The chieftain’s hut was quieter than the rest of the settlement.
Outside, the sounds of rebuilding carried on wood being lifted, tools striking, voices calling across distances.
But inside, the air was still.
Grakthar sat at the head of the stone table, Humbaba stood to one side, arms folded and Vorgrim leaned forward slightly, elbows on his knees, eyes focused.
Rujark stood across from them.
No one rushed to speak.
It was Grakthar who began.
“What we faced in the settlement… was not normal.”
Humbaba nodded slowly.
“It didn’t behave like any creature we’ve fought before.
It didn’t attack like a beast.
It didn’t move like one either.”
Vorgrim added, “And it wasn’t alone in how it felt.
Something about it… lingered.”
Grakthar’s gaze shifted toward Rujark.
“You were not present when it appeared.”
Rujark shook his head.
“No.
I was already in the forest with the children.”
Grakthar nodded once.
“Then speak on what you encountered.”
Rujark took a moment before answering.
“The cave wasn’t natural.
It looked like one, but the deeper we went, the less sense it made.
Paths didn’t connect the way they should.
Space felt… stretched.”
Vorgrim frowned.
“And the creatures?”
“There were too many,” Rujark said.
“They kept coming.
It didn’t matter how many I killed.
They didn’t retreat, didn’t hesitate.
They just kept moving toward something deeper in the cave.”
Humbaba’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Toward a center.”
“…Yes.”
Grakthar tapped his finger once against the stone.
“And when the source was destroyed?”
Rujark looked at him.
“The entire cave collapsed.”
That drew silence from the room.
Vorgrim leaned back slightly.
“Collapsed completely?”
“…Yes.
No entrance.
No trace.
It’s as if it was never there.”
Humbaba exhaled quietly.
“Then it wasn’t just a place.”
Grakthar didn’t respond to that directly.
Instead, he shifted the conversation.
“The boy.”
That word alone changed the tone of the room.
Rujark straightened slightly.
“He’s begun awakening, I think”
Humbaba looked at him carefully.
“Explain.”
Rujark nodded once.
“He told me about one ability.
He calls it Surround Sense.”
Vorgrim raised an eyebrow slightly.
“…What does it do?”
Rujark answered clearly this time.
“It allows him to track what he’s looking for.
When he focuses, he can sense a target’s presence and follow it, even through distance.”
Grakthar listened without interrupting.
“And it worked?” he asked.
“Yes.
That’s how we found the girl.”
Vorgrim nodded slowly.
“Tracking ability… useful.”
Humbaba added, “Especially at his age.”
Rujark hesitated slightly.
“There’s more.”
The room stilled again.
“He mentioned something else.
He didn’t name it.
I don’t think he understands it fully.”
Grakthar’s eyes sharpened.
“…Go on.”
Rujark chose his words carefully.
“He said he could see what was ‘wrong’ with the creature.”
Vorgrim frowned.
“Wrong how?”
“…Weak points,” Rujark replied.
“That’s the best way I can describe it.
He wasn’t swinging blindly.
Every strike he made had a purpose.
And when he hit those points… the creature reacted differently.”
Humbaba leaned forward slightly.
“You’re certain?”
“Yes.”
“…And you believe this is another ability?”
Rujark shook his head slightly.
“I’m not certain.
He spoke about it like it was just something he noticed.”
Grakthar remained silent for a moment.
Then..
“He is not noticing.”
That line landed heavier than anything else said so far.
Vorgrim exhaled slowly.
“…We’ve seen signs before.”
That shifted the discussion again.
“He was never like the others,” Vorgrim continued.
“Even when we first found him, he didn’t react the way a child should.”
Humbaba nodded.
“He observed more than he spoke.”
“And the other children noticed,” Vorgrim added.
Rujark glanced at him.
“They avoided him,” Vorgrim said.
“At first it was curiosity.
Then it became distance.”
Grakthar spoke quietly.
“…Because he does not look like us.”
Vorgrim nodded.
“His skin.
His size.
The way he carries himself.
Even the mask.”
Humbaba added, “He never removes it.”
Rujark frowned slightly.
“…Not even during training?”
Vorgrim continued, “The others don’t understand him.
Some are curious.
Some don’t like that he’s different.
Some… just keep their distance.”
Grakthar’s voice remained steady.
“And yet—he grows.”
Humbaba let out a small breath.
“…Faster than expected.”
Rujark looked between them.
“…You all knew?..”
Grakthar didn’t deny it.
“We knew he was not ordinary.”
Silence followed.
Then Grakthar spoke again.
“There is something else.”
All three looked at him.
“Your bodies.”
Rujark frowned.
“What about them?”
Grakthar gestured slightly.
“You.
And the boy.”
Humbaba nodded.
“You’ve changed.”
Rujark blinked once.
“…What do you mean?”
Vorgrim answered this time.
“You look older.”
Rujark stilled.
“…That’s not—”
He stopped.
Because now that they said it, He felt it.
Subtle, but there.
“The cave,” he said quietly.
Grakthar nodded.
“Time flows differently within it.”
Humbaba added, “Faster.”
Vorgrim continued, “If only a short time passed outside… far more passed within.”
Rujark exhaled slowly.
“…Then he’s…”
Grakthar finished.
“…No longer four.”
“…Six.”
Vorgrim looked toward Grakthar.
“…We agreed.”
Humbaba nodded.
“When he reached six.”
Rujark looked between them.
“…You’re sending him out.”
Grakthar stood.
“Yes.”
That decision carried weight.
Not urgency.
Not fear.
Just certainty.
“He chooses one guardian,” Grakthar said.
The discussion ended there.
Rujark found Kaizer near the edge of the settlement.
The boy sat on a piece of wood, watching other children run past him.
Some glanced at him, Most didn’t stop.
A few whispered to each other before moving on.
Kaizer didn’t react.
He just watched.
Rujark approached.
“I told them.”
Kaizer looked up.
He didn’t seem bothered.
“…Okay.”
Rujark crouched slightly.
“You told me about one.”
Kaizer nodded.
“…Yeah.”
“And the other?”
Kaizer hesitated.
“…It’s hard to explain.”
Rujark waited.
“…When I fight,” Kaizer said slowly, “I see things.”
“What kind of things?”
“…Parts that look wrong.”
Rujark stayed quiet.
“…Like… cracks,” Kaizer added.
“Or lines.”
“And when you hit them?”
Kaizer nodded.
“…It works better.”
Rujark exhaled quietly.
“You named it?”
Kaizer thought for a moment.
“…Truth Seeker.”
Rujark repeated it under his breath.
“…Truth Seeker.”
Kaizer looked at him.
“…You’re the only one I told.”
Rujark nodded once.
“…Understood.”
Morning came.
The settlement was alive again.
Ogres moved through the space with purpose.
Some rebuilt huts, lifting heavy beams into place.
Others trained in open areas, weapons clashing with steady rhythm.
Children ran between structures, their laughter mixing with the harsher sounds of work and training.
Dust hung lightly in the air.
The smell of iron and wood carried across the ground.
Grakthar stepped out from his hut.
The noise didn’t stop completely, but it lowered.
“Kaizer.”
The boy looked up.
“…Yeah?”
“Come here.”
Kaizer walked forward.
Eyes followed him.
Some curious, Some distant.
Grakthar placed a hand on his shoulder.
“He does not look like us.”
The murmurs began.
“But he is one of us.”
The tone shifted.
“He always will be.”
That settled it.
“He has awakened his ability.”
Now the children reacted.
The atmosphere was mixed.
Some excited, jealous.
Some just watched.
“Surround Sense.”
Kaizer stood quietly.
Grakthar turned.
“Come.”
Inside the hut, it was quieter again.
“You were found,” Grakthar said.
Kaizer listened.
“Deep within the forest.”
Vorgrim stepped forward slightly.
“You were alone, With a blade.”
Kaizer tilted his head slightly.
“…A sword?”
Grakthar nodded.
“One beyond anything we have seen.”
Vorgrim continued, “We could not understand it.
Not its markings.
Not its presence.”
Humbaba said quietly,
“…It did not feel made.”
Kaizer didn’t speak.
Grakthar looked at him.
“You must leave.”
That landed.
“…Leave?”
Grakthar’s voice softened slightly.
“You will not go alone.”
Kaizer looked up.
“You choose.
Any of the older tribesmen as a companion..”
He didn’t think long.
“…Humbaba.”
Humbaba nodded once.
“…Then I’ll go.”
Kaizer looked back once.
At the settlement, the other childre, the place he grew up in.
“…Okay.”
Outside the day continued.
And for the first time, Kaizer stepped toward something beyond it.