Chapter 19: Chasing Threads, VI
The trail led us into the old woods.
Sayo walked ahead, feet silent on the frost-covered leaves. She never hesitated, even when the path twisted or vanished entirely. She said nothing for hours—just pointed once, toward the narrow bend in the trees.
That's when we saw it.
A mansion. Or what remained of one.
Its gates had long since collapsed. Ivy strangled the wooden beams. The roof sagged like it had given up long ago. Wind whistled through open spaces where the walls had once been.
And yet something inside still breathed.
***
Inside, everything was frozen in time.
A tea set lay shattered on a low table, the cups still dusted with ash. A scroll hung crooked on the far wall. Footprints trailed through the dust, too large for Sayo, too fresh for ruin.
Rin moved ahead of us.
She froze in the doorway to the main hall.