Rienne's Reaction

Vastarael's eyes fluttered open, the dim light of a fire casting shadows across the ceiling of a modest tent.

His body felt heavy but the numbness from before had dissipated, replaced by a faint warmth spreading through his limbs. He drew in a slow, careful breath. The air was crisp, tinged with the faint scent of dampness and smoke.

As his vision cleared, his gaze locked onto a figure sitting a few feet away. A young woman, her knees pulled up to her chest, stared at him with wide, curious eyes. She looked startled, like she hadn't expected him to wake up so soon. Her face was soft, framed by locks of dark hair that fell loosely around her shoulders. Her lips were slightly parted, as if she'd been in the middle of a thought when their eyes met.

The two stared at each other for a moment. Vastarael noticed the faint flicker of shock in her onyx eyes. She quickly shifted under his gaze as slight flush that spread across her cheeks.

She jolted upright, brushing off her thick pants as though trying to compose herself. Clearing her throat, she spoke hurriedly, her voice a little too loud to mask her embarrassment.

"You're awake. That's… good. I—I'll go tell my father."

Without waiting for a response, she turned and ducked out of the tent, leaving behind the faint scent of herbs and cold air.

Vastarael blinked, still groggy, and let his head fall back onto the makeshift pillow. He remembered glimpses from earlier.

He was saved by a family.

A man, a woman, and two daughters. One of them was Rienne, the softer-spoken of the two. But this one… this one was different. Bolder, sharper, though she'd seemed flustered just now.

He exhaled slowly, piecing things together. The Epoch Cycle. It was starting to make sense. The drowning sensation, the strange voices, the unfamiliar place... it all aligned. He wasn't here by accident. This was the past, a fragment of history, though it still felt surreal.

The tent flap rustled again, but this time it wasn't her. Rienne stepped inside, her expression calm and collected.

Lije her sister, she had dark hair. They shared the same onyx eyes as well. They were both pale...

Pale as snow itself. Also, they were the same age as him, judging by their appearance.

"You're awake," she said, her voice soft but steady. "How are you feeling?"

"Better," Vastarael replied, his voice still rough. He glanced toward the opening, where the other girl had disappeared moments ago. "Your sister… she was here just now."

Rienne's lips twitched into a small smile, her eyes gleaming with faint amusement.

"Yes, that sounds like her. She was probably staring at you again. Don't mind it too much. She's just… curious."

He raised an eyebrow but said nothing, his mind already churning with questions about where he was, who these people were, and what part they played in this cycle. For now, though, he let the warmth of the fire and the soft murmur of the voices outside.

"Okay... you said that I'm in Erna Isles, right? Which continent? Or kingdom? Empire?"

Rienne grabber a chair and gently sat down, looking at the disoriented make in front of her.

"You're not from around here, are you?"

"Yeah. And believe me, my outfit says it all."

"What outfit?"

Vastarael turned to look at his outfit. Instead of the academy uniform, he was dressed in a white robe. The sleeve ends had golden embroidery on them. In fact, the robe suited him perfectly. But that was not what he was worried about.

He saw Xinoraci Runes embedded on the sleeves of the robe.

"Wait a second. Heat Runes?"

"Oh you know them? We had to warm your body up when you washed up at the Lake of Miracles—"

"You're doing it all wrong."

"Huh?"

Vastarael immediately waved his hand over the orange runes, causing them to vanish. Rienne's eyes widened when she saw what he just did. Seconds after, he drew a Heat Rune in front of him that glowed for a few seconds before it vanished.

The room was warm and this time, it persisted.

"There we go. Phew... now that's a good heating system right there. Seriously, who knew that I'd find Runes... uh, Miss?"

Rienne's jaw dropped as she stared at Vastarael, her eyes wide with disbelief. The way he casually dismissed the runes on his sleeves and conjured a new one with a single motion left her utterly frozen.

"You… You drew that," she whispered, her voice trembling. She took a step back, clutching the edge of her shawl like it might protect her. "How did you—? No. That's not possible!"

Vastarael blinked, confused at her reaction.

"What? It's just a Heat Rune. You had the right idea, but the execution—"

"Stop!" She interrupted, her voice rising in pitch. Her hands shook as she pointed at him, her chest heaving with rapid breaths. Her voice cracked as she stumbled back another step.

"No one draws runes! No one except thr promised savor! Are you him? Are you him?!"

He frowned, taken aback by her sudden outburst.

"What are you talking about? I'm not—"

"You can't be!" She cried, her voice shrill now. "The Savior vanished seven hundred years ago. No one else can draw runes! We only speak them, and even that's sacred!"

Her eyes darted to the faint glow lingering where the rune had been. "This—this has to be a trick. Are you a god? A demon?!"

"Okay, whoa," Vastarael said, raising his hands in a calming gesture. "Breathe. You're going to give yourself a heart attack."

She didn't seem to hear him, pacing frantically as she muttered to herself.

"We've only ever spoken them… no one can write them… and he just—he just—"

"Rienne," he said firmly, his tone cutting through her panic. "Stop. Look at me."

She froze mid-step, her eyes snapping to his. The fear and confusion in her gaze were almost tangible.

"I'm not the Savior, or a god, or a demon, okay? I'm… I'm just someone who knows how to draw runes. I've been doing this for years. Okay?"

"But…" Her voice wavered as she struggled to find words. "How can you know? No one else—"

"Maybe no one else here," he interrupted gently, "but where I come from, rune drawing is a common practice. It's taught, studied and perfected."

It was a lie but he had to calm her down first.

Rienne stared at him, her lips parted as if she wanted to argue but couldn't find the words. The tension in her shoulders began to ease, but her eyes still held a trace of wariness.

"You're not lying?" She asked, her voice small now.

"I'm not lying," he assured her. He gestured to the now-cozy room. "See? Just a simple Heat Rune. Nothing dangerous, nothing sacred. It's just… practical."

She took a tentative step forward, her hands still clutching her shawl tightly.

"If this is true, then… where are you from? How do you know these things?"

"That's… complicated," Vastarael admitted, scratching the back of his neck. "But trust me, I'm not here to hurt anyone."

He offered a small smile, hoping to diffuse the lingering tension. The smile immediately drained all the tension in the girl's eyes. Rienne's expression softened, though uncertainty still lingered in her eyes.

"You're… different."

"Yeah," he replied with a faint chuckle. "I get that a lot—"

The deep, resonant blast of a horn shattered the moment, its echo vibrating through the tent. Vastarael's smile faltered as he glanced toward the sound. Outside, faint shouts and hurried footsteps began to fill the air.

He could hear frantic shouted and screams outside the tent.

Rienne's face shifted immediately, her earlier fear replaced with urgency.

"That's the attack horn. There's a monster breach. Stay here. Don't move!"

She turned on her heel, her shawl fluttering behind her as she darted out of the tent.

Vastarael sat frozen for a moment, listening to the chaos building outside. The sound of clanging weapons, frantic voices and distant growls grew louder. Then, cutting through the cacophony, came a scream.

Then dozens of them.

His heart jolted, and instincts overrode reason.

He pushed himself up, his muscles tense but ready. As he stood, a ripple of essence surged through him, coursing from the depths of his core and spreading to every limb. His body seemed to hum with it, each ache and weakness evaporating in an instant.

"I don't know why I'm sent here but they're the only ones who can help me so..."

He raised his hand and in a flash of shimmering blue light, a weapon materialized. A double-bladed sapphire glaive took form, its blue crystalline edges gleaming with an otherworldly brilliance. The weight of it felt perfect in his grasp, familiar yet powerful.

He didn't like using his Divine Weapon because it was too... strange to use. So, he used his Sapphire Tether to create one.

Without a second thought, he stepped out of the tent, the cool earth pressing against his bare feet.

That's when he realized where he was.

"Mountain ranges..."