The forest buzzed with tension. Bram and Godric mumbled below the creaking of crickets that buzzed around the peaceful forest. Even the steady rush of water over the river rocks felt too loud, pushing Starlight's nerves on edge.
He pressed himself against the side of the rock, fists clenched.
"What do you mean? This is obviously all his fault!"
Bram's shout tore through the camp, scattering birds that rested within the trees.
Starlight flinched. He couldn't be sure whether Bram was talking about him, but Starlight still had a strong feeling he was.
"I told you we shouldn't have taken that boy in. I said he'd cause problems, and look, I'm right!"
Godric's eyes narrowed.
"I can't tell you why," he said calmly, "but I need him."
"Oh, really? Bram shot back, "So you're going to sacrifice all of us for that kid, all because you need him."
He stared hard into Godric's eyes, a crooked grin stretched across his face.
"I never said I'm sacrificing anyone. Liriel chose to step in and protect him."
Godric's voice darkened as he corrected his posture, sizing up Bram.
"Hmph, if something like this happens again, I'll step in personally and kill the kid!" Bram said mockingly as he walked off towards the river.
Starlight leaned back against the stone, his expression solemn. Although the argument had ended peacefully, it led Starlight back to a truth he could never shake off; even among others, he was all alone.
Travelling with the group might keep him alive from horrors like the forest and monsters, but he was also one step away from walking off a cliff that led to his demise. He barely knew how to survive, and if Bram kept good on his promise, one mistake could be his last.
Even if he made no mistakes, they could still turn on him. The future is full of endless possibilities, most of them cruel. If the group ran out of food, he'd be the first to go. They surely wouldn't waste any rations on a useless boy who couldn't even fight. And that was one of many, so many different possibilities.
But what unsettled him the most wasn't Bram's anger or threats, but Godric. In the heat of their argument, Godric had said that he "needed" Starlight.
'Needed me? For what?' The thought circled in his head, dashing through all the possible answers he could imagine, but none made sense.
If he were just for monster bait, then why did Aster heal him, and Liriel save him? If Godric had malicious plans for him, then why did he show such kindness earlier? He was powerless after all, just a simple snap of his fingers and he would be dead.
Starlight jumbled questions over this topic deeply, so deeply that he didn't hear footsteps draw near.
"Hey, Star, how are you doing?" Godric's voice broke him out of his trance; he stood next to Starlight, who sat slumped against the rock.
Starlight flinched and looked up. "I'm alright," he said, forcing a thin smile.
"Hmm... is that so?" Godric's gaze lingered for a moment before he went on, "Well, I know that you overheard my conversation with Bram... and I..."
A bead of sweat ran down Starlight's back, clinging to his skin, 'I was caught? Wait, it's fine that I was caught... wait, is it? Did he not want me to listen? What about the part when he mentioned how he needed me?'
A flurry of thoughts flooded Starlight's mind. His breathing hastened, no matter how hard he tried to contain it; his face still went red. 'Why the pause? Is he going to get rid of me?'
"I just wanted to let you know not to worry, Bram is like this, he'll calm down soon. It was a long night." Godric said softly, a faint, reassuring smile tugged at his lips.
"Oh... thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Starlight subconsciously replied.
He held Godric's gaze before his hand slipped into his cloak pocket. His fingers shuffled a small, familiar object. Hesitantly, he pulled it out, a coin pressed tight within his palm. Then, with a halfhearted breath, he opened his hand and showed it to Godric.
The golden coin sparkled in the light, radiating a majestic presence, paired with Starlight's pale skin; the coin stood out, stealing Godric's gaze.
He stared at it, hypnotized. His hand slowly reached out to grab the coin before he brought it back to his side and pulled his gaze, full of confusion, to Starlight's.
"Where did you get it?" Godric asked quietly.
"In the cave," Starlight said, debating in his mind whether it was the right idea to show him the coin.
"Is that so... do you know what it does?"
"All I know is that it makes a trail of light." He explained, shifting his posture. "It helped me get out of the cave and through the forest before I met you guys."
Godric raised his eyebrows, his expression returning calm. "That coin, it comes from our city, it was the first batch of coins made."
He watched Starlight closely, searching for any sign of him already knowing this. When he found only confusion, did he continue.
In fact, Starlight did know this, as it was explained in the description of the artifact, but he continued to act surprised and interested.
"Do you want it?" Starlight asked, even if this was a low-level artifact and his second, it had helped him escape the cave, plus it could still have more value; he was willing to give it up to the group if it could help him gain more of their trust or be less useless.
"Heh, even if I wanted it, I couldn't have it." Godric reluctantly exclaimed. "It's all yours." But his face showed hints of disappointment and greed.
"What do you mean?" Starlight eagerly asked.
"The coins were made with a string of fate attached, that's the trail of light it made, and if what you said was true and you activated the trail, it means the coin is fated for you." Godric continued. "Only you can use it, but I appreciate your offer."
Starlight's fingers trembled as to tried to hide his smile; not only did he get to keep the coin, but it also seemed to have increased the trust between the two. This was exactly what Starlight wanted: a double win. Not wanting his joy to seep out, he quickly collected his feelings.
"What does it do, the trail of fate?"
"The trail guides the user to their fated destination," Godric responded. "Can you use it right now?"
Starlight nodded, closing his hand and squeezing the coin. Since it was a passive ability, it only took a thought to activate and didn't expend any essence. He only did this to hide the fact he could activate it with his mind.
Immediately, light poured out of his hand, seeping through the cracks between his fingers, it slowly formed a faint trail extending only a couple of meters. Near the end, the trail started to dim and eventually disappeared.
"Interesting, although this isn't my first time seeing this, it still is pretty rare." Godric admired the faint light. "I trust that fate has brought us together, so tomorrow morning we will set off, following that coin of yours."
"Alright," Starlight excitedly replied, as he looked at the sky.
The stars had just reached their peak, blinding Starlight as he stared in their direction. Although he couldn't look at Proxima too long, the other stars were a different story. They were littered across the sky, some alone and some in clusters.
'The overworld should have a source of light like Proxima, they call it the sun, right. I wonder what it looks like.' Starlight thought as he lowered his gaze back at Godric, who was still admiring the trail of light produced by his coin.
After noticing Starlight's gaze, Godric looked back over and smiled. He then told Star that he would go tell the group about the coin and what's happening tomorrow.
When Godric left, Starlight deactivated the trail and returned the coin to his pocket. After Divers get their nexus, they can store artifacts within it; without it, they can only store them on their bodies.
Starlight sighed as he slowly pushed himself up off the giant stone and got to his feet. Starlight once again looked back up and the stars, feeling his eyes betray him as they grew heavy. Feeling the urge to sleep, he limped around the site searching for an area with clouds that blocked the light.
After finding one, Starlight spread his cloak in the grass and fell onto it. He took a look back up at the sky before closing his eyes and falling asleep.
...
Woosh!
Starlight sat up and blinked repeatedly, adjusting to the change in lighting. When his eyes were fully open, he looked around, only to be met with darkness. However, not complete darkness, there was a dim lamp beside him. Although the candle wax was half melted, the flame was still lively.
Starlight's gaze swept around his surroundings. There were still the two large stones, but an orange light illuminated from behind them, and the light shone over the grass, displaying small creatures roaming through it.
'They probably started a fire,' he thought as he walked closer, the lamp in one hand and his cloak in the other.
Behind the pair of giant stones, four members of the cohort were lying fast asleep. Starlight stared at the fire; it had been almost a day since they were attacked by monsters, and yet when he looked at the calm fire, it reminded him of the bloody scene.
"Hungry?" a voice called out behind the flames.
Starlight leaned around the fire and spotted Aster, who was sitting upright with a blanket wrapped around his back. His head was down, inspecting a blue pendant he was caressing in his hands.
"Yes," Starlight quietly responded as he walked around the fire, approaching the man.
Aster reached for a bag to his right and tossed a few sticks of jerky to Starlight. He caught the jerky and turned around. Looking at a girl wrapped in a few blankets.
"Is she doing better?" He asked Aster.
"Yeah, it should still be a few days until she's better," the man replied, still holding the pendant.
Starlight turned his gaze away and walked out of the campsite, putting on his cloak, eating his jerky, and holding the lamp. He walked closer to the sound of flowing water, lighting the way with the lamp.
Gush!
The pale light of Proxima reflected off the crystal clear water; even at night, one could see the sand and rocks beneath the river. Opposite the river was a sea of darkness.
Starlight kneeled at the river, scooping up the running water and bringing it to his lips. Surprisingly, the water wasn't salty but rather plain. After his thirst was cleansed, he sat staring into the gushing water.
Starlight undressed and stepped into the water, shivering from the cold. Although the bath wasn't the same quality as the ones in the countless Strongholds he'd been at, it was all he had, so he enjoyed it.
Half an hour later, Starlight got back up from the river, dried off and gathered his clothes, and put them on. Back at the campsite, he took a seat decently far from Aster and the rest, but still in the range of the fire. Aster was still fixed on his jade green amulet, but from time to time, he stared off into the dark or searched around in his bag.
"What's with the amulet?" Starlight asked. For a few moments, Aster stayed silent, but eventually responded.
"It's like your coin, it leads me where I need to go, but less magical." He replied, staring into the fire. "You can sleep if you want; we will be walking the entire day tomorrow."
Starlight gazed at him before looking down at his dagger, "Not after what happened last night, I won't be sleeping when it's dark again."
Aster didn't reply, just sitting back. After a few moments, he said, "If you won't, then I will. Wake me up the moment you hear something unnatural, even if it's just a bird chirping."
"Ok," Starlight nodded.