Lusian slept lightly.
Not a deep sleep, but that tense kind of rest that comes when the body gives in before the mind does.The wind from the savanna brushed against the settlement's structures; in the distance, the voices of the demi-humans blended with the persistent hum of insects.
Then, the space beside him folded.
Silently.
Lusian's eyes snapped open.
"You're late," he murmured.
Keitaro stood there, as if he had never been gone. The sand beneath his boots bore no trace of his presence.
"And you're still sleeping," he replied. "It's daytime. I suppose that's a good sign."
Lusian pushed himself up carefully, holding back the tension in his muscles.
"I had work last night."A brief pause."Andrew?"
Keitaro nodded.
He extended a dark metal bracelet. Fine runes traced its surface, shifting with an almost organic rhythm, as if they were breathing.
"For Elizabeth.Clothes. Food. Spices… the ones she likes."He hesitated, just slightly."Andrew said it's not an order. He just… doesn't want her to go cold or hungry at the end of the world."
Lusian took the bracelet with care.
"He never stops worrying about his little sister."
"No," Keitaro agreed. "He still insists the capital is safer than this place."
The silence that followed wasn't uncomfortable.It was the kind that exists only between people who no longer need explanations.
Keitaro's gaze dropped to Lusian's hand.
The ring.
"The mark is still active."
Lusian curled his fingers slightly.
"It hasn't faded yet," he said quietly. "But soon… you'll have to mark her again."
Keitaro shook his head slowly.
"I don't know."
The air shifted, almost imperceptibly.
"I might… not be able to come back."
Lusian looked up.
"Did something happen?"
Keitaro let out a short breath.
"The king. The gods. The new heroes."He shrugged."The order of the world is starting to pay too much attention to you."
He crossed his arms.
"My debt is repaid, Lusian. I can't keep showing up every time the world decides you should die."
Lusian didn't argue.
"Don't expose yourself," he said simply. "You need to take care of your own."
A brief, tired smile crossed Keitaro's face.
"That's what bothers me most about you."
A presence shifted behind Lusian.
"Keitaro?"
Emily stepped out from inside, holding some food in her hands.The dim light of the camp revealed, beneath her skin, the faint traces of the curse that still lingered.
Keitaro tensed slightly.
"You're still standing," he said. "That's… good."
"I'm fine," she replied. "You don't have to worry."
A moment.
Light.
Incomplete.
Emily tilted her head, as if remembering something.
"How is Iris?"
Keitaro blinked.
"Fine."Too quickly."Tired. The baby doesn't sleep much."
A soft smile touched Emily's lips.
"Tell her the seeds she gave me have already sprouted."
Keitaro's gaze lowered for a moment.
"I will."
Silence returned.
Heavier.
More honest.
"Don't use the mark again," Keitaro said at last. "The heralds are watching me. I think they're starting to suspect."
Lusian looked at the ring on his hand.
"I won't."A pause."You'd better take it. I don't want to put you in danger."
Keitaro shook his head.
"Keep it. In case of an emergency… call me."A faint grimace."Besides, I don't think Andrew would let me hear the end of it if he lost contact with his sister."
He took a step back.
"Take care of this place."
The space folded once more.
And Keitaro was gone.
Lusian remained staring into the empty air.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Emily's voice came in a whisper:
"He'll come when everything is burning… won't he?"
Lusian didn't answer.
But he didn't deny it either.