Chapter 12 – The Girl Who Waited for No One
🌲 A Forest Path, Dawn Mist
Ved stood at the forest edge.
The girl—still unnamed—walked ahead, barefoot on the damp grass, her steps light as feathers.
> "Where are we going?" he asked.
She didn't answer.
Instead, she tossed him a small pouch. Inside: dried herbs, wrapped rice, and two thin red strings.
> "Tie one to your wrist. The other to your weapon."
> "They'll dull your scent. For a while."
> "Why?"
She looked over her shoulder, eyes like frost.
> "Because someone's already tracking you."
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🐾 In the Trees Above
A presence moved.
Not loud. Not fast.
Just persistent.
A tall man in black cloth, with a mask made of burnt wood. His eyes glowed faintly—like an ember hiding under ash.
He didn't need to know the boy's name.
Only what he carried.
> "That amulet… it reacted."
> "If he's truly linked to Aryavart… then we cannot let him leave this forest."
He vanished into the mist.
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🔥 A Campfire Before Storms
Later that night, Ved and the girl made camp beside an abandoned training post. The carved dummies were cracked, long unused.
Ved asked, "Are you Murim?"
She replied, "No. Just leftover."
He didn't press.
But she glanced at his sword.
> "You don't fight like anyone I've seen."
> "You don't even seem to know what you're doing—yet it flows."
Ved was silent.
She asked quietly, "Do you dream of fire?"
He paused.
Then nodded once.
> "And thunder?"
He looked at her. "Yes."
She whispered:
> "Then the guardians are waking."
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💀 Somewhere Deeper – A Silent Blade Unleashed
In another region of Murim, a sect once considered extinct stirred.
A disciple bowed before an elder whose body was covered in black calligraphy—one that moved when he breathed.
> "He carries the relic," the elder said. "And he's untrained."
> "Then he's weak," the disciple replied.
The elder's eyes narrowed.
> "No. That's what makes him dangerous."
> "The untrained ones… do not follow patterns."
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🕊️ A Name Revealed
As Ved dozed off, the girl finally spoke softly into the night:
> "My name's Saya."
Ved blinked.
> "Saya… from the Crescent Branch?"
She nodded.
> "The branch that was burned down?"
> "The branch that burned itself," she corrected.
Silence.
Then:
> "I waited here because someone told me a boy would come."
> "One who walked with dreams not his own."
> "One who would not belong to either Murim… or Aryavart."
She looked at him.
> "You don't belong to the past, Ved."
> "You're what happens… when the past tries to reach forward."
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