>>5874503You've rested enough, and you don't want to keep standing outside under a tree barely able to keep the rain off. Once you get to the ruins, you might be able to find an actual roof to keep dry. The cold is starting to get to you; if you can find somewhere where the rain can't reach, then you can change into something dry. Miki's clothing is too big, but you don't have any choice but to wear it since that's all you have.
So the heavy backpack is once again shouldered, and the drudgery of the journey reasserts itself. The weather is like the rainy season of July in Tokyo; surely there'll be a break from all this water? The dark clouds don't give much of a clue to the end of it, though.
By and by, it takes three hours of hiking to finally see the entrance of the grand ruins you have been seeking. Your increased endurance and strength must definitely come from magic, because there would be no way your original body could have done the journey so quickly.
These desolate ruins are like a godsend now. You can't wait to enter the damn place and look for some sort of roof to get under. The walls still have a trace of nobility left in their shattered stones, and the gate is wide open.
You pause to catch your breath and give thanks to the gods that you've arrived at last. Just before deciding to start walking again, something catches your eye.
Movement!?
You dive behind a large stone and peer carefully out of your hiding place. You've seen some sort of movement by the front gate; you're sure of it. It was a flash of white stone moving just above the arch, but nothing fell down. If it was a crumbling stone of some sort, it should have crashed down to the ground... right?!
There it is again, but this time it's not an arm. It's a head of stone moving! Something is perched on the upper area of the wrecked gate. For a brief moment, you see the body adjust itself to peer outward, then disappear as though settling back into a hidden niche.
