Chapter 3: My Name Is…
While Zylus was standing on the edge of Mount Carmel. Another storm had already begun. Not in the sky, but in a quiet house that no longer felt like home.
(Zylus' Family's POV)
Zylus had been gone for too long. The house, already heavy with silence, now buzzed with tension.
"Where the hell has Zylus gone?!"
"I don't know. I'm sorry, but I don't know." Malaime answered apologetically
"I told you not to let him out of this house again. Glemt, go find your brother. I don't care about either of you, but he's more useful than you'll ever be. So go. Come back whenever. Or don't."
"But-t-t Father! What if both of us disappear?"
"Even better."
Malaime stepped in. Not for Zylus this time, but for Glemt.
"Zenkoku, stop doing this to your family. We've never done anything to deserve this. You keep punishing us like we're the enemy. Stop. Please."
"What did you say to me, you ungrateful scum? I provide for this house! I protect you all! And you continue to defy me? I gave you shelter, a life. Every path you take away from me only leads to regret.
(Malaime's Thoughts ) A place to call home? This crumbling prison?
She and Glemt stood frozen. Trembling. Silenced by years of fear.
(Glemt's POV)
"Zylus… Where could you have gone?"
"Go, Glemt. Be a sweetheart and find your brother." Malaime kindly ordering Glemt.
Her mother's voice sounded unfamiliar, soft, but wrong. Something had changed.
"But Mom… What if we're both gone?"
"Like your father said, sweetie. You have no use in this world."
That one sentence shattered Glemt's heart. Her mother, her one source of comfort, had turned. Maybe it was survival. Maybe it was surrender. Either way, it hurt more than her father ever could. Her mother… had become someone else entirely, one that was unfamiliar, even to herself.
Tears welled up in Glemt's eyes. She stood still for a moment, then whispered in obedience,
"Okay."
She moved slowly, as if wading through water. Tucking in her plain, wrinkled dress. Squeezing into her tight, worn-out shoes. Her fingers fumbled at the door's latch. Rough wood, splintering at the edges. It creaked open with a long moan, dust floating like ghosts in the air.
Outside was pitch black. No stars. No moon. Just the king of darkness that felt alive.
Glemt hesitated.
"This is for your brother, Glemt," she whispered to herself. "The only one left that you can rely on in this cruel world."
She stepped into the night.
Grass brushed her legs. Oak trees loomed overhead, casting long, unmoving shadows. She followed the gravel path, the stones crunching beneath her steps. With every step, the darkness seemed to widen, yet the path grew narrower, closing in on her.
And then a light. Soft. Glowing. Far ahead.
Her heart leapt.
"Zylus! Zylus, I'm Glemt! Where are you?!" She cried, her voice breaking with every shout. "We're worried sick about you! Well… I am. Zylus!"
The light flickered. And then, a figure emerged.
Cloaked. Covered head to toe. Like a mummy wrapped in mystery.
Glemt froze. Her breath caught in her throat. She felt her small hands trembling at her sides.
"Who are we looking for, little lady?" The figure asked, voice low and unreadable.
"M-my-y-y brother," she stammered.
"Oh. I might know your brother. Why don't you come with me? I'll help."
Her mind screamed. Say no. Say no. But her heart, craving something more, pulled her in the opposite direction.
Her mother's voice echoed in her head, "Never trust someone who looks like they belong to the shadows." But the woman she once called her mother, full of love and care, was gone.
She was done obeying. She didn't want to follow anyone anymore. Not father. Not mother. Not anyone. She wanted freedom. A purpose. She longed to matter, to escape the chains that had confined her, preventing her from stepping beyond the walls that defined her existence.
"If you really can help… then yes. Please. He's all I have left."
The figure tilted its head. "Oh, well, of course, honey. Just follow me. Hang on. It'll be a tough ride."
"Okay. I just need to be back-"
She paused. Why bother? No one at home cared when she came back. No one even cared if she did.
She clenched her fists. Looked up at the figure. "Let's go. Far away. With my brother."
Then, the cloaked figure held Glemt by the arms and with a rustle of wind and a swirl of dust, the two vanished.
Elsewhere, under a moonlit sky, Zylus faced the Joker once more…
(Zylus' POV)
"How is someone with your intellect and bravery only twelve? I really don't understand what they're feeding your generation. Oh, and don't worry about your curfew. I'll take care of that."
Zylus chuckled faintly but kept his eyes fixed on the man's face. The moonlight outlined the sharp angles of the stranger's jaw, half of it hidden beneath that shadowy grin. The same grin that both fascinated and irritated him.
"If you say so, mister. But let's go back to the question that matters."
Zylus' voice softened. "What's your name?"
There was a pause. Just long enough to feel like a test.
Zylus didn't know why, but something about asking this man his name felt… Important. More than curiosity. It felt like unlocking a door that had no handle. For all the fear, confusion, and surreal moments he had endured today, this one question carried a strange weight. Like learning the man's name would finally ground Zylus in this new world.
"Well," the man replied slowly, "why do you deserve to know?"
Zylus' brows pulled together. "After all this? You still won't tell me? We had a deal!"
"I don't recall making any deal," the man said, amused. "You really love lying, don't you?"
Zylus stepped forward, fists clenched. "Just say it already!"
He was cut off. The man's gaze suddenly tilted to the heavens. His eyes shimmered faintly with the reflection of the stars. The moon hung half-full in the sky, casting pale silver over their faces. A long silence stretched between them, broken only by the gentle wind that swept across the cliff.
"I'm joking," the man finally said, smirking. "Didn't I tell you I'm a Joker? You'll have to get used to this if you plan on coming with me."
Zylus turned away, frustrated. "Well, I don't want to anymore!"
But before he could take another breath, the man's tone changed, just slightly. Calmer. Almost serious.
"Look down, Zylus. One more time."
Reluctantly, Zylus stepped closer to the edge of Mount Carmel, peering down at the city below.
"Mire Valley…" He muttered.
"What do you see?" The man asked, his tone suddenly intense, as though the answer mattered more than anything.
Zylus took a long, steady breath. His eyes roamed through each pathway across the large town, a feeling of unease creeping over him.
"I see dust… Crumbling stone… people wearing smiles that don't match their eyes. A city that looks beautiful from here… But feels fake. Perfect only because it pretends the world isn't cruel."
The man nodded once. "A twelve-year-old saying that still gets me. Now look up."
Zylus turned his gaze skyward. For a moment, the weight of everything fell away. He'd never seen the night sky this way. Never so vast, so alive. The stars seemed to glitter more boldly than before, like they were waiting for him to see something.
"You act like this, so I assume you know the basics of astronomy," the man said. "Can you make out a constellation in the northern sky? Trace the shape and sound out the object.
Zylus blinked. "I… Actually don't know anything about astronomy. But what does this have to do with your name?"
The man chuckled, his voice warm now. "You'll see. Since you don't know about astronomy. I'll teach you. Follow my finger."
Zylus watched closely as the man lifted a gloved hand and began tracing invisible lines between the stars.
"Start here, bottom right. Go up, then left. Now reach the one glowing there. Good. Go down, make a square. Now fill in the shape. Draw inside the box."
Zylus raised his finger, mimicking the movements. He traced each point slowly, carefully, drawing an imaginary map across the sky. He began to smile without realizing.
"This is… Kinda fun."
North. East. South. West. Then it clicked. He connected the last star and stepped back, looking at the shape he had made in his mind. Then he blinked, stunned.
"Is this it?" Zylus asked, finger still tracing the edges of the constellation.
"Yes," the man replied. "Now, what do you see?"
Zylus narrowed his eyes, focusing harder this time. The stars, once random, now formed something unmistakable, something playful, yet powerful.
"I think… A card?" He said, breath catching his throat.
The man nodded. "Take a closer look. Right in the center."
Zylus held his breath. His heart thudded against his chest as he mentally followed the lines again, but this time, not just for the shape, but for the meaning.
Then it clicked.
"A joke-"
He didn't finish.
The figure grinned. Not a mocking grin this time, but one laced with something deeper. Pride perhaps… Or relief.
"Took you long enough," he said softly, his voice curling with the weight of the moment. "I go by…"
He paused. The wind stirred around them, lifting the edges of his coat. The stars shimmered in quiet witness.
"Medrus… Medrus Miro."
The name echoed quietly across the mountaintop, like a secret whispered by the stars themselves.
Zylus stood still. That name… It didn't just sound like something to remember. It felt like the beginning of something much, much bigger.
And so, under the half-lit moon and constellation of the card, with the ruins of a perfect city below and the unknown above. Zylus met his first teacher.
Not just a man.
Not just a name.
But a path.
A path into a world that would never be the same again.