The outpost felt alive in its silence, as though the ruins themselves were waiting. Kael sat cross-legged on the cold stone floor of what had once been the Order's library, the brittle book open before him. Elara crouched nearby, watching him with the kind of quiet intensity that made his skin prickle. Her presence was comforting, but the weight of the words on the faded pages was heavier than he'd ever carried.
He ran his thumb over a partially burnt corner of the book, careful not to damage it further. The script was written in an older dialect of the Common Tongue, one he hadn't read in years. But the meaning was clear enough.
"The Rupture wasn't just a side effect," he murmured, his voice thick. "It was planned."
Elara leaned closer, her brow furrowed. "Planned? By who? The Order?"
Kael nodded slowly, the words like ash in his mouth. "They knew the balance was failing. The magic we relied on, that bound the world together—it was breaking. The Rupture was their solution."
Elara stared at him, her face pale. "Solution? Kael, they destroyed the world."
"They didn't see it that way," Kael said, his voice quiet but edged with anger. "They believed the world was too far gone. That only by breaking it could it be remade."
Elara's mouth tightened. "So they just decided to play gods? And now we're the ones left to pick up the pieces."
Kael didn't respond. He couldn't. The thought of the Order—the group he had dedicated his life to—making such a choice made his stomach churn. How much of what he'd believed in had been a lie? And how much had Eren known before he'd turned?
Elara sighed, rising to her feet. She paced the length of the ruined room, her boots crunching softly on scattered debris. "So what now? Do we just keep running? Keep fighting shadows while the world falls apart?"
Kael closed the book carefully, the brittle pages crackling. "No," he said, standing. "We stop running. If the Order knew about the Rupture, then there's more they left behind. Something that can help us fix this."
Elara gave him a sharp look. "And you think that'll undo what Eren's done? What he's still doing?"
Kael met her gaze, his jaw tightening. "I don't know. But I have to try."
As the sun sank below the jagged peaks of the pass, the villagers gathered around a small fire Kael had managed to light. The flames flickered weakly, as though they too felt the weight of the ruined world. Kael sat apart from the group, the book clutched in his hands. Elara joined him after a while, sitting cross-legged on the ground with a tired sigh.
"Do you think they even understand?" she asked, nodding toward the villagers.
Kael glanced at the group. Most of them were silent, their faces drawn and pale. A few murmured softly to one another, their voices too low to make out. "I don't know," he admitted. "They've lost everything. Maybe it's easier not to try."
Elara huffed a quiet laugh, though there was no humor in it. "Easier, sure. But it won't save them."
Kael looked down at the book, his thumb brushing over the etched runes on its spine. "I don't know if I can save them either. If any of this can be saved."
Elara was quiet for a moment. Then she said, "You can't fix what's broken by yourself, Kael. No one can. But maybe… maybe you don't have to."
Kael glanced at her, surprised by the softness in her voice. She met his gaze steadily, her expression unreadable. "You're not alone in this," she said. "Even if it feels like it."
For a moment, Kael didn't know what to say. He wasn't used to relying on anyone—not since the Rupture. But Elara's words struck something in him, a quiet corner he hadn't realized was still intact.
"Thanks," he said finally, his voice low.
She smirked faintly, though her eyes remained serious. "Don't thank me yet. You've still got a long way to go."
The next morning, Kael stood at the edge of the outpost, staring down at the winding path that led away from the pass. The air was sharp and cold, the sun barely cresting the distant horizon. Elara joined him after a while, her breath visible in the crisp air.
"You're thinking too hard again," she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face.
Kael snorted softly. "Hard not to, with everything going on."
She shrugged. "Then think about what's next. We've got a destination, right?"
"Yeah," Kael said. "There's a city on the other side of the pass. Veyland. It used to be one of the Order's main trade hubs. If there's any information left about what they were doing, it'll be there."
Elara frowned. "You think it's still standing?"
"I don't know," Kael admitted. "But it's the best lead we've got."
She nodded, though her expression was wary. "And if Eren's already ahead of us?"
Kael tightened his grip on Veyrune. "Then we deal with him."
Elara studied him for a moment, then said, "You're not going to kill him, are you?"
Kael hesitated, the question hanging heavily in the air. Finally, he said, "I don't know if I can. But if it comes down to him or the people we're trying to save…"
He didn't finish the sentence. He didn't need to.
Elara's jaw tightened, but she didn't press him further. Instead, she glanced back at the outpost, where the villagers were beginning to stir. "We'd better get moving. If we stay here too long, those shadows might find us again."
Kael nodded, turning away from the pass. "You're right. Let's get everyone ready."
The journey to Veyland would be long and dangerous, but it was a path Kael couldn't avoid. The weight of the book in his pack was a constant reminder of the truths he'd uncovered—and the questions that still lingered.
As the group began their descent from the pass, Kael glanced back at the ruins of the outpost one last time. The crumbled walls and shattered stones seemed to whisper of the past, of the choices that had led to the Rupture and the lives it had destroyed.
He turned away, his grip on Veyrune tightening. Whatever answers awaited them in Veyland, Kael knew one thing for certain: the road ahead would only grow darker.
But he wasn't walking it alone.