GameDev Reincarnated into His Own Creation

Chapter 8.3: Missing Variable

The Seer's words lingered, weighted with otherworldly power. Vel's heart hammered as he tried to grasp their meaning.

The milky film faded from the Seer's eyes, his features softening as the trance lifted. Vel waited, hoping for clarity about the haunting prophecy.

Vel's fingers curled tighter around the amulet as he stared at the Seer, his voice trembling with urgency. "What did you see?"

The Seer's gaze remained unfocused, his breathing still shallow. Slowly, as if emerging from a deep abyss, he blinked and spoke in a low, gravelly tone. "Not much... flashes of a place shrouded in darkness... voices murmuring... prayers, perhaps?" His words dragged as though weighed down by the remnants of his trance.

Vel leaned forward, his chest tightening. "Prayers? What kind of prayers?"

The Seer shook his head faintly, his expression unreadable. "I cannot say... they were indistinct, like whispers carried on the wind." He paused for a moment, drawing a slow breath before continuing. "But amidst it all... I saw a symbol."

Vel's heart skipped at the mention of the symbol. "A symbol? What kind of symbol?"

The Seer's hand moved to the ground near the campfire, trembling slightly as he reached for a stick lying nearby. He took it with deliberate care and began tracing into the dirt, his strokes firm yet cautious.

Vel watched intently as lines took form—a star emerged first, its points connected by faint lines that intersected in strange ways. Then came a circle enclosing the star, binding it within its boundaries. At its center, an intricate design began to take shape—something resembling an eye staring unblinkingly from within.

The Seer finished and leaned back slowly, gazing down at what he had drawn. The flickering firelight danced over the crude lines etched into the earth.

Vel crouched closer to inspect it, his brow furrowing deeply. The image sent an uneasy shiver through him—there was something haunting about it that he couldn't quite place. "Is that all?" His voice came out quieter than he intended.

The Seer turned to face him fully now, his eyes carrying their usual distant wisdom. "Like I told you before," he said softly but firmly, "I can only see what Tyr allows me to see."

Vel stared at the symbol etched into the dirt for several long moments as silence settled between them.

Vel's breath caught as he studied the crude drawing. The lines rippled before him, tugging at buried memories while his fingers traced the grooves of Landre's carved amulet for stability.

Vel's eyes widened as the memory struck him. The acolyte who'd led Von away—there had been something off about him. A flash of dark ink on his wrist when his sleeve rode up, revealed for just a moment. The same symbol now etched in the dirt before him.

His stomach lurched. That man wasn't from the church at all.

"The acolyte," Vel breathed, his voice barely audible. "He had this mark on his wrist."

The Seer's head snapped up, his gaze sharpening. "You've seen this before?"

"Yes—no—I mean, I didn't realize until now." Vel's words tumbled out. "He took Dad to find Lan-neechan, but... that symbol. It wasn't a church symbol at all."

The pieces clicked into place with sickening clarity. The stranger's odd demeanor, his convenient appearance, the way he'd smoothly directed Von away from the church. It hadn't been chance—it had been calculated.