CHAPTER 56: HOME [2]

They didn’t head to the central districts. They turned toward the outer edge, where the real Frahein began.

Beyond the gilded spires and merchant towers lay the borderlands—the half-mud, half-stone sprawl that every major empire had. Frahein’s was better than most.

No rot. No beggars. But it was still where the undesirables and wanderers made camp.

It was also where a man once known as Derek Maglor, a former noble of Starfall kingdom and Kaelen’s father now ran a modest tavern.

They found it tucked between a smithy and a dusty adventurers’ lodge. No fancy signage. Just a burnished wooden plate swinging lazily above the door.

"The Ashen Boar."

The three of them stood before the door. It was still early and the door was still closed

Kaelen’s hands trembled and hesitated for a moment. He took a deep breath and mustard up his courage.

Then he rang the bell.

Cling cling.

"Hold on a second. I’m almost done." A reply came from behind the doors which gave Kaelen’s heart a tug.

A moment later the door was opened.

"Sorry for the wait I...."

The man stopped mid sentence.

The man who stood before Kaelen was broader than he remembered. Age had drawn lines around his mouth and eyes, and streaks of white now marked his otherwise dark hair.

His tunic bore a few oil stains, and a heavy leather apron clung to his waist. He held a dishcloth in one hand, a tankard in the other.

It was Derek, Kaelen’s father.

Time halted.

No words passed for a moment. They simply stared.

The boy Derek remembered was five years old—soft-eyed, still clinging to dreams, unaware of the world’s cruelty.

The man before him was a battle-hardened gold-rank veteran, clad in luxury cloth armor etched with mana engravings, and a gaze sharp enough to cut steel.

"You’ve grown," Derek said finally, voice gruff.

Kaelen stood motionless.

Then, quietly, "You’re smaller than I remember."

Derek snorted. "And you’re taller than I’d hoped. Damn it, boy."

He stepped forward and pulled Kaelen into a crushing embrace, no longer able to hold back the emotion.

Kaelen stiffened for half a heartbeat before his arms closed around the man who’d raised him in his earliest memories—before the monsters, before the flames, before the academy.

"You’re back," Derek whispered into his son’s shoulder. "You really made it back. Thought you would never come back."

Alira looked away, lips trembling slightly. Neal merely bowed his head, arms folded, respectful of a reunion they both had longed for in their own ways.

Sensing the other two awkwardness Derek pulled both of them over and gave them a hug.

How could he not recognise the child of his friends and formal rivals? A glance was all it took for him to know of their identity. They resembled their parents too much to be left unrecognised.

"There there you don’t need to be awkward with me. Your parents were my good brothers and if you don’t mind you can call this place home."

Alira beamed and smiled. She had been with Derek for more than two years before and was more accustomed to it.

Neal did not say anything but the silence was stronger than any sweet words.

The tavern had closed for the day. Inside, candlelight flickered gently against wood-paneled walls and well-maintained shelves. It wasn’t a grand establishment, but it was real—a warm, living place untouched by the politics of empires or the blood of war.

Derek poured them drinks—nonalcoholic, to Kaelen’s amusement—and settled across the table from them.

"I’d prepared myself for the worst," he admitted. "When I saw the system notification... ’Starfall King has Fallen.’ I thought..." He trailed off. "I thought I’d lost everything."

"You weren’t the only one," Kaelen said. His voice was calm, but his hands were clenched.

Neal sat beside him, eyes fixed on the table. "My family... gone."

Alira’s voice was barely audible. "Mine, too."

Derek’s eyes darkened. "Thalia... Holse..."

Derek didn’t respond for a while.

"I remember Holse carrying Alira on his back when she was just a baby," he said. "Thalia used to sneak herbs into my armor polish to make me smell like berries. I hated it. But now..."

He exhaled, shoulders trembling. "There’s nothing left of them. Just memories."

Kaelen didn’t cry. Neither did Neal. Neither did Alira.

They had no tears left.

After a long silence, Derek straightened.

"Your parents and I never wanted to send you children away. You guys were just kids.The academy was just a sugar coated name with false promises and more of a place to turn children into weapons. But now I am glad that we did or the consequences might have been worse."

Derek shuttered at the thoughts of losing Kaelen.

"The academy might have turned you into weapons and taught you to be valiant heroes who sacrifice themselves on the battlefield but forget about all that nonsense and make yourselves at home in this tavern."

Then he continued " it might be shapy but under my roof I’ll protect you all no matter what."

"We’re not weapons," Kaelen corrected. "We’re juggernauts."

Derek smiled at the name.

"Stupid and quite the balls to come up with that name"

Neal’s face flushed red as he was the one to come up with that name.

"Well we will see about that later." Kaelen grinned at his father.

Derek stood, setting his tankard down.

"Ok. Tomorrow, I will train you kids. You’ve got control, power and potential. But out there? In the real world? The rules bend. People cheat. Monsters evolve. And there’s no bell to stop the fight when you’re down."

Kaelen stood with him. "We’re ready. Why not now?"

"Rest up kids, cause I’ll take you all to a nearby dungeon and show you what a real monster looks like."

Kaelen, ever confident, replied "I’m itching for it."

"Good."

"But where do we sleep uncle you have only two rooms?" Alira asked a question out of the blue.

Neal stuttered "What?"

He might be used to fighting but sleeping in a crammed room was another thing.

Derek laughed "Ah Kaelen and you can take a room for yourself and Neal will be sleeping with me"

Kaelen said shyly "Well it’s my first time please be gentle"

Alira’s face flushed red.

Derek burst into laughter "Ahahahahahaha."

Neal smiled at them.