Chapter 108 ‒ Petals Under Moonlight
Chapter 108 ‒ Petals Under Moonlight
A pale blue glow filtered down from the high cliffs as Tyler stepped out of the newly built teleportation station atop Windy Mountains. Cold air bit at the seams of his armour, but he hardly noticed. Each heavy step on the stone floor echoed in the quiet, like distant thunder.
Near the ridge, Zephryn stood waiting, her plume-like tail feathers fanned lightly, her head tilting in quick, darting motions like a curious bird. Tiny iridescent feathers along her collar fluttered as she shuffled forward.
“[Player],” she chirped, her voice carrying a gentle melody that blended into the mountain breeze. “You return so soon… I sense a storm churning within you. You feel even more restless than before.”
Tyler barely turned, his visor catching a faint glimmer of moonlight. “Zephryn… please. I don’t have time to talk today.”
Her bright eyes followed him, head tilting side to side in sharp, rapid flicks. “Looking for something? Or… someone?”
“Cloudberries,” he snapped softly, almost as if the word itself was bitter on his tongue. “Where are they most concentrated?”
Zephryn blinked rapidly, feathers ruffling along her arms. She pointed her winged fingers toward a higher ridge. “Beyond the upper frost pools… but—”
Before she could finish, Tyler was already moving, his armoured boots clanging against the frost-laced stone.
Zephryn watched him disappear into the rising mists, her tail drooping slightly. That presence… it used to feel like lightning — sharp, unpredictable. Now… it’s like a roaring gale that swallows even its own sound. Loneliness, rage… or grief?
She clicked her beak softly, a low, mournful coo slipping from her throat. “Be safe, [Player],” she whispered to the empty ridge.
---
Tyler moved in quick, aggressive motions, ripping clusters of frost-laced cloudberries from gnarled bramble bushes. Each berry shone under moonlight like tiny frozen tears. He shoved them into his pack without pausing, his breaths rasping within his helmet.
I can’t stop. Can’t think. Just move. If I stop, the doubt will eat me alive. Frank… Anne… they’re waiting. I can’t disappoint them…
His thoughts spiralled like a storm-tossed sea, crashing against the walls of his skull. Memories twisted together: Frank’s ashen skin, Anne’s trembling fists, the Blightspawns’ lifeless eyes flickering in the dark, and Milo’s memories fading into nothingness.
By the time he filled his pack, sweat stung his eyes despite the frigid air. He slung the pack over his shoulder and began the long descent, each step crashing like a war drum echoing in his chest.
---
As moonlight pooled along the forest trails, Tyler followed familiar twisting paths toward Ivory Glen. The trees whispered around him, their leaves flickering like small lanterns. When the village entrance appeared between the branches, two guards stood firm, staves crossed before him.
“Halt! No outsiders beyond this point,” one barked, tail bristling.
Tyler raised a hand, voice tense. “I need to enter. It’s urgent.”
The guards shifted uneasily, one stepping forward. “No exceptions. Not tonight.”
A sharp voice cut through the moonlit hush. “You two again? Didn’t I tell you last time? He’s our honoured guest!”
“But he is an outsider! And last time the village elder told him to not return again!”
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“Enough!”
Miho’s bushy fox tail flicked anxiously behind her, betraying what her smiling face tried to hide. Her small claws dug lightly into the hem of her flowing sleeve, as if she didn’t know where to place her hands.
“You… you finally came back,” she said, her voice bright but her eyes shimmering slightly. “I thought maybe… maybe you’d forgotten me. But now you need something, huh?”
Tyler’s jaw tightened, his visor angled downward as if to shield the storm raging beneath. “Miho… I need the divine flower. Chrys—” The word crumbled in his mouth.
Miho snorted, her fluffy ears folding back in a mischievous wiggle. “You still can’t say it? It’s ‘Chrysopteryxiella Umbrosynth!’ Want me to teach you again, slowly?” She giggled, bouncing lightly on her toes.
Tyler didn’t flinch. “I don’t have time to learn words. I need to buy them. As many as you can spare.”
Miho paused, her ears flattening, tail lowering slightly. “Oh… buy them? We… we don’t really… sell them,” she murmured, her voice suddenly smaller.
Tyler’s fists tightened, gauntlets creaking. “Cupcake Crab gave me one. It must have come from here. Please.”
Miho tilted her head, fidgeting with the fur on her chest. “Cupcake Crab…? Who is that? No one from outside has visited recently. I don’t remember anyone…”
She shuffled closer, her ears tilting back as she studied his face. A small, teasing gleam returned to her eyes, though it trembled at the edges. “But maybe… maybe I could sneak you one or two. If you promised to stay with me for a day. Just one day. We could play games… or nap… or—”
“I can’t waste time!” Tyler snapped, the words slicing out sharper than any blade. The air around them trembled.
For a heartbeat, her laughter died at the edges. Her tail drooped low, sweeping the dirt.
Miho’s ears drooped instantly, her paws curling close to her chest. “O-Oh…” Her voice cracked, and she stared down at her small, claw-tipped feet.
Silence swallowed them both, thick and echoing.
Tyler exhaled, the sound echoing inside his helmet like a broken sigh. “…I’m sorry. That was harsh. But… it really is urgent. Lives are on the line. When it’s over… I’ll return. I’ll stay as long as you want. I promise you.”
Miho’s ears twitched up slightly. She looked up through tear-brimmed eyes, her small nose quivering. “…How many flowers do you need?”
Tyler’s voice dropped, heavy and grave. “All of them.”
Miho’s mouth fell open, ears twitching violently. “A-All…?”
Tyler nodded, slow and final. “Yes.”
Miho’s paws curled at her sides, her claws pressing into her fur. Her tail twitched once, twice, then drooped to the ground like a fallen petal.
After a long silence, she swallowed. “…You… you’ll have to ask the elders. But they’re in prayer right now.”
“How long?” Tyler’s voice cracked, brittle as thin ice.
“One…” Miho started softly.
“One hour? Then, I’ll wait—” Tyler’s tone flared with momentary hope.
Miho shook her head, her whole frame shivering. “No… not one hour.”
“Then… a day? I really don’t have that much time, but—” His voice faltered, as if already bracing for the worst.
Miho’s lips parted, her small fangs glinting. “One… week.”
Tyler staggered backward, his armoured boot scraping the ground. His mind roared, every thought tearing through him like shrapnel.
One week? I don’t have one day. Frank… Anne… The settlement will be overrun. They’ll all die while I stand here waiting for permission. But… but if I just try to take it by force — could they even stop me? I could just subdue them all… No! How could I even think of that? To rip their sanctuary apart — am I really becoming a heartless monster? Someone who knows only to hurt people…
Damn it…! Why must it always come down to choosing who deserves to live? Why must I always bear this sword alone?
His breath came in ragged gasps, echoing under his visor. Rage, fear, guilt — each a tide crashing inside his chest, threatening to drag him under.
Slowly, he looked up at Miho. His voice came out in a ragged whisper.
“Miho,” he said. “Go home.”
Miho flinched, her fluffy ears pinning flat against her skull. “W-What…?”
“Go to your room,” he repeated, softer this time. “Get into bed. Sleep deeply. No matter what happens… no matter what you hear outside… do not wake up.”
Miho’s small paws lifted, trembling. “But… I…”
Tyler stepped forward, kneeling slightly to bring his helmet closer to her. One gauntleted hand rose, resting gently atop her head, ruffling her fur in small, careful strokes.
“Forget that you even saw me here… When this is all over… I’ll fix everything. I promise. I swear it.”
Miho stared up at him, her whole body quivering like a frightened kit. Tears spilled from her wide eyes, soaking into the fur on her cheeks.
Slowly, she nodded, her tail dragging along the ground behind her. “…Promise,” she whispered, her voice as thin as moonlight.
Tyler stood, turning away sharply. The moon rose higher, silver and silent, painting his armour in a pale, ghostly light.
As he stepped into the shadows beyond the gate, Miho stood frozen, her small frame a quivering silhouette against the pale night.
“Please… forgive me. If there is a god left in this world… forgive me. But I will not watch them die. Not again.”
He felt the wind brush against his helmet as if echoing an old, familiar laugh, and for a brief moment, Milo’s image flickered in his mind, sharp and searing.
“I will bear it all. I will be the monster… if that’s what it takes.”