It was really quiet inside.
The trees creaked softly above the roof. Something big moved somewhere outside. The sound came through the wood like a heartbeat that was away.
A small lantern burned between Aaron and Tsukiyara. Its flame was steady but not very bright. The flame made shadows on the wooden walls.
Aaron sat on a bench that was made from logs that were split in half. A tree branch was beside him. Tsukiyara was across from him. She was fixing the lantern.
She had her mask on her face.
Aaron looked at her for a moment before he said anything.
"Why do you wear that mask?" he asked her.
Her hand stopped moving for a second then she kept fixing the flame.
Tsukiyara took a breath. She was not annoyed but defensive.
"You see " she said softly "I am an apostle of the Moon. The Moon shows us the truth. It does not care about our feelings. When I work for the Moon I do not just work for myself."
She touched the edge of her mask with one finger.
"This mask helps me, " she said. "It keeps some people from looking at me."
"Who should not look at you?" Aaron asked.
"The ones who should not look at the truth, " Tsukiyara said.
The air in the camp felt a little cooler.
"If I do not wear this mask for a time, " she said, "people will not see me as a Apostle of God. They will see what is behind me."
Aaron did not ask her any questions about that.
The forest outside the camp moved again. Something touched the outside of the camp. Then, it went away.
Tsukiyara sat down across from Aaron. She put her hands together.
"You asked me about the apostles earlier, " she said. "Though in the recent context they are just simply exorcists."
Aaron nodded his head.
"Tell me " she said, "what do you think they are?"
"They are people who fight things like this, " Aaron said. "They are people who are chosen by gods."
"Chosen indeed," Tsukiyara said.
"There are ranks for apostles, " she said. "From E to SSS."
Aaron leaned forward a little.
"E-rank apostles are new, " she said. "They borrow power from gods. They do not understand what they are doing. Most of them get hurt."
"What does it mean to burn out?" Aaron asked.
"It means their mind and body get hurt, " Tsukiyara said with her calm and cold voice.
"D and C rank apostles can control a portion of the power of a god " she said. "They can do rituals. They can make lesser spirits go away. They can also protect a place for a while."
"While, B-rank apostles can use the power of a god " she said. "They can change reality a bit."
Aaron's eyes got sharper and sharper.
"A-rank apostles can speak for their god " she said. "They have something called the Authority of God."
She stopped talking for a moment.
"And then there are S, SS and SSS-rank apostles, " she said quietly. "They are different. Though I know a little about them. The only thing I know is that they have something unique called the Domain of God."
Aaron thought about that for a moment.
"What about you?" he asked Tsukiyara.
"I am an A-rank Apostle," she said.
"What do you think of yourself now," she asked Aaron.
Aaron looked down at his hands.
"I do not know, " he said. "Something helped me when the world changed. It does not talk to me or guide me."
Tsukiyara looked at him carefully.
"Then you are either not chosen by a god " she said, "Or you were abandoned by a god or your god died."
The words hung in the air.
"Which one is worse?" Aaron asked.
"It depends on what you want to be, " Tsukiyara said.
They were quiet for a moment.
The forest outside the camp made a noise like a big animal moving. It was not aggressive, it was just alive.
Aaron changed the subject.
"You talked about a conflict, " he said.
Tsukiyara nodded her head.
"There are some people who survived, " she said. "They are hiding in the forest."
"The ones I saw running?" Aaron asked.
"Some of them, " Tsukiyara said.
Aaron frowned. "Does Sang Mara want them dead?" he asked.
Tsukiyara shook her head.
"No, " she said. "Sang Mara is the Divine Truth of Nature. He does not kill without a reason."
"What is the problem then?" Aaron asked.
Tsukiyara looked toward the door; outside where it was dark.
"They went into a place, " she said. "They built a tower on a core node, which is a special place for Sang Mara."
Aaron's face got tighter. "They did not know, " he said.
"Of course they did not, " Tsukiyara said.
Tsukiyara leaned back a little.
"The forest has to be balanced, " she said. "When something is disturbed something has to be given back."
"Like a cost, " Aaron said.
"Yes, " Tsukiyara said. "The cost is energy, life or memory. Something equal has to be given."
Aaron's jaw got harder.
"Sang Mara wants a sacrifice," he said.
"Not like you think, " Tsukiyara said. Her voice was steady. "He will not hunt them. He will not kill them."
"What will happen then?" Aaron asked.
"If we do not give something back " Tsukiyara said, "the forest will take it back naturally."
" What does that mean?" Aaron asked.
"They will fall down, " Tsukiyara said. "The trees will take down. The air will get thinner. Animals will. Nature itself will take action."
She stopped talking for a moment.
"Not because the forest is mean, " she said. "Because it has to be balanced. What was taken once needs to be returned to its true owner."
Aaron stood up. He walked to the entrance of the camp. He looked out into the forest.
"We cannot let them die, " he said quietly. "We have to help them."
Tsukiyara stood up too.
"I am not talking as an Apostle. " she said. "I am talking as someone who used to live in a city that was destroyed."
Aaron looked at her.
"You were human before you became an apostle, " he said.
"I am still human, " Tsukiyara said.
The forest did not respond to that.
"What is your plan?" Aaron asked.
"We will talk to Sang Mara." Tsukiyara said.
"With a god?" Aaron asked.
"With the balance of nature," Tsukiyara said. She turned to him a little.
"If we can give something back that is equal to what was taken " she said, "the survivors might be able to leave."
"If not?" Aaron asked.
Tsukiyara did not say anything. Her silence was an answer.
Aaron breathed out slowly.
"When will we do it?" he asked.
"Tomorrow, " Tsukiyara said.
She walked back inside. Opened a small chest. Inside the chest there were things: silver thread, bone pieces, a cloth with symbols on it and small bottles, with glowing dust.
She started taking the things out of the chest.
"Get ready for tomorrow, " she said. "You will come with me."
Aaron watched her.
"Do you trust me that much?" he asked.
"I trust that you do not belong to this forest, " Tsukiyara said.
"That is your reason?" Aaron asked.
Tsukiyara said, "It was not a thing to say but it was honest."
Outside, something big moved in the forest again. It was not close but Aaron could feel it.
Tsukiyara looked at Aaron one time before she put out the flame.
"In this forest " she said quietly "the truth is what matters."