"So, are you gonna tell me where we're going? Or answer any of my thousand questions?" I asked Aria. My mind was still chewing on everything that had happened today, but the way she carried herself told me one thing: this wasn't small. Whoever they were—the ones she'd hinted at before—they were a bigger problem than I could wrap my head around.
"We're going to Grandma Nivara's house. The hut I told you to go to before you decided to pick a fight with the guards." Her steps quickened as her irritation grew.
"First of all, I did not pick a fight. Crazy people with weapons attacked me, and I defended myself. Second, maybe drop the tone. The only reason I'm in this mess is because you needed my help."
"They're not crazy. They acted impulsively, yes, but with everything happening right now, it's… understandable."
"There it is again—more questions than answers. What exactly is happening lately? When am I going to get the full story? Because I'm already knee-deep in this, and I don't see the point of keeping secrets from me anymore."
"I know." Her voice softened, just barely. "We're almost there. She'll explain it better than I can. That's why I'm taking you to her. That, and because you need a place to sleep."
"Wait—place to sleep? Can't I just go home?"
"Be my guest. But they'll be patrolling outside. It's not safe for you to leave the island right now."
"Great. Another ques—"
"We're here." Aria cut me off, clearly done with me.
It was a tiny shack, the kind of place where maybe two people could live. The door was already open, and a small, confident old lady stood waiting. It was almost like she'd known we were coming long before we arrived.
"We're here, Grandma," Aria said.
"Took you long enough." The old woman chuckled. Her curly white hair framed a warm face, her eyes sharp despite their kindness. She gave off the air of someone who had seen more than she ever said aloud.
"Did you argue the whole way here?"
How did she know that? How did she know we were even coming?
"Ugh. He just wouldn't stop panicking," Aria groaned.
"Well, isn't that a normal reaction?" the old lady said. "Think of all he's seen today. Shock upon shock, one after the other."
How did she… know all that?
She turned to me then, her gaze cutting straight through me, yet somehow gentle. "I'll answer some of your questions, young man. But not out here in the chill. Come inside, both of you."
We stepped in. The inside was suspiciously spacious, far cozier than the outside suggested. The air itself seemed to calm me, as if the house wanted me to feel safe.
"So," the old lady said, "let's hear them."
I blinked. Almost like she knew what I was about to say.
"Okay then… first of all, who were those people? The ones that attacked Aria—and maybe me?"
"They are the banished," she said. "Once of our tribe, but cast out for abusing the island's gifts. They used them beyond these shores."
As I opened my mouth to ask another question, she kept going, answering thoughts I hadn't even spoken yet.
"The island's gifts are born from its mana. That is how Aria took the form of a bat when you rescued her. Spirit Arts—they allow one to awaken their inner animal and become one with it. The 'unusually muscular man' you faced—his strength came from Body-Tempering Arts. There are three arts in total, and that one focuses on shaping the body itself. He specialized in defense."
I managed to squeeze in a question this time. "And the ones with weapons?"
She sipped her tea before replying. "Weapon Arts. Those who devote themselves to mastering a weapon."
"The two guys I beat up weren't that strong," I said with a grin.
"Kael…" Aria cut in flatly. "They didn't have their weapons."
My grin faltered. …So it was just dumb luck I won? Great. This world was more dangerous than I'd realized.
"Rest now, young man," Granny Nivara said. "You may stay here. I'd be glad to host my granddaughter's childhood friend."
I didn't argue. I wasn't foolish enough to ignore the words of someone who already seemed to know too much. The spare bed was surprisingly comfortable, and for the first time that night, I felt safe.
Birdsong and crashing waves woke me the next day. The smell of the ocean drifted through the window.
"You must have been exhausted," Granny Nivara said. "You slept until noon."
"Where's Aria?" I asked quickly, clinging to the one familiar thing in this strange world.
"She's meeting with the Elders."
"About the banished?"
"No. About you—and the consequences of bringing an outsider here."
I froze. "…But Aria's not originally from here either."
"No. But she became one of us. It wasn't easy for her. Adjusting to this island after losing her parents…"
"What? She lost her parents? That's why she disappeared all those years?" My chest tightened. "What happened?"
"It isn't my place to say. If she hasn't told you, then the story is hers alone."
The weight of it hit me hard. She had gone through all of that alone, and I had never even known. What kind of friend was I? She had survived this world since she was a child, while I had been crying over a few punches.
"Anyway," Granny Nivara said, breaking my thoughts, "she asked me to look into your spirit before she left. Come."
She led the way into the jungle, moving far too lightly for someone her age.
The island was… beautiful. I hadn't noticed it last night, but now the colors seemed almost unreal. Trees burst with green, their leaves drinking sunlight. The beach shimmered in the distance, white sand melting into turquoise waves. Everything here felt alive—no, magical.
Deeper we went, the sounds of the jungle surrounding us: birdsong, the buzz of insects, the sway of trees in the wind. And then, suddenly—
We stepped into a clearing.
Before us stood an ancient circle of stones, weathered by time and cloaked in moss. Carvings spiraled across their surfaces—waves, animals, patterns that almost seemed to move when I stared too long. The air here felt heavy, sacred. The jungle noise fell silent, replaced by a quiet hum I felt in my bones.
In the center lay a great stone slab, smooth and dark, offerings of shells and carved figures placed carefully around it.
"This is the Veil of Echoes," Granny Nivara said, resting her palm against one stone as if greeting it. "Here, the ancestors first carved their marks to honor the mana of the island. It is where every soul meets their spirit. Where yours will reveal itself."
My throat went dry. The jungle pressed close around us, but inside the circle, it felt as though I had stepped into another world.
And then I saw them—seven figures standing in the stone circle.
The Elders.
Their cloaks shimmered with feathers and shells, their eyes sharp, their presence almost crushing. At their side stood Aria, calm and resolute, though her gaze softened when it found me.
"Elder Nivara," one of them rasped, "you bring the outsider. Did you forget what we decided?"
"I did not forget," Granny said, her voice carrying like a wave. "But I remember that traditions are not chains. They are choices."
Murmurs rippled. Most frowned.
"He is not of our blood," another elder barked, a necklace of shark teeth clattering on his chest. "We cannot awaken the spirit of a stranger."
"He already proved himself," Granny countered. "He stood against our warriors and lived."
"Recklessness, not strength," the elder snapped back.
The circle was taut with silence—until Aria stepped forward.
"Then let him prove it again. Let him face the rite. If he succeeds, none can deny him."
The elders exchanged glances. Some whispered, some scowled. At last, the shark-tooth elder said:
"So be it. The outsider shall undergo the Rite of the First Flame."
Even Aria's eyes flickered at those words. That was all I needed to know—it wasn't meant for me to pass. It was meant to break me.
My fists clenched. Fine. If that's what it took to claim my spirit, then I'd face it.
The elders dispersed, leaving the circle. Clouds swallowed the sun, and the crash of waves echoed like distant drums.
Later, Aria led me to the cliffs. Spray dampened the night air, and she leaned on the stone rail as the sea roared below.
"The trial won't be easy," she said quietly. "It's too soon for you. But it's the only chance you have."
"I just wanted to survive…" My hands tightened on the stone. "And now they're asking me to prove I belong in a place that doesn't even want me."
Aria's gaze lingered on the waves. "The trial isn't kind. It never was. But it's what makes us one tribe. They're not heartless, Kael. They took me in when I had nothing. Raised me as their own. One day, this could be your home too."
I looked at her. No mockery. No coldness. For the first time, her voice carried faith.
"You really think I can do it?"
Her lips curved—not quite a smile. "I think you have to. If you want to survive."
The wind carried her words away, leaving me alone with the fire that had begun to burn inside my chest.