Chapter 137 — The Road Out
The gates of Remus closed behind them.
The sound followed Xcution for several seconds.
Stone against stone.
Heavy.
Final.
Brook looked back once.
The city walls stood against the fading light, enormous and still.
Then he faced forward again.
"Don't."
Crowley said.
Brook glanced at him.
"Don't what?"
"Start thinking we were thrown out."
Brook frowned.
"I wasn't."
Crowley smiled faintly.
"Sure."
Brook ignored him.
Ahead of them, the road disappeared between fields of dead grass and low stone.
Shoyo walked at the front.
Rick stayed several steps behind her.
Sera walked beside Brook.
Henry remained between them.
Nobody had assigned positions.
They simply happened.
Brook noticed.
Henry noticed too.
"You know I can see you."
Brook looked at him.
"What?"
"This."
Henry gestured toward the space around him.
"The human wall."
Sera raised an eyebrow.
Brook said nothing.
Henry continued.
"Brook in front. Sera beside me. Rick behind."
Rick glanced at him.
"You're imagining things."
Henry smiled.
"You're terrible at lying."
Rick looked away.
Henry looked toward Crowley.
"And Crowley is pretending not to care."
Crowley shrugged.
"That one's true."
Henry stopped walking.
Everyone stopped.
Crowley looked at him.
"What?"
Henry pointed.
"See?"
Brook sighed.
"Keep walking."
Henry laughed.
And for a few minutes—
he did.
The road outside Remus was quieter than Brook expected.
No merchants.
No patrols.
No distant voices.
Just wind.
The grass moved around their boots.
Brook didn't like it.
He had spent too much of his life behind walls.
Outside them, there was nowhere to hide.
He looked toward the horizon.
The world seemed endless.
Shoyo stopped.
Rick immediately moved closer.
"What is it?"
Shoyo listened.
Brook waited.
Nothing.
Then—
a sound came from somewhere far away.
A deep call.
Not a roar.
Not quite.
It rose through the air and disappeared.
Henry looked toward the distance.
"What was that?"
Shoyo began walking again.
"Something far away."
Brook frowned.
"What?"
Shoyo didn't answer.
Henry looked at Brook.
Brook shrugged.
"Don't ask me."
Henry smiled.
"I did."
They walked for most of the morning.
The land slowly changed.
The fields became uneven.
Old trees began appearing along the road.
Their branches twisted toward one another above the path.
Brook moved closer to Sera.
She noticed.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"You always say that before saying something."
Brook looked ahead.
"You alright?"
Sera smiled faintly.
"Everyone keeps asking me that."
Brook sighed.
"I know."
"Then why ask?"
"Because I don't know what else to say."
That made her look at him.
Brook immediately regretted it.
Sera smiled.
"You could try nothing."
Brook nodded.
"Okay."
They walked in silence.
Thirty seconds passed.
Sera looked at him.
"Brook."
"Yeah?"
"You don't have to worry about me every second."
Brook glanced at her.
"Elias wants you."
Sera's expression changed.
Brook continued.
"He sent something into Remus."
"We don't know that."
"Henry."
Sera looked toward him.
Henry was walking ahead with Crowley.
Brook lowered his voice.
"We don't know anything."
Sera said.
"Exactly."
Brook looked at her.
"That's why I'm worried."
Sera became quiet.
After a moment, she said:
"Fair."
They stopped near midday.
Not for long.
Just enough to rest.
Rick found a small rise surrounded by stones.
"Here."
Brook looked around.
"Why?"
Rick pointed toward the open ground.
"We can see anything coming."
Crowley nodded.
Brook looked toward Henry.
"Sit."
Henry stared at him.
"You're getting worse."
"Sit."
Henry sighed and sat.
Brook almost smiled.
Sera moved beside Henry.
Shoyo remained standing.
Crowley walked around the area.
Brook noticed.
"What?"
Crowley looked back.
"Nothing."
Brook frowned.
"That's never good."
Crowley ignored him.
Henry looked toward the trees.
"They're watching us."
Everyone looked at him.
Henry immediately raised both hands.
"Not voices."
Brook relaxed slightly.
Henry pointed toward the branches.
"I mean birds."
There were no birds.
Brook looked again.
Nothing moved.
Henry lowered his hands.
"Okay. That was a bad example."
Sera sat beneath one of the stones.
She opened one of the books Shoyo had brought.
Brook noticed.
"Reading?"
Sera looked up.
"Yes."
"Why?"
She stared.
Brook shrugged.
"Just asking."
Sera closed the book.
"Because I want to understand."
Brook's expression changed.
"Your Source."
Sera nodded.
Brook sat beside her.
"Anything?"
"Nothing useful."
She opened the book again.
"Most of this is Shoyo's writing."
Brook looked over.
The pages were covered in symbols.
Words crossed out.
Entire sections scratched away.
"You can read that?"
"Some of it."
Sera said.
Brook pointed toward a line.
"What does that say?"
Sera leaned closer.
"I don't know."
Brook smiled.
Sera looked at him.
"What?"
"Nothing."
She pushed him lightly.
Brook laughed.
Henry looked over.
"Are you two flirting?"
Both turned toward him.
"No."
Henry smiled.
"Interesting."
Brook threw a small stone.
Henry caught it.
"See?"
Brook stared.
"Shut up."
Henry smiled.
Then his expression changed.
The stone slipped from his hand.
Brook stood.
"Henry?"
Henry stared at the ground.
His breathing became slower.
Everyone moved.
Henry closed his eyes.
"No."
Brook approached.
"Henry."
"No."
His hands tightened.
"I can hear them."
Crowley stepped closer.
"How many?"
Henry's eyes remained closed.
"Less."
Brook frowned.
"Less than what?"
Henry swallowed.
"Less voices."
Shoyo immediately looked toward the road behind them.
Rick noticed.
"What?"
Shoyo didn't answer.
Henry's body shook.
"I can't hear them all anymore."
Brook's stomach tightened.
"Where did they go?"
Henry opened his eyes.
Normal.
But terrified.
"I don't know."
Crowley slowly turned toward Shoyo.
She already knew what he was thinking.
Brook looked between them.
"Say it."
Shoyo's face hardened.
"The fragments."
Henry stared at her.
Brook understood.
"Some of the voices aren't inside him anymore."
Sera stood.
"Then where are they?"
Nobody answered.
A distant sound came from behind them.
Brook turned.
The trees were still.
The road was empty.
Henry whispered:
"Following us."
They moved again.
Faster this time.
Nobody said it.
But everyone knew.
Something was behind them.
Brook kept looking over his shoulder.
Nothing.
That was worse.
Henry remained quiet.
Eventually, Crowley walked beside him.
Henry looked at him.
"What?"
Crowley didn't answer immediately.
"How do you feel?"
Henry smiled without humor.
"Possessed."
Crowley nodded.
"Fair."
Henry looked ahead.
Then his expression softened.
"I'm scared."
Crowley glanced at him.
Henry continued.
"Not of dying."
Brook heard.
Everyone did.
Henry looked down.
"I'm scared I'm going to wake up one day…"
He stopped.
Crowley waited.
Henry finished.
"…and you guys won't be there."
Brook slowed.
Henry noticed.
He laughed quietly.
"Don't make it dramatic."
Brook stared at him.
"I'm serious."
"I know."
Henry said.
Brook stepped closer.
"You think we're leaving you?"
Henry shook his head.
"No."
Brook waited.
Henry looked toward the ground.
"I think I'll make you."
Nobody spoke.
That was more honest than anything Henry had said.
Sera walked toward him.
Henry looked up.
She stopped.
"You remember what Brook promised?"
Henry's expression changed.
He nodded.
Sera continued.
"Then believe him."
Henry looked away.
"Easy for you to say."
Sera's voice became quiet.
"No."
Henry looked at her.
Sera looked forward.
"Elias wants me because of something I don't understand."
She paused.
"And sometimes I wonder what happens if protecting all of you means going to him."
Brook immediately turned.
"No."
Sera looked at him.
Brook's expression hardened.
"Don't."
Sera raised an eyebrow.
"Don't what?"
"Say that."
"Brook."
"I'm serious."
Sera sighed.
"You don't get to make every decision."
Brook stopped walking.
Henry looked between them.
Sera stopped too.
Brook stared at her.
"Elias is manipulating you."
"You don't know that."
"He wants your magic."
"And?"
Brook's voice lowered.
"And that's enough."
Sera watched him.
Brook continued.
"You're not a thing he gets to take."
The anger in Sera's face faded.
Brook looked away first.
The silence lasted.
Then Sera said quietly:
"I wasn't going to go."
Brook looked at her.
Sera almost smiled.
"I just wanted to see what you'd say."
Brook stared.
Henry began laughing.
Brook turned toward him.
"Don't."
Henry laughed harder.
Sera smiled.
Crowley shook his head.
Rick kept walking.
Even Shoyo's expression softened.
For a few seconds—
they felt normal again.
They made camp before sunset.
The road had taken them farther from Remus than Brook realized.
The trees were thicker now.
A forest waited ahead.
Shoyo looked toward it for a long time.
Brook noticed.
"You know this place."
Shoyo nodded.
Crowley looked at her.
"From before?"
Shoyo didn't answer.
Brook sighed.
"Right."
Shoyo glanced toward him.
Brook held up a hand.
"I'm not doing it."
Henry smiled.
"Growth."
Brook ignored him.
That night, Henry sat beside the small fire.
Brook sat across from him.
Crowley remained awake nearby.
Rick was cleaning his sword.
Shoyo was speaking quietly with Sera.
Henry looked at the flames.
Brook waited.
Eventually, Henry said:
"If I hurt you."
Brook immediately shook his head.
"Don't."
Henry looked at him.
"Let me finish."
Brook folded his arms.
Henry continued.
"If I hurt you…"
His voice lowered.
"…I want you to stop me."
Brook stared.
"You're asking me to kill you?"
Henry looked away.
"No."
Brook waited.
Henry smiled faintly.
"Not yet."
Brook's face hardened.
Henry quickly added:
"That was a joke."
Nobody laughed.
Henry sighed.
"Okay."
Brook looked at him.
"Don't joke about it."
Henry nodded.
Then stared at the fire.
"I'm asking you to do what you have to."
Brook remained silent.
Henry looked up.
"If I lose myself."
Brook answered.
"You won't."
Henry almost smiled.
"You don't know that."
Brook looked toward the darkness beyond the fire.
"No."
He admitted.
"But I know you're still here."
Henry watched him.
Brook continued.
"And I'm not giving up on you because something else is trying to convince you that you're already gone."
Henry looked down.
For a while—
nothing moved except the fire.
Then Henry whispered:
"Thank you."
Brook nodded.
"Yeah."
Later, while everyone slept, Crowley sat awake.
The fire was almost gone.
Brook noticed him.
"You're still up."
Crowley looked over.
"So are you."
Brook sat beside him.
For several minutes, neither spoke.
Then Crowley said:
"Henry is right."
Brook frowned.
"About what?"
Crowley looked toward Henry.
"We may have to make a decision eventually."
Brook's expression hardened.
"No."
Crowley didn't argue.
Brook continued.
"We're not there yet."
"I know."
Crowley said.
Brook looked at him.
"Then why say it?"
Crowley stared into the darkness.
"Because pretending we won't be doesn't make it disappear."
Brook hated that answer.
Crowley noticed.
He smiled faintly.
"I hate being the reasonable one."
Brook almost laughed.
"You're terrible at it."
"Probably."
Crowley leaned back.
For a moment, Brook thought the conversation was over.
Then Crowley spoke again.
"I knew someone once."
Brook looked at him.
Crowley continued.
"His name was…"
He stopped.
Brook waited.
Crowley's face tightened.
"I don't remember."
Brook didn't say anything.
Crowley stared at the fire.
"I remember sitting beside him."
His voice lowered.
"I remember laughing."
Brook watched him.
"But I don't remember his face."
Crowley rubbed his eyes.
"Or why he mattered."
Brook remained quiet.
Crowley laughed once.
A bitter sound.
"Do you know what's worse than forgetting someone?"
Brook shook his head.
Crowley looked at him.
"Forgetting that you forgot them."
Brook frowned.
Crowley looked away.
"Maybe there were hundreds."
The words stayed with Brook.
Crowley continued.
"Thousands."
Brook thought about immortality.
Living forever.
He had always assumed it meant having more time.
He had never thought about how much could disappear inside it.
Crowley leaned forward.
"Eventually, there is too much."
Brook looked at him.
"What?"
Crowley stared into the dying fire.
"Too much life."
Brook didn't know what to say.
So he sat beside him.
Neither spoke.
Across the camp, Shoyo watched them.
Sera sat beside her.
"You knew he was going to forget."
Shoyo looked toward Crowley.
"Eventually."
Sera waited.
"Does he know everything?"
Shoyo shook her head.
"No."
Sera looked at her.
"Do you?"
Shoyo smiled sadly.
"More than he does."
Sera's expression changed.
Shoyo continued.
"That doesn't mean I remember everything either."
Sera looked down.
Shoyo's voice softened.
"Immortality is not memory."
The words hung between them.
Sera looked toward Henry.
"What happens if the Ectoplasm remembers everything?"
Shoyo looked at Henry.
Her expression darkened.
"Then Elias may have created something more dangerous than he understands."
A sound came from the forest.
Everyone woke.
Brook stood immediately.
Rick drew his sword.
Crowley moved beside Sera.
Henry froze.
Shoyo stared into the trees.
Nothing appeared.
Brook waited.
Then—
something moved between the branches.
Large.
Heavy.
Henry whispered:
"Please tell me that's not another fragment."
Brook didn't answer.
The creature stepped into the moonlight.
And stopped.
It was taller than Brook.
Its body was covered in pale fur.
Antlers rose from its head, twisting like dead branches.
But its face—
was almost human.
Nobody moved.
The creature stared at them.
Brook reached for his weapon.
Shoyo grabbed his arm.
"No."
Brook looked at her.
"What is it?"
Shoyo didn't take her eyes off the creature.
"A Vardø."
Henry whispered:
"Should I know what that is?"
"No."
Shoyo said.
"And you should be grateful."
The Vardø suddenly turned its head toward the darkness behind them.
Its entire body became tense.
Brook followed its eyes.
Nothing.
Then the Vardø made a low sound.
Fear.
Brook looked back toward it.
The creature stared at them.
Then—
it ran.
Not toward Xcution.
Away.
Into the darkness beyond the trees.
Henry watched it disappear.
Nobody spoke.
Brook slowly looked toward Shoyo.
"What scares something like that?"
Shoyo stared into the forest.
Her answer came quietly.
"A beast."
The word seemed to disappear into the darkness.
Then, far away—
something roared.
The trees shook.
Henry looked at Brook.
Brook looked back.
Neither needed to say it.
Azael was coming.
End of Chapter 137