Chapter 6:Aftermath of Battle
Selene followed Peter's gaze and said in surprise,
"Their weapons disappeared."
She spoke Peter's thoughts aloud, to which Peter replied,
"Relics are linked to the souls of their owners. So when they die, they lose connection with the world and disappear."
Selene looked at him in surprise and after a moment asked,
"Disappear after death? This is the first time I've heard about it."
Peter looked at her and, guessing that she knew absolutely nothing about how magic worked, began to explain,
"You know, they rarely show warriors fallen in battle on TV and social media. Propaganda and stuff like that, so people who aren't interested in the topic have little chance to find out,"
His gaze drifted again — involuntarily — to the same pale shape lingering near the oak.
It hadn't moved.
Selene showed no reaction.
So either she couldn't see it…
…or he was the one seeing something that wasn't there.
Peter forced himself to look away.
Jumping to conclusions in Ether was a good way to die.
Interrupting his thoughts, Selene asked,
"Ah, that's interesting... and by the way, do we get these corpses off the road?"
Her voice carried a hint of disgust at the word 'corpses.'
Peter glanced at the bodies and replied,
"Yeah, I'll take the one without a head and the one with the throat wound. You take the last one."
He spared Selene from having to drag the headless bandit, which meant he would have to carry the head in one hand and the corpse in the other. Without another word, they moved the three bodies to the side of the road. Peter kept his movements efficient and precise, avoiding unnecessary contact with the corpses, while Selene's hesitation showed her discomfort.
After clearing the road, Peter returned to retrieve his bag, left behind when he rushed into the fight. He scanned the area and found the bandits' bags under the large oak tree. Inside, they found strange metal rectangles, some sort of coins from copper or iron with various engravings indicating value. Peter pocketed a few, making a mental note to investigate their origin later.
Apart from the coins, they found enough food, mostly dried fruits and smoked meat of unknown origin, to indicate that the bandits' hideout or a nearby settlement was within two days' journey. There were also spare clothes and weathered coats. Selene took one, realizing her white sweatshirt wasn't ideal for camouflaging in the forest.
They consolidated the most useful supplies into Peter's bag and one of the bandit's bags. Peter picked up a sword that hadn't disappeared with its owner, its blade glinting ominously in the fading light.
Without another word, they headed south, leaving behind the large oak tree and the ghost floating silently in the clearing.
***
After about two hours of traveling, Peter decided to look for shelter as night began to fall. Fifteen minutes later, they found a suitable spot fifty meters from the road, nestled between three large stones scattered across the dense forest.
They pitched a single-person tent and lit a small fire to heat their meal. Once they ate, Peter extinguished the flames to avoid attracting unwanted attention. The forest fell into darkness again, yet the attention had already arrived.
From a nearby tree, a creature watched them. It resembled a raven, though three times larger, with talons like an eagle's and a narrow strip of white feathers between piercing eyes fixed on the camp.
Peter noticed it almost immediately and instinctively waited for movement, a dive, a probing attack, even a territorial warning. Creatures native to Ether rarely observed without acting. This one did neither. It remained perched, silent and unnervingly still, as if assessing rather than hunting.
Peter held its gaze for a moment, reassessing his initial assumption. There was no hunger in its posture, no agitation. Only awareness.
He searched his memory, recalling long hours spent under his master's instruction, common species of Ether, behavioral patterns, territorial instincts, migration routes. Most fledgling warriors ignored such lectures.
Peter had not.
'Avian-type creatures are more common near mountainous regions,'
he remembered.
If that pattern held true here, then mountains lay somewhere within range, perhaps not close, but close enough for migration or hunting routes to overlap.
If it had intended to attack, it would have done so before the fire died. The fact that it had waited suggested deliberation rather than instinct.
Peter deliberately shifted his attention away and spoke in an even tone.
"I'll take the first watch. I'll wake you in about six hours or if something happens,"
Peter said, leaning against one of the stones, letting the cold surface keep him alert while keeping the creature in his peripheral vision.
"All right,"
Selene replied and entered the tent. Peter expected her to struggle to fall asleep in such a dangerous place, but exhaustion overtook her quickly, her steady breathing reaching his keen ears.
'It's strange how easily she trusts me. I could kill her right now,'
Peter waited until her breathing grew steady and deep.
Only then did he allow his thoughts to return to the clearing they had left behind. The image lingered in his mind with unsettling clarity, the pale figure beneath the oak. It had not moved, nor reacted, nor shown any sign of awareness. It had simply remained.
Not like smoke or distortion. Not like a trick of exhausted senses. It had occupied space.
That detail refused to fade. He did not know whether what he had seen was connected to his awakening, to the battle, or to something far older.
But uncertainty in Ether was a liability.
If there was a reason, he intended to find it. He focused inward, calling forth the dark runes hovering at the edge of his perception. The familiar interface unfolded before his eyes.
For a moment, he hesitated.
Then his gaze shifted to the line he had deliberately ignored earlier.
[Atribute: Death Walker]
His expression did not change. He opened the description. The runes rearranged themselves silently.
[Death WalkerThe veil between the living and the dead is not absolute.It thins around certain souls.
Remnants gather.Voices linger.Presence answers presence.
The dead behold the living without barrier.Few among the living realize they are seen,fewer still can look back.]
Peter exhaled slowly.
So it had not been imagination, nor madness, but a defined and contained phenomenon.
He let the runes fade.
If remnants of the dead lingered…
Then death in Ether was less absolute than it seemed.
If remnants could linger, then they could observe, and if they could observe, they might also remember. A soul unbound by flesh might know things the living had forgotten, paths, ruins, names, dangers buried beneath time. Information in Ether was worth more than steel, and for a brief moment he considered returning to the clearing to test the boundary, to see whether the pale woman would respond.
His gaze shifted toward the dark forest beyond the stones. Selene slept only a few steps away, unaware, defenseless. Leaving the watch to chase a theory would be reckless, and reckless men did not survive long in Ether.
He exhaled quietly.
'Another time,'
he decided, letting the thought settle before turning his attention elsewhere.
His gaze drifted toward the sword resting beside him.
Peter mused, glancing at the sword his master had given him. It was an artifact, not a relic. Unlike relics, artifacts didn't vanish upon the owner's death and couldn't be obtained by defeating enemies. They were found in the ancient ruins scattered throughout the Ether.
Peter's master had not crossed the rift, severing his bond with the sword, leaving it ownerless. The old man had taught Peter the theory of binding artifacts to one's soul, but theory and practice were worlds apart.
He placed his hand on the hilt, feeling the cool metal beneath his fingers. Focusing his thoughts, Peter attempted to establish a link between his soul and the sword. For an hour, he sat motionless, his breathing even, his mind unwavering.
At last, a faint pulse of energy flowed from the sword into his body, resonating with his spirit. A smirk appeared on Peter's lips as he felt the first connection forming.
'One step closer,'
he thought, his eyes flicking back to the enormous raven still watching him from the tree.
The night was far from over.