The next morning, Ren was on his way to the market.
He didn't sleep much. His mind kept going back to Sora… and the mark… and the strange world he saw.
It was like the air had changed. Like something big was coming, but no one else could feel it.
Except maybe her.
And maybe... that man.
Because just as Ren passed the plum tree at the edge of the road, someone was waiting for him.
An old man. Gray hair, long sleeves, holding a wooden cane.
His eyes were quiet—but sharp.
Ren stopped walking.
The man smiled.
"You're early," he said.
Ren blinked. "Do I know you?"
"No. But I know you," the man said. "You saw the book."
Ren froze.
"And you touched the quill."
"…How do you know that?"
The old man stepped closer, his cane tapping the dirt.
"You carry the mark. It's not the first time I've seen it. But it's been a long while."
Ren took a step back. "Who are you?"
The man didn't answer right away. Instead, he pulled back his sleeve.
There it was.
The same mark.
Faint. Old. But still there.
Just like Ren's.
Just like Sora's.
---
"I had mine long ago," the man said. "I touched the book when I was just a boy, like you. But I never finished the path. I was afraid."
Ren looked down at his own hand.
The mark was quiet now. But he could still feel it.
The old man leaned on his cane. "You have a choice, boy. Run from it. Or walk forward."
Ren looked up. "What's at the end of the path?"
The man chuckled. "No one knows. It's different for each one. But the first step... is always the same."
Ren waited.
"Find the Second Step."
Ren frowned. "Second step?"
The old man turned to walk away.
"It'll find you," he said over his shoulder. "Sooner than you think."
---
Later that day, Sora met Ren under the same bridge.
He told her everything.
She listened quietly, then said, "We should find it. Together."
Ren nodded. "Yeah."
She smiled.
And high above, hidden in the clouds, something old and watching stirred.
Two steps had been taken.
The third... would not wait long.
---
To be continued...