Chapter 4: Chapter 3 : A strange encounter
The warm water flowed over Shin's body, vapor rising from the ground. All his tiredness disappeared, and he felt refreshed, as if the water was carrying away his pain and torment. His thoughts wandered as he enjoyed the drops rolling down his weary body.
He clutched his heart where a faint pain made itself known. Sighing in exasperation and exhaustion, he whistled a song he used to sing with his sister before falling asleep at night when they were children.
After finishing his shower, Shin dried himself with his towel, wrapped it around himself, and stepped out of the small stall. There was almost no one left in the showers, the sound of the water having drastically decreased. The showers seemed strangely empty, the sound of conversations now nothing more than a distant murmur.
The young boy walked toward the exit without hurrying. Once outside, he headed toward his room, wandering through the wooden and monotonous corridors of the outpost. He finally arrived in front of his room.
He could already hear snippets of conversation through the door as he pushed it open to enter the room.
"Shin was really amazing during the fight!" the man from the carriage exclaimed to Ryan.
Ryan turned his head toward the door to see who the newcomer was. Noticing it was Shin, he smiled and greeted him:
"So, did that shower feel good?"
"Yes, thanks for worrying about me, Ryan," he turned his head toward the other man, "And thanks for the compliment, I guess, uh..."
"Oh yeah, that's right, I didn't introduce myself!" the man exclaimed. "My name is Edward. Nice to meet you, Shin."
Edward held out his hand. Shin shook it and returned the greeting, "Nice to meet you too."
The man looked older than Ryan, but also happier. His dark blond hair and green eyes were bright, though they seemed to hide a tragic story.
His hands were in pretty good shape, which meant Edward must have only been a fighter for a short time.
Shin smiled and said, "I hope we get along—"
"Besides, Shin," Ryan cut him off, "you need to hurry up, change clothes and then come to the funeral, because you look a little silly in your towel right now."
Shin's smile trembled as he mumbled, "Of course…"
***
The square was silent, dozens of people huddled together but not making a sound. It was pitch black, the faint light of the stars and moon barely reaching them.
It was in the tradition, when the bodies of the deceased could not be burned, to write their name on a parchment before igniting it with a magical flame.
What started as a simple need to get rid of the bodies by optimizing the space they took up – burying them underground took up too much space – while minimizing the risk – leaving the walls was too dangerous – had become a tradition.
That is why burning parchments with the names of the deceased had become fashionable when the bodies could not be recovered.
The cool air caressed Shin's skin, his damp hair dancing in the faint breeze.
He watched distractedly as the head of the outpost took the parchment, concentrated on his magic, then inflamed the piece of paper with a bright green flame.
Minutes passed in silence before the mage, perched on a pedestal to be seen by everyone, declared:
"All these people... fought valiantly to ensure not only their survival, but that of all. They did not back down in the face of danger, and that is commendable. May their names remain engraved in our memories, and may their bravery be a source of inspiration for each of us!"
His words echoed in the air, having the effect of a gentle wave. Some began to mourn the loss of a loved one, while others simply grieved for a friend they had just met, but with whom they had spent a good time.
Little by little, everyone began to return to their rooms, taking more or less time to assimilate all these losses. Shin, for his part, decided to explore the place a bit before going to bed, a strange feeling pushing him to investigate the area…
He went around the ramparts. Apart from the guards, there was no one at this late hour.
As he studied a large building that was obviously of higher quality and more beautiful construction than the others – probably the operations center and the superiors' lodgings – he felt a pinching sensation in his heart. Like an instinct.
He turned around quickly, and there…
In the dim light of the night, he saw a silhouette with wings…
He squinted to see better.
He could discern that the figure seemed to be a young man his age and to be in every way similar to a human. The only differences being that his eyes shone with a dazzling golden light, that he had wings made of unreal white light behind his back, and that he was absurdly handsome!
Despite all this, he was strangely unnoticed, as if it was difficult to focus on him. If it wasn't for that feeling in his heart, he could very well have missed him.
Shin asked warily, "Who are you?"
The strange young man in front of him seemed surprised for a moment before exclaiming softly, "Ooohh! So you can see me? It's very rare, you know. Besides, I think you're the first person from below to have noticed me. You must be someone very special..."
As his interlocutor spoke, Shin studied him more deeply. He noticed that one of his wings seemed injured, as if it had received a blow that had burned it. He was of average height, and had hair the same color as his eyes.
Shin asked skeptically, "From below?"
The young man with golden eyes looked at him curiously for a moment before snickering, "Ahh... That's right, I forgot. The people here hardly know about us."
He paused, "Only the higher-ups in your homeland know about us, so long story short, let's just say I come from above the canopy of the trees of the forest."
"Really?" Shin didn't seem to be bothered much by his words as he asked for confirmation. Although he had never heard of people living above the forest and was extremely interested in it, he seemed unaffected.
"Yes, yes. Just like there are… things living under the forest, in the Mirror Forest, we live above the jungle, in what we call the Emerald Sea."
The white-winged figure made of light took on a pained expression and continued:
"I would like to chat a little more, but I have to go, I have things to do. So… before I leave, can we introduce ourselves? I'll start. I'm Felix from the Thady clan, and you?"
"Shin," he replied in a flat voice, ready at any moment to retaliate against a possible attack.
"Well, Shin, it was a pleasure talking with you, but I'm leaving now!"
Felix smiled, then opened his wings and swung them, creating a weak draft. The young man rose into the air at a terrifying speed, although his flight seemed unbalanced due to his burnt wing. There was still this feeling of invisibility around him. The figure moved away and quickly became a point of faint light that Shin lost sight of.
Walking towards the male dormitories, Shin murmured curiously, "How could it have been a pleasure? You were the only one talking!"
Pushing the thought out of his mind, he thought about what this strange person had just told him.
"So, there would be not only a space under the forest, the Mirror Forest, but also one above the jungle, the Emerald Sea… And only the higher-ups would know its existence?"
Leaving these complicated reflections for later, Shin went to bed, however…
He had a nightmare, once again.