Elvan sat quietly in a corner.
Kai remained seated beside Ren in the centre.
The surroundings were quiet.
Everything had returned to normal.
As if the encounter with the creature had been nothing more than a mere illusion created by the forest.
But even so, sleeping felt like a taboo.
No talking.
No shifting.
Stillness.
Only the sound of breathing could be heard.
Watching the silence,
Kai nudged Ren’s shoulder beside him.
“Go to sleep.
I’ll keep watch.”
“…You too,” Kai said, turning his gaze towards Elvan.
“Hm…”
With that, Elvan gently closed his eyes, trying to sleep.
Ren stayed awake for a little longer before falling back asleep.
Beside him, Kai kept watch.
…If I’m not wrong, then sunrise should happen in a few hours.
Keeping watch wouldn’t be hard for him since he had slept throughout the day yesterday.
He wasn’t that sleepy anyway.
Time went by.
The moon settled, and sunrise took its place.
Ren was the first to wake up.
Seeing Ren awake, Kai gently shook Elvan.
Then all three of them descended from the cart and began packing. This chapter is updated first at g.com.
A few hours later, all the packing was finished.
Ren stored all of their gear inside the storage bag.
Kai looked at the bag, then nodded.
Before leaving,
Elvan made a grave with the help of stones near the cart.
After arranging them, he knelt.
No one said anything.
“Rest well.”
With that, he stood up, joined the group, and left.
They walked for a few minutes before exiting the grassy land and entering the forest road.
Ren glanced around.
The forest remained the same as it had been yesterday.
The route.
The occasional chirping and buzzing of birds.
Nothing had changed.
“Re—” Kai tried to call Ren’s name without turning back.
“Shush.”
Before he could say Ren’s name, Ren stopped him by making a shushing gesture.
“So…
we should avoid using names too.”
Kai nodded in understanding before continuing.
“It is a…
ceremony.”
“Ceremony?”
“Hmm…
something that happens with a Vestige Holder.” This story is hosted at g.com.
“Vestige Holder?”
Ren remembered encountering one at the mall, or…
at least, that’s what others had said.
“…Let’s say it’s a form of ritual.”
“Ritual?”
Kai looked back at Ren.
“Let’s say it’s a type of power-up for Vestige Holders.”
“Okay…
got it.”
“Next.”
“About that…”
“A ceremony will only end if the Vestige Holder or someone else completes it.”
“That’s as much as I know.”
Beside them, Elvan, who had been silent all this time, finally spoke up.
He took a deep breath before saying,
“It’s natural for commoners…
to not know about this.
Because most of the information about this stuff is held by academies.”
He had heard it from other merchants.
“Besides, you are—”
“Stop.”
This time, Kai stopped Elvan.
“Last night, that thing reacted to information it had about us.
Let’s avoid exposing each other for the time being.”
Elvan tilted his head slightly in understanding.
Then Kai turned towards the road.
Soon, the giant gates of Alren came into their view.