Forbidden Constellation's Blade-Chapter 148: After They Returned

Kato collapsed.

One moment, he was standing there, spear planted on the ground, blood dripping from his nose.

The next, his knees buckled and his weight folded against him as he plummeted to the ground.

Ryn barely caught him.

"Kato—!"

His legs almost gave out under the sudden weight. Kato was heavier than he looked, dead weight dragging at Ryn’s shoulders as he struggled to keep them both upright. Kato’s head lolled forward, breathing shallow and unresponsive.

Questions flooded Ryn’s mind all at once.

How did he do that?

Was it really command?

What was the cost?

Could he do it again—

Another sound cut through the noise.

A low, pained groan.

Ryn snapped his head up.

Mazin stirred against the broken tree, fingers twitching as he dragged in a shaky breath. His eyes opened, unfocused at first, then slowly winced as the pain caught up to him.

"...Did we...?" Mazin rasped.

"We’re alive," Ryn said quickly. "Barely."

Mazin let out something between a laugh and a cough.

"Figures."

He tried to push himself upright, and immediately his body rejected it and started slumping forward again.

One arm hung uselessly at his side, soaked dark with blood where the bear had clipped him.

Ryn didn’t hesitate.

He shifted Kato’s weight, turned, and crouched beside Mazin. "Easy. Don’t move."

"I can walk," Mazin muttered.

"You can barely breathe."

Ryn slid one of Mazin’s arms over his shoulder, bracing him as he stood. Then, with a small grunt, he hoisted Kato fully onto his back, adjusting until the unconscious boy was secured.

Every step pulled at Ryn’s muscles, his earlier injuries screaming in protest, but he moved anyway.

They started toward the distant outline of the city gates.

For a while, they walked in silence, only the sound of uneven breathing and boots dragging through the dirt.

Then Ryn spoke.

"Mazin," he said quietly. "You told me Kato had limits."

Mazin didn’t answer right away.

"I watched him," Ryn continued. "He commanded the bear to kill itself."

"Yeah." Mazin swallowed. "I saw what happened, barely."

Ryn tightened his grip. "So how?"

"I don’t know," Mazin said honestly.

Ryn glanced at him.

Mazin’s jaw was clenched, eyes fixed ahead.

"Our powers," Mazin went on slowly, "they came from the Evernight. That much is clear. Adaptation. Endurance. Whatever you want to call it."

He paused, breath hitching as pain flared again.

"But the extent of it..." Mazin shook his head. "It keeps changing. Growing. Like it’s learning alongside us."

Ryn felt a chill crawl up his spine.

"...That shouldn’t be possible," he said.

Mazin let out a humorless breath. "Nothing about this place should be."

Ahead, the silhouette of the great doors finally came into view.

Ryn didn’t slow.

His boots scraped against the stone as he crossed the threshold, the weight on his back dragging him forward until he nearly stumbled.

"Hey—!"

A shout rang out immediately.

Two guards stationed near the entrance snapped to attention as soon as they saw them. Their expressions shifted from irritation to alarm in an instant.

"Inside! Inside—get them inside!" one barked.

Ryn took another step and his knee buckled.

He caught himself on the doorframe, breath ripping out of his chest as the sudden loss of Evernight pressure hit him like a delayed wave. His vision swam.

"He’s bleeding," a guard said sharply. "All three of them."

"Kato—he collapsed," Ryn forced out. "Mazin’s—arm—"

"That’s enough," the other guard cut in. "Healers! Now!"

The call echoed down the corridor.

Within seconds, the space erupted into movement.

People rushed forward, pushing through the crowd, hands already glowing faintly with soft light. Someone took Kato’s weight from Ryn’s back, easing him down onto a stretcher.

Another pair grabbed Mazin, supporting him before his legs could give out completely.

"Careful," one healer muttered, fingers pressing against Mazin’s ribs. "He’s bleeding internally."

Mazin hissed but didn’t resist as they guided him away.

Ryn swayed.

A hand caught his shoulder before he could fall.

"Sit," a healer ordered, firm but not unkind.

Ryn sank down against the wall, chest heaving as the adrenaline finally drained out of him. He watched through blurred vision as Kato was carried deeper into the city, blood still streaking his face, eyes closed.

Mazin was taken the other way, jaw clenched, gaze briefly flicking back—

Their eyes met.

Mazin gave the smallest nod.

Then he was gone.

The corridor slowly settled, guards returning to their posts, murmurs spreading among the onlookers that had gathered at the entrance.

Ryn stayed where he was, staring at the space they’d disappeared into.

The doors behind him began to grind shut once more, sealing the Evernight outside.

Once the healers took Mazin and Kato away, there was nothing left for him to do but wait—and waiting got him nowhere.

So he walked.

The city was louder the deeper he went. Stone corridors opened into broad terraces carved directly into the mountain.The Evernight felt distant here, sealed away like a rumor that people barely even understood.

Yet, he realized something was wrong.

People were watching him.

Not outright staring, but some glances lingered longer than they should. Conversations paused for a heartbeat when he passed.

Near one of the inner terraces, an old woman was sorting dried roots into cloth bundles. Her hands were steady despite her age.

Ryn slowed, unsure why.

She looked up, recognizing he was there and bowed softly.

"You’re back early," she said.

Ryn blinked. "We... ran into something." 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Her mouth tightened. "I heard."

He hesitated. "You know who I am?"

"Of course I do."

She tied the bundle and set it aside.

"You’re one of the orphan boys. The ones that hunt for our food."

Ryn felt a faint chill.

"We’re not sent," he said.

She gave him a sideways look. "No. You go because you can."

That landed harder.

"You always come back," she continued.

She studied him...not with awe, but with something closer to trust.

"My grandson wanted to be like you," she said. "Said if he could last half as long out there, he wouldn’t be afraid anymore."

Ryn dipped his head in return, saying thank you quickly before dipping back into the main road again.

The city closed in around him again, life continuing as if nothing had happened.

The stark contrast between the outside and inside almost felt like a paradise, a sanctuary. One that held the ignorant bliss, or the desperately hopeful.

Ryn raised his hands.

They were shaking.

He turned them over slowly, flexing his fingers, marks and scars that were there even before the disaster that occured.

What happened in the past? he wondered.

Not the Evernight. Not the monsters.

The people.

How did a city come to rely on children like this?

And more importantly—

What made these children different?

He closed his fist again and walked toward the city, choosing the shadows, a place where information would always be found if he looked hard enough.