Immortal Anger

It had already been some time since Kai and Samuel sat quietly in the red grass.The Furelynx slept at their side, peacefully curled up, its slow breathing gently rising its fur.Samuel sipped water from a canteen. He hadn't had a drink in two days — he savored every drop.

Around them in a circle sat Dante, Canon, Helydia, and Relia — all cross-legged.Canon exhaled a long drag from a half-smoked cigarette. Dante raised an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Where'd you pull that from, your cigarette? Don't tell me you had on you during that fight," he asked. "Bet your pack's half crushed!"

Canon shrugged, ignoring him, enjoying the smoke.Kai stared toward the red horizon, inhaling deeply, then turned to Samuel.

"It's time I explained what happened after your arrest."Kai proceeded to recount everything — the plan he'd arranged with Kazan, the seven Calamities, how they infiltrated the Temple, and how they discovered the beast.

"But that's not all. We also learned something even more important."

He paused, meeting each person's gaze.

"The Heart of Aethril… was stolen. By another Calamity. The Yellow one."

Helydia frowned sharply, eyes fixed on Relia.

"If you knew it was the Yellow Calamity who stole the Heart… then why accuse Samuel ?"

All eyes turned to Relia.

The former royal soldier remained silent for a moment, gaze downcast.Samuel leaned against the warming fur of the Furelynx, arms crossed, watching in silence.

Helydia persisted, distrust clear in her tone:

"Care to explain ?"

Relia finally lifted her head. Still wearing her golden armor, her hair fluttered in a light breeze. She breathed deeply before speaking.

"Samuel… you probably don't yet understand how this world works or what comes with the title you've inherited. Let me explain."

She paused again, then continued softly:

"There are eleven nations in this world. Three are ruled by humans, each venerating one of the Three Crowned Kings. The other seven... belong to the Calamities. Each rules their territory like a king or queen. And the two groups... have been at war since time immemorial.

More softly:"Recently, something changed. Humanity managed to destroy the Black Calamity, that of Anger. They razed her entire kingdom. Now, her lands are only ruins and monsters."

She looked at the group carefully before continuing.

"And don't think the Calamities are united. Far from it. They hate each other as much as they hate us. Each vying to impose their ideology, their reign, their chaos."

Canon, stamping out his cigarette in the soft earth, interrupted:

"You say there are eleven nations, but you only mentioned ten. And why do we, the people of Chronos, know none of this?"

Relia nodded slowly.

"Because the world is built on a lie. Official information spreads slowly, and is often deliberately filtered or altered depending on the region—especially in areas far from the capital, like yours. In some remote regions, people think that the Three Kings defeated the Seven Calamities ,others are completely unaware of a crucial truth: the Calamities are… infinite. When one dies, another takes its place. Someone else inherits the title and power—if they are deemed worthy—and more often than not, it's someone summoned from another world. To put it simply, the government operates on multiple levels of truth and manipulation, ensuring that the people of this world only ever see a partial, carefully curated version of reality."

Helydia furrowed her eyebrows.

"And the eleventh nation?"

Relia's eyes darkened, her tone solemn.

"It's where the Three Kings reside — a hidden realm called Solméra, the Blessed Land. No one enters it without their permission. That's why the Calamities have never attacked them. That's why... they remain untouchable."

Helydia crossed her arms and looked hard at Relia.

"But you still haven't answered: why accuse Samuel of the theft?" she said coldly.

Relia looked down for a moment, then exhaled and replied:

"We knew the Yellow Calamity had been pursuing the Heart of Aethril for some time… He made indirect attempts, all failed. So when the artifact disappeared, we tied it to a quests that had appeared on the guild board — quests bearing Samuel's name, indirectly demanding the theft."

She glanced at Samuel again, still leaning calmly against the beast's warm coat.

"We believed Samuel might be a subordinate of that Calamity — an agent sent to steal the Heart for him. At the time, no one knew… he would himself be the new Black Calamity."

A heavy silence fell. The breeze stirred the scarlet grass in whispers. Helydia lowered her gaze, fingers clenching in the soil. A harsh thought struck her:

That quest... I posted it. I linked Samuel to the Heart. I'm the reason he was accused.

Samuel, feeling his guilt through the necklace, whose pendant was a piece of Helydia's leg, still in contact with his skin, leaned forward. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry," he said softly. "It's not your fault. It was just... a string of bad luck. Nothing more."

Helydia blinked, surprised. She met the elderly man's calm gaze. No resentment. No anger. Only quiet acceptance.