Path of Death: Awakening
Chapter 34: City ​Signs

Chapter 34: City ​Signs

The sun had already melted into the horizon, spilling crimson across the land like a wound.

Their march continued.

The silence wasn’t born of exhaustion anymore—but of habit.No one spoke, but everyone listened.Footsteps blended together—five hearts, moving to the same unspoken rhythm.

The ground here was drier, the stones sharper, the wind quieter.The sky was still gray,but that gray no longer felt like a threat—more like the natural tone of existence.

A hill rose ahead of them—one of the rare elevations in the endless field of ruins.

Arven, lagging slightly behind, was the first to notice.

"There’s something up there," he said, voice hoarse with curiosity.

Fade stopped.

Zeyna approached, clutching her shoulder. She narrowed her eyes.

Kaela’s device still wasn’t fully functional—but it was scanning something.

It took only seconds to reach the top.

And then... they all saw it.

A tilted pole. Rusted.Its base buried in dirt, top snapped clean off.

But still there.

And nailed to it—faded lettering on a battered sign:

→ LAST HOPE – 17.3 km

They said nothing.

They just stared.

It wasn’t a map.It was a road sign.But the name—Last Hope—was more than just a name now.

Kaela’s voice came last, barely a whisper:

"So it... really exists."

Fade stepped toward the sign.

No fingerprints.No recent contact.It hadn’t been touched in a long time.

But it remained.

Someone had marked this path once.Maybe salvation.Maybe a trap.

But definitely—something.

Without turning around, Fade spoke:

"The path is clear."

No one objected.

Because in that moment, direction wasn’t just a word—it was a purpose.

They moved.

Their steps were more cautious now.Everyone walked—but no one carried the same weight.Their burdens weren’t just gear anymore.Each bore their own silence.

Zeyna walked a few paces behind Fade.Not too far.Not too close.Her gaze occasionally drifted to his back—then quickly away.

She was angry with herself.The splinter still lived inside.But she knew—Fade had changed.

Not just his power.Even his touch felt different now.

At one point, Arven leaned toward Kaela."That sign was nice and all...but you think Last Hope’s a real city?Not, like, a supermarket chain?"

Darin cut in."Maybe it’s an abandoned resort.’All-inclusive apocalypse package.’"

Arven nodded dramatically,voice theatrical:

"Free gas masks at the gate—kids mutate for half price."

Kaela glanced at them.Sighed.But smiled.

"Still... it matters that we have a direction.The system’s still not fully syncing, but...this road feels like it’s heading toward something alive."

Fade didn’t turn,but he heard everything.

The path narrowed into a canyon.Low hills flanked them.Dry grass whispered between the rocks.

Zeyna broke the silence.

"How much farther?"

The question was for Fade—but not directed at his eyes.

Fade paused.

The wind brushed his face—but carried no scent.Like the world was holding its breath.

"Distance doesn’t matter," he said quietly."Readiness does."

Zeyna looked down.

That answer was...everything and nothing.

They kept walking.

A flock of birds overhead lost formation and scattered—directionless.

The sky was no longer open.Its grays had darkened.

Then Kaela halted.

"Wait..."

She raised her device again.Stabilized the flickering screen.A focused look crossed her face.

"I just caught... a faint energy echo.Very low-level,but steady."

Arven leaned in."System signal?"

Kaela shook her head.

"No.It’s older.Almost like... analog interference.But it’s locked on a single direction."

Fade stopped.Then resumed walking.

"So they’re still leaving traces," he said.

"That’s a good thing."

Zeyna frowned. "Good?"

Fade replied without turning:

"Those who leave traces—aren’t running.They’re waiting."

They walked again.

Faster, now.

Maybe for hope.Maybe just for motion.

But forward—and that was more than they’d had in a long time.

The day bled out slowly.

As the sky shifted from gray to deep blue,they found a place to rest.

Near the side of a collapsed ruin,a pile of stones shielded them from wind.The dirt beneath was still warm.

"We’ll stop here," Fade said, scanning the perimeter.

Arven collapsed to the ground with a groan."Finally."

Zeyna dropped her pack.Glanced at Fade.

Still, words pressed behind her lips—but never came out.

Fade neither gave orders like a leader,nor approached like a friend.

The space between them was growing wider.

Kaela didn’t put down her device.She sat on her knees and opened the screen again.

"This signal...it’s not entirely from the system," she murmured.

"More like... an echo trail.Not deliberately sent. But still lingering."

Darin crouched beside her."Could it be something watching us?"

Kaela shook her head. "No.It feels more like... the echo of something forgotten.But it has direction.West is still stable."

Fade circled the camp perimeter in silence,listening from a distance.

He stood beneath the shadow of a dead tree.Closed his eyes for a moment.

Inside him—something stirred.

Still.But awake.

The Dybbuk didn’t speak—but its presence was there.

Every moment felt like walking in another’s body.New muscles.New instincts.But the same old mind.

Fade clenched his hand.It was his palm—but it didn’t feel familiar.

From a distance, Zeyna watched him.

"Alone again... always alone."

She almost rose to approach him—but Kaela’s screen glowed suddenly.

Kaela’s tone sharpened.

"Fade...this signal is moving with us."

Fade turned."What does that mean?"

"This isn’t something tracking us.This... might be us. Our presence itself could be generating the echo."

The campfire flared.

Darin, Arven, and Zeyna had already gathered around it.Kaela closed her screen and joined them.

Fade stayed a moment longer.Then joined them too—not at the fire.Just close enough.In the shadows.

His eyes watched the dark—but his mind was deeper still.

Night had fully settled.

The sky wasn’t filled with stars,but with clouds tinged in gray—as if the world still had secrets to keep.

Fade stood on a rocky ledge at the edge of camp.He didn’t move.His gaze was far away—his mind even farther.

Zeyna sat a few steps behind him,her eyes fixed to the ground.

At times, their breathing synced—waves drawn to the same tide.

Then—a sound.

"...Fade..."

That was all.

High-pitched. Warped.But clear.

As real as someone speaking his name.

Zeyna jumped up."Did you hear that?"

Fade didn’t move.His eyes were still lost in the dark.

"I did."

Most of the others remained asleep.But Kaela stirred.She checked her device.

"No signal.It was acoustic. But... it didn’t feel conscious."

And then...they appeared.

Three creatures emerged from the flat, treeless stone field.Two small.One massive.

The large one stood over three meters tall.Its body was covered in gray, crystalline scales—almost absorbing the moonlight.

It had no eyes.

But its head turned toward them—slowly, steadily.As if it saw everything.

Fade tilted his head slightly.He wasn’t just observing—he was being observed.

The creature didn’t move.But its emptiness wasn’t hollow.There was... something inside it.

Not seeing—listening.

[SYSTEM DATA ACCESS: ENTITY IDENTIFIED]

[Species: Echo Elk – Mutated Variant]

[Classification: Passive / Resonant Tier]

[Threat Level: Low]

[Status: Observant – Not Hostile]

[Passive Ability Detected: Resonance Field]Emits low-frequency waves through antlers; enables non-verbal emotional sensing and silent herd communication.

[Secondary Trait: Phase Bone Antlers] Bone structure laced with reflective chitin – reacts to vibration and intent.

Fade’s eyes locked onto the antlers.The tips were twitching—like they were pulsing waves outward.

"They’re scanning us," he thought."But not to attack... to understand."

Kaela glanced at Fade."What do you think?"

Fade closed the panel."Passives.But they’re linked to something else."

"Like what?" Zeyna asked.

"Balance.Maybe echoes of what used to protect the forests. Or maybe... something still listens here."

The two young ones peeked between their mother’s legs.Their eyes were large—disproportionate.They stared at the group silently,then slowly pulled back.

The Echo Elk bowed its head slightly.The glow on its antlers flickered—then faded.

It felt like... a sign of respect.

The creature raised its head toward the gray sky—or maybe just sensed it.

Then, without a sound,it turned.

And walked away—back into the forest.

The young followed.

And after a while...there was nothing left.

But inside Fade—something had stayed.

A sense of empathy.And a warning.

The elk hadn’t been afraid.But they were cautious.

Fade turned to Zeyna."Thought the nights would be quieter."

Zeyna smiled faintly."Seems even the silence of this new world has something to say."

Morning came in a shroud of gray.

The sun hadn’t risen—but the dark hadn’t fully retreated either.

The horizon flickered with a dirty white glow—as if the sky hadn’t yet decided whether to brighten or sink again into gray.

No one spoke as they prepared.

Kaela knelt, scanning the reconstructed interface of her device.Residual fluctuations from the night still interfered with data—but something was becoming clear.

Fade approached.Kaela looked up.

"The signal’s locked," she said."West."

Fade dipped his head slightly.A quiet nod of affirmation.

Zeyna yawned, throwing her pack over her shoulder."Last Hope, huh?Is hope always this far away?"

Arven and Darin had already packed their things.Neither said much.

Fade looked one last time at the camp.The echoes of the night still clung to the stones—but they belonged behind them now.

"The path is clear," he said again.

And they walked—into the gray light.

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