The damage left behind in Grimestone was worse up close.
Several tunnels had collapsed completely and many of the upper structures were beyond repair.
Trolls moved quietly through the village, carrying supplies, clearing debris, and helping the injured.
The air smelled of wet earth, dust, and burnt wood.
The chieftain stood near the edge of the ruined center with Varkhalion resting across his shoulder.
Humbaba sat nearby while Grisha wrapped fresh cloth around his arm.
Rujark remained silent beside them, still exhausted from everything that had happened over the last several days.
“The cave,” the chieftain said after a long silence.
“The distortion.
The thing that attacked your village.
None of this feels separate anymore.”
Grisha tied the final knot around Humbaba’s arm before answering.
“It probably isn’t.”
Her voice stayed calm as always, though even she looked more tired than usual.
“The cave collapsed after that creature died.
Then this thing appears again, stronger than before, gathering parts of itself.
Something is happening in the forest.”
Humbaba leaned back against the wooden support behind him and let out a slow breath.
“And Kaizer is somehow in the middle of it.”
Neither Grisha nor the chieftain argued with him.
The boy had awakened abilities too early.
He adapted too quickly.
Even the cave itself had changed him.
Time flowing differently inside that place was already troubling enough, but the abilities he awakened there made it harder to ignore.
Surround Sense alone was unusual.
The second one troubled them far more.
The ability to see weakness.
Not guessed weakness.
Not observed weakness.
Seen.
The chieftain looked toward the forest beyond Grimestone.
“That boy was found deeper in the forest than any of us should have survived,” he said quietly.
“Beside a weapon no one could understand.
Sometimes I wonder if bringing him back with us was fate or a mistake.”
Rujark immediately looked up.
“It wasn’t a mistake.”
The response came faster than he expected himself.
The chieftain glanced at him.
Rujark lowered his voice slightly.
“He’s strange, yes.
But he’s still one of us.”
Humbaba gave a small nod in agreement. Follow the newest chapters on g.com.
“He laughs with the others.
Trains with them.
Eats with them.
Complains when he’s tired.
He’s still a kid.”
Grisha smiled faintly at that.
“Children do not stay children forever,” she said.
“Especially ones like him.”
Silence settled briefly between them before the chieftain finally adjusted Varkhalion on his shoulder and turned toward the forest path leading back to the ogre settlement.
“We’re leaving.”
Grisha walked with them toward the edge of the village.
Just before they separated, she spoke again.
“You carry too much on your shoulders.”
The chieftain stopped but did not turn around.
“The cave.
The distortion.
Kaizer.
You are trying to solve all of it yourself.”
He remained quiet.
Grisha folded her arms loosely.
“Everything has a way of sorting itself out eventually.
And maybe…” she paused for a moment, “maybe the echo was never yours to fight in the first place.”
The chieftain finally looked back at her.
For once, he had no response.
Then the three ogres left Grimestone and disappeared into the forest.
Far from Grimestone, the ship carrying the children continued across the sea toward the Demi-human continent of Felaris.
The ocean stretched endlessly in every direction.
Some days the waters were calm and bright beneath the sun.
Other nights the waves grew rough enough to throw smaller crewmen off balance.
The children had slowly started adjusting to life aboard the ship.
Bruknash spent most of his time helping the crew carry cargo whenever they allowed him.
Kijaga asked questions about almost everything he saw.
Jugashar quietly observed the sailors and memorized how they worked without speaking much.
Kaizer mostly watched the sea.
Tigi noticed that quickly.
One evening, the captain walked over while the four children sat together near the side railing eating grilled fish from wooden bowls.
“You stare at the water too much,” Tigi said.
Kaizer looked up.
“It moves strangely.”
Tigi laughed.
“That’s because it’s the sea.”
“Have you fought giant sea monsters before?”
“Twice.”
Kijaga’s eyes widened instantly.
“Really?”
“One escaped.
One tried swallowing part of the ship.”
“What happened?”
Tigi pointed toward a massive scar running along the side of the ship.
“That happened.”
Bruknash looked toward the damage before quietly shaking his head.
“I think I prefer forests.”
“That makes two of us,” Jugashar muttered.
Several nearby sailors laughed.
The tension between species aboard the ship had lessened after the pirate attack.
At first many of the humans had kept their distance from the ogre children, especially Kaizer.
Some had even whispered among themselves after noticing his appearance and mask.
That changed after the battle.
The crew saw the way the children fought.
Saw how coordinated they were despite their age.
More importantly, they saw Kaizer.
Not because he was loud or tried showing off.
But because there was something unsettling about how calmly he moved during danger.
Even now, some sailors still watched him carefully whenever he passed by.
Tigi leaned against the railing beside the children.
“You four heading to Felaris alone still sounds ridiculous to me,” he admitted.
Bruknash shrugged.
“The adults said it would help us grow.”
“That usually means trouble.”
“It probably does,” Jugashar replied.
Tigi laughed loudly at that.
The ship rocked gently beneath them while the sky slowly darkened overhead.
Then one of the sailors shouted from above.
“Land ahead!”
The children immediately stood and rushed toward the railing.
Far ahead in the distance, they could finally see it.
Felaris.
Even from far away, the continent looked massive.
Large structures stretched along the coastline while lights from ports and settlements flickered beneath the evening sky.
Kijaga’s mouth slowly opened.
“…That’s huge.”
Tigi grinned proudly.
“Welcome to Felaris.”