PART 1: WHITE
Chapter 4 – Remnants
The early hours of the morning...
A gentle breeze...
The earthy scent lingering in the air after the previous day's rain...
"Ahhh… Finally, I'm awake..."
Mahey looked around slowly.
"Was everything I saw until now just a dream?"
He glanced down at the tree branches beneath him.
"Hmm… What am I doing he—Oh! Right, I came here yesterday. I must've been completely out of it."
He was finally starting to come back to his senses.
He paused.
"My back's all numb."
A loud grumble echoed from his stomach.
"Ugh, I'm starving. I seriously need to find something to eat."
Carefully, he began climbing down from the tree.
"Thank goodness I made it down without breaking anything. Now, I should head back to the riverside."
He started walking along the same path he'd taken the day before.
It didn't take long to find the river.
"Alright... Let's try to find something edible in the water. Water sources usually mean life. If I try hard enough, I should be able to find something... Let's go!"
One Hour Later
Result: A complete failure.
"Damn it! Not a single thing in this whole river!"
Frustrated, he sat by the edge, catching his breath.
But then, his eyes caught something in the distance—a bush full of fruit.
"I wonder if those are safe to eat?"
He cautiously approached and examined the berries.
"Hmmm… These have been pecked by birds. That probably means they're not poisonous. Looks like I can eat them."
Finally, some food.
He gathered about two handfuls, wrapping them in the folded hem of his shirt.
Then, sitting down by the river, he started eating.
"They taste amazing..."
He chewed slowly, savoring the sweetness.
But as he ate, memories from the previous day crept into his mind.
He stopped suddenly.
"Was that blue flame lying to me? If I was really born into a family in this world, wouldn't someone have come looking for me by now? A whole day has passed..."
Could it be...?
"Were those memories… nothing but a dream?"
And yet... he remembered things from a previous life.
"Damn it. Thinking about this is painful... My head's starting to hurt."
He stood up.
"Whatever. I should just keep following the river."
He walked.
And walked...
And walked...
Until he stumbled upon an abandoned campsite.
"Yes! That means there are people nearby! My luck might be turning..."
He began inspecting the area.
"The remnants are spread over a wide space. The ground here's been heavily trampled..."
He walked toward the center of the camp.
There, in the middle, was a large pile of ashes.
He knelt down and touched it with his finger.
"Cold. So it's been at least a few hours since the fire went out. Possibly more..."
The uncertainty made him uneasy.
"This isn't a permanent settlement. Either a caravan passed through or it was a nomadic group..."
In either case, one thing was clear:
"This world isn't modern."
But then, something sparked hope in him—
A detail he wouldn't have noticed without experience from his previous life:
"The horse dung here isn't that old. If it were, it would've melted away in yesterday's rain. So... can't be older than 10 hours. That's good!"
There might still be people nearby.
But which way did they go?
An idea came to him.
He rushed toward the riverbank.
"Just as I thought! They followed the water. The horse tracks go this way. And since the tracks are still visible, this must be their exit route, not the way they came. The tracks from where they arrived would've been washed away by the rain."
That was good news.
"So, all I have to do is follow these tracks. Eventually, I'll reach either another camp or a settlement..."
Just as he was about to move on, something made him pause.
"But... what if the group I'm following is a band of thieves?"
He crouched and took a closer look at the tracks.
"Let's see... Horse tracks... more horse tracks... and—YES!"
Camel tracks.
"There are camel prints too! That means this was a trade caravan. Camels are too slow for bandits—they're only used by traders or nomads. That's a relief."
Before leaving, he found a few copper coins scattered on the ground.
"Not very valuable, probably... But better than nothing," he said, slipping them into his pocket.
After one last look around, he turned back to the tracks and followed them.
He walked for hours.
The farther he went, the more signs of people he found—bits of cloth, flattened grass, disturbed soil...
Eventually, night fell, and he had to stop.
Once again, he climbed a tree and spent the night there, nibbling on fruits and nuts from the bushes.
The next day, he continued walking.
As the sun rose higher, he saw something promising: farmland.
Fenced-off patches of tilled earth. Scarecrows. Even rows of vegetables.
He must be close.
And finally...
By late afternoon, the silhouette of a large town appeared in the distance.
"Yes! I finally made it!"
But the journey had felt longer than he expected.
"Maybe it felt that way because I'm in a child's body... Short legs make every step count double, I guess," he chuckled.
Now what?
He stopped and thought for a moment.
Then he made up his mind:
"First, I'll explore the town a bit. Once I've seen it for myself, I'll know what to do."
And with that decision, he resumed walking—toward what might be a new beginning.
End of Chapter 4