Chapter 63 – The Village of Ash
The road down the mountain became easier after sunrise.
For the first time in days, the snow wasn't falling.
The sky was clear.
Brook walked beside Henry while the others followed behind.
Nobody was in a hurry.
They had food.
They had shelter.
They weren't being chased.
It almost felt like a normal journey.
Almost.
Brook glanced at his hand.
The small white mark appeared.
Then disappeared.
Henry noticed.
"You really like that trick."
Brook smiled.
"It's useful."
"You've used it six times since breakfast."
"Seven."
Henry laughed.
"You're counting?"
"I have to know how much energy it uses."
"And?"
Brook's smile faded.
"Not much."
"That's good."
"Yeah."
Brook looked ahead.
"But I'm still not comfortable with it."
Henry nodded.
"That's probably why Michael gave it to you."
Brook frowned.
"What?"
"Maybe the point isn't making you stronger."
Henry looked at him.
"Maybe he's teaching you to control something before he gives you more."
Brook thought about that.
"That's annoyingly reasonable."
"I have my moments."
By afternoon, they reached the valley.
Elias stopped suddenly.
Brook noticed.
"What?"
Elias pointed ahead.
Smoke.
A thin black line rising into the sky.
Crowley immediately moved forward.
"Keep moving."
They reached the top of a hill.
Brook stopped.
Below them was a village.
Or what was left of one.
Buildings had been burned.
Several homes had collapsed.
Smoke still rose from the ruins.
The road was covered in ash.
Henry's expression changed.
"How recent?"
Elias crouched.
"Very."
Sera looked toward Crowley.
"Abominations?"
Crowley shook his head.
"No."
Brook looked at him.
"How do you know?"
Crowley pointed.
There were footprints in the ash.
Boots.
Human.
Brook's expression hardened.
"People did this."
Crowley nodded.
"Looks like it."
Henry drew his sword.
"Then let's find whoever did."
Crowley looked at him.
"We don't know what we're walking into."
Henry stared at the village.
"People could still be alive."
Crowley didn't argue.
"Stay together."
They descended.
The village was silent.
Too silent.
Brook walked past a burned house.
A child's toy lay in the ash.
He stopped.
He picked it up.
The toy was burned on one side.
Brook looked toward the house.
"Someone lived here."
Henry looked around.
"Probably."
Brook stared at the ruins.
"Why would anyone do this?"
Nobody answered.
Sera crouched beside a wall.
"These aren't random fires."
Brook walked over.
"What do you mean?"
She pointed toward the stone.
"Look."
There were strange markings.
Small circles.
Three lines crossing through them.
Brook recognized the pattern.
"The Source symbols."
Sera nodded.
"Someone was looking for something."
Brook looked at Crowley.
"Something like me?"
Crowley shook his head.
"We don't know."
Brook's frustration returned.
"We never know."
Crowley looked at him.
"Then find out."
They searched the village.
They found twelve bodies.
Most were soldiers.
None belonged to the villagers.
That bothered Brook more.
"Where are the people?"
Elias shook his head.
"No idea."
Henry looked at the houses.
"Maybe they escaped."
Sera shook her head.
"No."
She pointed toward the road.
"There are no tracks leaving."
Brook frowned.
"Then where did they go?"
A sound came from one of the buildings.
Everyone turned.
Henry drew his sword.
Brook moved toward it.
"Stay behind me."
Henry looked at him.
"You're not the only one who can fight."
"I know."
Brook smiled.
"That's why I'm asking."
They entered the building.
A young boy was hiding beneath a table.
He was covered in ash.
Henry crouched.
"Hey."
The boy recoiled.
"Don't."
"We're not going to hurt you."
The boy stared at Brook.
Then at the others.
"You're with them."
Brook frowned.
"With who?"
"The Watchmen."
Brook shook his head.
"No."
The boy didn't believe him.
"You all carry weapons."
"So do you."
Brook pointed at the boy's small knife.
The boy looked down.
"I…"
Brook smiled.
"It's okay."
The boy slowly lowered the knife.
Henry offered his hand.
"Come on."
The boy hesitated.
Then took it.
They brought him outside.
Sera gave him water.
Brook sat beside him.
"What happened?"
The boy stared at the ground.
"They came at night."
"Who?"
"Watchmen."
Brook's expression hardened.
"Why?"
"They said someone here was hiding a Source user."
Henry looked at Crowley.
Crowley remained silent.
Brook asked:
"Was there?"
The boy nodded.
"My brother."
Brook's expression softened.
"Where is he?"
The boy pointed toward the forest.
"They took him."
"How long ago?"
"Two days."
Brook stood.
"We're getting him back."
Crowley immediately said:
"No."
Brook turned.
"What?"
"We don't know how many Watchmen are out there."
Brook looked at the boy.
"He has a brother."
Crowley nodded.
"I know."
"Then we're going."
Crowley stepped closer.
"Brook."
Brook's voice became firm.
"We don't leave people behind."
Henry stepped beside him.
"No."
Crowley looked at Henry.
Henry smiled.
"We don't."
Sera stood.
"Agreed."
Elias nodded.
Crowley looked at all of them.
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he sighed.
"Fine."
Brook smiled.
"That's why you're the leader."
Crowley shook his head.
"I'm going to regret this."
They followed the trail into the forest.
The footprints were easy to follow.
Too easy.
Brook noticed.
"They want us to find them."
Crowley nodded.
"I know."
Henry looked at Brook.
"Then we should turn back."
Brook shook his head.
"No."
Crowley looked at him.
"Why?"
Brook stared at the footprints.
"Because whoever took that boy thinks we're going to be afraid."
He drew his sword.
"I'm not."
Crowley smiled faintly.
"Good."
They reached a clearing.
Six Watchmen stood around a wooden cage.
Inside was the boy's older brother.
He was badly injured.
The Watchmen turned.
One stepped forward.
"You shouldn't have come."
Brook walked toward them.
"Neither should you."
The Watchman laughed.
"You don't understand."
Brook stopped.
"Then explain."
The Watchman pointed toward the cage.
"That boy carries a Source."
Brook's expression changed.
"What?"
The injured young man looked at him.
"I don't."
The Watchman laughed.
"He's lying."
Sera stepped forward.
"He's not."
She examined him from a distance.
"No Source signature."
The Watchman looked confused.
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"Then why take him?"
The Watchman didn't answer.
Brook stepped forward.
"Who sent you?"
The Watchman smiled.
"You're asking the wrong question."
Brook's expression hardened.
"Everyone keeps saying that."
The Watchman raised his weapon.
"Then perhaps you'll understand when you're dead."
The fight erupted.
Henry charged first.
His sword collided with the first Watchman.
Sera unleashed a wave of magic.
Elias moved around the edge of the clearing.
Crowley disappeared into the trees.
Brook faced two Watchmen.
One attacked from the left.
Brook blocked.
The other attacked from behind.
Brook marked the ground.
Flash.
He disappeared.
The weapon struck empty air.
Brook reappeared behind the second Watchman.
His sword struck.
The man fell.
The first attacked.
Brook blocked.
He tried to teleport.
The mark failed.
Brook stumbled.
The Watchman smiled.
"Your trick won't work."
Brook looked at the ground.
The mark had been destroyed.
He understood.
They knew how to counter him.
The Watchman attacked again.
Brook blocked.
The impact pushed him backward.
He raised his hand.
White energy gathered.
The Watchman stepped back.
"Source user."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
The man rushed him.
Brook released the energy.
The attack hit the Watchman in the chest.
Instead of killing him, the white energy burned away the strange dark energy surrounding his body.
He collapsed.
Brook stared.
Purification.
Again.
He hadn't intentionally used it.
It had simply happened.
Brook looked at his hand.
Then at the unconscious man.
He whispered:
"Michael."
Across the clearing, Henry was fighting two Watchmen.
One struck his shoulder.
Henry staggered.
Sera immediately intervened.
Her magic slammed the attacker into a tree.
Henry looked at her.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome."
Elias freed the prisoner.
The boy's brother collapsed into his arms.
"Easy."
Brook looked toward them.
Then heard a scream.
Crowley.
Brook turned.
Crowley was fighting the final Watchman.
The man was stronger than the others.
Much stronger.
He swung a massive weapon.
Crowley blocked.
The impact cracked the ground.
Brook moved.
Flash.
He appeared behind the Watchman.
His sword struck.
The man dodged.
Crowley attacked.
The Watchman blocked.
Brook teleported again.
This time, the Watchman was ready.
He slammed a weapon into the mark.
The teleportation connection shattered.
Brook reappeared several feet away.
He fell to one knee.
Crowley looked at him.
"Stay back."
Brook stood.
"No."
The Watchman charged.
Brook raised his hand.
The Archangel Source surged.
He remembered Michael's words.
Control.
Brook breathed.
He didn't attack.
He waited.
The Watchman swung.
Brook dodged.
He marked the ground.
The man attacked again.
Brook teleported.
Flash.
He appeared beside Crowley.
Crowley immediately understood.
He attacked.
The Watchman blocked.
Brook struck from the opposite side.
The Watchman couldn't defend both.
Crowley's blade knocked the weapon away.
Brook's sword stopped at the man's throat.
"Who sent you?"
The Watchman stared at Brook.
Then smiled.
"You're becoming exactly what they feared."
Brook's expression hardened.
"What does that mean?"
The Watchman whispered:
"Three Sources."
Brook's eyes narrowed.
"How do you know?"
The Watchman laughed.
"Because everyone is watching."
Then he bit down.
Crowley grabbed him.
Too late.
The man collapsed.
Dead.
Brook stared at him.
Again.
Another answer gone.
They returned to the village with the boy and his brother.
The survivors slowly emerged from hiding.
Brook watched them reunite.
Mothers.
Fathers.
Children.
People who had spent days believing their loved ones were gone.
The little boy hugged his brother tightly.
Brook smiled.
Henry stood beside him.
"You did good."
Brook nodded.
"It wasn't me."
Henry looked at him.
"It was all of us."
Brook looked at Xcution.
Sera was helping the injured.
Elias was repairing a damaged cart.
Crowley was speaking with the villagers.
They were together.
Again.
Brook smiled.
Then the pain came.
A sudden pressure behind his eyes.
He staggered.
Henry grabbed him.
"Brook?"
"I'm fine."
"You're not."
Brook closed his eyes.
A memory flashed.
A woman's face.
A warm hand.
A voice.
Then—
Nothing.
The voice disappeared again.
Brook opened his eyes.
Henry stared at him.
"What happened?"
Brook looked toward the village.
"Nothing."
Henry didn't believe him.
But he didn't force him.
That night, the villagers gathered around a fire.
They offered Xcution food.
Shelter.
Thanks.
Brook sat quietly.
A little girl approached him.
She held a small wooden figure.
"Is this yours?"
Brook shook his head.
"No."
She smiled.
"You saved my brother."
Brook looked at her.
"I didn't do it alone."
She held out the wooden figure.
"Take it."
Brook hesitated.
"Why?"
"So you remember us."
Brook slowly accepted it.
He stared at the little wooden figure.
Something about it felt strangely familiar.
He couldn't explain why.
The girl ran back to her family.
Brook looked at the toy.
Then at the fire.
He couldn't remember his mother's voice.
But he could remember the feeling of being loved.
Maybe that was enough.
For now.
Later, when everyone was asleep, Brook sat alone.
He held the wooden figure in his hand.
The Archangel Source stirred.
A faint white mark appeared on it.
Brook frowned.
"Why?"
Michael's voice came softly.
Because you understand.
Brook closed his eyes.
"Understand what?"
Power is not what you do to others.
The voice faded.
It is what you choose to protect.
Brook opened his eyes.
The mark disappeared.
He looked toward the sleeping members of Xcution.
His family.
Then toward the village.
The people they had saved.
Brook whispered:
"I understand."
But deep inside his mind…
Michael remained silent.
Because understanding was only the beginning.
Brook still had to prove he could control the power he carried.
And the first test had not even reached its hardest stage.
End of Chapter 63