Chapter 81: The Silence Between Us
Following their introduction and explanation of their abilities, the time finally came for them to rest. Naturally, someone had to stay awake and keep watch.
Considering that the tall hill was surrounded by a crimson sea, with its depths unknown and potentially hiding unseen threats, this was the most logical decision. After a brief discussion, Seraphim volunteered to stand guard. With her dark affinity, she had no trouble seeing in the pitch-black surroundings.
Klaus initially thought that Briar’s tamed ghoul could serve as an alert system if anything approached. But then again, the Blackmane Stalker wasn’t capable of speech or understanding human language. It was, at its core, still a creature.
Moments later, Klaus lay on his back, staring silently into the darkness, listening to the distant, rhythmic rumbling of the waves. InIn this fleeting reprieve, fragmented memories from the past few days surfaced in his mind. But exhaustion weighed too heavily on him to dwell on them.
He was warm, full, and, at least for now, safe. That was enough.
’Ah, this reminds me of times where I would go on camping trips with my parents. My mother would always hum a soft melody while preparing the fire, and my father would tell old legends passed down in our family. The scent of burning wood, the comforting warmth of the flames, and the quiet crackling sound... It was nothing grand, but those moments felt like home.’
Before the accident, this has certainly been their way of life. Thinking back, those were the times he was truly happy and naive to the harshness of the world. But that was a lifetime ago. A past that felt more like a distant dream than reality.
Inadvertently, his hand stretched into the sky above as though trying to catch something unseen.
... Maybe. Just maybe. If he dreamt hard enough, would he be able to remember those old faces again?
With a sigh, he lowered his hand, and his spirits sank as those precious memories slipped further from his grasp, fading like embers scattered by the wind. From the very start, it had been a delusion. The dead could not be resurrected, just as the past could not be rewritten, no matter how much one wished otherwise.
This was simply a ’weakness’ that he had yet to bury.