Chapter 45 – The Cost of Knowing
Brook didn't tell anyone about the feeling.
The emptiness.
It wasn't constant.
That almost made it worse.
Sometimes he could still feel everything normally.
Anger.
Fear.
Regret.
Then there were moments when something happened and he knew he should feel something…
but didn't.
It was like reaching for a familiar object in the dark and finding nothing there.
The worst part was that he couldn't tell whether it was getting worse.
He didn't know what normal felt like anymore.
The five of them left Blackhaven before sunrise.
Brook.
Henry.
Sera.
Crowley.
Elias.
They traveled north through the forest, following the compass Thomas had left behind.
The needle remained steady.
For the first few hours, nobody spoke much.
Eventually, Henry broke the silence.
"You've been quiet."
Brook looked at him.
"So have you."
"That's because I'm thinking."
"About?"
Henry hesitated.
"My father."
Brook looked ahead.
"What about him?"
"He knows more than he's telling us."
Brook nodded.
"Obviously."
"I'm serious."
"So am I."
Henry tightened his grip around the reins.
"I've spent my entire life believing my father was protecting our people."
"And now?"
"I don't know."
Brook understood.
Neither of them knew who they could trust anymore.
Elias rode ahead of them.
Sera stayed beside Brook.
Crowley followed behind.
For once, he wasn't watching the road.
He was watching Brook.
Brook noticed.
"You keep staring at me."
Crowley didn't deny it.
"I'm monitoring you."
"Why?"
"Because you're changing."
Brook looked down at his hand.
The three marks were hidden beneath his sleeve.
"I know."
"How much?"
Brook was silent.
Then he answered.
"I can't feel Mercer's death the way I used to."
Crowley's expression darkened.
"Anything else?"
Brook thought.
"My anger."
"Explain."
"Things that should make me angry…"
He looked toward the forest.
"…don't always."
Crowley nodded slowly.
"That's the third Source."
Brook looked at him.
"Death."
"Yes."
"What exactly does it take?"
"Your attachment to the living."
Brook's expression hardened.
"So eventually I won't care about anyone?"
Crowley shook his head.
"Not exactly."
"Then what?"
"You'll still understand that you love someone."
"You'll still know they're important."
"But the emotional weight will become weaker."
Brook stared at him.
"That sounds worse."
"It is."
Sera looked over.
"Can it be stopped?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook noticed.
"Can it?"
"I don't know."
"That's not good enough."
Crowley looked at him.
"I've never seen anyone carry three Sources."
Brook went quiet.
"Then maybe I'm the first."
Crowley looked away.
"That's what worries me."
By midday, they reached a valley.
The compass pointed straight through it.
Elias stopped.
"We shouldn't go this way."
Brook looked at him.
"Why?"
"Because this valley belongs to the dead."
Henry frowned.
"Meaning?"
Elias pointed toward the rocks.
There were hundreds of small stone markers.
Some were old.
Some looked recent.
Brook dismounted.
"Who are they?"
"Travelers."
"Soldiers."
"People who wandered too far."
Brook looked at the graves.
"Why are there so many?"
Elias answered quietly.
"Because some things outside don't leave bodies."
Sera frowned.
"What does that mean?"
"You'll understand if you see one."
They continued.
The valley became strangely quiet.
No birds.
No insects.
No wind.
Brook noticed the silence.
"This isn't natural."
Crowley nodded.
"No."
Then Brook heard something.
Footsteps.
He turned.
Nothing.
Again.
Closer.
He drew his sword.
Henry did the same.
Sera raised her hands.
Elias looked around.
Crowley didn't move.
"Don't attack."
Brook frowned.
"Why?"
"Because it's already here."
A figure appeared between the rocks.
It looked like a woman.
Long black hair.
Pale skin.
A simple white dress.
She walked barefoot across the stones.
Brook stared.
She stopped several meters away.
"Brook."
He froze.
Again.
Someone knew his name.
The woman smiled.
"You shouldn't be here."
Brook raised his sword.
"Who are you?"
She looked at Crowley.
"He didn't tell you?"
Crowley stepped forward.
"Leave."
The woman smiled.
"You're still protecting him."
Crowley's hand tightened around his sword.
Brook looked between them.
"Do you know her?"
"Yes."
"Who is she?"
The woman answered herself.
"My name is Nyra."
She looked at Brook.
"I serve Death."
Brook's grip tightened.
"You're a demon?"
"No."
"An angel?"
"No."
"Then what?"
She smiled.
"Something older than both."
Brook felt the third mark burn.
Nyra noticed.
"Ah."
She stepped closer.
"Death recognizes you."
Brook didn't move.
"What does that mean?"
"It means you're becoming interesting."
Crowley stepped between them.
"You don't get to touch him."
Nyra smiled.
"I wasn't planning to."
She looked at Brook.
"Not yet."
Brook frowned.
"What do you want?"
"Nothing."
"Then why are you here?"
"To warn you."
"About what?"
Nyra looked toward the sky.
"The fourth Source."
Crowley immediately turned toward her.
"What?"
Nyra smiled.
"He's already looking."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Who?"
"Earth."
Brook waited.
"Earth has a vessel."
Henry looked confused.
"What does that mean?"
Nyra looked at him.
"Every Source can choose."
"Every Source can reject."
"Every Source can destroy."
She looked back at Brook.
"But the Earth Source doesn't like being controlled."
Brook stared.
"Who has it?"
Nyra smiled.
"Someone you haven't met."
Then she stepped backward.
Brook called after her.
"Wait."
She stopped.
"Why are you warning me?"
Nyra looked at him.
"Because death doesn't belong to anyone."
Then she disappeared.
Not walked away.
Not vanished into smoke.
She simply wasn't there anymore.
Brook stared at the empty space.
Henry slowly lowered his sword.
"What the hell was that?"
Crowley answered.
"A warning."
Brook looked at him.
"Or a threat."
"Both."
They continued through the valley.
Brook noticed something strange.
The compass had stopped pointing north.
It now pointed toward the ground.
Again.
Brook knelt.
"There's something here."
They searched the area.
Eventually, Henry found a stone door beneath the dirt.
Together they cleared it.
A staircase descended beneath the valley.
Elias shook his head.
"I've never seen this."
Crowley stared at the entrance.
"I have."
Brook looked at him.
"Where?"
"Before the Walls."
Brook descended.
The others followed.
The staircase led to an underground chamber.
The walls were covered in ancient carvings.
Six Sources.
Six realms.
And beneath them…
a seventh symbol.
Brook stopped.
"What is that?"
Crowley went silent.
Elias stared.
Henry stepped closer.
"What does it represent?"
Crowley finally spoke.
"The balance."
Brook looked at him.
"Balance of what?"
"Everything."
Brook approached the carving.
There were six symbols around the seventh.
The seventh was different.
It looked like a circle split down the middle.
One side light.
One side dark.
Brook touched it.
The chamber shook.
The three Sources inside him reacted.
Brook gasped.
Images flashed through his mind.
A city burning.
A battlefield.
A throne.
A child.
An ocean of black water.
A man standing beneath six enormous symbols.
Then…
Brook saw himself.
Older.
Standing alone.
Blood covered his hands.
Five bodies lay around him.
Brook recoiled.
The vision vanished.
Sera grabbed him.
"Brook!"
He struggled to breathe.
"What did you see?"
Brook looked at her.
"Nothing."
Henry frowned.
"That's a lie."
Brook looked away.
Crowley had seen it too.
His expression was grim.
"You saw the end."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"What does that mean?"
Crowley didn't answer.
Brook grabbed him.
"What did I see?"
Crowley stared at him.
"You saw a possibility."
"Of what?"
"Your future."
Brook released him.
He looked at the carving.
The image of the five bodies remained in his mind.
He couldn't see their faces.
But something about them felt familiar.
Family.
The word entered his mind.
He didn't know why.
Sera touched his shoulder.
"You okay?"
Brook nodded.
"Yeah."
But he wasn't.
For the first time, Brook wondered if the Sources weren't simply changing him.
Maybe they were showing him what he would become.
They camped outside the valley that night.
Nobody mentioned the vision.
Brook sat alone.
He looked at his hands.
Three Sources.
Three pieces of himself.
He thought about the first Source.
He had barely begun understanding it.
The second.
He still didn't understand what it wanted.
The third had already taken something from him.
And there were three more.
Brook closed his eyes.
He imagined carrying all six.
The thought made him sick.
Then something unexpected happened.
He smiled.
It lasted only a second.
He hated that.
Why had he smiled?
The answer came slowly.
Because part of him wanted to know what he could become.
That scared him more than the Sources.
Crowley sat across the campfire.
He watched Brook carefully.
Sera eventually approached him.
"You're worried."
Crowley looked at her.
"Yes."
"About Brook?"
"Yes."
"Can we help him?"
Crowley stared into the fire.
"Maybe."
Sera waited.
"What aren't you telling us?"
Crowley looked at her.
"A lot."
She smiled faintly.
"At least you're honest."
Crowley laughed.
"Sometimes."
Sera sat beside him.
"Do you think Brook will become dangerous?"
Crowley didn't answer immediately.
Then:
"Yes."
"To us?"
Crowley looked toward Brook.
"Eventually."
Sera's expression changed.
"Then why stay?"
Crowley watched Brook sleeping beside the fire.
"Because if the world is going to fear him…"
He paused.
"…someone should still remember who he was."
Sera looked at him.
"Who was he?"
Crowley smiled faintly.
"A kid who wanted to see what was beyond the Wall."
Sera looked toward Brook.
"He's still that kid."
"For now."
Far away, beneath an ancient mountain, a man stood before a stone altar.
The Earth Source rested within his chest.
Green light moved beneath his skin.
He opened his eyes.
For the first time in decades…
he could feel something.
Another Source.
Someone carrying it.
He looked toward the north.
"Three."
A voice spoke behind him.
"Should we find him?"
The man shook his head.
"No."
"Why?"
The man smiled.
"Let him come."
"Why?"
"Because if he wants the Earth Source…"
He looked toward the distant horizon.
"…he'll have to survive the journey."
End of Chapter 45