Illou and I reported the mission to General Wisdow, but before we could leave his office, he told us about a recent event - says Thamiso.
"What did the general talk about?" asks Stan, curious.
"Shouldn't there be a newspaper left at the entrance of our dormitory?" asks Illou, walking towards the dormitory entrance, opening the door, and looking for a newspaper in the group's mailbox.
Thamiso, waiting for his friend to return inside with the group, says: "In summary, there are suspicions that eletherios are infiltrating large centers of the empire, and that includes the capital."
"Infiltrating? That's crazy, but how?" questions Lian, disbelieving Thamiso's words.
At that moment, Illou closes the door again and returns to the conversation with a newspaper in hand. Approaching the group, he leaves it open on the table in the center, facing Stan and Lian, who are sitting side by side on the same sofa, with the same page Wisdow had shown them. Lian grabs the newspaper with her hand and brings it closer to Stan and her so they can read more clearly. Startled, both read the headline, see the cover image, and put the newspaper back on the table.
"Now it makes more sense," says Stan, thoughtful about what happened.
"Even with all the punishment, it seems the empire still has soldiers who aren't on its side," says Lian, feeling uneasy after seeing the image of the decapitated military police.
Stan, preparing to give a lecture, begins: "Do you understand now, Thamiso? This is what I always..."
"It's not the time for that, Stan," interrupts the group's captain, aiming to continue the main conversation.
"That was just to give you context. Now that we're on the same page, I can continue," says Thamiso, seriously.
Stan and Lian, uneasy, don't speak a word so they can hear what Thamiso has to say as quickly as possible.
Thamiso then continues: "Wisdow said we're about to enter a more complicated time in the war, but he couldn't detail how it will be. He just requested that we be back in the capital in 11 days, at the latest."
"Honestly, if there are really more eletherios within the capital, we're in a terrible situation. This opens the door to many surprise attacks," says Lian, slightly scared.
Illou and Thamiso look at each other but say nothing. Stan, leaning forward and clasping his hands in front of his face, says: "Considering the situation, I'll stay in the capital for the next few days."
"Are you serious? Maybe it would be good for you to change the scenery a bit," says Lian.
"I have nowhere to go, no family like you guys. I'll stay on alert in case something happens and take the opportunity to see if I find anything about Viguena in the central library."
The group is silent for a few moments, as if mourning their friend. In a few seconds, the quiet is broken.
"Viguena, the one from that destroyed village?" asks Illou, curious.
"That's the one," replies Lian, putting her hand on her face and sighing, before Stan could say a word.
"But why do you want to know about it?" asks Illou.
"I believe it's not the time to talk about it. Let's leave it for another time," replies Stan, not giving room for the subject to continue. He then stands up from the sofa and asks the group: "And you, what are you going to do?"
"I think I'll take the opportunity to visit my parents," replies Lian.
Illou, accompanying his friend, says: "I'll visit mine too and take advantage of our short break. It's just going to be a pain to travel two hours by train. And you, Thamiso, are you going home?"
At that moment, everyone in the group looks at the captain, as, except for Illou, no one exactly knew how Thamiso's family was constituted.
"I am, to see the old lady and the cats. It's been a while since I've been home or given any news, this way, everyone will be worried," says the group leader.
"After all, who is this lady you always talk about, Thamiso?" asks Lian.
"It's the one who adopted me after my parents were gone," replies the young man, adjusting his eye patch.
Illou, knowing Thamiso's past, becomes sad and looks down, while Stan and Lian don't show much reaction to the situation. Seeing his friend's discomfort, the group leader approaches Illou and lightly taps his back, exclaiming with a smile: "It's okay, Illou! I'm happy this way."
At that moment, the friend follows Thamiso's smile, returning the comforting taps.
"Well, that's it, isn't it? See you in 11 days," says Illou to the group.
"That's right!" replies Lian.
"Make sure not to do anything foolish in the meantime," Stan adds, with his usual lecturing tone.
"Take care, everyone," says Thamiso, finally.
The boy then goes to his room on the second floor where he left his things. The group's lodging consisted of two floors. Upstairs, there were four suites, one for each member, while downstairs there was the living room and the open-concept kitchen.
Packing his belongings, which were mostly already well organized, the young man puts the strap of his suitcase around his neck, leaves his room, goes down the stairs, and leaves the lodging, heading towards the nearest train station. It had been a long time since Thamiso had been home, so despite the bad news, the squadron leader was happy that he would finally see his family again.
Thamiso was adopted by a woman when he was only ten years old after becoming an orphan. As soon as his parents were arrested and never gave any news, Thamiso was transferred to the capital to be under the care of the empire. Because he had nowhere to go before being adopted by this elderly woman who lived in a city near the capital, he was forced to study at a military school to become a soldier. Since he was little, the young man's destiny had already been decided, not by him, but by the empire and the neglect of his parents. It was never his own goal or ambition to become a soldier in the anti-terrorism squad and fight eletherios; however, it was the only thing Thamiso was introduced to at a young age and what he knew how to do. His destiny was further decided when, at twelve years old, he discovered he was a Kashan of the shadows, which delighted the empire immensely. After that, it was decided that he would be part of an anti-terrorism squad. From twelve to the end of his fourteen years, the boy continued to refine his manipulation of shadow nature, and at fifteen, he officially became part of an anti-terrorism squad, along with Illou, whom he had met at the age of ten. After a year of great success in missions, General Wisdow, understanding the duo's great potential, decided they should form their own squad. Thus, at sixteen, Thamiso and Illou met Stan and Lian, who joined the group. Since then, the four had been operating together for seven months on missions, combating subversives in favor of the empire. Despite this time together, only Illou knew about Thamiso's parents and what happened six years ago, as well as the reason why Thamiso wore an eye patch.