Chapter 13: A Message in Ash

Chapter 13: Chapter 13: A Message in Ash The village was already gone by the time they arrived. Homes reduced to scorched shells. Farmland blackened. Not a single body in sight — only silence, smoke, and the low hiss of dying embers. No demons. No survivors. Just... emptiness. Kai stepped down from his horse, boots crunching on charred gravel. A strange smell lingered in the air — not just smoke. Magic. Old. Heavy. Twisted. "This wasn’t a battle," Lira said, crouching beside a scorched well. "It was a display." "No blood," Elira added, eyes scanning the ruins. "No signs of struggle." "Teleportation residue," Yulia confirmed, waving a detection wand. "Whoever was here didn’t fight — they left. Willingly or not." Kai walked slowly through the wreckage, heart pounding. It felt wrong. Familiar. Staged. Then he saw it. Carved into the blackened wall of what used to be a tavern. Words. Burned in, not with fire — but with magic. Letters still glowing faintly, etched deep into the wood like a warning: "He is not your hero." "He is the next catastrophe." "Do not follow him into the fire." And beneath it, in perfect celestial script: —Z.A. Zephyr Alarion. Kai stared at the message for a long time. The others gathered behind him. Elira read it aloud. Her voice was tight. Virela tilted her head. "So dramatic. Typical Zephyr." Yulia looked pale. "The lettering... it was written with divine magic. Only those blessed by celestial authority can inscribe words like this into arcane matter." Lira drew a blade. "Which means he did this personally." Kai didn’t speak. He couldn’t. Not until a new line of system text blinked into view: [Private System Message: Zephyr Alarion has initiated a Psychological Duel.] Objective: Undermine the Hero’s party. Progress: 13% Warning: Prolonged exposure to Zephyr’s messaging will lower party loyalty. Kai’s fists clenched. "That bastard," he muttered. "Is this true?" Elira asked suddenly, turning to him. Everyone froze. Kai blinked. "What?" "This message," she said, gesturing to the wall. "Is it true? Are you... becoming what they say?" His mouth opened. But no words came out. Because he didn’t know. Not anymore. Not after Eli’s message. Not after the blast. Not after Yulia almost died because of him. The silence stretched. Too long. Yulia stepped in. "It’s a trap. A mental one. Don’t let him win." "But what if it’s not?" Elira asked, her voice trembling. "What if we’re already following a path that leads to this?" "Then we change the path," Lira said flatly. Virela smirked. "Or we embrace it." That earned her three simultaneous death glares. Kai stepped back, pressing his hand against the etched message on the wall. It pulsed once, then faded into ash. [System Response: Inscription Neutralized] Party Sanity Restored +5% Rival Progress Delayed Kai turned around, face calm. But inside, he was spiraling. "We move," he said. "Now. Before Zephyr sets the next stage." That Night – Temporary Camp The group made shelter in the ruins of a barn a few miles north. Wards were set, guards rotated, but no one really slept. Not after the message. Kai sat near the dying fire again, watching the stars flicker through a hole in the roof. Yulia approached first. "I ran a scan on your aura again," she said quietly. "The instability’s... worse." "Of course it is," Kai said. "That’s what happens when the universe gaslights you." "I can try to help," she said. "But not if you keep shutting us out." "I’m not shutting you out. I’m trying to keep you from watching me fall apart." "I already am," she said softly. A few hours later, when everyone else was asleep, Lira moved beside him without a sound. "You should tell them about the scroll," she said. Kai’s breath caught. "You knew?" "I saw it in your pack. I didn’t read it." A pause. "But I can guess." "Why does everyone always want to kill the Hero before he finishes the job?" he muttered bitterly. Lira stared at him. "Because in most stories, the Hero is the job." He looked up. "You’ll kill me too, won’t you?" "If I have to," she said. He nodded. And to her surprise... he smiled. "Thank you," he said. Somewhere in the hills beyond the village, a lone man stood under the stars. Golden armor gleaming. Hair fluttering in the divine wind. Zephyr Alarion held a scroll in one hand and a crystal in the other. "Let’s see how many cracks I can make before he shatters," he murmured. He closed his eyes and whispered a prayer — not to protect the world. But to ensure he would be the one left standing when it burned.