The first thing Eudora noticed wasn't the man.
It was the silence that followed him.
The way guild mercenaries stepped aside as he walked.
The way even Guildmaster Drevin offered a respectful nod.
His father—Thalor of House Virein—had not come quietly.
---
A Family That Bled Pride
They met in a private hall near the inner court. No guards. No attendants. Just blood tied by name—and unravelled by fate.
Thalor stood by the window, arms clasped behind his back, dressed in heavy noble robes that didn't quite hide the sword at his hip.
"You were supposed to die," he said, not turning.
Eudora didn't answer.
"I saw the reports. The ruins. The body count. No aura signature. No magic. A talentless child taken by the world."
Now Thalor turned. His face was older, more lined, but his eyes were the same:
Sharp. Unforgiving. Measured like a blade.
"And yet," he said, "here you are. Steel-ranked. Alive. Changed."
Eudora met his gaze. "You came to bring me home?"
"No." Thalor stepped forward. "I came to bring you to the capital. The Council wants to see what sort of corpse walks with my name."
---
The Capital's Request
It wasn't a request.
The Council had sent word—the Virein heir was alive, and more importantly, now dangerous. They didn't care about his regeneration. They cared about control.
"Do you know what it means," Thalor said, "when a family presumed dead returns from the pit holding something the world doesn't understand?"
Eudora did.
It meant war.
It meant blood oaths, secret meetings, and alliances born of paranoia.
But most of all—it meant Ragna.
"Is he still alive?" Eudora asked.
Thalor's expression shifted, just slightly. "Alive. And thriving."
Of course he was.
The world would always bend to Ragna.
---
The Road to Home
They left the Bound Path Guild three days later. Eudora, Thalor, and a squad of six heavily armed knights bearing the Virein crest.
Not a warm reunion.
Just a long silence broken by political questions, tactical observations, and the occasional dismissive grunt from Thalor.
On the second night, as the fire crackled beneath a rain-darkened sky, Thalor asked quietly:
"What did it cost you?"
Eudora didn't answer immediately.
"Everything," he said finally. "And more's still being paid."
Thalor stared into the fire. "Then perhaps… you're ready."
"For what?"
"To become what I couldn't."
---
At the Virein Estate Gates
The estate was different.
Larger. Reinforced. Guarded like a fortress.
Two young boys sparred near the courtyard under the gaze of a tall, silver-haired woman.
One of them had eyes like Thalor.
The other—eyes like Eudora's.
He froze.
Thalor walked ahead without pause.
The younger boy noticed the pause, turned, and stared. His mouth opened slightly.
"…Father?"
Not to Thalor.
To Eudora.
He felt the world tilt sideways.