NOVEL WEB Chapter 7: Chapter 7 – The Sound of Stillness
Tagaytay Highlands – 10:04 PM
Elian didn't know how long he had been running.
His legs burned. His lungs clawed for air. His vision blurred with tears and mist.
He crashed through the trees, half-blind, guided only by instinct and terror.
And behind him—
They followed.
The voices.
The whispers.
The screams.
"You do not belong to the Light."
"Return to the dark."
"Die with your name unspoken."
They were closing in. The forest twisted around him, every tree a shadow, every gust of wind a moan.
Elian stumbled, fell, scraped his palms raw against rock and soil.
When he looked up—
Three Wailing Hordes.
Shrouded silhouettes of wind and sorrow, drifting above the forest floor, their forms constantly unraveling into streaks of sound and shadow.
No mouths. No eyes. Just outlines — screaming.
Elian couldn't scream. He could barely breathe. His back hit a tree.
The sigil on his hand flared beneath the glove.
And then—
Stillness.
The mist halted, frozen like glass.
The forest went silent.
Even the howling winds fell into reverent hush.
A bell began to glow —
floating in midair, twenty feet ahead, suspended above the ground.
Eirenya — The Stillwater Bell.
Silver. Smooth. Etched with runes in forgotten script.
Its surface shimmered with a soft blue glow. No hand held it. No chain suspended it.
It simply hovered, slowly rotating, radiating waves of tranquil light.
A ripple of pressure expanded outward — like calm water meeting chaos.
The Wailing Hordes recoiled as if struck. Their forms wavered.
And then —
beneath the floating Bell, a figure stepped into view.
Minato Kai.
He emerged from the mist like a blade drawn from silence — tall, calm, his black coat brushing the ground.
Silver embroidery glinted along the edges of his sleeves. His eyes were narrow, unreadable, reflecting the bell's glow.
The sigil on his left hand pulsed with light.
He looked not at Elian… but through the demons.
He raised his hand slowly.
"This place," Minato said softly, "is under divine watch."
"You will not harm him."
The Wailing Hordes shrieked — a layered howl of agony and rage — and surged toward him in unison.
The Bell rang.
Not by Minato's hand.
It moved on its own.
A single, resonant chime echoed through the trees.
Not loud. Not sharp. But perfect.
Everything froze.
Mist. Trees. Voices. Even Elian's breath seemed suspended in the stillness.
The Wailing Hordes convulsed, their silhouettes buckling as if crushed beneath silence.
[Skill: Silent Field.]
Within the Bell's radius, all demonic incantation, rage, and terror ceased.
Minato stepped forward.
He extended two fingers toward the center Wailing Horde.
The Bell rang again — a softer tone, like water brushing stone.
[Skill: Tranquil Calling]
The center Horde unraveled.
Not with flame. Not with violence.
It simply ceased, dissolving into drifting whispers of ash.
The other two tried to retreat — but it was too late.
The Bell rang a third time, clear and patient.
They broke apart — like smoke dispersed by wind.£
Elian collapsed again — not from pain, but release.
He stared at the sky, eyes wide, heart pounding.
The wind returned, gentle now. The mist retreated.
And above him, the Stillwater Bell hovered once more.
Softly, it floated toward Minato.
Then — with a quiet pulse of blue light — it merged with the glowing sigil on the back of his left hand.
The Bell disappeared into his skin, the light fading.
Minato knelt beside Elian, brushing a branch aside.
He gently touched the boy's shoulder — respectful, careful.
"You are no longer alone," he murmured.
Elian stared at him, lips parted — too stunned to speak.
Minato's gaze softened. He looked toward the trees.
And there — between trunks of pine — a silver gate opened.
Feathers fell like snow.
The air smelled faintly of lilies and ozone.
A chime echoed in the distance — the sound of distant bells.
The Gate to Eidalein.
Minato turned back to Elian.
"Sleep now, Seraph-bearer. You'll be safe… in the sanctuary."
The wind carried them both forward, and the light swallowed the forest whole.