CHAPTER 34: CHAPTER 34 - THE TRUTH [LLL]

After everything that had happened, the silence in the house felt heavier than ever. The faint hum of the refrigerator and the distant wail of a siren outside, ordinary city sounds, now seemed strangely unreal.

Grandma sat across from Mikail. Her eyes, once soft and familiar, now held the weight of generations. With a trembling breath, she began to speak, not as the sweet old woman he had always known, but as the last keeper of a truth too dangerous to be forgotten.

She told him everything.

She spoke of their origins, of a bloodline older than any nation, whispered about in ancient texts and feared by those who still remembered. Her voice was steady as she recounted the long, hidden history of their family, the burdens they had carried, and the sacred duty passed down through generations.

As Mikail listened, the weight of destiny began to settle on his shoulders, reshaping his understanding of who he was, and who he was meant to become

Their family wasn’t just special.

They were guardians. Watchers. Keepers.

And now, it was Mikail’s turn to bear the weight of that legacy.

--------

After Grandma finished telling the story, Mikail’s expression remained unchanged. His face was calm, almost unreadable, like still water hiding the currents beneath. It wasn’t him who reacted the most, but Moona and Melisa, who had been listening quietly from the sidelines. Their wide eyes and pale faces revealed the weight of what they had just learned.

From the outside, Mikail seemed untouched by the revelation. But inside, a quiet storm brewed, one only he could feel.

Because Mikail already knew.

Badlur had told him parts of the truth. His grandmother’s tale didn’t come as a shock but rather a confirmation. Her words were like the final pieces of a puzzle he had been slowly assembling. Now, everything made sense.

And with that clarity, the mission given to him by Baldur echoed in his mind:

"Meet the other Harbingers. Gain their trust"

The words repeated like a vow etched into his soul. He understood now, what was at stake, what needed to be done. The legacy he carried wasn’t just a burden; it was a path, and he had already taken the first step.

For the first time, Mikail’s sigh broke the silence in the room... A soft, almost reluctant sound that seemed to ripple through the tension hanging in the air. He looked up, his gaze locking onto his grandmother’s. The usual calm in his eyes was gone, replaced by something firmer, something serious.

"...Actually," He began, his voice low but steady, "when I was unconscious... I met Baldur"

The words lingered in the air like a thundercloud before a storm. Moona and Melisa froze, eyes darting between Mikail and his grandmother. The revelation added a new weight to everything that had been said. His grandmother’s expression didn’t change immediately, but the faint flicker in her eyes betrayed a quiet recognition, perhaps even dread.

Mikail’s confession wasn’t just unexpected. It was a turning point.

Grandma’s voice cracked slightly as she repeated the name, more to herself than anyone else. "Baldur..." There was awe in her tone, but also caution. Mikail could see it clearly now, the things she hadn’t said, the truths buried even deeper.

She knew.

Maybe not everything, but she knew enough to understand the weight of what Mikail had just revealed.

Moona clutched her arms tightly as if trying to keep the cold from seeping in. "Wait, like, the Baldur? The Æsir Gods, the Gods of Light? That Baldur?"

Melisa didn’t speak, but her stare was sharp, calculating. She was piecing things together in her mind, faster than Moona. Her hand trembled only slightly as she reached for the glass of water on the table, but didn’t drink it.

Grandma finally leaned back in her chair, the strength seeming to drain from her all at once. Her fingers clutched the edge of the seat, white-knuckled as if it were the only thing anchoring her to the present.

"If Baldur came to you..." She whispered, her voice trembling with a mixture of awe and fear, "Then the veil is thinner than we feared. The other Harbingers... Is he asking you to find them?"

Mikail nodded slowly. "Yes. He did"

His voice was calm, but there was a quiet weight behind every word.

"He told me that Midgard’s future is in my hands. That I have to find the other Harbingers and gain their trust." He paused, eyes darkening slightly. "He said this burden is too heavy for me to carry alone"

The room fell into a heavy silence again, but this time, it wasn’t empty, it was filled with purpose, dread, and a spark of something new.

Destiny.

"But, Kail..." Grandma’s voice cracked, her words trembling with the weight of a thousand unspoken fears. "None of our predecessors ever met Baldur himself. Not in dreams. Not in visions. Never"

Her eyes glistened, and her grip on the chair tightened as if trying to hold back the tide of despair rising inside her.

"Why...?" She whispered, barely able to finish the thought. "Why did he come to you? Why must such a heavy fate fall upon your shoulders?"

The worry in her voice wasn’t just for the mission or even for the world; it was for him. Her grandson. The last of her blood. The final piece of a life once full, now quiet and worn. Her remaining family. Her last treasure.

And now, he stood at the edge of something far too vast, far too dangerous.

"Why can’t our family just live like an ordinary one?" Grandma’s voice broke, tears welling in her eyes. "I just wanted to see you grow up... Fall in love, get married, have children. A normal life"

Her voice cracked with each word, trembling with a pain that went deeper than fear, it was grief for a future she might never see.

"Is that really so much to ask?"

Mikail stepped closer, his gaze steady, the weight of her words sinking deep into his chest. He didn’t flinch, didn’t look away. His voice was soft, but it carried a quiet strength, not born from destiny but from love.

"I want that too, Grandma"

He knelt beside her chair, gently taking her trembling hands into his.

"I’m not doing this for the world. Not for fate. Not for the gods"

His eyes, determined, met hers.

"I’m doing this for us, for our family. So that one day, maybe, we can live like everyone else. So that what we’ve lost doesn’t stay lost forever"

A silence passed between them, heavy, but full of something new.

Hope.

--------

Moona stood near the corner of the room, her back pressed lightly against the wall, arms wrapped around herself as if to hold everything in.

She had been silent throughout, her mouth dry, heart pounding, not just from what she’d heard, but from something deeper. Something unsettled.

Her eyes were on Mikail.

She had known him since high school, back when things were simpler when their world hadn’t yet tilted into shadow and myth. Even then, there was something about him. A quiet fire, a sharpness that mirrored her own. She always felt they were similar, cut from the same cloth in a way no one else seemed to understand. Without realizing it, they became rivals, pushing each other, challenging each other, and pretending it was just competition.

But somewhere along the way, her rivalry turned into something gentler. Something far more dangerous.

Feelings.

She never said it aloud. Neither did he. But she was sure... Almost sure, that Mikail felt it too. There were glances that lingered too long, silences filled with something unsaid. Yet there was always a wall between them, invisible but immovable. Maybe it was fear. Maybe it was timing.

And before their feelings could ever become anything more... They drifted apart.

Life happened. Time moved. And they went their separate ways.

Until now.

Until a few days ago, when fate dragged them back into each other’s orbit.

And now, watching the man she once loved kneel beside his grandmother, the way his voice held a kind of strength she hadn’t seen before. It wasn’t the strength of someone chasing glory. It was the kind of strength born of love, of duty, of belonging.

And in that moment, something inside her cracked.

Because she wasn’t sure where she belonged anymore.

Her father... He had the Light Affinity. Everyone always said it was rare, ancient, and traced back to the old bloodlines. She’d never thought much of it, never needed to. But now...

’What if I...?’

She swallowed hard, her thoughts beginning to spiral.

’What if I have Frodan blood too? What if I’m not just an outsider to this... What if I’m part of it?’

But no one had told her anything.

Not her father. Not her mother. No cryptic dreams. No visions of gods.

Even her father’s master, the man who took her in after her parents died, who raised her like his own, who she had come to love like a grandfather... Never said a word.

Not a whisper of her lineage. Not a hint of what her blood might carry.

Just this creeping feeling in her bones, like the light inside her was watching. Waiting.

She looked at Mikail again.

’If he’s the one chosen... Then what am I?’

She didn’t have the answer.

But a part of her, quiet and stubborn, wanted to find out.

....

...

..

.