Daniel stared at the phone screen for a few moments. Only one name could be seen on the screen.
Mom.
A few seconds passed, and then he put his finger on the answer button. Before he could say anything, the quiet, familiar voice on the other end was heard.
"You’re finally back..."
For the first time since leaving the tower, a small smile settled on his face.
A quiet smile that even he himself didn’t notice forming.
"Yeah... I’m back."
A few moments of silence passed between them, and then Daniel got straight to the point.
"Why did you go to Santcis?"
There was no sound from the other end for a few seconds. Then Liana sighed quietly.
"It’s a bit of a long story... I’ll tell you about it when I get back. For now, just know that it had to do with your father."
Daniel’s eyes narrowed slightly. His father. A man who had been nothing but a shadow in their lives for years.
All this time, every time he thought no secrets remained about their family’s past, something new would appear.
And more importantly, anything related to his father could be extremely dangerous, and it was something he didn’t want his family to have any connection to or closeness with, under any circumstances.
But on the other hand, he knew his mother didn’t listen to anyone.
He was silent for a few moments.
"Nothing bad happened, right? You’re not in danger?" He then asked quietly.
His mother’s short laugh came from the other end of the line.
"Of course not. It’s just that something was here. Something that belonged to your father."
Daniel didn’t ask anything else. If his mother didn’t want to explain, she must have had a reason. Besides, he had placed several Fallen to protect his mother.
With them around, nothing in this country could threaten his mother, except of course beings at the national awakened level or higher.
And even then, he would immediately find out and act to save her.
"When are you coming back?"
"I’m leaving right now."
"Alright then. I’ll wait for you at home."
Just before the call ended, Liana’s quiet voice was heard again.
"I’m glad you came back safely, my son."
And the call ended. He stared at the dark phone screen for a few moments, then his gaze stopped on several missed calls.
Joe.
He smiled faintly and dialed the number. Almost immediately, the call connected.
"Where are you?!" Joe’s loud voice made Daniel pull the phone slightly away from his ear.
"Do you know how many times I’ve tried to call you? After that incident, you didn’t even give a proper explanation!"
"And then you disappeared for months!"
Daniel laughed involuntarily. Not those cold, usual smiles, but a simple laugh, like the days when everything was still normal.
"Calm down. Come to the park. We’ll see each other there."
Before Joe had a chance to answer, he ended the call.
The next moment, he disappeared from his spot and sat on that same old bench.
A gentle breeze blew through the tree branches. A few children were playing not too far away, and the sound of their laughter filled the park.
Daniel watched them in silence, then looked at the families walking together. For a brief moment, a thought crossed his mind.
"Once... I was one of them too." But now, even if his appearance looked like an ordinary human, he knew better than anyone that he no longer belonged to that world.
About half an hour later, he heard footsteps.
Joe approached from a distance. He looked at Daniel for a few moments, but contrary to expectation, he didn’t say anything and just sat down beside him.
Silence.
Wind.
The sound of children playing.
"I was worried about you." Then he said very quietly.
Daniel didn’t take his gaze off the distance.
"Sorry. I didn’t have a chance to explain anything."
"You don’t have to. Those things happened. It’s not like an explanation would change anything. It would just satisfy my curiosity." Joe added sarcastically.
Daniel was silent for a few seconds.
"I didn’t want to kill James." Then he said quietly.
Joe stared at the ground. He didn’t say anything for a few moments.
"I could tell from your face that day. You were shocked too." Then he answered quietly.
A bitter smile settled on his face.
"Honestly... I hated him too. But I never thought he would actually die one day."
Both fell silent. Both of them had known James for many years.
And even though there was a lot of hatred between them, his death was still not something they had expected.
Their conflict with James went back to high school and even earlier, and their conflict was both verbal and physical, and both sides had beaten each other up many times.
And even though both sides hated each other, his death was a bit shocking. Not that it was sad or anything like that, just shocking.
"How’s the company going?" Daniel asked to change the atmosphere.
Joe shrugged.
"My father retired. Now everything has fallen on my shoulders. We’ve signed contracts with a few guilds and the federation, but honestly... I feel like I’m still not good enough."
"Sign a contract with Everlight Moon." Daniel said without any hesitation.
"Are you serious?" Joe stared at him blankly for a few moments.
"Absolutely. When you get a chance, go to the guild’s new leader and just tell them I sent you."
Joe’s eyes sparkled with surprise and joy. He knew better than anyone what a contract with the country’s largest guild meant.
And at that moment, he remembered who he was sitting next to. He was sitting next to the Fallen. One of the most famous and legendary figures in the country right now.
A man half the country fears and the other half admires.
Who would have thought that his friend, who had failed his awakening process, would suddenly become such a legendary figure across the entire country?
And in such a short time?
"Really... thank you."
Daniel just smiled quietly.
"Where’s Sarah?" He then asked.
"She left with her brother a few months ago. She said she wanted to go back to that organization she used to work for. I think she didn’t want to stay here anymore." Joe’s expression changed slightly.
He was silent for a few seconds.
"She was also shocked by what happened to James." Then he continued quietly.
Daniel just sighed briefly. All three of them had now each walked down a different path.
After a few moments of silence, he said quietly.
"There’s something you need to know."
Joe looked at him.
"I’m going to leave the country. Maybe we won’t see each other for a long time."
Joe didn’t say anything, just stared at the sky. After a few seconds, he sighed and a faint smile settled on his face.
He really couldn’t believe how fast time was passing. It felt like just yesterday that he and Daniel were fooling around in middle school, and then in high school they were always getting beaten up.
And it felt like just yesterday that Daniel had come to the capital, and now suddenly, in such a short period of time, everything had changed so much.
"I’m going to miss you. At least call once in a while."
This time, Daniel also smiled.
"For sure."