S.O.L.E (Scion Of Late Era)

B1 Ch12: Desertion -2-

---Atonement---

The moons often appear and shy away in the dark cloudy sky. Through the shadow, a person was concealing himself.

This person's action was unusual. Instead of taking the chance to move while the moonlight gave its blessing, he preferred whenever the darkness prevailed. He dashed from trees to trees, also halting from time to time. Eyes were sharp as if those could normally see through the night.

As Ceno often stopped every moonlight, checking his surrounding, coincidentally, he caught a glimpse of something on the tree trunk. Although it was only for a moment, he was sure of what he saw. It was a silver marking, similar to the black markings that Ceno had seen in the outside boundary. From his thorough observation, the marking was in masses and each one of them covered a certain distance.

He didn't know what it is and how it works but he also didn't want to dwell more on it. After some thinking, he decided to halt going forward and started to circle around.

After Ceno changed his initial path, his findings decreased and the speculation regarding those hidden traps looked to be more than just speculation. Since base from Ceno's knowledge, as he moved, his current location was also getting closer to his target area which was the campsite.

But why would Ceno decide to get himself nearer knowing that the possibility to be discovered by guardians was higher?

Although Ceno's move looked foolish, he knew that he didn't have the capability to pass all those traps peacefully. The visibility was already low, to begin with. Furthermore, he was ignorant about the other hidden traps that laid everywhere. Knowing just to avoid those markings would not be enough to try his luck.

Because of that, Ceno wanted to get closer to the campsite. That way, the area would be less dangerous. And who knows, he might found a better path to take from observing the guardians movement.

It wasn't a lie that Ceno learned many things from Feya, however, it couldn't help that other information was also difficult to obtain. This changing of plans was inevitable upon the situation. Unfortunately, it would surely eat him more time than already calculated.

Ceno finally arrived with a close perimeter to the campsite. Actually, it was still more than tens of meter, however, since guardians had a wide scope of awareness, Ceno could only close this much for now. From his position, he could determine the place through the lights that emitted from afar. He attentively paid attention to any movement and sounds he might perceive.

Fortunately, although he didn't have cultivation, Ceno's senses were sharper by levels compared to his other peers, but then again, it couldn't be off compared to those who have higher cultivation.

A long while later, Ceno noticed something strange. Other than the noises of insects, his ears couldn't pick any sign of a living person. He tried to persevere and wait for more, still, the result remained the same.

Because of doubt and confusion, Ceno decided to probe. He broke a small branch to his foot that made a low cracking sound. When it wasn't enough to stir a small commotion, Ceno even threw a pebble toward the direction of the light.

But everything that Ceno tried turned on naught. The surrounding was calm as usual which was opposite to what Ceno was becoming.

The situation was definitely something odd that Ceno's eyebrows started to furrow as he contemplated things on his mind. He was in knotted whether to see it himself or seize the chance to slip and leave. Because for a strange reason, even though his mind told him not to be nosy, a mysterious strong feeling was knocking on his heart. Hence, a moment after, Ceno's foot already took a step forward. He decided to gamble and move closer, unhurried, and full of care.