Chương 256: Goodbye Before the End

Shade looked down at Vale, something unreadable shifting beneath the dark mist that formed his face. For a long moment, he said nothing. The silence stretched, heavy but not uncomfortable, measured. Then, at last, he gave a single, firm nod. Vale's eyes shook slightly.

"You really think so?" he asked, searching the shadow's gaze for any hint of doubt. Shade rolled his eyes in response, lifting one shoulder in a faint, almost dismissive shrug before nodding again, this time with more certainty, as if the answer should have been obvious from the start. A smile broke across Vale's face, tension draining from his posture. If Shade believed Eskar could survive, then there was a strong chance he would. Shade didn't deal in empty reassurance, he dealt in reality.

That alone was enough to ease the tight knot that had been sitting in Vale's chest since the news broke. He exhaled slowly, the breath leaving him with quiet relief.

"Alright… good," he murmured. Then, after a brief pause, he glanced back up at the shadow.

"Do you want to head to bed? I think we've both had enough for one day. I mean, you did fight a titan." Shade stared at him, his expression flattening into something almost incredulous. Slowly, he raised a hand and made a small circling motion near his ear, as if to mock Vale's obvious statement. Vale blinked, then let out a short laugh, raising a hand in surrender.

"Yeah, yeah, I get it," he said with a grin.

"You don't need sleep. I'm the genius here, remember?" Shade's crimson eyes rolled dramatically before he pinched the bridge of his nose in exaggerated frustration. A moment later, his form unraveled, darkness folding inward as his body collapsed into itself, reshaping into the familiar spear. The weapon hovered for a brief instant before settling. Vale reached out and caught it, his grip firm but relaxed. He studied the surface for a moment, the faint, shifting darkness within it almost alive beneath his fingers.

"Good training," he said quietly. For a second, there was no response. Then the shadows along the spear twisted, letters forming slowly across its surface.'' Yeah.'' Vale smiled faintly at that. He slung the spear across his back, then crossed the arena to retrieve his onyx blade from where it lay. The metal was cool against his hand as he secured it at his waist. With everything in place, he made his way out of the arena and up through the winding passages of the royal library.

The journey back was calm, almost mundane compared to everything that had come before. He passed adventurers, explorers, and scholars alike, offering polite nods and brief greetings. Many returned them warmly. In the short time he had been here, Vale had built a quiet reputation, some knew him as a capable newcomer under Drago's guidance, others simply as a sharp-minded boy with unusual talent. Few knew exactly who he was, or whether he was Vale or Eskar, but that ambiguity didn't seem to matter.

For now, he was accepted, and that, in its own way, felt grounding. After several minutes of climbing staircases that seemed to spiral endlessly upward, he finally reached his room. It was modest, but it suited him. A desk cluttered with books, a notebook, and a pen for recording everything he learned. A sturdy wooden closet for his gear. And a bed, simple, but soft enough to offer real rest. But as he stepped inside, something immediately felt off. Vale's brows furrowed.

There, resting atop his bed, was something that didn't belong. His second onyx blade. The one he had given to Eskar. A cold, twisting sensation settled in his stomach.

'Why did he leave it?' Vale thought, his steps slowing as he approached. He reached down, lifting the blade carefully, and beneath it, he found a folded piece of paper. A note. His breath caught slightly. For a moment, he just stared at it, unease creeping into his chest. He set the weapons aside, placing both blades and the spear carefully within reach before sitting down on the edge of the bed. The letter rested in his hands, unopened. If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen.

Report the violation. He hesitated. For longer than he wanted to admit.

"What am I doing…" he muttered under his breath, squeezing his eyes shut briefly before exhaling. Then he opened them again and unfolded the paper. His gaze moved slowly across the writing. Hello, Vale. If you're reading this, then I'm already gone. I won't pretend I'm good with words, so forgive me if this is a mess… but I need to say this properly. I didn't leave just for myself. I need to find a way out of this place, for all of us. But especially for you. I don't think I've ever told you this, but… I envy you.

The way you can show empathy, even when you have every reason not to. The first time we met, I tried to kill you. I meant it. There was no hesitation in me. And yet… you forgave me. You fought for me. I still don't understand why. Maybe it's because of how I grew up. Maybe I just don't know how to see things the way you do. But what I do know is this, I've relied on you for too long. I don't want to do that anymore. I want to stand on my own.

I want to be able to do something, anything, without needing you to carry me through it. So I'm returning your weapon. I'm going to do this the way I've always wanted to. Alone. Even if it kills me, this is something I have to face on my own. Thank you, Vale. For everything. Goodbye. … I hope we meet again. Vale didn't move. He just stared at the letter, his expression completely blank, as if his mind hadn't fully caught up with what his eyes had read. Seconds passed. Then more.

The silence in the room pressed in around him. Slowly, his grip tightened. The paper crumpled in his hand as his teeth clenched, tension snapping through his body all at once. With a sharp motion, he crushed the letter completely and hurled it across the room, where it landed in the trash with a soft, hollow sound. His foot began tapping against the floor, fast, uneven, agitated.

"What good is not relying on others if it gets you killed?!" Vale snapped, his voice breaking through the quiet as he grabbed at his hair, fingers digging in as frustration surged. He leaned forward, staring down at the floor, his breathing uneven. Anger burned hot, but beneath it, something heavier pulled at him. Worry. Fear. Guilt. He didn't know which feeling to hold onto. Did he respect Eskar's choice… or hate it? Did he trust him… or chase after him?

His jaw tightened again as the questions circled endlessly, refusing to settle. Vale's thoughts spiraled the moment the letter left his hands, a storm of contradictions tearing through him with no clear center to anchor to. Anger clashed with understanding, frustration with reluctant respect. Eskar's words echoed over and over, each line cutting a little deeper the more Vale replayed it.

He tried to follow the logic behind the decision, to leave, to walk alone, to prove something, but every attempt only circled back to the same bitter conclusion: it was reckless. It was dangerous. It could very easily get him killed. And yet… Vale couldn't deny the intent behind it. After a while, the intensity began to dull. Not disappear, never that, but settle into something quieter, heavier.

He forced himself to breathe, slow and steady, dragging his thoughts out of the chaos inch by inch until they resembled something he could actually hold onto.

"Well… if he's really gone," Vale muttered under his breath, his voice low and uneven, "then he must've taken the Bloodscale with him." He leaned forward, resting his head in his hands, fingers pressing lightly against his temples as he tried to organize the fragments in his mind. The image of the creature surfaced, small, still growing, but undeniably dangerous in its own right.

"As young as it is… it should still be able to protect him," he added, though the words lacked conviction.

"Right…?" The question lingered unanswered. For a while, he said nothing else. He simply sat there, elbows on his knees, staring down at the floor as if it might offer clarity. Thoughts came and went, but none stayed long enough to settle. It wasn't that he couldn't think, it was that there was too much to process at once, too many variables, too many unknowns stacked on top of each other. Eventually, his expression hardened, not with anger, but with quiet resignation.

"I should think about this in the morning," he said at last, more to himself than anything else. His voice steadied slightly, though the weight behind it remained.

"I'm not getting anywhere like this." He leaned back, glancing toward the bed, the simple familiarity of it suddenly feeling distant.

"For now… I need sleep. Tomorrow's going to be a long day." But even as he said it, his thoughts shifted again, unbidden and immediate. Nym. His eyes narrowed almost instantly, the tension returning in a different form. That situation hadn't been resolved. If anything, it was hanging by a thread.

"I just hope she's willing to hear me out…" he murmured, the uncertainty clear in his tone.

"If not…" He trailed off, a hollow feeling settling in his chest.

"If not, I might lose two friends in a single day." A quiet, humorless chuckle slipped from him, lacking any real amusement.

"What a way to start a journey," he added under his breath, the words edged with something close to disbelief. He pushed himself up slowly and walked toward the window, resting a hand against the frame as he looked out into the distance. The view stretched far, lights scattered across the city, faint movement in the streets below, but Vale wasn't really seeing any of it. His mind had already gone elsewhere. Illu. August. Hurricane. Ember. And now… Eskar.

Each name surfaced like a weight, one after another, forming a chain that dragged heavily through his thoughts. Some were gone. Some were lost. Some… he didn't even know where they stood anymore. But all of them left an imprint, a quiet absence that refused to be ignored. Vale's gaze softened, though his expression remained tense.

"How many more…" he whispered,