The walk back to the hut felt longer than usual.
The red sky had begun to brighten, the afternoon light stretching the shadows of the trees across the soft grass. Jin and Hanz moved in silence, the two Kharatan guards trailing a short distance behind them like silent statues. Their yellow eyes never left the pair, but they made no sound. The only noise was the soft crunch of feet on soil and the occasional distant call of some bird settling into the branches.
When they reached the small thatched hut, Jin pushed the wooden door open and stepped inside. The single lantern still burned low on the small table, casting a dim orange glow across the simple mats, the empty pitcher, and the rough wooden walls. The air smelled of old wood and faint smoke.
Hanz closed the door behind them carefully, then leaned against it for a moment, listening. Outside, the guards took up their positions on either side of the entrance without a word and remained still. No footsteps. No voices. Only the quiet settling of the afternoon.
Jin walked over to the far wall and sat down on one of the mats, back against the wood. He pulled his knees up slightly and rested his forearms on them. Hanz dropped his axe near the door and sat across from him, cross-legged, waiting.
For a long time neither of them spoke.
The lantern flame flickered. Somewhere outside a bird began its steady song. The quiet inside the hut grew thicker, almost heavy, as if the walls themselves were listening.
Finally Hanz broke the silence, voice low.
"Alright. We're alone. What is it you needed to tell me?"
Jin stared at the flickering flame for several seconds before answering. When he spoke, his voice was barely above a whisper.
"Last night… and again today in the lake… something spoke to me... Well, more like something noticed me."
Hanz's brow furrowed.
"You already told Zoltan that. Voices. Echoes. You felt something."
"I told him the surface of it," Jin said quietly. "Not everything."
He paused, choosing his words with care.
"The voice was clear last night. Not just echoes. It asked me who I was. Directly. And today, when I dove… the water went dark. Like the light was taken away. Just me floating in nothing. And then something touched my leg."
Hanz's expression shifted. He leaned forward slightly.
"Touched you?"
"Yeah. It was soft. Cold. Alive." Jin's fingers tightened on his own knees. "I panicked, and I swam as hard as I could, but there was no direction. Then I blacked out. When I woke up on the shore, I was dry. Still in my clothes. You were gone. The guards were gone. And across the lake… something was watching me. Only half a face above the water."
He looked up and met Hanz's gaze.
"Then I blinked, and I was back in the dark water."
Hanz sat in silence for a long moment, processing. The lantern light danced across his face.
"That's… not normal," he finally said. "Even for this place."
"No," Jin agreed. "And that is what bothers me."
He leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes for a few seconds.
"Everything here feels off. The fog that never lifts. The lake with no life. The Kharatans who never age. Zoltan saying he has lived for hundreds of years and still does not know the lifespan of his own people. The voices that call people to the water. It does not feel like a natural prison, Hanz. It feels… constructed. Like something is holding this place together. Keeping them here. Keeping us here."
Hanz scratched the back of his neck, looking uneasy.
"You think the whole settlement is… fake?"
"Not fake," Jin said carefully. "But not real in the way we understand real. Like a cage that pretends to be a home. And whatever is in that lake… it noticed me. Twice. It spoke to me. It touched me. That means it can reach outside the water. Or at least into the minds of people who get close."
Hanz exhaled slowly through his nose.
"Okay. So what do we do with that? Zoltan already said no more searching the lake. If we go back, those guards will stop us. And without mana…"
"I know." Jin opened his eyes again. "That is why I wanted to talk here. Quietly."
He glanced toward the door, then lowered his voice even further.
"I want to try connecting with it again. Not by diving. Not by force. Through the same method I used last night when I felt the first voice. Through my mind. If it can reach me, maybe I can reach back. Carefully. Without going near the water."
Hanz stared at him.
"Wait, wait, wait, wait... You're telling me that you can somehow... reach whatever this is...through your head?!... And... You're talking about inviting that thing into your head on purpose?"
"Yes."
"... Man... You are one confusing... I don't even know what to say. But... it does sound insane."
"It is." Jin's expression did not change. "But if this place is a cage, then whatever is inside the lake is either the lock… or the one holding the key. Zoltan and his people have been here for generations and still have no answers. We have been here a handful of days, and it already spoke to me. That means something."
"Either you are different." Hanz continued, " Or the timing is different, or both. Either way, sitting and waiting will not get us out."
Hanz rubbed his face with both hands, then let them drop.
"I don't fully understand what you're saying. All this talk about constructed places and minds and cages. But… if you say it, I trust you. Just… don't get yourself killed or possessed or whatever the hell that thing does. Because if you disappear, I'm stuck here alone with a bunch of tall yellow-eyed guys who used to eat humans."
Jin gave a small, tired smile.
"I will be careful. Tonight. After the lantern burns lower. You stay awake and watch the door. If anything goes wrong… if I start speaking in a voice that is not mine, or if the air changes, you wake me. Even if you have to hit me."
Hanz nodded slowly.
"Alright. I'll watch. But for the record, this is the worst plan we've had so far. And we've had some bad ones."
Jin leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
"I know. But it is the only plan that does not involve waiting for Zoltan to decide our usefulness has ended."
The two of them sat in silence again. Outside, the guards remained still. The lantern flame flickered lower, the shadows on the walls growing longer.
Jin closed his eyes and began to slow his breathing, preparing himself for the quiet work ahead. Hanz shifted into a more comfortable position near the door, axe within easy reach, eyes fixed on the wooden frame.
Hours passed. The Kharatans continued their daily work, not minding the humans here. Children played, some sang, the time passed as it were made to.
---------------
Finally, the night settled around the settlement, heavy and listening.
The silence inside the hut grew deeper.
Jin still sat perfectly against the wall, legs crossed, hands resting on his knees. Not a single muscle moved. His breathing was so slow it was almost invisible. The lantern flame had burned down to a faint blue tip, casting only the weakest light across the room.
Hanz watched him from near the door, axe resting across his lap. His eyes grew heavier with every passing minute. He blinked hard, then blinked again. He pinched the soft skin of his forearm until it hurt, forcing himself to stay awake. Hours seemed to stretch and blur. Outside, the steady song of the crickets continued… until it did not.
The crickets went silent all at once.
The night became absolute.
Suddenly, a soft, almost soundless thump came from outside the door. Then another. The two guards who had stood watch collapsed where they stood, bodies folding without struggle, as if something invisible had passed through them and stolen their strength.
Hanz's eyelids grew unbearably heavy. Something gentle but insistent pulled at them. He fought it for another few seconds, then his head tilted, and he slid sideways onto the mat. Soft, silent snoring filled the hut.
Jin remained motionless.
---------------
Inside his mind, everything was dark.
An endless void stretched in every direction. No floor. No sky. Only patient, absolute blackness. Jin's spirit form drifted in the emptiness, a faint outline of himself made of pale light.
Nothing yet.
His inner voice was calm, measured.
Hours have passed, and still nothing. No presence. No voice. No shift in the dark.
He raised a hand and touched his chin thoughtfully.
Am I drawing the runes wrong? Or are these the wrong ones entirely?
He looked downward. Far below, suspended in the void like a distant star, a small sphere of soft blue energy pulsed weakly. His core. Still blocked by the Kharatan energy that had sealed it. The blue light flickered, but no power flowed from it.
Still sealed. Undoing it has not worked. Not yet.
Jin spread both hands in front of him.
I will try again. I have done this before. I can do it.
He began to move his fingers through the emptiness.
Thin lines of pale gold light trailed behind them, slow and deliberate. He drew a vertical stroke first, then a curve that arched over it, then two shorter lines that crossed at the base. The glowing lines hung in the air, trembling slightly. He paused, studying the incomplete shape.
Not clear enough. The foundation is weak.
He erased the lines with a wave of his hand and started again, faster this time.
If I can still remember very well. Rune ideology is not about force. It is about alignment. The shape must match the intention. The intention must match the will. If the will is clouded by fear or urgency, the rune collapses.
His fingers moved with growing confidence. A longer vertical line. Three horizontal bars of decreasing length. A spiral that wound tightly around the center. Pale gold light followed every motion, brighter now.
Too loose on the third bar. Tighten it. The spiral must close completely or the energy leaks.
He adjusted the lines mid-draw, correcting the angle, compressing the spiral until it formed a perfect, sealed circle at the heart of the structure. The entire rune began to take a clearer shape — an ancient sigil that looked like an eye surrounded by interlocking frames, glowing a soft, steady gold.
Jin held the completed construction carefully between both hands.
The rune hummed. The sound was low and calm, almost like a distant heartbeat. It vibrated gently through the void, the gold light pulsing in time with the hum.
A small smile touched Jin's spirit form.
It worked!
This was the first successful attempt. The first time the rune had held its shape and answered with sound. The blue sphere of his core far below flickered a little brighter, as if responding to the completed mark.
Jin stared at the humming rune in quiet satisfaction, the dark void around him no longer feeling quite so empty.
Alright. Now for the next step.
He held the completed golden rune firmly between both hands, bringing it closer to his spirit form's eye. He studied the foundation carefully — the sealed spiral, the interlocking frames, the soft pulse of light.
The next moment, the rune vanished. The gold light simply winked out of existence, leaving only empty darkness.
Jin's expression twisted with sharp frustration. He pressed both hands against his head, fingers digging into the outline of his spirit form.
Again. It collapsed again?!
He stayed like that for several long seconds, anger burning through him. Then he forced himself to calm. His hands lowered. He closed his eyes.
I have done this before. I have failed before. I mastered the teachings of the great shamans. I mastered the art of the Rune Forger. I even mastered the Sacred Divine Star. Failing to forge such a small rune is an embarrassment to the upper realm… for I…
His eyes snapped open.
Silver light blazed from them — two distant stars burning inside the absolute dark.
Jin spread both hands wide.
His voice carried weight, calm and absolute.
"In the beginning, there was darkness… and from the darkness... there was light."
A single glowing line carved itself through the void at his command. Pale gold at first, then brighter.
He began to draw.
"From the first light came form."
A second line crossed the first, clean and deliberate.
"From form came purpose."
A third line joined them, then a fourth, weaving into a complex lattice.
The incomplete rune already began to hum — a low, resonant sound that vibrated through the entire void.
"From purpose... came will."
Jin's fingers moved faster now, tracing larger, more intricate patterns. Circles within circles. Interlocking triangles. A central eye that opened as he formed it. The structure grew, glowing with increasing intensity. The hum deepened, steady and powerful.
"I am the will that shapes the dark."
The final strokes sealed the outer frame. The completed rune was far larger than the first — a vast, geometric construct of pure light, humming with restrained power. Its core pulsed like a living heart.
Jin reached out with both hands and took hold of it. His voice dropped lower, commanding.
"Show me the way. Show me the light. Show me what I wish to see… and what I cannot."
He released the rune. It hovered before him, calm waves of power rolling outward from its edges. The gold light shifted, then split.
The single rune multiplied into three. One remained gold. One turned deep crimson. One became pure, cold silver.
Jin raised both hands and closed his eyes.
This one has to work.
Silence filled the void for a long moment. Then he opened his eyes again, silver light blazing brighter than before.
"Inner world… Open."
The three runes shook all at once.
Gold, crimson, and silver light pulsed violently, then the structures slammed together. A single, unstable construct formed in their place. Violent waves of power exploded outward through the void, cracking the darkness itself. Thin lines of pure white light began to split the black, spreading like fractures in glass.
Jin smiled.
Closer. I'm closer.
The next moment, the merged rune erupted. Blinding white light flooded everything. Jin's silver eyes narrowed against the intensity. He raised both arms, trying to contain the explosion.
Wait... This is not how it is supposed to go!
The light only grew stronger. It swallowed the darkness completely until the entire void became pure, searing white.
Something is wrong!
He pushed harder, trying to force the energy back into shape. The light refused. It expanded until there was nothing left but white.
Then, slowly, the brightness began to pull inward.
The white light condensed into a massive sphere that hovered in the center of the restored darkness. The sphere hummed with violent, unstable power. Cracks of residual light still flickered around its surface before vanishing.
Jin's eyes widened. He hovered backward, confusion and alarm flooding through him.
What did I do wrong?
The sphere swirled like a vortex, the remaining cracks in the darkness sealing shut. Jin quickly wove a defensive rune in front of himself. The lines formed, then shattered instantly. Too late.
The sphere erupted.
Jin shut his eyes against the blast.
When he opened them again, a figure hovered before him.
It was a silhouette of deep blue and black, feminine in shape, with long flowing hair that reached its feet and drifted as if underwater. The figure was absorbing the last of the light explosion into itself, the energy vanishing into its form.
Its voice was low and carried clear disappointment.
"You... You are an idiot."
Jin stared, stunned.
What…?
The figure's tone did not change.
"Wake up. Now. Run to the lake if you wish to live."
Jin's eyes snapped open.
He was lying on the mat inside the hut. The lantern had gone out. The room was pitch black. A second later, he spat a mouthful of blood onto the floor. More blood leaked from the corners of his eyes, his nose, and his ears. His entire body felt as if it had been stabbed a thousand times at once. A massive, ringing pain filled his skull.
My body... damn it.
He coughed again, trying to push himself up.
The voice returned, sharp and urgent.
"Stand up and Run. Now."
Jin did not argue. He did not question.
He forced himself onto his hands and knees, then staggered to his feet. Hanz still lay motionless on the other mat, snoring softly. Jin stumbled toward the door, shoved it open, and immediately collapsed onto the doorstep outside. Another mouthful of blood spilled from his lips onto the ground.
He forced himself upright from the doorstep.
Blood still dripped from his nose and the corners of his mouth. His vision swam. Every breath burned like fire in his chest. He staggered forward anyway, one unsteady step after another, moving through the quiet settlement under the dark red sky.
His legs felt heavy. His arms hung limp at his sides. The cold night air scraped against his skin as he ran. Each footfall sent a jolt of pain up his spine. He coughed hard, spraying another mouthful of blood onto the grass. His vision narrowed, the edges turning gray. The huts around him blurred into dark shapes.
He kept running.
A Kharatan male stepping out of a nearby hut suddenly crumpled without a sound, collapsing as if his legs had been cut from under him. Another figure further ahead dropped in the same way. Then another. One by one, the few Kharatans still moving through the settlement at this hour fell silently, their bodies folding onto the ground as if something invisible had passed through them and stolen their strength. Jin did not stop to look. He could only keep moving, lungs screaming, vision tunneling further with every step.
The trees at the edge of the settlement came into view. He stumbled through the first line of trunks, shoulder slamming into one hard enough to make him cry out. He fell to his knees, coughing violently. Thick blood poured from his mouth onto the dirt. His chest felt like it was being crushed from the inside. The pain was everywhere now — head, lungs, limbs. His silver eyes flickered, struggling to stay open.
I... I'm not... going to make it!
The voice returned, sharp and urgent inside his mind.
"Move. You are almost there."
Jin forced himself up again. His legs barely held. He staggered forward a few more steps, then his strength failed. He dropped onto his hands and knees and began to crawl. The rough ground tore at his palms. A dark trail of blood stretched behind him across the soil and through the last of the trees.
He crawled out onto the open shore.
The vast blue lake stretched in front of him, its surface calm under the night sky. Only a few steps remained. Just a few more. He tried to stand. His arms shook. His vision went almost completely black. The last of his strength drained away. He collapsed face-down on the sand, the cool water of the lake only a short distance from his outstretched hand.
Hopelessness settled over him like a heavy weight.
He could feel his life slipping. The burning in his chest faded into a strange, distant numbness. His silver eyes flickered once, twice, the light inside them growing dim. His heartbeat slowed. Then slowed again. Then stopped.
Silence.
Then the lake moved.
A massive wave rose from the calm surface without warning. It swept across the shore in a single powerful surge, cold water crashing over Jin's still body and pulling him backward into the depths. The wave receded as quickly as it had come, taking him with it, leaving only the dark trail of blood on the empty sand and the quiet night behind.