Rey returned to the village just before dawn, staggering with exhaustion. His clothes were torn, smeared with dirt and blood, and his eyes were wild with the weight of what he had seen. The gate guards, once wary of him, now rushed forward in alarm.
Fianna was the first to reach him.
"Rey!" she shouted, grabbing his shoulders. "What happened?!"
Rey's voice cracked. "Something's out there. Something twisted. It was waiting in the Ridge of Howls… and it knew I was human."
Fianna's expression shifted from worry to dread. She waved her hand, summoning the nearby warriors. "Take him to the shaman hut. We need to warn my father."
Rey was quickly ushered into the safety of the village's main gathering hall. The elder, a tall creature with moss-colored skin and eyes like cold steel, stepped forward. He was Fianna's father—Chief Elaron.
Rey sat, surrounded by torches and tribal marks etched into stone. Fianna sat beside him, translating his every word as he explained what he saw—the obsidian stones, the mutilated beasts, the socket-eyed creature, and the final whisper.
"Human," Rey said softly. "It spoke the word like… like it knew me. Like it hated me."
The room fell silent.
Then Elaron stood. "You have seen a Revenant of the Deep. A cursed soul of the Abyss, made from those consumed by hatred and madness. They should not be this far north."
Fianna paled. "You mean… the corruption is spreading?"
Elaron nodded grimly. "Yes. And the presence of a human bloodline may be awakening what was once lost."
Rey stiffened. "What do you mean?"
The chief looked at him, long and hard. "There are legends… that long ago, humans sealed something deep within the Abyss—something that should never have returned. But human blood may be the key to its awakening."
Fianna's voice trembled. "Are you saying Rey's presence is… accelerating it?"
"No," Elaron said. "I'm saying he may be the only one who can stop it."
The statement hit Rey like thunder. Me? Stop it?
He felt overwhelmed. He had come here only to survive. But now the village was looking at him not with suspicion, but hope.
Fianna stood slowly. "My father, give us permission to act. Rey is not just a guest anymore. He's one of us. If these Revenants come for him, they come for all of us."
Elaron looked at his daughter—then nodded. "Then so be it. From this day forward, he is a child of the Starseeker tribe. And our blades will rise with his."
The warriors in the chamber gave a low growl of agreement, a tribal sound of unity.
Rey, stunned, stood slowly. "Thank you… all of you."
Fianna smiled gently. "You're not alone anymore."
As the torches flickered, casting shadows across the room, Rey felt something shift within him. He had walked the Abyss for years, alone, hunted, surviving like a ghost. But now… for the first time, he had a place. People who would fight beside him.
But deep inside… he also knew that the Revenant would return.
And this time, it wouldn't be alone.
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