The day in Greyhaven passed slowly.
After returning from the north dock, Elias did not immediately do anything.
He only walked around the city.
Not to search for anything in particular.
He wanted to understand this city.
It was a habit he had learned during his long journey. Before speaking to people, before trying to bring hope, he always first observed how they lived.
Greyhaven felt like a clock that had almost stopped ticking.
The small market in the city center only had a few stalls still open.
A vegetable vendor waited for customers who did not come.
A blacksmith struck metal with slow movements, as if even the sound of his hammer no longer had purpose.
People walked, but not in a hurry.
They worked, but without conviction.
Elias had seen poor cities.
He had seen cities destroyed by war.
But Greyhaven was different.
This was a city slowly surrendering without resistance.
Toward evening, Elias returned to the inn.
The door opened with the same small bell sound as yesterday.
But the atmosphere inside was different.
The innkeeper woman stood near the stairs, her face looking worried.
"Luca is sick," she said before Elias could ask.
Elias immediately looked toward the stairs.
"What happened?"
The woman shook her head.
"He woke up this afternoon crying."
"Fever?"
"No."
The woman hesitated before continuing.
"He said he had a dream."
Elias did not react immediately.
"What dream?"
The woman looked at the wooden floor.
"A dream about the figure he drew."
Elias went up the stairs without saying anything else.
Luca's room was at the end of the corridor.
The door was slightly open.
When Elias entered, the boy sat on the bed with a blanket covering his shoulders.
His eyes were red from lack of sleep.
"Are you feeling better?" asked Elias.
Luca nodded slowly.
But his expression said otherwise.
Elias sat on the small chair near the bed.
"You dreamed about that figure?"
Luca did not answer immediately.
He gripped the crumpled drawing paper in his hands.
"I didn't just see it," he finally said.
"What do you mean?"
Luca looked at Elias with eyes that were truly frightened.
"He saw me."
The room became very quiet.
Elias spoke calmly.
"What happened in your dream?"
Luca swallowed.
"I was standing on the street near the church."
"Alone?"
"Yes."
"Then?"
"He was there."
The boy drew in the air with his finger, trying to explain.
"Very tall."
"Did he approach?"
Luca shook his head.
"No."
"He just stood there."
The same as he always said.
"Then why were you afraid?"
Luca held his head.
"Because he spoke."
Elias leaned slightly forward.
"What did he say?"
Luca closed his eyes.
His voice was almost inaudible.
"He said… there is no hope in this city."
The wind outside the window blew softly.
Elias did not answer immediately.
Several seconds passed before he finally asked.
"Was that all?"
Luca opened his eyes.
"He also said…"
The boy hesitated.
"…that everyone in this city has already given up."
Elias stood slowly.
He walked to the small window of the room and looked out.
Greyhaven looked peaceful from here.
Wooden houses.
Small streets.
The old church tower in the middle of the city.
But Luca's words kept echoing in his mind.
The Lament were not merely monsters that killed humans.
Creatures like that lived from something deeper.
Despair.
When humans truly stopped believing in the future.
Elias opened his bag.
He took out the small book he always carried.
Luca watched him.
"Is that the Gospel?"
Elias nodded.
He opened the first page slowly.
The writing inside was simple.
But these words had accompanied humanity for centuries.
Elias read in a calm voice.
"In the beginning…"
He paused briefly.
"…God created the heavens and the earth."
Something very subtle happened in the room.
There was no great light.
No dramatic miracle.
But the air felt slightly… different.
Like a small flame beginning to burn in a cold room.
Luca looked at the pages of the book.
For the first time since Elias had known him…
the fear in the boy's eyes slightly diminished.
"Can those words drive it away?" asked Luca.
Elias slowly closed the book.
"Not yet."
"Why?"
"Because words alone are not enough."
Elias looked at the boy calmly.
"Hope must live inside a person."
If not…
the Lament would always find a way in.
Night began to fall on Greyhaven.
Fog once again shrouded the city streets.
Somewhere near the old church…
something stood at a street corner.
Too tall for a human.
Too still for a living creature.
And for the first time…
the figure took one step forward.