scarlet purified water so efficiently that local healers asked for lessons, Rosalia could hit targets nobody else could even see. Zavier spent half the journey collecting ore from random rocks while muttering happily, Iris kept accidentally terrifying wildlife, and Aiko somehow managed supplies, routes, camp schedules, and meal planning simultaneously. The academy students looked increasingly shaken, then, shortly before sunset, we saw the village. Small, old and quiet. A weathered sign stood near the entrance. The letters had faded with time. Gray Hollow. The moment we entered, something felt wrong.

People stopped talking, doors closed, windows shut. Children were hurried indoors, even the village dogs quietly moved away.

"That seems unfriendly."I frowned.

"No." Rosalia narrowed her eyes. "That is fear."

"They are frightened."Scarlet slowly nodded.

Of us? Or something else? An elderly man finally approached, his face was pale, his hands trembled. He noticed the map and everything changed. His eyes widened in horror. He stepped backward immediately.

"No." The old man shook his head. "No travelers, no castle, no road."

"What are you talking about?"Michael frowned.

"You carry its map."He lowered his voice.

The villagers nearby immediately went pale, one woman hurried away carrying her child. Another crossed herself nervously.

"Throw it away."The old man looked around before whispering:

The wind suddenly felt colder as I looked at the map. The castle image remained unchanged.

"Why?" I asked quietly.

The old man froze. For several seconds he said nothing, then he leaned closer. So quietly I barely heard him.

"Because names have power."He whispered.

My skin crawled with a weird cold throughout my body.

"We don’t say that place’s name."The old man swallowed. "Not after what happened."

"What happened?"Victor frowned.

The entire village went silent.

"No."The old man immediately stepped backward. His voice trembled. "We don’t speak of it."

Then he left, just left. The other villagers followed, doors slammed shut, windows closed. Within minutes the streets were empty and the academy students looked uneasy.

"This isn’t normal."Even Reynold looked troubled.

"No."Michael stared toward the empty houses.

For once everyone agreed. Then Iris suddenly stopped walking, her expression had changed into completely serious.

"Iris?"That terrified me more than anything.

The vampire queen slowly looked toward the distant mountains. Her pink eyes narrowed slightly.

"I know this place."Iris whispered.

Aiko stood frozen, and that had never happened before.

"What do you mean?"I swallowed.

Iris looked at the map, for the first time the immortal vampire queen looked uncertain and somehow that was far scarier than any monster. At midnight, I woke up because somebody was throwing pebbles at my tent window. Not metaphorically, those were actual pebbles. Tap. Tap. I slowly opened one eye, then another. Aiko was already awake, of course he was.

"Master."The butler stood near the window holding one of the pebbles.

"Please tell me it is not another emergency."I said.

"An elderly villager is requesting a private meeting."Aiko adjusted his glasses.

"Why does my life attract secrets?"I stared at the ceiling.

"Current evidence suggests an above average probability of destiny."Aiko said.

"I liked life better when it was boring."I sighed.

"Records indicate your life has never been boring."Aiko tilted his head.

That was annoyingly accurate. A few minutes later, Aiko and I quietly followed the old village elder through narrow streets. The village was silent, too silent, no lamps, no voices. Even the dogs weren’t barking. The elder stopped before a small house near the edge of the village.

"Quickly."A voice said.

We entered and the moment the door closed, the old man exhaled shakily. He looked older than before. A single candle illuminated the room, ancient books covered the shelves, maps, records and in the center an old stone box.

"You carry the map.The elder looked at me.

I nodded.

The old man’s expression darkened.

"Then fate has chosen again."He said.

I immediately disliked those words.

"Again?"I asked.

"My grandfather told me this story."The elder slowly sat down. "Long ago, before kingdoms rose and fell, there was a castle. The lord of that place walked the path of both hero and villain."

A chill ran down my spine.

"He saved nations." The elder’s eyes darkened. "And destroyed others. He vanished before making his final choice." The elder slowly placed his hand on the stone box. "The castle sealed itself."

The box opened, inside rested a strange object. A fragment, black metal, covered in silver runes.

The moment I saw it "DING." The system exploded into existence. Golden light filled the room as the fragment rose into the air. Everyone froze.

"Hidden artifact identified, castle key fragment. Fragment 1 of 3."The system said.

"My family guarded it for generations."The elder slowly nodded. "Waiting."

"Waiting for what?" I asked.

"For someone foolish enough to continue."The old man smiled sadly.

Fair. Very fair. I carefully took the fragment. The moment my hand touched it, the map changed. Lines appeared, ancient road, forgotten paths. Then a bright golden mark appeared farther north.

"DING. Second fragment located."The system said.

Everyone stared. The system expanded another screen.

"Castle key fragment 2. Distance: approximately two days. Location: old king’s road. Status:

On route toward the castle."The system said. "Warning. Fragment collection mandatory. Castle access impossible without complete key."

Of course, of course there was a key. Ancient castles always had keys. Why did I even hope otherwise?

"You must be careful."The elder suddenly looked alarmed.

"Why?"I looked up.

"Others have sought the fragments."His hands trembled. "None returned."

That was becoming an unpleasant trend.

"Master."Aiko said.

His voice had changed into serious one.

"What?"I asked.

"Additional movement detected outside."Aiko adjusted his glasses.

The elder froze. My hand immediately moved toward my sword. Outside footsteps, several of them. Not hiding, approaching. Then came a familiar voice.

"Alexander?"It was Victor.

Another voice followed.

"We saw lights." It was Lydia.

Then, more academy students, I closed my eyes. Of course, they followed us. Destiny was one thing, academy students were worse. Tomorrow, we would begin searching for the second fragment and somehow I already knew things were going to become complicated.