Page 2969 (Patreon)

<<Page 2968 -- CCLVIII. || all Chapter 258 pages 

Well, this was a new experience. This place felt somehow familiar, but he couldn't tell why. It was just an empty field. A forest in the distance.

Was the Forge showing him this? And if so, why?

A figured melted into existence in front of him. Once it was fully formed, though, it appeared more real and lively than he did.

He'd never seen clothes like those before. The ornamentation on them was elaborate, lined with silver and bright crimson, and yet there was still something primitive about them, too.

Hector was reminded of the vision that he'd seen with Pauline Gaolanet. This whole thing felt different than that, but not by much. And if this was a memory from the Forge's past, then was that an ancient person standing there in front of them?

It was just a guy. In a field. Looking around.

Hmm.

Not very informative.

Then the figure melted out of existence, but only briefly. He reappeared a few feet away, crouched down this time, seemingly inspect the ground. Then he disappeared again, only to reappear another few feet away, now with shovel in hand, digging.

The hole expanded quickly as the figure kept flickering in and out of existence around it.

A time lapse, Hector supposed.

The hole grew deeper and more narrow as the man worked. Hector stepped closer to the edge for a better look. The figure's clothes kept changing between flickers, as presumably the days also were. Weeks or more must have passed by the time the man finally set his shovel down.

And the hole was enormous now. Big enough to fit an entire house, certainly. Maybe even two.

The flickering didn't stop there, though. The man kept blinking in and out of existence, only this time he was almost always on all fours with his sleeves rolled up and his hands in the dirt, sometimes elbow-deep. And the dirt itself was gradually changing, too, turning a darker, richer brown color. Where before it had been hard and riddled with rocks, now it was beginning to look quite soft and even.