The next morning, Ares woke to the system's noisy prompt.
[Ding! A new day has begun! (′▽`???) Today's task: Complete three effective nonverbal interactions! Go, host! You can do it!]
Ares rubbed his bleary eyes, feeling as though his body had been taken apart and put back together, every inch aching. The orphanage's hard wooden bed and thin bedding were extremely unfriendly to his seemingly oversensitive Blood Pact Body. He looked toward the bed opposite his. Tom was already up, his back turned as he silently arranged his worn but carefully kept coat, as if last night's brief vulnerability and startled awakening had never happened.
Breakfast was as dreary as ever. Ares received his portion of bland porridge and bread, his gaze searching the noisy dining hall for Tom. He was still seated in that corner, like an isolated island with its own barrier around it.
[An opportunity has arrived, host! (??????)?? Sharing food is the first step toward building friendship! Hurry, give him half your bread!]
Ares looked at the dry, hard chunk of dark bread in his hand, seriously doubting the system's suggestion. Share this with him? Was he sure Tom wouldn't hit him?
After hesitating, he did not walk over directly. Instead, when Tom finished eating and prepared to leave, Ares silently followed some distance behind him. Tom had clearly noticed, but he neither looked back nor stopped him. His pace remained unchanged as he headed toward the desolate little yard behind the orphanage, overgrown with weeds and piled with miscellaneous junk.
That was usually where the children held their own little "games" or settled their "private grudges."
Today, the atmosphere there was somewhat tense. The older children whom Tom had frightened away with magic yesterday had gathered together, glaring hostilely at Tom as he approached alone. The leader was a sturdy boy named Albert.
"Riddell," Albert blocked Tom's path, his face filled with the satisfaction of revenge. "You were lucky yesterday. Let's see how you use your devil's tricks today!"
He had clearly come prepared. He called over two other boys, and they moved in together, trying to subdue Tom through sheer physical advantage and deny him the chance to concentrate and use magic.
Tom's expression darkened instantly, a storm gathering in those black eyes. He clenched his fists, his body taut like an enraged young leopard. Ares could feel some invisible force in the air beginning to stir restlessly, and even the temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. Tom's magic was gathering uncontrollably under the force of his anger.
[Warning! Warning! (?Д?≡?Д?) The target's risk of magical rampage has surged! It may cause physical destruction and backlash!]
He couldn't just stand by anymore!
Before Ares could think further, he rushed over. He did not heroically step in front of Tom. Instead, he did something no one expected—his foot "slipped," and seemingly by accident, he crashed heavily into the boy who was about to pounce on Tom from behind.
"Ow!" The boy staggered from the impact, breaking their encirclement.
The sudden turn of events stunned everyone, including Tom. The process of gathering his magic was interrupted, and he looked at the suddenly appearing Ares in surprise.
Albert recovered, redirecting his anger. "You again, you freaky newcomer! Stop meddling!" He reached out to grab Ares.
Just as Albert's hand was about to touch Ares's shoulder, another change occurred!
The intertwined light and dark magic within Ares seemed to be stirred by the hostility around him and Tom's turbulent magical field, beginning to circulate on its own. The Golden Chain Pattern beneath his left eye grew faintly hot. Rather than trying to "attack" or "intimidate" like Tom, he instinctively used the same technique he had employed to soothe Tom last night, transforming his magic into a broader, gentler "field."
An invisible presence, carrying a trace of warmth mixed with a hint of cool clarity, gently spread outward from Ares.
There was no howling wind, no objects flying about. Yet Albert's outstretched hand froze in midair, and the anger on his face was instantly replaced by a dazed calm. The other two boys also stood rooted in place, their eyes vacant, as though they had suddenly forgotten what they were supposed to do. Even the restless magical particles around them seemed to have grown much more docile.
The feeling was extraordinarily subtle, like a pause button had suddenly been pressed just before a storm broke.
Tom felt it most deeply. The destructive force within him, which had been on the verge of erupting, slowly calmed beneath that strange ripple of comfort, like a frenzied beast gently smoothed down by an invisible hand. He stared at Ares in shock, at those mismatched eyes—the vivid blue of his left eye seeming to contain a serenity capable of calming storms, while the gray-black of his right was like a deep pool that absorbed all unrest.
What exactly had this guy done?
Ares was somewhat stunned himself. He had not expected the effect to be so obvious. He quickly lowered his head, tugged Tom's sleeve, and gestured for him to leave at once.
Tom snapped out of his shock and gave Ares a deep look. His gaze was impossibly complicated—suspicion, scrutiny, a trace of awkwardness at having been helped, but more than anything, an indescribable burning intensity, as if he had finally confirmed something.
He did not hesitate. While Albert and the others were still caught in that inexplicable daze, he immediately left the back yard with Ares.
The two remained silent all the way until they ran deep into the relatively safe corridor of the dormitory building.
Tom stopped and turned around, fixing Ares with a sharp stare. His voice was low, but the question in it allowed no doubt:
"What did you do just now? You're also... 'special,' aren't you?" He used the word "special," but both of them knew perfectly well what it meant.
Ares's heart pounded. He knew he could no longer hide everything completely. He lifted his head to meet Tom's gaze. Rather than answering directly, he gave a small nod. Then he raised his hand, pointed at Tom, then at himself, and finally brought two fingers together in a simple gesture meaning "together."
A silent declaration: We are the same kind. We can be together.
Tom stared at him intently, as though evaluating every meaning behind that gesture. Under the dim corridor lights, the two boys faced each other in silence. The lingering traces of two completely different yet faintly resonant kinds of magic still rippled softly through the air.
After a long while, the sharpness in Tom's eyes eased slightly. He neither admitted nor denied it, merely gave an unreadable snort before turning and leaving.
But Ares saw that the fist Tom had clenched so tightly had loosened at some point.
[Ding! Task "*Silent Alliance*" progress updated! (★ ω ★) Effective nonverbal interactions (1/3)! You faced a crisis together, and a preliminary tacit understanding has been established!] [Reward issued in advance: *Beginner Physique Enhancement* (Weak) has taken effect. Host, don't your back and legs feel less sore already? (????)]
Feeling that some of the aching in his body had indeed faded, Ares leaned against the cold wall and let out a long breath.
Their first "cooperation" had barely succeeded. But he knew the doubts in Tom's heart had only grown larger. The soothing ability he had displayed was completely different from Tom's more aggressive power. It attracted Tom, but it might also make him even more wary.
Fierce violence and poetry, destruction and solace. Could those two forces truly coexist? And how far could their "alliance" endure through the storms ahead?
Ares watched the end of the corridor where Tom had disappeared, a deeper contemplation of the future quietly taking root in his heart.
Before you continue