The sun was warm against his skin.
Corvin's eyes fluttered open, squinting at the pale blue sky above. His body rocked gently with the rhythm of uneven movement. The sound of wooden wheels creaking and boots crunching on gravel reached his ears. Distant murmurs, metal clinking. He was on a supply cart.
'I'm… alive.'
He blinked, letting the realization sink in. The aching in his limbs, the dull pain in his gut, the burn along his left arm… It was still there… It was real!
His torso and arm were wrapped tightly in bandages. He could feel cloth around his head, too. His entire body throbbed with pain.
'So the blessing didn't heal me… Makes sense, I guess. It's the blessing of the mind, not the body.'
Disappointment flickered through him, but it was brief.
'Still… I made it out..'
He thought back to the dream—the garden, the strange woman. Her calm voice, her words.
But… he couldn't recall her face. Or her name. Or even what her hair looked like.
Wait…
A sharp pain stabbed through his skull. He winced and clutched his head. A sudden surge of information crashed into him like a tidal wave. Images, meanings, sensations. He saw countless blue butterflies fluttering in the dark. Each glowing softly.
One of them peeled away from the swarm and flew directly into his forehead.
Then, clarity.
The Blessing of Mind.
His eyes widened.
'A clearer mind. Stronger will. I can perceive emotions now… and I can create illusions?'
It sounded too surreal. Yet, the feeling…this strange sharpness in his thoughts was already there. It was like his mind had always been clouded and now… the clouds had parted.
He slowly sat up on the cart, glancing around.
Marching soldiers stretched along the dirt road. There were more of them now, far more than when he last remembered. Their armor reflected the sun. Their weapons clinked softly in rhythm. A small army on the move.
As he looked closer, something else caught his eye.
Colors.
Every person had a hue glowing softly in their chest: reds, yellows, blues, greens,.... Each with a different shade and saturation.
He blinked.
'Are those… Their emotions?'
A blue butterfly appeared before him, hovering silently in the air. It flitted gently, as if studying him. He reached out—
"Commander! He's awake!" a voice called.
Startled, the butterfly veered upward and settled softly on his shoulder. Its wings twitched faintly.
Before Corvin could react further, a figure pushed through the soldiers: Thorne, tall and broad as always, followed by two unfamiliar men in full armor. Unlike the regular soldiers, these two wore ornate metal suits that gleamed silver-blue. Their presence was imposing, the same type as Thorne.
Thorne's face lit up the moment he saw Corvin. He motioned, and the cart was halted. Without much explanation, Corvin was helped down and escorted away from the line.
'What's going on?' Corvin wondered as he stumbled behind them, half-dazed.
'Who are these two men? Why now? Shouldn't I see the others first?'
But he didn't speak.
He couldn't.
His mind was still adjusting, fragments of knowledge slotting into place from the flood of his blessing. Rendering him speechless.
They reached the side of the road, away from the main group. Trees lined the path in the distance. Soldiers murmured, curious but too busy to question.
'Should I be scared?' he wondered.
He might've been, if not for the fact that Thorne looked genuinely happy, as did the armored men beside him. Thorne's "emotion color," as Corvin dubbed it, was a bright yellow.
'Maybe yellow means… joy? Relief?'
Still, his instincts urged caution. He watched carefully as Thorne stepped closer, giving Corvin time to collect himself.
After a few quiet moments, Thorne asked.
"How are you feeling?"
Corvin exhaled, voice a bit hoarse.
"A bit disoriented… but I'm okay. Everything's just… clearer than before."
Thorne nodded, his smile still lingering.
"Good. Good."
Then, almost casually, he stepped back and gestured to the two armored men.
"Just one thing before we talk further."
The one on the left raised a hand, his gauntlet shimmered faintly, and Corvin felt something strange ripple over him. Like someone had just skimmed a hand through the surface of his mind.
He staggered slightly.
"What was that?"
Thorne didn't answer right away. Instead, his own eyes began to glow faintly gold.
Corvin froze.
He could feel it now.
Something ancient stirring behind those eyes.
'They weren't normal. Not just looking at me. They're… reading me.'
Thorne said at last.
"Just needed to make sure."
Corvin's heart pounded.
"Make sure of what?"
"That you really are not possessed by the demon and are a real Blessed," he said simply, then let the glow fade. "Which you are."
Thorne stepped closer again, placing both hands on Corvin's shoulders.
Thorne shifted slightly, his usually stern features softened .
"So," he said, voice low, "what did you see… in your sleep?"
Corvin blinked. The question hit harder than he expected.
He knows something happened.
His mind raced back to the Night Garden. To the woman. The mention of the "world's spirit." Her warning. That name alone made him uneasy.
The World's Spirit.
It sounded grand.
It sounds dangerous!
He didn't know who. Or what it really was, and who in this world spirit gave blessings to…
Corvin swallowed.
He didn't even know how normal blessings were supposed to be given. Was seeing a dream-lady in a star garden and getting injected with butterflies... normal?
'Probably not.'
So he smiled faintly, playing it safe.
"I… don't really remember much," he said, keeping his voice as steady as he could.
Thorne tilted his head, watching him closely.
Corvin continued, choosing his words carefully.
"I remember the fog. That black smoke... It came at me. I tried to run but everything just went black after that."
He rubbed the side of his head for emphasis.
" Next thing I knew, I woke up on the cart. My head felt like it had split open, and my body was sore all over… But I remember a sense of warmth before I woke up!" Corvin face lit up.
Thorne nodded slowly, his eyes narrowing in thought.
"You don't remember anything else? No dreams? No voice?"
Corvin gave a soft shrug, then added, almost apologetically.
"It's all a blur, I only remember the warmth. Sorry."
There was a pause.
Corvin could feel Thorne watching him. Measuring him. Not suspicious, exactly, but aware. Attentive.
Then finally, the big man smiled and clapped a hand on his shoulder, the weight of it grounding.
"No need to apologize," Thorne said warmly. "You're lucky to be alive at all. And even luckier to come out of that forest... blessed."
Corvin didn't respond right away. He nodded faintly, mind still spinning.
Inside, he couldn't shake the image of the blue butterflies. Or the garden. Or the last thing the woman said.
"Be careful of anyone blessed by the world's spirit."
And yet… he didn't even know what that was.
Maybe, someday, he'd get answers.
But not now…
Thorne seemed to accept this, nodding slowly. Then his expression lit up again with excitement.
Thorne looked at Corvin with a seriousness that made the boy sit up straighter.
"Corvin," he said slowly, deliberately, "do you know what just happened to you?"
Corvin blinked, still unsure if he was supposed to answer.
Thorne's tone shifted, rising with intensity.
"You've been blessed."
There was a pause.
"A Blessed," Thorne repeated, as though the word itself carried weight. "Do you understand how rare that is?"
Corvin opened his mouth but no sound came out. He didn't fully understand—wasn't even sure what it meant beyond what the woman had said. Power, yes, but…
Thorne continued, not waiting.
"There are only a handful of people in the entire kingdom with a true blessing. Real ones. Not some minor trick passed on through family rituals, I mean the kind that comes from the world itself… From something greater."
Thorne continued.
"This changes your life, boy," Thorne said firmly. "Right now, if you wanted, I could have you escorted to the capital. You'd study under the greatest scholars and tacticians alive. Learn everything there is to know about your gift. You'd be registered, protected. Respected."
The idea hit Corvin like a colossal wave. The capital. Study. Recognition. He'd always dreamed of something like that…
'So fast? Just like that?'
"I… could just leave?" Corvin said slowly, voice uncertain.
But then…
'What about Catherine? Moxa? Vuk and Branik and the others? Would they understand? Would they feel abandoned?'
His heart twisted in conflict.
"Not just that," Thorne said with a grin as if knowing what Corvin was thinking. "You could name your request. Anything. If you want to return home with your friends, they'd approve it. If you wanted to move to the capital with your family? They'll give you a mansion!" Thorne excitedly said "Even if you wanted to use the connections this blessing gives you to get your friends and family into a prestigious academy…? Done. No one would stop you."
Corvin swallowed.
He imagined himself walking through the great stone gates of the capital. People bowing. Doors opening. Money at his fingertips. No more struggling.
He'd achieve in days what others fought their whole lives for.
He was about to accept the proposal.
Then—
"Don't go back."
A voice. Soft but firm. Echoing in the back of his mind.
Corvin's breath hitched.
His eyes darted to Thorne, who was watching him expectantly.
'What was that just now?'
The voice hadn't felt hostile. If anything, it was…
'Familiar?'
He looked at his shoulder where the butterfly was and saw that it was gone.
His fingers curled slightly. That single whisper undid everything he had almost said aloud.
He looked down, uncertain.
"…I need some time to think," he finally said, voice quiet.
Thorne paused, then nodded slowly, the gleam in his eyes dimming just a little.
"Of course. It's a lot to take in," he said, gently patting Corvin on the back.
But even as Thorne spoke, Corvin's thoughts were far away. On the strange woman, the butterflies, the voice, and the feeling that nothing… nothing about his life would be simple ever again.