The forest had thinned, but the exhaustion stayed with them.
Cartal rode ahead, his posture steady but worn. Hairo followed on the second horse, his grip weak, his body leaning forward with every step the horse took.
Berte moved with strength despite the long journey. The other horse unnamed followed, slower, sensing Hairo's condition.
Hairo's throat burned. His vision blurred slightly.
Hairo: "Water…"
Cartal didn't respond at first. His eyes scanned the path ahead. Then he saw it.
A lake.
Still. Quiet. Hidden between the trees.
Cartal pulled the reins and stopped. Hairo didn't wait. He slid off the horse, stumbling as his feet hit the ground, then rushed toward the water.
He dropped to his knees and leaned forward, hands shaking as they touched the surface.
Cold.
He drank fast, too fast. Water spilled down his chin, but he didn't stop. His body pulled in everything it could.
Cartal stepped down from Berte and walked to the edge, kneeling beside him. He drank slower, controlled, watching the ripples move outward.
For a moment, there was only silence.
The horses stood behind them, breathing heavily.
Hairo finally pulled back, gasping slightly, wiping his mouth with his arm.
Hairo: "Why… were the bandits made?"
Cartal didn't answer immediately.
The wind passed over the lake, soft but cold.
Cartal: "Because people like us had nowhere else to go."
Hairo looked at him, still breathing unevenly.
Cartal: "Nisag and Creyog don't fight for land. They fight for control. Bugo was never meant to survive between them."
Hairo stayed quiet.
Cartal continued, his voice low.
Cartal: "People here lost everything homes, families, names. The bandits wHairo't made to steal… they were made to exist."
The water moved gently in front of them.
Hairo looked down at his reflection. It didn't feel like him anymore.
Hairo: "So… we're just fighting to survive?"
Cartal: "No."
Hairo looked up.
Cartal: "We're fighting so one day… we don't have to."
Silence returned.
Behind them, Berte shifted slightly. The second horse stood still, quiet, waiting.
Far ahead beyond the trees Miso was close.
Hairo stayed quiet for a moment, then looked up again, his voice still weak but clearer now.
Hairo: "But… why doesn't all of Bugo know about this?"
Cartal didn't move.
Hairo: "If everyone fights together… we can win faster, right?"
The lake stayed still.
Cartal let out a slow breath.
Cartal: "That's what people think."
Hairo frowned. "Then why not?"
Cartal looked at the water, not at him.
Cartal: "Because not everyone wants to fight."
Hairo stayed silent.
Cartal: "Some people just want to live one more day. Some have families. Some are already broken. If you tell them to fight… you're asking them to lose everything they have left."
The wind moved lightly across the surface.
Cartal: "And even if they agree… they won't last."
Hairo: "Why?"
Cartal: "Because this isn't just war."
Hairo's eyes narrowed slightly.
Cartal: "This is control. Nisag and Creyog don't just fight with soldiers. They control food, routes, information… fear."
Hairo looked down again.
Cartal: "If Bugo rises all at once, it won't be a battle."
A pause.
Cartal: "It will be a slaughter."
Silence.
Hairo's grip tightened slightly on the edge of his clothes.
Hairo: "Then… what are we doing?"
Cartal finally looked at him.
Cartal: "We fight in the dark."
The words stayed in the air.
Cartal: "We stay hidden. We break them slowly. We survive… until the time comes when fighting openly won't kill us all."
Hairo didn't reply.
He just stared at the water, thinking.
For the first time
He understood…
Winning wasn't about strength.
It was about timing.
Cartal stood up slowly, wiping the water from his hands. He looked at the sky for a brief second, judging the fading light.
Cartal: "Let's go."
Hairo looked up, still sitting near the edge of the lake.
Cartal: "It's getting late."
Hairo pushed himself up, his body still weak.
Cartal: "We're hungry… and there's food ahead."
Hairo didn't reply, but his eyes showed it. They hadn't eaten for two days.
The silence said enough.
Cartal walked back to the horses and grabbed the reins. Berte shifted slightly, ready to move again. The second horse stood still, waiting.
Hairo followed slowly and climbed onto the unnamed horse, his movements heavier now.
Cartal mounted Berte and looked ahead into the forest.
Cartal: "We didn't come this far to stop now."
Hairo tightened his grip.
Without another word, they moved forward.
The forest opened slowly before them And somewhere ahead
Miso waited.
After an hour or more, Miso appeared. A small, seemingly normal town but as Cartal and Hairo passed through a narrow, hidden lane, a plain wall loomed before them. Cartal reached out, and in the blink of an eye, they were inside a temple.
An old monk spoke, his voice calm but sharp.
Old Monk Rensu: "You're early… wHairo't you walking?"
Cartal: "No, Rensu. We were not. Let's go inside I will tell you the whole story."
Rensu, chanting mantras: "Ho, God of Heaven and God of Hell, for the sake of the silver, please lead us… your power."
Suddenly, a stone on the floor shifted, moving silently as if guided by unseen hands. A hidden staircase was revealed, descending into darkness, its secrets waiting silently below.
They went down the hidden staircase. At the bottom, nine people were waiting. Their eyes followed the staircase, tense and expectant.
Cartal stepped forward, joining them. Among the group were Alice and Erish, their expressions cautious but alert.
When Hairo arrived shortly after, the group's attention shifted again. His eyes immediately found his mother, Alice it had been two days since they last saw each other, and the reunion carried a heavy, unspoken weight.
Cartal's voice cut through the quiet. "The forest… Leshy was controlling it. But we can go back. It's clear now."
He exhaled slowly, as if letting go of something heavy. "Rolio… Jane… and Ira… they're dead. I killed Rolio. Hairo… he killed Jane and Ira."
The words hung between them, heavy, unspoken. No one moved. No one breathed louder.
Hairo's hand tightened slightly, but his voice was calm. "It's done… we survived."
Cartal nodded, feeling the friction of the moment the weight of the battle, the loss, the choices. The forest outside waited, dangerous and alive, but now it was theirs to face.
Before anything could settle, a voice cut in
Marco: "So you finally made it back."
Cartal turned. "Marco… you're here too?"
Marco stepped forward, urgency in every breath. "I didn't come empty. I have news."
Cartal: "Say it."
Marco didn't hesitate. "Thy is alive."
The room exploded
"What?!"
"Alive?!"
"Where is he?!"
Marco raised his voice. "Kiopa Island. Near Bugo. Under Creyog's control."
"No way…"
"They would've killed him!"
"Why keep him alive?!"
Erish stepped forward, sharp. "You're sure? You saw him?"
Marco: "I saw the transfer. Chains. Guards. Ships. He's there."
Alice's voice broke through, louder than before. "Then we go get him."
Someone snapped back, "Go? To Creyog territory? That's death!"
Another voice: "We don't even know the island layout!"
"We'll be wiped out before we land!"
Alice didn't back down. "That's my husband."
The room got louder
"We need a plan!"
"We need numbers!"
"We need to think!"
Hairo stood there, silent. His hands clenched slightly, his breathing uneven. He wasn't thinking about plans or war.
Just one thing
His father is alive.
He looked at the ground, then at Alice, but said nothing.
Cartal watched everything, then spoke, cutting through the noise
Cartal: "Enough."
The voices didn't stop completely, but they lowered.
Cartal: "If Thy is alive… this isn't just another mission."
Erish: "Then what is it?"
Cartal: "It's a risk we choose… or don't."
Voices rose again
"We can't ignore this!"
"We can't rush either!"
Alice: "I'm not leaving him there."
Silence didn't come but something else did.
Division.
Some ready to go.
Some afraid to move.
And in the middle of it Hairo stood quiet, lost in the weight of something he didn't know how to face.
Rensu stepped forward, his voice cutting through the rising noise.
Rensu: "Numbers are not the problem."
The room shifted.
Rensu: "What we need… are elite soldiers."
Murmurs spread
"Elite…?"
"From where?"
Rensu continued, calm but firm. "Some are in Bugo. Some… are in Nisag."
The name itself brought tension.
Rensu: "You have to go to Nisag."
Voices rose again
"Nisag?!"
"That's enemy land!"
"That's worse than the island!"
Rensu didn't stop. "You know about Uri."
A pause.
Erish frowned. "Uri… he's still alive?"
Rensu: "He is. And he's there."
Cartal's eyes narrowed slightly.
Rensu: "Find him first. We need him."
Alice: "Why him?"
Rensu's voice lowered. "Because he is the one… who has met the Goddess."
That changed everything.
"No…"
"You're lying…"
"That's not possible…"
Rensu: "We are going against Creyog. Against what they control. We don't just need numbers… we need power."
The word stayed in the air.
Hairo lifted his head slightly at that but still said nothing.
Cartal spoke, steady, thinking ahead.
Cartal: "And we haven't seen Commander Jake of Creyog."
The room went tense again.
Cartal: "He must be there… guarding the island."
Erish: "If Jake is there, this isn't just security… it's a fortress."
Alice clenched her fists. "Then we break it."
Voices clashed again
"We'll die!"
"We can't fight Jake!"
"We don't even know Uri will help!"
Rensu: "That's why you go first."
Cartal looked at him.
Rensu: "Find Uri. Bring him back. Then we plan the attack."
Hairo stood still, quiet, the noise fading around him.
Father alive.
Goddess.
War.
Things far bigger than him
And yet somehow pulling him in.
Cartal finally spoke.
Cartal: "Then we move."
The room didn't agree.
It didn't settle.
But the path had been decided.
The noise hadn't settled when Cartal spoke again, quieter this time but clear.
Cartal: "What if we don't go in blind?"
Some of them turned toward him.
Cartal: "We already have spies in Nisag."
A few voices answered at once
"You mean contact them?"
"That's risky…"
"They could already be exposed…"
Cartal didn't react to the doubts. His tone stayed even, almost too controlled.
Cartal: "We use them first. Get information. Find Uri before we step inside."
For a moment, his expression didn't change but something behind it did.
A memory. A man living in shadows. A man who never came back.
A man who chose death over being caught.
Cartal continued, as if nothing touched him
Cartal: "We don't repeat mistakes. We move with certainty."
Erish watched him closely. "And if your spies fail?"
Cartal: "Then we go ourselves."
Alice spoke immediately. "That wastes time."
Cartal looked at her. "Rushing in wastes lives."
The room split again
"He's right!"
"No, we don't have time!"
"Thy is already in their hands!"
Rensu raised his hand slightly. "Spies first… then movement."
The argument didn't fully stop but it shifted.
Hairo stood in the middle of it, silent again.
He didn't understand plans, spies, or strategy.
Only one thing stayed clear in his mind His father is waiting.
Cartal didn't say anything more.
But inside He had already decided.
If the spies failed
He would walk into Nisag himself.
"Then it's decided."
"Yes."
"No more waiting."
"We move with this."
Alice: "Just bring him back."
Erish: "And don't fail."
Cartal: "We're already too deep to turn back."
Hairo: "…Bring him back…"
Rensu: "I will try."
No one argued.
No one stopped him.
The decision settled over everyone heavy, final.
"Let him do it."
"We wait here."
"Don't interfere."
Rensu moved away toward the temple.
No one followed.
The air outside felt tighter than before.
"What if it doesn't work…"
"It has to."
"If Uri refuses "
"Then we go ourselves."
Cartal: "Be ready for that."
Alice: "I already am."
Hairo stayed quiet.
Time slowed.
Every second stretched.
Inside the temple
Everything depended on one thing.
Whether Uri would answer… or not.
Cartal: "Rest."
Some looked at him, still tense, still not ready to stop.
Cartal: "Rensu needs time. What he's doing… it's faster than any of us reaching Nisag or Bugo."
Erish: "Even with speed, finding Uri there won't be easy."
Cartal: "Exactly. That's why we wait. If he manages it quickly… we save days."
Alice: "And if he doesn't?"
Cartal: "Then we move. But not like this."
A pause settled.
Cartal: "Between us and Nisag… there's the forest."
Someone muttered, "Leshy…"
Cartal: "Yes. And you've seen what it does. It doesn't just slow you it controls you."
Hairo stayed quiet, remembering.
Cartal: "If we go in without a clear path, we don't reach Nisag. We just walk in circles until it wants us out."
Erish: "Or not at all."
Cartal: "So we rest. We wait. And we move only when it matters."
Silence followed not agreement, but acceptance.
Hairo: "…If this works… we don't have to go through it again?"
Cartal: "Maybe."
Alice: "Then it better work."
Cartal: "It has to."