『 Irvar, Nothran — 26 Everi, 11:41 AM 』
Noémie turned off the TV. Her sad gaze settled on a family photo. It showed all the members of the Strauss family. In the center stood a young boy, with Noémie and Silvester each resting a hand on his head.
"Sakron... I'm so sorry."
A tear quietly rolled down her right eye.
"I promise I won't give up on Itoî. I won't make the same mistake twice."
She stayed lost in thought for a moment, thinking back to what had happened a few days earlier...
『 Irvar, Nothran, Children's Bedroom — 20 Everi, 10:30 PM 』
"Alright, kids, time for bed!" Noémie said, her hand on the light switch.
"Yes, Mommy!" the children replied, pulling their blankets up.
A bunk bed took up part of the room: Itoî slept on the top bunk and Vars on the bottom. Uyan, on the other hand, slept in a separate bed against the right wall.
"Oh, do you want me to turn on the little lamp, Uyan?" Noémie asked.
"N-no! I'm not a kid anymore!" Uyan replied, his cheeks flushing red with embarrassment.
"Hahaha! Yes, you're a big boy now, sweetheart. But you'll always be mommy's little baby."
She walked over, gently rubbed his head, and kissed his cheek. Then she turned off the light and softly closed the door.
In the dimness, Itoî whispered:
"Alright, Mom's gone, guys. I'm gonna tell you a secret!"
"I bet it's more crap," Uyan replied.
"No way! I promise!" Itoî shot back, a bit disappointed.
"Come on, spill it! Don't keep us in suspense," Vars said.
He pushed back his blanket and stretched out comfortably, resting his head on one hand.
"So, I've told you about my dream before: becoming a supreme mage! You remember, right? Well, I'm really motivated now! Plus, I start classes next year!"
"Yeah!" Vars replied.
"Not to be a buzzkill, big bro, but that's impossible," Uyan said.
Itoî snapped his head toward his little brother.
"Why?!"
"Shh!" Uyan and Vars hissed in unison.
"Mom's gonna hear us if you yell like that," Uyan added, rolling his eyes.
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"Huh? Why do you think it's impossible, Uyan? I think he can do it," Vars replied in a relaxed tone.
"Well, it's a ton of work. Not to mention you have to be really strong in all academic subjects, have an excellent record, good connections, and pass elite magic trials," Uyan explained, sounding more serious.
"Doesn't matter! I assure you Itoî will succeed, and I think you will too, Uyan!" Vars replied with an affectionate smile.
"Yeah! He's right, little bro! We're all gonna make it, you'll see, Uyan!"
"Y-yeah... Well, if you say so," Uyan murmured, a bit overwhelmed.
"By the way, what do you guys want to be?" Itoî asked curiously.
"Me first!" Vars exclaimed enthusiastically.
"Shh!" his two brothers whispered, annoyed.
"Yeah, sorry... I want to be a scientist. I want to cure all diseases and be able to bring the dead back to life," Vars said in a quiet, very serious voice.
"Bring the dead back to life? Is that even possible?" Itoî asked.
Uyan looked thoughtful.
"Setting aside necromancy, of course, which totally alters the state of the person brought back... But the most surprising thing is, I actually think you could pull it off, big bro," he added, a bit embarrassed.
"Heh heh, thanks! But not like necromancy. I want to create some sort of machine capable of trapping a person's soul to put it back into their host body. Well... it's still just theory right now," Vars replied hesitantly.
"Is a soul alive? Does it have a shape? What is it, exactly?" Itoî asked.
"Well, that's the problem. I don't think a soul has a shape or anything. It's weird. I like the idea, but I don't see how it could be possible yet," Uyan replied.
"Heh heh heh..." Vars muttered, scratching his head, visibly embarrassed. He didn't really know how he'd achieve it himself.
"Anyway, big bro, you'll succeed. Not like the idiot up there," Uyan added in a teasing tone.
"What did you say?!" Itoî yelled, throwing his pillow right at Uyan's head.
"You're annoying! You're just a big kid!" Uyan shot back, clearly angry.
Knock, knock, knock!
"Boys? You'd better be sleeping, because otherwise..." Noémie threatened from behind the door.
The three boys dove under their blankets.
"You're a pain, Itoî!" Uyan hissed, annoyed by his older brother's attitude.
"Well, so are you! You're asking for it!" Itoî retorted, just as riled up as his younger brother.
"Hahaha!" Vars snickered.
Then he turned serious and poked his head out of his blanket.
"But don't worry, you'll succeed, Itoî. I believe in you. And like I said, I believe in you too, Uyan! By the way, you still haven't told us what you want to do, my little redhead!" he called out to his brother teasingly.
Uyan blushed, as if becoming one with his carmine red hair.
"S-stop calling me that, Vars! Only Mom is allowed to call me that."
He turned serious again—maybe a bit too serious for his age—and answered:
"I don't know. Big bro, I really don't know. I'd just want to keep living with Mom, Dad, you, big sis, and the doofus..."
Itoî stuck his tongue out and made a face at Uyan.
"No, really, I don't know," Uyan continued. "I like being with you. I also like playing on my console and reading books... And that's it. I'm interested in magic, yeah, but I'm not good at it," he finished in a small voice, looking sad and lost.
"Don't worry, Uyan. I promise you'll find something you like. The world is big! There's magic, family, and everything else! You have plenty of time to think. You won't start elementary academic classes for another five years. And besides, we're here: we'll help you find your path!" Vars said in a reassuring and cheerful tone.
"That's right, we're here for you, little bro," Itoî added with a smile.
Uyan cried silently, but his quiet sniffling eventually gave him away.
"T-thanks..."
"A-are you crying, Uyan?" Vars asked, embarrassed and confused.
"Bwahaha! He's crying, the big baby!" Itoî mocked, pointing at him.
"S-shut up!" Uyan retorted, embarrassed, wiping his eyes with his sleeve.
"Alright, guys, let's go to sleep! It's twelve-thirty. If Mom hears us, we're dead," Vars said, pulling his blanket up to his chin and turning on his side.
"Yeah," Uyan and Itoî replied, doing the same.
Silence fell. Then Itoî whispered in the dark, addressing his little brother:
"Hey, yeah... I was just joking, you know. I didn't mean to make fun of you, Uyan. Sorry."
"Yeah, it's fine, it's nothing. Sorry about earlier too. You'll become a supreme mage, I'm sure of it," Uyan murmured kindly.
"Thanks. We won't let you down, little bro. Don't worry," Itoî said determinedly.
The three boys fell asleep with smiles on their faces.