The Holder of Light

"Look! This armor... it's blinking!" Nari exclaimed excitedly, pointing to the cabinet where Nate's armor was kept.

Hearing that, Archer and the others immediately stepped closer to inspect.

Sure enough—the Nate armor was glowing in a slow, pulsing light, as if trying to communicate something.

"This isn't a coincidence..." Zayyan murmured quietly.

That strange occurrence was followed by a sudden flash of light from the Champion Sword. On its blade, glowing ancient inscriptions appeared—written in soft light. The writing only stayed for a few seconds before vanishing, along with the fading glow of Nate's armor.

Zayyan stared at the sword intently.

"That was... Celestial script," he explained. "The Champion Sword just revealed the location of the one chosen by Nate."

Archer nodded and added,

"The city of Niagara. That person is there. Prince, you must come with us."

Without question, Arion followed Archer and the other two Cerberus heads into a large study—filled with old books, some neatly arranged, others scattered across the floor as if untouched for years.

But before any discussion could begin, a loud shout rang out from outside:

"STOP! DON'T RUN!"

Followed by a boy's voice, just as loud:

"I SAID DON'T BOTHER ME, YOU'RE ANNOYING!"

Archer sighed, glancing toward the door.

"What now…" he muttered, still calm as ever.

Zayyan looked curious, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Meanwhile Aiden—he looked close to breaking.

"OH COME ON, WHAT NOW!? THESE BRATS NEVER STOP MAKING A SCENE!" he groaned, visibly frustrated.

Nari suddenly burst into the room in a rush. Without saying a word, she immediately hid behind Arion, panting heavily.

Moments later, a boy—around ten years old—appeared in the doorway. He had golden-blond hair, sharp emerald-green eyes, and a cute face that—unfortunately—was red with anger.

The boy wore light knightly armor, complete with a short cape and protective helm. But the most striking thing was…

He was wielding a massive dough roller, like it was a deadly weapon.

"GET OUT FROM BEHIND HIM! DON'T THINK YOU CAN ESCAPE SO EASILY, YOU EVIL WOMAN!" he shouted, aiming the kitchen tool at Nari who was still hiding behind Arion.

Arion panicked, trying to calm the kid.

"Hey, hey, be careful—that could hurt someone—don't swing it like that!"

Unfortunately, the advice went unheard. The boy only grew more fired up... until the dough roller slipped from his grip and—

THWACK!

It landed squarely on Aria's face, just as she walked into the room, curious about all the commotion.

Silence fell.

Aria slowly pulled the dough roller off her face. Her face wasn't red from embarrassment… but from rage.

"ARION. I'M GOING TO HIT THAT KID."

"W-wait, Aria! We can talk this out—calm down—Nari, stop hiding too, don't make it worse!" Arion was overwhelmed, standing between an enraged Aria ready to strike and the mysterious boy still trying to tackle Nari from behind.

The boy was fast, darting left and right, dodging Aria's fury while lunging toward Nari. But the chaos stopped suddenly.

Archer, with a completely blank expression, took a few steps forward and—with one swift movement—grabbed the boy by the back of his cape and lifted him high, until they were eye level.

"Enough."

Archer's voice was deep, calm… and extremely convincing.

The boy stopped squirming at once. His cheeks were still puffed up, but now his eyes looked at Archer with confusion… and a hint of fear.