Part 2: The Wraith, His Brother's Death, and Boris's New Path
Boris Notices His Brother Changing
The story increasingly shifts toward Boris's perspective.
During their journey, Boris notices his older brother becoming:
- pale;
- exhausted;
- increasingly worn down;
- unable to properly rest.
One night, Boris sees his brother crying on the floor beside his bed while Boris is supposedly asleep.
Boris notices, but doesn't know what to say.
He holds it inside, closes his eyes, and pretends to sleep.
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The Nightmare
While camping, Boris dreams that he is drowning or being choked.
A panel shows what appears to be the hands of his older brother.
Morning comes, and his brother is standing there waiting for Boris to wake.
He is still gentle toward him.
The incident happens again later.
But this time it occurs at an inn.
Boris realizes:
It wasn't a dream.
His brother had actually attacked him.
Boris is slammed onto the floor and wakes with pain in his side.
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The Wraith's Curse
The truth is eventually revealed.
The brothers are experiencing the same supernatural corruption connected to the Wraith at the forbidden lake.
This is the same corruption that affected their aunt Yanni.
Boris's older brother has been corrupted.
His exhaustion and strange behavior aren't simply the result of their difficult journey.
The Wraith is taking control of him.
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His Brother Stops Sleeping
The older brother becomes terrified of what might happen if he sleeps.
He stops sleeping because he is afraid that the corruption will take control and he will hurt Boris again.
Boris remains gentle toward him and reassures him that things will be okay.
But the older brother understands that their situation is becoming hopeless.
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The Coming Separation
Throughout their journey, Boris's older brother repeatedly prepares him for their eventual separation.
He tells Boris:
- Survive.
- Don't allow revenge to become the purpose of his life.
- Don't trust people too easily.
- Be careful about whom he gives his trust to.
- One day, he will leave Boris.
These warnings gradually become clear.
His brother knows what is coming.
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His Brother's Suicide
Eventually, Boris's older brother chooses to end his own life.
He digs a hole and plants Winterer upright, with the sword facing upward.
He then jumps into the hole, allowing himself to be impaled by the sword.
The exact moment is not fully shown; the story shows the beginning of the action and the aftermath.
Even at the end, his brother thinks about Boris.
He removes Winterer so that Boris will not have difficulty pulling it out.
Boris buries his brother.
The exact details of what happens to the legendary armor after the burial are uncertain.
Boris continues his journey carrying Winterer.
The sword now has a completely different meaning.
It isn't simply a legendary family weapon anymore.
It is one of the last things his brother left him.
---
Boris Alone
Boris continues traveling.
He reaches a tavern looking for both lodging and work.
He meets a blacksmith, who tells him to come to his smithy the following day.
Boris plans to look around the smithy before then.
However, while outside, he is knocked over by a passing rider.
The rider is associated with the nobility.
Boris is beaten because of the social expectation that nobles don't apologize to people beneath them. Instead, the person who inconvenienced the noble is expected to apologize.
Boris refuses to submit.
He is beaten badly.
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A New Noble Saves Boris
A traveling noble from another land finds Boris and intervenes.
The noble takes Boris to his medic.
Boris eventually wakes.
The first thing Boris does is look for Winterer.
At this point, the sword has become one of the most important things in his life.
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The Adoption Proposal
Boris meets the noble who saved him.
The noble explains that he once made an agreement with a friend.
Their children would eventually fight in a duel, with the winner receiving a promised wish/reward.
The noble's first child is a daughter.
His friend has two sons:
- an older son with a disability;
- a younger, apparently healthy son.
The noble fears that his friend might use the agreement to force his daughter to marry the older son if that son wins.
So the noble wants another boy to represent his family in the duel.
He offers Boris a solution:
Become his adopted son.
The noble will create a story that Boris is his son from another woman/relationship.
Boris will represent his family in the future duel.
Afterward, Boris will be allowed to leave the family with money and live independently.
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Boris's Choice
Boris now has two paths.
A peaceful life
He could remain where he is and live an ordinary life, potentially becoming a blacksmith's helper.
The noble's life
He could become the noble's adopted son, enter the world of nobility again, participate in the future duel, and accept whatever complications come with it.
Boris chooses the noble's offer.
He becomes the noble's adopted son.
Chapter 25 ends here.
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Where Boris Stands at the End of Chapter 25
- Boris's family has effectively been destroyed.
- His older brother—the person who loved him most—is dead.
- The brother's death was caused by his fear of the Wraith's corruption.
- Boris carries Winterer, the sword his brother gave him.
- Boris has experienced the supernatural influence of the forbidden lake.
- He has lost his old noble identity but is now being placed into another noble family.
- He is being prepared to participate in a future duel connected to an old promise between two families.
- The mystery from Chapter 1 remains: why will Boris eventually be traveling to a distant kingdom with Rose while carrying Winterer?