Helmut: The Forsaken Child - H.F.C Chapter 23 (Part 1):

In the dark of night, when only a few stood guard and the mercenaries went to bed, Helmut was finally alone.

After regaining consciousness, he needed time to gather his thoughts.

The process of crossing the barrier, both before and after, flashed through his mind instantly.

‘I couldn’t do this a second time.’

The pain experienced while passing through the barrier, and immediately after, was incomparably worse than nearly dying from poison. The mere thought of it was horrifying.

Would he have attempted it if he had known how painful it would be?

Helmut answered the question immediately.

‘I would have tried. I would have thought it bearable before experiencing it.’

Humans are foolish creatures, not knowing until they experience. Helmut grimaced and placed a hand on his chest.

‘It will take some time to fully recover.’

He must resume his Vis training soon. Time was on his side.

The body of a trained swordsman, the source of his life, had not collapsed. It was a difference of a single sheet of paper. The barrier had failed to destroy him beyond recovery.

This meant that, in time, Helmut could regain his original strength.

‘Am I in worse shape now than when I first started training?’

Feeling like a patient was unfamiliar to him.

He still couldn’t move Vis. Although about 30% of it had returned, it was better not to use it recklessly.

Forcing it could cause internal injuries, as his body was not fully compliant.

‘And there’s still a seed of darkness within me.’

Helmut felt its presence inside his heart, emitting a faint heat like a smoldering ember. It was quiet and smaller than before.

As he surrounded the seed of darkness with Vis to exhaust it, it struggled to survive in the barrier, rapidly losing strength in the purifying barrier.

However, it didn’t completely disappear. Like a very thin breath, it managed to survive in his heart.

He had hoped that crossing the barrier might extinguish it, but that was too much to expect.

Perhaps it was a power rooted in Helmut from birth, possibly signifying the flame of life.

Could the presence of the dark seed be the reason he hadn’t died? This remarkable recovery, a product of the dark seed.

But one fact was clear.

‘I must hide its existence.’

And the fact that he had emerged from the Forest of Parhe.

Starting a new life from scratch.

Helmut clenched the pendant tightly. Someday, he would go to the owner of the voice that had once called his name.

There was no rush. He had only just taken his first step.

*

“Is he moving?”

At dawn, the boy Finn, who had found him, exclaimed upon waking up and seeing Helmut. He looked as if he had seen a ghost.

Helmut thanked him calmly.

After some conversation, Finn seemed to accept that Helmut had lost his memory as soon as Tanya told him.

When he asked to be taken to the water as Tanya had instructed, Finn nodded happily.

“Yeah, you look a mess right now. Doesn’t it itch? Your face is so dirty. Should have cleaned you up. But you were like a corpse, it was creepy to touch.”

Tanya had done the bare minimum. Finn looked at Helmut’s stained face with disdain, as if looking at something dirty.

“Still, it’s good you woke up. We have to leave today, and I was worried about what we’d do if you never woke up and actually became a corpse.”

Finn asked with a smirk, “Your name is Helmut?”

“Yes.”

“How old are you?”

“Fourteen.”

“Really? We’re the same age. I thought you were older.”

Just as Finn looked at Helmut curiously, Helmut also found Finn somewhat curious. Talking with a boy his own age was a new experience for Helmut.

When they reached the water, Finn pointed to a spot.

“That’s where you were lying.”

But Helmut’s gaze didn’t follow.

‘This valley.’

Helmut’s eyes clouded over as he looked upstream. Following this valley could lead to the Forest of Roots.

‘Is Elaga doing well?’

He hoped Igrelle had relayed his message. Even though he had left of his own will, he couldn’t forget it. The memories built from birth.

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