Ryn stood there for several seconds longer than necessary.
The cathedral was empty.
The air still held warmth, like the echo of a presence that hadn't fully faded yet.
Kato.
The name surfaced unbidden, and Ryn immediately frowned.
That was impossible.
One moment the boy had been sitting across from him, the next he had just up and vanished.
It was like…a mirage, one that usually played tricks on travelers.
Ryn exhaled slowly, pressing his fingers against his temple.
"…Great," he muttered. "Now I'm talking to ghosts."
The broken cathedral remained stubbornly real. Cracked stone pillars. A headless statue at the far end, its features eroded beyond recognition.
Then something tugged at his attention.
Ryn's gaze dropped.
There, right where Kato had been sitting, rested a small crystal sphere.
It was no larger than his palm, perfectly round, like a droplet of glass frozen mid-fall. It hadn't been there before. He was certain of that.
Ryn crouched slowly, eyes narrowed.
