"You dare touch a weapon without my permission?" The tall man said as he impaled his sword into the corpse.
"I'm the one in charge of distributing the resources. If anyone has a problem with that, step forward."
A wave of silence settled in as those words struck the crowd.
"You too, boy... I'll forgive you just this once, just because you're so young and naive". The man said as he turned around and looked down at a young boy, trying to take out a large axe from the crate...
It was Astor.
"Drop it and leave — before I stop being nice."
"Ah! I'm s-sorry! Please f-forgive me, leader!" Astor dropped the axe back into the crate and slowly stepped back, slipping into the crowd once again.
And after bumping into a few people, he made it back to the place where Dawn was standing with his face now hidden beneath the darkness of his cloak.
"Why would you try to take the axe?" Dawn asked once Astor was close enough. "You clearly can't wield something that heavy."
"Well... that's because I wasn't." Astor lifted his tunic, revealing a dagger loosely strapped to his waist. Although Astor couldn't see Dawn's face, he could feel it — the unmistakable shake of silent laughter.
"You really are crazy! If he had found out, he would have killed you!" Dawn said.
"There's no chance someone like me would get a weapon. And there's no chance someone like me survives without a weapon. I'd rather die by a man's hand than to be torn apart by a beast."
He responded as he let his tunic fall back into place.
For a moment, Dawn calmed down, and his laughter faded away. But then it suddenly returned.
"What the hell are you saying?! You really are crazy!" Dawn laughed manically as he pressed on his stomach.
Astor tried to maintain a smile, but his eye twitched as he saw Dawn laughing in front of him.
What's wrong with him? Isn't he a bit too laid back for someone who just got sentenced to death...? But even though Dawn was laughing at him, all Astor felt was pity.
Well, it's his fault for doing charity when it's life or death... Yeah! After his conversation with Dawn ended, he turned around to look at the chaos that had erupted in the crowd.
People were lunging towards the crate, shouting over one another, with voices filled with desperation.
How unsightly! Fighting over weapons like animals... But seeing their desperation, Astor suddenly realised something else — nobody here was a Gatebearer.
An ordinary weapon is nothing more than a lump of metal for a true Gatebearer. Why would they be so desperate for a lump of metal if they have an Artifact bound to their Gate??
Astor himself needed a weapon because his Origin Artifact wasn't a weapon-type artifact, like a powerful sword. And maybe that could be the case for a few other people...
But since almost everyone was fighting for a weapon, it couldn't be. He had to be the only Gatebearer here!
Astor pressed down on his pendant through his thin tunic to make sure it was still there. He had to be careful not to show it to anyone.
And perhaps now was the best time to learn what the Dormant Attribute of a Soul Gatebearer was.
All Gatebearers with a Gate of the same Element will have the same Attributes, which is why most of the time it's common knowledge to know what an Attribute of a certain Gatebearer is...
For Example, the Dormant attribute of an Inferno Gatebearer is something along the lines of controlling your body temperature. Which is perfect for a frozen land like this! But Astor isn't an Inferno Gatebearer.
So right now, all he can do is close his eyes and pray for the best.
***
Attribute: [Eyes of Wisdom]
Attribute description: [Your eyes can pierce the Fabric of Element, granting sight beyond mortal reach. You can see into the souls of others — into the very threads that weave their being.]
What...? He didn't really understand the meaning behind the runes, but whatever they meant, it sounded really powerful.
Finally! Luck is with me again! Tell me! Tell me how to use it!
A smile formed on Astor's face as he stared at the runes... But as moments passed and nothing happened, that smile slowly vanished.
Damn you, Language of the World!! Astor hissed as he kicked the sand as hard as he could.
"What's wrong? Didn't get a weapon?"
A high-pitched, grainy voice spoke to Astor from behind — one completely different from Dawn's.
He slowly turned and looked at the small, red-haired girl standing there. She wore a thin blouse and loose pants. Her clothes were even lighter than his, leaving much of her dry, pale skin and small body exposed…
"Yeah, something like that..." Astor didn't even need to act sad or angry.
The girl smiled. She opened her mouth to say something, but a familiar voice interrupted her before she could.
"Brothers!" Shouted the man who had proclaimed himself to be the leader, now wearing a fur coat.
"The day is cold, but the night will be even colder... far colder. We must venture inland, towards the distant forest, where we will find firewood to keep us warm!" The man said as he pointed his sword towards the forest, taking a step in that direction.
By now, a few hours had passed since dawn, and the sun was directly overhead. The morning fog had vanished, and the trees were much more clearly visible.
The others discussed whether to follow the man or not, but in the end, they decided to rely on his judgment and follow him.
Astor also walked north after meeting up with Dawn once again.
So even Dawn didn't get a weapon... well, it's no wonder, his scarless face makes him look weak. But I don't think anyone apart from me has seen his true looks... I wonder why he's trying to hide his identity.
Astor thought as he peered at Dawn, who was walking beside him, his face hidden by the hood of his cloak.
***
The forest was a few miles away. But even after walking for a few hours, the trees had only gotten slightly bigger.
Damn forest, how far away is it...? Sure, walking barefoot in the snow was slowing down his movement, but clearly, they should have reached the forest by now.
There was nothing they could do apart from increasing their pace and hoping to reach there before dusk.
But there was something else bothering Astor... There was someone, or maybe something, looking at him.
He couldn't figure out who it was out of the group of criminals, as whenever he stopped to look around, the sensation of being watched would stop...
Did they maybe see my pendant... I hope not. After stopping one last time, Astor stopped thinking about it; he had to conserve his energy.
After all, the line of trees was still far away. He wasn't even sure they'd reach there before sunset.
But by some sheer miracle, just as the sun began touching down on the western horizon, the group of criminals had arrived at the outer edges of the forest.
And looking up at the trees, Astor realised why his judgement was wrong...
Huge...
He didn't take into consideration the sheer size of the trees the forest was made of... each one was at least 150 meters tall! And their width was just as impressive.
The Leader commanded everyone to gather everything that looked like it could burn.
And not before long, just as the sun completely dipped below the horizon, the group of criminals had successfully created a single, large bonfire, right beneath a large tree.
Astor had managed to steal two pieces of cold rye bread and a leather canteen filled with fresh water a few minutes before he sat down on the outer edges of the bonfire.
It's their fault for not paying attention. He thought as he took a bite of the cold bread, forcing it down his throat with a gulp of freezing water.
And as he lowered the canteen, he noticed Dawn, who was standing on top of the trunk of a fallen tree, looking westwards with a strange expression.
He then slowly turned down to look at the second piece of bread that was in his hand...
Tsk. Fine! He got up and walked towards Dawn, climbing the large tree trunk, before standing right beside him.
"Dawn," he said as he threw the piece of bread towards Dawn. However, Dawn didn't catch it. The bread struck his shoulder before falling onto the trunk.
The red-haired girl, who was sitting near the outer edges of the bonfire, was the only one who noticed the two men standing atop the dead tree.
"Hey, Astor... Just a curious question, but how fast can you run?"
"What? What do you mean?" This was the first time Astor had heard Dawn talk in a serious tone.
But just as he turned in the direction Dawn was looking at, he realised why that was... As he saw a large dark figure staring straight at him.