Shadow Redeemed 3 - or 'The Journey of a Broken Man in a world of Gods' (Post-Castlevania LoS x Pre-Genshin Impact)

It was odd to live without the strict tenets of the Brotherhood of Light.

The first days in this new world had been clouding his mind from this detail, but now that Gabriel had started to gain a semblance of peace in his life, it was impossible for him to ignore how freeing this was to him. No more praying, no more mass to attend and not a single time where he had to dread missions deep in some troll-infested forest or a lycan-swarmed village.

Gabriel was free to an extent, with his guilt and pain being what was left of unpleasantness in his past. Life continued to go on despite that, and things seemed to be relatively quiet for him and the humble settlement that was slowly turning into his new home. And the last home to have, hopefully.

Yet, peace is such a weak thing before the turbulent lands of Inazuma.

And when he thought that he could finally enjoy being back to this simple normalcy, another development took him off-guard for a time. Due to the recent events unfolding in Ritou, the Raiden Shogun had sent them a small detachment to keep them 'safe'.

It was a token gesture to show sympathy and strength, that Gabriel didn't need any explanation about as he knew how this was but just a simple thing for rulers of all sorts to use when they needed to have their face saved at times. But it wasn't the gesture itself that worried him.

It was the fact that they were also looking for 'him'. In truth, they didn't know it was him that helped against the Oni, and while Gabriel hadn't told anyone to cover up for him, everyone had kept quiet on the matter and said they couldn't remember who saved them.

Not even the former guards stanced by the Shogun for a time here were willing to bring up the topic. So, while life continued softly and uneventfully in Ritou, Gabriel thought he could have run from that circumstance and finally spared himself the hassle of getting 'thanked' for just doing the simplest of tasks- one that he had sought to never entertain and yet had been forced to go through twice now.

He just didn't want that.

So, he was not expecting for this to change out of a mere conversation by the docks happening with a stranger he didn't even get the chance to see in their face. It was one of those long days at work, with many ships from Liyue requiring a lot of handling to make sure that everything was done on time.

Gabriel worked hard but, like many others, didn't shy away from taking a break once granted permission to go for it. So, he took a seat and decided to indulge his recent hobby.

While it was true he sought to retain a most humble life, the Belmont had also grown intrigued by an old jab many fellow students in the brotherhood were keen to hurl at him. 'If you like Marie, then why do you not learn to carve her a statue in wood?'.

That was meant to be an insult to his lack of patience and, admittedly, he had lacked that for many years now. Wisdom was now left as he felt too spent to entertain a driven commitment. Which is why he had bought a small knife and a piece of wood and… taken an interest in learning how to carve statues.

Nothing too complicated just yet, but he managed to produce a wonderful fox from his most recent attempt. At least, that's what the local craftsman told him. It could have been a joke, or perhaps the old man had finally gone senile.

Or maybe I really should take a moment to stop brooding and self-loathing myself.

Difficult, but time was his friend right now so… maybe, along the line, he could ultimately forgive his own mistakes and find a most graceful end.

Right as he was busy starting a little sparrow through the newest block he was carving, he felt someone take a seat beside him by the bench near the pier he worked at. He didn't greet them as he wasn't greeted first.

Rude or not, Gabriel was never the one that spoke first with someone that didn't warrant either his respect or was important by proxy due to an event or a mission. Since the latter wasn't an option and he didn't know who had taken a seat beside him, he remained quiet as he focused on the task at hand.

Silence remained unbroken until a very simple question brought an end to the peace and brought him attention to his unknown guest.

"Is that a bird you're carving?"

Gabriel blinked, but he merely nodded.

No verbal response- that should have been enough of a reason to be left alone. He was severely mistaken in that hope as the womanly voice spoke again.

"I never saw a reason for someone to learn how to carve wood. Stone, yes, but Wood is such a… waste."

"It is not. At least, not to me- anymore."

A quiet hum, then a brief moment of silence.

"How so?"

"Wood is not as… lasting as stone. It gives you reason to keep treating what you carve with care even after you're done building it because it can easily be ruined by so many things," Gabriel answered quietly. "It's like when you are tending to the life of those you care… you never know when the beauty ends because you're not paying attention to what could ruin what you have."

"...I see."

More silence, this time it lasted for a bit longer than previous occasions. But it wasn't eternal as he had wished for, with the woman speaking up once more.

"How difficult is it?" She asked, sounding extremely curious. "The wood is something weaker than stone so too much power can break it or cause splinters. How do you handle that?"

"Patience. Something that I have only recently started to practice," He mumbled darkly. "Something I didn't have when needed and it… left me in these circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"..."

He expected for this topic to be pressed on, but what he got instead was… acceptable.

"My apologies. I was- I didn't mean to press it on you."

"It's… alright. I think," Gabriel accepted the response. "However, I would only say that it's not a matter of where or when, but of what I once had and now no longer can say to have. All is but a feeble thing to us when we really care for it."

There was no response at that, but he could tell the woman had taken this positively as he felt no tension coming from her. There was just something unusually soothing out of this exchange. It wasn't too oppressive, and while it did distract him from his task, he could tell that this individual- this lady he was speaking to… she had something that felt oddly familiar to him.

Instead of continuing the conversation, he felt her sit up and start to walk away.

"It was a pleasant conversation."

He nodded. It truly was and-

"Gabriel."

The planks she was walking on stopped groaning and he could feel her gaze back to him as he still refused to look up at her, only relying on instinct alone to feel this intensity.

"Ei. My name is Ei."

Another nod to confirm this new piece of information and, this time around, the woman was gone.

Once his shift was over, Gabriel saw how other workers were oddly nervous, and he learned of why when his boss told him that the general in charge of the guards for the temporary protection had inspected the docks.

He hadn't noticed, perhaps it happened while he was talking with that pleasant woman. He didn't think much of it as he was left to go through his merry life without any other interruptions for the time being.

This woman, Ei, felt oddly interesting. Not in a manner similar to Marie, but he felt like he had done more than just talking with her in that first interaction. In a way, he could tell this woman, similar to him, had her own hassles in regard to duties and that what wisdom he had to offer may do her more good than bad.

What Gabriel failed to understand is that he had unconsciously tipped the first piece of a domino-like escalation.