Chapter 90: The Horn

Neo walked away from Senya’s hut, his mind still turning over everything she had just told him. He barely noticed the familiar faces or the friendly waves of the villagers as he made his way along the path.

Ten months had been more than enough time for Neo to realize that Senya rarely said anything without meaning behind it. Every warning she had given him since the day he arrived had eventually proven true in one way or another, sometimes unfolding in ways he never could have expected.

Still, knowing that didn’t make it any easier to trust her completely.

He always kept a certain distance from her, a small part of himself refusing to place blind faith in anyone. No matter how many times her words proved accurate, Neo had learned that being right didn’t necessarily mean someone could be trusted.

’An opposing thread... someone who negates whatever I draw in.’

He turned the thought over again as he walked, the same way he had countless times over the past ten months, each time arriving at the same uncertain conclusion.

’Kael still feels like the obvious answer. The system couldn’t even be able to read his status properly, which has to mean something. But Senya said she can’t see faces or names, only the shape and the amount of the disturbance. So I can’t be completely sure it’s him.’

He passed a group of children chasing each other through the square, their laughter bright and careless, and the familiar tightness in his chest eased slightly, if only for a moment.

’Whoever it is, whatever it eventually leads to, I just need to make sure my family stays out of it. That’s all that actually matters.’

The thought of his family brought a different kind of ache, one he had become practiced at burying over the past several months, though it had never truly gone away.

By the time he reached his small wooden house near the edge of the square, the sun had dipped low, painting the sky in soft shades of orange. The warm color reminded him, uncomfortably, of the evenings he had spent back at the Draven estate.

He stepped inside and dropped onto the simple cot that served as his bed, staring up at the uneven wooden beams of the ceiling.

’Ten months... Evelyn has probably grown taller. Yuki has probably gotten even bigger. Mother has probably worried herself sick, and Father has probably torn apart half the kingdom searching for me.’

He closed his eyes, letting himself sit with the thought for a while, the quiet ache of homesickness settling heavily over him in a way training and village chores usually kept at bay.

’And Nora.’

That particular thought always hurt the most.

He had no way of knowing whether she’d survived the carriage crash, whether the devils had caught up with her after he’d been separated from her in the chaos, whether she was safe somewhere back home, or whether something far worse had happened. The uncertainty gnawed at him constantly, a low, persistent hum beneath everything else he did, no matter how hard he tried to focus on training or village life instead.

’I promised her I wasn’t going anywhere. And then I just vanished.’

He let out a slow, tired breath, draping an arm over his eyes.

’I need to find a way home. Soon. Whatever Senya’s visions mean, whatever this opposing thread actually turns out to be, I can’t keep putting my own family through this. Ten months is already too long.’

He lay there for a long while, caught somewhere between exhaustion and restless thought, the familiar sounds of the settlement winding down outside his window, distant voices calling goodnights, the soft creak of doors closing for the evening, the occasional bark of one of the village’s half-wild herding dogs.

Eventually, sleep began creeping in at the edges, his tired mind finally quieting enough to let exhaustion take over.

*BOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNG!*

Then the horn sounded.

*BOOOM!*

A single, deep, resonant blast echoed from the direction of the village’s outer wall, cutting through the quiet evening with unmistakable urgency. Neo’s eyes snapped open instantly, every trace of drowsiness vanishing in a heartbeat.

The horn sounded again. Then a third time, in quick, sharp succession.

’That’s not a routine signal.’

He’d learned the village’s warning system well enough over the past ten months to know exactly what that particular pattern meant. One blast meant a minor disturbance, usually wild animals wandering too close to the fields. Two meant something slightly more serious, a lone scout spotted, perhaps, or unfamiliar tracks discovered nearby.

Three blasts, sounded quickly, one after another, meant an actual, confirmed threat.

Neo was already moving before the third blast finished echoing, throwing himself off the cot and grabbing his cloak from where it hung near the door. Outside, the settlement had erupted into sudden, frantic motion, villagers rushing between houses, parents scooping up children, able-bodied hunters grabbing whatever weapons they kept close at hand and sprinting toward the outer wall.

"What’s happening?!" Neo called out, catching one of the younger hunters by the shoulder as the man rushed past.

"Something’s coming! A large group, from the east! The watchers spotted torches, maybe an hour out!" the hunter answered, breathless and wide-eyed, before pulling free and continuing his sprint toward the gathering crowd near the wall.

Neo’s blood ran cold.

’The east. That’s the same direction the slavers came from before.’

He broke into a run, weaving through the chaos of fleeing villagers and mobilizing hunters, his mind racing through everything Senya had told him only hours earlier.

’The vision. The village burning. Is this it? Is this what she saw?’

He reached the central square just as Diana appeared from the opposite direction, her expression tight with barely controlled alarm, already shouting orders toward a cluster of younger villagers.

"Get the children and the elderly toward the shelter caves! Move, now!"

"Diana!" Neo called out, pushing through the crowd toward her. "What’s the situation?"

She turned sharply at his voice, her eyes briefly flickering with something close to relief at the sight of him before hardening back into focused urgency.

"Scouts spotted a large group approaching from the east. Heavily armed, moving in formation. This isn’t some wandering pack of beasts or a small raiding party." Her jaw tightened. "This looks organized."

"How many?"

"At least a hundred, maybe more. We don’t have the numbers to hold them off if they’re actually here for a full assault."

Neo’s mind raced, pieces falling into place with uncomfortable speed.

’A hundred armed men, organized, approaching from the same direction as the slavers. And Senya’s vision was about this exact village burning to the ground.’

"Is it them? The slavers? Did they send reinforcements after what happened at the fortress?"

Diana’s expression darkened considerably. "I don’t know for certain. But given everything, I’d say it’s a reasonable guess."

Another horn blast echoed from the wall, sharper and more urgent than before.

Neo’s hands curled into tight fists at his sides.

’Well, it seems, it is time to try something new. Guess I’m about to find out exactly how much of it actually matters.’

He turned toward Diana, his earlier exhaustion completely forgotten, replaced by a sharp, focused determination.

"Tell everyone to get to the wall, I’ll hold the gate as long as I need to. Just get the people who can’t fight somewhere safe."

Diana stared at him for a brief moment, something complicated flickering behind her eyes, before she finally gave a sharp, decisive nod.

"Spirits watch over you, Neo Draven."

She turned and sprinted off, shouting new orders toward the scattering crowd, and Neo took one last steadying breath before breaking into a run of his own, heading straight toward the outer wall, toward whatever was marching steadily closer through the darkening evening, carrying with it the exact nightmare he was staying here for.