"I- I'll do it."
Quies said hesitantly as Evengarde gently pried open the secret door. He peeked his head through the small gap, making sure nobody else would be able to find this dungeon. After a short look, he opened it fully and gestured towards Quies.
The light of the fire and lamps illuminated the two once more.
"You don't sound sure of it."
Evengarde walked leftward from where the hidden door was.
"Well, being sure of something is an expensive luxury—something I've never been able to afford."
"Huh…"
The two walked down the well lit hallways of Vigil, passing by a few trainees. Despite their hoods being up, Quies could sense their reverence towards Evengarde as they crossed paths.
"Well, in that case…"
Evengarde stopped in front of an open door—it led outside.
"...Meet me when you're ready. In fact, I'd urge you to seize the upcoming day for yourself. It's imperative for recovery and… well, rest days are just nice in general."
"I'll do that. You'll be in the same place, right?"
"Always, unless you're chronically nocturnal."
'What does he mean by that…'
"Yup…"
Evengarde took a step back, a gesture which signaled that Quies could—and probably should—leave.
"I'll see you then."
Evengarde nodded downwards as a gesture of acknowledgement. Quies returned it and promptly walked out.
The sky was veiled in darkness once more. The Moon stared down onto lumen from its celestial cradle. Shaped like a sewing needle with two pins on opposing sides, it awkwardly resembled an eye with the addition of a pale circle in the center.
There were no stars. There never were. But if there were—oh, would it be such a joy to gaze upon them.
The wind caught Quies' dry bloodied tunic as he walked out from the Temple of the Vigils.
***
A passerby within the hallway of the quaint inn gave Quies a weird glance and walked a tad bit faster.
'What is up with hi-'
The smell of his irony, metallic blood caught his nose.
'Probably that… I need to go wash my clothes—and maybe my armor, if I can get access to Valerie's ship—tomorrow.'
He inserted the key and twisted; the door opening with an audible creak. The settled dust on the top of the doorframe disturbed and fell.
After shutting the door, he immediately took off his tunic. Quies couldn't stand the smell of his own blood for much longer.
"Agh…"
The blood in his wounds trickled slightly as his hold on blood enhancement wavered. He thought about doing tourniquet conditioning after cleaning himself up…
'I'm too damn tired. I'll just condition tomorrow.'
Turning to the right, he walked into the bathroom where he had first experimented with blood manipulation. He threw the tunic into the sink basin and ruffled his hair a bit, looking into the mirror.
Surprisingly, he had gained a little mass in comparison to three days ago—not much, but a noticeable gain. For a regular person, it would take way longer than three days to be able to see any difference in one's strength. Blood enhancement really did work wonders. His sable hair was shorter now, after being tailored and cut by… what was his name?
'Ah! Wally! I really should pay him a visit while I'm here…'
Of course, after the spar with Evengarde, his hair was bound to be somewhat disheveled. But, it's nothing that his hands couldn't fix. However, there was another detail that caught his attention.
His eyes had changed colors, and looked a tad sharper at that.
They reflected a deep, dull crimson color. Before, his eyes were more like his father's. Now, they resembled his mother more. Of course, since he was still early in his journey to mastering bloodrend, his eyes still lacked the refinement of a true master like Valerie.
He soaked the tunic in the cold water of the sink, watching as the crimson red blood washed away. Hot water would have been better, but that was a luxury in this luminant.
As he washed the tunic, Quies began to think. He thought mainly of his future—where he thought he would be in the next month, at least.
And, really, there isn't a clear answer.
Everything was changing. Him, the people, Etrea, and the entirety of the Eastern Luminant at that. It was hard to envision a future where one small variable could throw a linear path off course. Who knows what could happen to him in the next day or two. The mission to find the Forge of Sin wasn't an easy one, after all, and would require him going back to his second home—the Drifting Island of Erisia.
Well, he overheard some vigils calling it the 'Drifting Island' of Erisia. He passed by one who said his brother had tried exploring the upper reaches of the island—where Quies hadn't ever been before—and never came back.
'That really raises my spirits!'
Despite the unpredictable tides of the future, Quies was sure of one thing.
He wasn't planning on dying. Or, a better word for it would be drowning.
Because when one dies in lumen, their soul gets separated from their body and is dragged below the tides—down into the depths.
This was no superstition, this was the truth.
Down there, the souls of every dead human dwell. It was like an underworld. However, he didn't know what would happen when someone truly 'dies' in the depths.
And he didn't want to be finding out anytime soon.
'I should stop thinking about these things. Only raising my anxiety before sleeping…'
He wiped tiredly at his eyes as he tried to find a proper place to hang his tunic to dry. It was night, so the shirt would take longer to dry up until the morning. However, the Inn had graciously provided each room with at least three full sets of basic clothing, so it wasn't like he needed the shirt to be dry by tomorrow morning…
…or was it already the next day? How long had he been sparring with Evengarde?
'I'm going to sleep.'