The silence stretched, heavy and uncomfortable. The leader studied the pale-haired boy before him — too calm, too empty-eyed. There was no hint of threat in his posture, yet every instinct screamed that something was wrong.
Still, leaving him there felt cruel.
> "You'll die if you stay here," the leader said finally. "These mountains aren't safe. Come with us—we'll take you to the nearest town."
Cain looked up slowly, as if the words took a while to reach him. His expression didn't change, but a faint shadow crossed his eyes.
> "Town?" he murmured, as though testing the word for the first time.
> "A place with food and people," one of them said softly, lowering his sword. "You can rest there."
Cain hesitated, then nodded. "Alright."
They turned back toward the trail, but as Cain rose to follow, the faint glow under his shirt pulsed again—one slow, rhythmic beat. The mist thickened, curling around the group like smoke.
> "Feels like the mountain's watching us," one of the adventurers muttered.
No one answered. They were all petrified to the bone, there was this chilling foreboding feeling that told them to leave it alone , " Instinct never lie.
As cain descended from the mountain, the tremors in the earth began to fade, and the sunlight slowly returned. The air grew lighter, but none of them dared look back, none of these occurance.
The forest seemed to look back at him as if biding him farewell.