Present – Part 1
The silence was heavier than the blood clinging to their boots.
Kyro (numb) kept walking, though he didn't know where to. His legs moved on their own, his gaze was empty – as if his body had decided to walk without him.
Utak (shaken) followed. Shoulders raised, hands trembling. The world had turned gray. Not because of fog – but because it had stopped deserving color.
Behind them: silence.
Ahead: darkness.
Elias said nothing.
Neither did Noah.
It was Kyro who broke the silence first.
Kyro (quiet):
"I can't forget the taste."
He wasn't speaking to anyone. More to himself. A confession.
Utak (rough):
"Me neither."
His eyes briefly met Kyro's, then quickly dropped to the ground. As if someone could be ashamed of something they didn't know.
They followed Elias and Noah through the remnants of an ancient forest, its branches shaped like twisted limbs. Lost stones jutted from the ground – half-eaten ruins, half-warning.
The sounds under their feet – snapping branches, soft earth – were too loud. Far too loud.
Eventually, they reached a rock crevice. Almost invisible from the outside. But behind the crooked opening lay something that felt like a sleeping heart – pulsing with cold.
Elias (calm):
"In here."
He didn't need to explain why. Kyro felt it. The darkness inside wasn't like the one outside. It was old. Sheltering.
Utak (skeptical):
"This is supposed to be safe?"
Noah stepped past him, his tone steady and sharp:
Noah (cool):
"Safer than what's waiting for you out there."
They followed him.
Inside, a strange kind of quiet settled in. No wind. No dripping. Just the steady beat of their own hearts – or what was left of them.
A light source flickered – not fire, but pure resonance, channeled through Noah's hand. It lit up one of the crystal veins in the wall, faint but clear.
The room was hollow, like a burst fossil. Resonance patterns shimmered on the walls – ancient runes, crumbling but not dead.
They sat down.
Elias, Noah, Kyro, Utak.
No one spoke.
Until Kyro whispered:
Kyro (cautious):
"How… how many?"
Elias understood immediately.
Elias (quiet):
"You mean: how many like you?"
Kyro nodded.
Elias exhaled, as if reliving the number was painful.
Elias (serious):
"Too many."
Utak (pressing):
"How many knew they were dead?"
Elias (dark):
"Few. Most bleed out before they ever understand the truth."
Kyro stared at the faint glow of the crystals. It wasn't warm. It was like the light of stars that had died long ago – still shining, still deceiving.
Kyro (direct):
"And you? What are you doing here?"
Elias didn't look at him.
Elias (flat):
"We… survive."
Kyro (quiet):
"That's not an answer."
Silence.
Then Elias stood up. Slowly. As if every movement carried memories he no longer wanted.
Elias (clear):
"You want truth? Fine. I'll give you one."
He stepped forward.
Elias (firm):
"I was someone who asked too many questions."
Kyro (alert):
"Questions?"
Elias (dry):
"I was a historian. A seeker – that's what they called us."
Utak (curious):
"And you found something you weren't supposed to?"
Elias nodded faintly.
Elias (solid):
"I tried to understand where the three families truly come from. What they hide. And what they've taken from us."
Utak (sarcastic):
"Doesn't sound like a crime."
Elias (quiet):
"To them, it is."
Utak (bitter):
"So this… this is your punishment?"
Elias (blunt):
"Yes."
Kyro (disbelief):
"They sent you here for asking too many questions?"
A nod.
Kyro (pressing):
"Who else?"
Elias (dark):
"Anyone inconvenient. Anyone who doubts. Who questions. Who searches for mercy."
Utak (growling):
"Mercy?"
Noah joined the conversation. His voice was cold, precise.
Noah (dry):
"That's what they call it when you're left to die slowly."
Utak clenched his fists, voice strained:
Utak (furious):
"Bastards."
Elias said nothing. But his eyes answered for him.
Kyro (uncertain):
"Were… were you alone?"
A flicker passed through Elias' gaze. One he quickly suppressed.
Elias (quiet):
"No."
Kyro noticed.
Kyro (gently):
"Did you… have someone?"
Elias' face remained still. But his answer didn't come right away.
Elias (low):
"Yes."
He didn't add anything.
Noah looked down.
The pause was heavy. Like a gravestone no one dared to touch.
Utak (carefully):
"What happened to her?"
Elias didn't respond.
But Noah did.
Noah (calm):
"She gave birth to me. And then the island took her."
Kyro turned to him.
Kyro (confused):
"What do you mean… took her?"
Noah hesitated. As if the air itself might not survive the truth.
Noah (soft):
"Black Mark has its own rules. Its own time. Some die from the air. Others… from what they see."
Utak (tense):
"And her?"
Noah (quiet):
"She got too close to the shadow."
Silence.
Kyro (whispering):
"What is the shadow?"
Elias replied. His tone was the voice of old texts – a warning.
Elias (serious):
"A place. A field. A line you never cross."
Utak (uncertain):
"Why?"
Elias (low):
"Because if you do, you'll see something that never lets go."
Kyro (quiet):
"What did you see?"
Noah lifted his gaze.
Noah (clear):
"Not what. Who."
The words cut deep.
Kyro's resonance twitched. As if it recognized a truth before his mind did.
Utak (impatient):
"You're dragging this out. If you know something, say it."
Noah stood. His gaze weighed heavy.
Noah (firm):
"If you want to know who really rules this place…"
He turned.
Noah (cold):
"You have to go where even the monsters won't."
Kyro (wary):
"And where's that?"
Noah didn't move.
Then he whispered:
Noah (ominous):
"Where the fog doesn't just cling – it thinks."
Utak (alarmed):
"What does that even mean?"
Noah said nothing.
But when he looked at Kyro, it was like the answer was already inside him.
Kyro (barely audible):
"Who?"
Noah met his eyes. Without a smile. Without pity.
Noah (quiet):
"Medea."