They arrived at a small border hamlet by nightfall.
Stone cottages ringed a half-broken fountain, and oil lanterns glowed from cracked windows. A woman in a shawl offered them shelter in her barn, saying only, "Travelers shouldn't be in the woods tonight," before hurrying inside and locking three bolts behind her.
Bell unsaddled the horse and glanced at the stars. "That's the fourth village to warn us without saying why."
Cid flopped into the hay. "People love their cryptic one-liners. Makes them feel important."
Seria sat against a beam and pulled out her journal. "The Vyn shouldn't exist. They were bred by Old Kingdom cults to hunt magical bloodlines. When the Grand Accord outlawed shadowbeasts, they were all hunted and killed."
"Well," Cid said, stretching, "either someone forgot to check the basement, or something's rewriting history."
Bell leaned his sword against the wall. "They knew us. They didn't strike randomly."
Seria nodded. "And they weren't alone."
Cid frowned. "Meaning?"
"I felt… another presence," she said. "Watching. Not human. Not beast. Just… cold."
That night, Seria dreamt of fire.
She stood on a field of ash beneath a black sky. A tower burned behind her, but made no sound. A woman's voice whispered from the smoke.
They forget the flame. They forget the name.
But the serpent does not forget.
Seria turned—but there was no one there.
Only a flicker of pale eyes in the dark.
She woke gasping, sweat beading down her neck.
Bell sat across from her, polishing his blade. "Bad dream?"
"I… I think it was hers."
"Evelyne?"
Seria didn't respond.
Morning came gray and cold.
They ate quietly — salted bread and old cheese — before resuming their journey toward the eastern plains. As they walked, they passed a circle of old stones carved with ancient script.
Bell paused to brush off the moss. "This language again…"
Seria studied it. "Same as the obelisk. Pre-Elderic. I need time to translate it."
Cid squinted. "Why does it look like a map?"
Seria froze.
"It is a map."
The stone circle, when viewed from above, marked locations. Ruins. Temples. Obelisks.
One near Hollowmere.
One deep in the Flamefall Mountains.
One… with no name at all.
Bell tapped it. "That one's in the royal capital."
They all looked at each other.
Cid broke the silence. "Well, it wouldn't be a conspiracy if it didn't go all the way to the top."
That night, the figure in shadow stood at the edge of the hamlet they had left behind.
The village was silent.
No windows glowed.
No dogs barked.
At the center, by the broken fountain, a man knelt — eyes wide, body trembling.
Before him, the serpent swayed in the moonlight — tall, elegant, pale as bone.
The figure stepped forward.
The man whispered, "I didn't speak—I didn't say her name—please—"
A soft hiss.
Then silence.
The figure turned away as the serpent coiled back into the mist.
Not a scream followed.
Only the faint sound of weeping stone.