The Author's Viewpoint-Chapter 119 - Where was the sigil?

Tave and Panpan returned to the place where the rest of the team had taken shelter. A cramped, somber little area nestled between jagged rock formations and forest undergrowth. The atmosphere was thick. Stifling.

No one was speaking.

The entire team sat in silence, a heavy stillness. On one side, Lina sat beside Elowen, her eyes swollen and red, her face still damp from the tears she hadn’t even tried to hide. She looked like she’d been crying for hours.

Velion was the first to move. He approached Tave quietly, gave Panpan a brief glance, then gestured for Tave to follow him a few steps away from the others.

Panpan didn’t speak. She simply stayed where she was, her silence saying more than words could. She already knew. Elowen had told her everything before Tave woke up.

Velion exhaled slowly, as if trying to soften what he had to say. Even though the truth was already written in every expression around them.

"We tried everything we could to save Eron," Velion began, his voice low.

Tave didn’t interrupt. He just listened, still, unmoving.

Velion glanced at the ground, as if ashamed to meet his eyes. "But... the damage was too severe. The wound hit a vital core. Something internal. We didn’t have the means to treat it. Not here."

Panpan lowered her gaze.

Tave nodded once, slowly. But the blow landed hard.

He clenched his jaw.

This wasn’t the first time a teammate had died during a Rift expedition. Far from it. On the previous mission, they’d lost two. One to Orion’s hand, another torn apart by a monster they weren’t ready for.

In a place like this, an Emergency Rift, death wasn’t just possible. It was everywhere. Breathing down their necks every step they took. One mistake. One misjudgment. That was all it took.

And now they were paying the price.

Eron was gone.

And with him, a piece of the team’s strength. A hole that would weaken their formation. Reduce their options. Leave them vulnerable.

Losing even one person in a high-tier Rift like this was one of the worst outcomes they could face.

And it had happened.

Tave joined the others, settling quietly among them as they gathered in a circle. No one spoke much at first. Most were trying to keep their composure, masking their grief beneath layers of exhaustion and survival instinct. For some, the loss hadn’t even registered fully yet. Buried beneath the pressure of simply staying alive.

But it was clear who was hit the hardest.

Lina sat a little apart, though not far. Her eyes were glassy, her shoulders hunched. As the team’s Main Healer, she carried the unspoken weight of responsibility for every fallen comrade. And this... this was her first failure.

Even though it wasn’t her fault.

It wasn’t anyone’s fault.

Sometimes, death was simply the toll they paid for progress. And they had made progress. More than they would have without pushing themselves as far as they had. But that never made the loss feel lighter.

Once the quiet had settled and everyone found a moment to breathe again, Tave took the lead, guiding them toward the hidden cave Panpan had found.

There was no hesitation.

They all moved quickly, understanding that time and daylight were not to be wasted.

Luckily, the path wasn’t as dangerous as it could’ve been. And by late afternoon, before nightfall, they had all arrived.

And the moment they stepped into the glowing chamber, reactions flared instantly:

"No way... we can actually use this place?"

"Haha. I could stay here forever!"

"If this really is monster-free," another voice added, "then yeah... this is the perfect place to lay low."

Elowen laughed as she leaned against the cave wall. "No way you all plan to hide in here and run from those beasts outside, right?"

"Hah! Peace like this will make us soft," Darian barked with a grin. "It’s the worst kind of trap. I love it."

Velion stepped forward next. "We’ll use the time here to recover and reevaluate. Midnight, we hunt again."

"Well," someone muttered with a tired laugh, "it’s not like we have many other options, do we?"

Not long after the team finished setting up their temporary resting area, Tave gathered everyone for a brief but important lesson. He sat cross-legged on the soft stone floor, the glowing purple flower garden behind him shimmering faintly in the cave’s ambient light.

A slight grin played on his lips as he began.

"So," he said, "has anyone here been tempted to eat the glowing flowers behind me?"

Finn raised a hand almost immediately. "I did eat one," he admitted, frowning. "Now my muscles feel weak. What the hell was that? Aren’t these supposed to be packed with elemental particles?"

Tave chuckled softly. "Yes, this place is thick with elemental energy. But if you breathe in too much of the flowers’ scent, or worse, eat them, your own Gaia Force starts draining instead of strengthening."

"Damn it, Tave, why didn’t you say that before?" Finn groaned, rubbing his arm.

A few others chimed in.

"Hah, so they’re beautiful and deadly. Nice."

"I almost tried one too. Guess I dodged a bullet."

"Yes, only a fool would be tempted to eat a suspicious flower like this."

"Wait, you mean even just standing too close to the flowers can mess with our core?"

Tave nodded, still smiling. "Exactly. So if you want to speed up your absorption without collapsing, don’t face the flower field. Avoid inhaling the scent directly. And yeah, no touching, definitely no eating. The effects can get worse the more contact you make."

There was a beat of silence, then a snort from the back.

"Damn, Tave... how do you know stuff like this? You read too many manuals. No wonder you’re still stuck at Gaia Guardian."

Laughter rippled through the group.

"Yeah, yeah. Say what you want," another voice said, "but thanks to Tave, we’ve got a spot like this in the first place. Could’ve been sleeping in the dirt."

"Still... you’re not lying to us about all this, right?" someone else added.

Tave raised both hands in mock surrender. "Cross my heart."

Around the edges of the group, it was easy to spot who was still hurting. Especially those who talked the most. Their energy was just a bit louder, their jokes a bit sharper. They were trying to laugh off the grief, keep it at bay, keep themselves from breaking apart in a place where the pressure never truly lifted.

Because here, in this deadly rift, with death still fresh on their minds... survival wasn’t just about healing wounds.

It was about keeping their sanity.

Soon enough, everyone began trying out the absorption techniques Tave had just taught. Adjusting their posture, facing away from the glowing garden, keeping their breaths steady and shallow. Even Tave joined in.

He wasn’t done.

Even after completing the Bloodline Override, the thirst for progress still burned inside him. And now, there was one thing in particular tugging at the back of his mind:

Where exactly is my second sigil?

He hadn’t had a chance to check. Not properly. There’d been no time. But he was sure of one thing. It wasn’t on any part of his body that was immediately visible. No one had noticed it. Not even Panpan. So it had to be somewhere less obvious.

Tave opened his eyes, thoughts shifting.

He needed to investigate deeper.

The cave system had several tunnels. He hadn’t even sent Fang to scout them yet. Because Fang was outside the cave guarding them. But his gut said this place was still safe... at least for now.

His eyes drifted to Panpan.

She was seated quietly not far from him, eyes closed, breathing steady. Meditating.

Then, without a word, she opened her eyes, almost as if she’d sensed his gaze.

"What?" She mouthed, barely audible.

Tave leaned in slightly, "I need your help", he whispered.

She raised a brow. "With what?"

Tave hesitated, glanced away for a second... then leaned closer, whispering just enough for her to hear.

"I need you to help me find where my new sigil is. I... can’t find it."

Panpan blinked once. Then again. Her expression shifted slowly into something between amusement and disbelief.

"Wait, seriously?"

Tave nodded, dead serious.

Now the real question was, where was the sigil? And was Panpan really the best person to help him check?