A carriage with the emblem of the Winford family moved in the direction of Balvan mansion.
When Noah came out of the ground, the guard wanted to obtain a refund for the damage he had caused on the field but it was enough to say the name "Balvan" to receive his apologies and a ride back home.
That and a little threat of course.
The ride was gladly accepted by Noah since he had yet to fully recover from his injuries.
He had decided to go out of the passage in the valley as soon as he was able to move for fear of another roar from the King.
The family even gave him a new set of clothes so he could hide again his space-ring in there.
During the travel, he focused mostly on healing Assea’s cracked figure in his sea of consciousness and when he arrived at the mansion he was back at full strength.
Looking at his home he could not help but smile a little.
’I’m finally back!’
Turning back in time a little, about two weeks after Noah fell in the canyon.
William was reading a report in the guards’ building.
As he continued to read, his hands began to shake and an angry expression formed on his face.
Then, the reading stopped and the sheet he was holding disintegrated.
’Fucking nobles, they sent Noah into a trap!’
He hurriedly went outside of the mansion and ran in the direction of Twilboia Cliff.
It took him a week to reach the gorge but all he saw were corpses and remains of the battle.
He searched all the bodies but he could not find Noah’s one.
’The report said that the caravan was assaulted here but he is not among the corpses.’
He fell deep in thought as he analyzed the situation.
’It’s unlikely that he was taken hostage by the Lansay family, they have no use for him. Where is he though?’
His gaze eventually fell on the cliff and William’s eyes widened.
’Don’t tell me that he decided to escape in the canyon! That is one of the danger zones of this area.’
He neared the cliff and stared at the space below it, only fog occupied his field of view.
’If you really are down here, may the Heaven have pity on you, my dear disciple.’
He stayed in that position for a whole day praying for Noah’s well being.
Then he shook his head and sighed, going back on the road for his mansion.
’It’s better to hide this news from his mother.’
Months passed and his worry began to transform in helplessness.
He forbid every guard to speak about the incident but ultimately, some rumors about Noah’s situation began to spread.
Many believed that he had escaped and joined the Lansay family in exchange for cultivation resources.
Others that he was taken as a prisoner to trade with the Balvan family.
Lily, however, had a bad feeling about Noah’s condition as she noticed a change in Rhys’ attitude.
He would visit her less frequently and was less violent during their nights spent together.
Her worries accumulated but she could do nothing but harass William with questions.
Nevertheless, she soon understood that even William knew nothing about her son’s situation.
The waiting was becoming suffocating but nothing could be done.
Then, after more than four months from Noah’s departure, the happy news came.
Noah had returned to the mansion!
Lily and William ran immediately from their respective buildings to the front gate of the mansion.
William was the first to arrive and stood in place looking at the smiling youth on the carriage of the Wilford family.
The youth had long black hair and shining blue eyes.
He was wearing large clothes that didn’t seem fit for his stature and two sabers were sheathed on his back.
A mature look was exuded from him and William could not help but smile radiantly at that sight.
’He has grown.’
Before he could move toward him though, Lily’s figure passed him and jumped directly on the smiling youth.
"I told you to be careful and yet you disappear for so long! Don’t you know how worried I was? Enough, I’m not letting you out of your room for an entire month, no wait, let’s make it two months!"
Lily was half hugging half rebuking her son but it was clear that she was happy from the bottom of her heart to see Noah safe.
It took Noah and an entire day to calm her mother and reassure her, while William could only look from some distance at the family reunion.
Lily feel asleep in Noah’s room that day, a smile was present on her sleeping figure.
The next day, he spent all his morning with his mother before going to William’s room to deliver a report.
William too was smiling unconsciously but his face became stern when Noah described the environment of the valley.
He said nothing about the Assea family or the spell but he had one doubt since he escaped the canyon.
"Master, which rank the King was?"
William was still digesting Noah’s speech when he heard the question and fell deep in thought.
After some hesitation he said in a soft voice:
"Probably rank 5. You said that you opened a passage to the valley on the Iano field right? I must warn the Shosti family, they will manage the situation. I’m afraid that this circumstance is too dangerous for a medium-size family to handle.’
Noah became interested.
"Will they kill the King?"
William shook his head.
"A battle with an entity on that level will shake all their area of power, they can’t afford that. Also, the valley would probably be destroyed in the process and they would lose the only benefits they could get. They will just secure the passage and make it a forbidden zone.’
Noah felt a bit disappointed since he wanted to see a battle of that might but what William said was reasonable.
Then, he remembered something and smiled shamelessly toward his Master.
"You know, my sixth cycle is complete. We might do the last treatment immediately."
Looking at the smiling kid, a part of William wanted to throw him again in the cliff.