Around ten hours had passed since we started walking.
Throughout that time, we hadn't exchanged a single word. I noticed that he was closed off, almost isolated from the world. I myself didn't have the courage to speak up. I felt like I was just bothering him.
During the journey, we were attacked several times by mutated wolves – forest beasts, as they were called here. Every attack ended the same way: before I could even flinch, the monsters' bodies were already lying lifeless on the ground. The boy moved with inhuman precision; his sword gleamed during battle, and the monsters' blood stained the earth before they even had a chance to react.
His strength unsettled me. But it also fascinated me.
I wished I could wield a sword like he did.
~~~~
It's the tenth day of our journey.
I slowly got up and sat on a fallen tree trunk, resting my chin on my hand.
— "I'll be right back," the boy announced briefly, then headed in the opposite direction until he disappeared from my line of sight.
This behavior had become routine. After ten days of traveling, I had already noticed that we always took two breaks during the day – those were the only moments when I heard his voice. Other than that, we didn't speak. I didn't ask him anything, and he didn't ask me.
Apparently, it suited us both.
What intrigued me most, though, was that every time we took a break, the boy would go somewhere. For about fifteen minutes, sometimes longer. He never said where. Never asked if I wanted to go with him.
And I never tried to find out.
Until now.
What is he hiding?
I slowly got up from the log and cautiously followed his trail.
I walked after him in secret, careful with every step not to step on a dry twig.
After a while, he stopped.
I hid behind a thick tree trunk, carefully peeking out to see what he was doing.
I think I hear something.
— "Leave me alone… Get out of here!" he shouted, clutching his head in his hands as if trying to rip something out of his thoughts.
His voice was tense, trembling – it was the first time I saw him show any emotion.
— "This isn't my past! It's my own life!"
I froze.
Who is he talking to?
I looked more closely at the "person" he was conversing with.
An apparition.
A black, shapeless being, like a shadow torn from reality. It had no eyes or nose, only a terrifying, wide, white grin stretched across its entire face.
It grabbed the boy by the chin, forcing him to look into its nonexistent eyes.
My heartbeat quickened.
I watched the scene in disbelief. What is this? How is this possible?
The apparition turned its head in my direction.
I froze again.
Its hollow, white grin seemed to widen even more.
It saw me.
The boy, though still held by the apparition, also looked in my direction.
Now they were both staring at me.
What have I done?
— "I'm sorry… I shouldn't have followed you," I whispered in a trembling voice and turned on my heel, heading back to where I had come from.
My heart was pounding wildly.
Everyone has secrets they don't want to reveal. I won't pry.
I sat back on the same tree log. I stared at the ground, trying to calm down.
What had I just witnessed?
Fifteen minutes passed before he returned.
He didn't look angry. But he did look exhausted.
His face was pale, and his movements slower than usual.
— "You know… I don't plan on telling anyone what I saw. It can stay between us," I said uncertainly. Not that there was anyone to tell.
He stood in silence for a moment, as if pondering my words.
— "Thanks," he said quietly.
He hesitated, then added:
— "We both have things we don't want to talk about."
I frowned.
— "What do you mean?"
He looked at me seriously.
— "It's not normal to find someone in the middle of the beast-infested forest, bound in chains."
That's when I realized it. I had already forgotten.
— "No ordinary person would have noticed that 'apparition.' It's invisible to humans."
So… I'm special? That pleased me a little.
— "Did you hear what the 'apparition' said to me?"
I nodded carefully.
The boy bit his lip.
— "Do you know who I am?"
— "I have no idea," I replied honestly. "And I don't know if it's a good idea to be traveling with you. I'm not sure I can trust you."
Something in his expression softened. As if he had been expecting a worse answer.
— "This is the first time we're having a proper conversation," I muttered under my breath.
To my surprise, the boy smiled slightly—very slightly. He took off his hood.
It was the first time I saw his face. Back when he sat under the tree, I hadn't been able to make anything out; it was too dark.
He had short, black hair parted in the middle. His eyes… were strange. Orange-red.
He didn't look like an ordinary inhabitant of this continent.
— "Maybe it's a bit awkward to say this only now, but… my name is Nave."
— "I'm Lytia," I replied, smiling slightly.
The boy reacted unexpectedly.
Nave suddenly grabbed his head, as if something struck his skull.
— "A-Are you okay?" I asked, looking at him with concern.
His eyes glazed over.
And then, from between the trees, a large, winged bird flew out.
A Forest Beast.
I froze in fear.
Why now, of all times?
Nave grabbed his sword, but his movements were different than usual – slower, less precise. Something was wrong. I could see it in the tension of his shoulders, in the way he breathed heavily, as if he were fighting his own body.
I could feel something was wrong with him.
Was it because of that "apparition"?
From the darkness above us, the beast emerged – a large, winged bird. Its feathers, black as pitch, shimmered in the moonlight. For a moment, it hovered in the air, beating its wings, before diving down at us from above.
Nave reacted at the last moment.
His blade flashed as he raised his sword and parried the talons. The blow was so strong that Nave's feet slid slightly, but he didn't let the monster overpower him.
Then came another threat.
I heard a whistle. I didn't even have time to turn.
Something sharp sliced through my skin.
A scream caught in my throat as I felt a sudden, icy stab of pain in my neck.
Before I could comprehend what had happened, my body hit the ground.
Nave was also struck in the neck, but for him it was such a small, insignificant injury that he barely paid it any attention.
My vision blurred, my breath quickened.
Death. Is this it? Am I going to die so soon?
Understanding came too late.
It was again a Forest Beast.
It had attacked us from behind.
I lay motionless, trying to gather my thoughts, but the world around me spun.
Why hadn't Nave used his magic? During the whole journey, I'd seen him defeat stronger beasts with a single motion. Why now… couldn't he?
There was no time to ask.
The third attack came. The monster flying in from the side was fast, but Nave was faster. His sword sliced through the air in a lightning-fast cut.
A whistle. Then – silence.
The monster froze mid-flight. For a split second, its body remained intact, but then it split in two, and its lifeless wings fell to the ground with a heavy thud.
Nave stood still for a long moment, clenching his fingers around the sword's hilt.
Then his gaze fell on me.
His eyes widened, as if he were terrified, but his facial expression didn't show it.
My neck…
I wasn't moving.
Nave held his breath.
He stepped closer and knelt beside me.