Chapter 35 – What Crowley Knows
The forest had gone quiet again.
Too quiet.
The remaining Watchmen stood scattered between the trees, trying to understand what had just happened.
Several weapons lay abandoned on the ground.
Branches had been torn apart.
The earth was cracked in multiple places.
Brook stared at the path where Mara had disappeared.
His parents were alive.
That was the only thought he could hold onto.
Everything else seemed distant.
His father's warnings.
The Sources.
The strange creatures.
Crowley's secrets.
None of it mattered for the moment.
His parents were alive.
Henry walked toward him.
"Brook."
Brook didn't respond.
"Brook."
"I heard her."
"I know."
"My father is alive."
Henry nodded.
"And your mother."
Brook closed his eyes.
For five years, he had forced himself to accept the possibility that he would never see them again.
He had imagined their final moments.
He had wondered whether they were afraid.
Whether they thought about him.
Whether they knew how much he missed them.
Now there was another possibility.
They had been alive this entire time.
Brook opened his eyes.
"Why didn't they come back?"
Henry didn't answer.
"Why?"
The question wasn't directed at him.
Brook looked toward Crowley.
"You knew."
Crowley stood several meters away.
He was cleaning his sword.
He didn't look up.
"I suspected."
Brook walked toward him.
"You said that already."
"Because it's true."
"You knew my parents were alive."
"I didn't know."
"You knew they went underground."
"Yes."
"You knew about the Sources."
"I knew of them."
"You knew that woman."
Crowley stopped cleaning his sword.
"I knew of her."
Brook laughed bitterly.
"Do you hear yourself?"
Crowley finally looked at him.
"I've spent years trying to keep you alive."
"That's not an answer."
"It is."
"No, it isn't."
Brook stepped closer.
"You've been training me since I was a kid."
"You've known my parents."
"You knew about the outside."
"You knew about things I've never even heard of."
"And every time I asked you a question, you gave me some half-assed answer and told me I'd understand later."
Crowley remained calm.
"Because you weren't ready."
Brook's expression hardened.
"I'm nineteen."
"You're nineteen."
"And I've killed monsters."
"Yes."
"I've watched people die."
"Yes."
"I've walked outside the Wall."
"Yes."
"So when exactly was I supposed to be ready?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook shook his head.
"That's what I thought."
Sera approached cautiously.
"Brook."
He held up a hand.
"No."
He kept his eyes on Crowley.
"I want the truth."
Crowley sighed.
"So do I."
Brook frowned.
"What?"
Crowley sheathed his sword.
"You think I know everything."
"I don't."
"You think I know where your parents are."
"I don't."
"You think I know what the Sources really are."
"I know more than you tell me."
Crowley nodded.
"That's probably true."
"Then tell me what you do know."
Crowley looked toward the trees.
"I know your father wasn't searching for a cure."
Brook waited.
"I know he discovered that the experiment was based on something much older."
"I know he found records that shouldn't have existed."
"I know he believed the Walls weren't built to protect humanity from the outside."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Then what were they built for?"
Crowley looked at him.
"To keep humanity from reaching certain places."
Henry stepped closer.
"Why?"
"Because the people who built the Walls believed humanity wasn't ready."
Brook shook his head.
"Ready for what?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook's frustration returned.
"What is it with everyone?"
"Every answer leads to another question."
Crowley gave him a faint smile.
"Welcome to the outside."
Brook didn't smile back.
Captain Mercer approached.
"We need to leave."
Brook turned.
"What about the creatures?"
"They're gone."
"The forest?"
"We're not staying long enough to find out what else is here."
Mercer looked toward the dead and injured.
"Get the wounded together."
The Watchmen immediately began moving.
Brook looked around.
Several soldiers had injuries.
Two were unconscious.
One had broken his arm.
But there were no deaths.
At least not yet.
Mercer looked at Brook.
"That thing you did…"
Brook knew what he meant.
"The blue light?"
"Yes."
"I don't know what it was."
Mercer studied him.
"You need to find out."
Brook looked toward his hand.
"I will."
Mercer nodded.
Then he turned away.
The journey back to Shinokuni-01 was silent.
Nobody wanted to discuss what happened.
The forest seemed different now.
Brook noticed movement between the trees several times.
But whenever he looked…
nothing was there.
Sera walked beside him.
"You alright?"
Brook nodded.
"No."
She smiled slightly.
"At least you're honest."
Brook looked at her.
"I thought I'd feel happy."
"About your parents?"
"Yeah."
"But I don't."
Sera didn't interrupt.
Brook continued.
"I should be happy."
"I spent five years wanting them to be alive."
"Now I know they are."
"But I don't know where they are."
"And I don't know if they're safe."
He looked down.
"I don't even know if they want me to find them."
Sera was quiet for a moment.
Then she said:
"Your father left you a warning."
Brook nodded.
"Maybe he wasn't telling you to forget him."
"What then?"
"Maybe he was telling you to be careful."
Brook considered it.
"You think I should stop?"
"No."
Sera looked ahead.
"I think you should be smart."
Brook smiled faintly.
"That's surprisingly reasonable."
"Don't get used to it."
Henry rode several meters behind them.
He had been unusually quiet.
Brook eventually turned.
"You alright?"
Henry nodded.
"My father knows more than he's telling us."
Brook looked at him.
"You think so?"
"I know so."
Henry's voice was low.
"When Mara said the first Source had chosen you…"
He paused.
"My father wasn't surprised."
Brook's expression changed.
"What?"
"He looked at your hand."
"He already knew."
Brook tightened his grip around the reins.
"Then we need to talk to him."
Henry shook his head.
"He won't tell us."
"Then we make him."
Henry looked at him.
"How?"
Brook thought about it.
"I don't know."
Henry smiled.
"Excellent plan."
"Thanks."
They reached the Wall shortly before sunset.
The gates opened.
The Watchmen entered.
People gathered in the streets when they saw the injured soldiers.
Whispers spread immediately.
Something had happened outside.
Brook noticed several people staring at him.
Not because of the battle.
Because of the strange blue glow that had appeared earlier.
He pulled his sleeve down.
As they approached headquarters, a Royal Guard intercepted Henry.
"Your Highness."
Henry stopped.
"What?"
"His Majesty wants you immediately."
Henry looked at Brook.
"Tell him I'll come later."
The guard shook his head.
"He specifically ordered that you return to the palace alone."
Henry's expression hardened.
"Fine."
He looked at Brook.
"Don't do anything stupid."
Brook smiled.
"No promises."
Henry walked away.
Sera watched him disappear.
"Do you think the King knows?"
Brook nodded.
"He knows something."
The King stood alone in the throne room when Henry entered.
The doors closed behind him.
"You saw it."
Henry didn't bother pretending.
"Yes."
"The Source?"
"Yes."
The King walked toward the window.
"How much did Brook activate?"
"I don't know."
"Did it hurt him?"
"No."
"Did he hear anything?"
Henry hesitated.
"Why?"
The King turned.
"Answer me."
Henry stared at his father.
"He said he heard a voice."
The King went pale.
"What did it say?"
Henry repeated the words as accurately as he could.
The King sat down.
For several seconds, he looked genuinely shaken.
Henry had never seen him like that.
"What?"
The King whispered:
"It's too soon."
"What is?"
The King looked toward the floor.
"The awakening."
Henry frowned.
"What awakening?"
The King didn't answer.
"Father."
The King slowly stood.
"When the first Source recognizes a vessel…"
He paused.
"…the others begin to stir."
Henry's eyes widened.
"How many?"
The King looked at him.
"Two."
Henry froze.
"The first?"
"Yes."
"And the second?"
The King shook his head.
"We don't know."
Brook returned to his room.
He removed his sword and placed it beside the bed.
Then he sat down.
For the first time since returning, he was alone.
He pulled out his father's notebook.
The final pages were still mostly blank.
Brook flipped through them slowly.
Nothing.
Then he noticed something.
A faint line had appeared on one of the pages.
He held it toward the lamp.
Writing began appearing.
Not ink.
Light.
A message slowly formed across the paper.
Brook stopped breathing.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
His father's.
Brook read the words.
If you're reading this, then the first Source has found you.
His hands began shaking.
More words appeared.
I don't know how long we have.
Brook leaned closer.
Do not trust the King.
His eyes widened.
Another sentence appeared.
Do not trust the people who claim to know your destiny.
Brook remembered Mara.
Then Crowley.
Then Shoyo.
The message continued.
Most importantly, do not allow anyone to gather all six Sources.
Brook's breathing became shallow.
The final sentence appeared slowly.
If you find your mother, tell her I was right.
Then the light vanished.
The page returned to normal.
Brook stared at it.
"Right about what?"
Silence.
Then—
A knock came at his door.
Brook immediately reached for his sword.
"Who is it?"
No answer.
Another knock.
Three slow knocks.
Brook stood.
His hand moved toward the door.
Then he heard a voice from the other side.
His mother's voice.
"Brook…"
He froze.
His sword slipped slightly in his hand.
"Mom?"
Silence.
Brook moved toward the door.
The voice came again.
"Brook, don't open the door."
His heart pounded.
"Mom?"
"Don't."
He stopped.
Then another voice whispered from the hallway.
Not his mother's.
Something deeper.
Something wrong.
"Open it."
Brook backed away.
The voice changed.
His father's.
"Brook…"
"Come outside."
Brook's eyes widened.
The room suddenly felt freezing.
The two voices continued.
His mother's.
His father's.
Calling him.
Begging him.
Then laughing.
Brook stepped backward until his back touched the wall.
The voices stopped.
Silence returned.
A single sentence appeared across the surface of his bedroom door.
Written in blue light.
THEY KNOW WHERE YOU ARE.
Brook stared at it.
Then the light disappeared.
Outside his window, far across the city…
a figure stood on a rooftop.
Watching him.
And above the Wall, hidden among the clouds, something enormous moved through the darkness.
End of Chapter 35