Chương 392: Akashic Deer

Vale pushed through the dense bushes, his body still aching from everything that had happened. The newly repaired plates of his armor scraped against leaves and thorns as he searched the forest floor for dry branches. They needed a proper fire back at camp, and for once, there was little else demanding his attention. His mind felt strangely quiet. Almost peaceful. For the first time in what felt like forever, he had enough room in his head to actually think about the things he'd been pushing aside.

'Do I really like Nym like that? Or was I just desperate?' Vale slowed for a moment, staring absently at the ground. Ever since Nym had rejected him, the intensity of those feelings had simply... disappeared. There was no racing heart, no constant need to be near her, no ache whenever she walked away. Looking back, it was almost embarrassing how quickly everything had faded. Maybe that was the answer. Illu had died. Nym cared about him.

Vale had been drowning in grief and desperately needed something—or someone—to hold onto. Perhaps what he'd mistaken for affection had simply been his mind searching for somewhere to put all that pain. The realization made an uncomfortable amount of sense. Neither he nor Nym truly understood their own emotions. Vale barely understood his at all after spending most of his life unable to properly experience them, while Nym had the even greater burden of constantly feeling the emotions of everyone around her.

It was hardly surprising that either of them could confuse one feeling for another.

"Ugh... this is such a pain." Vale sighed and bent down to pick up another branch before continuing through the forest. The woods were strangely quiet, but not lifeless. Insects crawled beneath the foliage, distant birds called to one another between the trees, and something occasionally rustled through the undergrowth. It was almost peaceful. Then Vale noticed something between the trees. A herd of Akashic deer.

At first glance, they looked like ordinary deer, but their enormous green antlers glowed softly in the shade, bathing the surrounding forest in an ethereal light. Vale had heard stories about them before. Their antlers possessed extraordinary healing properties, supposedly capable of treating injuries that would otherwise be impossible to recover from. There was, however, one important condition. Their antlers could never be taken by force.

If someone tried to hunt an Akashic deer for them, the glow would disappear, along with their healing properties. The deer had to willingly offer its antlers to someone it considered worthy.

"Like something out of a fairy tale." A faint smile touched Vale's lips as he watched them. Then one of the deer noticed him. Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings. Vale's smile faded slightly. Despite their peaceful nature, Akashic deer were still Category Four beasts, and Vale had learned enough about this forest to know that appearances could be deceiving. He remained still as the creature slowly approached him, seemingly unconcerned by his presence.

"Now why are you coming to me?" Vale asked, a hint of amusement in his voice.

"Am I really that special?" The deer continued forward until it stood only a few meters away. Then it stopped. Vale tilted his head.

"What? Changed your mind at the last second?" The deer simply stared at him.

"Well, I can't blame you. I'm probably bad news anyway." Still nothing. After another few seconds, Vale shrugged and turned away.

"Alright. That was interesting, but I really need to get back." He had barely taken a few steps when something pierced straight through his back. Vale's eyes widened. Blood suddenly spilled from his mouth as several glowing projections erupted through his chest from behind. Yet, strangely, there was no pain. He slowly looked down at the glowing structures piercing his body before turning his head. The deer stood exactly where he had left it. Its antlers were still glowing.

A weak grin appeared across Vale's face as understanding finally reached him.

"Oh my... you actually consider someone like me worthy?" The answer was obvious. The deer had never been attacking him. It was healing him. The green antlers dissolved into pure light, and their energy surged through Vale's body. His wounds closed. The sickness that had plagued him disappeared, and the accumulated damage from his previous battles faded away as though it had never existed. Then came the relief. It was overwhelming.

Every ounce of pain, exhaustion, and lingering weakness was ripped away in a single instant. It should have felt wonderful. Instead, Vale found himself trembling as the sudden absence of suffering left behind an unsettling emptiness. He dropped to one knee, breathing heavily as he waited for his body to adjust.

"Always the same nonsense..." His gaze shifted toward the bracelet around his wrist.

"Come on, Shade. Aren't you supposed to guard me?" The bracelet shifted. Dark mist spilled from its surface, gathering in front of Vale before forming into Shade's towering figure. The creature emerged from the shadows like a warrior being pulled from darkness itself. Vale glanced back toward the deer. Its glowing antlers had disappeared, leaving it without its primary means of defense.

"Thank you." The deer stared at him for several seconds before lowering its head in a quiet bow. Vale still didn't understand why it had chosen him, or what exactly it had seen in him that made him worthy. He wasn't sure he even wanted to know. But he was grateful. The deer eventually turned and disappeared between the trees. Vale watched it go before glancing toward Shade.

"You know, for a Category Four, they're pretty friendly. Wouldn't you agree?" Shade remained silent. Vale's faint smile slowly disappeared. Even beneath the thick black mist surrounding him, something was clearly wrong. The cracks across Shade's onyx body had spread considerably since Vale had last noticed them. The red fractures were deeper now, branching across his body like wounds that refused to heal. Vale frowned.

"Hey, Shade. What are those cracks? What do they mean?" Shade refused to meet his eyes. Instead, he simply turned away, almost like a stubborn child avoiding a question he didn't want to answer. Vale stared at him for a moment. He wasn't angry. He just wanted an answer. If something was wrong, he wanted to know. Shade couldn't speak, but that had never stopped him from communicating before. He had always found some way to make himself understood. This time was different. Shade refused entirely.

Vale eventually sighed.

"Fine." He bent down and gathered the branches he'd dropped earlier.

"Come on. Help me with the wood." Shade silently followed. Vale had barely taken another step when a broken voice suddenly echoed inside his mind.

"V-V-Vale..." He froze. The voice was distorted and fragmented, like a radio struggling to transmit through an ocean of static. But Vale knew that voice.

"Zellion?" His heartbeat quickened. That shouldn't have been possible. Zellion had already told him that communication would be impossible inside this place.

"Zellion, what's wrong?" Only static answered. Vale stood completely still, listening. For several seconds, there was nothing. Then, buried beneath the interference, the voice returned.

"R-Run..." Vale's eyes widened.

"What?" The static grew louder, tearing through the connection until Zellion's voice was almost completely drowned out. Then, suddenly, the interference broke. And Zellion screamed.

"RUN!!!"