Kaelira's gaze rested on him, quiet and unblinking, the moonlight catching the sharp lines of her face. Her voice, soft yet carrying the weight of unspoken understanding, broke the heavy silence.
"Nightmare?" she asked.
Alan hesitated, lips parting then closing again. His throat felt raw, the words trapped somewhere between memory and terror. He could not speak. Not yet.
Kaelira was not surprised. Not at all. She had expected this, even if the depth of his horror went beyond ordinary comprehension. She tilted her head slightly, eyes never leaving him.
"Dreams like that… they are not mistakes," she murmured. "They are the way fear teaches. Humans fear, and it teaches them more than any battle ever could. Sometimes, the mind shows us our weakness, so we may find our strength."
Alan's eyes stayed fixed on the flickering fire, the light seeming too small against the vast darkness he had just escaped. He wanted to argue, to say he didn't feel anything, but the hollow ache in his chest betrayed him.
A soft shuffle broke the quiet. Edward stirred, roused from his shallow sleep by Alan's trembling.
"Alan... Are you awake?" His eyes opened, catching the sight of Alan's pale, tense form, the small shiver that ran through him like fragile glass threatening to snap. Worry shadowed Edward's expression. He leaned forward, placing a firm hand on Alan's shoulder, steadying him.
"Look at me," Edward said softly, voice low but threaded with the weight of truth.
"I know… It's the worst kind of nightmare. What happened back there? No one should ever see things like that."
Alan swallowed, eyes distant, staring into nothing. "We lost… many," he whispered.
Edward shook his head gently, a frown creasing his face. "We did. But not everything broken is our fault. Some storms come to destroy… some come to teach."
Alan didn't answer, his breath trembling out of him like fragile shards of glass.
Edward's hand remained steady on his shoulder, a quiet anchor against the waves of panic crashing inside him. "Alan… humans have this strange nature," Edward continued. "We blame ourselves for tragedies we didn't create. We hold the guilt because our hearts are too soft, too honest. People like you… You feel everything. The pain, the loss, even the silence."
Alan clenched his jaw, bitter. "I could've done more."
"No," Edward said sharply. Then, as if reconsidering the tone, he softened. "No, Alan. You did what you could with the strength you had. That is all anyone can ask."
Alan lifted his gaze at last, eyes hollow yet glimmering with the faintest trace of something not quite despair but something that had yet to form. Edward met his eyes, unwavering.
"Do you know what makes someone strong?" Edward asked quietly.
"Then what?" Alan's voice was a whisper, a fragile thread in the night.
"Enduring," Edward said simply. "Enduring even when your heart feels too heavy to lift. When your hands shake so much that you can't hold your own sword. Humans break… and then they stand again. That is our curse and our miracle."
A tremor passed through Alan, but the trembling eased slightly. Edward's voice softened further, a balm against the rawness of his panic.
"Listen… guilt shows you care. Pain shows you're alive. But staying down?" He shook his head. "That's what the darkness wants. And you're not giving it that victory. Not today."
Alan nodded slowly, exhaling a shiver that had seemed trapped in his chest.
Edward gave a small smile. "Good. That's enough for now. You don't have to be unbreakable, Alan. Just… don't be alone inside your own head. I'm here. Mother, too. All of us."
Alan's eyes softened, gratitude forming where words could not.
"Rest your heart for a moment," Edward murmured. "Tomorrow… we keep walking. Not for the dead, but for the living."
Alan exhaled, shaky but steadier. "Thank you… Edward."
Edward's hand patted his shoulder one last time. "Anytime. That's what friends are for, right?"
Kaelira watched them from the firelight, a small, almost imperceptible smile curling her lips. "Humans are strange creatures… so fragile, yet… so persistent."
Edward stood up with a small smile that didn't match the heaviness in his eyes.
"Mm… one minute," he said lightly, tapping Alan's shoulder, "nature's call. I'll be right back."
He walked into the bushes not far, just enough to be out of sight. The moment the shadows covered him… his steps slowed.
His breath shook.
Edward's shoulders trembled before he even understood why. The weight he'd been holding since the village… the screams, the flames, the way Alan clung to him trembling like a wounded bird, it all pressed into his chest at once.
He leaned against a tree. His palm covered his mouth instantly, desperately. Because the tears were already falling.
Cold and Silent.
Edward forced himself not to make a sound.
Not a single sob.Not a gasp. Heroes didn't cry. Friends had to stay strong. He had to be the stable one for everyone.
But his body didn't listen.
A tear slid down his jaw. Then another. Soon, his breath was shaking so violently he had to bite his own knuckles just to keep quiet.
No matter how strong Edward's heart is… He is just a human, after all. The night wind brushed his back gently.
Edward squeezed his eyes shut.
Images of the burned houses… the old man begging for help… Alan's voice cracked as he said,"I'm fine"… all of it stabbed through him again.
He didn't cry because he was weak. He cried because he cared too much.
After a while, he let out one slow, shaky breath and wiped his face with both hands.
He patted his cheeks, forcing colour back into them. Practised, Familiar. A mask he'd worn many times.
Then he stood straight, rolled his shoulders back, and walked out of the bushes.
A simple smile rested on his face, gentle, soft.
But empty around the edges. As if he was wearing it… not feeling it.
Alan and Kaelira didn't notice the change immediately. Only the moonlight caught the faint redness under Edward's eyes.
Alan's eyes remained on Kaelira, words perched on his tongue but never falling. She seemed to sense the hesitation.
"I know, kid," she said softly, "What you're trying to say… It's okay. It's my job."
"Ah… mhh… thanks…" Alan muttered, the words heavy but sincere.
He hesitated again, voice quieter still. "I… I have a question. What are they? Why… why did they do this?"
A heavy silence fell, pressing against him like a living thing. Kaelira's gaze met his, steady and unyielding.
"Those… are the Beast Army," she said finally.
Alan's eyes widened. "Beast Army?"
"Yes," Kaelira replied. Her tone deepened. "they attack villages, small settlements, for… sacrifice."
The word echoed through Alan's mind, hollow and cruel. He felt a pulse beneath his skin, a dull glow in his wound that throbbed as if in warning. Kaelira noticed but did not ask.
Edward's face tightened, confusion and unease drifting into his expression.
"S-Sacrifice…?" he whispered, as if afraid of the answer.
Kaelira exhaled softly, but the sound carried weight like something ancient remembering pain.
"Yes," she said. "In Arathen… power is not earned peacefully. There are two paths-
To sacrifice yourself… or to sacrifice others."
The wind fell silent. Even the night seemed to listen.
She continued, voice low, almost reverent.
"Sacrificing yourself is slow. It demands understanding… discipline… suffering. Only a few choose that path."
Her gaze darkened.
"But sacrificing others"
The firelight flickered violently, as if reacting.
"is the faster path. Violent. Hungry. It tears open the door to power… and destroys everything else."
Edward swallowed.
Alan felt a chill race through him, colder than the night.
Kaelira's eyes lowered. "I do not know the full extent of their ambitions… but those who follow that path… they always gather. They always build something." She paused.
"And their leader… the one they whisper about…"
Edward leaned in. "Who?"
Kaelira's voice dropped to a near-whisper.
"The King of Horns."
A name that felt ancient and forbidden. Even Meera, sleeping nearby, stirred as if sensing the omen.
Kaelira continued, "He is not a king crowned by men. He is crowned by fear. Some say he is a remnant of the ancient age… others say he was once human but crossed too far into the path of sacrificial power. His existence is… elusive. But everywhere his followers appear… only ruin remains."
Alan felt sweat bead on his palms.
"What… kind of power do they use?" he asked, voice barely holding together.
Kaelira's lips curved into a faint smile not kind, but knowing.
"Curious, aren't you…?"
She lifted her gaze, the light catching the pale blue flecks in her eyes.
"In Arathen, power is born from truths. From pain. From bloodlines, yes, but not in the way you think. It is tied to bloodlines to clans. Each clan has unique abilities."
Edward's brow furrowed. "Clans… they really exist?"
Kaelira nodded. "Yes. You might not know it, because your people did not live as clans… but you must belong to one.
She tapped the side of her chest.
"Clan blood doesn't give you strength.
It gives you the capacity to survive it.
To awaken your true ability… You must face a breaking point."
Edward blinked. "Breaking point…?" Edward's curiosity flickered. "Awaken…? How does one awaken it?"
Kaelira nodded slowly.
"Abilities awaken in two ways:
In a critical moment when your life, resolve, or heart shatters…or through brutal training and a deep understanding of yourself.
Nothing awakens gently. Nothing awakens without cost."
Her gaze slid toward Edward and stopped, piercing.
"First tell me… why do you want to awaken?"
Edward's eyes softened the moment they fell on Meera sleeping. He inhaled. Exhaled.
Then his voice steadied.
"I… want to keep my promise. I want to protect."
Kaelira studied him for a long, silent stretch of time. Then she nodded, whispering,
"A good reason. In Arathen, intention shapes destiny."
She turned to Alan.
The fire crackled. The night pressed close.
Kaelira's stare held him-measuring, understanding, seeing more than she should.
Alan said nothing.
He didn't need to.
Kaelira finally broke the silence, her tone shifting… colder, deeper, almost warning.
"…Okay."
Then she looked into the darkness beyond the trees, as if she could feel something moving far away.
"Just remember," she said, voice barely a breath.
"If your clan ability awakens…
It means something is coming for you.
Another moment passed. Edward glanced at Alan, and then he asked Kaelira, "Ah… you're a warrior, right?"
Kaelira's voice softened, almost gentle. "No. I am a scholar-a scholar of ruins."
Edward blinked. "A scholar… but you don't look like-"
Kaelira's gaze pierced him sharply. Edward chuckled nervously. "If I said anything wrong… ha… sorry."
"Mm… good," Kaelira said, finally allowing a small nod.
Edward offered a hand with a friendly smile. "I'm Edward."
Kaelira hesitated. She did not reach for it immediately. Then, deliberately, she said, "Kaelira is my name."
Edward gestured toward Alan. "This is Alan… my friend."
Alan's gaze lingered on Edward, but Edward grinned faintly. "But he's a weird one."
Alan frowned. "Hah?"
Edward's chuckle was soft, teasing. "Sometimes the truth hits like a hammer… heh."
Alan simply nodded.
Kaelira broke the lingering tension. "Mm… staying here is not safe. We must move when morning comes… as quickly as possible."
Edward returned to his rest, but Alan could not. Thoughts spun relentlessly. He remembered Edward's words."You feel everything…"
"I… don't feel anything. Nothing… only emptiness… every loss, every fragment of the village, every scream-it's all inside, yet I feel nothing. Why?"
The fire crackled, fragile in the dark, as Alan's mind raced. He forced himself to focus. One truth remained, as clear as the moonlight filtering through the trees.
"I must find myself. For now… that is what matters. A path. A journey through uncertainty."
The night held them in its quiet embrace, shadows shifting like memories, danger lingering at the edges, but Alan's resolve-small, fragile, flickering, was enough to guide him forward.