The stay at Dherma was far less pleasant than Dallion had hoped. Seeing that his friends and family were doing great had momentarily put Dallion at ease, but no sooner had that happened, he wanted to get back out into the wilderness. There was plenty of time for him to join Eury, but that wasn’t the issue. The place was just too foreign. It wasn’t only the guardians constantly talking to Dallion, not even people reminiscing about the past… it was the domain itself, feeling so polished and secure like a lie.

Bubbles in the wilderness. That’s how Euryale had described settlements, and that’s precisely what they were. The events in Nerosal had shown that. Regardless of the number of awakened inside, regardless of the guardian’s strength, the city had remained one big bubble, always a hair away from popping.

“You’re going to do something dangerous,” Linner said. The boy had managed to drag Dallion to his room several times, showing him all the things Lin had found and brought home. For the most part, they were pebbles, weirdly shaped twigs, and the occasional animal bone. Though talking to them, Dallion had learned far more about his brother than anyone could tell, even his parents.

Despite what everyone believed, the boy was quite the adventurer, even if he didn’t tell anyone about it. All of Lin’s treasures came from the wilderness, and not the one near to the village. Despite not being an awakened, the boy enjoyed sneaking out of the village domain and exploring on his own. One of the chunks of natural crystal was even from the cave in which the old awakening shrine was located.

“Yes, Lin,” Dallion said. “Something very dangerous. But don’t worry. I won’t be alone.”

The boy didn’t say anything, instead rubbing a pebble he was holding in his hand.

“I found you that,” Dallion said, looking at the stone. “That time Gloria took me to…”

“Took you to the shrine,” Lin finished the sentence for him. “I’ve been there. I’ve been to lots of places. Grandpa doesn’t approve, but I still sneak out. He gets upset when I tell him and keeps on going that I’m not an awakened, so I should stay here. But I don’t want to stay here.”

“I know what you mean.”

“There are so many interesting places out there. Most are not far from the village, but no one bothers to go there, even the monks don’t.”

“Oh?”

“I asked one about the valley of ogres and he said he didn’t know anything about it. And there are far more interesting places. I can show you. We can—"

“I know you can.” Dallion ruffled his brother’s hair. “But I can’t go. There are other places I need to be at, other interesting places. Maybe next time when I get back.”

“You keep saying that, but you always set off doing other things.” The boy pouted, crossing his arms.

“Yeah, I do that a lot. I promise I’ll try, okay?”

Linner’s attitude remained unchanged.

“Tell you what. Since you told me about your secret, I’ll tell you a secret of my own. That way, you’ll know what I’m doing.” And hopefully that you can trust me, Dallion thought. “The reason I must go away is because I promised to help a friend find something.”

“Your hunter girlfriend,” Linner said, the disappointment of betrayal filling his voice.

“It’s a hunter, but not my girlfriend.”

These words made Linner look at his brother from the corner of his eye. The sense of betrayal within him was replaced by curiosity.

It’s adorable how he tries to hide things. Gleam chuckled within Dallion’s realm. He’s really bad at it, but thinks he can pull it off. He reminds me a bit of July.

The echo in question coughed in order to show it didn’t agree. Dallion ignored them both.

“You see, she’s a fury,” Dallion went on with the story. “Do you know what a fury is?”

Linner shook his head, already hooked on the story

“Furies are creatures of the sky. They are born in great cloud fortresses that roam the skies. It is even said that when you see thunder it’s because two cloud forts are fighting each other for dominance over that patch of sky.”

“That’s not true!” the boy said, although Dallion could see that deep down he believed it. And it was easy to believe such a story, since at one point it had been true. Of course, that had happened ages ago, when the furies were more than the battered kingdom remnants they were now. According to the few historical records Dallion had come across, sky battles were common to the point that all major races feared the day the furies would conquer all due to their military strength and violent temper.

“Oh, it’s very true.” Dallion smiled. “I’ve seen many furies in Nerosal. They can control the wind, giving them the ability to fly and smack people on the head from a distance. But even among them, my friend is special.”

“How?”

“She’s a thunder fury. That means she can also control thunder. Once she got very upset and…”

“What?” Linner leaned closer, as if they would help him learn the answer faster.

“And she threw a customer out of the inn I was at.”

“Come on!”

“I’m serious.” Dallion laughed. “She grabbed him by the collar and threw him out like a scruffy cat. So, she asked me to help find something for her. Something very, very important.”

“Her teapot?” Linner narrowed his eyes, feigning disinterest.

“Her home.”

This got the reaction as one would expect. Lin looked at his brother, then—for some reason—at the floor. A sense of sadness formed and grew within his chest.

“Lin?” Dallion asked, confused. “What’s the matter?”

“Grandpa told me,” the boy said. “He told me that this place isn’t your home.”

“It is my home.” Damn it, grandpa, why did you have to tell him that? “You’ve known me your entire life. You know—"

“It’s not your only home. As it isn’t his. The first time Grandpa took me to the shrine to awaken, he warned me that I might change, but also not change. He said that the thoughts of someone in another world far, far away will merge with me, but I wasn’t to be afraid. It was all going to be alright, because that’s what happened to you.”

There was no explaining around this one, Nil said. Not only had the old man given a quite detailed explanation, but the boy seems to have understood it. Frankly, I’m surprised at how well he handles the whole thing.

“Grandpa is right. That’s what sometimes happens when you awaken.” Dallion had no choice but to play along. “Is that why you’re worried about me? You think I’m searching for my way home? To my other home?”

The boy nodded.

“Don’t worry, I don’t plan on leaving.” This wasn’t a conversation Dallion wanted to have at all, let alone under such circumstances. “And neither is my friend. I promised to find her home here. You see, she was born in a cloud castle, and needs my help to find it.”

Linner remained silent. Dallion could see, thanks to his music skill, that the feeling of concern hadn’t left his brother.

“Hey. I won’t be going off anywhere,” Dallion said. “And even if I wanted to, there’s no way back. So, don’t be like this, okay?”

It took a while, but Linner nodded again. There was no telling whether he believed his brother or had simply accepted the fact that Dallion would just disappear one day.

“I’ve still lots of things to do here. Besides, I must help my friends.”

“I guess…”

“But I’m glad you told me. Not many know about this, so it’ll have to remain a secret, alright?”

“Grandpa told me about that.”

“Yes, but this must remain a secret, even from him. It’s better if people don’t know about it, or they’ll start behaving differently.” This was far from the best explanation, but it had to do. It also helped that Dallion added a bit of trust in his words. “We don’t want anyone to worry more than they have to, right?”

Another nod indicated that Linner agreed. It also put an end to the conversation. The topic was never raised again. Even so, Dallion felt he had stayed longer than necessary. The very same day, after finishing dinner, Dallion wished his family a quick goodbye, left a few gold coins—just in case—and left.

I thought you liked your village, Nil said as Dallion looked at the sky. Night had just started and with it, the Moons made their appendence. Normally this would be the time people remained in their settlements, but for a hunter, it was the best time to move. The Moons provided light and protection from Star spawn.

I liked what it was, Dallion said. Now it’s become too noisy.

That’s just you getting used to your empathy stat. You’ll get used to it. Give it a bit more time.

It’s already been several months.

And you think that’s enough? The echo laughed. How long did it take you to learn to use your music skill properly? And your forging? This is an entirely new attribute, one that has been kept from humanity for centuries, at least. Of course, you’ll have problems.

Turning slightly to his left, Dallion continued walking. By his estimates he was five days from Halburn, more if he paused for some sleep. Given that the rest of the hunting party was waiting for him, Dallion preferred to get there sooner rather than later. His zoology skill told him that there were quite a few critters about hiding from view. His traveler’s emblem made them keep their distance.

So now that you’ve scratched Dherma off your list, what’s left? You plan to go hunting for the general’s item?

After Halburn, Dallion replied.

The town is nowhere as important as it tries to make itself out to be. There are far better libraries in the heart of the empire.

Strictly speaking, that was correct, but they wouldn’t have any specific information on the area, and for the moment that was precisely what Dallion and the other hunters were after. Even with the vast number of traders and treasure seekers, fresh ruins remained difficult to find. It was no wonder that a third of all hunter missions received maps in the form of payment. Just like in the pirate days back on Earth, maps were more valuable than artifacts. Of course, that was partially true. All discovered ruins had an expiration date. The fresher a set of ruins was, the more likely there would be artifacts inside.

Being at the outer border of the Empire, the town of Halburn was a place at which merchants and hunters exchanged goods and information. From what Eury had told Dallion, they were going to exchange the reward of their last few missions for several ruin maps of the region. The important bit was that, as Dallion had told his brother, one of the maps was supposedly linked to the cloud fortress on which Jiroh was born. It remained a longshot, but both Eury had agreed to go along with it, as always. This time, Dallion had also joined in.

The whole night Dallion spent walking. At the crack of dawn, he entered his awakening realm to get some sleep, then—once he was adequately refreshed—went back to the real world and walked on. Day after day, night after night, Dallion kept walking. When his food rations ran out, he engaged in a bit of hunting—animals only—in order to procure himself some meat.

Finally, nine days after he had last spoken with Euryale, Dallion arrived at his destination.

Welcome to the southern watchtower of Halbrun, dear boy, Nil said. From here on, you’re officially on the Tamin-Valeido border. I’d suggest you don’t do any unnecessary actions once you get near the tower. People here tend to be a bit overcautious.

Even to hunters? Dallion asked.

Until you get your hunter emblem, you’re nothing but a traveler, dear boy.