The house was silent when Gabriel stepped out of his room, quiet in a way that felt intentional, as if the walls themselves were holding their breath.

Night had fallen over Eldenreach, but pockets of stray lanternlight still cut through the darkness in sharp, pale bursts.

Below, Tess and Mera waited at the foot of the stairs, eyes fixed on the opening, bracing for the moment his silhouette appeared. They didn't speak. Their eyes followed him the way prey follows the shadows of a predator.

He descended.

No words, no hesitation.

The weight of his swords shifted gently on his back with each stride, the familiar rhythm of metal on leather clicking softly.

His own heartbeat didn't echo it.

It was calmer.

Tess let out a gentle sigh as he reached the last step. "Gabriel…" she began, voice confused.

He didn't stop to look at her, only brushed past gently.

He reached for the front door. His mouth finally parted. "I need you to stay here." The tone wasn't harsh or commanding. It was soft.

Tess reached and put her hand on the door, blocking it from opening."Who is he?"

Mera nodded in agreement, wanting to ask the question but not finding the courage to.

Gabriel turned, his lips curling up slightly."He's one of the ones who gave me these."

Tess couldn't find her breath.Her eyes darted instinctively to his chest. To the scars she couldn't stop seeing even when they weren't visible. The memory of them pressed into her mind with startling clarity: the twisted skin, the burned handprint, the cruelty carved into him like scripture.

Her hand slipped from the door, fingers trembling.

"He… did that to you?" she whispered. Her voice was stricken with fear.

Gabriel nodded.

"So why are you smiling about it, then, you freak?" The insult snapped out of her too quickly, too sharply, a flimsy shield for the fear choking her.

Mera flinched at the word.

"Tess," she murmured, a warning, but it died on her tongue.

Gabriel's faint smile didn't shift.

"Because I was told he was already dead."

Tess stared at him, a shiver crawled up her spine as the truth settled in, he was actually happy. He wasn't smiling out of relief, it was something much colder. He was satisfied.

Mera's hand rose to her lips, her eyes widening in slow, horrified understanding.

"If he's alive…" she breathed, barely able to force the words out, "then you need to get retribution."

Her tone changed, softness replaced by a quiet, frightening conviction. "You need to make sure he never leaves Eldenreach."

Tess's head snapped towards Mera. "We don't know how many people he has with him." The words slipped out unsteady.

She had expected fear from the Apothecary, maybe panic or pleading.

Something pulsed through Tess's chest. A feeling she couldn't name.

"We don't know anything about him," she pushed on, her voice climbing despite her fear. "How many people he has waiting for him, or his reason for coming?"

Mera didn't look at her, she straightened her shoulders and raising her chin just slightly.

Her eyes fixed on Gabriel, unwavering, almost reverent.

There was no hesitation in them. Only a certainty of what needed to be done.

Gabriel lowered his gaze, the faint smile fading into something heavier. Duty.

He nodded his head towards Mera and reached for the latch again.

This time, neither woman moved to stop him.

The cold night air swept through as the door opened, tugging at his robe, the light from the lit torches bent around his silhouette.

The sound of thunder cracked through the skies. Immediately followed by the illuminating glow of lightning. Gone in the blink of an eye.

He stepped forward without another word, his boots striking the wood with a deliberate thud that made Tess flinch.

The door hadn't even finished closing before Tess surged forward.

"Gabriel… Wait!" she grabbed the handle and pulled.

But a hand clamped onto her wrist.

Tess turned sharply.

Mera stood there, her expression firm, eyes sharp under the dim candlelight. "He needs to do this by himself."

Tess's breath hitched. "By himself? He's going to get himself killed?"

Mera didn't flinch.

"I will not let you go after him. This is the first step."

Tess tried to yank her arm free, but Mera's grip tightened. Unyielding, nothing like the gentleness she showed Gabriel.

"He's not the one in danger tonight," Mera added quietly. "They are."

The words lingered in Tess's ears, echoing through her mind until her breath faltered.She stopped pulling.

Mera slowly released her wrist, though her eyes never left the door Gabriel had vanished through.

"I've been waiting a long time for this," Mera whispered.

"What?" Tess breathed, confusion pulling at her voice.

Mera's lips twitched, not a smile, not quite sorrow, something faintly trembling between the two.

"He's been waiting a long time for this," she corrected softly.

…

The moment the door shut behind him, the storm swallowed the sound of the house entirely.

Gabriel stepped into the dirt streets without looking back.

The night had deepened. Torches dotted around Eldenreach flickered in the wind and rain, their flames retreating from him as though they sensed something stirring beneath the calm.

The wet ground sloshed beneath his boots, each stride calm, uniformed.

The air was cold enough to sting the lungs, yet Gabriel breathed as though the weather didn't touch him.

The wooden buildings rattled as another crack of thunder rolled through the mountains. A few townsfolk lingered outside, glanced up at the sky. Then froze as Gabriel passed through the glow of the torches.

None spoke. None dared look at him. The red in his eyes was faint, but on a night like this, they shone like beacons.

He passed the market square. Empty now. The scent of fish and old smoke lingered, a reminder that the world continued its dull cycle, unaware of the storm walking through its streets.

Ahead, the guild's broad frame loomed through the night, warm light spilling from its windows, laughter muffled by thick wood and thicker ale.

A place that usually smelled of sweat, steel, and cheap drink.

Gabriel reached the final stretch, the snow coated with shallow puddles of melted frost. Thunder rumbled again, closer this time. The lightning that followed lit the guild hall in stark white, casting Gabriel's silhouette across its door.

Every step carried four years of weight.

And now, finally, he was ready to return it.

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