The garden was silent.
Arah held the stone in both hands, its surface oddly warm. Runes were etched along its jagged edges, pulsing faintly, almost like a heartbeat. He looked at Granny Maze. She was watching him with indifference.
"Do not lie," she said. "The Truth Stone doesn't tolerate it. Speak any lies, and it will punish you. Severely… don't worry, it won't kill you."
Arah didn't ask what she meant by 'punish'. The way she said it told him enough.
Kren stood in the back, arms crossed, face unreadable. For once, he didn't look like the grinning rogue he usually was. His aura was acting up again.
The air was thick with tension.
Granny Maze took a breath.
"Let us begin."
She gave Kren a slight nod.
He stepped forward.
"My first question is," Kren's eyes locked into his, "do you have memories from the time before you woke up in the temple?"
Arah blinked.
"Yes."
The stone didn't react, and almost immediately, Kren's aura erupted.
"You said that you didn't remember anything that happened before you woke up."
He looked at him for a moment. He was struggling to breathe due to the aura, but he replied anyway.
"I do remember... I remember how to fight... it's to the point that it's engraved into the very core of me. But I don't remember who taught me how to fight, or how I got into that temple, or why I was there."
The stone didn't react.
Kren raised an eyebrow at this. "Then what's the last thing you remember?"
Arah frowned a bit, as if trying to remember. He had to act the part, after all.
"Dying."
Nothing happened. The stone remained still.
"You... the last thing you remember is you dying?" Kren said in disbelief.
Arah nodded, and the stone remained motionless.
Kren's gaze didn't waver. He nodded slightly and moved on.
"What did you see when you first woke up?"
Arah lowered his eyes slightly. His fingers curled a little tighter around the stone.
"...When I woke up, I was in a room full of bones. I didn't know where I was, so I left. It… it didn't feel like the kind of place someone should stay in."
The stone didn't change.
Kren frowned at the answer. He seemed lost in thought for a moment before he stepped to the side and crossed his arms again.
"How long has it been since you woke up?"
"A day."
Still nothing from the stone.
"And have you met anyone since?"
Arah hesitated for half a second, then shook his head slightly.
"No… only things that tried to kill me. I didn't meet anyone before you."
Silence.
The stone remained unchanged.
Granny Maze narrowed her eyes. There was a slight suspicion in them, but it seemed she believed his words.
Kren scratched the back of his head.
"So... tell me, do you feel anything when I say, 'Let the sun die?'"
Arah frowned.
"No."
That was true, too, He could guess why Kren asked him that. It must be words that trigger the cultists somehow, must have some kind of effect.
The stone suddenly turned into dust.
Granny Maze sighed. "Well... there goes my stone..."
Kren let out a frustrated breath and shook his head. "And we got nothing."
"No lies were said," Granny said simply.
"Exactly." He scowled. "No lies. No answers either. Half of what he said could mean anything. I don't know if we're looking at a victim or a lunatic who believes everything he said. I mean, he said he died!"
Granny didn't answer right away. Instead, her eyes drifted back to Arah, who stood observing the two.
"…It's not hopeless," she said softly. "He didn't flinch when you said, 'let the sun die.' Didn't react at all."
Kren looked at her. "And?"
"If he was one of them, if he'd been through the conditioning, that phrase would've done something." She narrowed her eyes.
Kren grunted. "That doesn't prove he has no connection."
"No, but it proves he's not theirs. You have seen how they turn mad and are dead set on killing anyone that says that. He might have simply been a sacrifice. "
Kren rubbed his temples in annoyance. "A sacrifice with the name of their god? This makes no sense..."
Kren crossed his arms and clenched his jaw tight.
Arah stared at them. He understood where they were coming from and their concerns. Sadly, he had to act his part so he could hide his secret better. Playing the boy who lost his memories. Most of the answers he gave were referring to his past life.
The memories he spoke of, about his death, combat, the instincts, those were all true. Just not from this life... all in all, they were simply chasing smoke.
"…What is the Sun Cult, anyway?" he asked. "You've mentioned the cult twice now....I think I deserve to know what it is."
Kren sighed.
"They weren't always called that," he said. "Back in the Era of the Gods, they were known as the Sun God's followers. Priests, devotees, holy warriors. They were faithful people who wanted to serve the Sun God."
"But then came the Era of Silence, when the towers appeared. The gods vanished, or died. No one really knows. Their voices stopped, their blessings faded. Their temples left to crumble, and with them, the old order. Most people moved on, let go, lived their lives."
He paused, then his voice turned colder.
"But not the Sun God's flock. Something must have happened because it broke them. They didn't move on. They started calling themselves the Sun Cult. Gone were the sermons, no more hymns. Just fire and blood."
"They raided villages, slaughtered anyone who resisted. And the worst part? They took children. Brainwashed them. Found a way to strip them of names, of families, of thought. Raised them into weapons."
Arah didn't interrupt. He just listened.
"No one ever figured out what they were after," Kren continued. "But it wasn't random. They didn't go mad for no reason, that's for sure."
"In just a mere 14,000 years, they grew and became more dangerous. The whole continent rose up to stop them. The Two Empires, and the Island Kingdoms. Everyone agreed they were a pest to humanity."
Granny crossed her arms. "That was sixty years ago. Their temples were torn down. Their strongholds destroyed. And finally, fifty years after the war started, their leaders burned."
She paused, her eyes turning unfocused for a while.
"The world thought it had gotten rid of those religious bastards."
She tilted her head.
"That's what I thought as well, until you appeared."
Arah nodded slightly. Okay, maybe this body might have been involved in whatever the cult was doing before he took over. Again, being born from an egg was not normal in the first place.
Kren exhaled, rubbing his face with one hand before turning toward the gate.
"Well, I think that's enough revelations for one day. Granny, thanks for the stone. Sorry we dusted it. I will repay you when I can."
He gave her a half-smile, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"You're leaving already?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
Kren shrugged. "Got a rendezvous. I'll drop the kid off first, let him get some rest. He's earned it."
Granny grunted. "I... will go inform the Queen of this matter... it's better to be safe than sorry."
Kren didn't answer. He just waved once and started walking.
Arah followed him out of the garden. They walked in silence down the stone path, the sky turning a deeper shade of orange as the sun dipped behind the mountains. They had been in there longer than he thought.
After a while, Arah spoke.
"Why are you being so nice to me?"
Kren looked at him sideways. "What?"
"You don't know who I am. You don't know if I'm your enemy. Why are you friendly?"
Kren didn't answer right away. His eyes narrowed and he looked up at the sky.
"At first," he said, "I thought you were one of their spies. The cult used children before. Wouldn't be the first time they planted someone young and confused. So, yeah, I acted nice. Wanted to get you to the city, where it was safe to ask questions."
Arah stared at his back.
'Explains his odd behaviour after finding out...'
Kren gave a bitter laugh. "But now… most of my doubts are gone. Not all, but most."
He paused.
"And now that I don't feel like I have to fake the kindness, I figured… might as well be real. Because if, on the off chance you're not my enemy… if you're just some poor kid who clawed his way out of that hell… then someone should show you some decency."
His voice quieted.
"Because once… someone did the same for me."
Arah didn't respond right away.
"…You were one of the kidnapped children? A sacrifice?" he asked.
Kren's jaw tightened.
"A long time ago... I didn't have the name of their god like you do... maybe it's because they deemed me fit, to not give it to me."
He looked ahead again.
"But yes, I too was a sacrifice."
They walked the rest of the way in silence.