The atmosphere inside the cave had become almost suffocating. Not only because four teenagers, still short of breath after the long journey through the night, were packed into the narrow rocky shelter, nor because the damp air lingered in the enclosed space. More than anything, it was because of everything they had just laid bare in front of one another: fragments of stories, descriptions of artifacts, battles, encounters with Void Creatures, clues, inconsistencies… and a fair share of personal secrets none of them truly wanted to reveal. They had all known this moment would come, but none of them seemed genuinely ready for it.
Sitting against the uneven stone wall, Kenzo stared at the magical lantern resting in the middle of the cave. Its flickering light illuminated the dark rock around them, casting shifting shadows across the others' faces. The longer he sat there, the more he felt the strange pieces of this forest beginning to lock together—not all of them, and certainly not in any reassuring way, but enough to fill him with a growing sense of unease. The Gargantuan Trees. The armor found on the skeletons. The Young Shoots. The Knights. The Guardians. The Priests. The Watchers. He was beginning to see the outline of the bigger picture, or at least the edge of some ancient tragedy they had stumbled into without understanding the rules.
The Gargantuan Tree had to be the Sacred Tree. The other giant trees must once have served as watchposts, and the Watchers had stood upon them—those who had witnessed the collapse of their own world without being able to stop it. The Guardians had endured longer, but they too had fallen in the end. The Knights, on the other hand, had been corrupted early. And the Priests had tried to intervene, only to be swept away by corruption as well. Just reaching those conclusions was enough to make him sick.
And yet, even with all of that, another layer of the unknown still remained before them: that strange fog that seemed to rise from nowhere at fixed times and moved according to a logic Kenzo still could not grasp. Why did it lose height the farther one got from the north? Why did it never rise beyond certain limits? Why had it not reached some areas at all? Was it a creation of the Void? A natural phenomenon of the Fragment? Or the result of some ancient ritual tied to the Sacred Tree? He had no answers. But he knew one thing: whatever the truth was, it would be anything but comforting.
Breaking the silence, he finally said,
— « I get the feeling the two of you have already figured out a few things. »
His voice was not aggressive, just observant, as though he were testing a suspicion he already had. Naty and Ophelia exchanged a quick, almost calculated look. Lucian, meanwhile, looked at the other three like he had wandered into a conversation far beyond him.
Naty drew in a slow breath before answering.
— « I've figured out some things, yes. But I'm not sure I can trust you with certain information. Some of it is only known to the royal families and a handful of clans. »
Even here—even inside an unstable Fragment filled with monsters, lethal fog, and constant danger—the habit of hoarding information remained. Kenzo felt a familiar irritation crawl up his spine. It reminded him of Yareth, of how everything was always filtered, never said plainly, as if nobles lived in a different world made of secrets and privilege.
— « Ophelia and I both know those things. So I'll leave it to her to decide whether we tell you or not. »
Ophelia crossed her arms and thought for a moment before answering in her usual cold manner.
— « I don't mind sharing what we know. But you'll have to tell us things too. Otherwise, we'll give you the bare minimum. »
Kenzo had known this moment would come. He also knew there were things he had to hide, especially the most dangerous part of who he was: he was not merely a Deviant who consumed the hearts of Void Creatures. He was something else. Something even Yareth wanted watched. He could not tell them that. He had neither the right nor the desire.
So he answered calmly,
— « Ask your questions. I'll decide whether I answer. »
He said it with a disarming sort of calm. Ophelia stared at him for a few seconds, as if trying to decide whether it was courage or insolence. Then she changed targets and turned toward Lucian.
— « I'll start with you. What's your power, and who—or what—did you get it from? »
Lucian swallowed hard. The Phoenix's gaze was especially intimidating, even for someone like him. He nervously played with his fingers, searching for the words.
— « I can see… on people and on Void Creatures… the parts that are more vulnerable. That's all. But I… I can't tell you who I got it from. »
Ophelia frowned, already annoyed.
— « What do you mean, you can't tell us? That's not a difficult question. »
She barely had time to raise her voice before Kenzo straightened slightly on reflex. She immediately turned toward him.
— « And you? »
— « I don't know my power yet. And as for where it comes from, I can't tell you. You already know I'm a Deviant. That's enough. »
Ophelia shot to her feet, furious.
— « You think I'm just supposed to swallow that? You— »
Kenzo stood as well, not to provoke her, but because he refused to have that conversation from a weaker position.
— « By definition, I'm not normal. So yes, there are things I can't tell you. That's all. »
The tension surged instantly, almost tangible. Even the lantern seemed to flicker harder, as though the light itself was unsure whether to keep illuminating the confrontation or leave them to settle it in the dark. Lucian, completely panicked, had already drawn himself tight against the wall. A clash between the Deviant Chimera and the Legendary Phoenix had never felt so dangerously close.
Thankfully, Naty stepped in.
— « That's enough, both of you. We don't have the luxury of fighting among ourselves. »
She placed a hand on Ophelia's shoulder, then looked at Kenzo.
— « I have a question too. In your blessings… do you have something called Touched by the Unique? »
This time, Kenzo froze. Ophelia seemed genuinely shocked—for the first time since they had met. Lucian's eyes widened, utterly unable to understand how Naty had guessed it.
A faint smile touched her lips, satisfied by everyone's reaction, and she gestured for Ophelia to sit again.
— « Alright. Now that we've asked our questions… we'll tell you what we know. »
And in that exact moment, Kenzo understood that whatever they were about to hear would change not only the way they understood this Fragment…
but perhaps the way they understood the whole world.