Chapter 649: Forever Young

It was an elven boy of painful beauty—fine features, high cheekbones, eyes the pale colour of nature regarding me without expression.

A long, curved blade hung in his right hand, the steel dark and wet with fresh blood that still dripped slowly onto the stones, each drop making a small dark circle that spread and faded.

More blood streaked his face in thin lines, some of it dried into brown tracks that spoke of earlier tears, earlier grief and violence.

"I am the one who should be asking that of you, young man." His voice was low and hoarse, possibly roughened by hours of fighting and running. "Leave this place immediately. No... leave the entire Lot district at once. Do not stop for anything. And when you reach safety, tell Thaad that Lot is probably no more."

Before I could form a reply, he stepped past me and broke into a run, heading straight down the street that led back toward the heart of the fighting, back toward the thunder and the blue-eyed thing that had called itself a man.

His footfalls faded quickly among the distant explosions.

I stood frozen for a moment, staring after him.

An ally of the blue-eyed anomaly? An ally of the Apex Girls?

Both possibilities felt wrong and incomplete. The boy had the look of someone who belonged to neither side—an outlier drawn into the storm for reasons of his own, a piece on a board I did not understand.

I forced my legs to move again.

***

By the time the familiar walls of my house came into view my breath was ragged and my head pounded with every step, my heart slamming against my ribs like a caged animal.

A short, breathless laugh escaped me despite everything—despite the fear and the impossible thing I had seen.

"...Heh. Me, a young man?" I muttered, "Elves are always arrogant when it comes to age."

I would not lie to myself, though. The words had landed with a strange, fleeting lightness, as though some small part of the years had been lifted for a moment.

It made me feel truly young.

I shoved the door wide and raised my voice so that it went through every room, through every corner of the house that had sheltered my family for decades.

"Everyone, we are leaving now! Lot is no longer safe—not for any of us!"

But silence answered me.

My wife, my daughters, and Star stood in the hall staring at me as though a stranger had walked into their home.

Their eyes moved over my face, my clothing, my posture, searching for something that refused to settle into place.

Mandarin’s hand had risen to her chest. Rain had taken a step backward. Sunshine’s fingers were wrapped around the edge of the table, and Star simply stared.

"What happened?" I demanded, already moving past them toward the chest where we kept the most necessary travelling goods. "There is no time for standing about."

Mandarin’s voice came first, thin and uncertain. One finger rose and pointed at my chest.

"Wh... Who are you? And why are you wearing my husband’s clothes?"

I stopped mid-stride and turned on her. "Enough jokes, for goodness’ sake! If you had seen what is happening in the main Hub you would already be on your feet. Star, Rain, Sunshine, take only what is necessary, and what will not slow us down. We are going around the Hub, and that ground is rough."

Star’s expression shifted first—confusion giving way to recognition, disbelief melting into something warmer.

Her eyes widened, then brightened. "Oh! He truly is Grandpa!" she cried, delight breaking through the earlier confusion.

Her mother pressed a hand to her chest and let out a long breath. "Truly. I was certain we were about to be robbed... or worse."

Sunshine gave a small, shaky giggle, shoulders hunching. "I was already planning the quickest route to the kitchen for a knife."

Mandarin did not smile. The concern on her face had only changed shape, and only deepened.

"Darling, explain yourself. Properly."

"Hm? I already did!" I snapped, though the edge in my voice was born more of urgency than anger. "There is a real war unfolding in the Hub—one that may erase this entire district before the day is out. We are leaving now."

Though, maybe because of the constant running, my voice did feel somewhat lighter.

Something in the repeated warning finally reached my wife. She gave a short, sharp nod and turned to the others. "You heard him."

They moved at last, gathering cloaks, a little coin, dried food, the small strongbox that held the family’s most important papers.

Throughout the hurried packing they kept stealing glances at me; quick looks, sidelong looks, looks that lingered a moment too long before darting away.

[Hm? Is there something on my face? Or are they still harassing me?]

Once, when I looked up and met Mandarin’s eyes, she flushed and turned away as though caught in some private thought she did not care to share.

***

We left the house in a tight group, moving as quickly as our bodies could manage and as steadily as my own old legs would allow.

The road grew quieter the farther we drew from the Hub, though the distant thunder of magic never fully faded. Smoke still stained the sky behind us.

It was not until we reached the river that marked the boundary between Lot and the neighbouring district that the truth became impossible to ignore.

The water ran clear and cold over dark stones, catching the fading light. I paused at the edge to catch my breath and looked down.

The face that stared back at me from the surface did not belong to the man who had left this house that day.

A youth in their late teens looked up from the water—smooth skin, clear eyes, features sharp with a youth I had not possessed in decades.

Goodness, even the memory of my younger self did not match the reflection of that handsome young man.

The hair was deep blue instead of deep red, the jawline cleaner, the former brown eyes now a deep blue, and brighter than they had any right to be.

I lifted a hand and pointed at the water. "Who is that?"

Behind me, Mandarin’s voice answered, quiet and steady. "No. That is what we have been asking you."

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