The firelight spread across the wall, bringing the mural fully into view.
Reige stared at it without moving.
The moment his eyes settled on the painting, something deep inside him stirred. Memories he had never tried to recall suddenly surfaced the endless red ground, the broken weapons scattered everywhere, the silent bodies of creatures larger than mountains.
The battlefield.
His battlefield.
The one he had walked for years.
For a brief moment the memories rushed through him with overwhelming clarity. The hunger. The dragons. The endless walking. The silence that had surrounded him for so long.
But something inside him tightened.
A quiet instinct.
It told him not to speak about it.
Not to reveal anything.
So Reige remained silent, his face calm as he continued looking at the mural.
Behind him, Arnis spoke.
"There are three murals in this cave."
His voice echoed softly across the stone chamber.
"No one knows who painted them, or when they were made. But for generations people have believed they represent the state of life in this continent."
Reige listened quietly.
Arnis lifted the small flame in his hand higher, letting its light spread across the enormous painting.
"This," Arnis said, pointing toward the mural in front of them, "is the first one."
The wall was covered in chaos.
The painting showed an immense battlefield stretching beyond the horizon. Countless creatures lay scattered across the red land dragons, elephants, horses, humans, and many other beasts Reige did not recognize.
Weapons lay shattered everywhere.
Broken armor, snapped spears, crushed shields.
The land itself looked soaked in blood.
Even the sky in the painting seemed heavy, dark clouds swirling above the battlefield as if the world itself was watching the destruction below.
But above that scene… there was something else.
Another image floated in the sky portion of the mural.
Reige's eyes slowly shifted upward.
There, above the battlefield, a completely different scene unfolded.
A long table filled with food and golden cups.
Several people sat around it wearing luxurious clothing unlike anything Reige had seen before. Their robes were richly decorated, their fingers covered in shining rings. Servants stood behind them, pouring drinks and bringing more food.
The people at the table laughed.
They raised cups filled with alcohol.
Some leaned back in their chairs casually, speaking to each other with relaxed expressions.
Below them, the battlefield raged.
Above them, they celebrated.
Reige frowned slightly.
This part of the mural was completely unfamiliar to him.
The battlefield itself made sense. He had seen those creatures before. The dragons, the elephants, the broken weapons those images were all things he could understand.
But the scene above it felt like a different world entirely.
Why were they eating and drinking while the battle happened below?
What kind of place was that?
Before Reige could ask anything, Arnis continued speaking.
"This mural shows the brutality of the world."
His voice was calm, but there was a faint heaviness in it.
"Billions of lives lost on the battlefield… while those who hold power watch from far above."
Reige turned his head slightly.
He didn't fully understand.
Power.
Enjoyment.
Watching others suffer.
These were ideas that meant little to him.
His life had been simple: survive, eat, keep moving.
He had never experienced the kind of world Arnis was describing.
Arnis looked back at the mural for a moment before continuing.
"This," he said slowly, "is the first truth of the world."
His eyes moved toward Reige.
"In this world, many people fight and die… while a few sit far away and enjoy the results."
Reige remained silent.
The concept was strange.
But something about it felt… unsettling.
Arnis lowered the flame slightly and turned toward the boy again.
"For months I have only taught you simple things," he said. "Words. Objects. Basic knowledge."
He paused briefly.
"But if you are going to live in this world… you must understand more than that."
The firelight flickered across the cave walls.
"This is where your real lessons begin."
Reige looked back at the mural again.
The battlefield.
The people drinking above it.
Two worlds existing at the same time.
Arnis spoke quietly.
"Tonight, I will teach you about this world its past… and its present."