The branches overhead rattled as Rion pushed deeper into the Forest of Hollow Echoes.
His breathing had steadied, but the dread inside him had not.
Azrath's voice snapped in his head:
"Keep moving. Do NOT stop. If the Silent Saint finds you—"
Rion clenched his jaw.
He'd had enough of running.
"We can't outrun someone who can erase demons with a thought!"
"Whose fault do you think that is?" Azrath barked.
"You lost control. You revealed our presence. Now the entire Order knows you carry a demon."
Rion spun on his heel and slammed his fist into a tree. Bark cracked.
"I didn't ask for this!"
Azrath's tone softened only for a heartbeat
the closest he came to sympathy.
"Neither did I."
But it hardened again.
"Listen to me, boy. Your body can't handle my full power. If you try to fight the Silent Saint now, you will die."
Rion's breath trembled.
"Then teach me. Train me. Something."
"Training takes months."
"We have hours."
Rion cursed under his breath.
Leaves rustled, and the wind carried an unnatural chill.
Azrath hissed.
"He's getting closer."
---
Miles away, the Silent Saint stood perfectly still in a clearing, head bowed.
His white chains glimmered in the dim light, like moonlit rivers.
He inhaled once.
The world darkened.
Birdsong died mid-note.
Even the wind froze.
The Saint raised a hand, and a single chain unraveled from his wrist, slithering across the ground like a living serpent.
When it touched the soil, the forest began to speak.
Not in words.
In memory.
The trees whispered images of footprints.
The air carried echoes of breath.
Shadows replayed brief moments—Rion stumbling, Rion running, Rion screaming.
The Saint watched these illusions with an expressionless stillness.
Then, in a voice no one living had heard, a whisper slipped from beneath his veil:
"…Found."
A sound so faint, even the forest barely registered it.
But every demon within miles felt a spike of terror.
Azrath shuddered in Rion's soul.
"He spoke."
"He never speaks unless he's certain."
Rion felt the blood drain from his face.
Rion pushed forward—
but a soft whistle cut through the woods.
Then another.
Then three in a pattern—
clearly intentional.
Rion froze and dropped into a defensive stance.
A figure slipped out from behind an old cedar.
A girl—
maybe his age or a little younger—
with sharp eyes, tangled raven hair, and clothes made from stitched animal pelts.
A thin Fangblade hung from her hip.
She looked at him calmly, then tilted her head.
"You're the boy with the demon."
Rion flinched.
"Who are you?"
She stepped closer, lowering her hood.
"Name's Kaela."
"Beast-talker. Forest child. Occasional rescuer of idiots."
Rion blinked.
Azrath snorted.
"She smells like feral magic. Don't trust her."
Kaela rolled her eyes.
"Your parasite is rude."
Rion stiffened.
"You can hear him?"
She shrugged.
"I hear everything that howls, whispers, or crawls in this forest."
Her eyes narrowed.
"And right now, something holy and horribly wrong is hunting you."
Rion exhaled shakily.
"You know the Silent Saint?"
Kaela nodded once.
"He passed through this forest ten years ago. Every creature that heard his breath died."
She stepped closer, lowering her voice.
"If you want to survive, follow me."
Azrath snapped:
"No."
"We cannot trust anyone. She could betray—"
Rion cut him off.
"We don't have time for paranoia."
Rion followed Kaela deeper into the woods.
Azrath hissed in displeasure but didn't stop him.
---
Back at the shrines' outskirts, Seraphine stood alone, staring at the broken stone where Rion had lost control.
Her hands shook.
She withdrew the Death Mandate scroll and read it again… unable to breathe properly.
Retrieve him.
Or kill him.
Her eyes stung.
"How can I kill a boy I raised?"
A soft voice broke her despair.
"Because if you don't, the Saint will."
Seraphine turned sharply.
Standing behind her was
Inquisitor Caldus—cold-eyed, silver-haired, the council's messenger and executioner.
He approached her, placing a sealed amulet in her palm.
"You trained him. You loved him. Therefore, you must end him before the Saint does."
Seraphine's heart twisted painfully.
"…No."
Caldus' gaze hardened.
"If he becomes Azrath's vessel, he will destroy kingdoms."
"You know this."
Seraphine closed her eyes.
You know this.
She had said those words herself once, about others.
Now they were a knife turned on her.
Caldus leaned in.
"End him swiftly. Or watch the Saint erase his soul completely."
Seraphine's breath faltered.
"…I'll find him."
Caldus nodded.
"Good."
"Because the Saint is already moving."
Seraphine tightened her grip around the amulet.
"Rion… please don't make me choose."
---
Back to Rion — Kaela's Warning
Kaela stopped suddenly at a moss-covered ridge.
"This is far enough."
Rion frowned.
"Far enough for what?"
Her expression darkened.
"To tell you the truth."
She crouched, placing her hand on the soil.
The earth trembled.
Not from her.
From something approaching.
Kaela looked up, eyes wide.
"You weren't the only one hunted tonight."
Rion stiffened.
"What does that mean?"
She looked him dead in the eye.
"The Silent Saint isn't here to kill Azrath."
"He's here to erase whatever woke up inside you."
Rion stumbled back.
Azrath went dead silent.
Kaela unsheathed her blade.
"If you want to survive, Rion…"
A holy pressure tore through the forest—
a whisper and a quake combined.
Kaela's jaw tightened.
"…you need to learn why you're worth killing."
The forest exploded with white chains.
The Silent Saint had arrived.