From Hector's Perspective:

After that night, I had started to think and feel differently. I was trying to fix what that maniac had done to me, but no one in the tribe had found a logical and abstract solution to it. We had mixed a bunch of plants, medicines, and foods believed to be healing and had been experimenting for months.

During this time, many cures had been found for various diseases in the tribe, but for me, it was too late, and I needed someone knowledgeable in biochemistry to fix this nonsense. I did some research, but there was no one who had fully developed in this field or was aware of the Heiliants and focused on this issue. I wanted to dismiss the worst-case scenario from my mind; how those two maniacs had become aware of us and conducted this experiment was a complete mystery. When I researched online, there was not a single word about us; interestingly, only legends, epics, and myths were present. There were no accounts of giant wolves, no sightings of Gryffins in the depths of the forest, nor any information about dragons living in volcanoes.

The interesting part begins here: with such scarce information, how did those two manage to find me and the tribe? When I glanced at some ancient monuments and our erected statues, I stumbled upon the legendary rescue story of Elder Riotta; it turned out to be mentioned in some myths. In fact, some existing tribes had passed this story down through generations. But it was strange for a couple of people to come across it; there are certainly Heiliants living among humans. They are not a large group, but those who are aware of the existence of Rein Orka choose this path. Looking at the current new generation, I see that the innocence of my childhood is gone; they are all power-hungry, and yes, they are just kids. There are also some teenagers, and there is another group that has transitioned into adulthood after their teenage years; it’s a very complex structure.

This overload of information had started to cause pain in my head, and I needed to find Victoria and fix this stupid thing before it was too late. It felt like the darkness reaching out to my arms was trying to take over my body.

I was starting to fear what I saw when I looked in the mirror. I took a few belongings with me and left a note for the tribe, saying that I was going to find a way to break this curse and save the tribe from this situation, and that I would be away for a while. I didn't have much time before they noticed I was gone; by the time they realized it, I should have already left, or else they would stop me and force me not to go. While I hadn't yet decided where to go, I was barely taking steps, freezing in the snow. For about half an hour, I took steps just to get out of the snow, and I finally managed to reach the foothills of the mountain. This was a mountain with a waterfall that flowed in reverse; no one would expect people to live at its peak, and few would dare to climb it.

However, some people had tried, and the foxes at the top had made a feast of them. Yes, the interesting part is that some of the foxes, though not most, had to resort to eating humans over time due to their struggle with hunger, and they imposed this on the next generation. Fortunately, I was not one of them; my grandfather worked very hard for us, and I am absolutely sure he did not intend for us to eat humans in the future. I remembered very little about him beyond what I had heard from the tribe.

As night fell, I was setting up my tent and lighting my fire before I started to hear the howls of wolves. This was not an ordinary fire; it was a hidden pearl that released a scent when lit. I don't understand people in this regard; they always act as if oyster pearls are something incredibly important. The truly valuable pearls are those grown and expelled from the stomach of the Perliculus fish, not the oyster's.

Perliculus, the males of this fish species are very aggressive; they protect the female while she produces pearls and lays eggs in the nest, and during the mating season, they mate with the females. They take the fry eggs from the female to care for them for eight months and then go to a new nesting area. The females grow unique pearls in their stomachs to attract their mate's attention before spawning and arrange them around the nest, so the mate that notices them will protect her. Each pearl created by this fish hides a different type of magic; oranges generally emit an aura of attraction, blues represent health and strength, greens signify high potential intelligence, reds grant temporary invisibility, and blacks are powerful enough to cause time distortion when used in different spells.

I had caught one, but it didn't live long; they were such rare creatures that they couldn't be cared for when caught alone, and they could die from sadness, loneliness, or stress. It was unfortunate to try and learn; I had even given it a name, Natalie.

When morning came, the warm dew drops falling from the trees woke me up. After having breakfast and getting ready, I set off. I thought I could find them in the city, but I didn't know a single word about them; Milan and Victoria were not enough information to help me find them. Fortunately, Magnus had mentioned the orphanage where they were adopted from. After getting the information from there, I had an address and a last name. Victor Benjamin and Victoria Shelly; Victoria had been married before, but during the time I was with them, I hadn't seen anything about her husband or her marriage.

After traveling a bit, I found myself at the door of a two-story house in a quiet neighborhood with gardens. From the outside, it looked just like any normal person's home, which made sense since they lived in a neighborhood where people resided. I knocked on the door, and I was momentarily captivated by the short girl with brown hair and green eyes who opened it; she was very beautiful. Then I calmly asked,

Hector: Milan Benjamin?

Milan: Yes, who are you?

Hector: Great, I came a long way here for your aunt.

Milan: For Aunt Victoria?

Hector: Yes, is she here?

Milan: Oh, I'm so sorry. Are you a student or something? Please, come in.

I felt uneasy; the girl's face had fallen, and sadness covered her expression. I walked in calmly and sat on the couch. She sat on the couch across from me and started to speak.

Milan: My aunt passed away two weeks ago due to pollen poisoning.

Hector: What? Pollen poisoning? No, how could this happen? No, damn it, my only chance has slipped away from me.

Milan: Who exactly are you?

Hector: I am Hector, one of the people your aunt held captive for a while while trying to find you. *takes off his hat*

Milan: Oh, so you're one of them. That changes things. Why are you looking for my aunt?

Hector: I look like a freak; I want her to fix this mess they made.

Milan: I think your ears are quite nice, but don't you want to hold the real culprits accountable?

Hector: I have a few names to hold accountable, but first, I need to get rid of this damn thing. Look at my arms; the discoloration has started. I don't even know what it means.

Milan: Oh, the situation is really serious. Fortunately, I am an expert, but at this point, I need to make you an offer.

Hector: Really, you are your father's daughter. What do you want?

Milan: Oh yes, I am my father's only daughter, and I learned a lot from him. He said I would never interfere with anyone else's business without securing my own rope first.

Hector: So? Get to the point.

Milan: I want to take revenge on those who killed my father. Help me, and I will get you out of this mess.

Hector: That's a very risky gamble.

Milan: I'm talking about the real culprits, your sister and Merlin.

Hector: Yes, we don't have a good relationship with them. They left me all alone, and at that moment, your father was about to kill me, and my so-called sister didn't even care.

Milan: Good, so it seems we are partners now.

Hector: Are we? *grins*

Milan: *looking at his arms* Being in this together will benefit both of us.