65 Chapter 65
The creatures corpse twitched once again before becoming still, steam rising faintly from its punctured skull. Aruno stood above it in silence, Durandal vanishing from his hand in a flicker of black light. The rain had started soft at first, like a whisper on the wind but growing steadier with each second.
His breath came slow, uneven. Drops ran down his face, sliding from his lashes like tears he refused to shed.
"That… was the point, right?"
Void's voice lingered, low and deliberate now not mocking, not taunting. Just there. Watching him.
Aruno didn't respond. He stepped forward, over the body, as though it had never existed. The sound of his boots squelching against the wet soil filled the silence between thoughts.
"You're not just surviving anymore. You're adapting."
Again, no answer.
The path ahead lead into the mountain woods narrow, uneven, and steep. The trees stood like hollow guardians, their twisted black branches reaching across the trail like they too wanted to stop him.
Thunder rumbled, distant and slow.
And still, Aruno advanced forward .
With each step, the light of day dimmed behind heavy violet-tinted clouds. The rain soaked through his clothes. His hair, longer than before unnoticed, unbothered clung to his jaw as the wind began to rise.
He just kept walking the path ahead, unknown, with now something or something else now followed behind him… quietly.
A creaking branch snapped from a tree somewhere behind Aruno. Without acknowledging it he keeps pressing forward.
The presence hadn't moved closer, but it hadn't vanished either. Like it was studying him, mirroring his pace just far enough not to be seen.
"Aruno, whatever that presence is, it's following us."
"Let it-" Aruno said under his breath.
Something felt off. It wasn't wild or chaotic like the creature from before. It was controlled. Measured. A quiet pressure that didn't announce itself, but didn't try to hide either.
Whoever it was… they were trained. Watching him.
He kept moving, eyes steady. The trail narrowed again, composed of jagged stone and thick roots. Mist gathered near the ground, curling around his ankles like ghostly vines.
"You're leading it somewhere?" Void murmured.
"No. I'm letting it think it's choosing the ground."
"See! You can be intelligent when you aren't so focused on everything else."
A flicker of something passed over Aruno's face. Not quite a smile. Not quite anything.
Up ahead, half-hidden beneath thick overgrowth and moss, stood a broken-down shack. One of those old-world remnants warped by the merge. Withered, half-sunken, left to rot where mountain met magic.
He veered toward it without pause.
The door gave way with a push, creaking inward. Dust and rain met in the air. Aruno stepped inside, scanned the corners. Empty. Just a collapsed cot, broken shelves, and a damp wooden floor warped by time.
He sat down slowly in the center of the room. Legs folding like a pretzel- "Void meditation is a good way to pass the time, wouldn't you agree?"
"Ah I understand Aruno. Let's relax and play the waiting game."
We waited.
The sound of rain filled the silence. It struck the roof in waves, sometimes soft, sometimes violent. Shadows shifted along the walls.
Minutes passed.
Then, without footsteps, without warning, a presence settled just outside the shack.
Closer now.
Still not moving.
Just watching.
Void didn't speak this time.
Neither did Aruno.
The rain did that for them.
The rain continues to hammer the roof in relentless sheets. Aruno's glowing red eyes flicked upward, drawn by a faint shift in the rhythm—a slight pause in the pounding rain.
He didn't have to look long.
A silhouette crouched at the edge of the shack's sagging roof, outlined by the violet-tinged storm clouds behind him.
The figure wore a wide, black-and-white kasa that obscured his face connecting to a partial mask, rain streaming off its brim.
His cloak billowed faintly in the wind, barely moving but heavy with presence.
Aruno's breath caught but he didn't rise.
"Finally showing yourself," I said quietly.
The figure didn't answer. Just stood.
The storm seemed to dim around him, the rain falling harder on the ground but softer beneath the figure's watchful gaze.
Void broke the silence, low and cautious.
"I feel that- that pressure it's strong!"
Aruno's eyes narrowed.
"I can feel it. Calm. Calculated."
Another crack of thunder rolled over the mountain.
Aruno rose slowly, ready, but kept his voice steady.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
No reply came from the roof.
Only the rain, and the waiting silence.