Chapter 12: Banned by the Stars
658 Words
The road out of the forest curved toward the distant hills, where the rooftops of a small trading town shimmered beneath the morning sun. The air smelled faintly of dew and wildflowers — peaceful, almost enough to make them forget what they’d been through.
Chris and Camellya walked side by side, their earlier awkwardness fading into comfortable silence.
“So…” Camellya began, brushing a strand of red hair behind her ear. “Where do you usually stay?”
“Hmm? Oh, uh, in Asterveil Village,” Chris replied. “Kind of my base for now. Quiet place.”
She smiled. “I know that one. Not too far from where I train sometimes.”
Chris raised a brow. “So you just wander around randomly?”
Camellya grinned. “Let’s say I follow wherever my sword leads me.”
Chris chuckled softly, shaking his head. “You really are something.”
She turned toward him. “And you, mysterious healer, where will your next quest take you?”
He blinked. “My quest…?”
Then it hit him.
“—My quest!!”
He grabbed his guild card and opened the glowing interface. The familiar blue symbols flickered, then pulsed crimson.
> [SYSTEM NOTICE]
Quest: “Culling the Forest Gnarls” — Expired.
Penalty: Temporary Guild Suspension — 4 Solar Turns.
Chris stared in disbelief. “You’ve gotta be kidding me…”
Camellya peeked over his shoulder. “Four Solar Turns? What’s that mean?”
He groaned, dragging a hand down his face. “About… four days. They banned me for four days!”
The holographic screen glowed brighter, and a line of text scrolled across it dramatically, as if mocking him:
> ‘Failure to complete your duty within celestial alignment period. May the stars guide your better sense of time next era.’
Camellya snorted, trying not to laugh. “Wow. Even the system sounds passive-aggressive here.”
“Not funny,” Chris muttered. “Now I can’t accept quests or enter the guild halls. They’ll think I’m some lazy dropout.”
She crossed her arms, smirking. “Or maybe fate’s telling you to take a break. You’ve been working nonstop, right?”
“Still, that’s… ugh.” He sighed heavily, tucking the card away. “Guess I’ll have to live off savings for a few days.”
But before Camellya could reply, the air shimmered faintly. The guild seal on Chris’s card flickered once — not with red, but with a strange black static.
A faint whisper echoed in his mind:
> “Your time is not measured by the stars… but by the void.”
Chris froze. His pulse quickened. That voice — it wasn’t from the system.
Camellya noticed his expression. “Chris? You okay?”
He blinked quickly, shaking his head. “Y-Yeah. Just… tired, I guess.”
She didn’t look convinced, but didn’t press it.
“Well, since you’re ‘suspended by the stars,’” she said teasingly, “why not spend your punishment in Asterveil? Maybe I’ll drop by when I’m done with my own quest.”
Chris hesitated, then smiled faintly. “You better. I still owe you for scaring me awake this morning.”
“Hah! Deal,” she said, grinning as she turned down a different path. “See you soon, healer boy.”
As she walked away, the wind carried her crimson hair like ribbons of fire. Chris watched her go — the mark under his glove pulsing once more.
And far above, the sky shifted. For just a second, the sunlight dimmed, and faint black rings shimmered around the sun.
> Somewhere, the Voidedge stirred… amused by the irony of being ‘banned by the stars.’
Chris sighed deeply, shoulders slumping.
“Four days, huh? Guess the void wants me to rest too.”
But little did he know — those “four days” would mark the beginning of something far darker.
Something… watching.
- Writer
