"There are dreams that leave marks deeper than wounds."
—Kazuto
The boy, Ren, didn't open his eyes until the third morning.
Before that, he tossed and mumbled in fevered dreams, his forehead slick with sweat despite the cold. Kazuto had rotated the firewood carefully, keeping a steady warmth. Mira changed his compresses. Lyla kept her knife in hand. Rook grumbled about strangers, but when no one was looking, tucked an old carved wooden fish beneath the boy's blanket.
The woman—who still hadn't given her name—slept only in shallow gasps, rising at every cough. Her body trembled even in rest, like she was half-expecting the trees to open and swallow them whole.
Kazuto watched her from time to time. She didn't flinch from his gaze anymore, but she never met it, either.
Morning – Firelight Questions
Ren's eyes fluttered open just as the snow broke into cold rain.
His voice was soft, roughened by fever and thirst.
"Is the fire… still burning?"
Kazuto leaned in. "Yes. You're safe."
Ren blinked up at him, pupils unfocused. "The shadows… they didn't eat it?"
"No," Kazuto said, soothing. "Nothing eats fire here."
The boy frowned, gaze distant. "But they tried. I saw them. They came from the broken trees."
His breath hitched, and he gripped Kazuto's sleeve with tiny fingers. "Mama said not to tell. But I saw it. I saw it watching. The burned man."
Kazuto's heart slowed.
He leaned closer.
"Ren," he asked gently, "what did you see?"
Ren's lips trembled.
"A man," he whispered. "He walked with the smoke. But he didn't have skin. Just... black lines. And his mouth never moved. But I still heard him."
Kazuto felt the cold bite deeper into his bones, despite the fire.
Rook, who'd been listening from the edge, muttered under his breath. "Kid's fevered. Probably dreamt it."
Lyla, sharpening her dagger, didn't look up.
"No dream smells like ash."
[System Notification – Vision Fragment Recorded]
"The Burned Man" – Entity classification: Unknown
Caution: Subject Ren may have seen into a deeper layer of this world
▸ Memory Anchor created near Campfire
▸ Codex Update: Entities – "Whispers in the Wood" unlocked
Kazuto opened the camp codex silently, just beneath his breath. The interface only he could see flickered into existence like faint ink over air.
He scrolled past the usual logs—camp morale, temperature, supplies—and opened the new entry.
Entities Log – Whispers in the Wood
Entry: "The Burned Man"
Observed By: Ren
Status: Unconfirmed
Warning: Exposure to Layered Dreamspace
Notes:
Appears during fever-induced states
Associated with shadow-blight and areas of previous forest burns
Communication method unknown
May attempt to contact children or mentally fragile individuals first
Recommend enhancing mental protection around camp perimeter. Hearthfire stability is currently at 67%.
Kazuto exhaled slowly. He didn't know what "Layered Dreamspace" meant, but he didn't like the sound of it.
The camp had always felt safe. Honest. Soft, even.
Now he felt something breathing just beneath the moss.
Afternoon – The Name She Carried
Kazuto sat beside the woman as she spooned cooled broth into Ren's lips. She was careful, steady. Every gesture was practice worn from worry.
"Thank you," she said at last. Her voice was still husky, but clearer now.
Kazuto nodded.
"Do you have a name I can use?"
She hesitated.
Then: "Aira."
Kazuto let the name rest a moment before speaking again.
"Where were you coming from?"
"South," she said. "From the Ashreach."
Rook, from a distance, spat into the fire.
"Ain't nothing left of the Ashreach."
Aira's jaw tightened. "Exactly."
Lyla's eyes narrowed. "What happened?"
Aira stared into the soup pot.
"It burned."
Kazuto frowned. "Wildfire?"
She shook her head. "No. It… spread. Like sickness. Black fire. And behind it, the man with no face."
A pause.
"He didn't kill," she added. "Not at first. He invited. People walked into the flame. Smiling."
Silence settled over the camp like a second frost.
[Camp Codex – Psychological Alert Triggered]
Multiple reports of "Burned Man" in separate regions
Low-probability Entity promoted to Tier II Threat
▸ Camp Stability has decreased by 4%
▸ New Build Unlocked: "Warding Stones"
Place near camp boundaries to slow unknown spiritual interference.
Kazuto closed the Codex and stood.
He needed to build something. Anything. Movement soothed the creeping dread.
"Mira," he called gently.
She looked up from carving a small doll for Ren.
"I need your help setting up stones."
She nodded.
And without asking why, followed him.
Dusk – Circles of Salt and Stone
The stones were pale gray, carved from riverbeds and cracked by ice. Kazuto placed them in a circle, then etched simple symbols—ones he remembered vaguely from a festival in his childhood. Mira sprinkled pine ash and dried salt between each gap.
"Think this'll work?" Rook muttered.
"No," Kazuto admitted. "But it might help."
The last stone settled into place just as the first real star blinked through the gray sky.
For a moment, the air felt… steadier.
Not safe.
But less open.
[System Message – Camp Structure Added]
▸ Warding Stones Active
▸ Current Buff: Mental Clarity +5%, Dream Stability +2%
You've placed the first symbol. The world has noticed.
Some things will now take longer to find you.
Others may come faster.
That night, as Ren finally slept without fever, Aira approached Kazuto by the fire. Her eyes held exhaustion—but also a flicker of something stronger.
Not hope.
But will.
"You built this with your hands?" she asked.
He nodded.
"It's… real," she whispered. "You don't understand how rare that is."
He stirred the pot of stew absently. "It's just a camp."
"No," she said. "It's more than that. It's an anchor."
Kazuto tilted his head. "An anchor to what?"
Aira met his eyes for the first time.
"To whatever's left of the world."