Chapter 23
Waiting was not something Dino had ever practiced.
In the Pre-Epoch, action was immediate. Conclusions were absolute. Hesitation meant annihilation. When eternity stood before him, he cut it down not out of hatred, but because delay had consequences.
Now
He waited.
Morning arrived with fog rolling in from the sea, thick enough to blur the horizon. Dino stood at the shoreline, bamboo in hand, its silver-black surface cool and familiar. Eternum rested at his waist, containing every blade that ever existed, yet offering none unless asked.
He did not ask.
He simply stood.
The waves came and went.
Time passed.
And nothing happened.
For the first time, that did not trouble him.
Luna watched from the porch.
"You've been standing there for an hour," she said.
"Yes."
"…Why?"
Dino thought about it.
"I'm waiting."
"For what?"
He shook his head.
"I don't know yet."
She tilted her head, studying him.
"That's new."
"Yes."
Later, they walked along the shore together.
Luna dragged her scythe lightly through the sand, carving careless lines that the sea erased moments later.
"You used to end things before they began," she said casually.
"I used to believe endings were merciful."
"And now?"
"Now I think some things deserve the chance to disappoint me."
She laughed.
"That might be the most dangerous thought you've ever had."
That afternoon, something unusual occurred.
A ripple.
Not an attack.
Not a summons.
Just a delay in causality.
The wind hesitated.
The moons paused mid-drift.
The world held its breath.
Luna stopped walking.
"Do you feel that?"
"Yes," Dino replied calmly.
"Is it… trouble?"
He closed his eyes.
"No," he said. "It's uncertainty."
The ripple faded.
Nothing followed.
Luna frowned.
"That's it?"
Dino nodded.
"That's what waiting looks like."
That night, Dino dreamed again.
But this time, the dream did not rush him.
There was no urgency.
No threat.
Just an open road with no visible end.
He stood at its beginning.
And chose not to walk.
When he woke, Luna was already awake, watching the ceiling.
"Did you know," she said softly, "that waiting can be an act of trust?"
Dino turned toward her.
"I'm learning."
She smiled.
"Good. I'd hate to live with someone who solves everything too fast."
Outside, the Black Shores remained unchanged.
No prophecies fulfilled.
No destinies triggered.
Just a quiet world continuing because no one demanded otherwise.
> "Those who wait are not weak.
They are simply no longer afraid of what might arrive."
Dino stepped outside once more, bamboo in hand.
He stood.
And waited.
End of Chapter 23