Halvic was the first to step off the boat. His boots struck the dock with a dull thud.
For a moment, he stood there without moving.
The lake shifted quietly behind him.
Then he started walking.
A few steps later, he lifted both hands slightly toward the stairway leading up from the shore. It wasn't directed at anyone. The motion seemed absent-minded, almost habitual, as if his body had performed it before he consciously realized he was doing it.
As if his body had remembered something before his mind did.
A second later, his arms dropped back to his sides.
He kept walking.
Shura watched him for a moment before reaching into his pocket and pulling out a copper coin.
"Fare's one copp, right?"
The boatman glanced at the coin.
Then shook his head.
"Already covered."
Shura frowned.
"By who?"
The boatman shrugged.
"Didn't ask."
Shura looked down at the coin.
Then put it away.
When he turned around, Halvic was already halfway up the stairs.
"Wait."
Halvic didn't.
Shura sighed and started after him.
"Mr. Halvic."
No response.
"The letter."
Nothing.
"I still need to deliver it."
Halvic kept walking.
"I noticed."
"Then why are you making it difficult?"
That finally earned a reaction.
Not much.
Just a brief glance over one shoulder.
"You followed me across a lake."
"...Fair."
Halvic looked forward again.
"And you're still here."
The uneven stairs eventually gave way to a dirt road winding through the hillside.
The dirt road stretched ahead through the hillside. The sounds of the lake slowly faded behind them. Neither spoke.
Wind moved.
Their footsteps became the only rhythm left.
After a long while, a faint golden glow appeared between the branches ahead.
At first, Shura assumed it was another lantern left burning near a home.
Then he realized the light wasn't hanging from anything.
It came from the leaves themselves. A tree stood beside a small house. The glow wasn't bright or overwhelming. Instead, it rested quietly among the branches, like something that had been shining there for a very long time.
The glow seemed less like light and more like memory refusing to fade.
Halvic walked directly toward it.
Past the house.
Past the porch.
Past the dark windows.
Without slowing. Without even looking at the door.
Then he lowered himself beneath the tree and sat down. It wasn't to rest or admire the view. The movement felt habitual, as if this was simply where he always sat.
The movement carried the weight of repetition.
The house remained dark.
The place felt abandoned. No lanterns lit the windows, no voices carried through the night, and no movement stirred around the house. Only the tree remained.
Shura hesitated before sitting a short distance away.
The wind moved softly through the golden leaves overhead. They rustled together like distant whispers.
Neither spoke.
Several minutes passed.
Eventually, Shura broke the silence.
"I'm Shura."
Halvic didn't look at him.
"Didn't ask."
"Still seems fair."
The leaves shifted above them.
Another pause.
Long enough that Shura assumed the conversation was over.
Then. "Halvic."
Shura nodded once.
His gaze drifted upward.
The tree was unlike anything he had seen since leaving Ossuarium.
Most trees had been leafless.
This one wasn't.
Its branches stretched wide above the house, covered in golden leaves.
"So this is what Whitelock meant."
Halvic remained silent.
"The tree."
No answer came.
After another minute, Shura reached into his pocket.
He removed the letter and placed it on the ground beside Halvic. He didn't try to press it into his hands or ask again. He simply left it there.
The envelope rested between them, untouched except for the wind that occasionally nudged one corner across the ground.
Neither moved.
Shura leaned back against the roots and only then noticed how quiet the place really was.
There were no voices, no footsteps, and no sign that anyone else lived nearby. Beyond the dark house and the golden tree, the hillside seemed empty.
Only Halvic remained beneath the branches.
Alone.
A sudden tickle caught in Shura's nose.
He turned away.
"—Hh...tch."
The sneeze came out sharper than expected. Pain followed immediately. A familiar pressure tightened behind his eyes.
Shura lowered his head and pressed two fingers against the bridge of his nose.
Waiting for it to pass.
Across from him, Halvic finally looked over.
For the first time since arriving, his attention felt genuine not irritated or dismissive, but focused.
His gaze lingered for several seconds.
Then several more.
Shura frowned.
"...What?"
Halvic didn't answer immediately.
Something about his expression had changed. It wasn't surprise. If anything, it looked like recognition.
But not of Shura.
His eyes weren't fixed on Shura at all.
They rested slightly beside him.
As if he were examining something standing just beyond the edge of sight.
The wind moved through the golden leaves again.
Halvic exhaled quietly.
"So that's it."
Shura looked up.
"What is?"
Halvic's gaze remained there another moment. Then slowly returned to the tree. The answer never came.
The letter remained untouched beside him.