Chapter 26: The One Beyond Fear
808 Words
The melody faded.
Silence returned.
Echo slowly looked around the forest.
"...Did it stop?"
Dorothy didn't answer.
She quietly stepped forward.
Each tap of her walking stick echoed softly through the trees.
No one dared to move ahead of her.
Even the experienced hunters remained behind.
For the first time...
They weren't searching for monsters.
They were searching for answers.
---
The enormous footprints continued deeper into the forest.
Then...
They suddenly disappeared.
Echo blinked.
"...How?"
Edric frowned.
"They can't simply vanish."
Kodie slowly knelt.
His fingers brushed the fallen leaves.
"...They didn't."
Everyone looked toward him.
He quietly pointed upward.
Broken branches.
High above them.
Echo slowly raised his head.
"...It..."
"...Jumped?"
The nearest broken branch was almost fifteen meters above the ground.
One hunter laughed nervously.
"...Nothing that large can jump that high."
Dorothy remained silent.
That silence was enough to make everyone uneasy.
---
A cool breeze drifted through the forest.
The scent it carried wasn't blood.
Nor decay.
It smelled...
Like flowers after rain.
Echo frowned.
"...That's strange."
Dorothy quietly closed her eyes.
"...Do you smell it?"
Echo nodded.
"...It's nice."
Dorothy whispered almost to herself,
"...Just as I remember..."
---
Before anyone could ask—
A rustle echoed above.
Every head snapped upward.
Something moved between the branches.
Too fast to recognize.
The hunters immediately drew their bows.
Echo gripped his sword.
Nothing happened.
The forest became quiet again.
---
One of the hunters slowly lowered his weapon.
"...Probably a bird."
The words had barely left his mouth—
CRACK!
A thick branch crashed onto the path directly in front of him.
Everyone jumped back.
The branch hadn't fallen naturally.
Its cut was perfectly clean.
As though someone had deliberately dropped it.
The hunter's face turned pale.
"...It..."
"...Missed me."
Dorothy looked at the branch.
Then toward the treetops.
A faint smile appeared on her face.
"...No."
"It warned you."
Echo stared.
"...Warned?"
Dorothy nodded.
"If it wanted you dead..."
"...You wouldn't have seen the branch."
Silence.
That realization chilled everyone.
---
Far above...
A shadow briefly appeared between the leaves.
Only for an instant.
Long silver hair.
A flowing white cloak.
Then...
Gone.
Echo's eyes widened.
"...Someone's there!"
He instinctively ran forward.
"Echo."
Dorothy's voice stopped him immediately.
He froze.
"...But—"
"What was today's lesson?"
Echo clenched his fists.
He answered quietly.
"...Never chase what I don't understand."
Dorothy smiled proudly.
"Good."
---
A soft laugh echoed through the forest.
Not mocking.
Not cruel.
Warm.
Gentle.
Almost...
Lonely.
Even Edric looked around in confusion.
"...Was that..."
No one answered.
---
Back in Greenhollow...
Mira finally finished treating the last injured villager.
She exhaled deeply.
For the first time that day...
She allowed herself to sit down.
Her shoulders ached.
Her hands trembled from magical exhaustion.
The elderly healer beside her smiled.
"You've grown."
Mira laughed softly.
"I still make mistakes."
"You do."
He nodded.
"But unlike before..."
"...You no longer let those mistakes frighten you."
Mira looked toward the forest where Dorothy had gone.
"...Master taught me that."
The old healer smiled knowingly.
"No..."
"I think she reminded you of something you already possessed."
---
Back in the forest...
The group reached a small clearing.
At its center...
Lay a massive monster.
The very creature that had led the attack on Greenhollow.
Its body was covered in wounds.
One clean s***h crossed its chest.
The battle...
Had ended in a single strike.
Echo swallowed hard.
"...Who..."
"...Did this?"
No one answered.
Dorothy slowly walked toward the fallen beast.
She gently closed its eyes.
Then whispered,
"...Rest."
Echo looked confused.
"...It attacked innocent people."
Dorothy nodded.
"It did."
"Then why..."
She looked toward the silent forest.
"Because hatred..."
"...should never be the last thing we leave behind."
Echo lowered his gaze.
He didn't fully understand.
But somehow...
He felt those words mattered.
---
Just then...
A single white feather drifted down from the sky.
It landed softly in Dorothy's hand.
She stared at it for several seconds.
Her expression softened.
"...So it really is you."
A gentle breeze swept across the clearing.
The melody returned.
Only for a heartbeat.
Then...
It disappeared once more.
Echo looked around desperately.
"...Who's there?"
Only silence answered him.
Dorothy carefully placed the feather inside her satchel.
"...Let's go home."
Echo blinked.
"...That's it?"
She smiled.
"For today."
---
As they walked back toward Greenhollow...
Far above them...
Hidden among the highest branches...
A lone figure quietly watched them leave.
Only a silhouette could be seen.
The figure smiled faintly.
Then whispered into the evening wind...
"...He's finally here."
The leaves danced.
The melody faded.
And the mysterious watcher vanished without a trace.
---
End of Chapter 26
«Some meetings begin with a battle.
Others begin with being silently watched.
The most important encounters... often happen before two people ever exchange a single word.»
- Writer
