Scene- The Vessel Remains
The elder sister finally nodded.
"I'll take you back."
Arafial stared at her.
For several seconds, he said nothing.
Then—
he stopped.
Completely.
The black smoke around his eyes suddenly became thinner.
The elder sister noticed.
"What happened?"
Arafial didn't answer.
The darkness inside his eyes began receding.
Slowly.
The blackness disappeared from the edges of his irises.
Then the pupils returned.
The cold purple vanished.
Blue replaced it.
The Traveler's eyes.
Arafial's expression remained unchanged.
But his control was slipping.
The wounds across the Traveler's body began closing.
The burns faded.
The torn skin repaired itself.
Even the damage around his eyes healed.
The elder sister stared.
The transformation was happening in seconds.
Arafial looked down at his hands.
The fingers trembled.
Then became still.
He knew.
His time was ending.
"This vessel..."
His voice was quieter now.
"...is taking itself back."
The elder sister looked at him.
"Are you leaving?"
Arafial looked directly into her eyes.
"Yes."
He took one step toward her.
She instinctively stepped back.
Arafial stopped.
His expression remained cold.
"Listen carefully."
The elder sister said nothing.
"You have mistaken the creature beside you for something ordinary."
Her eyes shifted toward the Traveler's unconscious body.
Arafial continued.
"Do not."
The Blood Moon above them began changing.
The crimson color faded.
Slowly.
The red clouds became gray.
The enormous moon lost its blood-red glow.
The resurrected dead were already gone.
Only ash remained scattered across the mountain.
Arafial looked toward the horizon.
"This world is not safe."
The elder sister swallowed.
"I know."
Arafial's eyes returned to her.
"No."
His voice became colder.
"You don't."
Silence.
"You think monsters are the danger."
He looked across the ruined mountain.
"They are not."
The elder sister stared at him.
Arafial stepped closer.
"Something brought him here."
Her eyes widened.
"Who?"
Arafial didn't answer.
Instead—
he gave her one final warning.
"When he wakes..."
A pause.
"Do not tell him what you saw."
She frowned.
"Why?"
Arafial's expression became almost indifferent.
"Because he isn't ready."
The darkness around his eyes disappeared completely.
The Traveler's blue eyes returned.
His body swayed.
The elder sister reached toward him.
Arafial's final words came quietly.
"And if you value your life..."
He looked directly at her.
"Never try to make him remember."
Then—
Arafial vanished.
Not with light.
Not with smoke.
He simply ceased to be present.
The Traveler's body collapsed.
The elder sister caught him before his head struck the ground.
"Traveler!"
No answer.
He was unconscious.
The Blood Moon faded completely.
Normal moonlight returned to the mountain.
The flowers moved gently in the wind.
The elder sister looked down at the unconscious Traveler.
Then toward the empty sky.
She remembered the warning.
Do not make him remember.
She didn't understand why.
But something told her—
she should listen.
The Traveler remained unconscious in her arms.
And deep inside him—
Arafial had returned to silence.
For now.