Chapter 80: The Threads
With the fresh breeze from outside filtering through the wooden cracks, Gabriel opened his eyes.
His face was an expressionless mask in the silent night.
Despite the sharp pain running through his arms and the fatigue weighing on every muscle, he had never dared to fall into total unconsciousness.
His confidence rested on the hunter’s integrity. The man had saved him, healed him, and offered him shelter. But completely handing over his life to another was a habit he would never practice.
The deep and shuddering snores. The kind you would want to smother with a pillow until death.
Gabriel got up with soft and silent steps. Every movement sent waves of pain through his body, but he quickly got used to it.
He sat beside the small stove, where the embers still emitted a faint and comforting heat.
From there, he observed the improvised bandages covering his arms. His wounds were very serious and it was a miracle he had survived.
His arms showed deep cuts and dark purple bruises.
Without his accelerated regeneration, healing was condemned to be uselessly slow.
Dissatisfaction shone in his eyes, but his thoughts soon left the physical wounds behind.
Increasing his mental speed, he immediately transported himself to the unique experience he had gone through in the shadows. The name and the memory. Bloodied but elegant, Amazías Von Tepes, was not just a false dream.
It was an absolute fact that this was not a coincidence.
In some way, he was always being cornered toward inexplicable events.
From the first day, where he had faced challenges that forced him to survive. Each of his steps seemed guided by thin and resistant threads.
But will I be able to overcome them every time?
Memories flashed like sparks in his mind. His experiences had changed him deeply. Long ago he had abandoned his naive and eager personality.
Instead, he had become something much darker and colder than he had always been. He even seemed incapable of resisting.
For those reasons, Amazías’s words did not seem based on nothing.
Their function was premonitory.
A voice that traveled without mercy, to reshape his vision.
You are not destined to die in the cycle of an ordinary man.
He felt the warm breeze from the embers on his bandages, ignoring the heat.
Destiny was capable of terrifying and attracting with the same euphoria. But for him all of that was useless... He did not know what he would become.
He could be unique and special. Be powerful. But those were not his only goals.
The hours passed and dawn arrived soon.
A new day was announced when the routine birdsong began to fill the forest.
The cabin door creaked as it opened. The hunter came out, rubbing his eyes with a calloused hand. His voice sounded tired and surprised.
"You can’t even wait until dawn?"
He still remembered his miserable death scare during the early morning. Waking up and seeing a figure in the darkness, sitting and silent, had been extremely terrifying.
Gabriel raised his gaze. His eyes remained empty, lacking the warmth of an ordinary man.
"My mother has died." He pronounced with a worn voice.
"I know you will understand, friend."
The hunter choked on his own saliva. His face contracted into an uncomfortable expression, a mix of pity and awkwardness.
He found no words to respond to that unexpected situation. After a few seconds of heavy silence, he nodded and began to prepare his things.
Soon they left the cabin in order and set off toward Miracle City.
***
The forest opened before their eyes, with its vibrant wild bushes and century-old trees. Golden rays of light filtered through the treetops, illuminating the path.
Gabriel walked with difficulty. His current body was weak and extremely fragile. Every step was a challenge he had to accept and overcome.
His lungs practically protested after climbing a mountainous surface.
He probably would not get used to that characteristic weakness.
"I will never get used to the city," commented the hunter while pushing aside a low branch with his forearm. His voice had a nostalgic tone. "Too much noise, too many stares."
"Both the city and the forest are good options to live," Gabriel replied dryly.
The hunter let out a brief laugh.
"Being a hunter is a good way to put bread on the table. I don’t need anyone. Just me and my senses."
Gabriel nodded in silence. He understood that search for independence and fulfillment.
A man always sought to survive with his own cunning and willpower. It was a challenge in itself.
The rest of the journey passed with the normality and tranquility that only an expert guide could offer. They took the best hidden paths, avoided possible danger zones, and maintained a steady pace.
The forest clearings became more familiar with each hour. The crunch of leaves under their boots had become intimate, along with the roars of random animals in the distance.
Gabriel observed his surroundings with curiosity, absorbing any useful information.
Suddenly, the hunter broke the silence with a more animated voice.
"I am chasing the legendary Golden-Horned Elk."
He immediately saw how that casual comment shone like a great aspiration in his eyes.
He tried to find in his acquired memories any mention of that animal.
He immediately realized it was a creature of mythical proportions. It belonged to local legends and was a symbol of prosperity, fortune, and challenge.
"I swear I will catch it. Not as a trophy... but as a symbol."
"It’s rare to hear that kind of words nowadays," commented Gabriel, in an almost animated tone that contrasted with his usual coldness.
"Do you want to become the legend of the city?"
The hunter shook his head, a slight embarrassed smile on his lips.
"Really... no. It was a promise I made as a child. I can’t disappoint it."
Gabriel almost laughed at that phrase. But he still approved it in the back of his mind.
By natural inclination, he added:
"Was it to a lady, sir, and you are defending your honor?"
But instead of laughing, his comment deeply embarrassed the hunter. He avoided looking at him directly.
"No. It was to Baron Miracle."
Those words struck Gabriel’s mind directly.
They had immediately ignited his analytical mind. Because he had caught a slight connection he had ignored.
Baron Miracle was the scion who held the only noble title in the city. A respected and ambitious man, portrayed with high aspirations.
But his reflections did not stop at the surface. It was the same Baron who had originally commissioned the task of telling five stories in exchange for the medicine for his mother.
A strange and apparently generous proposal. Now, the hunter’s objective also connected directly with that same noble.
The threads connected with an evident common origin.
His gaze became more complex as he observed the innocent hunter.
The man walked unaware of the mental ramblings boiling in his head. He whistled a small melody while watching a butterfly.
He seemed like a fool.
But he did not interrupt him. He preferred to remain silent. His mind worked trying to build the truth.
Was it coincidence? Or part of the design of this trial?
The Challenge of the Heavens could test not only strength or intelligence, but also the ability to see beyond the obvious.
Connecting the scattered pieces in a puzzle was becoming a required skill to complete those strange trials.
He remembered Amazías’s words with cruel clarity.
He was not destined to perish like an ordinary man.
His vision needed to be up to the task, to achieve the great things he desired.
He had to blaspheme even against the gods themselves.
What was the Baron’s role? Was he the central piece of everything?
He had dedicated a lot of time to compulsive reading about certain behaviors in different challenges within the game. And many times the secret lay in what went unnoticed.
Little by little the forest began to disappear, with the first homes appearing in the distance.
Straw roofs and smoke rising from chimneys. Miracle City functioned as a small settlement.
The bustle could already be heard from his position.
Gabriel immediately began to plan. He knew that upon returning he would have to face the links from which the illusion was built.
His mother’s death, the pending stories, and the connection with Baron Miracle.
The hunter patted his shoulder carefully, avoiding the wounds.
"Take care, woodcutter. If you ever need a guide in the forest, look for me."
Gabriel nodded.
"Same to you. Thank you for saving me."
They separated on the outskirts of the city. The hunter headed back into the forest with a sure step.
Gabriel, on the other hand, walked toward the cobblestone streets. He limped with every step, conveying a pitiful sight.
But even so, his mind remained completely sound.
Baron Miracle was not just a generous noble. He was an intricate knot being built through a long network and he needed to pull the thread to discover the truth.
The trials were not summarized in fighting and surviving, but also in awakening.