"I'll find out myself..." Adonis murmured barely audibly, then placed a hand on the man's shoulder:
"You'll stay here. If you learn anything else, you'll send me word. Understood?"
As Adonis sat in the room, pondering the events that had transpired, the little girl approached with cautious steps, clutching the hem of her dress with one hand and the apple he had given her with the other. She hesitated for a moment before extending her small hand to gently touch his palm.
"Sir... are you feeling better now?" she said in a hushed voice full of concern, her innocent eyes looking up at him with childish purity.
Adonis looked at her for a moment, then smiled faintly and knelt down to her level. He sat before her, placing his hand gently on her small shoulder.
"No need to call me 'Sir'. You can call me by my name... I am Adonis. Now, tell me, what is your name?"
The girl's face flushed with shyness, and she offered a small smile before answering in a faint voice:
"I am Yara…"
"Yara?" Adonis repeated with a smile that warmed her heart. "A beautiful name, just like you."
The girl lowered her eyes shyly, but quickly raised her head with enthusiasm and said:
"Then, Adonis… I will help you now! As a token of thanks for giving me the apple! And also because I love your eyes. They are like the sky."
Adonis was surprised for a moment, but he laughed softly, that rare laugh that seemed to radiate light amidst his weariness. He extended his hand and gently patted her head.
"Thank you, Yara. Your words are better than any medicine. And I promise I will do everything I can to keep you safe."
She felt safe within his words and his smile. For her, Adonis was a true hero, even if he bore the marks of fatigue and injury.
Under the oppressive gray clouds that hid the sun, she silently led him along the path to the riverbed. Her small steps were hesitant, but her determination was clear. Adonis, with his tall stature and ready sword, followed her, his eyes scanning every detail around them. Despite her young age, she seemed to know exactly where she was leading him, and he realized that this place might hold the key to understanding the plague that was gnawing at the city of Vanya.
"Yara," he finally said, his voice carrying the tone of a vigilant leader, "why this path specifically? Do you know anything about the river?"
She paused for a moment without turning, her eyes fixed on the path ahead. "The plague started here, didn't it? The river is everything to the city. If there's a secret, it's there."
Her words were simple but pierced Adonis's mind like an arrow. Despite her young age, she seemed to understand the magnitude of the catastrophe facing the city, and perhaps knew more than she was telling.
As they approached the riverbed, the air became saturated with a strange odor, a mixture of mud, stagnant water, and something else Adonis couldn't identify. Fog began to creep from the water, enveloping the dense trees that surrounded the channel like silent guardians.
"You know a lot for a little girl," Adonis said, now walking beside her, his gaze examining every corner. "Who told you about this place?"
She replied in a low voice as if whispering: "I live here, Commander Adonis. The river isn't just water. It's the city's lifeline... and it's also the sickness."
Adonis stopped at her words. He looked at the riverbed with cautious eyes; the water was unnaturally dark, and its movement slow as if life had extinguished within it. "This isn't ordinary water," he said in a husky voice, as if speaking to himself.
"It's more than that," she added, standing close to him. "The disease starts here, but the answer is also here. You have to know what's happening before it's too late."
Adonis rose, looked at the little girl, then at the river again. He knew that what he saw before him was no mere coincidence. The plague, the river, the shadows, and everything related to the city of Vanya... everything indicated that this place held a dark secret waiting to be uncovered.
Under the heavy shadows of dusk that covered the city of Vanya, Helibor arrived alone on his horse, clad in a dark cloak that concealed his royal features. He felt the weight of the mission on his shoulders, but more importantly, he had to find Adonis before this cursed place swallowed him.
As he entered one of the narrow alleys, where the city's features began to disappear amidst the darkness and the foul smell of the nearby river, he suddenly stopped at a soft, husky voice. "You're looking for someone, aren't you?"
Helibor turned sharply and saw an old man sitting on a stone near a small, dilapidated shack. The old man was dressed in simple clothes, and his eyes, despite their weakness, were full of wisdom and defiance.
"How did you know?" Helibor asked in a firm voice, but he lowered his cloak slightly to reveal his face. "I am here looking for Commander Adonis. Do you know anything about him?"
The old man smiled faintly, as if the answer was expected. "I know him, of course. Adonis is a young man you can't mistake. He was here."
"He was here?" Helibor took a step forward, his face growing more anxious. "Where is he now?"
The old man gestured towards the river, but before he spoke, he sighed deeply as if recalling a heavy event. "He collapsed here, after seeing what he shouldn't have seen."
Helibor froze at those words. "What did he see?"
"The mother and her son..." the old man said in a faint voice, as if the words themselves weighed on his chest. "He was chasing answers about the plague, but he found a scene that made his heart collapse. He didn't speak much when he woke up, but I knew he was suffering from something greater than just fatigue."
Helibor felt the weight of the words, as if they struck his heart directly. He realized that Adonis was suffering not only from the dangers around him but also from the burden of memories and truths he had uncovered in this place.
"Where did he go after leaving your shack?" Helibor asked, determined not to waste time.
The old man shook his head sadly. "He headed towards the riverbed. He said he wouldn't return until he understood the reason behind all this. ...That place isn't safe. It swallows everyone who approaches it."
Helibor approached the old man and placed his hand on his shoulder. "Thank you for saving him. I will find him."
Helibor mounted his horse again, his eyes fixed on the horizon where the river hid in the dark shadows. He knew this mission wouldn't be easy, but he had no intention of returning without him.
Under the dark sky, Adonis stood beside the riverbed, his features tense and his blue eyes watching the dark waters flowing slowly, as if carrying deep secrets. The smell of the river was suffocating, a mixture of mud and decay, making him recoil for a moment, putting his hand to his nose.
He had insisted that Yara return home, telling her in a calm but firm voice: "This place is not safe. Go back now, and I will make sure everything will be fine." Despite her objections, he escorted her home himself to ensure her safety before returning to this cursed place.
When he returned to the riverbed, everything became clearer. The water was dark, as if mixed with a liquid black shadow. On the banks of the river, the plants were dead, their branches twisted as if trying to escape from something. The air was saturated with a heavy silence; only the sound of the water was heard, seeming to whisper hidden secrets to him.
Beside the bank, Adonis noticed sick and emaciated animals wandering slowly. There was a small deer limping, its skin pale as if life was being drained from it. On nearby branches, birds gathered in strange silence, their wings drooping as if they had lost their strength. Some rats lay motionless on the ground, as if they had surrendered to their fate beside this river. Everything in the place seemed to be under the influence of a curse, or a greater, unexplainable force.
As Adonis cautiously advanced along the bank, he noticed something strange amidst the rising mist. There was a small building structure barely visible among the dense trees. The walls were cracked, covered with a layer of black moss. He approached closer, his eyes gleaming with caution.
When he reached the broken door, he pushed it open slowly and entered. The laboratory was dark, save for a faint light emanating from mysterious crystals embedded in the walls. Work tables were filled with flasks and bottles containing strange liquids, some glowing a bright green. On one of the walls, there were maps and drawings of the river, as if someone had been studying its flow and its impact.
He took a deep breath and advanced, examining the place carefully. In a corner of the room, he noticed a cage containing a rat, but it was not normal. Its skin was covered with strange black spots, and its eyes glowed with an evil red color. Adonis realized that what was happening here was more than just a disease or a plague, but a deliberate experiment that manipulated the lives of humans and nature.