The Pale Fields stretched out like a worn cloth over the broken land, its soil the color of a corpse's pale skin, changed from its original hue by the bodies of creatures that had died there. The bones of long-extinct creatures, forgotten armor half-sunk into the earth, and the fragile remnants of battles never remembered nor sung by any poet were scattered about. The merchant led at the front, his cloak fluttering, a wooden branch found along the way held in his hand like a staff that had seen more changing years and shifting seasons than anyone could count. "Ah, the Pale Fields. The graveyard of kings, thieves, and philosophers who failed in life and ended up in this pale-colored land. And did you know, there was a man who tried to claim this place for farming? I didn't know how to react other than to laugh when I heard that story, because nothing grows here except curses and guilt itself, as the bodies of several people began to haunt him." the merchant muttered, trying to hold back his laughter and smirking to himself.

  No one laughed at his joke; instead, silence fell among them. But Kaelith raised an eyebrow and began to question what the merchant had just said. "Do you tell all your stories to the corpses in this place, or only to those carrying weapons?" The merchant blinked and turned to Kaelith to answer her question. "Only the handsome and grim ones who never smile." Vael, who had been walking calmly, sighed after hearing the merchant's words and interjected. "Let the dead sleep peacefully. This land does not like to be mocked with jokes like that," he said. "I wouldn't want to hear his words at my resting place either," Kaelith added, chiming in with Vael.

  Although the air was grim, the merchant kept talking as if it were his way of filling the silence with impertinence disguised as humor. "Hey, I didn't mean it like that. But, come on. Where's your sense of humor? You all look like walking graves, except for the mute one." Every time the wind seemed to whisper names into their ears, he would drive them away with his nonsense and dark humor. This continued until the sun began to set on the horizon, and they decided to rest for the night near a tree trunk whose roots coiled like old fingers.

  The campfire Vael made was small and flickered restlessly, but Kaelith added some dry twigs, making the fire grow large enough to warm them for the night and help them gather their energy for the journey ahead. Vael rested first, his back against a large rock, his sword blade within reach, but his eyes slowly began to close from the exhaustion of the long journey. The merchant soon followed Vael into sleep, muttering something about a dream of dancing skulls and flying goats, curled up on a patch of moss with his cloak wrapped around him like a blanket.

  As for Sora, he couldn't sleep since the incident, and the memory of it still echoed in his mind. He could have slept to rest his body, which was still covered in bandages over nearly-healed wounds, but he couldn't forget what had happened. He kept thinking about the undead king's words, the merchant's offer of a journey to Elarion, and the physical and mental pain he had suffered. Sora finally decided to sit by the campfire for a while, watching the flames reflect off his sword's blade, until a sort of pull in his chest drew him away from the fire to walk around the resting area. He walked to a ridge just behind a line of trees, his boots silent on the cracked earth, with the night wind still singing its melody. The trees behind him seemed to dance and whisper to him. There he sat, cross-legged under the open sky, gazing at a night sky so full of stars, a sight he had rarely seen during his journey. The stars had never been this numerous since the world was shattered and no life with its sanity intact remained. They looked like a flowing, luminous river above him. As Sora tilted his head, a streak of light tore across the sky a shooting star, blazing a brilliant and swift trail as it fell to earth, like a soul reborn into a world with no hope left. At that moment, Sora remembered the blink of an eye that was forever etched in his memory, the scream of a woman who cared for him as disaster struck their home telling him to run as far as he could, and the sound of a house being consumed by flames until its timbers turned to ash.

  Now the nameless sword was at his hip, its fate the same as his, left alone by its previous owners. Sora placed a hand on his chest, a gesture acknowledging the burden he always remembered was there, deep in his heart—a responsibility he had to bear for a better future. But now, that burden was throbbing, as if trying to speak to him. A name he couldn't hear and a voice lost in the rain. Sora knew the feeling of loss and suffering that couldn't be described by words alone, and still, he always wondered if this was a gift for him. Or a curse? Sora didn't know, but as long as the sword was with him, he would find a definitive answer as to whether it was worth fighting for through all the suffering he had endured.

  And then, a hand touched his shoulder from behind. Sora was startled by the soft, gentle tap and turned to see who was there. He saw Kaelith standing beside him, the edge of her cloak slightly torn and burnt, her blonde hair tangled by the wind, and her blue eyes reflecting the shadowed moonlight, though there was something in them she seemed to want to say. "You always sit alone," she said softly and sat right next to him. She didn't tell him to go back or to rest because of his wounds; she just wanted to watch the stars, just as Sora was doing. Sora, hearing her and seeing her sit down, didn't move but shifted to the side to give her space.

  "You know, you're not the only one who dreams of being left behind by the ones you love." Kaelith began, pulling her knees to her chest as she gazed at the night sky, a spread of glittering dust in space. The wind blew gently towards them, and Kaelith continued, her voice softer than Sora had ever heard. "I used to think that being silent meant no one could hurt you, with words or actions. But no one knows what one has to suffer, and no one knows the pain that has been held inside for so long." Kaelith turned to Sora, her eyes no longer soft but showing an exhaustion from something she had been holding in, just as she had said. However, within that exhaustion, there was something stronger she continued to fight for and bear. "But you, I envy you for being so strong, even though you don't need words to scream about the burden you carry," she whispered, her face now hidden against her knees.

  Sora, understanding what Kaelith meant, looked back at the stars and, finding a shooting star, pointed to it to show her. Another shooting star fell shortly after. "What did you wish for?" Kaelith asked, still watching it. Sora turned to Kaelith but didn't answer, instead looking back at the sky as his heart whispered a single wish, hoping someone could hear it. After that, Sora gently extended his hand between them. Kaelith looked at it for a long time, trying to understand his meaning, then gently placed her fingers on top of his. It didn't feel like a promise between two people, but like the same truth spoken without a sound. They sat there until the campfire behind them slowly died out and dawn began to break. And as he fell asleep for the first time since the incident, Sora knew he was no longer alone; someone still cared for him.

  Slowly, the sun broke through the horizon with soft, warm, golden rays that felt like a breath on their skin. Dew clung to the pale grass, hovering like ghosts reluctant to leave the world behind. Sora, awakened by the morning sun, saw that the stars had disappeared as dawn broke and the sky became brighter. Birds emerged from the trees, singing under the rising sun. But what surprised Sora upon waking was Kaelith, still asleep and leaning against his side, her arms crossed. Her eyes slowly opened from the morning glare, though it was hard to tell if she had truly been asleep. And in that moment, the silence was unspoken but full of a shared sincerity; it didn't feel heavy this time, but warm instead, a feeling like... being reborn.

  And then sound cam efrom their behind, "Well, well, well, what do we have here." The merchant's voice was enough to startle both Sora and Kaelith, a fox-like grin on his face as if he had just seen a deeply hidden secret revealed before him. "Look who decided to spend the midnight hour watching the constellations. I hope you two made a wish last night." Vael, having just come from behind the trees, stood leaning against one, watching them wake up. He spoke in a flat but teasing tone, "I didn't know the stars could be such a soft pillow for a pair of lovers." Hearing this, Kaelith's head snapped towards them, her eyes narrowing at both Vael and the merchant. "We were watching the night sky because we couldn't sleep, and we fell asleep afterwards, that's all." Kaelith retorted, annoyed at being teased. "Of course. Just watching the sky for a bit, alone, under the falling stars... in the dark. Holding hands like a pair of lovers weary of a war full of tragedy, perhaps?" the merchant said, drawing a small heart in the air with his gloved finger. Hearing that, Kaelith's face immediately turned red, and she exploded with emotion. "I'm going to shove your sarcasm so far down your throat you'll start reciting poetry backwards."

  The merchant just laughed loudly and without guilt. "Now, that's the Kaelith I know. You shine when the time comes, and surely that was a very moving and memorable stargazing in the history of a broken world that has found romance in the midst of tragedy, right?" the merchant said, still laughing at his morning discovery. This prompted Sora to stand up slowly and brush the dew from his cloak, his head tilted in confusion at what they were talking about. Sora could only look at the three of them with a blank but curious expression. He was clearly unsure what the fuss was about this morning. "Don't worry, silent one. You're innocent. For now," the merchant said, nudging him with an elbow before leaving the confused Sora and the still-blushing, exploding Kaelith. Vael just nodded in agreement at Sora, understanding that he didn't know what they were talking about. Kaelith could only groan in annoyance at their different reactions towards Sora, then began to tie her hair back with her rough fingers, muttering, "I swear, if someone tries to tease me like that again during an ambush, I won't save anyone who screams my name."

  After that incident, the four of them returned to the resting place, and the merchant cooked breakfast for them. They ate a meal of warm soup with some vegetables the merchant had gathered, and bread. The merchant also made a bitter, mint-scented tea, pouring it from his cracked bottle into several cups for them and himself. Sora didn't eat much but he observed what was happening and tried to figure out what they had been talking about earlier. Meanwhile, Kaelith avoided looking at Sora because she felt Vael and especially the merchant would tease her again if she was caught.

  When the sun was directly overhead, they moved again, their boots cutting a quiet path through the Pale Fields. "We will cross the Bonewilds at dusk, and after that, if our limbs are still intact, we will see the peaks of Elarion's outer forest before nightfall," the merchant said as he walked, then paused for a moment as if thinking about something he had missed. "Although... if we're lucky, we might meet the gatekeepers at a fortress before entering the Bonewilds." "Lucky? That's the word you use to describe it?" Kaelith asked with doubt. "Of course. The fortress guards usually only shoot during the day and start patrolling from night until sunrise," the merchant said with a smile. Sora walked beside him, his eyes observing everything. But as the wind blew again, carrying the faint scent of wildflowers, he closed his eyes for a moment, and somewhere in his chest... he felt something soften. It wasn't a silence that came with emptiness, but with the confusion that there were still others besides them alive in this broken world. This was different from what Sora had felt before... it came with the friends who were with him now. Questions kept appearing in his mind, but he chose not to answer them now, letting time provide the answers later, even if he already knew them. Therefore, the burden of meaning that would soon be revealed behind their journey was awaiting the answers they sought, and the merchant's offer as well.

  After finishing their breakfast, they packed their things and continued their journey to Elarion, but as the merchant had said, there would be a fortress in the Pale Fields before they reached it. They walked as the wind began to blow harder, climbing a narrow ridge. Their silhouettes formed long shadows over the tangled, rough weeds. Each step forward revealed more of the broken horizon, and there, nestled among towering black rocks, stood the remains of a guard fortress, just as the merchant had described. However, the fortress was clearly eroded by the forward march of civilization; it now looked ancient, with moss clinging to some of its high brick walls and wooden fences. "There it is. Many now call it Lastlight Fortress. It was once a magnificent and impenetrable fortress with an absolute defense, before the world found its age of silence and darkness," the merchant murmured as the fortress came into view, and he slowed his pace. The merchant turned to Sora and continued, "That's a story for later, if we can get inside... however, for now, we must assume and convince them not to shoot us and consider us a threat first." Kaelith, looking at the fortress and hearing the merchant's words, began to ask questions and readied her bow in her hand, ready to act if things didn't go as planned. "Are its guards still on duty to this day?"

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  Vael, who only knew a little about the fortress, chimed in with his low voice, his hand moving to the hilt of his sword at his hip. "Always. However, not all who wear armor in this land remember why they do it, or for whom." Hearing that, they decided to proceed carefully towards the fortress, descending a slippery slope, their boots crunching on the gravel and barren earth. The gate of Lastlight Fortress was wide, with eroded carvings of an ancient symbol half-buried by time and half-burned by fire. Braziers on either side were lit, the flames dancing despite the absence of wind. As they approached the gate, a trumpet sounded from above the fortress, its sharp warning piercing the silence. Then a soldier's voice shouted down at them: "State your path and your purpose, or we will turn your bones to ash beneath our walls."

  The merchant stepped forward with both hands raised to signal that they were just ordinary people. "We are merely wanderers journeying from one place to another as you see now, seeking meaning, shelter, and a path in this broken world as survivors. We bring no plague, poison, or useless words in our search for refuge," the merchant said, answering the guard's challenge. There was a silence between both sides, except for the crackling of a fire from behind the fortress and the tension in Kaelith's bowstring. After hearing the merchant's answer, the soldier left his post and shouted something to his comrades that they couldn't understand. Shortly after, the fortress gate opened slowly before them. The gate didn't open wide, but just enough for a person to enter. A tall man, his face hidden behind an iron helmet and his slightly rusted red and grey armor, approached them. "One of you carries something old. That sword... it has never passed through these gates, and I do not know its origin since the fall of this world into ruin," the fortress warden said, his gaze moving from one to another before finally resting on Sora, his voice lowering.

  Sora, realizing the warden's words were directed at him, chose not to answer in any form. Instead, he simply stepped forward into the gate, surprising the others. His silence was his answer, and the warden understood his meaning, calling out to the other guards. "Let them pass, and let them speak to the Fire Keeper," the warden said to the archers on the walls. The gate creaked fully open, revealing a scorched courtyard, a half-collapsed tower, and a row of long-damaged statues. The statues of soldiers there had been turned to stone by something far crueler than time. Lastlight was no longer a fortress with a strong defense; it now looked like an upright tomb for the guards who had served within it.

  Inside the Lastlight fortress building, they were led into the main hall where the Fire Keeper was. The Fire Keeper was an old woman with a blindfold and a voice worn by the ages she had spent as the fortress's leader. She sat on a throne adorned with a flame symbol, and as she sensed the guests' presence, she began to speak. "You all carry the scent of Borreal, do you not? And the smell of death clings to that boy like a lover," she said to them all. Sora, hearing this, did not flinch from her statement, nor did he entirely blame her for what she said. "You seek Elarion on your journey, don't you? Then you must pass through the Weeping Hollow and cross the Valley of Lanterns. But before that, there is something you must know, Silent One!" she continued, pointing at Sora with her old, wrinkled fingers. "Then speak, Fire Keeper!" Kaelith said, her tone sounding more like a challenge than a question.

  The Fire Keeper rose slowly from her seat, her hand hovering over the hilt of a sword embedded in the floor before her throne. A fire appeared around her, befitting her title, pulsed once, and then slowly dimmed. "The darkness you follow... is not coming for you, but is preparing a plan to prevent you from knowing the truth it has hidden. The more you fear it, the more blood will be spilled among you until you are in the palm of its hand. It knows your names, both the ones you carry and the ones you have buried," she warned the group. They listened in silence, even the merchant, to the blind old woman's prophecy. "Stay and rest here. At dawn, you will leave this place, but choose the questions in your hearts wisely. For every answer bares the fangs of a predator that can threaten you if you choose without thinking twice," she added at the end of her speech. Hearing this, they could only remain silent, the atmosphere tense as the old woman's prophecy made them think twice, not fully trusting it. However, Sora, who had been trying to figure out what the old woman meant, finally understood that she was referring to something else, but he chose to keep his answer to himself to avoid any misunderstanding among the others.

  The guards of Lastlight Fortress escorted them to their rooms, small chambers carved from stone, far from warmth but guarded by the silence of a still-burning fire. That night, while the others rested, Sora sat by a half-lit campfire outside the fortress building, staring at the flames dancing on the blade of his sword placed beside him. Not long after, the merchant approached Sora. He had been enjoying the night air and eventually found Sora there, sitting down beside him. Softly, the merchant said: "They used to call me Namien." The merchant did not look at Sora but at the fire they were both watching, and continued. "A name I once buried. Like you, perhaps." Sora's gaze, which had been on the fire, immediately shifted to Namien with an expression of astonishment. Namien could only give a bitter smile at Sora's reaction and spoke again. "But you... you didn't bury your name, did you? You've shown yours to everyone, haven't you?" Sora showed no reaction to his words, but he remembered the fire that still pulsed deep within him. Outside, the stars began to fall again, one by one. The remaining stars lingered longer in the night to accompany the moon.

  In the corridors of Lastlight, torches burned with a grim patience, their light illuminating memories on the walls that refused to stay buried. They separated into various rooms for the night, each seeking silence in their own way, as if the fortress's quiet guided them to self-reflection before facing the truth that awaited them. Vael stood alone in the armory, staring at a rusted helmet and a shield nearly destroyed by a great crack, which bore the roaring wolf sigil of Borreal, a legacy shattered by its own ruin. His fingers touched a faded, long-abandoned banner, the bloodstains on it long dry, but the shame still seeped deep into his heart for his failure, making him unable to look at his own kingdom's symbol. Vael removed his gauntlet and looked at his battle-scarred hand, his fingers trembling slightly at the sight of the many cuts and calluses. "I was destined to die here, along with the others, defending the kingdom and my oath," Vael murmured to himself, his past guilt now his echo.

  Not long after, footsteps echoed from behind him, and a voice spoke. "But you lived." It was the Fire Keeper. "You strayed from your path, and you were ultimately punished to walk the land where your oath failed," she added. "I no longer wear that legacy," Vael replied quickly, turning to see the Fire Keeper herself. "But it is still whole within you, so much so that you now seek to repair it and consider it your penance for a past that has forged a new purpose and a new oath for you, has it not?" the Fire Keeper continued, her words stunning Vael into a slow, doubtful reply. "He is stronger than I, and he doesn't even need words to convince someone. I don't know if I am worthy to be like him," Vael said, referring to Sora. The Fire Keeper's expression did not change; instead, she gave him a clue about himself. "And you still talk more than you act. Use that to be a shield for the one who has no voice." A silence fell in the armory. Soon, the Fire Keeper asked Vael an important question. "Will you follow him?" she asked softly. "I do not know if he needs me as his shield and his voice," Vael answered in frustration. "Then serve him not because of the pride you have... but because of the purpose that shapes you now and in the future," the Fire Keeper said, turning towards the armory exit. She left him with her words still echoing off the walls, the torchlight casting Vael's long shadow over the faded banner of Borreal.

  Meanwhile, Kaelith sat on the fortress battlements, her legs tucked under her as she cleaned the bow she received from Borreal. The stars reflected in her blue eyes, but her mind was elsewhere, remembering the first time her fingers drew a bowstring to protect her mother and sister, whom she would never see again. A voice from below broke her reverie. "Still not asleep when you should be?" Namien's voice called up from below. Kaelith didn't look down, replying in a flat tone, "The moon never sleeps, why should I?" Hearing this, Namien carefully climbed the stairs, carrying two cups of warming herbal tea. When he reached Kaelith and sat beside her without spilling a drop, Namien handed one to her. Kaelith accepted it silently and carefully, looking at him as if considering the price of this moment of companionship. "You're still wary of me, aren't you?" Namien asked with a small smirk, blowing on his hot tea. "You deal in mysteries I don't want to know. And likewise for me, we rarely trust even our own shadows," Kaelith replied flatly, gazing at the night sky.

  Namien could only chuckle softly and said, "I have traveled countless roads. However, I have rarely met someone who hides their sorrow behind such anger and precision in battle." Hearing that, Kaelith looked at him with surprise, feeling something was strange about Namien. "You think I'm angry?" Namien looked at the horizon as he responded. "I think you're trying not to grieve, aren't you?" Kaelith's lips tightened, her fingers gripping the teacup, as his words weren't entirely wrong. "That boy... Sora, he carries a silence heavier than any scream I've ever heard. I look at his eyes and I see what might have happened to me if I hadn't met him," Kaelith replied softly, starting to recall her past. "So, you care for him!" Namien said more gently. Kaelith, who hadn't been looking at him, turned to face him now. "I don't know what I feel for him, only that when he's hurt, something inside me feels hurt too, as if I'm sharing his suffering." Namien didn't press further. Instead, they drank their tea in silence, sitting side-by-side under the silver moonlight.

  In his room, Sora lay silently on his bed but did not sleep. His eyes were open, a faint reflection of firelight flickering in them. He listened to the voices from the echoes of his past, from Eyla's scream that still haunted him to the expressions of Kaelith, Vael, and Namien when he had fought the undead king. As Sora tried to feel the breath of the people traveling with him, the painful emptiness that had followed him since birth made it impossible to sleep. He slowly reached to his side and drew the nameless sword from its scabbard. The tip of the sword gleamed faintly as if responding to his thoughts and memories, as if the sword also remembered the echoes he carried. Sora stared at the blade intently and in a faint whisper that only the sword could hear: 'I know who I am now.'

  Dawn broke, and the moonlight was replaced by the glare of the morning sun. Sora's group gathered at the main gate of Lastlight Fortress, having been given new cloaks and clothes after theirs were seen to be full of tears and damage. With their weapons ready, the Fire Keeper, who had been watching them, approached and said, "Out here, the road will not offer comfort or clarity for those who keep searching and living as survivors. Only those who are able can withstand the threat of the predator that has questioned your desires." the Fire Keeper called out to them as they were about to depart. Vael only nodded slowly at the Fire Keeper, and Sora followed his action, his eyes full of conviction, his gaze fixed forward, determined, and still acting with much in his silence. Kaelith glanced at Sora, noticing how he gripped the hilt of his sword a little tighter than usual. And Namien, the wandering merchant, just smirked upon hearing that while adjusting his cloak. "All right then, to the Valley of Lanterns and let's see if fate is still willing to light a torch for fools like us." Namien said, starting their journey towards Elarion, which would take them through the Bonewilds and the Valley of Lanterns. The gate of Lastlight Fortress opened wide, and the guards saluted them as they exited. Their journey continued, moving towards a land that once remembered light and also feared its return.