The sun set behind the rolling hills, casting long shadows along their path. Their next destination was Linshuin Pass, located far to the east, nestled among the valleys of the majestic Ashen Peaks. Their journey was slow but, at least for now, unburdened by danger and threats. They walked through tall grass where deer moved but did not flee upon seeing them. They crossed rivers clear enough to see their reflections flowing beneath and even passed a mist-shrouded waterfall where Sora stood for a moment, admiring its calming beauty, as if remembering something only seen on his journeys. Where the world once felt heavy with blood and ash, nature now seemed to welcome them gently with its hidden majesty; even the birds in the sky sang a song for them.

  At night, they camped under a moss-covered forest canopy. The trees stretched wide and tall, gently sheltering them from the cold and damp night wind. The campfire built by Vael crackled, casting flickering light onto faces growing accustomed to each other's silence, warming their bodies as they rested. They ate dinner quietly from the hunt Kaelith and Sora had brought back. Until, as usual, Namien broke the silence, characteristically becoming the center of attention. "Alright, who's ready for a riddle?" There was no answer from them. Vael, sharpening his sword beside a rock with his back against a tree, didn't even respond, simply ignoring him. Kaelith, sitting cross-legged near the fire, tilted her head but continued cleaning her bow calmly, her reaction the same as Vael's. Only Sora responded, looking at Namien with his usual expression when faced with Namien's riddles a mixture of mild confusion and an attempt to guess.

  Namien sighed and waved his hand dramatically. "Fine, fine. None of you could probably answer it anyway, but let's start with a simple one: What walks on four feet in the morning, two feet at noon, and three feet in the evening?" Still no answer; even Sora slowly tilted his head upon hearing the riddle. His brow furrowed as he searched for the right answer, then he stopped, thought his answer was wrong, and looked back at Namien with a gaze that clearly said, ‘What are you talking about?’ Namien grinned slyly. "Come on, Silent One, even you must have heard that one—" Namien paused for a moment, an idea sparking to break the silence. Namien looked slyly at Kaelith, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "Speaking of feet, Kaelith. When exactly are you and Sora going to stop pretending to be just traveling companions, hmm?"

  Kaelith froze mid-motion while cleaning her bow, surprised by Namien's sudden words. Sora also showed a surprised reaction upon hearing Namien shift the conversation. Vael, who had just been sharpening his sword and trying not to react, suddenly looked up and glanced between the two with a faint smile forming at the corner of his mouth. "Took them long enough, Namien. To say what they should have wanted to say," Vael murmured flatly, his voice starting to tease Kaelith. Kaelith ignored the comment and tried to remain calm, though her face was now blushing. "Namien... you better not!" Kaelith said, her tone beginning to show her annoyance. Namien ignored her warning. "Because if you keep dodging questions like that, then I'll have to lead a ceremony in this forest with Sora's rune as your wedding vow." Sora's entire face turned brighter red than the fire. Sora bowed his head, trying to hide his expression behind his bent knees. Namien leaned back against a large rock behind him and added with mock seriousness. "Do you, Silent One, swear to keep this woman next to you restless for the rest of your blessed days?"

  Kaelith suddenly stood up, startling Namien. However, Kaelith, who usually erupted in angry shouts when teased by Namien and Vael, simply walked to a tree somewhat far from their resting spot, her face extremely red, turning her back towards the nearby forest while muttering quiet curses that only a nearby squirrel dared to hear. Namien, seeing Kaelith's reaction, sat back down and turned to Sora. "...Do you think that went well?" Sora slowly showed his still-red face and looked at Namien with a gaze that clearly meant ‘No.’ Vael leaned back with his arms folded and eyes closed, unable to hold back his laughter. "Next time, Namien. Try waiting for the right moment to make the storm around here even more dangerous." Namien, hearing Vael's words, looked entirely unrepentant and just grinned widely. "What can I say? Romance tastes better than with fire-roasted mushrooms for dinner." Sora could only sigh silently, although he himself… smiled, occasionally enjoying moments like these. The campfire crackled between them, and the stars shone above. Even with all the teasing, awkwardness, and unspoken words, something warm endured in the cold night air among them a bond, a journey not just through war and death… but also through laughter and simple things. Beneath the forest trees, they rested with hearts a little calmer than before.

  The warmth of the fire slowly faded as silence crept back into the clearing, broken only by the rustling of leaves. Until Vael, who had been leaning calmly against a tree, suddenly tensed, his hand slowly reaching for the hilt of his sword beside him. He didn't move or speak after that. He just watched, his gaze locked beyond the firelight towards the trees where shadows began to look wrong. Namien, still faintly chuckling from teasing Kaelith and Sora, noticed Vael's alertness and raised an eyebrow. "Vael?" No answer came from Vael, who was already focused on the potential threat. Kaelith, returning briefly from her spot to calm herself, noticed movement in the forest, her reaction mirroring Vael's. Kaelith immediately walked slowly back to retrieve her bow, quietly drawing an arrow from her quiver, beginning to aim, her fingers ready to release the arrow nocked on her bowstring.

  Sora saw both of them were now alert but did not show concern about the arrival of danger or threat, slowly turning towards the darkness of the forest which was quiet as usual, although his hand was already gripping his sword beside him and he heard the sound of footsteps approaching their resting place. Then from between two trees near their resting place, a figure emerged, a man dressed in armor adorned with the blue emblem of the old Borreal Guard, stepping before the four of them who were resting. On his back rested twin axes, each looking sharp from the battles it had endured and honed to its current sharpness. His beard was short, his hair messy, and on one part of his cheek beneath his eye was a faded scar that had never fully healed, making it a permanent mark. The man's presence seemed to say something related to the strength and principles he carried. This made Vael rise from his seat, not letting go of his sword grip. "...Arelan?" Vael said softly, surprised to meet his old colleague who was still alive after the fall of Borreal.

  The man stopped right in front of the campfire light and responded to Vael's words. "Vael? You're still alive? And you're still dressed like a knight even though there's no banner left to raise." the stranger named Arelan answered, his voice hoarse but not harsh. Namien stepped forward, intrigued, his arms crossed. "A friend of yours, Vael? Because his armor feels welcoming, but those axe blades say I'd rather not to talk about it," Namien said to Vael before looking at the two axes slung on Arelan's back. Arelan's eyes glanced towards Namien, unimpressed by his words. "You talk like a scholar, but you speak nonsense like an empty barrel when struck. Quiet your tongue before it gets cut," Kaelith raised her half-drawn bow, now keeping her aim steady on Arelan. Vael raised his hand to signal the others to remain calm. "Calm down. He's not our enemy, at least." Sora watched Vael then Arelan, although his expression didn't change much and his body felt a slight tension, his instincts told him there would be no violence unless necessary. Arelan looked around at each of them. "So, these are your friends now, Vael? A scholar who talks too much, an archer ready to shoot before a question is asked, and a boy who's been so quiet since I saw him. And you..." Arelan looked at Vael, his face showing no expression, just flat, and continued his words. "Still upholding your oath as if it's important for you to carry in your life.".

  Vael was unfazed by Arelan's statement and replied. "I uphold what still has weight to be fulfilled before it is unresolved, and you haven't changed a bit since the previous incident, it seems, Arelan." Arelan, hearing this, tried to say something calmer to make the situation conducive. "No. I don't think so, Vael." Arelan began to step forward, finally crossing into the edge of the firelight to walk towards Vael, which made Kaelith, who was still wary, keep her bow close but slowly lower it without dropping her guard. Namien looked at Arelan once more then leaned towards Kaelith, whispering to her. "Tell me again, why is every Borreal knight always like they crawled out of a myth told by the locals?" Kaelith didn't answer Namien's question and was still watching Arelan intently. Vael stepped towards his former comrade and asked him. "Why are you here?" Arelan looked at him and answered calmly without expression. "Because Borreal did not die when the towers fell, and some oaths do not end with fire, at least." There was a pause between them, something unspoken, perhaps unhealable, from their shared wounds originating from the same kingdom. Vael exhaled slowly and continued his words. "You're late."

  Arelan chuckled once, his voice tired and weathered by time and his journey, upon hearing that from Vael and knowing his meaning. "I'm always late but, in the end, I find the right fire at least." Arelan turned towards Sora as if only now acknowledging the man who hadn't said a word since his arrival. "You... you are the one they talk about, aren't you?" Sora just looked at Arelan and blinked once, showing his confusion. Arelan nodded once. "You have the eyes of someone who has seen more than death itself, and you will become someone you desire at least in what is to come in your every journey." Sora didn't respond to Arelan's words but, there was something within him that calmly acknowledged Arelan's presence, and thus, the campfire continued to burn, casting shadows from their past brotherhood that added to the current tension until a new path formed in the future for the two Borreal knights. The night, which was so calm before, returned full of tension between them, and the stars that always watched them, twinkled with understanding in the night sky above.

  The campfire crackled softly as the tension around it grew, not from an enemy threat this time, but from something deeper and more personal. From a ghost still wearing armor with the same emblem. Vael stood with his hand starting to rest on the hilt of his sword, and across from him, Arelan remained calm though motionless, his eyes on Vael, shadowed by a history that never left his old friend. "You left your post, and you abandoned us before the fire began to burn Borreal. Before the front gate collapsed, you weren't there when we desperately needed you." Vael finally said, voicing something about the bitter reality of Arelan's past, his voice low but piercing. Arelan did not flinch from Vael's words and responded calmly. "I left because I knew the gate would fall." Vael's jaw tightened, and an explosion of emotion began to fill his mind upon hearing that from Arelan, and he asked with a growling tone. "Then why didn't you stay and defend that gate before it fell? Why didn't you die with the rest of us when others chose to die protecting their place and fulfilling their oaths? Where is your pride that upholds your oath to your place?!"

  "Because dying there wouldn't have stopped it, and before that happened, I had tried various ways to warn them, Vael. There was something inside Borreal eating it from within, and moreover, I saw the rot and I spoke of it to those who were my colleagues but, they... they called me a disease or a parasite for what I told them before Borreal's collapse." Arelan replied, answering all of Vael's questions with facts Vael had never known. "So you ran from Borreal because they called you a disease, is that it?" Vael asked, already annoyed at Arelan. "I left because I would not swear to remain silent while watching my home rot and be destroyed from within. I chose to follow my principles rather than follow and carry out an oath that betrayed the result of the oath itself." Arelan snapped back at Vael, not accepting being told he ran away and let his friends die in vain defending their home.

  Vael stepped closer to Arelan, the campfire light shining in his emotional eyes. "You abandoned your brothers, and worse still, you let us die there while you left us to die with the destruction of your place and ours." Vael's voice began to harden, and Arelan was also carried away by emotion hearing that but, he tried to remain calm because Vael's attitude was a natural reaction towards him, and Arelan said. "And you think I didn't die too at that moment?" Arelan stepped closer until the gazes of the two Borreal knights met, the twin axes on Arelan's back reflecting the campfire light, the Borreal emblem on his armor seeming to burn with its faded glow on his chest, and he spoke with emotion too, though his emotion sounded restrained, clearly visible in his words. "Every day and every night, I wear this armor alone, Vael. Alone! Every night I always remember the screams in my sleep and I wonder if perhaps I was wrong when I left my friends or the brother I considered as such? Perhaps I should have burned along with all of you at that time when I had warned all of you to act faster before it happened, and what I found was not worth what you said, Vael." One sharp remark escaped Arelan's mouth towards Vael about the fact Arelan had experienced all this time, which Vael did not know.

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  "But our oath was not for that sort of thing, Vael. The oath wasn't about standing still, and it wasn't about dying for a banner you're trying to keep standing tall under the blue sky. However, the oath is about fighting for something even when no one else sees it, and when they call you a traitor for fulfilling the content or meaning of the oath you hold, Vael."

  Vael's hand began to tremble as he heard Arelan's words about the true meaning of the oath, and Vael began to respond with anger. "You... you are not worthy to speak of the oath you broke. You left the place you should have defended, and I stood my ground when the oath began to fall. I saw the towers collapse on my friends body and my brothers in arm who had sworn with me to protect each other and our homes. I carry them with me every time when I raise this sword, they are still with me and haunt me every night. Remember that, Arelan!" Vael answered Arelan emotionally. "Then you should know the price and what is required of it?" Arelan said, trying to respond more calmly to the emotional Vael.

  Those words echoed in Vael's mind, and for a moment, the air became too quiet. Vael's hand began to draw the sword he had been gripping, his emotions having reached beyond their limit. But before the sword was fully out of its scabbard, Sora moved quickly to stop Vael's emotionally charged movement. Just one hand lightly placed on Vael's wrist stopped the movement that would have caused a fight in their moment of calm over his personal issues. Sora's expression said everything as he looked at Vael with seriousness, and Vael saw Sora's expression clearly conveyed what he wanted to say: ‘This is not your enemy, and not tonight.’ Vael tried to control his emotions by turning away from Arelan and sheathing his sword again. Vael regulated his breathing and walked towards a tree behind him, punching it with all his might to quell his emotions. Then, Arelan calmly continued speaking again, not about Vael's emotions, but about something that made him regretful. "Perhaps I am a traitor, and I left you there. But the reality is, Vael… they betrayed me first."

  Silence fell, and Namien, who had been watching the drama between the two Borreal knights, leaned back against a large rock behind him, sighing after witnessing it all. "That was a very warm and pleasant conversation by the campfire, wasn't it?" Kaelith, who had been wary, now lowered her bow and said nothing in response to the recent events, but her eyes never left Vael and Arelan. Vael walked back to his seat and sat down as before, without a word, his face clearly showing his emotion and frustration towards Arelan, illuminated by the campfire light. Sora, still standing in his place, began to look at Arelan, causing Arelan to walk to a corner of their resting place and sit there, far enough from the four of them, understanding the current condition and situation. Two men with different silences, and two paths that started from Borreal… both still haunted by the remnants of its ashes.

  The tension slowly subsided like the heat of a fire turning wood into charcoal. Vael sat leaning against the tree behind him, bearing the weight of memories that still hung on his shoulders like armor too worn and beyond repair or replacement. He said nothing more, his gaze fixed on the campfire before him. His hands were no longer clenched and did not touch the hilt of his sword, not because of his current vigilance, but something closer to the exploded emotion that Sora had calmed before he lost control. Arelan, sitting at the edge of the firelight, turned his gaze to Sora. There was no judgment in his look, just an unexpected flicker of curiosity. A kind of understanding that soldiers do not always need words to explain themselves. "You are not like the others, you carry no armor or banner... but you carry something heavier than silence, like it does not come from peace and comfort." Arelan said slowly but firmly. Sora turned towards him, his expression unreadable, but a pain in his gaze made the statement sound more like the truth. In response to Arelan's words, Sora carefully and slowly raised his hand, giving a calm gesture with the body language that had become his voice. A gentle and direct movement that said, ‘I cannot speak.’ Arelan’s eyebrow twitched slightly, but he did not mock or pity Sora for being unable to speak; instead, he just nodded once as a sign of respect and appreciation. "In that case, you know how to listen to someone deeper than most people."

  Namien, always curious about his group, leaned forward from his resting place and said. "Alright, since everyone is still alive for now, Arelan, I have a question for you. What's your story with Vael that you two from Borreal have such a complicated confrontation? You both talk like brothers who fought side-by-side or bled beside different ideals from your oaths?" Arelan didn't answer immediately. He took a breath, and then his voice became low and calm, like someone polishing a memory to be spoken with regret. "We served under the same banner as guards and knights in the kingdom of Borreal. A place no one thought would fall because of the rot that became a threat from within." Arelan said, looking towards Vael who was listening. “He was a knight with skill in his sword greater than anyone I knew. I was the louder voice, the last one who never fell. Together, we kept the peace in places that had forgotten how to live like humans and guarded Borreal with our oaths.”

  Vael did not lift his gaze, but his voice sounded cold as he cut off Arelan's words. “Then one of us left before the gate became ruins from the start of its destruction.” Arelan bowed his head upon hearing Vael’s words, who still couldn't fully accept Arelan, as if the pain had long settled within him. Kaelith, sitting in her place, watched Arelan with calm eyes. She said nothing, but her expression clearly showed that she understood bonds broken more completely in silence than by steel, and the kind of wound that doesn't bleed but lasts longer.

  Finally, Arelan turned back to Sora and asked him. "So, where are you all headed on your journey?" Sora raised his hand and slowly pointed his finger towards Linshuin Pass, which was rather far from their resting place. Arelan's eyes narrowed slightly at Sora who intended to go to Linshuin Pass, thinking before speaking again. “In that case, it seems fate has guided our paths to be the same, due to coincidence and a reason. I have… unfinished business at Linshuin Pass.” Namien raised an eyebrow and asked Arelan, who had the same destination. “You’re coming with us?” Arelan shrugged. “If the silent one allows it.”

  All eyes turned to Sora whose expression remained calm. He looked at Arelan then towards Vael who still hadn't spoken anything after cutting off Arelan's conversation earlier. As if he was waiting for an answer from Sora. Vael slowly stood up from his seat, not looking at Arelan at all, and walked towards Sora. He just looked at Sora with a meaning without a single word spoken but he nodded to Sora as permission or acceptance? Or maybe just a sign of surrender to what should be? However, Sora just nodded in return then gestured 'yes' to Arelan to join his group heading to Linshuin Pass. Arelan stepped forward and sat beside the campfire with his twin axes placed beside him after having rested on his back for quite some time, the tips of the axe blades reflecting the light from the nearby campfire. “In that case, until Linshuin Pass I will walk beside you all.” And just like that through tension, silence, and the unspoken burden of memories, they walked the wide open path ahead. Five wanderers, for now. One carrying his pain in silence, one carrying his pain in an oath, one with his unanswered riddles, one with a bow always ready to launch her attack, and now, a man with two axes from his past that never stopped haunting him.

  The next morning, with the morning light filtering through the surrounding trees, snagged on their branches like ghosts trapped in the trees. The five people moved slowly in formation, one behind the other, their weapons ready should danger and threats come upon them. Sora led the way, his calm and calculated steps making his eyes observe sharply from behind his cloak. Behind him, Kaelith placed her hand on her gripped bow, her eyes scanning the shrouded roadside. Arelan followed behind Kaelith, the handles of his axes raised in his grasp, walking slowly and with the caution of a knight. Namien muttered some words to himself in his usual way part joke, part magic incantation, and part his talkative habit. And behind Namien, Vael, silent as usual, his eyes watched their tracks like a shadow refusing to rest. Then the crows began to sing from the top of a dead tree, its dry branches bare of leaves, the crows' sound not a melody but a lament.

  However, every caw they hymned seemed to create a sound between life and death. Kaelith whispered to the others, "There are no other animals around here besides the crows." Namien responded to Kaelith, his voice quieter than usual. "A forest like this? That's not a song, but a warning for us right now." They moved forward slowly now and found themselves looking ahead at numerous graves and several tombstones within the forest, numbering more than dozens or perhaps hundreds. Some of the tombstones were tilted and half swallowed by dry tree roots and the earth. Others looked cracked or sunken as if eaten by time. Sora stopped his steps because he felt something was wrong, and the ground beneath him answered his unease. From under the graves, fingers began to emerge from the soil. First one of the undead rose from its grave, then two, and dozens rose from their graves. The undead army rose from underground now with their long-rotted limbs and hollowed-out bodies, clad in remnants of armor and tattered robes. Namien immediately shouted to the others, "Hold your ground!" Kaelith began releasing her arrows at the first corpse that rose from its grave; the undead fell only to rise again to attack her. Arelan's axes began to swing and sing among the undead army, his brutal slashes tearing through bone and rotting flesh. Vael moved quickly and began his sword attack, dancing in the gripping silence. While Sora stayed close to Kaelith and Namien to guard them, his blade sweeping through the horde. However, they kept coming endlessly from underground, making them uneasy as their attacks didn't seem to fell them completely. Namien's voice broke through, "They're not fighting to kill us. They're herding us right now!" Kaelith growled, "Then let's not wait to be cornered by them." Arelan swung his axe to clear and open a path for them. "Move now!" They broke their defensive formation and began to run towards the path Arelan had opened for them from the undead siege, dodging grasping branches and broken tombstones, pushing through the fog as the dead began to chuckle behind them.

  Those who managed to escape the threat suddenly emerged into clarity from within the fog that opened like a curtain. Behind them, the forest filled with the undead army, their laughter and whispers could be heard through the trees that gripped them while they were inside. However, the undead did not follow them and instead just let them pass, laughing from behind the dead forest. A low, bone-chilling voice echoed from the fog, not from a mouth, but from something deeper and ancient lying among those who had survived now. Kaelith turned and looked towards the forest, retrieving a few arrows stuck in the ground around her, but nothing emerged from behind the forest to pursue her. Vael tightened his grip on his sword. "They could have chased us here, why didn't they?" Namien, panting, answered, "At least they didn't. That means they're not just mindless."

  "They wanted us out of there to trap us somewhere they've planned, perhaps," Arelan murmured softly. Sora wiped the blood from his sword and stared into the thin fog. Sora knew the laughter of the undead, its sound held something behind it, a smirk that mocked him and his group, from something that believed he was unaware of the real threat and danger ahead. Then, when Sora turned forward, he saw a village located near the weathered Linshuin Pass valley, intact with wooden roofs, dim lanterns, and smoke curling from chimneys as if there was life there. Too peaceful for those who had just escaped the threat near the village. Kaelith began to narrow her eyes. "We must remain vigilant; that forest didn't spit us out for free." Sora nodded slowly, agreeing with Kaelith's statement. The five people stepped forward, weapons still gripped in their hands, and silence fell among them again, so gripping, the path was too quiet, and something behind the village felt like someone was watching in the same way as inside the forest, according to Sora's instincts. Whatever awaited in Linshuin Pass had begun to whisper, and the dead began to listen to the voices of the living, to feel the horror and brutality that awaited them ahead.