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Chapter 25: Stranger at the Edge
It was a quiet morning in the village.
Elric had just convinced Pebble Jr. to stop sleeping inside the water barrel, and Boneclaw was proudly wearing a flower crown that Yui had forced onto his skull.
Even Grandpa Riven seemed relaxed, sipping tea on the porch and humming an old tune.
But then came the knock.
Not at the door—at the border.
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A boy named Tallo came running down the path toward Elric's house, breathless and red-faced.
"There's someone at the old eastern road," he wheezed. "Not from the village."
Elric frowned. "A traveler?"
Tallo shook his head. "He's not… normal."
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They gathered near the edge of the land—where the wildwood used to begin before Elric's territory started changing.
The air smelled different. The grass near the path had browned, and the sky felt heavier.
The figure stood alone. Hooded. Tall. Still.
A long staff rested at his side. His clothes were stitched from gray cloth and old leather. Not a traveler's outfit—more like a watcher's.
He looked up slowly as Elric stepped forward with Boneclaw, Twig, and the others close behind.
"Are you the Shepherd?" the man asked in a voice like dry wind.
Elric raised an eyebrow. "Depends. Are you going to offer cookies or curse me?"
The man didn't smile. "I came from the west. Through three towns that no longer speak. The beasts there fled their dens. The shards have begun to stir."
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Elric's system pinged softly.
> External Shard Activity Detected. Class Affinity: Confirmed.
This traveler is marked: 'Wanderer-Class Observer.'
Warning: Information not yet available to civilians.
Elric frowned. "You're a system user."
"I was," the man said. "Long ago."
He looked at the sprite, then at Pebble Jr., who was chewing on a rock with intense focus.
"You've bonded with creatures most would call wild. You walk with the ground's heartbeat. You've awakened something."
Elric shrugged. "Well… technically I fell into something. It's a long story."
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The man pointed east.
"More will come. Some curious. Some cruel. The worlds beyond are watching."
Elric narrowed his eyes. "And you?"
The man stepped back.
"I'm only here to warn you."
Then—without another word—he turned and walked back into the mists.
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Later that evening, Grandpa Riven sat beside Elric on the porch.
"That wasn't a simple man," Riven said.
"I know."
"They'll keep coming now."
Elric looked at his little pack—Pebble Jr. asleep in a pile of hay, Boneclaw pacing, and the Sprite lazily floating through rings of glitter.
"Good," Elric said.
"We'll be ready."
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