Echoes of the Forsaken.

Viser hesitated before speaking, his voice quieter than before. "I wasn't sure whether to tell you," he admitted. "But I suppose you're old enough now."

His gaze settled on Delilah, heavier than before. "There's a reason I told both of you to keep your runes a secret. Especially you." He leaned forward slightly. "Three runes… and two of them are High Runes. That's far rarer than you think."

Delilah's expression shifted—subtle, but unmistakable.

Curiosity.

She raised her hand, and pure darkness spread, swallowing the space around them. The air grew heavy, sound dissolving into nothing, as if the world outside had ceased to exist.

She remembered that day well.

Maybe nine or ten months after Viser took them in, he gave them a simple request: to draw their runes on paper so he could determine what spells he needed to get for them.

The first rune they both drew was Ice. It earned them a nod. Common.

The second was Darkness. That made him pause. His brows furrowed, something flickering in his eyes, fascination? Unease? His lips parted slightly, as if he meant to speak, but before he could, they both drew a third.

Silence.

Viser's expression twisted, confusion bleeding into disbelief. His fingers curled around the edge of the table, his breath hitching.

A heavy stillness filled the room, stretching unbearably. Not even in his wildest dreams had he expected a third rune. And when he saw what Delilah had drawn… the table broke in his hands.

Hé lifted his head and finally spoke.

"Never." His voice was quiet, but there was an edge to it, sharp and absolute. "ever tell anyone you have three runes or what they are."

His gaze was mostly on Delilah, his tone left no room for argument. Then came his order. One rune must never be used they had to hide one of them.

At the time, Delilah hadn't understood why. But she had seen the look in his eyes.

Viser wasn't just surprised. He wasn't just fascinated.

He was afraid!.

She had made a choice that day, one that weighed heavily on her. Among her High Runes, she had to abandon one. Darkness was better for fights, but Life was better for healing.

She chose to keep Life and let go of Darkness. The power it offered didn't matter. What mattered was Nero. If he was ever injured, she would be able to heal him.

That meant more than anything else.

Nero chose to abandon the ice rune, keeping Fire and Darkness instead.

Now, as she sat before Viser, watching the way his fingers tapped absently against the table, she realized something. He had never told them why they had to hide their runes.

He exhaled and finally spoke. "All people are born with one or two runes, usually both Low Runes. In most cases, the same type of runes their parents have, though there are exceptions."

He glanced at her. "Take Nemsus, for example. I have Earth and Light. My wife had Lightning and Fire. And my son? He has Light and Lightning."

She nodded, but he wasn't done.

"As you know, Light is a High Rune. Most common folk don't have that. I do, but that's because I was born noble."

He said it without pride, just stating a fact. "Every noble bloodline has a High Rune that reappears across generations. It's obligatory. It's what makes them nobles. It's what makes them stronger then normal people."

I guess you know why, right?"

Delilah nodded. "They come at the third level."

"Yes, exactly," Viser said. "If you understand how one rune two levels higher than someone else's makes you stronger, then two Level 3 runes will just..."

When people awaken their Eny, they find their runes there, determining their talent, their future.

Most awaken with Low Runes, Fire, Water, Ice, Earth, Sound, Lightning, Wind, or Wood. These always start at Level 1.

But if they're lucky enough, they might find themselves possessing a High Rune—Time, Space, Gravity, Shadow, Darkness, Light, Death, or Life. Unlike Low Runes, High Runes start directly at Level 3, converting mana faster and more efficiently. They also provide physical benefits to the body and allow the user to wield higher-level spells, making them far more powerful. Like Nero how Nero can use absence

Viser exhaled, fingers pressing against his temple. He let out a short, dry chuckle, his tone laced with something between amusement and disbelief.

"Three runes?" He shook his head, dragging out the words as if tasting them. "I heard once about someone who had that… Extremely rare, but it happened." His lips curled slightly, almost mocking. "Maybe one or two humans in all of history ever had more than two." He paused, letting the weight of his words settle. Then, with deliberate slowness, he added, "And even they only had one High Rune."

He leaned back.

"Until you."

Delilah stiffened.

Viser gave a dry chuckle, "Two High Runes. Darkness and Life. And Ice on top of that." He met her gaze. "That has never happened before. Not that I know of." His voice dropped slightly.

Silence hung between them.

Then, finally, he said what he had been holding back, his voice careful, measured.

"I think you two are most likely of royal blood."

He watched her closely, as if bracing for impact.

Delilah stilled. A slow, creeping sensation curled around her spine as the darkness around them deepened.

"Noble blood?" she whispered.

Then she laughed—short, sharp, bitter.

She pushed herself up from the ground, hands drawing toward herself.

"You can't be serious." She leaned forward, her voice tight with anger. "Do you remember where you found us? How you found us?" Her fingers curled into fists. "Did we look like nobles to you?"

Viser didn't say anything.

That made something in her burn hotter.

The first time he told them he was noble, she and Nero had felt nothing but hate. Not jealousy. Not bitterness. Hate. Raw and absolute. It curdled in their stomachs like poison, thick and suffocating.

He hadn't seen their faces that night. He hadn't understood.

But he had noticed.

The way Nero's fingers twitched toward the knife he always kept hidden. The way his muscles coiled, tight as a wound spring. The way the air around them shifted, crackling with something sharp, something violent.

If Viser had told them that the moment he brought them in, before he had earned their trust, before they knew his kindness,

They would have mostly tried to kill him or run and left him.

Delilah hated them even more than Nero did.

Nero's first kill had been a noble. That bastard had come for Delilah. She could still remember the way he had looked at her, the way he had spoken—discussing what he was going to do as if she were a prize, not a person.

Nero hadn't hesitated. He had been forced to kill him.

What followed was a long flight for their lives, one that never truly ended. It had shaped them into what they were now.

She swallowed, the taste in her mouth turning bitter.

We don't belong to them. We never did. We never will.

And yet, here was Viser, telling her otherwise.

She exhaled sharply, shaking her head as if that could drive the thoughts away.

"Explain," she demanded, her voice sharper than she intended.

Viser spoke carefully. "I don't know for certain. Because I can't say from witch familly."

He leaned back, his expression darkening. "From what I know, the emperor's bloodline carries the Gravity rune, and as for the other families—there is no noble house in the Regenian Empire with the Darkness rune."

"Yet both you and Nero awakened Darkness and Ice."

His gaze swept over her. "Black hair. Golden eyes. Not the rarest traits, but together, notable especially here."

"I've never heard of a noble house with those characteristics or runes," Viser admitted, his voice measured. "So it's possible that you're both from a fallen family… or from another empire entirely. Not even a nearby one."

His gaze sharpened. "Because I know the noble families there."

Delilah stared at him.

Then he asked something unexpected.

"You're sure your mother was just an ordinary woman?"

Delilah hadn't expected that question. Her frown deepened as she searched her mind, grasping at the faint traces of a woman she could barely recall.

"She was just… normal, I guess." The words felt strange on her tongue, uncertain. "She died when we were young. I was barely five. I don't remember her at all—it was Nero who told me about her."

She hesitated.

"I don't even know if I ever really saw her face… not in a way that stuck." Her voice dropped lower, almost to a whisper.

"As far as I know, Nero was the only one who ever held me."

Viser sighed, dragging a hand down his face.

"This shit again," he muttered.

It's more than just forgetting… she doesn't want to remember.

"Just watch yourself."

Delilah nodded, unreadable.

"Go. Think on it."

She stood. "I'll go take a shower."

Viser only watched her go, lost in thought.

.....

This flows well, but there are still a few rough spots where clarity and pacing could be improved. Here's a refined version with better structure, smoother transitions, and clearer emotional beats while keeping your original tone and intensity:

Nero and Nemsus made their way back from Ravemont, a small village a few miles east of the orphanage. The dense forest surrounded them, and beyond it, the Song Mountains loomed in the distance. Their conversation had shifted into a heated debate over the new dish they'd tried in the village.

"Come on, Nero, it wasn't that bad! Just admit it," Nemsus argued, exasperated.

"Good? It was so raw, if I had cast a healing spell, it would've probably thanked me and walked away," Nero shot back.

Nemsus sighed, shaking his head as he kicked a loose stone on the path. "Forget it, you wouldn't understand."

A moment of silence stretched between them before he glanced at Nero. "What about your refiner? Is it close to finishing its renewal?"

Nero hesitated. He couldn't tell him it was that close, Nemsus would start asking why he wasn't going to ascend.

Before he could form a response, a small figure sprinted toward them from the distance.

"Hah, look at that," Nero chuckled, seizing the chance to change the subject. "I told you she had a crush on you."

Nemsus shot him a deadpan look. "She's twelve."

"I'm not saying right now, idiot. Give it a few years, and she'll be a stunning woman. Besides, you're only fourteen yourself

Nero lifted an eyebrow. "What, expecting a wife already, Lord Nemsus?"

As the girl got closer, her brown hair bounced with each step, bright green eyes shimmering with excitement. A wide, cheerful smile stretched across her face.

"I was looking for you, Nemsus!"

Nero barely held back his laughter as Nemsus sighed.

"And she's calling you by name? Wow." Nero faked his expression well as he turned toward the girl.

"Hey, Flavia," he said. "Shouldn't you be at school with the others?"

Flavia wasn't an orphan like them. She had a family in the village and attended the small school Viser had secretly funded. Most of the orphanage kids went there too, yet for some reason, this girl always seemed to linger around Nemsus.

Before Flavia could answer, the ground trembled beneath them. At first, it was barely noticeable, a subtle shift—like a distant drumbeat. But within moments, the earth lurched violently.

A deep, rumbling quake tore through the road. Dust billowed into the air. Pebbles clattered against each other. Distant trees swayed unnaturally, as if gripped by an unseen force.

Flavia yelped as she lost her balance, falling to the ground.

The source was clear—it came from the east. The mountains.

Nemsus didn't hesitate. He scooped Lunia onto his shoulder. "Let's move!" he barked.

Without another word, he and Nero sprinted toward the orphanage.

Viser had mentioned strange sounds before—if anywhere was safe, it was near him.

"This isn't a normal earthquake," Nemsus muttered, his face dark.

"We need to find the others," Nero said, urgency creeping into his voice.

As they ran, the tremors suddenly stopped.

When the white walls of the orphanage finally came into view, three figures were already there—Delilah, Viser, and Roan.

But it wasn't just their presence that made them stop.

It was Viser's expression.

They had never seen him look like that before. His face was pale, his jaw tight, his sharp gaze flickering between the west and the east.

Nemsus barely had time to catch his breath before he asked, "What's happening?"

Viser stood rigid, eyes scanning the horizon. A tense silence followed. Then, finally, he spoke.

"Something is coming… from both sides."