The forest refused to answer.
Kai remained still for several moments, scanning the trees.
Nothing moved.
No footsteps.
No rustling leaves.
No figure emerging from the shadows.
Only silence.
The same unsettling silence that had followed him since he awoke.
Eventually, he exhaled.
Perhaps he had imagined it.
Perhaps exhaustion was beginning to affect him.
Or perhaps not.
Either way, standing around waiting for ghosts to appear wasn't going to help.
Kai adjusted the letter tucked into his waistband and continued walking.
---
The sun had begun descending when he finally saw smoke.
At first he thought it was another campfire.
Then he noticed more.
Thin gray trails rising above the treetops in the distance.
His pace quickened.
Civilization.
People.
Answers.
For the first time since awakening, genuine relief washed over him.
The trees gradually thinned.
The forest opened.
And Kai stopped.
A small village sat within a large clearing.
Wooden houses lined dirt roads.
Fences surrounded patches of farmland.
Several villagers moved about carrying tools and baskets.
Children ran through the streets laughing.
The sight was strangely comforting.
Life.
Actual life.
After the silence of the forest, it almost felt unreal.
Kai took a cautious step forward.
Then another.
Nobody immediately noticed him.
A blacksmith hammered away at glowing metal.
A woman hung laundry.
An old man argued with a chicken.
Everything seemed ordinary.
Until someone pointed.
"Who's that?"
Several heads turned.
Kai immediately became aware of how ridiculous he probably looked.
No shirt.
Torn cape.
Bloodstains from Elrick's corpse still smeared across parts of his pants.