Chapter 21: Journey
The scarecrow post was quiet that morning. No whispers. No watchers. Just the wind brushing the wheat and the old cat curled beside the grave.
We left before breakfast.
Elira tried to act like it was any other day. But her hands trembled just a little when she packed the herbs. Rin noticed. I noticed. Even the cat noticed.
Mary came running down the field path before we reached the gate. She didn't say goodbye at first. Just threw her arms around Rin's legs and mumbled something about not forgetting.
"Not like I've got much else to remember," Rin said, ruffling her hair.
The girl looked up at me. Then narrowed her eyes. "You better come back, Scarecrow."
"…I'll try."
She gave a solemn nod, like she'd just struck a deal with death, then skipped back toward the house.
We passed the scarecrow one last time. The scarf fluttered weakly in the breeze. No System messages. No prophetic warnings. Just quiet.
Mount Kein was already waiting when we reached the road. Not that it had a choice. The damn thing liked me now.
I climbed up front. Gilger sat behind me, muttering about sore backs and hero discounts. Rin took her place beside us, hood up, arm still stiff but healing.
The road ahead curved west, toward the capital. Toward answers. Maybe.
We didn't speak much that day. But my thoughts wouldn't shut up.
Back on Earth, I'd be working a 9-to-5 job, half-dead from instant noodles and caffeine abuse. Now I'm guiding a semi-mythical mount through a kingdom filled with sigil-powered lunatics. Life really went sideways, huh?
The wind picked up. Trees whispered names I didn't recognize. I closed my eyes.
[System Notification]
Would you like to review current status? [Y/N]
"...Yeah. Why not."
The others didn't flinch. They couldn't see it. No glowing screens, no popup texts. To them, I was just mumbling again.
Name: Lumen Halden
Origin: Unknown (Anomaly - Crossworld Host)
Threadmark Tier: Common (Bound)
Sigil: [Threadbinder] - Synaptic Weave-Class
Affinities: Emotional Resonance / Tactile Control
Active Skills:
Snareweave (II) Threadshots (I) ..
-Threadcatch (locked)
Core Attributes:
Vitality: 62/100 (Moderate recovery rate) Physical Strength: 48/100 (Below combat standard) Mental IQ: 89 (Earth-Education Modifier + System Buff) Thread Manipulation: 71/100 (Advanced Novice)
Suggested Path: Adaptive Weaver or Emotional Architect
Current Rank Estimate: [Thread Initiate - Level 3]
"Threadcatch…" I whispered. "Sounds like something a fantasy Etsy store would sell."
Gilger nudged me with his elbow. "You muttering about girls again?"
I smiled. "Worse. Myself."
We stopped at a small riverbend by dusk. Not a real campsite. Just rocks, grass, and enough silence to fit three wounded travelers.
Gilger stretched out first. Then groaned. "I swear, my bones are growing in the wrong order."
Rin sat beside the stream. She didn't talk. Just stared into the water like it might show her a different world.
She was always searching. For her brother. For her purpose. Maybe both.
I knew what I had to say. But it still felt wrong. So I said it anyway.
"I'm not from this world."
Gilger looked up from his canteen. Rin didn't flinch.
"I've remembered bits. Dreams. Places with glowing boxes, glass walls, machines that made toast. I used to be someone else."
Rin finally looked at me. "…That's why the Threads chose you."
"No. That's why the System chose me. You can't see it. No one can. It's like…"
Gilger snorted. "An invisible girlfriend. Got it."
I gave him a tired smile. "She's clingy and makes me work for every power-up."
Then I told them everything. Not all at once. But enough. The voice in my head. The way it told me what to do. The stat screens. The skill names. The voice that sometimes sounded like… my mother.
Rin listened in silence. Gilger cracked jokes. But at the end of it, they didn't walk away.
That was enough.
The next morning, I checked the System again.
[System Observation: Companion Profiles - Restricted View]
Name: Rin (Full Name Unknown)
Estimated Sigil: [Edgeflower - Blade Manifest]
Combat Efficiency: 79/100 Thread Affinity: Mid-Low Emotional Focus: High Stability Potential Role: Vanguard / Sibling Seeker
Rank Estimate: [Thread Initiate - Level 4]
Name: Gilger Fenn
Sigil Class: Illusion-Thread / Misdirection-Type Combat Efficiency: 64/100 Thread Affinity: Adaptive Emotional Focus: Erratic Potential Role: Trickster / Concealer
Rank Estimate: [Thread Initiate - Level 2.5]
System locked their stats after a few seconds. Said something about privacy protocols. Guess even magical UIs respect boundaries.
By the third day, we saw the towers of the capital. Distant. Sharp. Rising from hills like teeth waiting to chew us up.
Elira's letter was still sealed in my pack. I hadn't opened it.
Didn't need to.
We were going. To be tested. Ranked. Trained. Or rejected. Whatever happened, it'd be the start of something new.
I gripped the hilt of my threadweave knife.
"Let's see what the world does to us next."
And maybe, just maybe… what I'll do back.