The closer we drew to Elvur Outpost, the more I saw—not just its walls, but the shadows clinging to them.
It didn't look like Veldan's thick, heavy fortifications.Lower, simpler… and somehow more tired.As if it had spent years waiting for something to come crashing toward it, and finally grew bored because it never fully arrived.
Two guards stood at the gate. Their armor wasn't polished; it was scratched all over—the kind you wear out of habit.
They stiffened when they saw us.
"Caravan from Veldan," Bran called out. "We've brought supplies, medicine, and… council records for Elvur Outpost.We also picked up an ambush, a pack of wolves, and a lot of questions on the road. Which would you like us to hand over first?"
One of the guards involuntarily smiled.The other's face didn't move at all.
"Open the gate," the stoic one said flatly. "The commander will be informed."
As the gate creaked open, I stepped through and glanced up without thinking.
Near the inner face of the wall, between the stones, there was a shallow carving, almost erased by rain and wind.
Three lines.
No circle this time.But the angle of the lines… was familiar.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[PATTERN RECOGNITION – ELVUR WALL]
– Mark: Old, nearly worn away.– Resonance: Weak match with the symbols in Veldan.
Note:– The cracks didn't start only in the city center.– Some places were simply "forgotten earlier."
"Great," I thought. "A welcome present right at the door."
The courtyard was busier than I'd expected.
Soldiers were practicing with shields in a training ring.In one corner, crates were being hauled from the armory; in another, armor was being repaired.
In the middle stood a low stone well, with a few people talking around it…And a little further on, a plain but solid-looking two-story building: the command office and headquarters.
As we set Kael's stretcher down, his breathing grew uneven again.
Serene immediately knelt beside him.
"We need a room," she said to the nearby soldiers. "A bed, hot water, and no one getting in my way when I start sticking needles into places."
"That building there," Bran said, motioning to a long, narrow structure along the side of the yard. "That's the infirmary.Get him inside. Tell Healer Mira she has a new project."
"Mira," I repeated. "That the talented woman you mentioned—the one who's learned not to stick her head up too high?"
Serene gave the faintest smile.
"That's the one."
Two soldiers and Serene carried Kael toward the infirmary.Halden stayed with the crates; Bran, Torren, and I headed for the command building.
The moment we stepped inside, the smell of wood and ink hit me.
On the wall hung a rough map of the region.Veldan, Elvur, a mist line up north, several roads running west, thin lines stretching east…
Beneath it, small dots marked in different colors.
Some red.Some black.Some… drawn like a sloppy version of three slanted lines.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MAP SUMMARY – OUTPOST]
– Red Dots: "Official incident records."– Black Dots: "Missing patrols" or "uncertain reports."– Three-line marks: Unknown. Noted, but with no explanation.
Comment:– The commander is keeping official and unofficial data on the same wall.This is the kind of mistake made by people who "know too much."
From behind a door, a man in his middle years stepped out—short beard, broad shoulders.
Dark circles framed his eyes; he looked at sleep like it was someone he hadn't met in years.
"From Veldan," Bran said, bowing slightly. "Commander… Hadrik, right?"
The man nodded.
"Yes," he said. "And you must be Bran, Torren… and the one sent with a 'special note'—Ethan."
I blinked.
"Special note?" I said. "I used to not get picked even to carry tea."
Torren gave my shoulder a brief pat.
"Times change," he said. "Now you carry reports instead of tea."
Commander Hadrik moved behind his desk.It was buried under paper stacks, seals, empty cups, and an open logbook.
"I've already been told you were ambushed on the road," he said. "I'll get the detailed report from Bran.But first… there's something I want to know."
He fixed his eyes on me.
"You," he said, "why do you attract so much attention?"
I wanted to tell him I had no idea either.
Instead, my mouth said:
"I wasn't born with good luck, and I haven't signed any contracts with bad luck.I think the rest of the world is just using me to test its math."
Hadrik sighed lightly.
"You talk too much," he said. "That also draws attention.Your name appears several times in the reports from Veldan.The one who noticed crack symbols…The one who pulled people out of a collapsing house…And the one who survived an ambushed Internal Security patrol."
"I was just trying not to die," I said. "Everyone else seems determined to turn that into a group hobby."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MICRO NOTE – COMMANDER HADRIK]
– Question style: Direct, no wasted words.– Look: Tired but sharp.– Risk: Even if he doesn't like you, he currently sees you more as a "resource" than a "threat."
Note:– Being a "resource" is not the same thing as being safe.
Hadrik called Halden in and had the crates brought over.
Two soldiers carefully set the sealed crates beside the desk.
Halden pointed to the one with the cracked seal.
"This one," he said, "fell during the ambush. The seal was damaged."
Hadrik's face tightened.
"Has it been opened?" he asked.
"No," Halden replied. "We didn't lift the lid.But I don't know who might have wanted to look."
Torren grunted.
"No one was left on the road except us," he said. "Unless you count masked men and wolves."
"And one more," I thought unwillingly, as if looking at Serene's silhouette in the corner of my mind.
The commander placed his hand on the crate's lid, then thought better of it.
"I won't open it now," he said. "At least… not here.Even in this outpost, I know some ears are open a little too wide."
Bran raised a brow.
"You don't trust your own outpost?" he asked.
"That's not what you ask a commander," Hadrik said. "A good commander first learns who not to trust in his own outpost."
I liked that answer.But underneath it, I felt something else.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[PATTERN ANALYSIS – HQ]
– Wall map, crates, commander's tone, his level of exhaustion…
Interim Conclusion:– Hadrik is not just a man executing the council's orders.– He's also trapped between pressure from inside and threats from outside.
Comment:– Characters caught "between two fires" either become heroes later…or do very bad things.
"First things first," Hadrik said at last. "You've taken the wounded man to the infirmary.Healer Mira likes Internal Security types. Because they never tell her everything.That makes her curious."
"Am I supposed to be scared or comforted by that?" I asked.
"Both," he said. "For now, we'll do this:– Bran and Torren stay and give me the full ambush report.– Ethan, you go to the infirmary. If Kael wakes, you may be the first one he wants to see.If anyone can get him talking, it's probably you… and that absurd bad luck of yours."
"Thanks," I said. "I feel like an official decoy right now."
"Oh, and one more thing," Hadrik added, his voice dropping slightly. "There's a rule I've learned in this city and in this outpost:Don't tell everything to anyone.Not even to your System."
I flinched.
"Not even to the System?" I said. "You're putting it in the same category as the rats in the walls?"
"Sometimes the rats learn what's behind the walls before you do," he replied. "As for your System… we still don't quite know whose side it's on, do we?"
I couldn't answer.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[SELF-DEFENSE ATTEMPT]
– System:• Designed to increase Host's survival chances.• Any evidence of hidden agendas… is not available at current user level.
Comment:– Saying "I am neutral" does not automatically make it believable.
"Perfect," I thought. "Now I've got trust issues with my own status screen."
The corridor leading to the infirmary was quieter than the rest of the outpost.
The stone floor was clean, the walls painted white.But in the corners, small details were easy to miss: tiny cracks, faint scratches at ear level, dried old blood at some door thresholds…
I knocked.
"Come in," a woman's voice said from inside. Clear, tired, used to this.
When I stepped in, the first thing I noticed was the books.
A long shelf lined with worn spines: herbs, wounds, illnesses, and… a few volumes marked only with symbols.
Then I saw the woman at the desk.
Black hair down to her shoulders, tied at the nape.A face drawn in sharp but elegant lines.Eyes with the look of someone who had seen a lot and somehow stayed standing.
This had to be Mira.
On the bed, Kael lay half-conscious.Serene stood at his side, checking the needles.
Mira gave me a quick once-over.
"So you're the famous 'Host,'" she said. "You're not the most interesting case they've brought into my infirmary… but you'd make the top five."
"Top five isn't bad," I said. "At least it's not top ten."
Serene smiled faintly, though there was a shadow of fatigue on her face.
"I'm going to leave the needles in a bit longer," she told Mira. "His heart rhythm is only just stabilizing."
"You know what you're doing," Mira said. "That bothers me… and reassures me at the same time."
Serene didn't look at her; she just smiled with the corner of her mouth.
"Both can be true," she said. "Just like patients who look like they're dying and living at the same time."
Their banter carried the feel of old familiarity.
"How long have you two known each other?" I asked.
Mira paused for a second.
"Long enough," she said. "But not long enough to say 'exactly.'"
⟪SYSTEM⟫[RELATION ANALYSIS – MIRA & SERENE]
– Listening tone: Defensive, but not fully closed.– Past: High chance of shared secrets.– Trust level: Limited partnership.
Note:– People who truly trust each other don't choose their words this carefully.
Kael shifted slightly. His eyes fluttered open.
"Water…" he whispered.
Serene dabbed his lips with a cloth dipped in a small bowl.
"Don't talk," she said. "Your only job right now is to breathe."
Mira turned to me.
"Did the commander send you here to 'make him talk'?" she asked.
"For now, yeah," I said. "But I'm tired too. I can listen first, ask later."
Kael's gaze flickered my way. Like he was trying to recognize me.
"On the road…" he croaked, voice rough. "Smiling… woman…"
Serene's hand paused for a heartbeat with the cloth.
Very brief.Short enough most people would miss it.But I wasn't "most people" anymore. I'd stopped being able to ignore small things.
"We heard that," I said. "Someone who looked wounded. You took her into the wagon. After that… you don't remember."
Kael's face tightened.
"Her eyes…" he whispered. "Like… two colors.One eye was crying… the other was smiling…"
His voice broke again. His breathing turned erratic.
Mira cut in at once.
"That's enough," she said. "If we let this go on, his mind will drag itself backward and his body won't be able to follow.If you let him keep talking, he might die of his own words."
Her hard stare was enough to shut me up.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MICRO WARNING]
– Kael's mind: At the edge of trauma.– More "smiling woman" details → Info gained: High.But also: Body may not withstand it.
Suggestion:– Less information now, more life later.
"All right," I said. "That's enough for now."
Serene adjusted one of the needles slightly; Kael's breath slowly settled again.
"When are we going to talk about this 'smiling woman' thing?" I asked.
Mira didn't look at me—she looked at Serene.
"Probably," she said, "when we're not here."
I did not like that sentence.
Serene didn't look away.
"Some things," she said, "are not meant to be discussed in a patient's room.And some… are not meant to be discussed at all."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[NEW OBJECT OF INTEREST]
– "Smiling woman" → Once again feels linked to the three-line marks.– Eye description: "One crying, one smiling."
Comment:– She may not just be an assassin or spy.– Probability rises that she's tied to a deeper "role" connected to the cracks.
By the time I left the infirmary, evening was slipping into night.
Torches had been lit in the yard; the watch was changing.Out by the treeline, the gray stone shrine looked even older in the flickering light.
I headed back to the command building.Bran and Torren's questioning should've been done by now.
When I opened the door, three people were inside:
Bran.Torren.And beside Commander Hadrik, a thin-faced man in a black robe.
His eyes were dark; when I looked into them, it felt less like seeing pupilsand more like staring into a small patch of emptiness.
He held a logbook, fingertips stained with ink.
"Inspector Ravel from Internal Security," Hadrik said when he saw me. "You're lucky, Ethan.He arrived at Elvur just before you did.And unlucky… because now he wants to get to know you as well."
Ravel gave me a smile that might have passed as polite.
But the smile stayed on his mouth.His eyes held no warmth at all.
"Name?" he asked. His tone was calm, but the question felt like an order.
"Ethan," I said. "My family name… doesn't mean much around here."
"Not many things mean much here," Ravel said. "Names, faces, titles…I'm more interested in 'marks.'"
My heart took a step toward my chest on its own.
"Marks?" I echoed.
Ravel's gaze locked onto a point in the middle of my chest.
Right where the watch was.
His eyes didn't narrow, didn't widen.Nothing changed.But I knew he was looking there.
"Yes," he said slowly. "Some people carry things without even knowing it.Some have burn marks on their wrists, some have scratches on their walls, and some…wear a watch over their heart that doesn't show time."
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
I wanted to ask, How do you know that?
But the System moved faster than my tongue.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[PROTECTION MODE – ACTIVE]
– Attempt to ask a critical question detected.– Certain information about yourself is classified as high-risk at this stage.
Effect:– Your tongue will stop before fully forming the question.– Emotional state: Jammed between "anger" and "curiosity."
"You…" was all I managed to say.
Ravel snapped his logbook shut.
"Don't worry," he said. "For now, I'm just observing.Elvur Outpost is the first place where all records about cracks in this region are being gathered.You and those like you… are just early-stage observations."
"In that case," I said, swallowing the knot in my throat, "let me share an observation too:I really don't like this conversation."
For the first time, Ravel gave a faint laugh.
"You don't have to like it," he said. "That's true for most things that are actually true."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[NEW TAG – RAVEL]
– Status: Internal Security Inspector.– Role: Information collector, "mark" hunter.– Threat level: High, but currently passive.
Note:– Serene is a smiling knife.– Ravel is a silent drill.Both might be heading toward the same stone… from different sides.
They said I'd be staying the night at a place called the Stone Cell—a smaller, colder cousin of the Copper Lantern.
It stood just inside the outpost walls, a cramped inn for soldiers and travelers, with narrow rooms, thin walls, and squeaky doors.
From my window, I could still see the gray stone shrine at the edge of the forest.No one seemed to be around it.
But after watching for a while…
A slim silhouette appeared among the shadows.I couldn't tell if they were robed or cloaked.
They stood before the shrine.Did something brief—maybe drawing, maybe carving, maybe just standing still.
Then, as if nothing at all had happened, they slipped away toward the back of the outpost.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[ACTIVITY DETECTED – SHRINE]
– At least one person performs "deliberate" actions around that stone structure at night.– Desire to follow: High.– Desire to stay alive: Equally high.
Suggestion:– Trying to sleep properly in this outpost conflicts with your current Path.
"Options," I told myself."Either I lie down, pretend nothing's wrong, and go to sleep…or I go out there and personally walk into the last problem that hasn't exploded yet today."
I thought about it for a while.
Then I smiled to myself.
"Yeah," I said. "Of course I'm picking the second one.Seems that's what this world expects from me anyway."
I threw my cloak over my shoulders and quietly opened the door.
If you really want to see the cracks inside an outpost,you have to pick the time that resembles them most:
The night.