Shon, broken into fragments, merged with Hope's body. The man became a part of him and remained in him. Then the boy saw numbers again, like when he met the gods.

He remembered the first time he met Humpborn. He could feel some kind of independent system inside him.

'It still sleeps,' Hope thought angrily. 'That lazy bum.'

Now it wasn't just in his head. The numbers counted the fragments as Hope remained motionless for several minutes.

Then one specific indicator stopped in his mind. It was a number expressed in percentages, which meant something.

[0.56% - 8.78%]

After feeling and thinking about them, Hope understood their meaning. It was as if he had already stored the idea of them in his mind.

The first indicator reflected the total number of fragments he had collected, which wasn't even one whole percent.

As for the second, it was the total number of fragments accumulated by humans over 300 years.

'I still have a long way to go. In fact, I haven't even started.'

This ability would be useful. Hope could track both his progress and the progress of others.

Also, the indicator opened up another possibility. By listening to a specific fragment of the story, Hope could tell if others had similar knowledge.

If only his indicator increased, this meant that similar fragments already existed. But if his numbers and the world's indicator rose, it proved he had found new, undiscovered information.

It wasn't as powerful or impactful as he wished. But it was the only thing he owned.

Despite all this, his brain didn't stop. After saying goodbye to Shon, Hope set off on a path through the forest. The threat of being caught had not yet disappeared. So much so that he didn't even allow himself to think about Don.. Or to worry about others.

As he moved through Drylock Grove, a new number indicator appeared in his head, which changed in real time;

[1233; 17; 33; 05]

The last two numbers changed according to the second. After observing, the boy realised that it was a timer that counted days, hours, minutes, and seconds.

[1233; 17; 30; 44]

'A little over three years.'

It didn't take much to figure out what this counter was for.

Hope suspected that this indicator was the result of a prophecy that gauged the time left before the cataclysm. Unfortunately, he didn't have more information about this event.

'At least now I know when it will happen. But three years is too soon.'

Hope had to collect all the fragments in this time, complete the prophecy, and use them to save the world.

At least the system wasn't completely useless.

Although much was missing, he had been preparing for this for the last 18 years. He had also regained shattered self-confidence. He realised that he hadn't been useless and that all his hardships had been for a reason.

'The same won't happen again,' he said, moving through the trees.

This adventure would be a new experience. When he had time, he would start writing down and saving everything. He would read it to Avi one day.

Hope didn't have a dagger, either. The only thing he had brought from Dreadvale was his status as the Chosen One. With this, he could no longer act openly, but he had everything he needed to live alone and embark on this mission.

'If I had a dagger, it would be much easier.'

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Parting with a familiar weapon made him regret it, but he wasn't about to complain.

The forest was dark, especially without the moon. The surrounding area became a suffocating abyss, with each shadow hissing of lurking threats. Hope had just discovered the significance of this seemingly insignificant celestial body. What happened to the moon was hard to say, but the boy hoped he could bring it back.

Hope hadn't eaten anything all day. When he woke up, they had taken him to the temple, and he had only three glasses of water in his stomach. His bladder had been emptied a short time ago, and now he had to think about finding food.

The darkness and the impenetrable forest turned every step into a test of will, but Hope was reluctant to stop, so he spent the entire night walking.

The sunlight had improved visibility, but the boy wasn't going to stop yet.

'A few more hours, and only then will I sleep.'

The fragments he had received from Shon hadn't gone into the water either. As insignificant and almost non-existent as they must have seemed, Hope could feel the changes the fragments had caused. These small developments were not yet fully apparent, but they were becoming a part of him.

He was exhausted but found himself enjoying this strange freedom. Hope was facing a completely new world. He could do almost anything, and no one controlled his regime. These new feelings were addictive. He liked the fresh fruit that he had never tasted before and didn't want to lose it.

He pushed his limits to maintain this feeling. Furthermore, he was so tired that he could only walk, yet he still didn't stop. Slowly but surely, he followed the paths of the forest, both marked and unmarked.

Hope only allowed his body to relax in the evening. His feelings of thirst and hunger fought each other, but in the end, the need to sleep won out. He was so tired that he couldn't find anything. During the entire journey, he encountered no animals or even a stream.

The instructors had drilled geography into him, and Hope remembered well that the forest had no water sources nearby. The animals were extremely cautious and hid from any danger and were still far from him. Without hunting, Hope could only eat plants or get fluids from them.

'It will last until tomorrow,' he thought.

He chose a tall tree with wide branches and carefully climbed it, without making too much noise or damaging the branches. Settling in as best he could, he looked up at the darkening sky.

Hope wanted to find light in it. Unfortunately, the moon had just disappeared, and no one had seen the stars for 300 years. They had disappeared with the start of the first cataclysm. People could no longer continue to study the planets because they no longer existed.

The sun remained—the only one, the absence of which would signify the end of the world.

Hope soon grew bored with looking at the empty sky. No one had been observing the heavens for a long time, and dreams of life beyond had died out. Now, everyone is thinking about preserving life on earth.

Especially Hope, who had a timer. People knew that danger was approaching, but they had no idea when or in what form.

At least Hope knew when it would come.

His body, leaning against the branches of the tree, loosened. His heartbeat settled into a rhythm, his muscles relaxed, and his mind was free from the burden. Soon, he fell asleep for the first time outside his room, without a bed or a soft pillow.

No matter how hard and demanding his training had been, the end of the night had always been comfortable. Now that luxury was taken away, he would have to get used to it. Even an empty stomach was a new experience for him, one that he had to learn to cope with.

His sleep wasn't deep. It was as if a part of his mind had not yet calmed down and was ready to flee at the slightest noise.

But nothing happened. The whole night passed peacefully, and no one noticed him. His neck and back were sore from lying on the rough surface for so long, but otherwise, he awoke feeling refreshed and rested.

Stretching out on the tree's branches, he carefully brushed away the leaves that hid him well. He looked out into the sunlight and enjoyed it for a moment.

'There has never been so much colour in Dreadvale,' he thought.

The sunlight illuminated his face. His eyes squinted, but he managed to smile. He stared at the horizon, satisfied with the situation. His destination was the nearest city, Zalindar.

The city wasn't yet in sight; he hadn't walked far enough for that.

'Three more days,' he counted.

At the current pace, it would take him at least three days to cross Drylock Grove. Then his stomach growled. The burning was unbearable, and he wanted to eat immediately. Hope had to replenish his energy because such a journey would surely drain strength.

The dryness in his throat was even more insufferable. Hope couldn't find saliva in his mouth. Even if he had needed to speak, it would have been difficult to pronounce the words.

He was forced to go down to the base of a tree and begin searching for food. Within five minutes, he realised that food would be hard to come by. His diet would be limited and unpleasant for a while.

Hope decided to use knowledge and start eating the way people had eaten in the early stages of the Fracture. The first thing that came to mind was pine needles. It might not have been the best choice, but he had no other options.

They contained a little liquid and served as a substitute for water. The boy collected a certain amount of pine needles. Then he moved to a birch tree and removed a small part of its bark. After a long effort, he got some.

Finally, he found the most delicious clover flower, which he ate in relatively large quantities. He didn't think about the taste because of hunger.

In the end, he may not have had a big meal, but he temporarily solved the problem of hunger and thirst. The need didn't disappear completely, but at least he won a day.

Under the sun, he continued his journey until nightfall. He tried his best not to leave a trace, although he knew very well that hiding from the Binders would not be easy.

When night came, he chose a new place to sleep. He climbed a thick tree and lay down. He was about to close his eyes when he noticed smoke nearby. The faint trail was rising from a fire, proving the presence of people.