CHAPTER 22: HARKEN

Kyrian walked through the inner hall in silence. His body, as the days went by, was becoming stronger and stronger. He knew this but didn’t understand exactly how much, so he thought he wanted to test it.

’I need to find someone to fight...’

His clenched hands opened and closed as if testing a new phase.

"Probably about a month and a half left until the tournament, or something like that."

"Until then, I have to test my strength, find Lina, meet with Kael, and see if he’s already discovered information about the assassin..."

Kyrian then decided to leave the courtyard, heading straight to his room through the empty corridors. There, on top of his bed, there was already an outfit.

It was completely white, it looked simple, but as soon as Kyrian put it on, he saw that it wasn’t.

The outfit simply had the most comfortable texture he had ever felt. It was completely different, it was soft.

He then approached a mirror beside the bed and looked at his appearance.

One meter and ten centimeters tall, his black hair inherited from his mother already reached his shoulders, straight and messy. His eyes, blue as the sky, in the center, two irises shaped like snowflakes.

His skin seemed cleaner now for some reason. Kyrian looked at it for a while.

He still had an extremely childish appearance, but he liked his looks, which in his view were among the most beautiful for a simple reason.

His appearance was extremely similar to his mother’s. His nose, his mouth, his black hair. Everything reminded him of her in some way.

He sincerely smiled seeing this and looked at his eyes, the ones she had praised. His eyes seemed more and more beautiful.

He then left the room and the building of the Order.

He walked through the luxurious streets where the Order was located. This was the place where the nobles, the Order, and the Royal Family lived, he could see the walls and the immense castle not far from him.

He approached the end of the noble district, and there were several empty carriages. He went up to one and spoke with the coachman.

"Take me to the capital’s barracks." Kyrian said calmly.

The man nodded, and soon the carriage moved.

Kyrian discovered that the barracks were on the other side of the city. The trip ended up taking a full hour.

Time enough for him to observe the important and striking buildings and those he might try to go to later. The path he traveled was all in his mind.

The city seemed busier than when he had arrived. There were twice as many people in the streets moving between fairs and shops.

But none of this caught much of his attention. The only thing on his mind now was to test his strength and...

’Lina, she must be fine. Maybe she’s gotten stronger. I’ll invite her to eat at some famous restaurant. I need tasty food instead of just nutritious.’ Kyrian thought, remembering Lina’s happy face as the two devoured several dishes.

She was exactly the right person to go with him to eat, and that’s why he wanted to find her today. He thought she might be at the barracks, since she was a soldier.

Kyrian was also a bit frustrated, he had eaten so much food in the last month, but all of it was extremely simple. Almost without seasoning or anything like that. And sweets only came from fruits.

’Today... we will eat everything.’ Kyrian affirmed in his mind as the carriage began to stop.

"Sir, from here on, only soldiers or superiors can pass." The coachman said through the small opening of the carriage.

"All right, I’ll get down." Kyrian replied, and as soon as he stepped down, he could already see.

He raised his head and then moved forward.

A few minutes of walking later, he approached the immense gate, guarded by several soldiers in rows. All with silver armor and upright spears.

Kyrian approached and asked directly to one of them.

"I’m looking for Lina, a soldier from Valtar."

The soldiers looked at each other when they saw the small child in luxurious clothes. One of them opened his mouth to answer, but at that moment.

A loud sound echoed through the streets behind them.

Horse hooves, several of them. Approaching quickly.

The entire gate seemed to tremble as the guards opened it, and soon an entire troop approached Kyrian. Then immediately all the soldiers bowed.

"WELCOME BACK, GENERAL HARKEN!" They all said in unison.

Kyrian turned to see. At the front of the troop, mounted on an imposing gray horse, he advanced. His body was massive, with enormous muscles like he had never seen. Scars scattered across his arms and torso were exposed beneath his armor.

But what caught Kyrian’s attention...

Was the face.

’Rurik...? No... but they’re the same, exactly the same.’ Kyrian thought strangely.

The face was the same as Rurik’s. The same square face, the same robust build. The only big difference was the beard and the gray hair falling to his shoulders.

’His father?’ Kyrian blinked once, guessing.

The general dismounted the horse with a heavy movement, his eyes meeting the child standing at his gate.

Their eyes met, and surprise seemed to shine for an instant, as if he had noticed something.

The man approached Kyrian. When he was close, Kyrian saw. If Rurik was two meters tall, this man was at least two meters and fifteen.

"A brat?" Harken said, narrowing his eyes and stroking his beard.

"No, a martial artist..." he said with surprise returning.

The soldiers looked at Kyrian without understanding, but the general didn’t take his eyes off him. He continued analyzing him completely, and Kyrian had a slight déjà vu.

"What are you doing here, little monster?" Harken asked with a dragged, hoarse voice.

Kyrian only answered directly, as always.

"I came looking for Lina."

Harken seemed to think for an instant before remembering.

"Lina... from the city of Valtar?"

"Yes." Kyrian nodded.

"She is at the barracks, with other prodigies who will participate in the tournament. They are training non-stop." Harken said with a slight smile.

The general then asked.

"And you, who are you?"

"Kyrian."

For a moment the man stared at him in silence.

Only to suddenly burst into loud laughter. So loud it startled the soldiers around and made them slightly embarrassed.

"All right, all right. So, you’re Kyrian, you could only be that stupid son of mine’s brat."

And then, before Kyrian could react, a heavy hand slapped his back.

The impact made Kyrian lean his body forward, not due to pain, but because of the absurd strength and weight in that simple gesture. Kyrian knew he was doing it on purpose, just like Rurik.

"Makes sense... it makes sense indeed." Harken kept patting his back, laughing loudly as he spoke.

"So, you’re the brat my idiot son accepted. It was obvious you would be special. To manage to become a martial artist, being only a little baby. Even with those tiny muscles, even with that short stature, even with that small body."

"Impressive." The man said with another slap.

Kyrian frowned.

"And those eyes, are they the ones so often mentioned in the letters... hm, do you see well with them? I’ve never seen anything like that. You’re not blind, are you, boy?" Harken said, crouching and looking into Kyrian’s eyes.

Kyrian was starting to get irritated when the man laughed loudly again. As if insulting was the natural way to talk.

Kyrian took a deep breath. He remembered the irritation Rurik always made him go through, and now his father was even worse. Seeming even rougher and more clueless.

’This family.’

"Come on, come in with me." Harken said, pulling Kyrian by the shoulder as if he were a training sack.

Then, after entering, they walked side by side. The general then asked.

"How is Rurik?"

Kyrian then answered briefly. About how Rurik trained the soldiers and became a good captain and ruler of the city of Falk.

"Hmm, it’s good to know. I knew where he was, but I never went after him nor let anyone go. Not for lack of will... but because I decided to respect his choice. I always hoped he would return to the capital of his own will."

"But even so..."

"When I started receiving his letters, even though it’s practically just him writing only about you and your training. That put me at peace..." the man said more softly.

"..." Kyrian didn’t know what to say, so he just stayed silent.

But what was going through Kyrian’s mind now was.

’This family... The father is the country’s general, the eldest daughter is the leader of the Royal Order, and the son disappeared as the greatest genius of Valor...’

Out of curiosity, he suddenly asked.

"Who is your wife?"

The general seemed surprised by the question but answered without hesitation with great pride and a smile.

"My wife is the royal advisor."

’Tsk, isn’t this family a little... absurd?’ Kyrian thought, but said nothing.

While they talked, they arrived at the inner training center of the barracks.

Sounds of battle spread through the entire place. Spears clashing and youths shouting at each strike.

At the exact moment they entered, a soldier was thrown into the air and landed upside down on the ground, groaning in pain.

On the other side of the arena, a brown-haired girl with tied hair and a small scar on her lips breathed deeply with drops of sweat on her face. She lowered her fists while her sharp gaze suddenly widened.

She froze for an instant before suddenly jumping from the arena and running towards the two.

"Kyrian!" Lina called him with a smile that naturally appeared on her face.

Lina didn’t even see that the general was standing beside Kyrian, she didn’t notice his presence nor look at him.

She just rushed straight at Kyrian without thinking about anything else.