SK did not speak for a long time.
The shack felt smaller than before, the air heavier, as though the very walls were listening to see what he would say next. Elias and Jamie stood near the table, neither daring to move, the mask resting between them like a sleeping animal that might wake if disturbed.
When he finally spoke, his voice had lost its usual edge.
"This particular legend, like all legends," he said quietly, "is dangerous."
Elias looked up.
SK's eyes were not on them but on the mask.
"You see, just as gazing upon a being makes it aware of your presence," he continued, "But that is not the only danger. They respond to thier names being mentioned, just like you would respond to your own parents calling you. That is why its so dangeroues, especially with a higher being that may or may not be malevolent in nature. This is a rule that Artificers must know when crafting. It is for this reason that the Itinerants never mention the names of the entities whose knowledge they keep."
Elias frowned slightly.
'Itinerants... Where have I heard that word before?'
Somewhere in a book, perhaps. Or from someone speaking in passing. The familiarity itched at him, but he could not place it.
SK inhaled slowly.
"Telling you this is dangerous," he said. "But since you two children are so determined to step into the world of adults, I suppose I have no right to stop you."
Jamie swallowed but stayed quiet.
"There are many legends," SK went on, his tone turning distant, as though he were reciting from memory rather than speaking.
"Stories passed down by priests, to artificers, between scholars, from the Wanderers. Some say the mask belonged to a trickster god who delighted in war. Others claim it was worn by an ancient king who could command principalities with a glance. There is even a tale that it was once a ceremonial object used in rituals meant to commune with...high places."
He paused.
"But the legend that aligns with what we know of history is older. Far older."
The silence thickened.
"It is the legend of the Kitsune."
Jamie blinked. Elias's expression did not change, but his attention sharpened.
"She was a being whose true description has been forgotten," SK said. "All that remains in records is the fact that she had nine tails and walked the world alongside the other Divine beasts before the rise of the gods' dominion."
Elias felt a strange chill at those words.
"There was a war between them," SK continued. "A war so vast that it spanned realms and ages. Both the Divine beasts and the Gods sought power. And a particular relic was the singular determinant of who weilded that power. A relic said to have the power to deprive the gods of their authorities."
Jamie's eyes widened.
"The fox," SK said softly, "betrayed both sides."
He looked at the mask again.
"She stole the relic."
Elias's throat tightened.
"And hid it."
"Where?" Jamie asked before she could stop herself.
SK shook his head.
"No one knows. Because she did not simply hide it. She shattered it into pieces and scattered those pieces across all of creation."
Elias felt something stir faintly in his spirit, like distant ripples across still water.
"The gods, the divine beasts, and every power that desired the relic's authority chased her across existence. They finally caught her."
He exhaled.
"As punishment, her power was stripped, and she was banished."
Jamie leaned forward unconsciously.
"Somehow," SK finished, "she ended up trapped within that mask."
Silence followed.
Elias spoke first.
"If all the major powers in the world were after her," he said slowly, "then she must have been incredibly powerful."
SK nodded once.
Jamie, who had been staring at the table, suddenly looked up.
"How did something like that end up with you, How do you even know all this?" she asked.
SK hesitated.
His jaw tightened slightly.
"As one of the greatest Artificers to ever live, I am privy to some forbidden knowledge, even if its just myths. When I was fleeing," he said carefully, "I entered the Forbidden Vault to take a few items that might help me survive. They were already close behind me. In my rush, I grabbed what I could without fully inspecting it."
Elias wanted to ask again what Sk was running from but he knew that this was something that his mentor would never cave into. SK meanwhile gestured faintly toward the mask.
"I did not know what it was at the time. I had heard the legend not seen the object in question."
"What made you realize?" Elias asked.
"I showed it to an itinerant friend," SK replied. "He nearly lost his mind just by looking at it. That was when I became certain this was no ordinary relic."
'Itinerant again.'
Jamie frowned.
"Then why didn't you just throw it away?"
SK's eyes hardened.
"I cannot endanger an entire kingdom by discarding something like that into the world."
Elias lowered his gaze to the table.
A quiet dread began to settle in him.
He had let this being into his spirit.
Even now, he could feel her.
Not attacking.
Not moving.
Watching.
The sensation was unmistakable. A presence seated at the center of his domain, patient and curious, as though observing him from behind an unseen veil.
Even weakened, she could have tried to take his body.
She could have overwhelmed him.
But she had not.
She was waiting.
'Why?'
SK stepped back.
"I have told you what you wished to know," he said.
"Now both of you should fuck all the way off. I don't wanna see your stupid faces for a few days"
Jamie looked at Elias.
He nodded faintly.
They turned and walked out of the shack.
The clearing outside felt too open, the winter air too sharp. They moved slowly across the snow toward the distant path that led back to the city.
Jamie glanced at her friend, about to crack a joke but stopped.
Elias was trembling.
Not violently, but enough for her to notice.
Without thinking, she reached out and grabbed his hand.
He flinched at first, instinctively shrinking away, then let her hold it.
The shaking lessened slightly.
They walked in silence.
Behind them, SK remained in the doorway, watching until they disappeared into the trees.
Then his expression changed.
He rubbed his face hard and muttered under his breath.
"Bloody children."
High above, perched among the branches of a tall pine, Jax watched the entire scene unfold.
His expressionless eyes followed the children as they left the clearing. Then his gaze shifted to SK.
They narrowed slightly.
Without a sound, he moved through the trees, his presence blending with the forest as though he had never been there at all.