Morning came slowly to the island. The sunlight was still soft, slipping through the gaps in the roof and the wooden walls of the small hut where Arthur slept. Sea air entered without permission, carrying a faint but fresh salty smell.
For a while he just sat on the edge of the bed, silent, trying to sort the fragments of yesterday's events in his head. No Sean. No Dermala. Only the memory of light, a strange pressure in the air, and the pendant on his chest that had felt different since then.
The pendant in his hand pulsed slowly, like a second heart following the rhythm of his breathing. Morning light created moving patterns on the wooden floor, thin bright lines trembling with the distant waves outside.
"Everything's normal," he said quietly, as if testing the words.
"A morning that's too normal after a night that wasn't normal at all."
Arthur looked down. The pendant remained cool in his fingers. Calm as usual. But he knew it had reacted yesterday. It wasn't his imagination. Something had changed. Either in the pendant, in the protection Dermala made, or perhaps in himself.
Outside, the waves swept the shore in a slow rhythm. The morning felt ordinary. That was exactly what made his thoughts uneasy.
Arthur watched the reflection of light on the surface of the pendant.
"You reacted to him… but why not to the others?" he whispered.
From the small window he saw several fishermen walking along the beach. They laughed. Life continued as usual. But Arthur felt something different deep inside himself.
"Did you see something in Sean," he murmured, "something I've been deliberately avoiding all this time?"
Seagulls cried in the distance. Footsteps began to be heard outside. The people of the island were starting their day.
Arthur stood up. The morning air touched his face as he opened the hut door. The sea looked calm. Its surface reflected soft golden light.
"If this pendant can read hidden intentions…" his breath paused for a moment.
"Then maybe all this time I'm the one who refused to see."
He turned toward the cracked mirror on the wall. His eyes studied his own reflection, searching for something different.
The morning wind came in stronger now. His hair moved gently. The pendant in his hand felt slightly warm. In the distance, fishing boats began leaving the shore.
Arthur exhaled slowly.
"I've been pretending not to see for quite a while," he murmured.
"Not only about Sean."
His hand tightened briefly around the pendant, then slowly relaxed.
He gave a faint smile.
"Funny," he said quietly.
"I always thought I knew myself better than anyone."
Arthur looked out at the open sea.
"Turns out I don't. Sometimes we need something, or someone, to force us to see what has always been right in front of us."
The sea birds cried again in the distance, but now he didn't care.
"Dermala said this was only a warning," he whispered.
"But you reacted more than that."
The air felt heavier. Arthur took a long breath. He stepped toward the door, then stopped right at the threshold. A warm pale green light came out from his pendant.
Arthur closed his eyes, his breathing slowly calming. The light from the pendant faded little by little. The pressure in the room eased, and the wooden walls that had creaked finally went quiet.
Arthur opened his eyes.
He didn't step outside immediately.
He stood at the doorway for a few seconds.
Then he tried again. He closed his eyes and took a breath, lowering the pressure little by little. The air around the hut changed again, now feeling lighter.
The pendant was no longer glowing. It only felt warm. The pressure in the air slowly faded. The air around Arthur finally followed the rhythm of his breathing. The hut walls stopped creaking.
"So… this can be controlled?"
Outside, the island was fully awake. Fishermen were speaking loudly. Boat wood creaked. Waves struck the sand.
The island looked the same as always. But Arthur's body did not.
He stepped outside. The first step felt normal. The second felt strange.
A dog that had been sleeping near the path suddenly stood up. The fur on its neck rose, and the dog backed away a few steps.
Arthur stopped.
"What?"
The dog didn't bark. It only stared, then walked away. Arthur hadn't even had time to think about it when something else happened.
The wind stopped. Not completely stopped. It shifted direction.
Arthur tensed. By reflex, his hand went straight to the pendant.
The pendant on his chest stiffened. Not heat. More like something pressing from inside.
The air felt as if it was being pushed from one direction. Arthur turned toward the end of the small path leading to the beach. His eyes focused there. He narrowed them, trying to see more clearly.
"Sean?" he said quietly.
Someone was standing there. Too far to see clearly. Not moving, not walking away, just standing and watching.
Arthur's pendant grew warm again.
And for the first time since the morning began, Arthur felt something very clear.
Danger.