Near the remnants of the village of Nadia, there was a single building that was even slightly intact.
The entire town had been completely destroyed in the battle where the Fearbringer army clashed with the Skylox Heroes, leaving behind almost nothing but a pile of ash and rubble. However, there was one building that managed to survive the brunt of the damage, though it could hardly be called anything resembling good condition. In fact, the roof was still on the verge of caving in, not that this was anything particularly surprising. The entire town had been destroyed, so what hope did a single building have of surviving the wreckage?
The occupant of the building didn't even want to try and find a way to fix the roof, if he was being perfectly honest. That would involve putting down roots long enough to put in the effort, and that was something that was out of the question to Chrome Esten. He didn't want to think about it, and he didn't think that he would ever want to. There was nothing left of the village, and he knew that this building wouldn't be standing for too much longer anyways, so what was the point of trying to fix it when he would be leaving before it did anything to help him?
A few people had come into Nadia lately, and Chrome had seen them. One was a girl with brown hair that knew her way around a sword. Another was a boy with a blonde ponytail who gave off so much nervous energy beneath his veil of confidence that it was almost insufferable to see. Finally, there had been the hooded figure who fought with Ice magic. Chrome had witnessed their fight from afar, not getting too much closer than he had to. It was easy enough to mask his presence with a quick spell, giving him the chance to see what was going on without having to put himself at risk.
They hadn't informed him of anything interesting, not that Chrome expected anything else. He was frustrated with the world at large, and he didn't think that there was anything that would be able to fix that. He had been angry ever since Nadia collapsed, and he was going to be angry every other day until he could find a solution. Then again, since there was no solution for something like this, then that meant that he was simply going to be bitter and full of spite for the rest of his life. It wasn't particularly surprising, but it somehow worsened Chrome's mood regardless.
Chrome stood near his window as he looked out over the rest of Nadia, something that had become a daily routine for him ever since he returned to the village. After the initial attack, Chrome had searched through the wreckage for traces of anything that had survived. When he found nothing, he left the area behind for a while only to return when something told him that he had to go back. He didn't know why he was bothering to look around at a place so dreary, but he knew that there had to be something of note or value for him to investigate.
In the end, Chrome did find something that he was trying to find the truth behind. There was a single person who seemed to come in and out of Nadia on a regular basis despite the rest of the town being primarily abandoned. He took it upon himself to search for the truth behind this figure, and so, his routine changed to focus on his investigation. He was bound to figure out what was going on one day, and when he did, he was going to make sure that they told him just what in the world they wanted.
Chrome walked out of the building carefully and began his regular loop of the town. He had once gone on this same stroll with a girl that he had been best friends with, but that felt like a lifetime ago. He hadn't seen her in ages, and he doubted that he ever would again. The only way for him to possibly meet with someone dead was to travel to Regasys, the land of the spirits, and pray that she wished to talk to him as well. Of course, that was hardly something that Chrome had any interest in doing, so he shoved his emotions aside and continued his circular movements through town.
Chrome only stopped walking when he heard footsteps that most certainly did not belong to him crushing along the ruined ground. He fell silent and stared squarely ahead, unwilling to do anything but wait for the one following him to make a move. He wasn't going to ruin the chance to find out more about the ghost lurking in Nadia by stepping out of line.
It was only after multiple moments passed in pure silence that Chrome gave himself the internal approval needed to speak. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly, not bothering to mince words. He had never been the type, and any wish that he may have had to dance around the truth or tiptoe around his words had dissipated the second that Nadia fell to dust.
Chrome turned around when he heard something shifting once again, and his gaze fell upon a figure in the distance. The person was standing in front of the dawning sun, their silhouette the only thing that Chrome could see. He stared at them for a long time, not moving closer but not running away either. It seemed that the time had come for him to figure out just what was going on with his mystery visitor after spending so long waiting and searching.
Chrome took a careful step forward, and much to his surprise, the other figure did not run away. He continued moving closer, and something deep in his stomach told him that at long last, he was going to find the truth, and he wasn't only talking about Nadia.
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End of the book! Woohoo! Bonus content coming within 24 hours!
-Digital