Outposts smell different at night than cities do.
In Veldan, night grew heavy with alcohol, smoke, and human noise.Here… it was stone, rust, and the silence of something waiting.
As I moved down the corridor, I didn't even want to hear my own footsteps.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[Status: SNEAKING?]
– Current Skill: "Stealth" → Level 0– Noise level: "Calf learning how to walk."– Recommendation:• Breathe.• Walk slower.• Treat creaking floorboards as an enemy invention.
I couldn't help muttering inside.
"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't even find enemies in the first place…"
I waited at the corner for a passing guard to go by.He shuffled along slowly with his spear on his shoulder, mumbling to himself.Thankfully, he wasn't awake enough to notice me.
I peered into the courtyard through a crack in the door.
Most of the torches had been put out; only a few still burned at the corners of the walls.The center was quiet; most soldiers had either gone inside or up to the watchtowers.
At the edge of the forest, the gray stone shrine…looked bigger in the dark than it had during the day.
I took a deep breath, pushed the door open just enough, and slipped outside.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MICRO QUEST – YELLOW]
Quest: "Curiosity Is Stronger Than Fear"
Description:– The stone structure at the edge of the outpost is "silent" by day and "a bit too aware" at night.– You just saw someone doing "something" there.
Objectives:– Approach the shrine.– See the visitors of the night.– Do not get caught. (This is important.)
Reward:– Small amount of experience.– Flesh Branch: "Quiet Steps I" (Passive, low level).
Failure:– Your trust level: Drops below ground.– Your first night in Elvur: Might also be your last.
"Great," I thought. "Even the quest names sound like creepy philosophy now."
As I moved through the dark, I stepped off stone onto grass.The sound under my feet softened.
A breeze drifted out from the forest, whispering through the leaves.Torchlight flickered along the tops of the walls, but didn't quite reach the shrine.
The closer I got, the clearer the gray stone became.
From up close, it was obvious this wasn't just some random monument.
The surface was covered in scratches carved over the years.Some looked like the familiar three lines.Some were circles.Some looked like symbols that had been carved and then stubbornly scraped away.
And right in front of the shrine… a silhouette.
Closer than during the day, the figure was clearer now.
Medium height, thin build.Wearing a dark, almost black robe, hood up, face hidden in shadow.
Their hands moved slowly across the stone, fingertips tracing the grooves.Sometimes they paused, bowed their head… almost as if they were whispering to the rock.
I crouched lower, moving through the grass at a speed just short of crawling.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[QUIET STEP ANALYSIS]
– Noise: Reduced.– Visibility: Medium.– Chance of tripping, stumbling, breaking a twig: Still the usual high.
Note:– Attempting this without "Quiet Steps I" would be statistically impressive.
"Thanks… I guess."
Then I heard the silhouette speak at last.
"Too fast," said a low voice. Hard to tell if it was male or female. "The cracks… are growing much faster than they should."
Another voice answered.
From the other side of the shrine, somewhere I couldn't see.
"That surprises you?"This voice was smoother. Cold, but controlled.Like someone who even hid their identity in the way they chose their words.
"The Host woke too early," the first voice said. "And the watch… accepted him."
My heart nearly stopped.
"The watch," repeated the second voice. "We weren't the ones who chose him."
"I know," said the first. "That's exactly the part that bothers me.All we did was mark the cracks.The one that chose… was something else."
⟪SYSTEM⟫[ANALYSIS – DANGEROUS WORDS]
– "We": At least two people, likely part of something larger.– "We only marked them": Direct link to the origin of the crack symbols.– "The watch accepted him": Matching process may be above System-level records.
Recommendation:– Retreating would be the "logical" choice.– But curiosity appears to be winning.
I chose curiosity.
I edged a little farther to the side, trying to get a better angle.
I still couldn't see the face beneath the hood clearly, but I noticed something else:They limped very slightly, always putting their weight onto their left side.
Like someone carrying an old injury.
The second voice spoke again.
"Elvur is only the first test," it said. "What happened in Veldan was just the tip of the iceberg.The real wave is building in the north."
The north.
I'd seen it on the map.The mist line, old borders, the parts labeled "don't go" in invisible ink.
"What do we know about the Host?" the first voice asked.
There was a brief silence.
Then the second voice replied:
"Very little.But for now, I know three things:
One: From the first day, he pokes at the wrong places, but asks the right questions.Two: The System is hiding more from him than it shows.Three: He's going to change the future of every 'normal' person he knows, without realizing it."
I realized I'd been holding my breath.
Normal people…Did that include Halden, Bran, Torren… and everyone else in this outpost?
The first voice chuckled quietly.
"How wonderful," it said. "So he's either a key for us…or a bomb bolted into the wrong wall."
"We don't want it exploding yet," the second voice said. "Don't touch the commander.Don't touch the healer.Don't touch Serene.Don't start open conflict with Internal Security."
It paused, then added:
"And don't kill him.At least… not yet."
That phrase—not yet—made my stomach knot for the third time that day.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[MICRO WARNING – BETWEEN YELLOW AND RED]
– Active decisions are being made about the Host.– The verb "kill" is showing up uncomfortably often.
Note:– Some meetings are not healthy places for eavesdroppers.
Just then, a thin twig snapped under my foot.
The small crack sounded like a hammer blow in the quiet.
Both silhouettes went silent.
Even the forest seemed to hold its breath.
I dropped flat to the ground, pressing myself into the dirt and holding my breath.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[EMERGENCY – RED]
– Chance of being discovered: HIGH.– Chance of escape: WEAK.– Hiding: YOUR ONLY HOPE.
Micro Support:– Slow your heartbeat.– Lower your breathing rhythm.– Force your hearing to focus on external sounds before your own.
I felt the watch on my chest tremble softly.Like it was holding its breath with me.
The first silhouette turned slightly.
As they scanned the area, I could just make out the line of their chin under the hood.Their voice was sharper now.
"Something's here," they said. "Close."
The second voice turned into almost a whisper.
"Don't let it bother you," it said. "Everyone in this outpost will have to get used to hearing 'something' at night.But if you want to be sure…"
I heard footsteps.
Slow, steady.The kind of steps you hear from someone who has decided something.
The steps circled around the shrine.Face pressed to the ground, all I could see were moving shadows.
Then the sound drew nearer. Toward me.
In that moment, I was sure I was going to die.
"They've found me," I thought. "First mission as a spy, and I'm going to get caught like trash at a shrine."
The footsteps passed right beside me.
The robed figure's shadow slid over me.
They paused for a heartbeat.I could feel them looking at me, even though I couldn't see their face.
Then, as if they had decided I wasn't worth acknowledging, they walked on.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[UNCOMFORTABLE ANALYSIS]
– They probably saw you.– They probably sensed you.– They still chose to say nothing.
Possible Explanations:– Their plans already include this scene with you in it.– Or killing you now would damage a bigger plan.
Recommendation:– Being afraid is a rational reaction this time.
My heart slowly sped up again; the System's suppression eased, and my breath returned.
The first voice spoke again.
"Our time is up," it said. "If we stay in Elvur too long, the tracks will pile up."
"The tracks are already layered," said the second. "What matters is which ones get seen.For now, the reports are inside the outpost.And so is the Host."
"Is that enough?"
"For the first act, more than enough."
Footsteps moved away.The silhouettes drifted toward the darkness of the forest and vanished.
All that remained was the cold stone shrine and its scarred surface.
I couldn't move for a while.
The earth was cool beneath me.Elvur's walls were at my back, the forest ahead.
And I… was like a held breath wedged between the two.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[SIDE QUEST COMPLETED – YELLOW]
Quest: "Curiosity Is Stronger Than Fear"
Status: SUCCESS.
Results:– You witnessed a "secret meeting" at the shrine.– You overheard decisions being made about the Host by unknown parties.– You managed to withdraw without being openly exposed.
Reward:– Experience: Small increase.– Flesh Branch: "Quiet Steps I" acquired.
[Quiet Steps I]:– Slightly reduces the sound you make while walking at low speed.– People one step away from you may not notice you if they're distracted.
System Note:– "You're not truly silent yet, but at least you're not walking like a marching drum anymore."
"At last, something useful," I muttered. "Thanks."
I stood up and brushed the dirt off my clothes.
For a moment, I studied the shrine again.From this close, I noticed that some of the scratches overlapped each other.
Three lines.Beneath them, a curl like a half-circle, reminiscent of the healer's mark.Next to them, another symbol, almost worn away:
A thin vertical line with a tiny notch at the top.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[SYMBOL RECORD – UPDATE]
– Stone Shrine:• Classic three-line motifs.• Half-circle / healer-like curves.• New line-and-notch symbol.
Comment:– At least three different "hands" seem to have worked here.– The same stone has become a notebook for multiple stories.
"Great," I said. "Even the walls know more than I do now."
As I walked back toward the outpost, the wind picked up.It rustled the leaves like the forest was trying to shake the words I'd just heard out of my head.
I slipped quietly back into my room and shut the door.Sitting on the edge of the bed, I cupped the watch on my chest.
The glass was cold.No ticking, no moving hands.
And yet, it felt like something was beating inside it.
"What do we know about the Host?""At least for now, don't kill him."
The lines echoed in my head.
"Who chose me?" I whispered. "The watch? The System? Or something else?"
For a long moment, the System stayed silent.
Then a panel appeared.
⟪SYSTEM⟫[QUESTION: "Who chose me?"]
Current Access Level: INSUFFICIENT.
Answer:– "This information cannot be revealed at your current synchronization level."
Additional Note:– Some answers change the person asking the question.– You have to change first.
"That," I said, "might be the most annoyingly accurate thing I've ever heard."
I lay back on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
At first glance, Elvur Outpost was just another border fort.But the faded scratches on its walls, the books in the infirmary, the commander's tired eyes,the things Serene refused to say,and the figures speaking to the night at the shrine…
This wasn't just a place where cracks were being recorded.
It was a crossroads where cracks were being steered.
And as I lay there with a watch that refused to show time pressed against my chest,I realized something:
In this world, there is no such thing as truly staying neutral.
You either become a tool for something…or a target.
Maybe I was on my way to becoming both.
As I drifted toward sleep, the imagined ticking of the watch over my heartwas louder than my own heartbeat.