บท 6: Hope and Doubts

If there was one word to describe the scene in front of him, it was "art."

He would have definitely bought a painting of it if it was on the market.

'That boy... why does he feel so familiar? And not only that, but that katana—'

'Void Eater!?'

It didn't take more than a few seconds for Ragnar to recognize the katana next to the boy.

How couldn't he?

After all, Void Eater originally belonged to his best friend, rival, and someone he considered a brother.

The number of times the two of them had clashed, and Ragnar had bled because of Void Eater...

He knew that Void Eater was eventually gifted to his only son, Azriel.

'...That boy... no, impossible. It can't be.'

It didn't take much longer for him to connect the dots as he gazed at the boy with trembling eyes.

Not just him—even Thomas gazed at the boy in utter horror.

"Lord Ragnar!"

"Grandmaster Thomas!"

Finally, the others noticed the presence of Ragnar and Thomas and bowed their heads instantly in respect.

"This is live footage, right?" Thomas asked, his voice trembling slightly as he gazed at the operators with narrowed eyes.

They nodded their heads lightly, confused by their reactions.

"Yes, Grandmaster Thomas, this is live footage from Paris where the boy is. We haven't yet discovered if it is a skinwalker, some other type of void creature, or a wanderer."

"Did you guys run facial recognition?" Ragnar suddenly spoke, his cold, narrowed eyes sweeping past each one of them, making them tremble and break out in a cold sweat.

"W-we have, Lord Ragnar, but we haven't found a match—"

"Azriel Crimson," Ragnar interrupted, making everyone look at him wide-eyed.

"W-what?" The female operator was bewildered, as were all the operators, hearing the sudden name of the son of the Crimson Clan.

Though Azriel Crimson was known for almost never showing his face to the public, that only made him even more mysterious and popular.

And the thing that stood out the most...

Rumors had been circulating that Azriel Crimson had been missing or dead for the past two years.

Obviously, the four great clans and the government tried their best to suppress the rumors as much as they could.

Only the gods could tell the aftermath if the only son of one of the four great clans had died somehow.

"Do I have to repeat myself?" Ragnar spoke, his voice growing colder as the operators in the room felt a shiver run down their spines.

"N-no! Apologies, we are doing it right away!"

Not a moment later, one of the male operators behind their computers shouted, bringing everyone's gaze towards him.

"We got a match!"

Though no one shared his enthusiasm in the slightest as Ragnar's and Thomas's faces became grim.

Everyone gulped, seeing the atmosphere grow even colder.

"Give me a way to speak to him," Ragnar demanded.

An operator handed him a headset with a built-in microphone, allowing him to speak through the drone.

'...It can't be him, no matter what.'

'If it really is him, then where was he all along? How did he survive these past two years?'

'As a wanderer, there was just no way he could survive this long in the void realm all on his own at only this age.'

"The gods must be playing some cruel joke on us, my lord..." Thomas spoke softly, yet the words echoed through everyone's ears.

Today was...

Azriel Crimson's birthday.

No one believed in the slightest that the boy in the footage was actually Azriel Crimson.

It just wouldn't make sense.

Surviving all this time alone in the void realm or in Europe...

'If it is a skinwalker, then I will personally go there and kill it with my own hands...'

As he was about to speak, he hesitated.

'...What if it really is him?'

What if there was a slight possible chance that Azriel Crimson had somehow survived?

A slight hope ignited in his heart at the possibility of Azriel's survival.

Though he didn't interact as much as he did with his father, that didn't mean he didn't care for the boy.

If anything were to ever happen to Joaquin or Aeliana, he would have instantly adopted the two children and raised them as his own.

Not just that, he actually liked Azriel the most.

Though most couldn't see it, Ragnar clearly could.

The boy was talented.

Extremely so.

But for some reason, he never decided to reveal his talent and always tried to hold himself back whenever Ragnar saw him spar.

'I need to know more. There are so many unknowns here.'

"Can you hear me?" Ragnar spoke calmly with his usual indifferent attitude, addressing the boy.

A surprised expression came on Azriel's face before it turned into a relieved smile.

"Ah! Yes, I can!"

"What a relief. You see, I am, uh, what was it called again? Oh yes! A wanderer," he said, nodding to himself as he spoke cheerfully towards the drone's camera.

"I would appreciate it if I could get rescued, as I don't really think I will survive here much longer," he said with a bitter smile on his face.

Yet Ragnar merely narrowed his eyes at the boy.

No one spoke or dared to make a sound as they gazed between Ragnar and the boy, listening intently.

That voice... Ragnar had forgotten the sound of Joaquin's son's voice.

It is said that one's voice is the first thing you forget after someone close to you dies.

But...

'...Something is wrong.'

'Why is he so... unbothered?'

'For someone who is wandering in a dangerous part of Europe, he seems way too calm for some reason... like the void creatures won't attack him.'

'But he has already killed a few beasts...'

Doubts began to rise in Ragnar as he found the boy might not be Azriel after all.

"Something seems suspicious, my lord."

"Perhaps even a trap," Thomas said softly, his eyes glued to the holographic screen.

Ragnar merely hummed in response.

'He's right. Perhaps it is a trap to lure us out... is it really a skinwalker then?'

Hope and doubt clashed within Ragnar as he didn't know how to approach this situation.

'Is today meant to be a gift or a curse?'

The only way for him to confirm that the boy was really Azriel was to go there himself or send Thomas.

But he didn't know if going there was safe or not.

If it really was a skinwalker, he had no idea how it had gotten the body of Azriel Crimson.

There could be more lurking.

Their strength and numbers were unknown.

Suddenly, his eyes widened.

'Could this be the reason we can't use our devices to communicate outside Europe? And the sudden disappearance of the leviathan-ranked void creature that was sleeping in Belgium?'

'...The monarch and titan ranks are also, for some reason, missing.'

A shiver ran down his spine again as he gritted his teeth.

"Be ready to send a message when I give the signal towards the other military bases in Europe for a possible phase six or perhaps even a phase seven category danger level in France."

Hearing his words, it felt like a thunderbolt had struck each one of them inside the control room.

The room became even more deathly silent as they all looked at Ragnar's pale face in pure horror.

A phase seven danger level would indicate the appearance of a phase seven void rift, which had never happened.

"...There is a possibility that the one we are looking at is a Defiled Skinwalker, perhaps a little lower, but it would make sense that a phase seven void rift has appeared without us noticing, and why the leviathan-ranked void creature has gone missing with the others."

Ragnar elaborated, but no one was relieved in the slightest as dread filled their hearts.

Was Europe doomed to stay fallen?

What continent was going to be next?

How many of those nightmares lurking in the void realm would keep appearing?

Everyone's mind was spinning with various thoughts before Ragnar spoke again.

"I might possibly be wrong as well... that is why we should wait with the signal. There is a possibility that the one in front of us is actually Azriel Crimson."

"My lord, we should keep asking him questions," Thomas spoke again, reminding Ragnar that the boy was waiting for a reply.

Ragnar could see that the boy was looking at the camera with a tense smile.

'...It really looks like Azriel, but just more grown-up and... he has become more handsome.'

He really hoped he was just being paranoid.

But the horrors he had encountered in the void realm...

He knew it was better to be prepared for the worst.

"Let me ask you a simple question first."

"What is your name?"

Hearing his question, the smile disappeared from the boy's face as a complicated expression showed.

'If it really is a skinwalker, it must be the best one of its kind in mimicking human expressions,' Ragnar thought, as the hope in him burned slightly again.

Perhaps he was wrong.

'Please be wrong...'

Praying inside his mind, the boy finally answered his question with a complicated voice.

"I don't know if you already know, perhaps you do and want to confirm it from my own mouth..."

"My name is Azriel Crimson, son of Joaquin and Aeliana Crimson."

Ragnar gritted his teeth at hearing Azriel's voice.

'Damn it! Should I go see for myself!?'

"...My lord, we need to keep asking him questions. A skinwalker only inherits part of one's memories," Thomas advised as Ragnar nodded with a grim expression.

"What if it isn't a skinwalker but some other unidentified void creature?" Someone mumbled, but everyone heard the male operator as they all turned to him.

Ragnar and Thomas glanced at him for a second before looking at Azriel again.

Ragnar spoke this time

not into the mic, but towards the operator and perhaps for himself and everyone there.

"Then this world really is doomed from the start."