The figure slowly walks into the cave, careful so as to not make any footsteps. The boy's quiet breathing is heard as he approaches him when the figure suddenly steps on something laid out in the cave.
Snap
The figure stepped on a sick with many others lined up which couldn't be seen in the dim darkness of the cave. The boy's eyes snapped open as his gaze fell on the dark silhouette of the figure.
He prepares his aspect ability but before he attacks, a voice is heard.
"U-uhm who's there? I saw somethings set up outside the cave, so I figured someone was here." A voice the boy easily recognizes even as weak and dry as it sounded.
It was Kiryas who had run away with the crowd of villagers and somehow had survived. It was a miracle really considering he was neither strong nor quick; an all-around average boy. As he cancels the activation of his aspect, he summoned his memory, the resentment of darkness, and gets a clear view of Kiryas.
Kiryas did not look good. His clothes were torn, looking more like rags than what they looked like before, sunken cheeks which suggested having not eaten in a while, and cuts on his body which was still bleeding albeit only a little.
As the boy lowers his guard, the hoarse voice comes out again. "Sorry to have to do this but would you have any food I can get right about now, I haven't eaten in a while so that'd really help a lot."
As Kiryas gets a better look at the boy, he exclaims in shock "a-ah i-its you, you're okay?"
The boy doesn't say anything as he works on starting a fire with some sticks and firewood he collected. Seeing this, Kiryas walks closer to the area past the small line of sticks and sits himself down opposite to the boy. The rubbing of the stick against a thicker branch is heard in the silence of the cave and as the fire lights up, the face of Kiryas visibly lightens. The boy sets some meat he had stored near the fire and slowly lets it cook in the heat as he then turns to look at Kiryas and when Kiryas does the same, Kiryas shifts uncomfortably as he stares at the ground.
The silence however seemed to be unbearable for Kiryas as he tries to make small talk which failed spectacularly due to the boy not saying a thing to him. When the meat finally finished cooking, the boy grabs one and hands it over to Kiryas but Kiryas, looking at the boy handing it to him, grabs another one instead which the boy ignores. The 2 eat in the serene silence of the night and once they finish, the boy goes back to his makeshift bed, Kiryas lays down on the ground opposite of the line of sticks with the simple comment of "it's to reassure you".
The next morning, the boy wakes up and looks around to see Kiryas still sleeping with small grunts coming from him. It seemed like he was having a particularly bad dream as sweat is seen soaking his clothes. The boy walks over the line of sticks but it seems as if his movements alerted his Kiryas he shot up with wary eyes directed at him.
"ah, w-when did you get up? D-did you sleep well?" The stutter before each sentence was slowly getting on the boy's nerves as he continued past him. Kiryas got up and did a small stretch before following the boy out of the cave.
"uhm, what do you usually do out here? Are there any creatures out there?" Kiryas's talkative nature had him questioning the boy again as if it was something he had been doing since the start. However, hearing no reply from the boy, he quieted down again as they soon started walking in silence. The boy was walking in front while Kiryas was following behind with his head down, which was quite uncharacteristic of him as he was the one usually taking the lead even when he didn't know the purpose.
Soon, the boy arrived at his destination, a trap which had gotten someone on its noose. There, a man is hanging with his eyes closed. The faint moving of his chest suggested he was still alive but as Kiryas went forward to help him down, the boy activated his aspect as his spirit essence dwindled. The small fog moved towards the man as the boy pulled Kiryas backwards. Kiryas looks back in surprise when he hears a yell come from the man. He watches with wide eyes as the man's body started bleeding from every open wound and orifice and the faint breathing come to a still.
As Kiryas looks back to the boy, he sees something in his eyes. Something that felt like looking into the abyss, but the abyss looked back at you, but not with 2 eyes, no it felt like something that wasn't human nor creature looking at you simply through your acknowledgement of its existence. Kiryas takes a step back and his breath turns ragged as he prepares to run away and noticing this, the boy looks at him directly and slowly points towards the now decayed corpse of the man, as if saying, this is what is going to happen to you if you take one more step.
Kiryas, now breathing much quicker than earlier, shows fear in his eyes looking at the boy. "You, wha-what are you, you aren't human are you. That's why you survived against that creature. That ability you showed, it's definitely what happened to the chief and hunters but much faster. YOU KILLED THEM ALL! IT WAS Y-!" His words are cut off as he stares dazedly at the outstretched hand directed at him. The fog is now visible as Kiryas looks at it with terror and it shoots towards him.