Chapter 22 - What Was Buried Returs

It stirred the frozen treetops in brittle whispers, sighing across the half-frozen graves Caleb had left behind in the snow. They weren't elaborate — shallow pits dug with bleeding hands and numbed fingers — but they were graves. Marked with stones. Given the decency no one else would offer.

And now, he stood before them again.

It had been over a week, maybe more. Time had a habit of blurring out here. The sky held no sun, just a shifting sheet of dull light that moved without logic. Caleb had stopped trying to track the hours — it only made the loneliness worse.

But Nyssara's words had lingered.

"You should visit the buried."

He hadn't questioned it at the time. Too much had happened. But now, with his wounds mostly closed and his thoughts quieter, he felt drawn here again. A thread pulling him, stitched through memory and instinct.

He crouched before the first grave — the walker he had struck down near the old ruin. Its half-frozen face flashed in his mind. He hadn't known the man. Hadn't even heard his voice. But still, Caleb had buried him. Not because he deserved it. Not because he asked. But because someone should have.

Nothing moved.

Then, just as he shifted to stand, the ground hummed.

A faint vibration pulsed beneath his boots — not like the tremor of footsteps or a distant beast. This was subtle. Rooted. Like the forest itself had sighed.

Caleb froze.

A ripple spread outward from the three graves, silent and wide, like frost growing across glass. The snow darkened momentarily, gleaming faintly beneath the surface.

Then, a system message flared in his vision:

System Message:

"Through repeated acts of mercy, a threshold has been crossed. The cycle of death bends to your will."

Trait Gained: "Restbringer's Pact" – Slight increase to resistance against fear and cold. Your acts bring comfort. Allies and minions in your presence will suffer less morale loss in battle.

Caleb let out a breath, ragged and uneven. He wasn't sure if it was the cold or the message that had shaken him.

A trait. Just for burying the dead?

It didn't feel like a reward. It felt like recognition. Like this frozen hell had noticed something for the first time — and had chosen to nod, quietly, in return.

Then the snow shifted again.

One of the graves — not the largest, not the one he'd expected — stirred. A low crunch echoed as packed snow cracked and gave way. Something moved beneath.

Caleb stepped back, hand already halfway to his kukri, instincts flaring.

A pale hand broke through the surface. Not rotted. Not clawed. Phantom-like. Its fingers pressed gently against the earth before another arm joined it. A form began to rise — slow, deliberate — until a figure knelt before him. Translucent and quiet.

It wore the vague shape of a man — thin, dressed in ragged scavenged clothes. His eyes were lowered. His frame humble. He didn't attack. He didn't speak.

He bowed.

And then, another message appeared — not loud, not flashing, but etched in quiet gold.

"What was buried returns — not in hatred, but in trust."

The words hit harder than any frostbite ever had.

Caleb didn't move at first. He didn't know what to feel. A part of him was wary — this world had rarely given without a catch. But another part, deeper and quieter, simply... understood.

He took a slow step forward.

"Can you... understand me?" he asked.

The figure lifted his head — not much — and nodded once.

Still cautious, Caleb reached out. Not to grab, not to order — just to offer.

But the specter didn't take it. Instead, it touched its own chest, then lowered its hand again. Waiting.

"I guess you'll need a name," Caleb said, voice dry from the cold. "Can't just call you ghost number two."

He looked out at the forest, then back to the graves. His throat tightened unexpectedly.

"Let's go with... Aslan. Yeah. You look like an Aslan."

The specter — Aslan — nodded again. Then silently drifted behind Caleb, standing a pace behind. No words. No sound. Just presence.

A second follower. Not gained through force, or luck, or barter.

But through mercy.

And for the first time in this world, Caleb didn't feel quite as alone.

End of the 22nd chapter.