The wind carried only silence now. No birds, no insects, just the steady rhythm of boots on stone and the faint clink of Cid's pack. The crater where the titan had vanished lay far behind them, but no one spoke for a long while.
Moss rested slumped over Bran's saddle, his body limp but breathing. The chocobo walked carefully, feathers still puffed from lingering fear. Every so often, Bran let out a low croon, as though trying to reassure his rider.
Dole walked beside them, one hand on Bran's reins. His jaw was set, eyes darting now and then toward Moss's pale face.
Lyra trailed close behind, her staff tapping softly against the rocky ground. When she glanced at Dole, he didn't look back, but the silence between them said enough.
Cid kicked a pebble, muttering under his breath. "Never thought I'd see a mountain move, much less stop mid, swing."
"Wasn't a mountain," Dole said. "Not anymore."
"Whatever it was," Lyra added, "it listened to him. You all saw it."
Kain, walking a few paces ahead, didn't turn. "We all saw something," he said simply. "What we think we saw might be another story."
Lyra hesitated, then finally asked, "You don't believe it?"
"I believe what happened," Kain said. "I just don't pretend to understand it."
For a while, the group fell silent again. The terrain softened from cracked stone to dirt and grass, the familiar signs of the frontier slowly returning.
Lyra finally broke the quiet. "He said he'd seen something before this, before we even left. A dream, a vision, something."
Kain stopped walking and turned, the spear resting across his shoulders. "A dream?"
Dole exhaled through his nose. "More like a warning. He said he saw a giant of earth, people bowing to it. We thought it was just exhaustion talking."
"Until today," Lyra finished.
Kain's expression didn't change, though his eyes lingered on Moss. "Interesting."
Cid frowned. "That's all you've got to say? 'Interesting'? We just fought a walking mountain that stopped because Moss told it to."
Kain's tone stayed calm. "And if we tell the settlement that, what do you think happens? The factions will either try to use him or put him down out of fear."
Dole gave a quiet grunt of agreement. "He's right. Moss doesn't need any more eyes on him."
Lyra tightened her grip on her staff. "Then what? We just pretend nothing happened?"
"Until we know what did happen," Kain said, "yes."
The group started walking again, slower now. The adrenaline had long faded, leaving only fatigue and unease. Every time the wind shifted, it seemed to carry the faint echo of the tremors they'd felt before, softer now, like distant thunder.
Dole finally spoke, voice low. "He's not the same, is he?"
Lyra shook her head. "No. But then again, maybe he never was."
Bran let out a soft chirr, glancing back at Moss as if he understood the weight in their words.
Cid sighed. "You think the others will believe we were attacked by an eidolon?"
"Best not to use that word," Kain replied. "Call it an aether, formed giant, a freak convergence, whatever makes sense. The truth's only useful if it doesn't cause a panic."
Dole huffed a dry laugh. "You really are a soldier through and through, huh?"
Kain gave a half, smile, just enough to be seen. "Someone has to be. The rest of you think too much."
They reached the ridge where the plains opened wide, the settlement still faint dots on the horizon. The smell of smoke and woodfire drifted faintly on the breeze.
Lyra walked closer to Moss, her voice quiet. "Do you think he'll wake soon?"
"Knowing him," Dole said, "he'll get up like nothing happened and ask if we found any ore."
"Let's hope he does," Kain said. "We could use more men like him."
No one replied after that. They just kept walking, the sun lowering behind them, shadows stretching long across the dirt.
For all their words, for all the duty and reason they clung to, each of them couldn't shake one thought, the earth had listened, and Moss was the one it chose to hear.