Stone Cold

"…You're sure you want to leave? You're welcome to stay here as long as you'd like."

Paro offered one last time, but Din shook his head. Paro let out a sigh before reaching out his hand. Din grabbed his uncle's hand and shook it. Paro gave off a tired smile.

"I wish you a safe journey."

—The weather was nice today. Even though the chilly air was still there, the sun shined brightly in the sky, making it an enjoyable walk. Paro had lent Din a thick fur coat and some extra clothing for the trip. Din packed up his leather armor in his bag as it was too uncomfortable to walk long distance in. Along with his armor, Din was carrying a large cloak and a short sword inside the bag. For nourishment, he had canned soups and a canteen full of water.

We decided to get lunch at Teril as we passed through the village. Compared to Sebraten, Teril was a lot smaller and the buildings were a lot more worn down, but the people here were just as friendly.

Through the town, I saw the old man that had killed the wolf attacking Tal. He was wearing a gray fur scarf as he carried a brown bag over his shoulder. Even though he was old, he was carrying the bag with no problem.

It was around sunset when we reached the riverbed we had ended up at with Tal and Mun. Din decided to camp out for the night as the city was highly guarded overnight.

The dinner Din had ended up with was the bread with the red jelly on the inside. We found out later that the jelly was strawberry flavored. Din took small bites off the bread as he stared blankly near the fire.

"You shouldn't stare at the fire like that," I warned him.

Having his focus disturbed, Din turned towards me, "Sorry, there's just a lot on my mind right now."

"Like what?"

"I want to stay optimistic and believe that we can find the answers to all our questions at Aegis but I can't for some reason. I also want to think Katherine is safe somewhere out there but with the Ace knights after her, I can't know for sure either..."

I couldn't say anything. I agreed with him.

"I can't finish this," Din whispered as he wrapped the half-eaten bread in paper before putting it in his bag. He then kicked dirt over the fire he had set up. After putting out the fire, he spread out a blanket on the floor and laid on it.

Without another word, he had fallen asleep.

It wasn't much, but I laid down next to him to comfort him. I didn't feel the need to sleep so I just watched the partly cloudy sky through the trees. It was hard to see past the tree leaves, but it was enough to just lay there and think to myself.

As a Spirit, I still had no clue what my Wish could be. My only guess would be that I could turn into a ghost after dying, but I don't remember doing any kind of ritual to activate the Wish.

Had I unconsciously done it? What had I done that could be considered a ritual?

As I was thinking to myself, a sudden voice almost made me shriek. It was Din.

"Hey, Lorelei?"

"What is it?"

Din seemed hesitant at first, but continued, "There's a place I'd like you to visit tomorrow."

"Aren't we going to pass through Ravenwalt as quickly as we can so we can head to Newron?"

"It shouldn't take too long. There's a place that I need you to check for me. It'll be crowded so I won't be able to go in there, but as a ghost, you should be able to just go through without any trouble."

"Where'd you want me to go?" I asked reluctantly. I didn't like the idea of spending too much time in Ravenwalt, but if it was something Din wanted that badly, then there was no helping it.

"There's someone I want you to visit in the Ravenwalt hospital. You might've heard me when I was telling Uncle Paro this, but my mom's still in there. She's been in a coma ever since that incident so you just need to check in to see if she's still fine. I just want to make sure they didn't do anything to her after finding out that I fought with an Ace knight."

I nodded, "I can do that for you, but you have to make sure to hide while I'm in there. I can't really go asking people if they know where you are if we do end up getting separated."

"Thank you."

With that, Din turned away from me and went back to sleep.

I see, all this time, he was worried for his mom.

The hospital was located only a little walk away from my home. I wondered whether my aunt had calmed down by now. Well, even if she had, she wouldn't be able to see me.

Maybe that's for the best. We need to get out of Ravenwalt as quickly as we can before word about Din spreads. If we take too long, people might be aware of Din even in Newron, which would make it even more challenging to move about.

At that time, I was surprised by how emotionless I felt. Even though I'd been abandoned by my aunt, I felt no sense of sorrow at all.

Had being a ghost changed how my emotions worked?

Maybe what happened with my aunt never felt real to me. Everything that happened that night went by so quickly that it almost felt like a dream. I wonder how I would feel if I saw my aunt in the city.

Would I feel emotional then? When reality finally hits me?